Effects of Computer Gaming Essay

Technology nowadays has brought man to an era of digital and advanced world of computers. Not only are computers used in studies, research and work, it is now being used as part of leisure and entertainment. Most of the youth today know how computers work and even a 3 year old child who is still yet to learn how to read and write knows how to operate a simple computer. This is because the interactive element of a lot of software that computers use excites and attract children and this makes them learn to use and play with the computers. (Jones, 2002) Advancement in technology has drastically changed man’s way of living which has been made easier for most. It has come from diskette to very portable and stylish mini USB, from the ancient â€Å"three point eleven† personal computers with big and bulky monitors and CPUs to very user friendly touch screen-tablet PCs, and from limited Nintendo games like Mario brothers to a bunch of online and offline games like Dota, Counter Strike, Angry Birds, and Fruit Ninja etc. Such kind of improvements has led today’s generation to learning more of what life has to offer through the use of modern technologies like computers. Schools now facilitate teaching and learning through the use of computers. By the use of this kind of technology, learning is now more fun and a lot easier. Application of modern technology like computer-assisted teaching-learning on student’s aims to provide faster learning and ease of teaching and also provide the students of the advanced technology that they need to experience inside the classroom, and which they can apply when they are out of school. Since computer has a lot to offer to its users, it is also being used as entertainment and leisure and computer gaming being the most popular. There are lots of computer games that enhance the thinking abilities of students because of its gaming nature and environment like strategic gaming, word puzzles, etc. With this fact, learning through computer gaming helps students be more willing to study and learn more because, they are not just playing, they are also learning. The use of multimedia in education has significantly changed people’s learning processes. Results from a number of research studies indicate that appropriately designed multimedia instruction enhances students’ learning performance in science, mathematics, and literacy (Gee, 2003). Previous studies indicate that computer-assisted instruction programs have important factors that can motivate, challenge, increase curiosity and control, and promote fantasy in children (Tzeng, 1999). Despite the fact that computer and video games have the same multimedia capability as computer assisted instruction programs, their potential learning impact is often discounted by parents and educators. While computer gaming is regarded somewhat negative in educational settings, particularly for young students, re-scrutinizing of its influence in a teaching and learning context is vital since computer gaming can also be an education-assisted-program with proper implementation and application. While others confirm the negative effects of computer gaming to students’ performance in school and student’s health and mental ability, some authors argue that there are positive outcomes that a player can gain while playing computer video games. A research published in the Australasian Journal of Educational technology found that students who play computer and video games more frequently get lower grades than those who do not. However, it is also included in the research the positive effect of this activity to students as far as some specific video games are concerned which promote some elements that increases learning. On an online article entitled by Charles Pearson (2009) â€Å"Positive Effects of Computer Games on Student Achievement†, the author enumerated five positive significant effects of computer gaming to students. These include enhancing one’s problem solving capability, time and resource management, strategic life management skills, educational games promoting learning, and inherent instructional nature helps students to hone mastery skills. Playing video games needs a sharp mind and an alert reflexes because most of the games require thinking quickly to be able to achieve the games’ goal. According to a blog site on the web authored by Manali Oak (2009) which has an article entitled Positive Effects of Video Games states that since video gaming is interactive, it boosts the ability of one person to use his mind and hence, develops the thinking ability of the person playing. The author also said that video gaming is surely better than watching television as video games are interactive. In addition to what Manali Oak added that playing video games help benefit person with inferiority complex and lack of self confidence as they are experiencing sense of participation and a sense of achievement thus, building his self confidence. An excellent summary of the scant research that has been conducted is by Barlett, Anderson, and Swing (2009) on their research book Video game effects confirmed, suspected, and speculative: A review of the evidence. They reviewed the evidences for video game effects and grouped them into categories of confirmed, suspected, and speculative. By â€Å"confirmed,† the authors mean that the outcomes have received consistent empirical support for causal claims. They describe two such confirmed positive outcomes: (1) Playing video games can result in superior visual attention and (2) Video game play improves the ability to mentally rotate or arrange objects. They point out that the research shows that both violent and non-violent video games produce these positive effects. They also observed that educational video games and simulators can teach specific educational skills and knowledge such as algebra, biology, photography, computer programming, and flight training. The evidence for this connection is provided by Gee (2007) and Shaffer (2006). However, most of the games that they discuss are not commercially available. Perhaps such games will be developed and distributed more widely in the future. In the meantime, the evidence shows that video games can enhance learning if they are designed properly for that purpose. Another study tackled the good and bad effects of video games to children conducted by the Raise Smart Kids Organization. The study enumerated the positive effects of video games to children. Following instructions, problem solving and logic, hand-eye coordination, fine motor and spatial skills, resource management and logistics, multitasking, quick thinking and making fast analysis and decision, inductive reasoning and hypothesis testing are among those which enumerated by the author about the positive effects of video gaming. In addition, the article also included that video games can improve one’s decision making speed. People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study from the University of Rochester. Other studies suggests that most expert gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second—four times faster than most people, and can pay attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared to only four by the average person. Surprisingly, the violent action games that often worry parents most had the strongest beneficial effect on the brain, according to cognitive neuroscientist Daphne Bavelier, who studied the effect of action games at Switzerland’s University of Geneva and the University of Rochester in New York. Moving from the early years, the effects of socialization become more entrenched. In an article published in The Journal of Educational Computing, A. Colley (1994) reported that masculine gender role traits are associated with a more positive computer attitude and that there is a gender stereotype of science in general being masculine. According to Sax (2007) his book â€Å"Boys Adrift: The five factors driving the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and underachieving young men† where he drew one fact well established by his conducted research revealed that violent video games cause aggressive behavior in the players. He argues that video games are so addictive that they satisfy the male need to power and control. It is evident in the country like the Philippines that the most popular computer games that the youth play in the computers are Dota, San Andreas, Counter Strike among others which are clearly promoting violence and aggression through its war and battle depiction. It can in effect, influence the youth as they play those kind of games which depict war, blood, killing, shooting etc. In a book by Barlett, Anderson, and Swing (2009) entitled Video Game Effects Confirmed, Suspected, and Speculative: A Review of the Evidence, it has stated that the â€Å"confirmed† negative effects of video games established by the research include aggressive thoughts and behavior, physiological arousal, and antisocial behavior. It was also explained that there are two variables that heighten the effects of computer games. One is depiction of blood, which results in higher levels of physiological arousal, aggressive feelings, and aggressive thoughts. Another is rewarding of violent acts, which also increases these effects. Since most of the computer games depicts violence, what they conceive in the monitors of their computers in the games that they are playing are somewhat becoming part of their reality. In an article on a eHow.com by Sarah Arnette (2011) entitled The Negative Effects of Computer Gaming on Students, the author enumerated four negative effects of computer gaming on students. She used the General Aggression Model (GAM) developed by Craig Anderson and Douglas Gentile in conducting the study that helped the author come up with the results. The results showed the negative effects include short term aggression, lack of problem solving thinking ability, weight gain, and anti social behaviors. It is regarded that the negative effects of playing video games does not only affect the player’s mental ability but as well as that concerning their health and socialization. Computer gaming also affects the behavior of the players and on how they relate with other people. A study by Argosy University’s Minnesota School on Professional Psychology found out that game addicts argue a lot with their teachers, fight a lot with their friends, and score lower grades than others who play video games less often. Performance in class may be negatively affected due to significant time spent in playing video games. Studies conducted by Anderson and Dill (2000) and one that was conducted by Gentile, Lynch and Walsh (2004) show that the more a person spends playing video games, the poorer is his performance in school. Computer gaming can also affect the health of the players. According to an online article entitled â€Å"the good and bad effects of video games† (2011), online gaming may also have bad effects on one’s health including obesity, video-induced seizures and postural, muscular and skeletal disorders such as tendonitis, nerve compression, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Conceptual Framework This study was based on a recent study conducted by Barlett, Anderson, and Swing (2009) and a study by the Raise Smart Kid organization which stated that there are confirmed positive and negative effects of computer gaming on studies of students who play the computer. Barlett, Anderson, and Swing stated that the â€Å"confirmed† negative effects of video games established by the research include aggressive thoughts and behavior, physiological arousal, and antisocial behavior On the other hand, Raise Smart Kid organization stated the good and bad effects of video games to. The article enumerated the positive effects of video games to children: following instructions, problem solving and logic, hand-eye coordination, fine motor and spatial skills, resource management and logistics, multitasking, quick thinking and making fast analysis and decision, inductive reasoning and hypothesis testing. Using the results of the study conducted by Barlett, Anderson, and Swing in 2009 and the study by the Raise Smart Kids Org as basis, this study aims to find out what effects do computer gaming have particularly on students of Business Administration of the College of the Immaculate Conception and enumerate both the positive and negative effects of the said activity on their studies and personal behavior.

Creature of culture Essay

â€Å"If man created culture then how can man be a creature of culture?† There are millions of people on this planet, and part of anthropology is to categorize these millions into smaller, well-defined groups. These groups are divided based on language, country of residence, race and other characteristics, which differentiate one group of people from another. They are labeled as cultures, and characterized by many anthropologists as having a set of learned behaviors, morals, customs and ideas that they share as members of a particular society (Grolier’s Encyclopedia, 1998). The problem is that cultures are diverse, population move in and out of countries bringing the influences of other cultures. A single country may vary from border to border due to the influences of its neighbors. There are also variations in culture, which depend on class or caste. In the movie Caste at Birth it is established that an individual cannot change their caste, and although status is socially defined, the relative importance of that status is a matter of opinion. Factors such as environment or an individual event can change aspects of culture. Furthermore, there is no definition that would successfully demonstrate that man is a creature of culture. Language and communication are critical elements in a culture. Through the use of language, we express our beliefs, expectations and standards. A person cannot fully understand a culture without fully understanding the language of that culture. Essentially, without fully understanding a language, or by speaking variations of the same language, one will experience the culture differently and may create a sub-culture of beliefs. These beliefs may be close, but not identical to those of the greater population. Since social identity is learned through language, individuals who speak Gaelic regularly are going to establish a social identity that varies with those who speak English. In the aforementioned definition of culture, emphasis has been placed on the word â€Å"shared†, but clearly not all individuals share the same learned behaviors and ideas. Education and communication are often interrelated with many other factors, such as class. In every culture, education is directly related to class. Simply put, the higher classes have better education. Evidently, communication is key to understanding and interpreting the norms  and concepts of any given culture. Since there are so many different levels on which individuals can communicate, it is not feasible that everyone is learning the same behaviors and ideas, even when they are immersed in the same culture. Individuals in a culture share many similar behaviors beyond those, which are innate, however, there are always exceptions. Such instances are the behaviors of an individual who is mentally challenged or those of a criminal. The behaviors of a criminal break social rules, and as a result, they are punished. Some of these behaviors are psychological, but others are learned. Not everyone in a culture is treated identically by peers and caregivers. It was previously mentioned that education differs from one class to the next. It is not only institutionalized education that differs, but also the learning that goes on through the performance of daily tasks. Human beings are social creatures and individual’s behaviors and ideas develop through socializing with a variety of sources on a daily basis. Humans are not born knowing who they are, they have the ability to change and interact with their environment to become all different kinds of people depending on their culture.

Sustainability of Toyota Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Sustainability of Toyota - Assignment Example In the year2006, World Conservation Union has introduced three verticals of sustainability including environmental, social and economic. The three verticals represent three pillars or three embedded circles which are overlapping to each other. The following are the two models which include several elements in social, economic and environmental scenarios. These models are static models which give limited information; however, these are pretty powerful to a wide range of audience (Tododrov & Marinova, 2009). Another similar model has been developed by IUCN. Back in the year 2000, Hart developed a sustainability framework encompassing the evaluating indicators. According to him, the sustainability indicating elements would be those signs which reflect the company’s responsibilities towards the development of social, economic and environmental aspects leading to the company’s sustainable growth and profitability. Another set of driving forces can relate to the emerging technologies which can provide the strong and adverse effect on the existence of energy as well as material intensive industry sectors. Economic sustainability is carrying out sustainability development in a financially feasible way. Toyota is a leading automotive company with its operation spread across the globe. Toyota has its own fundamental policy to establish its sustainability in the business. The emphasis has been on the incorporate accurate and detailed data and information to evaluate the different aspects to achieve the sustainable development. In this section, SWOT analysis of Toyota has been discussed to assess the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities of this leading automobile firm. The company has established an integrated quality information system for the customer complaint management through the information gathering from the distributors, dealers and more other sources.  

Energy Sources of the Future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Energy Sources of the Future - Essay Example Three of these include solar power, wind power and biomass. Solar Power Solar power, or solar energy, is a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Solar power comes from the sun through the use of solar panels that contain solar or photovoltaic cells. In fact, one square meter of solar panel can generate as much as 100 watts of electricity (â€Å"Solar Power†). Once used only to power satellites, the solar panel is now used to generate power for houses and companies. Aside from the use of solar panels, solar power can also be used to heat water using glass panels on the roof. This powers up the home’s central heating system (â€Å"Solar Power†). Moreover, a third type of machine that utilizes solar power is a solar furnace. The huge array of mirrors in a solar furnace is used to concentrate all the sunlight into a small space in order to produce an extremely high temperature of heat. Solar furnaces may be used for scientific experiments. There are also solar-powered electric boats and solar towers. (â€Å"Solar Power†) On the subject of availability and renewability, solar power may be advantageous as it basically â€Å"needs no fuel† and is renewable as long as the sun shines (â€Å"Solar Power†). ... Even if only 2.5% of this radiation is converted into electricity, it would be enough for the total energy consumption of the whole nation in a year (Zweibel et al., University of Colorado). Another related development in the utilization of solar energy is the very recent invention of the nanocone-based solar cell. This particular type of solar cell, which boosts the light conversion efficiency of traditional solar cells by a whopping 80%, is in fact a result of the â€Å"minimization of defects and voids in semiconductors† (â€Å"New Solar Cell,† ScienceDaily). This property alone enhances electric and optical properties of the solar cell in order to convert sunlight to electric power more efficiently, thus increasing its availability while maximizing its utilization. Perhaps the only disadvantage of solar power is that, unless stored, it does not work at night and may be very expensive to build. (â€Å"Solar Power†) When it comes to environmental impact, solar power does not produce any pollution or waste (â€Å"Solar Power†). According to the Union of Concerned Scientists in the United States, primary environmental issues associated with solar power concerns only â€Å"how [solar power systems] are manufactured, installed, and ultimately disposed of† (â€Å"Environmental Impacts,† UCSUSA.org). Arsenic, silicon and cadmium are the major elements used in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells and are therefore hazardous to workers and anyone else who comes in contact with the solar panels. Safety regulations should therefore be strictly kept. Moreover, solar-thermal plants require cooling water, which may be costly or scarce in the southwest United States where the area is more

ASSIGNMENT 1-POLSC 440 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ASSIGNMENT 1-POLSC 440 - Essay Example The constituent states of Yugoslavia on the other hand were determined to ensure that they pursued their own nationalist agenda through the acquisition of complete independence from Belgrade. Many of the individuals in these states felt that they were marginalized in the Serb dominated Yugoslavia and wanted to ensure that their own interests were protected and to achieve this, they all wished to have their own independence. The war which developed as a result, especially after the coming to power of Slobodan Milosevic as the Yugoslav president, was extremely complex with many of those involved included the members of various ethnic groups either making alliances or fighting against each other to ensure that they achieved their aims and objectives, however obscure they were. When these wars finally came to an end in the late 1990s, they left the successor states of Yugoslavia in dire economic hardships from which it took them years to recover. There is wide agreement, however, that th e cause of the Yugoslav war was as a result of the development of Serbian nationalism in a state which was ethnically diverse hence the wars of self-determination that resulted. One would suggest that it was the Serbian religious mythology, extreme nationalism, and racist theories which contributed to the occurrence of the war in Yugoslavia. ... The Serbians were the dominant people within the Yugoslav federation and if this state were to collapse, then they would be the biggest losers since their influence over the other ethnic groups in the federation. After Slobodan Milosevic became the Serb leader and by default the leader of the Yugoslav federation in 1987 after a difficult struggle against more powerful member of his party, he encouraged Serb nationalism not only in Serbia but also in the other states in which large Serb communities lived (Vladisavljevic 183). When Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 these three states came to be recognized at the international level and this did not sit well with the government in Belgrade. In the same year as these states declared their independence, there followed fierce fighting between the mainly Serb Yugoslavian army and Croatia in Belgrade’s attempt to hang on to some of the territories in Croatia and when this was not successful , it turned its attention to territory in Bosnia. A sign of the escalation of war took place in 1992 when the Serb army started shelling the National Library of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo and in the process, over a million books, more than a hundred thousand manuscripts and rare books, and centuries of historical records were destroyed. Many historians who have studied this period consider this move to have been a systematic campaign of cultural eradication. In one of the events that took place during the war, Serb troops and paramilitary units descended on the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia and began shelling it besieging civilians within it. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the town which consisted of French

Self-efficacy, Adherence and Education program Assignment

Self-efficacy, Adherence and Education program - Assignment Example Additionally, a summary of the findings of the studies is provided together with a proposed idea to address a gap noted after analysis of the studies. Four variables; social support, job presence or absence, the stage of attitude change regarding exercise behaviour and farm work participation, or non-participation; accounted 34% of levels of physical activity in the patients N= 119 patients for 4 recommendations of treatment: exercise, diet, self-monitoring of blood glucose, and oral intake of medication, in correlation with the questionnaire of â€Å"resistance to treatment† and Self-Care of Heart Failure Index Some of the aims of the studies were similar while in some studies, the aims and purpose of the studies were varied: ranging from evaluating the effectiveness of self-efficacy program, investigating the factors which lead to increased physical activity in the improvement of glycemia control in diabetes mellitus patients, and investigating the role of patient education n in enhancement of self management ability] and behavior as well as self-care (Karakurt et al, 2012) An analysis of the research literature shows that the research is current. The time span ranges from 2009 to 2014.This review of self-efficacy and medical adherence of diabetes includes 5 research studies. Each of the journals has different authors: No author appears to have contributed in writing more than one journal (Moriyam, 2009). The following is an in-depth analysis based on the details of each journal; starting with the most recent, as is presented in the table above. 1. Murano, I., Asakawa, Y.,Mizukami, M., Imai, T., Shimizu, K., & Takihara, J. (2014). Factors Increasing Physical Activity Levels in Diabetes Mellitus: A Survey of Patients after an Inpatient Diabetes Education Program. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 26 (6), 695-9. Subjects eligible for this study were recruited from type 2 diabetes mellitus patients receiving

Readings In Social Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Readings In Social Science - Essay Example Through adapting these works toward the social commentary of the day, we find that in the same article of work by The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy is that â€Å"Mill's defense of the view that we ought to pursue happiness because we do pursue happiness, has been the object of savage attack by, among others, F. H. Bradley in his Ethical Studies 1874 and G. E. Moore in Principia Ethica 1903.† This would be aptly served by the situation of today’s social policies in that it seems quite apparent in how his insight many years ago would have been a service to those governing today. â€Å"But others have argued that on this particular point, Mill was misinterpreted by his critics. His insistence that happiness was to be assessed not merely by quantity but by quality - the doctrine that a dissatisfied Socrates is not only better than a satisfied fool but somehow happier, too - has puzzled generations of commentators† (Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy). Taking the abo ve statement into consideration, it would be evident that the social system of governance that is clearly applicable today has been influenced partly in what Mill parlayed in his writings. It is a mandate of the social reformists to make society economically grounded through necessity and not indulgence. Adding to the fears of the time and how America was starting to engage in over-indulgences brought on by the industrial revolution, â€Å"Mill feared that it was also a society that cared nothing for individual liberty.†... Adding to the fears of the time and how America was starting to engage in over-indulgences brought on by the industrial revolution, "Mill feared that it was also a society that cared nothing for individual liberty." (Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy). This thinking would lead to a lack of "civil liberties" as Mill quoted in his writings On Liberty written in 1859. Through the lack of civil liberties "Mill lays down "one very simple principle" to govern the use of coercion in society - and by coercion he means both legal penalties and the operation of public opinion" (Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy) and through this analogy Mill points out that society needs to follow the utilitarian viewpoint on self-discretion and self-denial. Utilitarianism and Its Impact Utilitarianism is defined by the Bentham ideology a "a moral theory according to which an action is right if and only if it conforms to the principle of utility." (Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy) This basically means that an action is only correct in its definition if it relates to the consequences of that action. It is perceived that happiness of self applies to the welfare of self and utilitarian law implicates that happiness equates to the welfare of those best affected. The application of the word utilitarianism has been replaced by consequentialism by devotees of the movement. Mill's Theories of Influence It is apparent early philosophers had a great deal of influence over Mill and his social rhetoric on his viewpoints about social reform, but, there are those who have been guided by Mill themselves which include such individuals as: John Rawls, Robert Nozick, Karl Popper, Ronald Dworkin, H.L.A. Hart, Peter Singer. One such individual, John Rawls, was such a profound philosopher with respect

Federal Reserve Board Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Federal Reserve Board - Essay Example But when we talk about of United States which is world's largest economy then the monetary policy of the country also expands its impact on in form of economic and financial effects on other countries of the world. In shortest possible definition the main objective of a monetary policy is to look into various aspects of the economy of a nation ranging from inflation; economic output; to employment. The working of it could be understood by way it affects the demand i.e., is being parameterized in form of people's and firms' current tendency towards expenditure and spending on goods and services. In United States the Monetary policy matters relate to it are all conducted by the Federal Reserve System which is the central bank of America and the form of influences it makes on demand is mainly by raising and lowering of short-term interest rates (Dennisy, 2007). The responsibility of conducting a monetary policy lies in the hand of Fed's FOMC or Federal Open Market Committee. The FOMC comprises of 12 members out of which the seven members are from the board of Governors; the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the rest four are the other Reserve Bank Presidents who occupy the seat in rotation. The Committee meets eight times a year in Washington, D.C. The remaining Reserve Bank Presidents provides all necessary inputs to the Committee's discussions on various issues. The Directors of each Reserve Bank has their own defined duty in form of contributions through recommendations about discount rates (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 2004). Federal Open Market Committee in 2007 The FOMC amended its policy related to the Authorization for Domestic Open Market Operations on January 30, 2007 and directed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York so that various domestic policy directives could be adopted. The Bank has now been authorized to buy or sell U.S. Government Securities from or to securities dealers and foreign and international accounts maintained at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This includes buying and selling of U.S. Government securities and obligations that are in direct obligations of, or have been fully guaranteed to principal and interest by, any agency of the United States, from dealers for the account of the System Open Market with process being competitive bidding. The authorization has been further expanded to ensure the conduct of open market operations through lending government securities to dealers to be determined by competitive bidding. The bank will also act as an assisting agent for foreign and international accounts maintaine d in the bank for short-term investments (The Federal Reserve Board, 2007). The FOMC while considering the necessity to carry out the various foreign currency directives has asked the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for System Open Markets Account. The bank has been granted further permission to purchase and selling of some foreign currencies in the form of cable transactions on the open market at home and abroad with foreign monetary authorities, with Bank of International Settlements, and with other international financial institutions. The currencies which have been considered for above mentioned transactions are Canadian Dollars, Danish Kroner, Euro, Pounds Sterling, Japanese Yen, Mexican Pesos, Norwegian Kroner, Swedish Kronor and Swiss

Teaching as an Act of Love Essay Example for Free

Teaching as an Act of Love Essay Antonia Darder presents a portrait of why Freire’s work as an educator was so influential in creating an understanding of education as an art. Teaching truly became an art when educators like Freire began to understand the importance of education in the movement of social change. The presence of love in the classroom, the type of love that is lively, forceful, challenging, and inspiring was the type of love that Darder thought was a lasting influence that Freire had on the field. She emphasized the conviction that Freire held in liberating students through education, he believed in the humanizing aspects of education. Freire believed that education was the tool for contributing to the human-ness of our political and economic existence as social beings. The article says that, â€Å"Freire exposed how even well-meaning teachers, through their lack of critical moral leadership, actually participate in disabling the heart, minds, and bodies of their students –an act that disconnects these students from the personal and social motivation required to transform their world and themselves† (498). The author argues that his greatest contribution to the field of education was his ability to be compassionate and his regard and concern for his students. The articles that we read this week discuss the concept of fear, but more importantly the ability to overcome and use the fear as a powerful force in the classroom. He said that it is the fear of freedom that affects the educator and creates a barrier in the classroom from the liberating practices that many educators believe are important. The way he describes the fear of freedom is the fear of being free from the status quo, the fear of the oppressed classes to realize a freedom from the oppressing classes. Freire thought that the experience of fear was a symbolic fight against the struggle that the liberating educators believe in. Freire said the experience of fear was important because it is a chance to recognize where the fear comes from, what it means, and how it can be used. He said that fear can be transformed into courage; the courage to make a move away from the status quo, our fear can be harnessed into a motivation. Teachers are affected personally by the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed; the dominant ideology has such an influence over the subordinate classes that it affects educators because of the fear that they hold within. Freire’s experiences with oppression developed his political purpose, he wanted to create a liberatory practice to challenge the conditions that limit the capacity in the oppressed class to change the world and right the wrongs of social injustice. Freire hoped that educators would confront their fears and use their beliefs about the social structure to teach liberating lessons and influence the future. He thought the way for educators to teach the lessons in which they believed in was to work together, he believed in the power of solidarity to empower a political movement. Freire wanted educators to network and work with one another to emancipate students from the social inequalities of our time, through networking they could empower one another and give force to their beliefs. Darder introduces the term praxis – she describes it as the union of action and reflection. The teacher needs to have the ability to practice both of these aspects of education; only through action and reflection of the importance of the act of teaching will the ideas of critical pedagogy be realized. Reflection: This article made me feel a little better about the issues that we have been reading about throughout this course. The tone of most of the readings thus far has been negative and has made me feel pessimistic about the future of the educational system. The issues that our reading assignments have discussed seem to run so deep in our social consciousness that there is little hope in reversing the trends of social inequality. This fear makes becoming a teacher seem dismal; if all we have to hold onto on our road to teaching is the notion that the patterns of inequality are getting worse and the elites are becoming more powerful how are we as teachers supposed to do anything at all to help our students and ourselves. I enjoyed this weeks reading selections because it brought a defining focus upon the fear that teachers experience and gave a bit of advice on how to use the fear as a powerful force. I believe that the fear that Freire spoke of is one that is shared by many educators. It is a fear that does not diminish with time or experience, on the contrary, it eats at you as you plan your lessons, as you teach your students, and it goes home with you and stays with you outside of the classroom. Freire’s thoughts on the ability of the educator to channel the fear of being fired or being targeted as a radical into a powerful force was inspiring. It was great how he took something negative and turned it into a tool that can be used in a positive way, he encouraged educators to talk about it and network with one another to begin to express their political views about education. He said, â€Å"Acting alone is the best way to commit suicide† (485) and he hoped that instead of acting alone, teachers would work together in their fight. He argued that education is political in nature and this implies that the educator is a political being. I plan to sit quietly at meetings only long enough to have enough people on my side to be able to be heard when I want to speak up on an issue. Freire used the phrase â€Å"rock the boat† in this weeks readings, I use the phrase â€Å"rock the boat† all the time and I even used it in a recent conversation with my administrator. I was able to talk to her informally about a discrepancy I was having with the other members of my teaching team, and I told her, â€Å"I didn’t want to rock the boat. † She looked at me, smiled and laughed as she said, â€Å"Rock the boat! Rock the boat! † I was lucky enough to choose the right battle in this case and my administrator was on my side, I am so glad I did not let the fear of confronting the issue consume me.

Slave Ship Essay Example for Free

Slave Ship Essay Rediker’s concern for the individual lived experiences of the participants in the trade is aided immensely by his command of the history of what life at sea is like. While scholars have been using the narrative of Olaudah Equiano to illuminate the experiences of enslavement for decades (Burnside and Robotham 1997), chapter 8 of The Slave Ship titled â€Å"The Sailor’s Vast Machine† contains a learned and astute description of work and suffering at sea. What sticks out is violence, and the shocking degree to which physical and emotional terror was used as a tool for control and psychosexual masochism. Rediker rightly points out that both captives and crew were being exploited by the captain, officers, and sponsors of slave ship voyages, without going so far as to suggest that the sailors somehow had it worse than the slaves. Far from it; Rediker makes clear the degree to which the nascent concept of â€Å"race† was lived out onboard, and relates truly debauched tales of rape, torture, concubinage, and murder of essentially helpless children. Anthropologically inclined readers will find much of interest in chapter 9 of Rediker’s book, titled â€Å"From Captives to Shipmates. The argument is of course not new; Mintz and Price raised it in the 1970’s as have others. In this chapter Rediker discusses favored anthropology themes such as resistance, revolt, music, dance, and other dimensions of the ethnogenesis of African-American culture. On page 305 he observes Slowly, in ways surviving documents do not allow us to see in detail, the idiom of kinship broadened, from immediate family to messes, to workmates, to friends, to countrymen and –women, to the whole of the lower deck. And in so observing, Rediker has given underwater archaeologists of the slave trade and the slave ship a research agenda. It’s an agenda with which I happen to agree and that I have discussed in greater detail elsewhere (McGhee 2007). Rediker ends his book with a discussion of the fight to end the slave trade and with the moving testimony of cast-off and dying sailors being cared for by enslaved people in Caribbean ports. He writes, â€Å"Theirs was the most generous and inclusive conception of humanity I discovered in the course of my research for this book. † I wonder what conceptions of humanity continue to motivate certain anti-treasure hunting nautical archaeologists. The Henrietta Marie and Fredensborg remain the two most representative archaeological examples of slave ships in existence. The former, first located in the water by Moe Molinar a Panamanian of African descent in the employ of treasure hunter Mel Fisher, is particularly important. Yet it took an African-American recreational SCUBA diving club, the National Association of Black SCUBA Divers, to denote and demonstrate that shipwreck’s importance and to bring its significance to wide attention. Properly trained nautical archaeologists still won’t publicly touch that wreck with a ten-foot pole.