Animal Studies and School Project Ideas

Animal Studies and School Project Ideas Animal projects and studies are important to understanding various biological processes in animals and even humans. Scientists study animals in order to learn ways to improve animal health for farm production, wildlife preservation, and human companionship. They also study animals to discover new methods to improve human health. Animal studies give us a better understanding of disease development and prevention, as well as standards for normal and abnormal behavior. The following animal project ideas introduce areas of animal studies that can be explored through experimentation. Since some science fairs may prohibit projects that involve animals, so be sure to get permission from your instructor before beginning any animal-based science project. Amphibian and Fish Project Ideas Does temperature affect tadpole growth?Do water pH levels affect tadpole growth?Does water temperature affect amphibian respiration?Does magnetism affect limb regeneration in newts?Does water temperature affect fish color?Does the size of a population of fish affect growth?Does music affect fish activity?Does the amount of light affect fish activity? Bird Project Ideas Which types of plants attract hummingbirds?What factors increase egg-laying in birds?Do different bird species prefer a particular color of bird seed?Do certain bird species prefer to eat in a group or alone?Do certain bird species prefer one type of habitat over another? Insect Project Ideas How does temperature affect the growth of butterflies? How does light affect ants?Do different colors attract or repel insects?How does pollution affect insects?How do insects adapt to pesticides?Do magnetic fields affect insects?Does soil acidity affect insects?Does color affect insect-eating habits?Does light or heat attract insects to lamps at night?Do insects behave differently in a larger population as opposed to a smaller population?What factors cause crickets to chirp more often?What substances do mosquitoes find attractive or repellent? Mammal Project Ideas Does light variation alter animal sleep habits?Do cats or dogs have better night vision?Does music affect an animals mood?Do bird sounds affect cat behavior?Which animal sense has the greatest effect on short-term memory?Does animal saliva have antimicrobial properties?Does colored water affect animal drinking habits? Animal Information and Resources For additional information about animals, see: 10 Fascinating Animal Facts: Discover several wondrous and fascinating facts about animalsTen Amazing Bioluminescent Organisms: Some organisms such as jellyfish have the ability to glow. The light emitted is due to a chemical reactionWhy Some Animals Play Dead: When faced with danger, some animals go into a catatonic state and appear to be dead to the world.Top 7 Bugs That Feed on Humans: There are a number of bugs that feed on humans. These bugs are resilient, gaining immunity to insecticides, and out for your blood.Common Animal Questions and Answers: Why do zebras have stripes? Why do some tigers have white coats? Find answers to these and other commonly asked questions about animals.The Worlds Fastest Animals: What are the fastest animals on the planet? These swift animals reach amazing speeds on land, in the air, and in the ocean. Science Experiments and Models Performing science experiments and constructing models are fun and exciting ways to learn about science. Try making a model of the lungs or a DNA model using candy. You can also discover how to extract DNA from a banana or get ideas on how to use plants in experiments.

Thomas Nasts Cartoon essays

Thomas Nast's Cartoon essays This cartoon was chosen because it is funny that there isnt anyone who can say who stole the money. It is a satire and it was sketched by a famous cartoonist of that era called Thomas Nast. Thomas Nast started a campaign against William Tweed. Tweed wanted to end Nasts campaign by talking to the Harper Brothers, owners of the Harper Weekly, magazine where Thomas Nast published his cartoons. When the brothers refused, Tweed tried to bribe Nast by offering him $500,000 dollars, which was equal to a hundred times his salary ($5,000). Nast still refused to end his campaign, and eventually William Tweed was put in jail for being a corrupt politician. This cartoon that was published in the New York Times, satirizes corrupt politicians of that time. It is actually kind of funny because it shows the reality, which is each person is blaming someone different from themselves. In the cartoon there is a circle, which they call Tammany Ring, made up of 15 people, supposedly all corrupt politicians. Below it there is a caption that asks, Where is the peoples money?-Do tell, and with a reply saying Twas him. In the cartoon each person is pointing to the right. This is a sign that they are grafters and corrupt politicians because they cant admit that they did something wrong and take a simple task, which is to take care of the peoples money. For example, this guy, Tweed, bought 500 benches for $5 each and sold them to the city for $600 dollars each. He also spent $13,000,000 to build the City Hall, when the budget was set at $350,000 New York City-the name calls to mind images for people all around the world. Today, New York is a whirlwind of flashing lights, streams of people, and the rush of thousands of vehicles. In contrast in the 1860s, New York scenery was a bit different. The only vehicles were horse-drawn, and gas street lamps lit the streets with a soft glow. Even though, there were ...

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio - Essay Example He was born on September 29, 1571. By the time he was eleven, he became an orphan and he became an apprentice to Simone Petersano of Milan. When he was seventeen, he went to Rome to work for more artists. For five years, he jumped from one employment to the other, as an apprentice for other painters with less than impressive talents. In 1595, he sold a painting to Cardinal Francesco del Monte. Caravaggio was now under the wings of the church and enjoyed the protection of the cardinal, complete with board and lodging, plus pension in the house of the cardinal. He was now a commissioned artist and is quite famous. His works are very realistic and this appealed to the people in that era. His clients were mostly the religious but despite the spiritual deprivations Caravaggio had when he was growing up, he delivered his art quite well. He must have had at least forty works made for Del Monte. The realism and the play of light started showing in his paintings styles. One must take note that this happened in the Baroque period. Baroque art is heavily influenced by religion, specifically, the Roman Catholic religion. It also reflects the tensions between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. In the early fifteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church answered the Protestant Reformation movement with Counter Reformation and used art to influence its faithful followers. The light play in light and shadow, as well as the use of realism and portrayal of everyday life was the main schemes of this movement. This is why Caravaggio became successful in this era, as he was supported by the clergy. As there was emphasis on realism and the everyday life, Caravaggio employed laborers as models for his paintings of saints. This act was taken as an offense by the public but he never had a shortage of commissions (but this movement about representing religion in paintings faded, as Baroque as an art movement emphasized daily living and realism). He

Cognitive Neuropsychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cognitive Neuropsychology - Essay Example It is a known fact that each part of the brain is specialized to help the individual. In other words, the brain or central nervous system triggers various neural mechanisms that tie in with cognitive processes. This is evident, given that most of the abilities that individuals acquire and develop overtime are all contingent upon the normal functioning of the brain. For instance semantic and syntactic development and ability to memorize are dependent upon how well the brain develops. (Wilshire, 2009) Despite the fact that cognitive neuropsychologists only focus on the damage inflicted upon the brain and it may appear that branch is largely related to the brain in actuality cognitive neuropsychology is about the â€Å"Mind†. Cognitive neuropsychology has also been further elaborated by the concept of modularity, according to which the entire process and dynamics of this branch of psychology can be broken down and represented in the form of smaller sub-processes. (Wilshire, 2009) This aspect of the subject was established by Fodor in 1983, but was further developed by David Marr, who considered this so important that they actually elevated this approach into a principle. Hence, this came to be known as the â€Å"Principle of Modular design†. The concept of modularity is typically applied in the field of engineering and computer programming; its application to cognitive sciences is a bit complex but an effective way to represent the process nevertheless. (Rapp, 2001, p. 52) Fodor clearly dictated the method in his book called ‘Modularity of the mind’, in which he clearly demonstrated the relationship between the entire cognitive systems and its various properties. In his... This paper stresses that the basic findings pertaining to cognitive neuropsychology emerged in the 1960’s when a strong correlation was found between the structural impairment of the brain and the psychological functioning of the client. Therefore, if there is any structural irregularity in the brain then it will have major repercussion on various areas of functioning of the individual. The brain acts as the central executive system of the body that is responsible for controlling and coordinating the body. This report makes a conclusion that the absence of tangible evidence that can be used to support the module of these cognitive processes is yet another concern raised in this approach. However, in order to elucidate the process the modular approach has been very effective. Even though the modular approach can be used as plausible explanations for the cognitive processes but, neuropsychologists have conducted extensive researches in order to an alternative explanation to further understand cognitive neuropsychology. The alternative explanation of the processes was expanded using the example of neural damages. The hypothesis was based on the premise that if an individual suffered a neural damage to any part of the head that he or she would suffer significant amount of impairment to the adjacent areas of functioning. Dissociation in general, is a state that is a protective mechanism adopted by the psyche to protect the body from physical and psychological stresses.

Motivational Strategy and Action Plan Essay Example for Free

Motivational Strategy and Action Plan Essay Determine the motivational strategy or strategies that would likely be most appropriate for each of your three employees on basis of their individual characteristics. Indicate how you would leverage their employee evaluations to motivate each of the three employees. Describe one or more of the motivational theories and explain how the theories connect to each of your selected motivational strategies. Team Member Name Summary of Individual Characteristics Motivational Strategy and Action Plan Relevant Theory Tina Engaged Passionate Persistent Inspirational Leader Happy Emotional stable This employee would not really need much motivation, since already in engaged, passionate and is a leader at work. I would suggest that the employee uses an action plan to continue with positive attitude. Also since the employee has passed reviews, to advance in progress with promotions in the company. McClelland theory is relevant to this situation. It relates to this situation because for the most part the employee is happy at the job. Brittany Competitive Good communicator Influential Independent Emotional Quick thinker This employee shouldn’t much motivation since she is so competitive. However we could motivate her to be more engaged and happy at job since so emotional. An action plan for this strategy would be to assign her to do task she is interested and likes to do that are easy and take little thought since she is a quick thinker. This situation relates to the self-efficiency theory because employee is independent. She likes to do things on her own and feels she can. Denise Timid Considerate Neutral decision maker Eager Happy with job Encouraging This employee needs motivation in company involvement in communication since timid and shy. She can demonstrate these skills in an action plan by being more involved in conferences, presentations, and meetings. This situation could be also related to the McClelland theory because for the employee is happy with job, but there is room for opportunity.

Aboriginal Beliefs Essay -- essays research papers

The Aborigines had, and still have, a complex belief in creation, spirits and culture, that gives a definite distinctiveness from any other religion in the world. Thousands of years ago, Australian Aboriginal people were living in accordance with their dreamtime beliefs- today, a majority of the Aboriginal community profess allegiance to Christianity, and only 3% still adhere to traditional beliefs. These beliefs have provided the Aboriginal people with guidance and perspective on all aspects of life. There were many variants to these beliefs and practises throughout the many Aboriginal tribal areas, but all Aboriginal people have developed an intimate relationship between themselves and their environment. They see themselves as spiritually bound to the natural world. The basis of Aboriginal religion revolves around their sacred mythology known as “The Dreamtime';. The Dreamtime specifically refers to the period of time when the creators made the territory of a tribe and all it contained. It was a period when patterns of living were established and laws were laid down for human beings to follow. The Dreamtime is linked with many aspects of Aboriginal practise, including rituals, storytelling and Aboriginal lore, and explains the origin of the universe, the workings of nature and the nature of humanity, and the cycle of life and death. It shapes and structures Aboriginal life by controlling kinship, ceremonial life, and the relationship between males and females with a system of responsibility involving people, land and spirits. The aim or objective of traditional Aboriginal people was to live the exact lifestyle that had been created for them by the creators thus, the Aboriginal people strive to perpetuate and continue the never ending dream ing. The creators were the ancestors of all living things, including the Aborigines themselves. Sometimes human, sometimes animal, they were possessed of miraculous powers. Their deeds on earth are enshrined in Aboriginal mythology and are closely associated with animals and other features of the natural environment. Each tribe had it’s own creation myth. For example, the people of the Arunda tribe believed that the spirits cut them from the earth in the Dreamtime. Originally, myths, or Dreamtime stories, were not expressed simply in verbal or written form but were enacted, chanted, painted, cost... ... new growth. Food taboos and totemism had the effect of protecting animal and other species because some people were not permitted to eat certain foods and a person could not always eat their own totem. This had the effect of providing a safe environment for particular species. Many sub-tribes moved around their land following the food chain cycles. This meant that they never stayed in the one place where they could extinguish the food sources. In some tribes particular beliefs were held about dangers that could threaten the life of animals or birds. One tribe (the Wiimbaio) were afraid of blood falling into lakes or rivers, incase storms or other disasters would result, and would kill the fish. Aboriginal beliefs are expressed in a number of ways, including their Dreamtime practices, such as stories, art and corroborees, and rituals, such as initiation, birth, marriage and death, as well as the Aboriginal lore. Such a complex and unique outlook on the universe and humans, and with the assistance of their ability to continue their practices through hundreds of generations, allowed the Aboriginal belief system to evolve to be one of, if not the, oldest surviving race in the world.

Love’s Bond – Robert Nozick

Love’s Bond – Robert Nozick In this writing assignment I will be giving a detailed interpretation on Robert Nozick’s writing, â€Å"Love’s Bond†. First I will give an explanation on Nozick’s account of the nature of love. Secondly, I will explain why Robert Nozick believes that in love there is no desire to trade up to another partner. Lastly, I will also explain why he says that it is incoherent to ask what the value of love is to an individual person. The nature of love according to Nozick is the desire to form a â€Å"we† with the person you feel romantic love for, the desire to become one with the loved one.When two individuals are mutually in romantic love with one another, they both desire to form a â€Å"we† with each other. Once two romantic partners form a â€Å"we† they subconsciously agree to make life decisions together because now they are one and what affects one affects the other equally. Any type of life e vent good or bad that affects one person affects the other person equally because once they form a â€Å"we† they are like one. Nozick explains that when two individuals form a â€Å"we† they share a new identity.According to Nozick this new formation completely takes over of the individuals and they become something new, something transformed in a way. This desire to form a â€Å"we† with another is something magnificent and great. He explains that, â€Å"the desire to share not only our life but our identity with another marks our fullest openness. To Nozick, forming a â€Å"we† is a really big deal. Forming a â€Å"we† is a complete transformation of what a person used to be when they were and individual. According to Nozick, when a person is in love, they do not have desires to trade up to a different partner.Nozick says, â€Å"In the view of a person who loves someone romantically, there couldn’t be anyone else who was better as a par tner. † This quote gives support to his idea that a person in love would not desire to trade up. The person in love does not believe in their heart that anyone could be better than the person they are in love with. According to Nozick the thought of trading up to a different partner would not even cross the mind of a person who is in love. Nozick goes on to explain that a person in love might sometimes want to make a few changes on their mate; however, this does not imply that the person in love wants a different mate.Nozick believes that a person in love loves very specific qualities in their mate. For this reason, even if a person in love wanted to make their loved one better this would not mean they want a different person. To the person in love â€Å"no other person could have precisely those traits; therefore, any imagined person will be the same mate (perhaps) somewhat changed, not somebody else. † Nozick believes that when a person is in love, they love the very specific ways that their partner radiates a specific traits, not the trait itself.They love the person, â€Å"for his or her own particular and non-duplicable way of embodying such general traits, a person in love could not make any coherent sense of his â€Å"trading up† to another. † According to Nozick a person who is even considering trading up is a person who is no longer in love. He does not feel that the thought of trading up is a thought that an individual in love could even think about. Nozick feels that it is incoherent to ask what the value of love is to an individual person because there is no individual when you form a â€Å"we†; there is this new identity.Like the example that was given in class regarding the sperm and egg, once the sperm and the egg have joint, you do not ask how the sperm is doing because it no longer exist. In the same way it does not make sense to ask the value of love to an individual because the individual no longer exists on ce the â€Å"we† is formed. According to Nozick when two individuals join and form a â€Å"we† this new identity completely takes over and creates a new shared identity. To Nozick, it would be completely irrational to even think of the person of an individual and to ask what the value of love is to them.It is something that is just not possible when a person has formed a â€Å"we† with another. In conclusion, I have given my complete interpretation on Robert Nozick’s writing, â€Å"Love’s Bond†. I have explained to the best of my knowledge the nature of love, the reason why in romantic love there is no desire of trading up, and lastly why it is incoherent to ask what the value of love is to an individual. Works Cited 1. Nozick, Robert. â€Å"Love's Bond. † Philosophical Perspectives on Sex & Love. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. 231-39. Print.

Graduate Studies

. Graduate Study Challenges and Strategies for Personal Success Christine Z. Liwag University of Phoenix Pursuing a higher education in any field of study can be very challenging to any person. It requires a lot of hard work, time management, support issues and organizational skills. It also takes a lot of courage and determination in order for a person to be successful on obtaining a master’s degree or even a doctorate degree. Being able to manage time and stress level together with work and family management are essential in successfully completing graduate school.A master’s degree student should have a full dedication and be able to balance the demand of work schedule and school schedule. Students who are married with kids should have a strong support system from the spouse and the children in order for the stress level of going to school and balancing family time and work be lessened. One of the many reasons on why I am pursuing a higher education in nursing is to b e able to expand my knowledge in my profession and gain more learning experiences so that I can do more for my future patients.Another reason is to be able to make a difference in the nursing industry. My short-term goal is to be able to pass every class that I will take for my Master’s degree and to have a full time job as an RN so that I can start having experience in the hospital. My long term goal is to become a professional and be good on what I do so that I can share my knowledge to patients, nurses and other member of the healthcare field. Another long term goal of mine is to become a nurse anesthetist and to work in a higher position.Some of the challenges that students like me often experiences are high stress level from work, family and school, lack of time management and the process of taking the classes online. The high demand of work schedule and the time that a student spends at work gives a student less time to complete the tasks that the graduate school requir es. According to Wild, J. , (2008, pg 454), â€Å"Time is an important resource which has to be managed effectively whether it is at home, at work or study. Time, unlike other resources cannot be increased or replaced.Poor time management can lead to increased costs and mistakes and is a major cause of stress†. The amount of stress level that I am receiving from my job at UCLA is a little bit high compared to the amount of stress that I get from graduate school. Another challenge for me is the process of taking all my classes online. In order for me to overcome these challenges, I need to be able to manage my time accordingly to reduce stress, organize my tasks starting from work to school and at home and become more confident and comfortable in taking online classes.My strategies for time management are to create a work schedule and school schedule. I plan to create a calendar in which I can write down the tasks for every hour of my work and school. Becoming comfortable taki ng online classes is also one of my goals. My strategy is to explore the website and know the functions of every tab, links, and to figure out how the classes are going to be held. For this one, I attended a new student orientation and it helped me explored the things that I will need to do once the classes starts. According to Ramos, J. (2011, pg 283), â€Å"The traditional on-campus graduate learning classrooms have historically consisted of daily face-to-face interactions with instructors and peers, class lectures and discussion groups. Learning, in the on-campus tradition, takes place at the physical site of an institution. Furthermore, face-to-face interaction with peers, faculty, and school administrators is part of the traditional on-campus graduate school experience†. To achieve my short term goal, I will make sure that I always keep up with my academic workload and make sure that I completed every task and learn all of them in order for me to pass every class.I am al so applying to different RN jobs right now so that I can get the experience I need as a registered nurse. The steps that I needed to complete to achieve my long term goal is to first graduate from master’s degree and earn more experiences working in the critical units of a hospital. Effective communication with other students and with the professors is one of the key to a successful completion of graduate studies especially when doing it online. Maintaining personal communication to groups and always updating each other will lead to an effective team work and good academic standing.According to Burt, C. , Westrate A. , Brown, C. , Champion, F. , (2010, pg. 649), â€Å"Engaging in  time management, particularly planning behaviors, can also contribute positively to group performance†. However, there are also some weakness and strengths in finding an effective communication. Some of those weaknesses are the time difference of every student in one online class. Another i s the lack of time to log in to the student website to check messages and the time spend to respond on emails.To improve communication and to reduce the conflict when communicating, students should log in to the website regularly and check messages and emails in a timely manner. Overall, personal success in finishing graduate school is easy to obtain as long as the person is dedicated and passionate enough to make it work no matter how busy the person is. With enough time management and organizational skills, it will become easier and doable as students gets close to graduation. References Burt, C. , Westrate, A. , Brown, C. , & Champion, F. (2010). Development of the time management environment (TiME) scale.Journal of Managerial Psychology,25(6), 649-668. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from the EBSCOhost database. Ramos, J. (2011). A Comparison of Perceived Stress Levels and Coping Styles of Non-traditional Graduate Students in Distance Learning versus On-campus Programs. Contemporar y Educational Technology,  2(4), 282-293. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from the EBSCOhost database. Wild, J. (2008). Tips for learning: effective time management. British Journal of Healthcare Assistants,  2(9), 454-455. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from the EBSCOhost database.

Free Essays on Standardized Testing

Controversy involving education and national standardized testing has always sparked controversies. Does a simple test, which holds such a great deal of significance on a child’s future, sufficient enough? These tests are supposed to be a basis for what all students should know to continue their educations. Education has become a very important subject in political campaigns. With education among the electorate’s top priorities, the phrase â€Å"higher standards† has become ubiquitous in political campaigns across the country. (Gary Orfield). Many politicians have stressed that all children can learn at high levels, where many liberal and civil rights advocates are too concerned about lowering the standards for these tests. Unfortunately, this movement has all to frequently been reduced to a single policy: high stakes testing. (Orfield). These tests are responsible for grade promotion, jobs for graduate students, and even promotions for teachers. President Clinton recommended in his state of the Union address that all students are supplied with materials that help them with these tests. This caused some controversy because people believed that with these materials, it undermined teachers, discriminated against minorities, and affected the teacher student relationship. I agree that students should be able to receive manuals to increase their chances on these tests, but I also feel that if a student knows what is going to be on the test it can hinder his ability to truly learn in those areas. A type of test that has negative feedback is high-stakes tests. The implications of these arguments were serious enough to lead the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University to commission a series of studies on the educational and social impact of high-stakes testing. High-stakes tests attached to grade promotion and high school graduation lead to increased dropout rates. (Orfield). I think if too much emphasis is placed on specif... Free Essays on Standardized Testing Free Essays on Standardized Testing Standardized Testing: Are they Beneficial? Standardized testing is very common statewide for determining the students’ academic knowledge starting form K-12 grade. But what does these score tells us? Are they academically smart because they have high score? Or what if the student maintains good grades working hard in school but receive bad scores on these tests? There are many ambiguous answers to these questions. Standardized testing is bias based on minorities and financially separates the advantage student from higher-income families to score higher than lower income families. These testing also drive excellent teachers away from their profession. However, the question still remains: what does these results tell us how kids are learning? There is a great improvement of students with their scores but there is still a big barrier between minority student such as Latinos and blacks with white students. According to a journal in Student Test Scores, a Wider Gap, African-Americans score increased to 6 points in the SAT verbal and 7 points higher in math in the past 10 years. In comparison, white student’s score jumped 11 points for verbal and 18 points higher in math during the same time interval. This statistic shows that white high school seniors score much higher than any ethnic group than they did decades ago. This shows a large gap between the minorities. Part of the reason is due to cultural and language barrier that these students face. Referring to the journal Tests that Fail Democracy, minority students tend not to do as well â€Å"because they aren’t given the time they need to process information, write essays, and unravel foreign culture they are being asked to identify.† These con flicts lead the students to be discouraged to take these tests that lead a big rate of dropout for minorities. Texas has the rising â€Å"dropout rates especially among black and Hispanic students.† (Texas Law Limits Use of S... Free Essays on Standardized Testing Controversy involving education and national standardized testing has always sparked controversies. Does a simple test, which holds such a great deal of significance on a child’s future, sufficient enough? These tests are supposed to be a basis for what all students should know to continue their educations. Education has become a very important subject in political campaigns. With education among the electorate’s top priorities, the phrase â€Å"higher standards† has become ubiquitous in political campaigns across the country. (Gary Orfield). Many politicians have stressed that all children can learn at high levels, where many liberal and civil rights advocates are too concerned about lowering the standards for these tests. Unfortunately, this movement has all to frequently been reduced to a single policy: high stakes testing. (Orfield). These tests are responsible for grade promotion, jobs for graduate students, and even promotions for teachers. President Clinton recommended in his state of the Union address that all students are supplied with materials that help them with these tests. This caused some controversy because people believed that with these materials, it undermined teachers, discriminated against minorities, and affected the teacher student relationship. I agree that students should be able to receive manuals to increase their chances on these tests, but I also feel that if a student knows what is going to be on the test it can hinder his ability to truly learn in those areas. A type of test that has negative feedback is high-stakes tests. The implications of these arguments were serious enough to lead the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University to commission a series of studies on the educational and social impact of high-stakes testing. High-stakes tests attached to grade promotion and high school graduation lead to increased dropout rates. (Orfield). I think if too much emphasis is placed on specif... Free Essays on Standardized Testing In the article â€Å"The High-Stakes Testing...† Gary Orfield and Johanna Wald, both researchers at Harvard Graduate School, state that the policy of high-stakes testing was first conceived to help raise the educational standards but has only discriminated against high poverty and minority students. Public concern has caused political campaigns to discuss standardized testing policies in recent years. According to Orfield and Wald, public interest leaders feel that citizens want to hold the school systems accountable for the inequality of standardized tests, which are causing some educational advocates to show concern that some teachers will lower their standards so students scores will improve. Orfield and Wald suggest that the reform movement of high stakes testing has worsened the educational problem; that tests are unfair to minority students, â€Å"undermine teachers,† and refuse high school graduation to students who do not pass a one-shot test (1). Moreover, many teacher and principal’s salaries rely on standardized tests, which may have the effect of many high poverty schools wanting to hire uncertified and inexperienced teachers who teach test preparation. Also, Orfield and Wald point out that high stakes testing narrows the curriculum by teaching to the test. This is where teachers only educate the basic points of learning needed to pass a test instead of examining topics from different points of view over a period of time. Many students are taught how to pass the test, but do not comprehend the material. This way of teaching is seen mostly in high poverty schools where the population is made up of minority and poor students. Among the poverty-stricken students are mostly black males who are the ones that are â€Å"disproportionately represented† among those held back and denied a diploma (2). Furthermore, high-stakes testing causes an increase in dropout rates, especially among minorities. In fact, nine out of t... Free Essays on Standardized Testing Standardized testing â€Å"No issue in the U.S. Education is more controversial than (standardized) testing. Some people view it as the linchpin of serious reform and improvement, others as a menace to quality teaching and learning† (Phelps). A tool that educators use to learn about students and their learning capabilities is the standardized test. Standardized tests are designed to give a common measure of a student’s performance. Popular tests include the SAT, IQ tests, Regents Exams, and the ACT. â€Å"Three kinds of standardized tests are used frequently in schools: achievement, diagnostic, and aptitude† (Woolfolk 550). Achievement tests can be used to help a teacher assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses in a particular subject. Diagnostic tests are typically given to elementary school students when learning problems are suspected. Aptitude tests are designed to predict how a student will perform in the future. For example, the SAT predicts performance in the first year of college. Standardized tests give educators a standard measure or â€Å"yardstick† because such a large number of students across the country take the same test. These tests are used to tell how well school programs are doing or to give a picture of the skills and abilities of students. Standardized tests; however, are problematic at all ages and levels of schooling. Standardized aptitude tests measure students’ abilities to learn in school, how well they are likely to succeed in future education. Rather than measuring knowledge of subjects taught in school, these tests measure a broad range of abilities or skills that are considered important to succeed in school. The classroom setting and teacher are the key to assessment. â€Å"Pressure to produce higher scores leads teachers to focus on material that will be covered by the tests and to exclude everything else. The curriculum is thereby narrowed, which means that some subjects are ignored. Within thos...

AP Biology Essays

AP Biology Essays AP Biology Essays AP Biology Essays While AP biology essays writing is different from other academic assignments; there are several rules common for all essays.   For example, AP biology essays should follow the standard format including abstract, outline, introduction, background, analysis, discussion, and conclusion.   Read the following short sample of AP biology essay and pay attention to the structure of paragraphs. More samples can be read in our free writing guide. If you need help with writing your AP biology essays, do not hesitate to request our writing assistance. writers will write a perfect AP biology essay for you from scratch and in accordance to the instructions. AP Biology Essay Sample Any investigation relating to natural beings needs some way of distinguishing each one of them in such a manner as to avoid confusion with the countless others which Dame Nature brings to our notice. Natural History ought therefore to possess as a basic tool some "Natural System" or comprehensive list containing an agreed name for every single being, thus enabling it to be identified by reference to its distinctive features. As no living organism is entirely simple in its character, it is insufficient to try to distinguish it merely by one single feature of its make-up. We must therefore, nearly always, rely on a combination of several distinct features if we wish to differentiate any particular individual from its fellows, which latter may in part, if not entirely, through their very similarity show traits pertaining to the first specimen. In a like manner, such original sample may present characters common to itself as well as to all the others and will then be distinguishable only through those features not possessed by the remainder. Some beings are very closely related to one another in the biological sense and possess many characters in common, whilst others show far less a degree of similarity in detail. The larger the quantity of beings requiring identification, the greater the number of characters will it be necessary to take into consideration, even perhaps down to the point of making a complete and exhaustive specification of every single detail of the living form. This state of affairs necessitates the setting-up of divisions and subdivisions. As mentioned above, some individuals will show a large number of features in common, and may then be grouped together as a genus, wherein differences in detail are slight. The genera will then have to be classified and, repeating the operation, closely related genera will be combined to form an order. Similarly, orders related in rank will form a class. All this implies some framework and method, and nothing could be more suitable than the "Natural Method," that is to say, an arrangement showing us how individual members of one particular genus are more like each other than to members of other genera, and how the genera of a particular order are more alike to each other than to those of other orders, and so on. This is the system towards which Natural History must necessarily tend, since obviously if an exact system of classification can be attained, the complete portrayal of Nature will have been achieved. AP Biology Essay Writing Service Writing AP biology essays is not easy because you have to be able to put your thoughts on the paper and possess sufficient understanding of the topic. Biology is a science and, therefore, you should adapt scientific approach to writing AP biology essays.   If you do not want to spend hours researching and reading, you have a perfect opportunity to get a custom written AP biology essay.   Contact us and we will write your AP biology essay within any deadline of your choice! No plagiarism! Custom written essays and papers are free of plagiarism and meet your requirements.

BETH ANN FARAGHER, PETITIONER v. CITY OF BOCA RATON Case Study

BETH ANN FARAGHER, PETITIONER v. CITY OF BOCA RATON - Case Study Example This therefore puts them in a position that they can abuse by practising acts that can be termed as abusive and therefore call for legal intervention. In our case the city is claimed to be unaware of the actions of two of its employees-Terry and Silverman who were sued for subjecting the petitioner-Faragher and other female lifeguards to the unwelcome and uninvited touches and abusive language that they were using. Among the allegations, Terry had said that he would never promote a woman to the rank of a Lieutenant and in another occasion, Silverman had warned Faragher that she should date him or she would clean the toilets for a year (Legal Information Institute). Silverman being in a position to allocate duties to the lifeguards, had the power to execute that threat. This therefore calls for the intervention of the law as the powers he uses are bestowed to him by the agency that has hired him and set him to the rank that he is in. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida handled the case where Faragher had sued the city. It established that during the time that that Faragher was working with the city, Terry was serving as the Chief of the Marine Safety division and he had authority to supervise all aspects of the life guards’ assignments, engage in counselling and deliver oral reprimands while putting into record such an occurrence. At that moment, Silverman was serving in the position of marine safety lieutenant. The city had a sexual harassment policy that was drafted on February 1986. This was revised in 1990 and a restatement reissued. However, Terry, Silverman and Gordon were unaware of it. This put the responsibility of their actions at an individual level as the city had already drafted a policy in regard to sexual harassment. The court made a conclusion that the conduct of Terry and Silverman could be cause a hostile working environment for Faragher. The court therefore

The Awareness of Mental Health among the American Public Essay

The Awareness of Mental Health among the American Public - Essay Example The total number of death cases in the Civil War is almost the same as the death cases in almost all other wars combined. Furthermore, more than one out of every five white men who participated in the war died (Vinovskis 1990, as cited in Costa n.d.). Studies about the prisoners of war (POWs) during World War II and the Korean War also suggest that they have higher risks of death from diseases involving the heart and greater prevalence rates or neurological and psychological disorders (Beebe 1980, as cited in Costa n.d.). The baby boomers, on the other hand, are so concerned with their health that herbal medicine's popularity increased significantly in the last decade. The television and magazines are full of advertisements about alternative ways to fight diseases, maintain good body resistance, and most importantly, aging. But what about mental health Is the American public so busy about hiring nurses from third world countries to attend to the health needs of the veterans of war Or are we busier in finding better ways to prevent aging How was the public's awareness of mental health different from the pre-war period "The mental health system in the United States has moved well beyond the official ignorance that prevailed in the 1970s and now recognizes PTSD as a diagnosable disorder. Armed with this diagnosis and prodded by veterans, rape victims, and survivors of genocide, we have begun to appreciate the profound and sometimes irreversible changes produced by overwhelming stress. These include fundamental alterations in perception, cognition, behavior, emotional reactivity, brain function, personal identity, worldview, and spiritual beliefs." (Freidman 2005). The previous passage may have been an answer. The world wars taught us so much about mental disorders: PTSD and other trauma, amnesia, psychosis among others. Before, psychologists who were treating veterans who were traumatized a decade or two after their war experiences did not worry that the certain mental illness the veterans may have has a stigma attached to it. Such stigma usually prevents disclosure of PTSD symptoms, thus, makes treatment and therapy difficult, or worse, impossible. Today, psychologists look at every aspect in which the environment or the society might affect a traumatized person directly, or via stigmas (Friedman 2005). From cases of mental disorders acquired by the veterans and victims of war, the awareness of mental health problems spread to the other sectors of the public. We now recognize that experiences need not be as grave as a genocide in order to worry about PTSD or other mental disorder. Other kinds of events like accidents, abuse, and disasters may also cause mental disorders. However, it seems illogical that we do not to pay as much attention to mental health as we do on beauty and anti-aging products. Yes, we may have progressed in terms of psychological treatment and research, and yes, we have increased awareness on mental health, but what is lacking is the promotion of mental health, especially to citizens of lower socio-economic status. We know very well that the elite can afford psychiatrists and psychologists, and there are many of them around. What about the common man Why isn't there a single television advertisement on mental health, or at least