Alzheimer’s disease Essay Example Essay Example

Alzheimer’s disease Essay Example Paper Alzheimer’s disease Essay Introduction This specific instance is about Eli Lilly developing a new drug which is said to cure Alzheimer’s disease. However, when patients started taking the drug, their condition even regressed. Moreover, they risked developing skin cancer. Although there are various aspects involved here, the problem that this paper will address is that of ethical practices. Lilly obviously conducted laboratory tests which proved successful. When they tested the drug in real people with Alzheimer’s, they realized that it’s not working and it’s even contributing to a worse case of Alzheimer’s. But what could have been done in order to prevent this type of scenario? The next question here is, to what degree must human testing be done in order to serve the common good? Given that the experiment was successful, the next the Lilly will do is to mass produce and manufacture this drug and sell it to people with Alzheimer’s. But now that it turned wrong, were the experiment participants insured before the experimentation began? Should the experts considered stopping the experimentation when the first few symptoms of regression appeared? Lilly is a global pharmaceutical plant leading in most researches to discover new medications for various types of disease. However, in this particular experimentation procedure, pharmaceutical ethics were not applied. There could be a â€Å"greater good† which needs to be attained—even though it means sacrificing other people to do so. Anyway, since the experimentation was not successful and Lilly expressed that it will not continue the research on this drug anymore, then goals were not met. Alzheimer’s disease Essay Body Paragraphs There was no wonder Alzhemier’s drug that was created and it even caused more suffering both to the Alzheimer’s patients who tested the medication and their family. Bibliography Kolata, G. (2010, August 18). Doubt on Tactic in Alzheimer’s Battle. Retrieved August 21, 2010, from http://www. nytimes. com/2010/08/19/health/19alzheimers. html? _r=1ref=health Appendix A Doubt on Tactic in Alzheimer’s Battle By GINA KOLATA Published: August 18, 2010 The failure of a promising Alzheimer’s drug in clinical trials highlights the gap between diagnosis — where real progress has recently been made — and treatment of the disease. It was not just that the drug, made by Eli Lilly, did not work — maybe that could be explained by saying the patients’ illness was too far advanced when they received it. It was that the drug actually made them worse, the company said. And the larger the dose they took, the worse were patients’ symptom s of memory loss and inability to care for themselves. Not only that, the drug also increased the risk of skin cancer. So when Lilly announced on Tuesday that it was ending its large clinical trials of that drug, semagacestat, researchers were dismayed. â€Å"Obviously, this is disappointing news, to say the least,† said Dr. Steven Paul, an Alzheimer’s researcher and a recently retired executive vice president at Lilly. Beyond the setback for Lilly, the study raises questions about a leading hypothesis of the cause of Alzheimer’s and how to treat it. The idea, known as the amyloid hypothesis, says the disease occurs when a toxic protein, beta amyloid, accumulates in the brain. The idea is that if beta amyloid levels are reduced, the disease might be slowed, halted or even prevented if treatment starts early enough. The Lilly drug, like most of the more than 100 Alzheimer’s drugs under development, blocks an enzyme, gamma secretase, needed to make beta amy loid. It was among the first shown to breach the blood-brain barrier and reduce levels of beta amyloid in the brain. And, company studies showed, it did reduce amyloid production. â€Å"We did get enough in the brain to have an effect,† said Dr. Eric Siemers, medical director of Lilly’s Alzheimer’s disease team. â€Å"Unfortunately, the effect was not what we wanted. † Now researchers are focused on what went wrong, and why. Some, like Dr. Lon Schneider, an Alzheimer’s researcher at the University of Southern California, say the drug’s failure may mean the field is rushing off a cliff in its near single-minded focus on blocking the production of amyloid. Dr. Schneider, like most leading Alzheimer’s researchers, consults for a number of drug companies, including Lilly. The Lilly study’s failure, he said, â€Å"chips away at that approach to testing the amyloid hypothesis. † â€Å"We don’t know what the drug target s for Alzheimer’s disease are,† Dr. Schneider said. â€Å"We don’t know because we don’t know the causes of Alzheimer’s. † At the very least, said Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, an Alzheimer’s researcher at Duke University, the Lilly result â€Å"clearly tells us that our current views may be too simplistic. † Dr. Doraiswamy said he was not abandoning the amyloid hypothesis. But, he said, â€Å"this is a time of major soul-searching in the field. † â€Å"What worries me is that we don’t know if this was a toxicity unique to Lilly’s drug and this late-stage population or whether it also applies to similar anti-amyloid therapies given at earlier stages of the disease,† Dr. Doraiswamy said. The bad news came on the heels of what researchers see as a resurgence of hope in this challenging field. With new cooperation in research they have made advances in diagnosing Alzheimer’s, a disease that used to be uncertain until autopsy. And those new diagnostic tests are still exciting, researchers said. PET scans of amyloid plaques in the brain and tests of cerebrospinal fluid can show amyloid accumulation long before people have symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and, as recently reported, appear to identify people at high risk of the disease. Researchers believe the best time to try to alter the course of the disease is before memory loss. By then, brain cells are dead or dying and are unlikely to be restored. At this point, though, when there is no treatment, those tests are primarily a benefit for companies testing new therapies and researchers trying to understand the disease’s progress. . The long journey of semagacestat began more than a decade ago when Lilly scientists discovered it could block gamma secretase in laboratory experiments. Years of work followed, showing it appeared safe, that it got into the brains of people, that it reduced the production of amyloid in t he brain. Finally, in 2008, Lilly began two large studies of semagacestat, enrolling more than 2,600 people with Alzheimer’s disease. The company did not expect its drug to reverse the disease — patients’ brains were too ravaged for that, said Richard Mohs, Lilly’s team leader in Alzheimer’s research. But it did hope to slow the disease’s progression. Now, with the abrupt end of the studies, patients will continue to be followed but no one will be taking any more of the drug. â€Å"The fact that people got worse means there is biology we don’t understand,† Dr. Mohs said. There are several possible explanations. One is that the drug altered the functioning of other proteins in the brain and body — it now appears that gamma secretase is involved in the production of about 20 proteins in addition to beta amyloid. Companies, including Lilly, are developing drugs that block gamma secretase from making amyloid but have little effect on other proteins. One company, Bristol-Myers Squibb, says that is what its drug does. Its drug is now being tested in two clinical trials. In one, the participants have Alzheimer’s. In the other, they have lesser memory impairment and have brain amyloid PET scans and tests of cerebrospinal fluid showing amyloid is accumulating in their brains, indicating that they are likely to develop Alzheimer’s. â€Å"We still like the amyloid hypothesis,† said Charlie Albright, a Bristol-Myers group director in neuroscience biology. The Lilly drug failure â€Å"doesn’t affect our enthusiasm about going forward. † Another possibility is that the enzyme is decreasing production not just of a dangerous form of amyloid, known as a beta 42, but also of another form, a beta 40, that may protect the brain. Companies are developing so-called selective gamma secretase inhibitors, Dr. Paul said, which only block the production of a beta 42. Lilly and other compan ies are also testing monoclonal antibodies to reduce amyloid levels. And companies are pursuing a more difficult target — blocking a protein, tau, that accumulates in dead and dying nerve cells after the disease is under way. But Alzheimer’s experts worry about the future. The research is extremely expensive — Lilly spent hundreds of millions of dollars on its failed drug — and it can take a decade or more to know if a drug works. It can take even longer if drugs are tested in people with mild symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or in people who are at high risk but have no symptoms yet — a direction many think is necessary to really make a difference. â€Å"Failures certainly don’t build energy and enthusiasm,† said Dr. Samuel Gandy, an Alzheimer’s researcher at Mount Sinai Medical Center. â€Å"The market is still there, but failures do take their toll. † A version of this news analysis appeared in print on August 1 9, 2010, on page A14 of the New York edition. 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buy custom The History of America essay

buy custom The History of America essay United States of America is also known as the U.S or U.S.A. It is a federal constitutional nation comprising of a federal district and fifty states. Washington D.C is the capital city and lies between Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, She is bordered by Mexico to the south and Canada to the North. The population of America is constituted of over 310 million people and one of the largest ethnically diverse and multicultural nations enabling her to be the world largest national economy (GDP $14.780). Her history starts with the declaration of independence in the year 1776. In the period (1866-1920) United States of America was served by 11 presidents: Andrew Johnson (1865-1869), Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877), Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881), James A. Garfield (1881), Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885), Grover Cleveland (1885-1889), Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893), Grover Cleveland (1893-1897), William McKinley (1897-1901), Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), William Howard Taft (1909-1913), Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921). These presidents highly contributed to the economic success of United States of America and enabled her to become very strong politically. Politics of U.S.A have been characterised by radical changes since independence when the president was George Washington (1789-1797). Normally a presidents term in U.S is supposed to be four years after which the electorate vote in another leader. The incumbent president is however eligible to participate in another election. U. has basically remained a two-party system from Independence although the relative positions of the two parties within the system changed dramatically in the mid-1990s. The two major parties: Democrats and Republican candidates experience stiff competition especially during presidential elections. Despite the two party system in United States of America some other minor parties in U.S.A emerge to compete during presidential elections but are short-lived due to the stiff competition from the already established two major parties e.g. Whig. In the years 1865-1920, the US became the leading industrial capitalist nation. There was nothing foreseeable about this growth. Two principal barriers blocked the way which arose from capitalism itself. These obstacles among them included the growing class of working people who had insisted on the sharing of the industrial production fruits and also the competiotion among existing firms which grew extreme. Following the civil war, capitalism in the United States marked a period of massive dynamism an growth. The US position in the production of food rose sharply from the fourth place to the first place in the world. Throughout this period, a number of wealthy fabulous individuals known as the robber barons, who concentrated mostly in the industry and banking sections and this created huge monopolies and years later they came to dominate the countrys ruling class; they controlled the economys height and became more dominant than governments and countries. . In the earliest industrialization phases, the American Industry was characterized by the local monopolies which were protected from competition with each other by the high cost of transportation. The 1873-1879 depression was the last crisis of the highly American competitive economy. Producers tried to keep output levels to respond to the falling prices. Nevertheless, industrial producers were able to protect their position in the market. In the years 1920, the farm labor wage rates reached their highest points in the history of the United States and this was attributed to the war conditions that were being experienced after 1896. The 1920 era embodied the beginning of the modern America and many Americans felt buoyed following the World War I in the years 1914-1918. At the beginning of the deafening twenties, conversion of the United States from Wartime to Peacetime economy was observed and since the World War 1 weapons were no longer required, there was a transitory freeze in the economy and following few years, the US prospered and it became the richest nation on earth and with it, a culture of consumerism was born. In conclusion, therefore, the fact that the US is a two party republic; Democrats and republicans is very interesting and in fact, this is what makes it unique politically. It is also evident from the discussion herewith that America has had much history to be remembered by the future generations. Buy custom The History of America essay

COM 8 Anti Drinking Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

COM 8 Anti Drinking Campaign - Essay Example .... 5 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...... 7 1 Com 8 Anti-Drinking Campaign Executive Summary Underage drinking is one of the major problems of our youth today. This paper aims to enlighten the readers on the increasing incidence of underage drinking among the young students. It will discuss the adverse consequences that underage drinking has on the youth. Furthermore, it will suggest ways on how schools can help in preventing underage drinking. The warning signs to look for in students who engage in underage drinking will be pinpointed to assist educators in identifying. 2 Facts and Statistics on Underage Drinking â€Å"Underage drinking is the use of alcohol by a person under the age of 21, the minimum legal age† (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (USDHHS, 2007). Underage drinking has now become a major health problem in the US and the statistics are quite alarming. According to the report of the Surgeon General, nearly 10.8 million youth, ages 12 to 20, are underage drinkers (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2007). ... The graph below illustrates this survey. 3 Consequences of Underage Drinking The consequences of underage drinking are very serious. In a study by the John Hopkins School of Public Health, it was approximated that about 5,000 people under age 21 die from alcohol-related injuries (The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY), 2010). Specifically, 1,900 or 38 percent of the 5,000 deaths are due to motor vehicle crashes; 1,600 or 32 percent result from homicides; and 300 or six percent result from suicides (CAMY, 2010). Aside from these disturbing figures, there are other serious consequences of underage drinking. Based on the data presented by the CDCP, underage drinking results in â€Å"1) school problems, such as higher absence and poor or failing grades; 2) social problems, such as fighting and lack of participation in youth activities; 3) legal problems, such as arrest for driving or physically hurting someone while drunk; 4) physical problems, such as hangovers or illnesses; 5) unwanted, unplanned, and unprotected sexual activity; 6) disruption of normal growth and sexual development; 7) physical and sexual assault; 8) higher risk for suicide and homicide; 9) alcohol-related car crashes and other unintentional injuries, such as burns, falls, and drowning; 10) memory problems; 11) abuse of other drugs; 12) changes in brain development that may have life-long effects; and 13) death from alcohol poisoning (2010). Looking through these consequences makes one quiver over the scenarios that one can expect from an adolescent who experience underage drinking. What is even more frightening is that these dangers are far greater for those who indulge in binge drinking (CDCP, 2010). Steps to Combat Underage Drinking The school can adapt several strategies to

Blooms Taxonomy Within a Planning Pyramid Coursework

Blooms Taxonomy Within a Planning Pyramid - Coursework Example The affective domain includes sis categories, namely receiving phenomena, responding to phenomena, valuing, organization, and internalizing values. Finally, the psychomotor domain contains seven categories, namely perception, set, guided response, mechanism, complex overt response, adaptation, and origination (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2007). Each of the three domains of learning contains verbs that trainers find to be significant in setting goals, which learners must achieve by the end of a lesson. Some goals in the Unit Planning Form contain verbs from Bloom’s Taxonomy. Among the goals in the planning form is to compare and contrast weathering and erosion after the learning process. Compare and contrast are the two verbs from Bloom’s Taxonomy. These verbs belong to analysis and evaluation, which are among the categories of the cognitive domain. In the original cognitive domain, analysis and evaluation are the equivalents of creating and evaluating respectively in the new cognitive domain. Students should distinguish between inferences and facts as well as make judgments regarding the values of materials or ideas. Compare and contrast also belong to organization, which is a category of the affective domain. Students should organize values into various statuses by contrasting the values, solving conflicts between the values, and creating unique value systems. Organization emphasizes relating, comparing, as well as synthesizing values. Therefore, compare and contra st the only verbs in the Unit Planning Form (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2007). Teachers choose significant instructional adaptations in order to facilitate the participation of students in an educational curriculum. Instructional grouping, progress monitoring, and content presentation relate to some of adaptation in the planning form. Such adaptations include audiotape of chapters, concept maps, cooperative learning groups, and study friends to prepare for questions

You can choose the topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

You can choose the topic - Essay Example These are some important points that are critically evaluated in the work at hand. Han people, based on Confucian belief had special perspective about undeveloped land as something unproductive and should be deserted rather than to be improved (Williams 66). After all, â€Å"Cultural realities – including attitudes, values, preferences, perceptions and identities – can be just as important in shaping land use decisions as the material realities of political economy† (Williams 61). The underdeveloped lands were the most important places where nomads and the minority used to stay to earn a living and ensure their economic subsistence. â€Å"The nomads themselves had no written records until much later, and accordingly no old accounts are available from any source† (Lattimore 62). This means that the prevailing claim concerning the nomad lifestyles may at some point quite limited and should be taken into account further. Although this may sound quite a limitation, some findings suggest essential lifestyles linked to Nomads. As investigated, finding for new pastures was the primary intention of the Nomads like Kazaks after the Chinese Revolution of 1911 (Svanberg 113). As an addition to this, certain evidence suggests that there were some minority livelihoods that were said to flourish like in the case of Nuosu. â€Å"Nuosu subsistence economy has traditionally combined agriculture, pastoralism, and foraging activities including fishing, hunting, and fore stry. This kind of a mixed economy emphasizes diversification and insurance against disaster in several ways† (Harrell and Warren). This in other words suggests that even the minority population and livelihoods can still have the chance to flourish or grow and ensure economic sustainability. Han people believed that there should be peasants in the land in order to ensure land development, as a substantial point of action that will ensure the continuous link between the economy and politics. That is

Language transfer

Language transfer Introduction The title of this research article has caught my attention because it talks about language transfer which is an area I am always interested in knowing more about it. Also, being an ESL teacher, it is definitely beneficial for me to study this article as it specifically investigates the cross-language and writing system transfer between Chinese and English. This paper consists of two main parts. Part one is a description of the article itself. The background and details of the research will be summarized and presented here. Part two is a critique of the article. Various parts of the research will be analyzed and, hopefully, modifications and suggestions can be made to better the research design and generate ideas for further investigation into this topic. Part One: The article itself Contextualization According to the introduction made by Wang, Perfetti, Liu (2005), various studies conducted in the 1990s have tried to investigate whether there is a relationship between learning to read and the orthography and phonology of a language. As cited in Wang et al. (2005), certain studies (Adams, 1990; Perfetti, 1992; Treiman, 1993) have said that learning to read is actually learning to match the phonological form with the orthographic form of the language. This has also been claimed as language-specific, i.e. subject to the nature and writing system of the language (Chen Tzeng, 1992; Feldman, 1987; Frith, Wimmer, Landerl, 1998; Goswami, Gombert, Barrera, 1998; Leong Tamaoka, 1998; Perfetti, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005). However, recent studies (Cisero Royer, 1995; Durgunoglu, Nagy, Hancin-Bhatt, 1993; Durgunoglu, 2002; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have found that cross-language transfer of phonological skills does take place when one is learning to read two alphabetic languages, like Spanish and English. These findings have aroused the researchers (Wang et al., 2005) interest in investigating whether there is cross-language and writing system transfer when one is learning to read Chinese and English, i.e. acquiring biliteracy. Background in the Literature To prepare for their in-depth research on the topic, Wang et al. (2005) have conducted a literature review focusing on the following three aspects: (i)The orthography and phonology of Chinese A number of studies (Perfetti, 1999; Perfetti, Zhang, Berent, 1992; Defrancis, 1989; Mattingly, 1992; Perfetti, Liu, Tan, 2005; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have been reviewed by Wang et al. (2005) in order to produce the following general overview of the Chinese orthography. It has been found that Chinese is a nonalphabetic writing system, in which the basic unit is the character. Each character consists of basic strokes, which can be combined to form one or more component radicals. A character which is composed of two or more component radicals is called a compound character. The structure of the component radicals in these compound characters are usually left-right or top-bottom. Wang et al. (2005) have also reviewed certain studies (Hanely, Tzeng, Huang, 1999; Taylor Taylor, 1995; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) so as to offer a clear introduction of the Chinese phonology. It is now being summarized below. The basic speech unit of Mandarin Chinese is the syllable which is made up of the onset and the rime. Very often, the onset is a single consonant while the rime is composed of vowels. As a result, the number of syllables in Mandarin Chinese is pretty small (i.e. around 400) whereas the number of homophones is quite large. Fortunately, the use of the four tones in Mandarin Chinese (i.e. 1. high level; 2. high-rising; 3. falling-rising; 4. high-falling) have successfully reduced the large number of homophones. Yet, one should note that the tones are not shown in written Chinese, i.e. they are not part of the written characters. Thus, they will not help learners distinguish the characters. (ii)Different cognitive demands involved in learning to read the Chinese and English writing systems According to Wang et al. (2005), there are three main contrasts between the two target language and writing systems. Contrasts Chinese English Grapheme mapping principle syllabic morphemes phonemes Graphic form and special layout nonlinear linear Tonal feature tonal nontonal **This table is a simplified version of Table 1 (Wang et al., 2005, p. 69) As suggested by Wang et al. (2005), these contrastive differences are bound to cause differences in learning to read these two languages. First, studies (Byrne Fielding-Barnsley, 1995; Hulme et al., 2002; Lundburg, Frost, Peterson, 1988; Muter, Hulme, Snowling, Taylor, 1998; Huang Hanley, 1994; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have discovered that childrens ability to read English can be predicted by their skills in processing the phonemes (i.e. the small phonological units) and phonological awareness. On the contrary, studies about Chinese reading (Perfetti et al., 2005; Taft, Zhu, Peng, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have found that the phonological and meaning information can only be activated after the orthographic representation has been recognized. Then, Wang et al. (2005) have concluded that graphemic information and visual skills are essential for learning how to read Chinese. Despite these previous studies, Wang et al. (2005) have mentioned that recent studies (Ho Bryant, 1997; Hu Catts, 1998; McBride-Chang Ho, 2000; Shu, Anderson, Wu, 2000; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have indicated that phonological information and early phonological skills such as rhyme processing do play a part in Chinese reading acquisition. (iii)Cross-language transfer in bilingual and biliteracy acquisition Wang et al. (2005) have obtained two key findings about cross-language transfer through reviewing numerous studies (Durgunoglu et al., 1993; Cisero Royer, 1995; Ganschow Sparks, 1995; Comeau, Cormier, Grandmaison, Lacroix, 1999; DAngiulli, Siegel, Serra, 2001; Geva Siegel, 2000; as cited in Wang et al., 2005). First, Wang et al. (2005) have found that a clear phonological relationship exists between two alphabetic languages such as Spanish-English, French-English, English-French, English-Italian, etc. This means the phonological skills of one language are highly related to those of the other language. Second, Wang et al. (2005) have discovered that phonological skills of one language can help with the word reading skills of the other language. Yet, Wang et al. (2005) have failed to figure out whether there is such cross-language transfer existing in Chinese and English as there is little research done in this area and the two language systems are contrastive in nature. Besides that, certain studies (Wydell Butterworth, 1999; Liow Poon, 1998; Liow, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have tried to argue that there is dissociation or even a negative transfer from the nonalphabetic first language (L1, Chinese) to the alphabetic second language (L2, English). Nevertheless, Wang et al. (2005) have finally justified their research topic by saying that these previous studies have failed to test the cross-language and writing system transfer as they did not investigate the phonological and orthographic processing skills of the learners L1 and L2. Research Hypotheses Wang et al. (2005) have hypothesized that ‘bilingual reading acquisition is a joint function of shared phonological skills and writing system specific skills (p. 72). They have particularly predicted that ‘sensitivity in English and in Chinese to onset and rime, common linguistic units in both languages, will be correlated and ‘Pinyin reading skills will correlate with English word reading, since the two systems share the alphabetic principle (p. 72). However, Wang et al. (2005) have estimated that orthographic skills ‘are writing system and script specific skills (p. 72). Details of the Research (i)Research design The design of this research is mainly quantitative in nature. A number of experimental tasks were completed by the participants in order to obtain data in objective ways. (ii)Setting Participants As reported by Wang et al. (2005), the forty-six participants came from the Washington, DC area and they were Chinese immigrant children consisting of 24 boys and 22 girls with the mean age of 8 years and 2 months (SD = 9.1 months). All of them learned Chinese as their first language and had developed normal English proficiency. They attended English classes in public schools and weekend Chinese schools in which the Pinyin systems and a simplified version of Chinese characters were taught and used. It should be noted that forty-two of them spoke both Mandarin Chinese and English at home while the other four only spoke Mandarin Chinese at home. (iii)Methodology Referring to the description given by Wang et al. (2005), the participants were tested in two 30-minute sessions in which they had to complete a set of Chinese or English experimental tasks in each session in a language laboratory. The list below has summarized the various experimental tasks adopted by Wang et al. (2005). Chinese experimental tasks Focus Reference Phonological tasks onset, rime, and tone matching Participants ability to manipulate and distinguish between the phonological units in spoken Chinese characters. Wang et al., 2005, p. 72-74 Orthographic choice task Participants sensitivity to the legality of the radical position and form. Character naming Participants familiarity with the characters. Pinyin naming Participants ability to match letters with sounds in Pinyin. English experimental tasks Focus Reference Phonological tasks onset and rime matching Participants ability to manipulate and distinguish between the phonological units in spoken English words. Wang et al., 2005, p. 74-76 Phonological task -phoneme deletion Not given Orthographic choice task Participants sensitivity to various orthographic patterns in English. Real word naming Not given Pseudoword naming Not given According to Wang et al. (2005), there was also a nonverbal skill test which was used to test the participants nonverbal ability. (iv)Analytic procedures As mentioned by Wang et al. (2005) in the presentation of the research results, several measures were adopted to analyze the quantitative data collected from those experimental tasks. First, means and standard deviations were used to show the participants performance in the Chinese and English language and reading tasks. Second, the bivariate Pearson correlations were used to measure the correlations Chinese and English tasks. Third, the stepwise regression analyses were adopted to find out the best predictors for Chinese and English reading. Finally, the hierarchical regression analyses were used to explore (a) whether Chinese phonological and orthographic processing would affect English word reading; and (b) whether English phonological and orthographic processing would affect Chinese character reading. (v)Results With the help of the bivariate Pearson correlations, Wang et al. (2005) found that there was a significant correlation between the Chinese onset matching skill and English onset and rime matching skill. Moreover, another significant correlation was found between Chinese orthographic choice and Chinese character naming. Furthermore, Pinyin was found highly correlated with the pseudoword reading in English whereas the English phoneme deletion task was also found highly correlated with English real word and pseudoword naming. Last but not least, Chinese tone was found correlated with character reading as well. Through the stepwise regression analyses, Wang et al. (2005) found Chinese orthographic processing to be the best predictor for Chinese character reading while the phoneme deletion skill was the best predictor for English real word and pseudoword reading. Consequently, by using the hierarchical regression analyses, Wang et al. (2005) found that only Chinese tone processing skill, but not orthographic skill, could affect English pseudoword reading. They could not find any cross-language influence of the English tasks on Chinese character reading. (vi)Discussion Wang et al. (2005) have concluded that the findings of this research do support their hypothesis. Specifically, Wang et al. (2005) have discussed the three significant findings (i.e. the significant correlations between Chinese onset, English onset, and rime matching skills; the significant influence of Chinese tone processing skill on English pseudoword reading; and the significant correlation between Pinyin and English pseudoword reading) and derived the implication that phonological awareness and skills are not language-specific but shared between Chinese and English reading when bilingual reading acquisition is taking place. Besides that, based on Wang et al. (2005), the finding of orthographic skills being unable to affect English reading skills has also supported the hypothesis proposed by Wang et al. (2005). This has been explained by Wang et al. (2005) who has cited a study (Liu Perfetti, 2003; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) to show that the orthographic skills of Chinese and English are language-specific as Chinese reading requires the use of both the left and right occipital brain areas while English reading mainly involves the use of the left occipital brain area. Part Two: The Critique Assessment of the Researchs Internal Validity Based on my analysis, this research done by Wang et al. (2005) is considered to be a good research which has demonstrated a high level of internal validity. The following is a detailed critique of the various parts of the research. (i)High correspondence between the research hypotheses and the findings As reflected from the previous session, the findings generated from this research are highly related to the research hypotheses established beforehand. Actually, they have successfully confirmed the hypotheses, proving that there is a certain degree of cross-language transfer in Chinese-English biliteracy acquisition. (ii)In-depth literature review Wang et al. (2005) have done a detailed and in-depth literature review on Chinese phonology and orthography, and previous studies related to the cross-language transfer in bilingual and biliteracy acquisition. This certainly helps lay down a good foundation for the later data analysis and discussion. However, it may be better if Wang et al. (2005) can provide the audience with a more comprehensive literature review by describing the English phonology and orthography in greater detail. In this way, the audience can have a clearer picture of the phonology and orthography of these two language systems. This can then enhance the audiences understanding of the research findings. (iii)Well-constructed and clear research hypotheses The research hypotheses of this study are well-constructed with clear predictions made about the relationship among the variables mentioned. This can certainly help increase the internal validity as this has given clear directions for the development of research design, measurement tools and analytic procedures. (iv)A well-selected group of participants The participants are well-selected with little variation in their background and learning profile. It is very wise for Wang et al. (2005) to study bilingual children as this can minimize the dominance of L1 over L2, which might affect the findings of the research. Moreover, the sample size is big enough for making generalizations. And, the number of male participants is similar to that of the female participants. This can help reduce the gender influence on the findings. (v)Carefully-designed measurement tools Obviously, the large number of Chinese and English experimental tasks and methods for data analysis are carefully designed and chosen. As shown from the results, the Chinese and English tasks are highly correlated, indicating a high level of internal validity. Nevertheless, it is thought that the tasks are cognitively or mentally too demanding for the young participants. This is because they are required to process a number of tasks and a large amount of information and instructions within a short period of time. (vi)Variable overlooked gender difference According to Skaalvik Rankin (1994), girls have been found to be more motivated to study language than boys. One may then wonder if this gender difference would affect the level of cross-language transfer in bilingual reading acquisition. Since Wang et al. (2005) have recruited a similar amount of boys and girls as participants, they may also take a look at the influence of this variable. Assessment of the Researchs External Validity Although this research enjoys a high level of internal validity, its external validity is relatively low and limited. The reasons are as follows: (i)Findings are limited to learners with a similar background or learning profile As mentioned in the above, the background (e.g. age and family background) and learning profile of the selected participants are more or less the same due to the careful selection done by Wang et al. (2005) to avoid the research findings being affected by the individual differences among the participants. As a consequence, the research findings derived from this specific group of participants can only be applied to learners with a similar background and learning profile. (ii)Findings may not be able to make generalizations in the actual learning context In this research, Wang et al. (2005) have conducted all the Chinese and English experimental tasks in a language laboratory in a bid to minimize the influence of the numerous factors which may affect the participants cross-language transfer in the actual learning context. For instance, in the real learning context, learners cross-language transfer in the process of language acquisition can be affected by their learning environment, teachers teaching methodologies, peer influence, learning materials, etc. Hence, the research findings derived from tasks conducted in the language laboratory which keeps the other factors constant may not be able to contribute to making generalizations in the actual learning context. (iii)Few implications can be derived for language learning and teaching Few implications can be generated from this research for language learning and teaching as the findings can only be applied to a specific type of learners (i.e. bilingual Chinese-English learners with a particular background and learning profile). Besides that, the experimental tasks conducted are all at word level and this definitely does not resemble the actual reading acquisition in language learning, which is usually at sentence level or discourse level. Suggested Modifications for the Research With reference to my analysis shown in the above, certain modifications can be made in the different parts of the research mentioned below. (i)Literature Review It is suggested that Wang et al. (2005) may also give the audience an introduction on the English phonology and orthography instead of simply describing English as an alphabetic, nontonal language with phonemes as the smallest basic speech units in the language. This is because this introduction can help to make this research more complete as the audience are then allowed to make a clearer comparison between the two target language systems and better understand the findings obtained from this research. (ii)Measurement tools As mentioned previously, the Chinese and English experimental tasks can be cognitively or mentally too demanding for the young participants as they need to process a lot of information and instructions within a short time. Therefore, it is suggested that Wang et al. (2005) may either simplify the content and instructions of the tasks or lengthen the period of time given to participants for completing the tasks. In this way, the influence of frustration and fatigue on participants performance in the tasks can be avoided. (iii)Discussion For the discussion part, it is recommended that Wang et al. (2005) can also analyze the data collected and see if there is any influence of gender difference on the cross-language transfer between Chinese and English reading acquisition. By doing so, significant implications may be derived and this will in turn provide useful implications for language learning and teaching in the real learning context. Suggestions for an Extension Study After having studied this research and its findings, it is believed that further research can be done in the following areas in order to derive more implications for language learning. (i)Chinese and English reading at sentence level or discourse level Referring to what mentioned beforehand, this research done by Wang et al. (2005) focuses on Chinese and English reading acquisition at word level only as all the experimental tasks are designed at word level. However, it is a well-known fact that learning to read may proceed to sentence level or discourse level. Thus, it is definitely worth investigating whether cross-language transfer still occurs when Chinese and English reading acquisition is done at sentence level or discourse level. (ii)Bilingual children whose first language is English Since bilingual reading acquisition is the main focus of this research, it is believed that similar research can also be done to study bilingual Chinese-English children whose first language is English and see if similar findings about the cross-language transfer can be generated. In this way, the findings generated may help confirm the findings produced by Wang et al. (2005) and enhance the external validity of the study done by Wang et al. (2005). (iii)Children with dyslexia or other language learning problems Likewise, will there be any changes to the present findings of the research conducted by Wang et al. (2005) if the bilingual participants suffer from dyslexia or other language learning problems? It is thought to be a good idea to further research on this group of participants. Hopefully, useful implications can be derived to help enhance the learning effectiveness for this group of learners. (iv)Reading fluency and comprehension As mentioned in the above, research on bilingual reading acquisition should not be limited to word-level as reading occurs more often at sentence level or discourse level. In addition, reading acquisition should not be limited to phonological and orthographic skills of individual words only. Actually, reading fluency and comprehension are two important aspects in reading acquisition. So, it is worth researching on these two aspects and figure out if there is any cross-language transfer in these areas of Chinese and English language learning. Conclusion Critiquing a research article is indeed a challenging but thought-provoking task to me. Through working on this assignment, I have learned about how a quantitative research can be conducted in the area of language acquisition, and gradually developed a better set of critical analysis skills when writing the critique. I would surely bear in mind the research and analytical skills that I have learned from the study of Wang et al. (2005) and put them into use when I am given a chance to conduct a research on my own.

Instruments in worship? :: essays research papers

INSTRUMENTS IN WORSHIP? One of the most debated issues in today’s church is instruments in worship. There have been many arguments for the use of instruments, but none of which are accurate. The one debating for instruments must ignore biblical silence and add on to what God has ordained. The two most widely used arguments for instruments are: there is no condemnation of the use of instruments and that instruments are used in the same manner as a visual aid is in preaching. One can argue that there is no condemnation of worshipping with instruments. This is true. There is no text in the bible that says, â€Å"thou shalt not use instruments.† This argument is obviously faulty because of the parallels of this in the bible. Moses was told by God to speak to the rock and water would come out. God did not say for Moses not to strike the rock. Moses struck it and he was not allowed to see the promise land but was to die in the wilderness (Numbers 20:8-11). â€Å"While they were eating, He took some bread and after He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ’Take it; this is my body.’ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, ’This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many’† (Mark 14: 22-24). We are commanded to use the fruit of the vine and unleavened bread for the Lord’s supper. We aren’t told not to use Pork and water, but that would not be the Lord’s supper. Mark 16:16 says, â€Å"He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe is already condemned.† It doesn’t say that he who is not baptized is unsaved, but it is deducted from the statement that the one who is not baptized is unsaved. It is not hard to see that this is a very week argument. â€Å"Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord† (Ephesians 5:19). If we are told to sing and not told to use instruments, then we are not allowed to use instruments. Biblical parallels prove this. Another argument, and perhaps the best argument, states that using instruments is simply to assist one’s

Music of the Baroque Period

Review Questions 1. What is a symphony? A symphony is an elaborate musical composition for full orchestra, typically in four movements, at least one of which is traditionally in sonata form. 2. What is a sonata? How is it related to the sonata form? A sonata is a composition for an instrumental soloist, with piano accompaniment, in several movements with one or more in sonata form. Sonata form is a piece of music in three sections, in ABA form, which are exposition, development, and recapitulation. 3. What is a coda? A coda is pieces at the end of a musical piece that are extended past the capitulation. . What are the three different parts of the sonata form? Describe each part. The first part of sonata from is the exposition. The exposition is where the composer â€Å"exposes† the themes of the music which are the first subject group and the second subject group. The second is the development. The development is the section of the music where the composer builds on the themes that were introduced in the exposition. This is also where the tension in the piece is built up. The recapitulation is the third and final part of the sonata form and it is the exposition is slightly repeated.The tension from the development eases, and the sound is subtle again. 5. What are the three different periods of Beethoven's work? Describe each part. Beethoven's work was organized into the early, the middle and the late periods. The early period was from 1779-1802, and that's when he composed his first and second symphonies. The middle period was from 1803-1814. He experimented with different techniques at that time. The late period was from 1815-1827, and his works reflect the transition into the Romantic period. Critical Thinking Questions 6. What are the characteristics of the music of the Classical period?When referring to the music of the classical period, people think about the Viennese school. Many great composers attended the school, such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beeth oven. The Classical music period was a mix of many different ideas, as everyone was sharing thoughts, and music. 7. How does the music of the Classical period differ from the music of the Baroque period? The music of the baroque period was said to be classified as a period of elaborate music. The music of the Classical period is more â€Å"down to earth† music and sought after beauty rather than complex melodies. Music of the Baroque Period By representatives

Free Essays on Causes Of Warfare

Assignment 3: Causes of War NOTE: *in parts A and B, Keegan is quoted unless otherwise noted *in part C quotes and figures are taken from Al J. Venter’s â€Å"A Scarcity of Water May Lead to War,† in War. In my opinion, war is very human. Just look at the games we play. Most popular sports pit two enemy sides against each other in a battle for victory. Sports serve to satisfy our aggressive impulses, while war metaphors are abound. Football, Hockey, and Boxing are extremely violent sports, just to name a few. We swing, punch, tackle, hit, injure, and win or lose for fun. Teams brawl. Kids play with toy guns and pretend to kill each other. Why would we play war, if somewhere inside we didn’t want to fight it? But this is all my opinion. There’s people with degrees who got the facts (but still can’t agree). A) War, but more so aggression, has been related to human nature biologically. â€Å"Aggression is a function of the lower brain, amenable to control by the higher brain.† However, while scientists have found hormones (testosterone), chemicals (serotonin), and regions of the brain that effect aggression, Keegan feels that neurology hasn’t made clear how aggression is produced or regulated inside the brain. Moreover, just because people are aggressive doesn’t mean they’ll organize into troupes all of a sudden. Genetic and Darwinian analysis have been more successful â€Å"in showing how context and ‘selection for aggression’ correlate. Writes Keegan, â€Å"†¦aggressiveness is clearly a genetic inheritance that may enhance the chance of survival. If life is a struggle, then those who best resist hostile circumstances are likely to live the longest and produce the largest number of resistant offspring.† Still, this doesn’t â€Å"explain why groups of individuals combine to fight others.† Ethology, â€Å"in which psychological theory is combined with the study of animal behavior,† gives a good explanation of... Free Essays on Causes Of Warfare Free Essays on Causes Of Warfare Assignment 3: Causes of War NOTE: *in parts A and B, Keegan is quoted unless otherwise noted *in part C quotes and figures are taken from Al J. Venter’s â€Å"A Scarcity of Water May Lead to War,† in War. In my opinion, war is very human. Just look at the games we play. Most popular sports pit two enemy sides against each other in a battle for victory. Sports serve to satisfy our aggressive impulses, while war metaphors are abound. Football, Hockey, and Boxing are extremely violent sports, just to name a few. We swing, punch, tackle, hit, injure, and win or lose for fun. Teams brawl. Kids play with toy guns and pretend to kill each other. Why would we play war, if somewhere inside we didn’t want to fight it? But this is all my opinion. There’s people with degrees who got the facts (but still can’t agree). A) War, but more so aggression, has been related to human nature biologically. â€Å"Aggression is a function of the lower brain, amenable to control by the higher brain.† However, while scientists have found hormones (testosterone), chemicals (serotonin), and regions of the brain that effect aggression, Keegan feels that neurology hasn’t made clear how aggression is produced or regulated inside the brain. Moreover, just because people are aggressive doesn’t mean they’ll organize into troupes all of a sudden. Genetic and Darwinian analysis have been more successful â€Å"in showing how context and ‘selection for aggression’ correlate. Writes Keegan, â€Å"†¦aggressiveness is clearly a genetic inheritance that may enhance the chance of survival. If life is a struggle, then those who best resist hostile circumstances are likely to live the longest and produce the largest number of resistant offspring.† Still, this doesn’t â€Å"explain why groups of individuals combine to fight others.† Ethology, â€Å"in which psychological theory is combined with the study of animal behavior,† gives a good explanation of...

The History of Coca-Cola Essays - Coca-Cola, Patent Medicines

The History of Coca-Cola Essays - Coca-Cola, Patent Medicines Ian J. Wharton March 17th 2016 CISC 1050- Introduction to Computer Applications The History of Coca-Cola Sprite, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Fanta are all sodas that people would have no problem at all drinking. But when you think of soda what is the first one that comes to mind? Out of all the sodas mentioned there is one thats missing. One that actually stands out from the rest and serves as the cornerstone that allowed them to become what it is today. This is the history of Coca-Cola: Taste the Feeling! To begin we must first ask the general question of What exactly is Coca-Cola?. Coca-Cola is a soft drink that was actually made by a mistake by John Pemberton. The name itself stands for the ingredients that make it which are coca leaves (the Coca) and kola nuts (the Cola) Pemberton was a pharmacist and a war veteran who was severely hurt during the Civil War where he served as a colonel. Historically, people who were hurt during warfare became hooked onto drugs to lessen the pain. The original recipe for Coke was made in Georgia, which was suppose to be a coca wine at first. In 1886, when Atlanta passed laws against alcohol he then decided to make a non-alcoholic version of his French Wine, which is of course Coca-Cola. Pemberton claimed Coca-Cola cured many diseases, including morphine addiction(the same addiction he had from war), headaches, and impotence. Jacobs Pharmacy served as the birth place of the first distribution of this new product in May of 1886 for the low low price o f a nickel. As time progressed the business aspect of Coke began to grow as well. In May 1889 Asa Candler made it clear that he was the sole owner of coke by stating "sole proprietors of Coca-Cola ... Delicious. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Invigorating." Alongside his partners Candler created the official Coca-Cola company. Candler did various things such as giving out free coupons for a glass of Coke to ensure that one taste of it would get you hooked. Then in 1895, Mr. Candler was able to confidently say that "Coca-Cola is now drunk in every state and territory in the United States." . As time progressed facilities were built and expansion began. The next step for Candler was to get deep into Coke being sold at soda fountains which is something else we all now enjoy today. A man named Joseph Biedenharn was so impressed by the growing demand for Coca-Cola at his soda fountain that he invested in Coca-Cola and decided to install a bottle machine in his store which in turn made him the first bottle r of Coca-Cola. But the big boost came during WWII when people were able to have their first taste of Coca-Cola in nearly 44 countries. In war it always brings a spike in business and Coca-Cola benefited from the war in a big way. When the U.S decided to join the war Robert Woodruff made the order "to see that every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for 5 cents, wherever he is and whatever it costs the Company." Soon after the war ended it allowed Coca-Cola to expand and officially go worldwide with partial boundaries as I will mention later. Throughout the years the Coca-Cola Company has introduced other drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common of these is, Diet Coke with others including: Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Zero Coca-Cola Vanilla, and special versions with lemon, lime, or coffee. Would you believe me if I said that Coke used to not be sold worldwide? Despite the fact that Coca-Cola is a true worldwide phenomenon, it wasnt always that way. Because of trade sanctions from the United States, most countries were unable to reap the benefits of Coke until 2012 . There are now just two countries in the world where Coca-Cola cannot be bought or sold - at least, not officially. They are Cuba and North Korea, which are both under long-term US trade embargoes (Cuba since 1962 and North Korea since 1950). China, India, Vietnam, Burma, Germany and the Soviet Union are just a few countries that didnt have Coca-Cola in certain time periods. Now to speak on the highs

CRJ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

CRJ - Essay Example There are several examples which serve as proof for the fact that children raised in households by parents who had previously committed suicides or crimes like the report in the San Diego Union Tribune about two step-brothers, whose father had committed suicide, strangling and chopping off their mother’s body. In another case a two brothers attacked their father with a baseball and followed it by setting the house on fire in order to hide the evidence. They were raised in a foster home as their mother left them and were later returned to the custody of their father as the foster parents were unable to handle them (Morse, 2003). There are several theories that support the fact that children who are raised without a father lacked maturity and in their later years they tend to assert their maleness by committing acts of delinquency. In the 1920s boys who were lodged in reformatories in New York majorly hailed from broken homes (Juvenile Delinquency, n.d). Morse has also stated that a 1994 report from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Service found that a majority of juvenile delinquents came from broken families or single-parents homes (Morse, 2003). The explanation given to such problems was greater exposure to criminal activities due to parental conflicts or other reasons such as alcoholism and drugs in single-parent households. Additionally in single parent households, the parent finds it difficult to supervise and control their child and prevent them from engaging in criminal activities. There is a general lack of family interaction in such households which are further burdened by emotional an d economic problems. Another criteria pointed out by Morse is the lack of educational attainment by children raised by single parents who drop out of school early. This in turn encourages them to engage in criminal activities in order to make a living. A similar

Employment interviews as a selction tool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Employment interviews as a selction tool - Essay Example There are various types of interviews. Some interviews are conducted face to face between the employer and candidate while others may be conducted electronically or on phone. In terms of forms, interviews can be classified into three types, namely structured interviews, semi-structured interviews and unstructured interviews. In the structured interviews, interviewer analyzes the skills of interview through a preformed set of questions. In the semi-structured interview, the interviewer may make the conversation apart from the questions as well. In fact, some questions are developed on the spot from the discussion. In unstructured interviews, there are no preformed questions. Quite often, very simple questions are used to assess the interest and enthusiasm of a candidate for work. For example, one of the interview questions an Assistant Engineer was asked for his assessment by Chunghwa Telecom was, â€Å"Why do you want to join our company?† (â€Å"Engineering Interview Questions†). Interview is one of the best selection tools because it promotes public relations in addition to regular assessment of