Developmental Psych Core Questions Essay Example for Free

Developmental Psych Core Questions Essay Core Chapter Learning Objectives for PSY 104 Developmental Psychology 1. Explain the role of theories in understanding human development, and describe three basic issues on which major theories take a stand. (pp. 5–7) 2. Describe recent theoretical perspectives on human development, noting the contributions of major theorists. (pp. 21–26) 3. Identify the stand that each contemporary theory takes on the three basic issues presented earlier in this chapter. (pp. 26, 27) 4. Describe the research methods commonly used to study human development, citing the strengths and limitations of each. (pp. 26–31) 5. Describe three research designs for studying development, and cite the strengths and limitations of each. (pp. 34–38) 6. Discuss ethical issues related to lifespan research. (pp. 39–40) Chapter 2 1. Explain the role and function of genes and how they are transmitted from one generation to the next. (p. 46) 2. Describe the genetic events that determine the sex of the new organism. (pp. 46–47) 3. Identify two types of twins, and explain how each is created. (pp. 47–48) 4. Describe various patterns of genetic inheritance. (pp. 48–52) 5. Describe major chromosomal abnormalities, and explain how they occur. (pp. 52–53) 6. Explain how reproductive procedures can assist prospective parents in having healthy children. (pp. 53–57) 7. Describe the social systems perspective on family functioning, along with aspects of the environment that support family well-being and development. (pp. 59–60) 8. Discuss the impact of socioeconomic status and poverty on family functioning. (pp. 60–63) 9. Summarize the roles of neighborhoods, towns, and cities in the lives of children and adults. (pp. 63–65) 10. Explain how cultural values and pract ices, public policies, and political and economic conditions affect human development. (pp. 65–70) 11. Explain the various ways heredity and environment can influence complex traits. (p. 70) 12. Describe concepts that indicate â€Å"how† heredity and environment work together to influence complex human characteristics. (pp. 72–74) Chapter 3 1. List the three phases of prenatal development, and describe the major milestones of each. (pp. 80–85) 2. Define the term teratogen, and summarize the factors that affect the impact of teratogens on prenatal development. (pp. 85–86) 3. List agents known or suspected of being teratogens, and discuss evidence supporting the harmful impact of each.(pp. 86–93) 4. Discuss other maternal factors that can affect the developing embryo or fetus. (pp. 93–95) 5. Describe the three stages of childbirth. (pp. 96–97) 6. Discuss the baby’s adaptation to labor and delivery, and describe the appearance of the newborn baby. (pp. 97–98) 7. Describe natural childbirth and home delivery, noting the benefits and concerns associated with each. (pp. 99–100) 8. List common medical interventions during childbirth, circumstances that justify their use, and any dangers associated with each. (pp. 100–101) 9. Describe the risks associated with prete rm and small-for-date births, along with factors that help infants who survive a traumatic birth recover. (pp. 101–106) 10. Describe the newborn baby’s reflexes and states of arousal, including sleep characteristics and ways to soothe a crying baby. (pp. 106–111) 11. Describe the newborn baby’s sensory capacities. (pp. 111–113) 12. Explain the usefulness of neonatal behavioral assessment. (pp. 113–114) Chapter 4 1. Describe major changes in body growth over the first 2 years. (pp. 120–121) 2. Summarize changes in brain development during infancy and toddlerhood. (pp. 121–129) 3. Describe the development of the cerebral cortex, and explain the concepts of brain lateralization and brain plasticity (pp. 124–125, 126) 4. Describe how both heredity and early experience contribute to brain organization. (pp. 125, 127–128) 5. Discuss changes in the organization of sleep and wakefulness over the first 2 years. (pp. 128–129) 6. Discuss the nutritional needs of infants and toddlers, the advantages of breastfeeding, and the extent to which chubby babies are at risk for later overweight and obesity. (pp. 130–131) 7. Summarize the impact of severe malnutrition on the development of infants and toddlers, and cite two dietary diseases associated with this condition. (p. 132) 8. Describe the growth disorder known as nonorganic failure to thrive, noting symptoms and family circumstances associated with the disorder. (pp. 132–133) 9. Describe four infant learning capacities, the conditions under which they occur, and the unique value of each. (pp. 133–136) 10. Describe the general course of motor development during the first 2 years, along with factors that influence it. (pp. 137–138) 11. Explain dynamic systems theory of motor development (pp. 138–140) 12. Discuss changes in hearing, depth and pattern perception, and intermodal perception that occur during infancy. (pp. 140–147) 13. Explain differentiation theory of perceptual development. (pp. 147–148) Chapter 5 1. Describe how schemes change over the course of development. (p. 152) 2. Identify Piaget’s six sensorimotor substages, and describe the major cognitive achievements of the sensorimotor stage. (pp. 153–155) 3. Discuss recent research on sensorimotor development, noting its implications for the accuracy of Piaget’s sensorimotor stage. (pp. 155–160) 4. Describe the information-processing view of cognitive development and the general structure of the information-processing system. (pp. 160–162) 5. Cite changes in attention, memory, and categorization during the first 2 years. (pp. 162–165) 6. Describe contributions and limitations of the information-processing approach, and explain how it contributes to our understanding of early cognitive development. (p. 165) 7. Explain how Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development expands our understanding of early cognitive development. (pp. 165–166, 167) 8. Describe the mental te sting approach and the extent to which infant tests predict later performance. (pp. 166, 168–169) 9. Discuss environmental influences on early mental development, including home, child care, and early intervention for at-risk infants and toddlers. (pp. 169–172) 10. Describe theories of language development, and indicate how much emphasis each places on innate abilities and environmental influences. (pp. 172–174) 11. Describe major milestones of language development in the first 2 years, noting individual differences, and discuss ways in which adults can support infants’ and toddlers’ emerging capacities. (pp. 174–179) Chapter 6 1. Discuss personality changes in the first two stages of Erikson’s psychosocial theory—basic trust versus mistrust and autonomy versus shame and doubt. (pp. 184–185) 2. Describe changes in the expression of happiness, anger and sadness, and fear over the first year, noting the adaptive function of each. (pp. 185–188) 3. Summarize changes during the first two years in understanding others’ emotions and expression of self-conscious emotions. (pp. 188–189) 4. Trace the development of emotional self-regulation during the first 2 years. (pp. 189–190) 5. Describe temperament, and identify the three temperamental styles elaborated by Thomas and Chess. (pp. 190–191) 6. Compare Thomas and Chess’s model of temperament with that of Rothbart. (p. 191) 7. Explain how temperament is assessed, and distinguish inhibited, or shy, children from uninhibited, or sociable, children. (pp. 191–193) 8. Discuss the stability of temperament and the role of heredity and environment in the development of temperamen t. (pp. 193–194) 9. Summarize the goodness-of-fit model. (pp. 194–195) 10. Describe Bowlby’s ethological theory of attachment, and trace the development of attachment during the first two years. (pp. 196–198) 11. Describe the Strange Situation and Attachment Q-Sort procedures for measuring attachment, along with the four patterns of attachment that have been identified using the Strange Situation. (pp. 198–199) 12. Discuss the factors that affect attachment security, including opportunity for attachment, quality of caregiving, infant characteristics, family circumstances, and parents’ internal working models. (pp. 200–202, 203) 13. Discuss fathers’ attachment relationships with their infants, and explain the role of early attachment quality in later development. (pp. 202, 204–205) 14. Describe and interpret the relationship between secure attachment in infancy and later development. (pp. 205–206) 15. Trace the emergence of self-awareness, and explain how it influences early emotional and social dev elopment, categorization of the self, and development of self-control. (pp. 206–209) Chapter 7 1. Describe major trends in body growth during early childhood. (pp. 216–217) 2. Discuss brain development in early childhood, including handedness and changes in the cerebellum, reticular formation, and the corpus callosum. (pp. 217–219) 3. Explain how heredity influences physical growth by controlling the production of hormones. (p. 219) 4. Describe the effects of emotional well-being, nutrition, and infectious disease on physical development. (pp. 219–222) 5. Summarize factors that increase the risk of unintentional injuries, and cite ways childhood injuries can be prevented. (pp. 222–223) 6. Cite major milestones of gross- and fine-motor development in early childhood, including individual and sex differences. (pp. 224–227) 7. Describe advances in mental representation during the preschool years. (pp. 227–229) 8. Describe limitations of preoperational thought, and summarize the implications of recent research for the accuracy of the preoperational stage. (pp. 229–233) 9. Describe educational principles derived from Piaget’s theory. (pp. 233–234) 10. Describe Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s views on the development and sign ificance of children’s private speech, along with related evidence. (pp. 234–235) 11. Discuss applications of Vygotsky’s theory to education, and summarize challenges to his ideas. (pp. 235–237) 12. Describe changes in attention and memory during early childhood. (pp. 237–239) 13. Describe the young child’s theory of mind. (pp. 239–241) 14. Summarize children’s literacy and mathematical knowledge during early childhood. (pp. 241–243) 15. Describe early childhood intelligence tests and the impact of home, educational programs, child care, and media on mental development in early childhood. (pp. 243–248) 16. Trace the development of vocabulary, grammar, and conversational skills in early childhood. (pp. 248–251) Chapter 8 1. Describe Erikson’s stage of initiative versus guilt, noting major personality changes of early childhood. (p. 256) 2. Discuss preschoolers’ self-understanding, including characteristics of self-concepts and the emergence of self-esteem. (pp. 256–258) 3. Cite changes in the understanding and expression of emotion during early childhood, along with factors that influence those changes. (pp. 258–259) 4. Explain how language and temperament contribute to the development of emotional self-regulation during the preschool years. (p. 259) 5. Discuss the development of self-conscious emotions, empathy, sympathy, and prosocial behavior during early childhood, noting the influence of parenting. (pp. 259–261) 6. Describe advances in peer sociability and in friendship in early childhood, along with cultural and parental influences on early peer relations. (pp. 261–264) 7. Compare psychoanalytic, social learning, and cognitive-developmental approaches to moral development, and cite child-rearing practices that support or undermine moral understanding. (pp. 264–269) 8. Describe the development of aggression in early childhood, noting the influences of family and television, and cite strategies for controlling aggressive behavior. (pp. 269–272) 9. Discuss genetic and environmental influences on preschoolers’ gender-stereotyped beliefs and behavior. (pp. 273–276) 10. Describe and evaluate the accuracy of major theories of gender identity, including ways to reduce gender stereotyping in young children. (pp. 276–278) 11. Describe the impact of child-rearing styles on child development, explain why authoritative parenting is effective, and note cultural variations in child-rearing beliefs and practices. (pp. 278–281) 12. Discuss the multiple origins of child maltreatment, its consequences for development, and effective prevention. (pp. 281–283) Chapter 9 1. Describe major trends in body growth during middle childhood. (p. 290) 2. Identify common vision and hearing problems in middle childhood. (p. 291) 3. Describe the causes and consequences of serious nutritional problems in middle childhood, giving special attention to obesity. (pp. 291–293) 4. Identify factors that contribute to illness during the school years, and describe ways to reduce these health problems. (pp. 293–294) 5. Describe changes in unintentional injuries in middle childhood. (p. 294) 6. Cite major changes in motor development and play during middle childhood, including sex differences and the importance of physical education. (pp. 294–299) 7. Describe major characteristics of concrete operational thought. (pp. 299–301) 8. Discuss follow-up research on concrete operational thought, noting the importance of culture and schooling.(pp. 301–302) 9. Cite basic changes in information processing and describe the development of attention and memory in middle childhood. (pp. 303–305) 10. Describe the school-age child’s theory of mind, noting the importance of mental inferences and understanding of false belief and capacity to engage in self-regulation. (pp. 306–307) 11. Discuss applications of information processing to academic learning, including current controversies in teaching reading and mathematics to elementary school children. (pp. 307–309) 12. Describe major approaches to defining and measuring intelligence. (pp. 309–310) 13. Summarize Sternberg’s triarchic theory and Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, noting how these theories explain the limitations of current intelligence tests in assessing the diversity of human intelligence. (pp. 310–312) 14. Describe evidence indicating that both heredity and environment contribute to intelligence. (pp. 312–317) 15. Summarize findings on emotional intelligence, including implications for the classroom. (p. 313) 16. Describe change s in school-age children’s vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatics, and cite advantages of bilingualism. (pp. 316–319) 17. Explain the impact of class size and educational philosophies on children’s motivation and academic achievement. (pp. 319–321) 18. Discuss the role of teacher-student interaction and grouping practices in academic achievement. (pp. 321–322) 19. Explain the conditions that contribute to successful placement of children with mild mental retardation and learning disabilities in regular classrooms. (p. 322) 20. Describe the characteristics of gifted children, including creativity and talent, and current efforts to meet their educational needs. (pp. 323–324) 21. Compare the academic achievement of North American children with children in other industrialized nations. (pp. 324–325) Chapter 10 1. Describe Erikson’s stage of industry versus inferiority, noting major personality changes in middle childhood. (p. 330) 2. Describe school-age children’s self-concept and self-esteem, and discuss factors that affect their achievement-related attributions. (pp. 330–334) 3. Cite changes in understanding and expression of emotion in middle childhood, including the importance of problem-centered coping and emotion-centered coping for managing emotion. (pp. 335–336) 4. Trace the development of perspective taking in middle childhood, and discuss the relationship between perspective taking and social skills. (pp. 336–337) 5. Describe changes in moral understanding during middle childhood, and note the extent to which children hold racial and ethnic biases. (pp. 337–339) 6. Summarize changes in peer sociability during middle childhood, including characteristics of peer groups and friendships. (pp. 339–341) 7. Describe four categories of peer acceptance, noting how each is related to social behavior, and discuss ways to help rejected children. (pp. 341–342, 343) 8. Describe changes in gender-stereotyped beliefs and gender identity during middle childhood, including sex differences and cultural influences. (pp. 342–345) 9. Discuss changes in parent–child communication and sibling relationships in middle childhood, and describe the adjustment of only children. (pp. 345–346) 10. Discuss factors that influence children’s adjustment to di vorce and blended families, highlighting the importance of parent and child characteristics, as well as social supports within the family and surrounding community. (pp. 347–350) 11. Explain how maternal employment and life in dual-earner families affect school-age children, noting the influence of social supports within the family and surrounding community, including child care for school-age children. (pp. 350–351) 12. Cite common fears and anxieties in middle childhood, with particular attention to school phobia. (pp. 352, 353) 13. Discuss factors related to child sexual abuse and its consequences for children’s development. (pp. 352–354, 355) 14. Cite factors that foster resilience in middle childhood. (p. 354) Chapter 11 1. Discuss changing conceptions of adolescence over the past century. (pp. 362–363) 2. Describe pubertal changes in body size, proportions, sleep patterns, motor performance, and sexual maturity. (pp. 363–366) 3. Cite factors that influence the timing of puberty. (pp. 366–367) 4. Describe brain development in adolescence. (pp. 367–368) 5. Discuss adolescents’ reactions to the physical changes of puberty, including sex differences, and describe the influence of family and culture. (pp. 368–370) 6. Discuss the impact of pubertal timing on adolescent adjustment, noting sex differences. (pp. 370–371) 7. Describe the nutritional needs of adolescents, and cite factors that contribute to serious eating disorders. (pp. 371–373) 8. Discuss social and cultural influences on adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior. (pp. 373–376) 9. Describe factors involved in the development of gay, lesbian, and bisexual orientations, and discuss the unique adjustment problems of these youths. (pp. 376, 377) 10. Discuss factors related to sexually transmitted diseases and to teenage pregnancy and parenthood, including interventions for adolescent parents. (pp. 376, 378–380) 11. Cite personal and social factors that contribute to adolescent substance use and abuse, and describe prevention and treatment programs. (pp. 380–382) 12. Describe the major characteristics of formal operational thought. (pp. 382–384) 13. Discuss recent research on formal operational thought and its implications for the accuracy of Piaget’s formal operat ional stage. (pp. 384–385) 14. Explain how information-processing researchers account for cognitive change in adolescence, emphasizing the development of scientific reasoning. (pp. 385–386) 15. Summarize cognitive and behavioral consequences of adolescents’ newfound capacity for advanced thinking. (pp. 386–388) 16. Note sex differences in mental abilities at adolescence, along with biological and environmental factors that influence them. (pp. 389–390, 391) 17. Discuss the impact of school transitions on adolescent adjustment, and cite ways to ease the strain of these changes. (pp. 390, 392–393) 18. Discuss family, peer, school, and employment influences on academic achievement during adolescence. (pp. 393–395) 19. Describe personal, family, and school factors related to dropping out, and cite ways to prevent early school leaving. (pp. 396–397) Chapter 12 1. Discuss Erikson’s theory of identity development. (p. 402) 2. Describe changes in self-concept and self-esteem during adolescence. (pp. 402–403) 3. Describe the four identity statuses, the adjustment outcomes of each status, and factors that promote identity development. (pp. 403–406) 4. Discuss Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, and evaluate its accuracy. (pp. 407–409) 5. Summarize research on Gilligan’s claim that Kohlberg’s theory underestimated the moral maturity of females. (pp. 409–410) 6. Describe influences on moral reasoning and its relationship to moral behavior. (pp. 410–414) 7. Explain why early adolescence is a period of gender intensification, and cite factors that promote the development of an androgynous gender identity. (pp. 414–415) 8. Discuss changes in parent–child and sibling relationships during adolescence. (pp. 415–417) 9. Describe adolescent friendships, peer groups, and dating relationships and their consequences for development. (pp. 417–421) 10. Discuss conformity to peer pressure in adolescence, noting the importance of authoritative child rearing. (p. 421) 11. Discuss factors related to adolescent depression and suicide, along with approaches for prevention and treatment. (pp. 421–423) 12. Summarize factors related to delinquency, and describe strategies for prevention and treatment. (pp. 423–426) Chapter 13 1. Describe current theories of biological aging, including those at the level of DNA and body cells, and those at the level of organs and tissues. (pp. 432–434) 2. Describe the physical changes of aging, paying special attention to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, motor performance, the immune system, and reproductive capacity. (pp. 434–438) 3. Describe the impact of SES, nutrition, obesity, and exercise on health in adulthood. (pp. 438–444) 4. Describe trends in substance abuse in early adulthood, and discuss the health risks of each. (pp. 444–445) 5. Summarize sexual attitudes and behaviors in young adults, including sexual orientation, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual coercion, and premenstrual syndrome. (pp. 445–449) 6. Explain how psychological stress affects health. (pp. 449–451) 7. Summarize prominent theories on the restructuring of thought in adulthood, including those of Perry and Labouvie-Vief. (pp. 451–453) 8. Discuss the development of expertise and creativity in adulthood. (pp. 453–454) 9. Describe the impact of a college education on young people’s lives, and discuss the problem of dropping out.(pp. 454–455) 10. Trace the development of vocational choice, and note factors that influence it. (pp. 455–458) 11. Discuss vocational preparation of non-college-bound young adults, including the challenges these individuals face.(pp. 458–459) Chapter 14 1. Define emerging adulthood, and explain how cultural change has contributed to the emergence of this period. (pp. 464–466) 2. Describe Erikson’s stage of intimacy versus isolation, noting personality changes that take place during early adulthood. (pp. 468–469) 3. Summarize Levinson’s and Vaillant’s psychosocial theories of adult personality development, including how they apply to both men’s and women’s lives and their limitations. (pp. 469–471) 4. Describe the social clock and how it relates to adjustment in adulthood. (p. 471) 5. Discuss factors that affect mate selection, and explain the role of romantic love in young adults’ quest for intimacy. (pp. 472, 474) 6. Explain how culture influences the experience of love. (p. 475) 7. Cite characteristics of adult friendships and sibling relationships, including differences between same-sex, other-sex, and sibling friendships. (pp. 475–476) 8. Cite factors that inf luence loneliness, and explain the role of loneliness in adult development. (pp. 476–477) 9. Trace phases of the family life cycle that are prominent in early adulthood, noting factors that influence these phases. (pp. 478–485) 10. Discuss the diversity of adult lifestyles, focusing on singlehood, cohabitation, and childlessness. (pp. 486–488) 11. Discuss trends in divorce and remarriage, along with factors that contribute to them. (pp. 488–489) 12. Summarize challenges associated with variant styles of parenthood, including stepparents, never-married single parents, and gay and lesbian parents. (pp. 489–491) 13. Describe patterns of career development, and cite difficulties faced by women, ethnic minorities, and couples seeking to combine work and family. (pp. 491–495) Chapter 15 1. Describe the physical changes of middle adulthood, paying special attention to vision, hearing, the skin, muscle–fat makeup, and the skeleton. (pp. 502–504, 505) 2. Summarize reproductive changes experienced by middle-aged men and women, and discuss the symptoms of menopause, the benefits and risks of hormone therapy, and women’s psychological reactions to menopause. (pp. 504, 506–509) 3. Discuss sexuality in middle adulthood. (p. 509) 4. Discuss cancer, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis, noting sex differences, risk factors, and interventions. (pp. 509–513) 5. Explain how hostility and anger affect health. (pp. 513–514) 6. Discuss the benefits of stress management, exercise, and an optimistic outlook in adapting to the physical challenges of midlife. (pp. 514–517) 7. Explain the double standard of aging. (p. 517) 8. Describe changes in crystallized and fluid intelligence during middle adulthood, and discuss individual and group differences in intellectual development. (pp. 518–520) 9. Describe changes in information processing in midlife, paying special attention to speed of processing, attention, and memory. (pp. 520–523) 10. Discuss the development of practical problem solving, expertise, and creativity in middle adulthood. (pp. 523–525) 11. Describe the relationship between vocational life and cognitive development. (pp. 525–526) 12. Discuss the challenges of adult learners, ways to support returning students, and benefits of earning a degree in midlife. (pp. 526–527) Chapter 16 1. Describe Erikson’s stage of generativity versus stagnation, noting major personality changes of middle adulthood and related research findings. (pp. 532–535) 2. Discuss Levinson’s and Vaillant’s views of psychosocial development in middle adulthood, noting gender similarities and differences. (pp. 535–536) 3. Summarize research examining the question of whether most middle-aged adults experience a midlife crisis.(pp. 536–537) 4. Describe stability and change in self-concept and personality in middle adulthood. (pp. 538–539) 5. Describe changes in gender identity in midlife. (pp. 540–542) 6. Discuss stability and change in the â€Å"big five† personality traits in adulthood. (pp. 542–543) 7. Describe the middle adulthood phase of the family life cycle, and discuss midlife marital relationships and relationships with adult children, grandchildren, and aging parents. (pp. 543–551) 8. Describe midlife sibling relationships and friendships. (pp. 551–553) 9. Discuss job satisfaction and career development in middle adulthood, paying special attention to gender differences and experiences of ethnic minorities. (pp. 553–555) 10. Describe career change and unemployment in middle adulthood. (p. 556) 11. Discuss the importance of planning for retirement, noting various issues that middle-aged adults should address. (pp. 556–557) Chapter 17 1. Distinguish between chronological age and functional age, and discuss changes in life expectancy over the past century. (pp. 564–566, 568–569) 2. Explain age-related changes in the nervous system during late adulthood. (pp. 566–567) 3. Summarize changes in sensory functioning during late adulthood, including vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. (pp. 567–570) 4. Describe cardiovascular, respiratory, and immune system changes in late adulthood. (pp. 570–571) 5. Discuss sleep difficulties in late adulthood. (pp. 571–572) 6. Summarize changes in physical health and mobility in late adulthood, including elders’ adaptation to the physical changes, and reactions to stereotypes of aging. (pp. 572–575, 576) 7. Discuss health and fitness in late life, paying special attention to nutrition, exercise, and sexuality. (pp. 575–579) 8. Discuss common physical disabilities in late adulthood, with special attention to arthritis, a dult-onset diabetes, and unintentional injuries. (pp. 580–582) 9. Describe mental disabilities common in late adulthood, including Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular dementia, and misdiagnosed and reversible dementia. (pp. 582–588) 10. Discuss health-care issues that affect senior citizens. (pp. 589–590) 11. Describe changes in crystallized and fluid abilities in late adulthood, and explain how older adults can make the most of their cognitive resources. (pp. 590–591) 12. Summarize memory changes in late life, including implicit, associative, remote, and prospective memories. (pp. 591–594) 13. Discuss changes in language processing in late adulthood. (pp. 594–595) 14. Explain how problem solving changes in late life. (p. 595) 15. Discuss the capacities that contribute to wisdom, noting how it is affected by age and life experience. (pp. 595–596) 16. Discuss factors related to cognitive change in late adulthood. (pp. 596â€⠀œ597) Chapter 18 1. Describe Erikson’s stage of ego integrity versus despair. (p. 604) 2. Discuss Peck’s tasks of ego integrity, Joan Erikson’s gerotranscendence, and Labouvie-Vief’s emotional expertise.(pp. 604–605) 3. Describe the functions of reminiscence and life review in older adults’ lives. (pp. 606, 607) 4. Summarize stability and change in self-concept and personality in late adulthood. (pp. 606–608) 5. Discuss spirituality and religiosity in late adulthood. (pp. 608–609) 6. Discuss contextual influences on psychological well-being as older adults respond to increased dependency, declining health, and negative life changes. (pp. 609–611, 612) 7. Summarize the role of social support and social interaction in promoting physical health and psychological well-being in late adulthood. (p. 611) 8. Describe social theories of aging, including disengagement theory, activity theory, continuity theory, and socioemotional selectivity theory . (pp. 612–615, 616) 9. Describe changes in social relationships in late adulthood, including marriage, gay and lesbian partnerships, divorce, remarriage, cohabitation, and widowhood, and discuss never-married, childless older adults. (pp. 619–623) 10. Explain how sibling relationships and friendships change in late life. (pp. 624–625) 11. Describe older adults’ relationships with adult children, adult grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. (pp. 625–626) 12. Summarize elder maltreatment, including risk factors and strategies for prevention. (pp. 627–628) 13. Discuss the decision to retire, adjustment to retirement, and involvement in leisure and volunteer activities. (pp. 628–632) 14. Discuss the meaning of optimal aging. (pp. 632–633) Chapter 19 1. Describe the physical changes of dying, along with their implications for defining death and the meaning of death with dignity. (pp. 640–642) 2. Discuss age-related changes in conception of and attitudes toward death, including ways to enhance child and adolescent understanding. (pp. 642–644) 3. Cite factors that influence death anxiety, including personal and cultural variables that contribute to the fear of death. (p. 643) 4. Describe and evaluate Kà ¼bler-Ross’s theory of typical responses to dying, citing factors that influence dying patients’ responses. (pp. 647–648) 5. Evaluate the extent to which homes, hospitals, and the hospice approach meet the needs of dying people and their families. (pp. 650–653) 6. Discuss controversies surrounding euthanasia and assisted suicide. (pp. 654–659) 7. Describe bereavement and the phases of grieving, indicating factors that underlie individual variations in grief responses. (pp. 659–660) 8. Explain the concept of bereavement overload, and describe bereavement interventions. (pp. 663, 665) 9. Explain how death education can help people cope with death more effectively. (p. 665)

Issues Of The Work-Life Conflict

Issues Of The Work-Life Conflict Work-life conflict occurs when time and energy demands imposed by our many roles become incompatible with one another; participation in one role is made increasingly difficult by participation in another. Work-life balance (WLB), from an employee perspective, is the maintenance of a balance between responsibilities at work and at home. When the employees have conflicts between their work life and personal life it creates distractions in their work, preventing employees from performing in their best level, which creates obstacles in the achievement of organizational and individual goals. Therefore failure in managing work-life conflict among the employees could lead to problems within the organization. Hemas Hospital is a newly started hospital in Sri Lanka in the year 2008. It is a multi specialty hospital which caters for the whole family by providing highly specialized medical services according to the highest international standards. Around 100 consultants practice in this hospital. As a newly started hospital working for 24 hours they are confronted with problems of employees struggling to strike a balance between their work and life. Employees commitment to their service is vital to provide to provide a according to the standards. At Hemas Hospital Nurses play a major role. Professional nursing is a highly skilled practice directed towards improving the health status of individuals, groups and communities. Nursing activities encompass promoting health, preventing disease, aiding and supporting people in daily living as well as during recovery and rehabilitation, and helping people to die comfortably and with dignity (Nursing, n.d.). The purpose of this essay is to highlight and discuss on the issues of work life conflict how it affects further to discuss about the solutions that could be applied to tackle the conflicts. Secondary researches have been used in order to support the discussion in an effective way. 2.0 Causes 2.1 Womens Family Commitment Over recent years there has been an enormous increase in the number of women employees entering to the paid workforce labor of Hemas Hospital Wattala. Despite the rapid growth in womens involvement in the paid workforce; it appears that little has changed for women in terms of their family commitments. Culture plays a big role in Sri Lanka in relation to this topic. Traditional gender roles prescribe for women to place the role of wife and mother above all others; men are expected to be the family breadwinner. Given the burden of household responsibilities and child care, women employees (doctors, nurses, receptionists) face the demands of multiple roles, which often go beyond the general three roles working mothers generally take on (wife, mother, and worker) to include responsibilities such as: caretaker of aging parents, sister, aunt, cousin, etc. (Scott Coltrane, n.d.) As a result of these multiple tasks work life conflict has been identified as a common problem among most women employees at Hemas Hospital. 2.2 Personal Health Problems Health is the general condition of a person in all aspects. Having problems is a part of life. Most of the researches have found that effects of stress affect the health. The reason is the stress and health is closely linked. And also they have found that the risk factors for health caused by chronic stress causes as much as 60 to 90% of all illnesses. The impact it has on your health, both physical and mental, can be very harmful. And individuals stress does contribute to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other cardiac risk factors such as addictions and obesity. We found that 55% of Hemas hospitals nurses getting sick because of the stress they have. Some of the shifts they have to cover up without taking breaks. Therefore they cannot balance their personal lives with the work they have. So that stress arises and automatically they get ill. 2.3 Tight Work Schedules Workers have to control their working hours to enjoy a better life. Most of time nurses have to do night duty and also they have to do over time work because of this reasons lack of flexible working hours can be arising. Most of times who worked as nurses are young mothers so then they have do their children work, they have to care about children and also their home work. It is very hard to do night duty person who has small child then they might feel time is more important than money after that there can be arise a stress on work place. Organization culture can shape the work life balance. According to our culture most of time mothers are house wifes and also childrens need care of mothers. If mother busy with her job then there will be arises social problem and also family problems. In Hemas hospital every nurse has to do two night duties in each week and then there arises conflict between work life balances. 2.4 Lack of Employee Rewards and Appreciation As a nurse Caring for the sick and dying has never been easy. Though it is a respected, intellectually stimulating, and deeply meaningful career today it offers limited benefits and many challenges. Though its been 2 years Hemas Hospital started their management hasnt introduced proper rewarding system for the nurses. This will directly affect the employees morale; therefore employee productivity would be less. 2.5 Transportation Issues Transportation is one of the main issues that Hemas Hospital employees are facing. Since there are both day and night shifts, the employees main problem will be the transportation. In Sri Lanka with the cultural situations most of the people think in negative way when the females doing the night shifts and/or when they arrives at home in mid night, Since the public transportation is not too safe for female after around 7.30 8.00 pm the transportation will be highly regarded when comes to night shifts. 3.0 Effects 3.1 High Absenteeism Absenteeism is an expensive problem in both public and private sector organizations. Over the past decade, there has been increasing interest in the impact of womens family responsibilities, personal health problems and transportation problems on absenteeism. Many women employees at Hemas Hospital find it hard to achieve their desired combination of work and family time. For example, family responsibilities appear to constrain a womans choice of occupation. Women taking leave due to illnesses of children or their elder parents. 3.2 Less productivity Due to personal health problems, lack of rewards and appreciations and tight work schedules employees productivity getting reduced. This situation is not good for a working place like hospital. Productivity is one of the most important factors when it comes to work. When employees are not healthy they are unable to work properly. Therefore their productivity comes down and the job they do cannot be performed properly. When working in a hospital, the employees have to work very effective manner, because they are the savers of patients lives. It will be a big disaster if they forget or neglect to give proper medicine or giving wrong medicine to a patient. This would highly affect to Hemas hospital if they do not work properly up to the standard. 3.3 Dissatisfaction While the majority of reasons for dissatisfaction usually point to elements of the workplace itself such as: management style, environmental conditions or opportunities for growth, lack of rewards and appreciations, tight work schedules etc. (A guide to grow your personal growth, n.d.). It was found that especially nurses are dissatisfied with their job. Due to this they may move towards competitors or leave the job. Therefore Hemas Hospital has to consider ways of minimizing the work dissatisfaction. 3.4 Stress Stress is the most hated part of the job of healthcare employees. This can be occurring due to personal health problems, womens family commitments and tight working schedules. Therefore it leads nurses to be dissatisfied with their work. Due to the dissatisfaction they will not perform efficiently and effectively through less performance. Furthermore their loyalty for the company will be less and will tend to move towards competitors or leave the job. One of the respondents at the Hemas hospital said that, Too much pressure on this shift Scanty facilities very meageryou feel really exhaustedamounting to tensions and conflicts which are often displaced onto people aroundyou knowyelling at colleagues 3.5 High employment turnover This can be happened due to all of the causes mentioned above. More than the cultural influences nursing is a more stressful and challenging job therefore its a must to recognize them as very precious for the hospital to make them retain in the hospital. The impact of turnover has received considerable attention by senior management, human resources professionals, and industrial psychologists. It has proven to be one of the most costly and seemingly intractable human resource challenges confronting organizations. Analyses of the costs associated with turnover yield surprisingly high estimates. The high cost of losing key employees has long been recognized. When consider the Hemas Hospital the situation also same. It appears high employment turnover, especially nurses. 3.6 Work overload for other employees Due to health problems and family commitment some employees cannot perform their duties to the expected level. So others will have to carry out the sick employees work load too. Some times since they havent time to fulfill the work load they might not do even their assigned duties properly. They do not care about the patients very well. Then again it will affect to the overall performance of the Hemas hospital. In addition, inadequate facilities, improper functioning of other employees and neglected responsibilities created pressure and conflict among the personnel. These inadequacies eventually reduced the tolerance threshold, which in turn contributed to the conflict experienced. One of the respondents at Hemas hospital said that, We cant ignore the fact that heavy workload and shortage of skilled human resources affect our performance; despite our effort to get used to the situation, we are limited in coping. When you see that the supervisor stops backing us up and never steps into the ward to listen to us it makes us feel our rights have been violated. 4.0 Solutions 4.1 Paternity leave Paternity leave is the time a father takes off work at the birth or adoption of a child. This kind of leave is rarely paid. A few progressive companies offer new dads paid time off, ranging from a few days to a few weeks. Hemas Hospital can arrange paternity leave for doctors and therefore can avoid the absenteeism and dissatisfaction towards the job. 4.2 Dependent care arrangements Many nurses will be faced with issues of child or adult care giving. Without adequate support, these can create a host of distractions from work. There are many ways that the Hemas Hospital can support their nurses with their personal responsibilities. Some of the ways are on or off site child and adult care centers, lactation programs, dependent care referrals, etc. 4.3 Job sharing Job sharing is a form of permanent part-time work in which a full-time position is divided between two or more people, each of whom shares responsibility for the entire workload. Each job sharer receives conditions of employment and entitlements on a pro-rata basis in proportion to the hours worked. Job share arrangements are suitable for both professional and academic positions. A change from full-time work to a job sharing arrangement does not break continuity of employment. Job share arrangements can facilitate increased workplace flexibility because job sharers can relieve or cover for each other without loss in efficiency and effectiveness. Hemas Hospital also can implement this program and can get the maximum benefit out of it. 4.4 Flexible work schedules A flexible work schedule is a type of flexible work arrangement that allows employees to vary when they begin and end their work day to accommodate their individual and family needs. This flexibility greatly eases the burden of busy employees as they try to juggle their work and home lives Flexible work schedules benefits both employees and organization it self. For employees Increased satisfaction and productivity, reduced stress and health care costs, decreased absenteeism and reduced commuting time. For organizations improved retention and reduced turnover, higher levels of loyalty and commitment ,no change in managers supervisory time, attracts diverse employees who may not be able to conform to rigid schedules (i.e., disabled) 4.5 Incentives As a result if the hospital is not rewarding nurses well the Sri Lankan culture influences them to be not loyal towards hospital and as well to perform poorly. If an employee appreciated or rewarded it will influence them to work hardly than the before and also motivate to keep the work and personal life in a balance. For that reason this is the best time for Hemas to start an appropriate rewarding and appreciation system for their nurses to make them satisfy and happy situation between work and life. 5.0 Recommendations 5.1 Short Term Out of the number of solutions available, according to the situation, a strategy needs to be developed according to the problem but this would consume lots of time and energy to be done, So till a proper strategy is developed, in the short term the hospital can reward employing workers with an incentive programmed to facilitate them to balance their work /life.Hemas Hospital can reward financial non financial incentives to encourage their work force. Under financial incentives they can grant child vouchers and can have a special funding system for employees children. Furthermore the management of Hemas Hospital can introduce a transportation allowance system for the employees who come from distance areas. Under non financial incentive system Hemas Hospital can arrange family friends benefits or annual trips or get together, so that they have sometime to spend their leisure time with their colleagues. Furthermore nurses can be given promotions, scholarships or they can select best nur se annually to encourage nurses. 5.2 Long Term But in the long term proper strategy should be developed to address this problem, because incentives cannot be a solution for all the problems of the employees. While developing strategies the different situations of nurses need to be considered to facilitate them. Providing a flexible work options is a good method that could be developed, because job satisfaction is directly connected to a persons work schedule, especially to a nurses healthy mentality it is very important when dealing with patients. A variety of schedule options could be made available to fit their priorities and life styles. Full-time Options include: Three 12-hour shifts Five 8-hour shifts A combination of 8 and 12-hour shifts Part-time Options include: 8-hour shifts 12-hour shifts A combination of 8 and 12-hour shifts Weekend Program This program is an appealing option for nurses who are in school or who care for children during the week. This option provides short-term disability coverage. Weekend nurses work 24 hours each weekend They receive pay equivalent to 32 or 36 hours The schedule begins Friday at 7:30 a.m. and ends Monday at 7:30 a.m. Casual This option is appealing to nurses who want to work fewer hours but maintain a relationship with their unit and with Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Casual nurses work 40 hours during a 6-week schedule Float Pool Nurses may choose the flexibility and variety of working on multiple units through the Float Pool. Float Pool nurses are required to work two weekend shifts per month. Options include: Full-time work Part-time work Dynamic scheduling to accommodate personal work requirements. Schedule Choices Many nursing units offer nurses a Self Schedule option. They are able to select the days on the upcoming schedule they want to work. When their manager creates the schedule, he or she will balance the schedule requests with current patient needs in the unit (Careers, n.d.). The best recommendation would be to make available lots of flexible work schedule options and offer the nurses with a self schedule option, so that they can use choose a schedule according to their life style. These work options should be for the mutual benefit of both the employee and the employer so that employee can fulfill their responsibility towards their work place and as well as their families. 6.0 Conclusion There is a big difference between doing things and getting something done. Most work-life efforts by HR and work-life balance teams fail despite lots of doing. The problem is that all the doing didnt get anything done. If the organization wants to get something done that produces strong positive results and feedback, it should be start by taking an action in order to ensure success. Good work-life balance seems to be something that well-run firms in competitive markets do naturally. They need to treat their employees well to keep them if not; their competitors will hire them away. Government policies on work-life balance should take this into account. Whether the organization just introducing a work-life program or making an already great one better, the organization will be substantially improving its bottom line results and changing individuals lives for the better. To be an effective worker he/she has maintain a better balance in between work life and the personal life. We can see that there is a clear link between causes for the conflicts and effects of them. So that if Hemas can implement the above mentioned recommendations we think that Hemas can be the best hospital by getting the maximum use of their employees while providing them a conflicts free work life environment. Hence the entire organization and employees will be proud of the results.

How Genders Are Represented In Video Games Media Essay

How Genders Are Represented In Video Games Media Essay This paper will discuss how genders are represented as well as perceived in todays video games. With reforming feminist and equality groups attacking every outlet of mainstream news, video games have now become the new mass media that remains the only real form of entertainment that truly represents modern day views and beliefs. Recent games have shifted the trend from the macho stereotypic male hero protagonist to a more feminine female protagonist with great success, judging by recent Portal 2 sales in which the main protagonist was a female. This also remains true with antagonists as well. Gender can be used either in a subversive or sexist way. Females are often objectified predominantly by using powerful visual dynamics. This includes their mannerisms, roles in games but most often, the clothes they wear. Sexism has often been a talking point from as early as the 90s. In Ann Cudd and Leslie Jones paper Sexism,  sexism is define as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a systematic, pervasive, but often subtle, force that maintains the oppression of women, and that this is at work through institutional structures in interpersonal interactions and the attitudes that are expressed in them, and in the cognitive, linguistic, and emotional processes of individual mindsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ our very experience of the world (105-6). Censorship also plays are significant role on how genders are represented in video games. This greatly relates to nudity and sexual references. This could be seen as a positive as this forces game developers/publishers to think harder on the necessity that sex plays in their games. Is it really necessary and/or practical to have females represented as whores? Why should they be represented like this? Why are males represented so differently to females? You dont see many games representing males as whores. This is a good way of nailing developers into thinking harder about the characters, plot and settings. In the end, it comes down to how profitable a game can be and games do have to be tailored in order to be released in certain countries. One could argue that this damages video games as they have to be watered down potentially harming the games story, but does it really? Considering that many games portray females as sex objects and have no place in todays society, I tend to agree. As adults, we do have the right to choose what we want to look at but we also have the moral responsibility to do what is right, and this should remain true in video games. The games that will be looked at in this paper are: The Witcher, Dragon Age 2, Portal 2, Bulletstorm; and Hydrophobia: Prophecy. This will compare and contrast two game titles of similar nature in which gender representation in both games will be thoroughly examined. Game 1: The Witcher The Witcher is a role playing game delevoped by CD Projeckt RED STUDIO and was released as a PC exclusive in 2007. The game is based on a series of books by the same name by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The game is based on a mediaeval fantasy world of Temeria  and tells the story Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher who was at some point killed or at the very least, near death but was later revived by his fellow witchers at their stronghold Kaer Morhen. Unfortunately, he loses his memory in the process. The player gains control of Geralt and lead him through a non-linear story in which the player makes moral choices that affect the overall outcome of the game. The game was censored at release in North America, Australia and the United Kingdom. This was later resolved through a patch known as the Enhanced Edition that failed to determine the users location (source), as well as improving on gameplay, graphics, loading times among other things. The main reason that this game was censored was how the game depicted women as well as receiving sex as a reward. Players were also rewarded what became to be known as sex cards, which depicted the women that you as Geralt slept with. There were also some modifications to the dialogue for what was said to be distasteful, for example, a scene where Geralt barges into a ladies house, Where the hell do you think youre going with all the dung on your boots?! Out with you! This was cut into Who are you? Get out! in the censored versions. One of the games focal aspects, apart from the immersive atmospheric world, story and gameplay, was on Geralts relationship with women. Witchers are generally perceived to be great sex machines but without the fantastic stereotypical looks (source). A good way to sum Geralt up is that hes an outsider, often referred to as a mutant in the game world and has many similarities, in terms of looks, to an albino. Relationships/sex does play an integral part of the game. Geralts choices in who he has relationships with, greatly affects the outcome, not only at the end but throughout the entire game. Women do have a dominant role in this game and this is evident with characters such as Shani, Abigail and Triss Merigold. All three are strong women and although highly sexualised, they do play a significant role in the game. Geralts relationships with all three, one as friends and the other two sexually, determines on how the game progresses in terms with the story. Prostitutes also play a significant role as the player can gain valuable information by both helping them on side quests and/or sleeping with them. A good example of this is Carmen, the madame at one of the brothels. She asks for your help on helping find a cure for a werewolf she loves in which you could either kill or save. At the end, you learn of the story on why she became a prostitute. A lady shunned by her father because she was raped and impregnated by the city guards. The game also implies, through dialogue, that she may have also been sexually abused by her father. What this shows is that the team at CD Projeckt put a lot of thought and meaning into the roles that gender plays in this game. While other games such as Grand Theft Auto put very little thought and reason into its ok to over sexualise women with rape, bashing and murder, The Witcher is one those few games that stands out in terms of both character and story development. It shows that in comparison to other games, women are strong, fierce and independent, and are able to stand up for their beliefs, ideas and ideologies. Game 2: Dragon Age 2 Dragon Age 2 follows the adventure of Hawke, a refugee from the nation of Ferelden who has fled to Kirkwall. The game itself is a series of flashbacks from the captured dwarve Varric, an old companion of Hawkes. The game was released on PC and Xbox 360 in 2011 by EA but developed in-house by Bioware. As with all traditional Bioware games, it features rich dialog, expansive worlds, deep meaningful storyline as well as strong willed women. In fact, Bioware put a lot of thought and emphasis in the roles women play in this games (as well as their other games) universe. Five of your companions in Dragon Age 2 are female. Females are represented to be strong, decisive, intellectual, cunning and possibly evil, and do play a significant role in the outcome of the game. At the beginning Dragon Age 2, Varric exaggerates and describes Hawkes companions with overly large bosoms which raises the question, why did the game developers choose to do this? This could be seen as a way of enticing male players (as well as females) into the game by over sexualising women in this fashion. It is a good marketing ploy by Bioware as it engages players, particularly males, to progress through the game. The game also introduces many relationships that the player may choose to pursue. It does contribute to the story in some way but it fails to play a significant part. Rather, players can choose to remain friends with their female companions instead of actively sleeping with them; it does not affect the progress of the game. Compared to the original, sex scenes are dumbed down. This is due to several reasons, specifically censorship. Many would say, judging by the complaints on user review site Metacritic, that this potentially damaged the game by ruining parts of the story where sex does play a role. Taking out true romanticising made the game seem unrealistic and gave the appearance that adding female companions did seem as an afterthought by the game developers. Are we to believe that there were no sexual tensions between Hawke and his female companions? Compared to The Witcher, getting interment with your female companions was a simple task of building your friendship bar by agreeing with your companions rather than taking decisive decisions, handing over gifts and teasing/flirting with them. The Witcher made romance seem an integral part of the game whereas Dragon Age 2 fails on this, adding romance seem as an afterthought and having no real consequences. Yes, females did play an overly important ro le in Dragon Age 2 but the romancing seemed unnecessary and could have been left out as it plays very little, if any, part of the story. Game 3: Portal 2 Perhaps one of the better titles to be released by Valve, its a highly entertaining emotional rollercoaster ride, one that will give you high hopes and later crush them. Portal 2 features a fantastic, engaging, hilarious plot (and soundtrack) with many twists and turns. Ironically, this game forces you to think with portals as many levels will leave you shaking your head is disbelief when a puzzle that should theoretically only take 5 minutes takes you more than 15. It certainly leaves a satisfying feeling when completing a complex puzzle.  Released in 2011, this game stands out from the usual crowd. Featuring a female protagonist by the name of Chell and a few helpful (or not so helpful) robot companions, GLaDOS and Wheatley, you attempt to transverse yourself out of the Aperture Science lab testing facility. Chell is portrayed as a strong willed and intelligent woman. The game steers away from hypersexualising Chell by avoiding somewhat traditional Lara Croft style clothing i.e. skintight latex, overly short shorts and/or a tight hugging bikini. Instead, Chell is represented wearing a plain orange jump suit which is an unobtrusive representation of the female protagonist. Most players progress through the game unaware that they are assuming the role of a female. Players only catch a glimpse of Chell when looking through portals as well as other reflective materials such water and glass. Both GLaDOS and Wheatley are treated in a similar fashion where gender plays very little significance, mainly because they are bots although this does change in the latter part of the game. We can differentiate between the two by both voices and attitudes, but not by outside looks. The writers at Valve provide a very interesting balance of power between the three characters. Choosing to represent female conflict by using emotional forms of abuse whilst avoiding any form of physical contact remains true with the stereotypes about women; they are cunning creatures. While in the latter half of the game, Valve took a feministic approach totally changing the dynamics of the game in which both Chell and GLaDOS form a working relationship and team against the common enemy, Wheatley. Wheatley is the only male character in the game. He transforms GLaDOS into a potato and attempts to murder Chell. This portrays both control and dominance that can be seen as subjectify women, either in reality or in the virtual world. From a feminist point of view, this form of behaviour is exactly what makes women put aside their differences (something which males cant do) and team up against the common enemy, proving once and for all that women are the stronger of the two sexes. Chell and GLaDOS are the two perfect examples of the two sides of femininity; Chell the domestic icon whereas GLaDOs represents the progressive, intelligent working woman. By killing GLaDOS, Chell can be seen as the dutiful safe woman conquering the dangerous feminist (http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/218960/portal-s-glados-as-feminist-icon/) Game 4: Bulletstorm This is easily one of the most fun games Ive played in quite some time. The gameplay is just absolute effin amazing fun! Coupled with an engaging storyline and a hilarious script, this game is definitely a game that Ill be coming back to play just for pure entertainment. Although short, this game in no way becomes repetitive as your environment, enemies and weapons is ever changing. Get it for the singleplayer as multiplayer is completely consolised, meaning that, it uses a matchmaking system which takes forever to connect. The only positive I can take from it is that you can choose to play with friends. Its another game that Microsoft has again managed to ruin with their GFWL. Game 5: Hydrophobia: Prophecy Conclusion Sources http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/04/19/qa-with-portal-2-writers-erik-wolpaw-and-jay-pinkerton/ http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/140585-her-name-is-caroline-naming-the-misbehaving-woman-in-portal-2/ http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/218960/portal-s-glados-as-feminist-icon/

Genetically Engineered Food Essay -- GMOs Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically Engineered Food As Scientists commence the unraveling of genetic mysteries the food we eat is undergoing significant changes. From supermarket produce, milk and eggs to tofu, sprouts and garden burgers most have genetically altered ingredients. As with all new products tests are necessary. Guinea pigs, used in those tests, show the effects of the Genetically Engineered (GE) feed. So far the tests have shown elevated breast cancer from ingesting milk from cows consuming (GE) hormones. Others tests have shown possible deadly allergic reactions to foods altered with proteins from peanuts or shellfish. Most dramatically in 1989 and 1990, a (GE) brand of L-tryptophan, a common dietary supplement, killed more than thirty. Animal rights groups would normally protest these immoral experiments exposing them for what they are, wrong. Unfortunately, the guinea pigs, that are being fed this altered diet, have no voice, they are you and I. Americans are unknowingly consumer tons of (GE) food daily. Science and f ood have collided in the worst possible way. In just this last decade scientist have made epic strides altering plants and animals. Genetically altered products are found in our food, clothing and beverages. The lab has become the place where agricultural improvements are made. What all this means for the consumer is that we are allowed to make informed decisions and that must cease. The customer must at least be allowed to make a choice as to which food or beverage products they will consume. Currently foods that contain genetically altered ingredients are not required to differentiate themselves from non-altered foods. Manufactures continue to refuse all requests to label (GE) products. Genetically altered plants ... ... engineered crops threaten monarch butterflies." 21 Apr. 2000. http://www.bckweb.com/nerage/home.html Organic Gardening. Genetic Engineering: Answers and Actions One quarter of all U.S. farmland is growing GE crops, 93.75 million acres. Actions the organic gardener must take to stem the tide of altered crops. http://205.181.115.212/watchdog/geneng_Jan00.html Rifkin, Jeremy. Biotech Century: Playing Ecological Roulette with Mother Nature's Designs. The Presence of Others. Ed. Andrea Lunsford and John Ruszkiewicz. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin, 2000. 244 - 254. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York, Tor books and 1805. Specter, Michael. "The Pharmageddon Riddle." The New Yorker. Apr. 10, 2000: 58 - 71. Steinbrecher, Dr. Ricarda. "What is Genetic Engineering?" Synthesis/Regeneration: A Magazine of Green Social Thought, Vol. 18. Winter 1999: 9 - 12.

Terrorism and Morality Essay -- September 11 Terrorism Essays

Terrorism and Morality      Ã‚   In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001 and the U.S. military action in Afghanistan, moral questions have arisen. This essay will consider such questions.    Many Church leaders and leading thinkers in the United States have strongly defended the U.S. use of military force in the wake of Sept. 11. Yet outside the States the talk is less about just-war and more about economic and social inequalities. The first and overriding inequality Americans face at the moment is this one: The real murderers, the architects of these murders, are alive and determined to kill again, while the murder victims have been robbed of their lives, their futures, their hopes, dreams and families. More than 5,000 innocent people died at the hands of extremist killers in a single day in September(CNN), and others continue to die through what appears to be bioterrorism(Bio).    Americans see this more clearly, and feel it more keenly, than outsiders because Americans are directly engaged as the target of the violence. Outsiders are not, so their perspective is predictably different.    I think that reminders of the social and economic inequalities in the world serve an important purpose. But no government can keep its legitimacy if it fails to defend its people. The injustices in the world can never be used to "contextualize" or excuse mass murder. And the United States is by no means the only source of the world ´s social and economic inequalities. America bears heavier moral obligations for its actions because of its prosperity and power, but in the Muslim countries and throughout the Third World, rulers have consistently exploited their own people, with or without Western involvement. Sin isn ´t a... ...ht to a life without fear. The irony, of course, is that hundreds of thousands of Arab-Americans are actually Christians whose families often came to the United States to escape economic discrimination and religious intimidation in the Muslim countries of the Middle East.    I believe that despite our flaws and sins, Americans are a good people -- and also a great people. We have a chance in the United States to show the world that Christians, Jews, Muslims and people of other faiths and no faith can live together in mutual respect and peace. Whether Americans today have the character to accomplish that goal remains to be seen. It has to be proven again in every new generation.    SOURCES CITED:    Bioterrorism Articles. http://pubs.ama-assn.org/bioterr.html    CNN Online News. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/memorial/      

Tda 3.19

TDA 3. 19 Support disabled children and young people and those with special education needs. 3. Be able to support the inclusion of disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs. 3. 1 Obtain information about the individual needs, capabilities and interests of disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs with whom they work. It is important to me that I get to know pupils and find out their capabilities and interests as soon as possible, this will help me to best support them through the curriculum in extra ways.As I didn’t work with them from the beginning of their St. Felix schooling I didn’t visit them at home to speak to their parents about their needs, but I did obtain the information that I needed from their class teachers when we went through the children’s files and targets to discuss the next steps. Not long into the school term the SENCO also set up a meeting with the parents and outside agenc ies, (in the cases of the children that I work with, this included social worker, speech and language therapist and visual impairment adviser).In some cases the child themselves would be included but with the children I work with it is felt that this is not suitable, but I do work with them previous to the meeting to discuss what they enjoy, find difficult, would like to change etc. In these meeting we discuss the children’s individual plans and targets for the year and how we can work together to get the best results and experience for the child. At St. Felix we feel that partnerships with parents are crucial to the process of working with pupils who have special educational needs.I work 1 to 1 with 3 different children although I was able to obtain lots of academic information about the children form colleagues that had already worked with the children, including the speech therapist, visual impairment advisor, occupational health and more recently the Autism advisors, I ha ve found it just as important to get to know them on a more informal level by getting to know their interests so I can support them through a greater awareness of their personality.TDA 3. 19 Support disabled children and young people and those with special education needs. 3. Be able to support the inclusion of disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs 3. 2 Identify barriers to participation for disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs with whom they work. All pupils, whatever their needs and abilities have an equal right to educational and learning without barriers.This should also include access and provision and to facilities outside the school settings. Schools and other organisations which offer educational provision must by law ensure that all pupils have access to a broad and balanced curriculum. Physical barriers There should be no reason that a child or young person who has a disability or special educatio nal need should not be able to gain access to an educational institution or to its facilities.As I support children that have additional needs, I make it my responsibility to make sure that all staff are aware of the provision which needs to be made to ensure that they are able to participate. One little girl that I support needs to have all her written resources blown up to A3, and I ensure that all staff know that she needs to be sat at the front to learn from the interactive board and where possible she has her own book to follow when the class are on the carpet being read to by a member of staff.She has light blue paper to write on as she finds it easier to see writing on this and also uses a pen instead of a pencil, again because it is easier for her to see. Although we use a lot of visual resources with all the children in year 1 and 2 especially in numeracy, for this little girl we make sure she has her own set rather than sharing because of her Autism this allows her to keep routine and aids her to organise and become more independent in her learning. In P.E and playtimes her main disability is her sight and although she is very confident with moving around the school, staff and children are reminded to keep areas clear and she needs a slightly larger personal area in P. E as due to her poor gross motor skills her physical actions require lots of room! If she is to fall especially onto reflex areas such as her knees she usually falls into a fit, although I am her 1 to 1 all staff know about her condition and also know how to deal with it if they were with her when it happens.If we didn’t share with other colleagues the needs of this child and the immediate staff that work with her were absent due to illness or on a course etc, she would not be able to be doing what all her classmates are doing through the day. This is not acceptable and also would be very difficult for her as she needs to keep her routine as much as possible due to her Autism. I also work with twin boys that have Dyspraxia, and again all staff are advised on what they need in the classroom to make sure the are able to access the curriculum with as little amount of disruption as possible.The boys find it hard to sit on the carpet and concentrate on input without fidgeting, one finds it helpful to sit on a blown up wedge on his chair, it seems to help keep his posture and allow him to concentrate as without it he finds it hard to control his core and is nearly rolling around the carpet! His brother struggles more academically as well so if necessary especially with numeracy he will sit with me and we will do the same as the other children but what they are learning from the teacher and the interactive board, we will do the same on a wipe board, this way I am also able to take it back a step if its too difficult for him.The boys also use pens rather than pencils this helps with their writing because of their poor fine motor skills, they have other small resou rces that allows to keep up with the pace of their peers such as pots to put things in that they have cut out as they struggle with organisation, they also use pincer type scissors as they are unable to cut accurately with normal scissors. In P.E they will join in with the rest of the class but I will just observe them more than others to give them help if needed but I also observe to see the areas they need more help with and then when the rest of the class have finished we stay on and play different gamed that will work on particular skills. Organisational barriers At St. Felix we have an up to date equal opportunities policy which sets out our priorities for developing inclusion. It also ensures that all staff who are working with pupils who have additional needs are fully trained and able to do so with the full support of the school.We are encouraged to source out courses that will be beneficial to us and our children. For the children I work with I have been on a lot of speech and language courses including Elklan, which for the boys, as they have poor speech allows me to give them extra time giving them therapy under the advise of the therapist and for the little girl it has given me knowledge of using different strategies when her poor language understanding has given a barrier to her understanding the work.In the near future I am learning how to teach them to touch type as we feel especially when they are older that they will find it much easier to keep up with the curriculum to type their work rather than write. Barriers in the attitudes of the school community This barrier can sometimes be more challenging to overcome and we did have some problems with parents in the past in relation to the little girls sight condition and autism that lead to her sometimes being aggressive to other children.To get over this we worked with her parents who wrote a piece on her explaining her needs and conditions, they included pictures of her in different activities an d also paper clippings as the family had recently been interviewed by the Daily Mail about their fight to get a diagnosis. This was given out to the parents in the same class and it encouraged them to speak to mum in the playground if they had any questions.The feedback we got was very positive, it stopped them from focusing on the negative things and allowed them to see her as a happy 6 year old that was interested and loved the same things as their 6 year old but found it difficult and sometimes needed support and understanding. It is important to remember that the needs of the child or young person come first and I will always stand up for the rights of the children I support.

35 Dumb Things People Say

Matt Paradowski 35 Dumb Things People Say Dr. Cullen has been referred to as being the best there is at simplifying the complex issues of diversity in an entertaining and educational manner (MauraCullen. com). As expressed on Dr. Cullen’s website, she has been capturing the minds and hearts of people with dynamic seminars and speaking engagements in the United States, Canada and Australia. She is considered one of the best authorities on leadership and diversity. She also has worked with over 400 organizations with audiences of up to 8,000 people. Dr.Cullen holds a Doctorate in Social Justice and Diversity Education. She has 25 years of experience as a diversity trainer and speaker at over 400 universities and organizations. Maura Cullen is the author of 35 Dumb Things Well-Intended People Say: Surprising Things We Say That Widen the Diversity Gap. She is a higher education student affairs professional and is the founding faculty of the Social Justice Training Institute. (http ://www. mauracullen. com). Her Education background includes The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Springfield College and Bridgewater State College. http://www. linkedin. com/in/mauracullen). The audience I believe Dr. Cullen is trying to reach is everyone in general, but many of the sayings that deal with race are geared more towards white people. When reading â€Å"The 35 Dumb Things Well-Intended People Say† it seems that she was referring to everybody. I am pretty sure just about everyone has said at least one of the sayings at least once in their life. Out of the 35 sayings listed I have said 10 of them many times in my life. The book basically says to the intended audience to think before you speak.Some people could take the book as telling you to more politically correct. After reading over this chapter to me Dr. Maura Cullen seems to be an upper class Republican who is too busy worrying about what everyone thinks or says. She seems to want everything to be very s ocially and politically correct. In the real world life will never be like this. Sometimes while reading this chapter of her book I thought she thinks she is better than everyone else. If people didn’t say these things sometimes the world would be bland and everyone would act the same having no feeling or thoughts of their own.Who is she to say these things are dumb to say. I am not saying she is not smart but I am saying people need some of these sayings in their life and that yes some may be considered dumb but some are also very relevant. I really don’t think that everyone is going to think that this is offensive or that the person saying it is an idiot or dumb. In today’s day and age I don’t think people really care if they offend another person. I really never thought about or noticed if any of the sayings in this book were offensive or not.Will I try to stop saying the ones that I think are offensive? Sure I will but I have been saying them for so l ong or have heard people saying them that it is going to be extremely hard to change. While reading this chapter, I saw some things people say that I think are pretty damn funny. For example # 30 states, â€Å"That’s so gay/queer or that’s so retarded† (Cullen pg. 103). Anyone with some sort of common sense would know when people say this they are not talking about homosexuals or mentally handicapped people. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence would know this.When people say, â€Å"that is so gay† or, â€Å"that is so queer† they are actually saying whatever they are talking about is dumb or stupid. The same goes for the saying, â€Å"that is so retarded. † Personally I say these things a lot. I don’t mean anything bad by saying it. It is just that I have grown up saying it and do not think it is offensive. Like I said before anyone with an ounce of intelligence would know the true intention of saying, â€Å"That is so gay† or â€Å"That is so queer†. An example of a saying I think has some relevance is number 16 â€Å"I never owned slaves. (Cullen pg. 83) This is one of the saying I think is geared only toward white people. I think it is relevant because of the amount of reverse racism in the world today. Many black people still complain about â€Å"The Man† or white people. The black people that complain about white people usually say that the white man is holding them back. In all honesty the only holding them back is themselves and their lack of drive, determination and hard work. So white people started saying â€Å"I never owned slaves† so don’t complain to me about your short comings.If anyone is discriminated against it is white people. The reason I say that is because of affirmative action. Why should someone get a job over a more qualified applicant solely based on the color of their skin and that the employer doesn’t have enough of that race working for them . Finally that last quote I thought had some relevance at least in my life is number 20 calling women â€Å"Girls, Honey, Sweetie Pie,† or other familiar terms. (Cullen pg. 87) I used this statement all the time. I use it in the way Dr.Cullen says it is intended for which is to make a connection or attempting to make an environment more casual or friendly. (Cullen Pg. 87) I do not see it as sexist or condescending. I do not think it is disrespectful either. I say this because when a man calls his significant other sweetie pie or honey they definitely are not trying to be sexist. I know for sure they definitely are not being condescending either. The thing is women say things like this also it is just men do not think it is sexist or condescending.Out of all the women I may have called sweetie pie or honey in my life I have never had anyone get upset behind my back or to my face about it. People who are not so uptight or stuck on themselves will not think it is sexist or conde scending either. I do not think people need to watch what they say from now on. I believe that more people need to loosen up and accept life as it comes to them. Is it really worth complaining about these sayings? I for one think it is â€Å"retarded or gay† to complain and worry about all this crap.I have been through many thing in my life one of which was a near death experience. Life is too short to try and do everything the proper or â€Å"right† way. Sure some of the 35 saying could be a little on the rude side but hey no one is perfect, right? People have been saying these things and will continue to say these things until the end of time. Some things may change in time but not all. Weather it is rude, sexist or condescending it is all in the eye of the beholder. If we could all just except each other as they are then these sayings would be irrelevant anyways.I enjoyed reading this chapter of Dr. Cullens book but sometimes it made me angry after reading her best bets sections. Sure she has a doctorate but her best bet situations will not always be correct.Works Cited Dr. Maura J Cullen Diversity Taking Adversity out of Diversity. 2010. 29 Nov. 2010. . Dr. Maura Cullen Diversity Training & Coaching Professional. 2008. 29 Nov. 2010. http://www. linkedin. com/in/mauracullen  Cullen, Maura. Morgan James Publishing. New York: Garden City, 2008. Print.