Freedom in 17th century America

During the 17th century in North America there existed several classes of people. Each class had their own varying of freedom. During this period North America rapidly evolved from an experiment of sorts to a powerful colony with a multicultural immigrant base. As the colony evolved so did the social structures of its people. Whether it was with women, Indians, indentured servants, slaves, puritans or property owners each class had their own distinct version of freedom. The backbone behind the growth of the American Colony was the labor force, which was necessary to harvest such rich and large farms and plantations.During the 17th century this labor force primarily composed of indentured servants and slaves. Many Englishmen came to the new world as indentured servants on seven-year deals where they worked to gain their place and freedom. While under contract they were treated similar to slaves of the time. Like slaves they could be acquired or sold as well as punished corporally. It wasn’t until the latter 17th century when laws were put into place to differentiate between indentured servants and slaves. These distinctions were largely based on race.Though slavery wasn’t nearly as widespread as the next two centuries it still had no bearing on a slave’s life. Slaves of in North America lived with absolutely no freedom whatsoever. Indian and women were two of the other restricted classes within 17th century Indian society. This timeframe was absolutely catastrophic for Indians across the board. The introduction of disease by the European influx of settlers had an apocalyptic effect on the population of the Indians. Many tribes sustained losses as heavy as 90% of their populace.While most Indians have individual freedoms within their specific tribes, as a whole their lands were being stolen and their very survival was at stake. While women in the colony certainly did suffer as badly from disease, that doesn’t mean life was rosy either. Based on the English common law of coverture, women couldn’t even individually own property if married. Essentially anything women owned was actually owned by their husbands by right. Along with not having the right to property they also did not have a right to vote, and were expected to be obedient in a male driven society.On the other end of the freedom spectrum from the aforementioned lie the Puritans and Landowners. While women in puritan society had a similar role as describe above, the men were closer to actual freedom. The men in good standing with their society could do what he practically wanted within the bounds of the puritan norm. However they rather took to persecution within the ranks. The most famous example being the Salem Witch Trials and the circumstances that led to one of the earliest women’s religious leaders Anne Hutchinson. Landowners, when it comes to freedom in the 17th century had the direct opposite experience of slaves.They could vote, earn , and own property at will. Many of our nations forefathers are descendants of these early landowners. Contrary to popular belief even the wealthy ones were more likely to be a hard worker with long hours than British gentlemen that most would imagine. The melting pot that is now modern North America had its roots sown in the 17th century. There were a great many classes of people seeking a new beginning either by choice or need. Whether they were indentured servants, slaves, women, Indians, puritans, or landowners each class had different grades of freedom in their life.

Implementing a New CSR Strategy for New Balance Essay

Introduction New Balance is a large company specialized in manufacturing footwear products at a global level. The case study reveals that New Balance is currently committed to formulating an integrated Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR), which will enable it to place itself in a good position in a highly competitive market (Veleva, 2010). In 2009, the company was still struggling to build a CSR, which would create a reputable name for its products in the global market. However, as Veleva (2010) illustrates, the firm faced various challenges such as lack of a CSR department, which would foresee the implementation of an integrated CSR. This calls for the analysis of the various strengths and weaknesses of the company and lay out the steps it should follow in implementing an integrated CSR strategy. New Balance Strengths and Weaknesses Overall Governance According to Veleva (2010), even before the word CSR became a common word in the global industries. New Balance always insisted on being responsible for all its employees and the communities in which it was operational. Luo and Bhattacharya (2006) support this argument by explaining that for a company to have an effective CRS, it should start internally before going external. New Balance has strong values and governance system that ensures a commitment to responsibility both for internal and external components of its operations. Despite the fact that New Balance was so much committed to CSR, it left out important segments of corporate responsibility such as openness and accountability (Veleva, 2010). The company’s framework did not provide a basis for its leaders to analyze the risks and opportunities of CSR, and this explains clearly, why it was affected by the economic recession of the year 2007-2009. Products and Services From the case study, New Balance had many consumers in the global market. One of its main strengths was the designing and marketing of products. The company ensured that its products met customers’ expectation, and the same time ensured that these products were produced in an  environmentally-friendly manner. According to Sen, Bhattacharya, and Korschun (2006), a company should focus on ensuring that its production does not compromise the capability of future generation to get such a product or even a better one. New Balance looked for materials and ensured that its production was socially and environmentally acceptable in order to increase the social benefits of its production. The case study shows that New Balance decided to take a different approach from other footwear companies by concentrating on recycling. This is one of its weaknesses in its production. Veleva argues that the company did not have a framework in place for accessing the impacts of recycled products. Som e of the environmentally-friendly materials that the company used for its production did not produce quality and durable products, hence did not attract customers. Operations New Balance has various strengths in its CSR strategy in terms of its operations (Veleva, 2010). One of the values of this company was to ensure that the working environment was safe for all its employees. By reducing the number of suppliers almost by half, New Balance was able to gain control over all its production, cut down on costs and hence improve efficiency. Another approach employed by New Balance was by getting rid of materials and production methods, which are harmful to the environment. This company focused on recycling most of its waste products. Therefore, it cuts down on waste, hence reducing cost on disposal and at the same time protected the environment from pollution. In 2008, a time when US focused on ensuring nil pollution to its environment, New Balance was among the first companies that adopted the green chemicals to replace the cleaners, which were used in previous years to ensure compliance with the set environmental standards. However, the company experienced a challenge in controlling its suppliers, especially those oversea. Another challenge for the company was to manage its CSR activities overseas and hence, there was a gap between its domestic CSR and oversees CSR. Community Support According to Veleva (2010), New Balance is a company that always supported the communities in which it had operations. New Balance employees took pride in volunteering and helped the surrounding communities. According  to Engardio et al. (2007), charity and volunteering are one of the major factors that enable a company to retain and satisfy its employees. Volunteering as a value was steered by the CEOs of the company Anne and Jim Davis, who embraced it and ensured that all their employees were active and valued community work. Volunteering and charity work is a value that improves public relations of an organization, its corporate image, trade name, employee teamwork and skill building (Margolis, Elfenbein & Walsh, 2007. However, despite the great involvement in community support, New Balance community support strategy was not in line with its business strategy. The company mainly focused on the US communities and lacked a proper communication plan to communicate both to its inter nal and external stakeholders. Analysis From the strengths and weaknesses identified, New Balance should focus on three of the main areas identified with great risks: effective leadership, a structure for recognizing CSR risks and opportunities that are of great importance to the business and aligning of CSR strategy with business strategy. With clear and effective leadership and a CSR that is aligned with a business strategy any company can reach its highest level of production and innovation (Luo & Bhattacharya, 2006). Steps for implementing an integrated CSR strategy Who should be involved? According to Sen, Bhattacharya and Korschun (2006), for any CSR to be implemented successfully, all stakeholders both internally and externally should be involved. While CSR is mainly steered by leaders, New Balance should at all stages involve its employees. Various studies have shown that employees play a vital role in CSR implementation and making it a success. Suppliers as part of the external stakeholders should also be involved in CSR implementation in order to give their views on whether it is aligned with business strategy or not. What should the Communication Plan consist of? New Balance should adopt a comprehensive communication plan that will effectively communicate its CSR activities internally and externally. Internally, the company can focus on newsletters, meetings, Internet communication, to ensure that employees are always aware of CSR activities and their progress. According to Engardio et al. (2007), frequent and clear communication on CSR to employees enables them to know that CSR is a priority and hence commits themselves to make it a success. Externally, the company should come up with a communication plan that will identify all external individuals and groups that need to be made aware of the CSR activities and how to reach out to them. External CSR communication channels can consist of awareness campaigns, advertise, speeches, and even sending hard copies of CSR report to the most important external stakeholders (Luo & Bhattacharya, 2006) What resources are needed? New Balance mainly requires human resources in order to implement its new CSR strategy effectively. It should focus on effective leadership apart from Anne and Jim Davis, who are the CEOs. Therefore, it should invest in searching for new and effective leaders internally or externally, who will support the two CEOs in effectively running the business. The company should also focus on coming up with a CSR department consisting of intellectuals who understand what CSR entails in order to effectively identify risks and opportunities and align the CSR activities with the company’s business. According to Margolis, Elfenbein and Walsh (2007), finances are needed in CSR implementation. Therefore, New Balance should form a committee, which will strategize on how the company will get the funds required to finance its CSR implementation. What is the Timeline? For any CSR implementation to be successful, it must be time bound (Engardio et al. 2007). The CSR steering team should come up with a timetable clearly showing all the stages of CSR implementation and their time limits. Each stage should be given a time limit and periodically monitored in order to ensure that it is completed within the allocated time. An effective CSR implementation is done during the shortest time possible to cut down on wastage in terms of human resources and finances and hence save cost. What are the measures of success? New Balance should come with an approach of measuring its CSR implementation performance. Primarily, it should identify the objectives, fundamental to its CSR commitment and come up with performance indicators, which should be used to measure the results of CSR activities. When the objective has been achieved, it means that the CSR is a success while it is a failure when an objective has not been achieved. What are other important items to include? According to Luo and Bhattacharya (2006), a company should ensure that their employees are adequately trained on CSR in order to make its implementation a success. New Balance employees should be properly trained on the importance of CSR and its implementation to ensure it becomes a success. Margolis, Elfenbein and Walsh (2007) point out that in any CSR implementation, there are obstacles such as resistance by some employees and stakeholders. Therefore, it is important that New Balance puts in place mechanisms and strategies of dealing with problematic behavior and resistance to its CSR implementation. Conclusion From the analysis, it is clear that New Balance is a company that is devoted to community support and volunteering. Its two CEOs are devoted to ensuring that the company creates a good reputation and markets its brand by embracing CSR. However, various loopholes that have been identified, prevented the company from achieving its CSR objectives and goals. Such loopholes are the lack of an effective leadership body, Lack of aligning CSR with the company’s business among others. Therefore, despite much involved in community support, the company did not achieve the benefits that come along with CSR such as reputation, good corporate image, and good public relations among others. Implementing an effective CSR will call for New Balance to bring together both human resources and finances. Effective leadership and CSR personnel are needed in order to analyze the various risks and opportunities related to CSR. The company also needs to align its CSR strategy with its business in order to rip all the benefits that come along with it. Every stakeholder, both internal and external should be involved in CSR implementation in order  to ensure maximum support and hence make it a success. References Engardio, P., Capell, K., Carey, J., & Hall, K. 2007. Beyond The Green Corporation. Retrieved from http://static.twoday.net/foehrenbergkreis/files/bw-january-29-2007-beyond-the-green-corporation.pdf Luo, X., & Bhattacharya, C.T. (2006). Corporate social responsibility, customer satisfaction, and market value. Journal of Marketing, 70(4), 1–18; Margolis,J.D., Elfenbein,H.A, & Walsh, J.P (2007). Does pay to be good? A meta-analysis and redirection of research on corporate social and financial performance. Working Paper, University of California at Berkeley. Sen S., Bhattacharya, C.T., & Korschun, D. (2006). The role of corporate social responsibility in strengthening multiple stakeholder relationships: A field experiment. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(2), 158-166. Veleva V. (2010). New Balance: Developing an integrated CSR strategy. Richard Ivey School of  Business.

The Federalist Number Ten Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Federalist Number Ten - Essay Example First strategy proposed by Madison is eliminating the causes of factions. Second, Madison provides a proposal involving controlling the effects of factions in a democratic society. Eliminating the formation of factions in the society may be in two ways. The first viable option is eliminating liberty that permits factions to form or developing similar interest. The second option is to discourage the passions and opinions in people to control the effects of factions (Hamilton, 2006). According to Madison, the causes to factions are impracticable to eliminate. Therefore, the most-feasible strategy is controlling the effects of factions in a democratic society. A minority faction in a pure democracy poses insignificant threat since it is easy to outvote and suppress it. On the contrary, the majority faction has power to control the government completely. Therefore, modification is necessary to any democracy to protect the minority from oppression by minority. According to Madison, allowing citizens to make their laws promotes the risk of promoting self-interest at the expense of public interests. In such situations, majority society members oppress the minority to their advantage (Hamilton, 2006). James Madison asserts that citizens have different self-interests, and every society forms factions that sometimes harm fellow citizens. The Articles of Confederation never controlled the adverse effects of factions on the nations effectively prompting the necessity for a new government. Madison concludes that a diverse nation ruled by the majority can thrive if it factors a fair consideration for all. Madison, J. (November 23, 1787). The Same Subject Continued: The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection. The Federalist Papers No. 10. Retrieved from

Critically discuss and analyse motivation in the workplace- highlight Essay

Critically discuss and analyse motivation in the workplace- highlight the imp - Essay Example Many of us wait for weekends and holidays to enjoy. The typical work environment has become one in which many of us feel that no one appears to really care, and no acknowledgement takes place. Errors and mistakes provoke attack, derision and reprimand, while correct and even excellent performance goes seemingly unnoticed and unappreciated. Risk taking and creativity are inhibited, distrust increases, communication is suppressed, attorneys complain that staff members arent motivated, and we express our natural enthusiasm on the weekend in recreational activities, in tennis or in community service. Let us now take an example the football world series. The winning teams eluded an air of celebration and unstoppability. The players pull together despite their individual positions on the field. They seem to genuinely care about one another, and they seem able to include and resolve their personal differences. Is it possible to bring in such kind of motivation in the workplace? It is essential to create such an environment in the work place because in most of the organizations it is the team work and their performance that matters more than individual performances. Good communication is the key to success and is a motivation of team members. This means that if you are leading a large organization you must check that the processes for managing, communicating and developing people are in place and working properly (Chapman, 1995). Probably no other skill is as vital as communication skills in the world of the supervisor or manager. Effective communication is the most critical element of successful supervision and leadership.   Building relationships with the team members at all levels of the organization is the key to a supervisor or manager’s success and to both personal productivity and organizational effectiveness. When communications are good, information flows smoothly, delivering clear messages that people can easily understand and act on. When

Analysis of coca cola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of coca cola - Essay Example The vision aims at creating great workplace, nurturing networks with partners, improving productivity, maximising return to shareowners while ensuring corporate responsibility in order to build sustainable communities (Kozami, 2005). Stakeholder is any person or group who can affect or is affected by the actions of an organization. Primary stakeholders continuously participate in the organization while secondary stakeholders do not engage directly with the organization, but they either influence or are affected by the organization (Srivastava & Verma, 2012). Primary stakeholders are impacted either positively or negatively by the decisions of the management while the secondary stakeholders play an intermediary role, but are positively affected by the outcome of managerial decisions. Stakeholder analysis enables companies to identity the changing interests of stakeholders, identify the potential risks and implement measures that will satisfy the stakeholders’ needs (Srivastava & Verma, 2012). The analysis will identify the actual and potential conflict of interests and relationships among several stakeholders. Shareholders- These are primary stakeholders since they are the owners of the companies by virtue of contributing capital (Srivastava & Verma, 2012). They have a direct interest in the company and are interested in receiving acceptable return of their investment through dividend payments and appreciation of their share values (Kozami, 2005). Coca Cola is committed to ensuring high profitability in order to maximize the return to shareholders. Customers- these are primary stakeholders since they create demand for company products and their actions will influence the revenues and profitability of the company. The customers are interested in receiving value-added and high quality products at fair prices (Srivastava & Verma, 2012). Coca Cola Company must offer high quality products and ensure customer convenience in order to

Long term psychosocial effects of parental divorce Essay

Long term psychosocial effects of parental divorce - Essay Example Even if they chose not to take much of the effect of their parents’ divorce, the society allows them little room to grow normally with all the taunts and criticism they have to offer. The children of divorced parents have to develop extra potential, stamina and endurance to survive in the society. Adverse effects of the parental divorce are inevitable and start to surface in the very early years of a child’s academic career, when he/she has to mention the name of guardians on the admission forms. In case the child happened to live with only one of the parents, he/she develops a grey area for the image of the second parent in his/her mind. He/she can not realize what it feels like to be the son of the missing parent and becomes even more perplexed, as his/her friends narrate their relationship with the parent, that the child lacks. This paper discusses the long term psychological impacts of the divorce on the children that they have to live with. Soon after the parents divorce, the biggest problem that the child faces is his/her ownership. In a vast majority of cases, the ownership of child is decided by the laws. The child might have to live away from the parent he/she was very close to. The child also looses his/her grandparents. Although a child may not realize such a big loss of companions and relatives, the feeling pinches the child in his subconscious and he always misses something. The feelings lives on with the child as he/she grows up. Many children suffering from similar conditions might feel they lack something, though very less of them actually realize that it is all of those relations that were abandoned soon as his/her parents parted ways with each other. The confusion causes the child to develop psychological problems. The child can not find answers to many questions rising in his/her own mind. The child has to live on with those questions for the rest of his/her life. The child tries to sort out who was

Extended School Year in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvannia Research Paper

Extended School Year in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvannia - Research Paper Example Perhaps the greatest finding of the commission’s report was the fact that students present in other democratic countries (especially industrialized nations) were expected to take up to two times as much instructions in core academic areas during the course of a high school year than students being taught in high schools across the United States. (NECTL, 1994) 2. Relating Time and Learning Investigations into time and learning reveal that the amount of time spent on learning and the total learning acquired are directly related. Learning is affected consistently in a powerful manner based on the time allocated to learning. Moreover it has been found that schools that devote greater student time to learning tend to produce students with greater test scores in comparison to schools where student’s time is used up in other activities. (Walberg, Extended Learning Time, 1991) (Walberg, 1988) On the other hand there is no clear relationship between the amount of time allocated for instructing students in a school and the amount of time that students are engaged in various kinds of learning activities. Research carried out on the issue of time spent by students in school reveals that time is just one constituent that is required to ensure learning for students. This also indicates that merely increasing the time spent in schools is unlikely to produce any major changes in the amount of learning of students. The relationship between the amount of time spent and achievement does not present a strong case. Hence it is apparent that by only increasing the amount of time spent in schools will not produce large gains in learning by students. Therefore policy makers cannot expect to increase the amount of time spent in instructing students either in school days or school years in order to justify tremendous increases in learning. Another aspect often brought to light by most researchers is that the utilization of time is far more important than simple increases i n the time spent in school by students. As mentioned before mere mechanical increases in time are not likely to produce any major changes in the amount of learning or in academic achievement. However even then certain states are adding more and more time to their class times with some states adopting the school day approach while others adopt the school year approach. Based on these arguments it is pertinent to realize that time spent in the classroom should be optimized further in order to maximize learning in the classroom. This in turn leads to the question: How do aspects of learning and academic achievement get affected as time in the classroom is increased due to extended school year periods? Moreover should such a system be enforced in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania? 3. Findings 3.1. Academic Achievement The effects of prescribing an extended day or year program for classrooms was only the subject of a very few studies that were reviewed. However the few pertinent stud ies reviewed indicated that some issues were worth noting. A study conducted on 181 kindergarten students was structured that one half received conventional schooling while the other half received extended year programs at school. The study examined the effect of additional school days on the children’

Foreign Direct Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Foreign Direct Investment - Essay Example IFIs have been in existence courtesy of political and economic interests. Faster economic integration, through the elimination of cross-border barriers between the member countries, raises the possibility the spread of economic crisis across the region in the event of a policy failure and the role of international financial institutions in future to alleviate the problem. This is especially true because IFIs have not acted fast or adequate enough to enable countries avoid or manage the impacts of financial crises (Marktanner and Salman 4479). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are prominent IFIs, which provide financial services across the world. They were both set up at Bretton Woods in 1944 to control the post-war global economy. The establishment of IMF was inspired by the desire to manage the modalities of fixed exchange rates across states and to help nation-states ease budget shortfalls, while the World Bank’s scope at its inception was to enable na tions achieve post-war reconstruction efforts. Since then, the roles of both institutions have changed significantly following a swift evolution of the scope and mandate of international economy. These international changes have sparked concerns relating to the significance of the two international financial institutions. ... Nonetheless, the United States’ stance on the balance of payments weakened drastically in the 1960s as a result of heavy military budgets and soaring inflation rates. As a result, the suspension of the United States convertibility to gold in early 1970s led to the disintegration of the monetary system agreed upon at Bretton Woods. And for four decades now, all nations have set up internal mechanism to guide exchange rates. These range from fixed currency exchange rates to controlled floats and liberal floating systems. Benefits of IFIs Despite the shortfalls, IFIs are advantageous because the credit risk often comes out in adverse cases. As a result, the establishment of IFIs to cater for the financial needs of governments cannot be rivalled by the private sector. IFIs offer financial services at highly reduced costs, and do not exert a lot of pressures upon the loaner. This means IFIs operate in an even-handed manner, without passing extra costs to the loaner (Marktanner and Salman 4482). As the economy is mostly forced to factor in the political effects, this risk is invisible in the operation of IFIs. These organizations represent the qualified source of finances and may provide financial services at, or below the market interest rate, this being allowed even in the scenarios where global capital market reigns. In the event that the global capital markets remain steadfast, the ensuing scenario often manifests in the missing certitude in loaning each country, which essentially takes place due to the essence of the management of the economy. The challenge that a government may not have the capacity to handle the duty service is much reduced in a national economy that has

Argument from moral equivalence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Argument from moral equivalence - Essay Example Once there cannot be condemnation, then it cannot be said that a given cultural sect, morals or values are better or worse. As far as cultural relativism is concerned, it is important for people not to compare their cultural differences with what prevails in other cultures but learn to be tolerant towards all other cultures. In reference to the video, which clearly shows distaste for the Iranian culture of Sharia Law, it could be said that this claim is valid. The video is indeed relevant to the topic of cultural relativism because it outlines the extent to which social and human right groups come together to condemn some of the core values and codes in given cultures. As much as possible, these human right and social groups would want the fundamental human rights of people to be upheld while going about cultural diversity. To this extent, any cultures’ moral values and codes that defeat the ideas of fundamental human rights, such as making a woman suffer death for the offence of adultery is seen as worse. In conclusion therefore, it can be said that the world has come to such a time when cultural relativism is seen as

Currency trading experience Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Currency trading experience - Research Paper Example platform the company has made available for willing financial institutions and investors; I was offered resources and efficient tools in accessing currency information that are kept up-to-date; the company also made available to me and others secure currency transfer services; and also professional consultancy and daily market reports. My strategy while there was to focus on online trading processes as it was faster and more convenient. The secret is to monitor existing trends in the market and take advantage of favorable situations. By such one is able to not any future currency value change. Such is beneficial as it enables you to avoid any losses and to make as much as possible from the shift in trading currency value. This ensures higher profit probability as once trends are over then unexpected losses are made by a trader. Another strategy is to avoid scalping where one decides to exploit delays as the trading is done online. This is also became a lesson as it is advisable to stay in the trading market as long as one desires contrary to what happens. Fortunately Oanda does allow one to extend their time in the trading market. Currency traders are individuals who take part in the buying and selling of world currencies in a bid to earn profits from the ever changing currency values. Successful currency traders make considerable profit margins contrary to unsuccessful traders who make losses. Such successful traders are characterized by excellent forecasting skills on the shift in currency values. Such an ability enables them to avoid any future losses and also enables them to approximate the profit made from trading different currencies. They are able to interpret market trends as per their trading processes and make quick and appropriate decisions. Such quick decisions enables them to stay focused and determined while trading regardless of the stresses and pressures experienced while trading. Such traders are also able to quickly recover from any losses

Blood Brothers Essay Example for Free

Blood Brothers Essay It feels like he is this omnipotent being and he is deciding the fate of all the children. Its almost as if he is the emotion that everyone wants to avoid but no one is doing anything about it, Mrs Johnstone carries on in her life pretending that she isnt superstitious and although there is this undying voice inside her saying that she is and one day Mickey and Edward are going to die. This voice is what the Narrator is, he is fate and Mrs Johnstone chooses to ignore it but she knows you cant change fate. On the stage he is always there, he is omnipresent, this constant being there shows that the thoughts of Mrs Johnstone are still there and that nothing you do will undo the past. Mrs Johnstone has to live with the decision of what she has done but she chooses to ignore it. The Narrator can be viewed upon as the referee of life (or as you might God), you know the rules and now you have to follow the rules (the superstition) but Mrs Johnstone turns a blind eye, forgets about it and pretends that it will never happen, but she must follow the rules. Prejudice Prejudice is a fixed opinion, which is not based on a fair examination of the facts. The picture with the black and white boy and the so-called magical stick (simply because we dont know what it is) is a base of which many different scenes can be produced and discussions can take place. The children come across as innocent, possibly that they have no reason to be prejudice against each other but through past happenings (lynching in America and the KKK) their parents want them to be prejudice to supposable keep them from harm. It shows that possibly prejudice to this degree is only set in motion if something terrible happens by a specific type of people (the KKK killing black people) and that when it comes down to it the people themselves are not the same as the people who have done this feat. Suppose that everyone in the world was white and everyone was the same religion, height, age etc. but despite this the KKK would exist and the lynching would still go on; people would find another way to view differences, where you live or even your surname. My point is that I think its human nature to take a dislike against different people, if you look back hundreds of years and people lived in remote places (tribes for example) and a tribe moved to join another tribe, because the new tribe is different it presents its self with a new variable, that it could jeopardise the well-being of the original tribe. So this original tribe will try and eliminate this variable (driving them away or even killing them) to stop it from harming their own tribe. You can translate this to the black people moving into America and the white people living there trying to protect them by getting rid of any new possible threat. Mickey and Edwards first meeting and an evaluation of two groups Francis (me), Jamie and Barry   There was a nice mime of the gun from me as I sat on the apron of the stage. It was good because the gun I made in my hands by pointing one of my fingers out and it looked as though it was a gun because it took the form of a gun well. We did some good work even though we had only one lesson to get it done in. It was good work because we learnt most of our words and got the blocking sorted. The giggling after the F word was good because it was very childish because I and Jamie looked as if we were embarrassed.   My body language was good, my arms movements were exaggerated and typical of a seven year old because that is how the act with their arms.   Even though Jamie lost his place in the play, he didnt come out of character and got back on tracks very quickly. Very good facial and body language from all of use and especially me, me and Jamies facial expressions matched seven year olds expressions and Barrys face showed that he was pissed off and he acted as though he was the boss by talking louder and demanding respect.We could of have improved by thoroughly learning the script and concentrating more on our actions. James and Richard   Both of them learnt the script and did not lose their place or forget their words. They didnt fully use their hand movement so they couldnt act exactly as a seven year old would because people at that age use their hands.   When they said the F word they looked as though they were very excited and embarrassed. They looked like this because they acted as young people would when they heard a naughty word; they did this by having wide eyes and giggling immensely.   When James said pissed off it was well done because it sounded as though he really was pissed off. Only on one incident did James forget his words, but nether the less he still kept in character and sorted it out by referring to the script. What I have learnt about the class differences between the twins I have learnt that Edwards class is most probably upper class; either this or they are very rich middle class people. I have learnt that Mrs and Mr Lyons have a highly etiquette way of living, for example they do not allow swearing of any form whereas with Mrs Johnstones way of living swearing occurs frequently. Mickeys class is probably lower class, which is they do not have a large amount of money or income. She has many children and works very hard for Mrs Lyons but still does not get a large income. I have learnt that its most likely that Mrs Johnstones family expresses their emotions more often than Mrs Lyons family; this could be because Mrs Johnstone does not have as much material possessions compared with Mrs Lyons so she spends more time in her free time with her kids. On the contrast Mrs Lyons has many material possessions so she doesnt spend that much time with Edward because hes playing with his toys (for example). The changing attitudes between Mickey and Edward Through the play the twins attitude changes in aspects of their lives, for example them being blood brothers forever and the relationship between each other. When they were both seven years old they took delight in knowing that they were born on the same day, furthermore they made each other their blood brother. They were both immensely thrilled by this new bond they made and longed to be like each other. However when they grew older their views on being a blood brother changed, especially for Mickey who grows up and realises that he previous action of becoming a blood brother is childs play. He says that while no one was looking I grew up, and I think that because of his harsh life with not much money he stops believing in the childish act and starts realizing that he has to open his eyes and stop playing games. However with Edward he hasnt got a single worry in his life because he has lots of money a good social life and really not many initial problems at all; so because of this he still believes in this blood brother stuff because he hasnt grown up and found out what the world was really like. He still lives in a pampered world where anything he wants (and because he is an only child he is spoilt) he gets, he can afford to play games and Mickey cant. Edward doesnt realize no important a job is, why why is a job so important because he can live off his parent income if he wants to, but Mickey knows that without a job hell have no money and because he mum cant afford extra school he cant get the grades to get a good job. Mickeys attitude towards life changes the most, when he was seven he saw everything as a game and didnt have any real problem to worry about. Although as he grows up he realises that he needs money and a steady income and him being a blood brother with Edward is just a childrens game. On the other hand Edward has gone to university, he can use his parents money to give him anything he wants and he hasnt yet realised what life is really like when your throw in the deep end without any support, so because of this his attitude of being a blood brother hasnt changed dramatically. How we acted these changes out We acted out the first time Mickey and Edwards first meeting, this showed that they are immensely fascinated with each other and wanted to be just like each other, furthermore on top of this they are born on the same day and become blood brothers. To show further how this friendship was good I wrote a monologue showing how Edward was dumfounded with Mickeys knowledge and who he is and that he wants to play and be friends and blood brothers forever. Later on in the play where the most time and the most dramatic difference was noticeable where they had spent the most time away form each other was when Edward got back to Mickey from university. We acted this out in a workshop and showed that Mickey was extremely livid by his job and Edwards fortune. Edward had friends he had money and he had just come back from university and he had a great time, whereas Mickey was just working for minimal pay putting together cardboard boxes. When we see Edward and Mickey meet for the first time Mickey expresses that he hasnt grown up and he makes him sick. Mickey has put up with so much when Edward was at university and his nerves were stretched to breaking point and as soon as the person who is most like him in the world comes home and sees that he is doing very well, he snaps mentally. I think that this is why he is forced into taking drugs. We acted this difference out by showing that Mickey was very angry and livid by the thought of Edward and that he saw him self as a failure, no job and even when he had one it was a very poor job, and Edward doing extremely well makes him feel even worse. The workshop During the workshop I learnt that gesture and hand movements are very important to express emotions and that it isnt all through the voice. I learnt that you can use swear words, gesture and actions which provoke something in the audience but only once or twice because after a couple of times it doesnt have the same effect that it has the first time. I learnt to know that when your on the stage its your stage no one elses so you do not have to rush what you are saying because you are the one on stage and nobody is their to take it away; space between what you are saying. Also that when Mickey is angry and listing all the things that he is angry about I know that it is a good idea to rise in anger as you progress, because Mickey thinks of one thing which makes him angry then he says another and he knows that there are many things that he is angry about; so it topples on top of all the things he is angry or upset about in one frame of mind. In the workshop I learnt that you must always try your best if you want to become an actor (or any other profession) and that if you have an ambition, you should pursue it fully. The best performance When the people in our group performed I thought that Ned performed well; although there is only one criticism I can offer. His charisma on the stage is very good; he projects his voice and shows very well what the character is feeling. When he was playing Mickey and expressing how Mickey felt about his life he did it in such a way that you felt very sympathetic towards him; me must have emphasised a lot to understand what he feeling. The only criticism I can make is that when he acts as though he is upset or angry he tends to do it all the same. His acting at expressing those emotions are very good but he tends to do the same acting for different characters. I just feel that not everybody is angry or upset in the same way, there are many different ways of being angry so I think he should a larger variety of different ways of expressing different emotions.

Sixth Sense Technology Introduction

Sixth Sense Technology Introduction Abstract: ‘Sixth Sense is a wearable gesture interface that augments the physical world around us with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that information. This technology will definitely give the user a new way of seeing the world with information at their fingertips it has been classified under the category ‘wearable computing’. The true power of Sixth Sense lies on its potential to connect the real world with the Internet, and overlaying the information on the world itself. The key here is that Sixth Sense recognizes the objects around you, displaying information automatically and letting you access it in any way you want, in the simplest way possible. This paper gives you just introduction about sixth sense. This paper makes you familiar with sixth sense technology which provides freedom of interacting with the digital world using hand gestures. The sixth sense prototype is comprised of pocket projector, a mirror, mobile components, color markers and a camera. The sixth sense technology is all about interacting to the digital world in most efficient and direct way. Sixth Sense devices are very much different from the Computers; this will be a new topic for the hackers and the other people also. Everyone can get general idea of sixth sense technology by look at this paper. Keywords: Sixth Sense, wearable computing, Augmented Reality, Gesture Recognition, Computer Vision __________________________________________________________*****_________________________________________________________ 1. INTRODUCTION We’ve evolved over millions of years to sense the world around us. When we encounter something, someone or some place, we use our five natural senses which include eye, ear, nose, tongue mind and body to perceive information about it; that information helps us make decisions and chose the right actions to take. But arguably the most useful information that can help us make the right decision is not naturally perceivable with our five senses, namely the data, information and knowledge that mankind has accumulated about everything and which is increasingly all available online. Although the miniaturization of computing devices allows us to carry computers in our pockets, keeping us continually connected to the digital world, there is no link between our digital devices and our interactions with the physical world. Information is confined traditionally on paper or digitally on a screen. Sixth Sense bridges this gap, bringing intangible, digital information out into the tangible world, and allowing us to interact with this information via natural hand gestures. ‘Sixth Sense’ frees information from its confines by seamlessly integrating it with reality, and thus making the entire world your computer. All of us are aware of the five basic senses – seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting and hearing. But there is also another sense called the sixth sense. It is basically a connection to something greater than what their physical senses are able to perceive. To a layman, it would be something supernatural. Some might just consider it to be a superstition or something psychological. But the invention of sixth sense technology has completely shocked the world. Although it is not widely known as of now but the time is not far when this technology will change our perception of the world. Fig. 1.1: Six Senses Sixth Sense is a wearable â€Å"gesture based† device that augments the physical world with digital information and lets people use natural hand gestures to interact with that information. Right now, we use our devices (computers, mobile phones, tablets, etc.) to go into the internet and get information that we want. With Sixth Sense we will use a device no bigger than current cell phones and probably eventually as small as a button on our shirts to bring the internet to us in order to interact with our world! Sixth Sense will allow us to interact with our world like never before. We can get information on anything we want from anywhere within a few moments! We will not only be able to interact with things on a whole new level but also with people. One great part of the device is its ability to scan objects or even people and project out information regarding what you are looking. 1.1 History and Evolution of Sixth Sense Technology Steve Mann is father of sixth sense who made a wearable computer in 1990. The Sixth Sense Technology was first implemented as the neck worn projector + camera system. He was a media lab student at that time. There after it was used and implemented by an Indian who is the man has become very famous in the recent Pranav Mistry. There will be a long future rather than the short period of history for the Sixth Sense technology. 1.2 Why choose Sixth Sense Technology This sixth sense technology provides us with the freedom of interacting with the digital world using hand gestures. This technology has a wide application in the field of artificial intelligence. This methodology can aid in synthesis of bots that will be able to interact with humans. This technology enables people to interact in the digital world as if they are interacting in the real world. The Sixth Sense prototype implements several applications that demonstrate the usefulness, viability and flexibility of the system [4]. 2. CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING The Sixth Sense prototype comprises a pocket projector a mirror and a camera contained in a pendant like, wearable device. Both the projector and the camera are connected to a mobile computing device in the user’s pocket. The projector projects visual information enabling surfaces, walls and physical objects around us to be used as interfaces; while the camera recognizes and tracks users hand gestures and physical objects using computer-vision based techniques. The software program processes the video stream data captured by the camera and tracks the locations of the colored markers (visual tracking fiducials) at the tip of the user’s fingers. The movements and arrangements of these fiducially are interpreted into gestures that act as interaction instructions for the projected application interfaces. Sixth Sense supports multi-touch and multi-user interaction. Fig. 2.1: Sixth Sense Technology Working 3. TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE RELATED TO SIXTH SENSE DEVICES 3.1. Augmented Reality The augmented reality is a visualization technology that allows the user to experience the virtual experience added over real world in real time. Augmented reality adds graphics, sounds, hepatic feedback and smell to the natural world as it exists [3]. 3.2. Gesture Recognition It is a technology which is aimed at interpreting human gestures with the help of mathematical algorithms. Gesture recognition technique basically special type of hand gloves which provide information about hand position orientation and flux of the fingers [3]. 3.3. Computer Vision Computer Vision is the technology in which machines are able to interpret necessary information from an image. This technology includes various fields like image processing, image analysis and machine vision. It includes certain aspect of artificial intelligence techniques like pattern recognition [3]. 3.4. Radio Frequency Identification Radio Frequency Identification systems transmit the identity of an object wirelessly, using radio magnetic waves. The main purpose of this technology is to enable the transfer of a data via a portable device. This technology is widely used in the fields like asset tracking, supply chain management, manufacturing, payment system etc [3]. 4. APPLICATIONS The Sixth Sense device has a huge number of applications. The following are few of the applications of Sixth Sense Technology:- 4.1. Viewing Map: With the help of a map application the user can call upon any map of his/her choice and navigate through them by projecting the map on to any surface. By using the thumb and index fingers movements the user can zoom in, zoom out or pan the selected map[2]. Fig -4.1: Viewing Map 4.2. Taking Pictures: Another application of Sixth Sense devices is the implementation of a gestural camera. This camera takes the photo of the location user is looking at by detecting the framing gesture. After taking the desired number of photos we can project them onto any surfaces and then use gestures to sort through those photos and organize and resize them[2]. Fig 4.2: Taking Pictures 4.3. Drawing Application: The drawing application allows the user you to draw on any surface by tracking the fingertip movements of the user’s index finger. The pictures that are drawn by the user can be stored and replaced on any other surface. The user can also shuffle through various pictures and drawing by using the hand gesture movements[2]. Fig -4.3: Drawing Application 4.4. Making Calls: We can make calls with the help of Sixth Sense device. The Sixth Sense device is used to protect the keyboard into your palm and using that virtual keypad we can make calls to anyone[2]. Fig -4.4. Making Calls 4.5. Interacting with Physical Objects: The Sixth Sense system also helps to interact with physical objects we use in a better way. It augments physical objects by projecting more information about these objects projected on them. For example, a gesture of drawing a circle on the user’s wrist projects a watch on the user’s hand. Similarly a newspaper can show live video news or dynamic information can be provided on a regular piece of paper[2]. Fig -4.5: Watching News 4.6. Flight Updates: The system will recognize your boarding pass and let you know whether your flight is on time and if the gate has changed[2]. Fig 4.6: Flight Updates 4.7. Other Applications: Sixth Sense also lets the user draw icons or symbols in the air using the movement of the index finger and recognizes those symbols as interaction instructions. For example, drawing a magnifying glass symbol takes the user to the map application or drawing a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢@à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬- symbol lets the user check his mail[2]. 5. KEY FEATURES OF SIXTHSENSE Sixth Sense is a user friendly interface which integrates digital information into the physical world and its objects, making the entire world your computer. Sixth Sense does not change human habits but causes computer and other machines to adapt to human needs. It uses hand gestures to interact with digital information, supports multi-touch and multi-user interaction. Data access directly from machine in real time. It is an open source and cost effective and we can mind map the idea anywhere. It is gesture-controlled wearable computing device that feeds our relevant information and turns any surface into an interactive display. It is portable and easy to carry as we can wear it in our neck. The device could be used by anyone without even a basic knowledge of a keyboard or mouse. There is no need to carry a camera anymore. If we are going for a holiday, then from now on wards it will be easy to capture photos by using mere fingers CONCLUSION As this technology will emerge may be new devices and hence forth new markets will evolve. This technology enables one to account, compute and browse data on any piece of paper we can find around. Sixth Sense devices are very much different from the computers; this will be a new topic for the hackers and the other people also. First thing is to provide the security for the Sixth Sense applications and devices. Lot of good technologies came and died due to the security threats. There are some weaknesses that can reduce the accuracy of the data. Some of them were the on palm phone keypad. It allows the user to dial a number of the phone using the keypad available on the palm. There will be a significant market competitor to the Sixth Sense technology since it still required some hardware involvement with the user. REFRENCES http://www.pranavmistry.com/projects/sixthsense/ http://dspace.cusat.ac.in/jspui/bitstream/123456789/2207/1/SI XTH%20SENSE%20TECHNOLOGY.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SixthSense http://www.engineersgarage.com/articles/sixth-sense-technology http:/www.ted.com/talkspranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html

Strength Training for Volleyball Players

Strength Training for Volleyball Players The improvement of these abilities is quite important for a volleyball player, being the muscular strength many times the priority for the young athlete. Several studies have reported significant improvements in vertical jump following resistance training (Baker et al, 1994 ) and (Stone et al, 1981).The purpose of strength training for volleyball is not to build big muscles, but to develop the physical characteristics necessary to improve a player’s performance. Strength training is very important to volleyball and however, should not be developed independently from other abilities such as agility, speed and endurance. This program is designed mainly to improve the skill of vertical jump in volleyball for players with moderate to advanced experience. Needs Analysis Needs analysis focuses on the fitness needs of both the activity (vertical jump) and the athlete involved in the sport (volleyball). Sport analysis Successful participation in volleyball sport requires expertise in many physical skills and performance is often dependent on an individual’s ability to propel themselves into the air during both offensive and defensive manoeuvres. These movements include the jump serve, spike, and block. During the carrying out of a jump serve or a spike, the player jumps high into the air and strikes the ball at the highest point of their jump in an effort to propel the ball rapidly down towards the opposing side of the net. Defensively, front row players defend against spikes by jumping into the air with their hands raised in an effort to impede the offensive attack. Unlike offensive jumps, defensive jumps are not maximal vertical jump efforts. There are many factors that are involved in an athlete’s vertical jump and many factors that are involved in improving an athlete’s vertical jump. Vertical jump mainly involves use of the lower limbs. However, the upper limbs play an important role in vertical jump activity. Feltner et al (1999) and Harman et al (1990) concluded that using an arm swing during vertical jumping improved performance over no arm swing. An upward swing causes a downward force on the trunk which in turn slows the rate of contraction of the leg muscles allowing the muscles to contract at a slower velocity and thus generates more force. The fact that an arm swing is so important to vertical jumping performance, may indicate that there is a technique or skill component to vertical jumping, rather than just leg power (Young, 1995). Another biomechanical aspect of vertical jump is the bi-lateral deficit. Bi-lateral deficit results in different heights one-leg versus two-leg vertical jump. The maximal height achieved from one-legged jump is approximately 60% of the maximal two-legged height (Challis, 1998). The possible reason for this deficit may be a neuromuscular adaptation. One-leg jump requires a maximal recruitment of muscle fibres due to less muscle mass available. Furthermore, the height that is achieved by the vertical jump has a direct correlation with the amount of force that is produced by the muscle fibres. This force is created by a phenomenon known as the stretch-shortening cycle of muscle fibres. The stretch-shortening cycle is a natural reaction by muscle fibres to slow the body from fast movements and prevent injury to the individual involved (Kraemer and Newton, 1994). The stretch-shortening cycle involves a counter-movement when a muscle fibre is rapidly stretched creating tension within the muscle. A counter-movement occurs when the muscles are eccentrically stretched, and then rapidly shortened to accelerate the body in the opposite direction and achieve the reverse desirable action. To accomplish this, the muscles act eccentrically to slow the body and initiate the reverse desirable movement (Kraemer and Newton, 1994). This cycle is critical to vertical jump performance. As the individual flexes the knees to jump, the stretch shortening cycle is activated and the athlete explodes into the jump. Newton et al (1997) claimed that there may be an even more important factor to producing more forceful contractions. The research that they conducted came to the conclusion that force output did increase as a function of load, but lighter loads also produced more force because of the speed that the muscle was contracting. In terms of muscle fibre type, elite volleyball players typically show muscle fibre percentages of around 52-60% Fast Twitch muscle fibre composition, which compare favourably to samples from elite level sprinters and jumpers (45-80%FT) (Conlee et al, 1982). A final biomechanical feature of vertical jumps involves the mechanics of the two-joint muscles of the lower limbs. The major muscle groups of the lower extremities involved in vertical jump are the hamstrings, quadriceps and gastrocnemius. All these muscle groups are bi-articulated muscles that cross over multiple joints. The sequence of muscle activation occurs through a proximal to distal pattern (Pandy, 1991). Thus, the gluteus maximus and hamstrings are activated first with a distinct goal of accelerating the trunk upward after countermovement. The activation continues downward through thigh, shank and finally to the toes. Therefore, all of the lower limb muscles must work in order to develop an explosive power. Energy source Research has shown that elite volleyball players to rely primarily upon their anaerobic energy system to supply energy demands during a match (Conlee et al, 1982). However, matches can last up to two and a half hours; therefore some aerobic component must be present as well. Volleyball is 90% anaerobic and 10% aerobic (Baechle et al, 2000). The aerobic energy system may not be relied upon during matches, but it is certainly important during training sessions, rest, and recovery periods. In relation to the specific composition of muscle fibres, it has been suggested that athletes with a well developed anaerobic power capacity will generate more power than athletes with a high aerobic power capacity (Conlee et al, 1982). Primary sites of injury The mechanisms and frequencies of injury in volleyball are well documented. The jump-landing sequence is the most common source of injury in volleyball (Briner and Kacmar, 1997). In fact, blocking and spiking are linked with over 70% of volleyball injuries (Watkins and Green, 1992). Ferretti et al., (1992) hypothesized that the high number of jumps and the likelihood of losing balance due to deviations in jumping technique are the primary causes of injury during volleyball. The vast majority (90%) of volleyball injuries occur in the lower extremity with the knee joint being particularly vulnerable (Gerberich et al, 1987). Knee injuries are of particular importance because they are associated with more lost time from sports participation than other injury sites (Solgà ¥rd et al, 1995). A well-designed volleyball training program will also help to reduce the incidence and severity of injury in volleyball players. Despite being a non-contact sport, a three study found that volleyball is the eighth most injury prone sport in the age group 14 to 20 years (De Loà «s ,1995). Program Design A well-structured volleyball training program can increase explosive power, vertical jump height, stamina and speed and agility around the court. Skill training alone, such as practising spikes, wont develop the physical traits necessary to play to the athletes full potential (Gabbett et al, 2006).Volleyball players have exceptional lower body power and perform well in the vertical jump test (Smith et al,1992). Power in the legs is needed to jump explosively off the ground in order to spike, block, set and dive. This program is designed to maximize the vertical jump for a professional volleyball player who is very interested in increasing his vertical jump to enhance his sport performance for the in-season period. It is a pre-season program which focuses on actual sport specific functions. Squatting, jumping, lateral stepping, hitting and spiking are all common volleyball movements. The pre-season volleyball strength training routine is less intense than the off-season. The goal is to maintain that strength and power, but to perfect sport specific movements. The subject is a full-time employee therefore he has no plenty of time for training. He also practises volleyball with no real schedule. He devotes his weekend to leisure activities and social commitments, so training must be scheduled during weekdays. Conveniently, the subject has no prior major sports injury and he was medically cleared fit for resistance training. The subject has good background of resistance training programs and he has been on training course over the past three months. His training included jogging for 30 minutes and some basic general strength exercises. In order to make strength a valuable physiological component, it must be trained in such a way that gains in strength lead to the highest levels of jumping power. This jumping power must then be effectively applied during the game. To achieve this, strength program is structured into three training phases that lead into the competitive phase. This program consists of three phases (mesocycles) derived from a classic periodization model. These three phases are basic strength, explosive strength and reactive strength. Each phase is four weeks in length. Phase 1 This phase precedes explosive strength and reactive strength training. This is important even for experienced strength-trained athletes as the nature of competitive sport places uneven stresses on the body. The goal here is not to try to necessarily mimic sports movements, but rather just to increase the contractual force producing capabilities of the muscles that are involved in the vertical jump. This phase lasts for 4 weeks and it aims to balance strength between the two sides of the body. It also aims to restore correct balance between the flexors and extensors (such as the hamstrings and quadriceps for example). Attention will be paid to developing limit strength in the muscles of the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings and lower back as these are the most important muscle groups for vertical jumping. The muscles of the hip extensors will be given special attention because they are usually the weak links in the large majority of athletes. These muscles are the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. During this phase, training begins at a low intensity with high volume. It includes sport-specific exercises related to vertical jump as well as some non-specific exercises such as core exercises. Overload progress from 60% to 75% of 1RM. Repetitions per set range from 5 to 10 depending on how intense the exercise is. Phase 2 The goal of explosive strength exercises is to either perform the movement with more speed, or with more height. For example, try to jump higher while squatting with light to moderate weights. Generally, speed of movement, especially the beginning of the movement, is more important than the load involved when it comes to these exercises.Explosive strength movements focus on developing maximal starting and explosive strength, without much involvement of the reflexive stretch-shortening cycle .They essentially focus on applying max voluntary force as quickly as possible. In this phase plyometric exercises will be introduced particularly jumps in place and standing jump. Phase 3 Reactive strength exercises generally consist of jumps. The goal with the reactive strength exercises is to execute the movements with either less time spent on the ground or by jumping higher. These movements allow you to take advantage and build upon the reflexive forces that come from the plyometric effect. They are essential for anyone wanting to jump higher and run faster. This training uses the stretch-shortening cycle (stretch reflex) .The stretching reflex responds to the speed at which muscle/tendon complex is stretched prior to movement. Therefore, the faster and greater the stretch is the greater the corresponding reactive force will be. Specificity All exercises included in this program are designed to improve strength, neuromuscular adaptations and recruitment of muscles involved in vertical jump. Volleyball requires explosive movements with sequential use of muscles in a specific order. Olympic lifts strengthen muscles at a similar velocity and in the same order as needed in volleyball (Cross, 1993). Thus, this program will include use of Olympic lifts (snatch, clean and jerk). Most vertical jumping in volleyball is performed from static standing or from a two-step approach (Black, 1995). However, many upward and lateral movements of the upper limb are needed for blocking and spiking. Upper body and abdominal (trunk) strength has also been shown to be a contributing factor to vertical jump performance (Bobbert et al, 1994). Strength in the upper body, particularly the arms and shoulders helps to increase the strength throughout the trunk region which creates solid posture to help maximise jumping technique. Therefore, this program includes many exercises of upper body in order to strengthen all muscles involved in vertical jump.Other exercises (bench press, push press and core conditioning) are included in the program although they do not specifically improve vertical jump. These exercises are included to maintain muscular balance and enhance strength base. While this program is basically designed to improve the vertical jump, it would also be sufficient in developing upper and lower body strength and power. This program also includes some plyometric activities for both upper and lower limbs.Velocity specificity is an important consideration when designing resistance training programs for vertical jump. It indicates that training adaptations (e.g., increased strength/power) are greatest at or near the training velocity (Pereira and Gomes, 2003). However, there exists a conflicting hypothesis that the intention to move a barbell, one’s own body, or any other object explosively is more important than the actual movement velocity in determining velocity-specific responses of the neuromuscular system to resistance training (Behm and Sale, 1993)Plyometric training has been shown to be one of the most effective methods for improving explosive power (Fleck and Kraemer, 2004). A wide variety of athletes can benefit from power training, particularly if it follows or coincides with a strength training program. In order for plyometric training to be at its most effective it should follow a phase of maximal strength training (Baechle et al, 2000). The purpose of plyometrics is to improve the athlete’s capacity to apply more force more rapidly. Logically then, the greater the athlete’s ability to generate maximal force or strength to begin with, the more of it can be converted into sport-specific power. Weighted vertical jumps are included in this program for its popularity among training specialists and for its proven benefits in many studies. Baker et al. (2001) found that maximal power was achieved during weighted squat jumps with a 48-63% of 1RM squat. Moreover, Wilson et al. (1993) concluded that weighted jumps increased counter-movement and non-counter-movement vertical jump heights more than the traditional resistance training and plyometric. In the same way, Newton et al (1997) showed that ballistic jump squat training against 30, 60, and 80% 1RM improved vertical jump performance of elite volleyball players significantly more than squat and leg press training with 6RM loads. Subjects in both groups also completed the usual on-court volleyball practice, which involved a large volume of jumping activities. Harris et al. (2000) support this idea by showing the superiority of a combination of heavy- and light-load training to either training method alone in improving a variety of sports performance in football players. Accordingly, athletes may benefit most from resistance training using a range of loads with the intention to move explosively coupled with practicing of the actual sport movement Equipment and spotting This program relies mainly on free-weight training exercises including barbell and dumbbells. Other equipment include pulley and plyometric training facilities such as medicine balls, boxes and hurdles .Free weight training has some advantages over machine training such as whole body training and simulation of real sport activities. However, free weight training requires more balance and coordination. Therefore, spotting is highly required during training with free weights particularly with beginners and young athletes. This program has plenty of free weight exercises performed in different positions and angles and at different velocities therefore, spotting will be carried out for the most of exercises but special attention will be given to the most dangerous exercises such as overhead exercises and Olympic lifts. Intensity The intensity of the program starts at a low level and increases gradually throughout the program. 1RM strength was established at the beginning of the program by estimation from a 10RM test-measured value. 1RM is retested every two weeks after the initial test. However, 1RM will be estimated from 1RM-5RM at the beginning of the second mesocycle. Estimating the 1RM from 10RM provides a general guide until the trainee has developed sufficient strength and neural adaptations that would make testing at low RMs safe an effective (Fleck and Kraemer, 2004). Intensity is adjusted by increasing the amount lifted and using supersetting and compound exercises (several exercises for the same muscle group, or multiple exercises for different muscle groups performed with little or no rest). During the last week (microcycle) of each mesocycle, the intensity and volume are slightly decreased in order to allow time for complete adaptation to take place. Plyometric exercises are introduced according to their intensity level. Low intensity exercises are first introduced followed by moderate and then high intensity exercises. Training volume Training volume is generally estimated from the total number of sets and repetitions performed in a single session. A multiple-set (three to six sets) power program incorporated into a strength training program consisting of one to six repetitions in periodized manner is recommended for advanced power training (Fleck and Kraemer, 2004). One meta-analysis (Rhea et al, 2003) concluded that four sets of resistance training produced twice the strength increases of one set. Baker et al (2001) concluded that as training volume increases, power tends to decrease and vice versa. Therefore, in order to maximize power gains in this program, the volume of the training starts at a high level and steadily decreases over time. Resistance training volume is further reduced when introducing plyometric exercises. Volume is adjusted by decreasing the number of repetitions per set or by decreasing the number of sets per session. Rest and recovery Adequate rest and recovery are addressed by allowing a full day of rest between each two successive sessions, as well as limiting number of exercises per set. Generally, rest between sets ranges from three to four minutes depending on the number of repetitions performed and intensity of the exercise. For example, a set of 6 repetitions of box jump will need four- minute- rest. When training muscle groups which act together in the same session (i.e. pectorals and deltoids), fatigue may take place. To prevent this problem the muscle groups just trained will be rested or an unrelated muscle groups such as calf group may be trained prior to the training of subsequent muscle groups that have similar actions. Plyometric exercises are performed at the beginning of the training session after a thorough warm-up. Doing so, athlete will develop maximal power before muscle become fatigued from resistance training (Fleck and Kraemer, 2004). The highest volume and intensity exercises are usually performed on Fridays, thus allowing two-day recovery. Periodization This program is designed as a pre-season training consisting of three mesocycles, with four microcycles in each mesocycle. Each microcycle is one week long and involves training over three days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Conclusion This program is designed to improve the vertical jump in a professional volleyball player. The workouts are demanding but simple enough to complete in 40 minutes or less. More importantly, psychological factors have been taken into account. This is the reason for the variation in the program within each cycle. Subject may skip some workouts or be not interested in training because of physical or emotional stress. However, with proper supervision and coaching and compliance to this program, the subject will see not only increases in strength and power, but also improvement in vertical jumping and consequently physical performance.

Music Appreciation Early Period :: essays research papers

In order to understand how Aquinas affected both Hildegard and Guillaume, one must look at a bit of background of each. To start, Aquinas believed â€Å"everything is arranged in ascending order to God, the only necessary, self-sufficient being.† Aquinas also believed that faith and reason constitute two harmonious realms. They are not the same. Hildegard was born before Aquinas and therefore could not have been directly affected by his modernization of western thought. However, Hildegard was brought up very religious and held God’s will in highest regard. She was also taught outside of the church in what was called learned studies of natural science, medicine, and other matters. Hildegard experienced visions, one of which led her to fully understand the meaning of the Scriptures, and she was moved to write religious poetry with music because of this. Her music reflects her religious upbringing and religious thought. Hildegard’s musical style was more so monophonic, like the Gregorian chant, and reflected the visions she had. Hildegard believed that her visions came directly from God and were God’s will. Hence the fact that she composed music based more on faith. Guillaume, on the other hand, wrote his music based more on reason than faith. Following the philosophy of Aquinas, that only in acquisition of knowledge could one find God, Guillaume pushed to gain that knowledge and in doing so he felt rewarded. His secular music developed from this knowledge. In turn, Guillaume grew with his understanding to the point where he developed a romantic as well as literary relationship with a young woman, breaking the bonds of his religious vows. The drive behind his secular music was emotions and understanding of those emotions. Getting more specific as to the styles of both of these composers, Hildegard had no formal schooling in music, and used an improvisational style. Hildegard had a more individual style that was improvisational, non-linear, and included "dramatic leaps". On the other hand, Guillaume used "complex structures based on the repetition and manipulation of borrowed melodies". Guillaume used strict formatting that follows a logical flow, which he borrowed from other composers Therefore, you hear large differences between Guillaume and Hildegard. Aquinas had thought that knowledge gets one closer to God. Granted, there was no need for knowledge before the time of Aquinas, but there was still that desire to be closer to God.

Prejudice in To Kill A Mockingbird & Telephone Conversation Essay

The dictionary defines prejudice as a learned, preformed, and unsubstantiated judgment or opinion about an individual or a group, either favorable or unfavorable in nature. Through the study of the book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and the poem Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka, ones understanding of prejudice and what makes up prejudice changes considerably for what could be perceived as for the better or for the worse. Being ignorant of what is happening or not knowing and properly understanding what prejudice is can make it easy to turn a blind eye to what is happening around you. Learning what prejudice is makes one more conscious of what is happening right next to you in everyday life. Being educated about prejudice is one step closer to a more peaceful life but prejudice will likely never completely disappear, like George Aiken says, â€Å"If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon.† Ones perception of the concept of prejudice is primarily determined by the environment in which one grew up. As Sydney Smith said, â€Å"Never try to reason the prejudice out with a man. It was not reasoned into him, and therefore cannot be reasoned out.† It is evident that ones opinion of other people reflects back to the ethics that they were brought up with. From the eyes of the young and innocent Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, we follow the story of Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley and Tom Robinson in the deceivingly quaint town of Maycomb where these two innocent men’s lives are ruined by the evil of other men and women. The two men are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story, good, innocent people, hurt by the injustice, hatred and prejudice of a small town... .... Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered Omnibus†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Like Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird, the West African man is unjustly discriminated against because of his race and the colour of his skin. In comparing and analyzing these two texts, one gains a better understanding of the concept of prejudice. There is no logic or reasoning behind prejudice, which is why it is hard to stop it. We all like to think that one day the world will be free of prejudice and everyone will be considered equal and we hang on to that hope as in the words of Martin Luther King Jr, â€Å"Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.†

Religious Musings on The Turner Diaries: Reading the Bible of the Racist Right :: Free Essays Online

Religious Musings on The Turner Diaries: Reading the Bible of the Racist Right Domestic religious terrorism doesn't figure very strongly in the modern American consciousness. However, this may be more of an embarrassing oversight than an encouraging reflection of reality. Juergensmeyer did me quite a service by starting out his forceful documentation and analysis by looking at the actions of the American religious right. Though he focused on those responsible for the attacks against abortion clinics, he also brought up the Christian Identity movement, the group connected with Timothy McVeigh of Oklahoma City bombing fame. Their theology (that they are the only true Jews) caught my attention, and your comments in class led me to be interested in reading The Turner Diaries, a work which has been called the "Bible of the racist right." I thought it a fitting conclusion to the semester to look at something I was introduced to in the course through the new lens which the course has ground over the past semester. The Turner Diaries is ostensibly the day-to-day account of Earl Turner, a footsoldier in the White Revolution in America to overthrow the rule of the Jews and their imposition of "racial equality" (a term which they take to mean license for Black Americans to do as they please with impunity). Over the course of a couple of years, he details his experiences within the "Organization" as it is forced underground by an ever-more-repressive government. It eventually begins fighting back militarily, engaging in acts  ­ such as the destruction of the FBI building and the mortar-shelling of the Capitol  ­ that we would undoubtedly recognize as terrorism. In the end, the Organization succeeds in achieving its goals, first liberating California, and then, as the epilogue summarizes, the rest of the world, ridding the Earth of the twin scourges of Jewish domination and non-white contamination. Oddly enough, the text makes very few references to religion, other than to say that Earl himself became religious only after his induction into a secretive Order within the Organization. And yet the entire tale bears the markings of religion, especially the trappings of a culture of religious opposition. Of course, their religion, their theology, is their belief in the superiority of the white race - but this is no less a religious belief, taken as an article of faith by adherents. From the beginning, we are led to understand these people's participation in the Organization as an act of desperation; they will be punished, most likely killed, by their enemies if they don't go into hiding and work against the System.

AP Us History DBQ

American expansionism in the late 19th century and early 20th century was, to a large extent, a continuation of past United States expansionism, while also departing with previous expansionism in some aspects. During the period of time between the late 19th century and early 20th century, America was going through significant changes. After a revolution in Cuba against the Spanish, as well as the Americans starting the Spanish-American War, the Americans received several territorial concessions from their defeated opponent.Thus, America started on the path to imperialism, gaining several more territories in a short amount of time. Such an expansion in the late 19th century and early 20th century was mostly a continuation of past United States expansionism, such as that in the West after the Louisiana Purchase and Mexican-American War. However, the new Imperialism was different from expansionism in other aspects, such as how America acquired the new territory and where it was located. Overall, United States expansion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was very similar to previous expansion, only departing from it by a very small margin.In the early 19th century, the Louisiana Purchase was made between the United States and France, in which a large amount of French territory west of the Mississippi River was bought by the U. S. A few decades later, the Mexican-American War was fought between the U. S. and Mexico. By the end of the war and Mexico’s defeat, the U. S. acquired even more land to the west, including a lot of land along the Pacific coast. The continental borders of the U. S. were essentially the same as they are now in modern day. In both cases, the concept of â€Å"Manifest Destiny† played a very important role.Individuals attributed expansion with the idea that America was spreading its influence and culture to less fortunate peoples. Josiah Strong wrote about such a concept in his piece, Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis, stating that further Anglo-Saxon expansion was inevitable and would extend into all parts of the world. As the U. S. entered the era of imperialism, some opposed the concession of Pacific territories to the U. S. , notably the Philippines. In response, some politicians decided to address such feelings, one of them being Senator Albert J. Beveridge.In a speech to Congress, he expressed a view supporting the idea of Manifest Destiny and based upon that, argued that territory obtained by the U. S. in the Philippines should not be refused. From its differences with previous western expansion, some didn’t really see a reason for the U. S. to become an imperialist country. Though it could be viewed as a way for America to expand social and cultural influence, certain individuals viewed it with much contempt. Cartoonist Thomas Nast expressed certain conflicting ideas with his cartoon, â€Å"The World’s Plunderers† in Harper’s Weekly.By depicting German, British, and Russian imperialists taking part in the possession of territory around the world, he seemed to see imperialism as a competition between countries to gain both land and power. Thus, it is implied that if America were to get involved with such acts, it would be to compete with other countries rather than to benefit themselves or others. Another view is presented with Josiah Strong’s work, which both associated expansion with Manifest Destiny but also declared it to be a competition between rivaling countries, a â€Å"survival of the fittest† between different races.An avid supporter of American imperialism, naval strategist Alfred T. Mahan summarized his views in The Interest of America in Sea Power. He saw expansion as a sort of competition, and in order for the U. S. to stay at equal footing with world powers such as Germany and Japan, they needed to expand their influence into the Pacific. Only then, as is mentioned, would the U. S. be able to res pond to other nations with its great sea power. In comparison with previous western expansion, was imperialism justifiably correct? There are reasons for it to be considered both a moral and immoral thing to do.As America entered the age of imperialist expansion, certain groups were highly opposed to the policy, especially members of the American Anti-Imperialist League. In their platform, imperialism is shown to go against traditional American values, betraying certain major documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution for its violation of individuals’ freedoms ( specifically people living in the territories acquired by the U. S. ). Problems were also being presented by this form of expansion, as determined in the Supreme Court Case of Downes v.Bidwell, which identified that granting citizenship to inhabitants of territories outside the continental U. S. was much more difficult than doing so for those within the borders. However bad it may have seem ed, there was still some support for an imperialist policy. Theodore Roosevelt supported it, stating that it wasn’t a result of a hunger for land and resources, but a desire to help less fortunate peoples and bring stability and prosperity to their societies. Others also viewed America’s â€Å"Open Door† policies in China to be beneficial for not just the U. S. and China, but for other nations as well.From the early 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, America expanded from a small group of colonies into much of North America and even into the Pacific. In acquiring territory west of the Mississippi River and gaining territorial concessions from the Mexican-American and Spanish-American Wars, America has been able to identify itself not just as an expansionist country, but as an imperialist one as well. Both concepts differ from each other to some extent (how the territory was gained, where the new territory was located), but for the most part the t wo periods are very similar to each other.

Linguistics and Language Essay

In this essay, I will explain as well as compare two theories of first language acquisition, behaviorism and innatism. I will explore the differences between them in such categories as the role of the learner, the role of the environment and as well as their strengths and weaknesses. I will then state and explain which one I find more tenable with examples of relevant literature. Role of the Learner Behaviorism, credited to B. F. Skinner in the 1950s, states that the learner knows nothing to start with, he is an empty slate [o1] to be taught. The learner is passive and learns by positive-negative reinforcement, only repeating what he hears. Innatism, credited to Noam Chomsky in 1965, states that the learner is wired from birth for language. The learner is equipped with a LAD, a language acquisition device. This device allows the learner to discover the rules of his language, any language. Role of the Environment Behaviorism states that the role of the environment is key and vital to the learning process. The environment is the active agent while the learner is the passive agent. The environment produces the necessary language input for the learner. It is up to the environment to give positive and negative reinforcement for the learner. Innatism states that the role of the environment is minimal because it only acts as the trigger for learning. It is also thought the environment is flawed and can’t be relied upon to always give perfect information. Therefore, it is up to the learner to find the rules of the language[o2] . Strengths There are a few strengths to support the behaviorism theory. It is easy to monitor the learners’ performance. This is how parents (as teachers) usually teach their children, through nurturing which puts emphasis on the role of the environment. This theory can also explain why learners have the ability to memorize. On the other hand, there are several strengths of the innatism theory. A learner cannot memorize all the possible different language and grammar combinations that he learns through the environment. The LAD helps the learner to generalize rules and make his own creative use of the language. A child will resist using an irregular form because of over-generalizing, and he will create his own form of a word according to the rules that he has internalized. And these rules don’t necessarily conform to adult grammar rules which include many exceptions. By applying these internalized and generalized rules, a child is able to acquire a language at a fast pace. [o3] Weaknesses The Behaviorism theory only accounts for the performance of the learner, and not on his competence. The learner is passive, so this theory does not focus on the learner’s mind and knowledge. It also does not explain why children acquire a language so quickly even if they are exposed to different environments. In addition, this theory also doesn’t offer an explanation of why children over-generalize rules such as the simple past tense of irregular verbs even though they hear irregular forms in the environment. There are also several weaknesses to the Innatism theory. One of the first weaknesses is that it demands the existence of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD), its existence is difficult to prove and is immeasurable. This theory also doesn’t take into account different kinds of learners, just ideal learners with ideal grammar. The environment plays a minor role in this theory, so it doesn’t take into account the social aspect of the learner. My Opinion Looking at the two of these theories, I find the Innatism theory the most tenable. In my own experience with my children and students, the learners do not always model my behavior. This usually occurs with irregular patterns, particularly past tense verbs. This is similar to the â€Å"wug† test where a child will form a past tense of a verb that he has never heard before by applying the general grammar rules that he has learned. This behavior cannot be memorized and must be driven by an internal structure. Another reason to support this theory is that learners with impaired intelligence have been able to learn the structure of language. It has also been proven that American Sign Language which is taught to the deaf also has its own language structure. In addition, the creation of Creole languages supports the theory. As a Creole develops, grammar and structure are built in. The LAD would account for the formation of these languages as well as for creative uses of language by a learner. Conclusion In this essay I have explained two theories of language acquisition, behaviorism and innatism. In doing so, I have explained the different roles of the learner as well as the environment. I have also explored strengths and weaknesses of each theory and why I support the innatism theory over the behaviorism theory[o4] . [o1]Good one, I forgot this in my essay [o2]Do you think you should mention poverty of stimulus here? [o3]ording? Universal grammar is built off of two propositions, that all languages are governed by a set of universal principles, and that the mind is equipped with parameters which are set intuitively by the child according to the language input they receive. UG researchers have found a number of universal principles. One of the more prominent principles is structure dependency. Structure dependency states that all sentences regardless of the language are built off of propositions that carry both a noun and a verb phrase; in other words, every sentence in every language must have at least a subject and a verb (Chomsky, 1959). One parameter setting that is contained in the LAD is the head setting. Some languages such as English are head first, other languages such as Japanese are head last. Various arguments have been used to support the existence of universal grammar. Chomsky (1959) has proposed the poverty of the stimulus argument, positing that the input children receive cannot account for what they produce, and therefore, children must have an innate facility. He argues that the input is marred in two ways; first it contains a hodgepodge of performance slips, and secondly, it does not contain any negative evidence. How do children acquire language when they don’t know what they can’t say, or how do they learn to speak correctly when the input they here is at times in correct? They do so, according to Chomsky, through this innate capacity. Jackendoff (1994) offers another argument in support of universal grammar, the argument from expressive variety. Jackendoff argues that given that languages are recursive, there is simply no way of storing all of the possible sentences one can create in one’s mind. In other words, sentences don’t come from habits, but rather from creative expression. Universal grammar has had a lot of capital in language acquisition theory, although it has been critiqued on some fronts. Connectionists, particularly, N. Ellis (2006) has argued that language acquisition is not due to an innate faculty and the creative expression of humans, but equates it to a usage-based approach where children learning piecemeal frequently reoccurring chunks of language. Another argument against the innate language faculty is that UG researchers have claimed that only humans have access to syntax, yet this has been found not to be true. Certain animals, such as the humpback whale and songbirds have been found to possess a recursive syntax, suggesting that syntax and language may have evolved from lower order primates. Whereas universal grammar begins with language from the inside, Sociocultural theory, another prominent first language acquisition, posits language acquisition begins from the outside. Vygotsky, the founder of sociocultural theory, argues that language is a psychological tool, which children acquire and learn to manipulate as they interact with their environment and with more capable peers (Vygotsky, 1978). Children first learn language as they interact with their parents. Parents use caretaker speech, which makes it easier for the child to understand and grasp a hold on the concepts of the language. As the child begins to understand and produce simple utterances, they are able to use the language to mediate their psychological functioning (Vygotsky, 1978). Vygotsky argues that children begin learning language by first learning single words, which are pure meaning. As they develop their language skills, and engage in social speech, single word sentences are augmented through incorporation of non-meaningful elements, such as function  words, and the child’s thoughts and words begin to develop more sense meanings. For instance, where the word ‘cat’ for the 1 or two year old child could have served as an exemplar for all cats, by the time the child is nine, and having undergone a variety of experiences related to cat, they have imbibed the word with their own unique s enses. Thus syntax and word senses expand, the more a child learns. Now, whereas social speech began from one and developed into many, inner speech, the speech that goes on inside of our heads becomes more and more truncated. Vygotsky argues, contrary to Piaget, that egocentric speech does not ‘disappear’ rather it becomes internalized as inner speech. And this inner speech is something that could not be understood by anybody but the person who is thinking it. Vygotsky suggests that just as people who have known each other for many years, and who have had a large amount of experiences together exhibit language tendencies of shortened syntax because of their historical shared experience, a person’s inner speech also exhibits this characteristic, but even more so; the stuff of thought is nothing but psychological predicates (Vygotsky, 1978). One of the primary ways humans learn anything, according to Vygotsky, is through the zone of proximal development. This concept explains that what a person can do today with assistance, they can do tomorrow by themselves (Vygotsky, 1978). Applied to first language acquisition, the child may receive help from an expert, such as their parents, who point at objects and say their name, for example, cat. After seeing this, the child may repeat ‘cat’ immediately after. The next day, as the child sees the cat, it says the word ‘cat’ without needing to be told by their parents. Chomsky maintains that languages consist of an infinite number of sentences and cannot be learned through habit formation. Language is too complex to be learned in such a short amount of time (Chomsky, 1959). He believes that every human is born with an innate language learning capacity, which is embedded in the language acquisition device (LAD). Chomsky believes that all language share grammatical structures. This is called universal grammar (UG). Proof of UG includes poverty of stimulus, which explains how children acquire the language despite their limited exposure and incorrect input they may receive. Another evidence for UG that languages are recursive, (Jackendoff, 1994). It is impossible to know all the possible combinations; however, they are learned by children. According to UG, there must be some sort of innate capacity that provides the additional information. The fact that children are resistant to correction once again proves that language is developed through an innate capacity. According to Chomsky (1959), all languages share principles, which are invariable across languages. For example, noun phrases and verb phrases. This is called structure dependency. All languages have verbs and nouns. What distinguishes languages from each other according to Chomsky, are parameters, which are language specific. For example, some languages are head first, and some are head last. In relation to UG, Eric Lenneberg (1967) introduced the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH), which is a window of language learning opportunity before puberty. Proponents of CPH believe after this period, language learning becomes a much more difficult task and adults tend to rely on other mechanisms such as problem solving skills, reasoning, and deductive instruction to learn a language. Evidence of the CP is for example abused children, who despite being removed from the environment where they were deprived of social contact, were not able to learn the language. There have been many criticisms to Chomsky’s UG, for example, the LAD cannot be located and is immeasurable. Also, Chomsky’s theories overlook the effects of social contact and the environment on language learning. Social interactionist Vygotsky (1978) was a strong proponent of the social interaction hypothesis. He believed that learning takes place through social interaction, and give and take of information with caregivers, parents, or peers. According to Vygotsky, children begin with external speech, which could consist of one word only, but have the meaning of a whole sentence. Gradually, as the child grows older, he develops more complex and longer sentences and associates more meaning with his words. A child also engages in private speech (similar to adults), which is usually meant for problem solving or thinking out loud, but is not meant for sharing although articulated. Vygotsky believes that as the child develops more linguistic skills, this private speech becomes internalized and turns into inner speech, which is pure meaning, and does not consist of subjects; it is predicated. In direct opposition to the environment being the active participant in language learning, Chomsky flips behaviorism on its head and presents the learner as having a primary role while environment becomes secondary. Within the Universal Grammar Theory (UG), Noam Chomsky (1959) presents a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that is responsible for the language learning process. Purely biological, language is filtered through the innate LAD that is structured with principles that are unchanging and parameters that vary according to the language being learned. Proofs to support this theory are many. Syntax and the head-first/head-last parameter are two such proofs. As a child learns language, they hold to one of only two possibilities in any given language – head-first and head-last – and language is formed through recursion and syntactic movement that follow a pattern within a particular language. This shows that language is rule-governed and that the LAD is programmed with language foundations from which a child can develop. That children are resistant to correction follows this same thought as they develop language through the LAD. Language is not linked to intelligence as we see in brain damaged adults who are completely coherent in language skills and others who are cognitively normal but cannot speak correctly. Stroke victims also show that, depending on the area of the brain that is affected, intelligence and speech are not linked. Broca’s and Wernicke’s Aphasias show that certain areas of the brain affec t speech while intelligence remains unaffected. As evidenced by the Gopnik family, genetic impairments have also proven that a glitch in the UG can be passed down from one generation to another, thus proving that the LAD is indeed biological (Jackendoff, 113). Eric Lenneberg’s Critical Period Hypothesis (1967) and the cases of â€Å"wild children† are yet further evidence. Lenneberg holds that the LAD becomes dormant or ineffective after a certain age – around the age of 12 – and this is why children acquire language so much more quickly than adults who are attempting the same. Through these studies of particular children who did not learn language and who were void of contact with language as a whole, it shows that the younger the child, the more fully they were able to learn language. Once a child was passed the age of 12 or so, they were unable to acquire proper language skills. The younger children were not only able to learn more adequately but then went on to continue in the language learning process as a normal adult would. As many proofs as there are for Chomsky’s UG and the LAD, criticisms are plentiful as well. First and foremost, where is the evidence that a device like LAD exists? It certainly has not been located in the brain, therefore, it remains immeasurable and some have serious doubt as to its legitimacy. This theory also limits the role of the environment and gives no account for the social context of the language learning process. It idealizes the speaker and the grammar itself to a certain degree and packages the entire process a bit too neatly. Cognitive Development Theory Jean Piaget’s (1955) work in cognitive development is foundational on many levels. Watching his own children, nature, and certain study groups of young children, Piaget introduces a theory that is completely developmental. As a child is ready and developed (both biologically and cognitively), they are able to assimilate, accommodate and adapt new experiences. Underlying in this theory is reasoning and logic. The role of the environment is minimal and the learner is vital but only as they are cognitively developed and ready for new experiences. A child will not learn what they are not cognitively developed to receive at that point no matter what the instruction. Piaget holds to the notion of children developing schema. As a new experience is received and they are biologically and cognitively ready to receive it, they will develop new schema to fit into the framework of schema that they already have developed. This theory also relies heavily on egocentric and socialized speech with each one serving a different function. Egocentric speech is what is used (mainly by children) when words and thoughts are spoken out loud but the one speaking is only dealing with their own thoughts and ideas. Socialized speech is a shift away from egocentric speech where one simply derives pleasure from speaking to being a way of exchanging their ideas or opinions. Although Piaget’s work and theory is critical, it neither accounts for the child’s behavior as a whole nor for the cognitive development after the stage of ‘formal operation’ is reached. It offers vast insight into the developmental process of a child but little instruction on attaining language skills. It was also based solely on a Western model and is therefore quite limiting. SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Input & Output Hypotheses As a result of older models of language teaching where attention was given to language grammar, Krashen (1981) places his focus on communication input. He contends that if the learner is given a chance to absorb the language, they will be better equipped to acquire it. Rather than forcing output immediately, Krashen holds to a silent period where learners have the privilege of just listening to language before attempting it†¦much like a young child would in learning their mother tongue. Comprehensible input (i + 1) is the formula that Krashen holds to for optimal language learning for second language learners (SLLs). This states that if a SLL is offered input that is only slightly beyond what they already know, acquisition will take place. He also makes a differentiation between language learning and language acquisition, claiming that acquisition is what is needed for the language learning process. Criticisms of Krashen’s hypothesis are that input alone cannot account for acquisition and that some grammatical forms cannot be learned without being taught. Swain (1985) introduces her Output Hypothesis in contrast to Krashen and claims that no matter the input, if the output is unintelligible, acquisition has not truly occurred. It is the output that forces learners to grapple with the grammatical processing and figure out what works. Through output, a learner can realize their problem areas, can experiment with new areas they are unsure of, and gives them the chance to analyze problems they are having in their language learning process.