Water Pollution in Orlando Florida Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Water Pollution in Orlando Florida - Coursework Example Orlando has failed to control water pollution to the extent that the federal government had to intervene. Orlando has many water catchment areas but there have been recent concerns over the level of effluents that are finding their way into the lakes and rivers. For instance, Lake Lawne was put on alert after a residential sanitary system blocked leading to sewage overflow that ended up into the lake. Although there were intervention measures, the lake was already polluted. Indeed a lake alert was issued and public warned not to use the water until the issue was resolved. Lake Okeechobee has been in the public limelight for uncontrolled pollution. Effluents from large farms and ranches find its way into the lake thereby causing water pollution. These are just some of the examples. However, the water pollution through improper effluent management seems to be escalating. The primary causes of water pollution stemming from the failure the of effluent management by waste management depar tments and most importantly failure of industries and farming sector to manage their waste. This is a case of lack of human values and environmental ethics. For instance, ranches and dairy firms should observe environmental ethics and take precautionary measures to ensure that their effluents do not end up in the water catchment areas. They should all respect human values and observe environmental ethics even when it means cutting down their profits to do so. This way Orlando will be an environmentally conscious city.

Khmer Rouge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Khmer Rouge - Essay Example   Ã‚  Ã‚   The Khmer Rouge or Red Khmer - a communist party - governed in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. However, they remained active even after the fall of their regime by engaging in guerrilla fighting against the new government. In other words, they turned into a terrorist group. Although they do not seem to be active right now - they were dropped from the list of foreign terrorist organizations of the Department of State because they "ceased to exist as a viable terrorist organization" (Cronin, 2003) - the time when they were active is too close and, therefore, they cannot be ignored.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, bearing in mind the genocide that the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot carried out in Cambodia, we should assume that the potential threat from this group implies threat for the lives of many people.   Ã‚     The Khmer Rouge are the perpetrators of the frightful genocide in Cambodia from 1970s. Although the Pol Pot regime (1975-1979) with the killing fields and the horrors of mass destruction is now a thing of the past, the Khmer Rouge seem to never have changed: "There is little sign that the ideology, leadership or social regulations of the Khmer Rouge have change significantly since their bloody reign from 1975 to 1979." (PoKempner, 1995) This conclusion is based on a report by Human Rights Watch, based itself on observations from 1994 to 1995, almost 20 years after the end of the Pol Pot regime.   Ã‚     Such evidence shows that a group with a history like that of the Khmer Rouges has little potential for change. Therefore, we should expect that their disregard for human life has remained the same over the years and any anti terrorist strategy should be developed with regard to that fact.   Ã‚  Ã‚   It is important to identify the specific military tactics of the Khmer Rouge so that we can be prepared for specific responses. Here are a few of the distinguishing characteristics of Khmer Rouge

Educational attainment vary with childrens social class

Educational attainment vary with childrens social class   Increased diversity in our educational institutions as a result of modern globalisation has led to many different racial and linguistic backgrounds integrating together in schools. The impact on the British education system has thus seen a rise in the influx of children from different ethnic backgrounds. Despite the implementation of various policies to ensure that every child, regardless of ethnicity, social class and gender, has the access to the best education, the debate around inequality in education has still focused on the evidence of the underachievement of particular racial groups in our education system. The debate is a very complex one, and it requires looking at how each three variables interlink, since any one alone cannot account for the variation. This paper will attempt to discuss them, whilst critically analysing why and how they play such a critical role on an individual childs educational attainment, and whether or not it should concern us as practitioners.   The underperformance of certain ethnic minority children, in particular black African-Caribbean pupils, is well documented in the Swann Report (1985), which highlighted how this group of children perform consistently worse compared to their counterparts. The report also recognised that teacher racism, low expectations and stereotyping contribute to poorer performance. Indeed, pupils themselves in the report cited that there tended to be an emphasis on physical ability rather than academic, and thus felt stereotyped that they were only any good for their sports abilities. Institutional racism can play a vital role in the breakdown of rapport between teacher and pupil, which would almost certainly affect their educational attainment. Wright (1992) found in his observational research that children of African-Caribbean heritage saw their typical schooling experience as one of high teacher expectation for poor behaviour, high incidences of teacher disproval, criticism and control. Sim ilarly, Gillborn (1990) supports these findings, by highlighting how children in his study felt they were singled out for criticism, even though several pupils of different ethnic origins were engaged in the same behaviour. White students at the school confirmed these observations on unfair and frequent criticism. Thus, discrimination may influence how a child is treated within the educational institution and therefore may impede their learning opportunities within the classroom. Indeed, Sewell (1997) sought to focus on the interactions between teachers and African-Caribbean pupils with particular regard to the constructs of black masculinity and the tensions around their heritage. He found that the teachers in the survey displayed more control and criticism of these compared to other ethnic groups. Moreover, general staff views were negative. There was a high teacher expectation for challenges to teacher authority and inappropriate behaviour. Sewell (1997) concluded that there was a failure to deliver an inclusive curriculum, and to tackle institutional racism. This evidence clearly shows how a childs ethnic background can contribute to a negative learning environment which can affect their chances of performing well at school. Furthermore, Rutter et al (1999) extends this view by arguing that the notion of resistance is responsible for their underachievement; he argues that since the education system is dominated by white, middle-class male teachers, some black boys resist their efforts, and do not want to be taught by them, this negative perception creates the divide between the teacher and the pupil. Equally, as the report stated, some institutional racism on behalf of the teacher may also occur that can limit the crucial teacher-pupil rapport being built and consequent opportunities for learning. Additionally Moore et al (2001) continues to discuss how African-Caribbean males respond with aggression, and reject the education system primarily due to the do mination of white pupils. This adverse view, results in children trying to make an attempt to gain status and recognition through other means, for example through anti-social behaviour. Similar to the African-Caribbean males, those of Indian origin also revert to exhibit their anger, however rather than rejecting the educational system they use it to its advantage and proceed on to succeed. (Moore et al 2001).   Franklin (1998) argues that some institutional factors cause attainment to vary by ethnicity. He argues how school assessments are based on culturally biased tests, which are written primarily in English, leading to poor results and unsuitable intervention and overrepresentation in special educational needs. Although the Framework for the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs in England and Wales (DfEE, 1994) warns against blurring special needs with special educational needs, and the need for assessment tools to be culturally neutral for a range of ethnic groups, Franklin argues that it is bland and general and not in enough detail. Moreover, Franklin and Franklin (1998) argue that the IQ definition is biased against bilingual children. In their study they found that bilingual children scored lower standardised reading scores on prose tests as opposed to single writing. They concluded that these children were less able to take advantage of the context in the prose test than the predominantly monolingual group on whom it had been standardized. It instead focused on higher order processing skills for example comprehension rather than spelling which is not confounded by higher order processing skills. Indeed, this would affect the educational attainment chances of some of the ethnic minority children such as Bangladeshi. Indeed, children with Bangladeshi origin are the worst performing group of children across all four Key Stages. Strand (2008) highlights how these children tend to fall behind at Key Stage 2 assessments, and then continue to fall behind as the children enter Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. It is interesting to note that even when accounting for other socio-economic factors, for example the free schools meals proxy for disadvantage that these children still tend to perform worse. Moreover, Strand (2008) also highlights how by the end of Key Stage 4, Chinese and Indian children actually overtake middle-class White children in the attainment league tables. It is therefore clear that there are other factors influencing why these children perform at a disadvantage to their peers, not ethnicity alone. Family factors such as family ethics may attempt to shed light on the reasons why some children are more involved at school than others. For example, the level of parental engagement with the school certainly varies between ethnic and social class group. Crozier (1996) conducted a case study of the experiences of a group of black parents in relation to their childrens schools. Although he found that many had educational knowledge and awareness of the school system, there remained a dissonance between these parents and the school. Indeed, parents are the first educators, and the most effective way of communicating with them as practitioners is to initiate a firm base of trust and openness, especially true for children with English as an additional language, since much more information is required from their pare nts in order to create fluidity across both the school and home settings. However, since Bangladeshi families face additional barriers presented to their community, since they are not as long established and therefore less fluent, this has a great influence on their childrens education. Furthermore, data from the National Child Development Study (Sacker et al 2002) highlighted how if the social class is high, then educational attainment tends to be high, however the strongest factor was parental engagement. Given that some parents are harder to reach than others; for reasons other than simply language barriers, may attempt to explain why their input into their childrens education is limited. Indeed, Harris and Chrispeels (2006) argue that certain ethnic and social groups are less likely to engage in their childs education and the school in which they attend.   The Berkow Report (2008) highlighted that children from a low socioeconomic background will have difficulties at school. Given the reality that the UKs minority ethnic groups as a whole are more likely to be in poverty than the population at large (Craig, 2002); coupled with the fact that they tend to get placed in housing in low socio-economic areas, provides a prediction towards their educational achievement. The impact of attending a disadvantaged school contributes to it also, due to uneven funding and allocation of resources. The Excellence in Cities scheme has helped to reduce low achievement through focusing on poor schools in areas of serious disadvantage. Moreover, the Narrowing the Gap (NFER, 2008) focuses on improving the home learning environment, which is essential for improving   childrens behaviour, wellbeing and later educational achievement (Sylva et al, 2004). Although the difference within social class has been a dominant feature in education, the government has tried to narrow the gap by introducing a number of initiatives from an early age, such as The Every Child Matters (2003) agenda, Sure Start schemes, and The Early Years Foundation Stage. Yet, the gap remains. Moore et al (2001) indicates that high performance in educational attainment is inclined by ones social status in society. He states that those with a lower social status are materially deprived, with less money to use, therefore are unable to use education to their full advantage. Moreover, the fact that black children attend lower quality schools on average is identified by Fryer and Levitt (2004). They argue that higher levels of free school meals, litter and gang culture makes for a more disadvantaged learning environment, as opposed to middle-class predominantly white schools. They also argue that these children lose ground to white children over the summer period as a c onsequence of a worse neighbourhood environment. Furthermore Douglas (1971) indicates that the most important factor in a child excelling through education is the parental interest given in a childs daily life at school. However, ethnicity has strong associations with the incidence of social class and poverty through different household structure, and child-rearing practices. For example, birth rates for Bangladeshi and Pakistani families are higher than the UK white population; therefore larger families need more money. Moreover, there is less individual attention on the child in these families. Barn (2006) explored the views and experiences of parents in key areas for example family support and education. The findings showed that minority ethnic family life is complex. Most parents wished to be involved in their childrens education, regardless of ethnic background and social class. Black and Asian parents in particular placed an enormous importance on the value of education which was less prominent among white. This places a tension on the reality of the educational achievements of such minority groups.   The reasons for this are complex. Strand (2008) focuses on socio economic classification on linguistic attainment to try and account for the gap. Through analysing data from the Youth Cohort Longitudinal Study, he highlights how children from high classified groups have a vocabulary 50% more than working class children, and 100% more of those on welfare. Since 50% of all African Caribbean births are to single women (Somerville, 2000) they are more susceptible to material deprivation, thus fewer learning opportunities. Indeed, a high quality home learning environment is essential for raising attainment highlighted through the EPPE project (Sylva, 2004). Clearly, any attempt to understand ethnic differences in the involvement/achievement link must first take into account the influence of socio-economic status. Ethnicity alone does not account. Ross and Ryan (1990) have documented that children can pick up and absorb racist values from early as three years old. They argue that positive self esteem is directly related to attainment, so it is vital that we are concerned as practitioners to raise their self esteem from an early age and promote inclusion of all racial backgrounds, regardless of their social class and gender. If a child feels they are worthless their self esteem decreased which affects their academic attainment (Purkey, 1970). It is clear to see that the Government recognises the disadvantages of children from particular ethnic backgrounds, through looking at the specific projects launched to help certain ethnic minority children, for example the Excellence in Cities scheme, and the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG). Moreover, the launch of the Aiming High: DfES National pilot project to Raise Levels of Attainment for African-Caribbean pupils was launched in 2003 with the aim of maximising levels of achievement. Such focus leads one to respond that indeed, educational attainment is affected by ethnicity, and therefore, as discussed, social class. The issue of gender also throws a complex light onto academic performance. On the whole, females tend to perform better than males academically, yet for Black African-Caribbeans, both male and female fall behind, compared to any other ethnic group (Strand, 2008).This therefore, seems to suggest that this particular ethnic group is underperforming for another reason, such as the reasons given above. The issues surrounding gender performance and achievement are complex, affecting different sub-groups of boys and girls in different ways, often reflecting the influence of class and ethnicity. The traditional criterion for monitoring the school system has been the proportion of students securing five or more A* to C grades in public examinations at 16-plus. Since the late 1980s this figure has been rising steadily, however the gap in the performance of boys and girls appears to have been widening parallel to this. The National Pupil Database (2002) highlighted how girls performed better a cross all groups, however there are many complex reasons as to why this is. Firstly, there are scientific explanations for example whilst children are young, numerous changes take place, each child begins to develop   physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually at their own pace, they begin to acquire   the understanding of the environments they are exposed to whilst their ability to communicate   with their peers strengthens. Scientific evidence states the physical structure of the brain may be the reason as to why both sexes have a variance in attainment. The development of language within boys comes at a slower pace than that of girls, as girls acquire language rapidly, and at an earlier stage. Girls also focus for lengthier periods of time when in conversation and are able to concentrate more in the classroom. Therefore the structure of the brain shows advantage to the girls (Watkins, 1991). Furthermore, Haralambos et al 1997 states that research over the past 30 years shows a consistency of trends whereby girls at the age of 16 left school after acquiring better grades than boys. Government s tatistics indicate that the variance in attainment achievement between boys and girls start from an early age. Data from the 2007 examinations in England, from Key Stage One and Key Stage Three examinations show that girls achieved higher marks then boys. However in the mathematics papers taken at key stage 2, showed that boys outperformed girls by 2%.In comparison to the papers taken by Key Stage 3 the differences amongst the sexes was higher. It has also been argued that the curriculum has become feminised whereby it works in favour to the females, whilst disadvantaging the boys (Mac and Ghaill, 1994). They argue that there has been a crisis of masculinity, because of the decline in traditional manual jobs. This has led, to an identity crisis, and made it easier for some males to question the need for qualifications when the jobs they would have traditionally gone into no longer exist. Unmistakably the issue around boys underachieving within education in comparison to girls is a major cause for concern. Perhaps the specific focus on some of the ethnic minority groups have shifted the concern away from the white population, with the result being that white working-class boys are now underperforming consistently through the education system. The statistics presented are undeniable, particularly whilst it is becoming an increasing trend for boys to take the opportunity of turning away from formal education at a young age. Thus being the reason why parents and practitioners need to be able to recognise the changes in a child from earlier on so that there is support available for the child to be able to make the right decisions. The variance amongst children can be immense, as mentioned above; each child is individual and develops at their own pace. Although these differences can be vast, it is up to teaching professionals and parents to be aware of this and to be able to recognise it, particularly when each child approaches the learning process in different ways. In conclusion, it is clear to see that not any one variable of social class, ethnicity and gender stand alone as a cause behind a childs educational attainment; rather they interlink in quite a complex way. It should concern us, since we, the practitioners who are helping to shape their futures, need to understand that all three interlink to produce each unique child, which is at the very heart of the Every Child Matters agenda.

Eamon De Valera :: essays research papers fc

Eamon de Valera, although born in New York City, in the United States of America, devoted his life to help the people of Ireland. As he once said it, â€Å"If I wish to know what the Irish want, I look into my own heart.† De Valera loved Ireland and its people with a deep and lasting passion. It was he, probably more than any other person in their history, who helped that country win freedom from British rule and then shaped its history well into the twentieth century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  De Valera’s mother, Catherine Coll, usually known as Kate, came to the states in 1879, at the young age of twenty-three. Like so many other Irish immigrants of that time, she had suffered from poverty, and even hunger, in her native land and saw America as a place where she could go to try and get a fresh start. She first took a job with a wealthy French family that was living in Manhattan. This is where and when she met Vivion Juan de Valera. He was a Spanish sculptor who came to the home of her employers to give music lessons to the children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1881, the couple married. A little over a year later, while living at 61 east 41st Street, Kate Coll de Valera gave birth to the couple’s only child. His name was Edward, called by Eddie at first, but would become known to the world by the Irish variation of that name, Eamon.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Always in poor health, Vivion de Valera left his young family behind him and traveled to Colorado, hoping that perhaps the healthier air would help him out. Within a few months he died. Now a widow, Kate went back to work, leaving Eamon in the care of another woman who also had come from the tiny village of Bruree, in County Limerick. Later in his life, Eamon would remember occasional visits from, as he knew her, a woman in black, which ended up being his true mother. Kate de Valera decided that Eamon would be better cared for by her family back in Ireland. Before long he found himself away from noise of Manhattan, living in Bruree in a one-room house with mud walls and a thatched roof. Living with him were his grandmother, his twenty-one-year-old uncle, Pat, and young Hannie, his fifteen-year-old aunt. Shortly after Eamon arrived, the family moved to a cottage, built by the Irish government for farm workers, but it was only a little bit larger.

Education Essay

Step 1. Create a short answer (150-250 words) to each of the following questions. 1. How do social interactions among people in locales help define community?  2. How do schools help to shape the local boundaries of communities and the identity of community members?  3. Although schools and the communities they serve are closely entwined and community development is in the best interests of schools, why may school leaders be hesitant about involving schools and students in important community development roles? 4. Of all social institutions, why might schools be best placed to catalyze community development?  5. What are some likely results of school consolidation in a rural community or urban neighborhood?  6. Beyond the socially integrative functions, what distinct local economic roles might a school have in a rural community or urban neighborhood?  7. What characteristics of a well-planned school-community partnership project would indicate it is mutually beneficial?  8. How might a community or neighborhood development activity reinforce what is ta ught in the public school classroom?  9. What barriers might a community development organization expect to experience when seeking to partner with a public school or school district?  10. How can service learning and place-based education serve to facilitate a  viable schoolcommunity partnership and accomplishment of local community or neighborhood development needs? Step 2. Discuss your responses with a group of 4 or 5 classmates. SOAR ACTIVITY 15.1 SCHOOL-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Step 1. Contact your local elementary, middle and high schools. Step 2. Interview the principals about their partnerships with community organizations. Step 3. Have them describe each activity and assess the benefits to the school and community. Step 4. Compile a list of all the organizations and institutions involved with school programs. Step 5. As part of this project, prepare a list of recommendations for improving schoolcommunity partnerships in your area. LIFE Activity 15.1 Here are some examples of school-based service learning projects: 1. Drop-out prevention: A service-learning project focused on drop-out prevention might coordinate schools with local businesses to partner at-risk students with job shadowing and mentoring opportunities with local business leaders/members. These connections will help build bridges between schoolwork and work â€Å"in the real world,† and develop stronger ties between schools and local business, better meeting the needs of each while providing important opportunities to at-risk youth. 2. Subject-specific service-learning: Science and reading provide two examples of subjectspecific service-learning. Connecting college students majoring in science with schools to tutor K-12 students can create opportunities for hands-on learning during or after school hours. This might involve engaging in environmental projects, such as local water quality testing, cleaning of local stream or river beds, or wildlife conservation efforts. Similarly, college students majoring in language arts or reading might provide tutoring services during or after school for at-risk students, assist in running family literacy programs after school to engage parents in literacy efforts, and/or read to students at the elementary level. 2. Building school-community connections: Students plan a school-community day, in which school staff, community members, and students organize, run, and attend a school-community fair. The school can set up exhibits of student learning and projects students are engaged in that connect to the community. Community leaders can set up exhibits featuring ways they have been or would like to be involved with the school and with students. Local businesses might provide food and donate prizes or items for auction. Students at the school can perform music or showcase artwork. This would also be a good venue for team-building exercises between  community organizations and businesses and school staff and leaders, culminating in competitions with awards. These are only a few examples. We want to emphasize though that effective service learning projects are not â€Å"paint by the numbers† efforts, but are directly shaped by and responsive to the individual needs of local communities. That said, examples are useful, but ultimately your best guide is the community that lies before you. REFERENCE MATERIAL ON EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICELEARNING Syllabi: Literacy Tutoring: Principles and Practice (Syracuse University) http://www.compact.org/syllabi/syllabus.php?viewsyllabus=407 Service Learning in Higher Education (Vanderbilt University) http://www.compact.org/syllabi/syllabus.php?viewsyllabus=663 APPENDIX: Additional Resources to Learn about School-Community Partnerships for Community Development:  NOTE that the following descriptions have been taken directly from organization websites and have been only slightly modified, if at all. Associations, Organizations and Centers Center for Place-Based Education http://www.anei.org/pages/89_cpbe.cfm The Center for Place-based Education promotes community-based education programs. Its projects and programs encourage partnerships between students, teachers, and community members that strengthen and support student achievement, community vitality and a healthy environment. Coalition for Community Schools http://www.communityschools.org The Coalition for Community Schools represents an alliance of national, state and local organizations concerned with K-16 education, youth development, community planning, family support, health and human services, government and philanthropy, as well as national, state and local community school networks. The Coalition advocates for community schools as a means to strengthen schools, families and communities and improve student learning. Rural School and Community Trust http://www.ruraledu.org The Rural School and Community Trust is a national nonprofit organization addressing the crucial relationship between good schools and thriving communities. It also serves as an information clearinghouse on issues concerning the relationship between schools and communities, especially in rural contexts. School of the 21st Century. Linking Communities, Families and Schools http://www.yale.edu/21c/index2.html Based at Yale University, the 21C program develops, researches, networks, and supervises an educational model that links communities, families, and schools by transforming the school into a year-round, multi-service center that is open from 6 in the morning until 7 at night. The core components are affordable, high-quality child care for preschool children, before- and afterschool programs for school-age children; and health services, referral services, support, and guidance for parents of young children. Schools and Communities http://www.enterprisecommunity.org/programs/schools_and_communities/ This webpage of Enterprise Community Partners documents and disseminates the nation’s current efforts to combine school reform and community development. Web-based Documents and Material Local Governments and Schools: A Community-Oriented Approach http://icma.org/documents/SGNReport.pdf (International City/County Management Association, Washington, DC , 2008) Provides local government managers with an understanding of the connections between school facility planning and local government management issues, with particular attention to avoiding the creation of large schools remotely sited from the community they serve. It offers multiple strategies for local governments and schools to bring their respective planning efforts together to take a more community-oriented approach to schools and reach multiple community goals-educational, environmental, economic, social, and fiscal. Eight case studies illustrate how communities across the U.S. have already succeeded in collaborating to create more communityoriented schools. Includes 95 references and an extensive list of additional online resources. 40p. Report NO: E-43527 Reconnecting Schools and Neighborhoods: An Introduction to School-Centered Community Revitalization http://www.practitionerresources.org/cache/documents/647/64701.pdf (Enterprise, Columbia, MD , 2007) Provides an introduction to school-centered community revitalization. Part 1 presents the case for integrating school improvement into community development, drawing on the academic research linking school and neighborhood quality as well as early results from school- centered community revitalization projects across the country. Part 2 presents the core components of school-centered community revitalization, including both school-based activities and neighborhood-based activities. The final part of the paper illustrates the diverse approaches currently being taken to improve schools and neighborhoods, drawing on the experiences of eight  school-centered community revitalization initiatives in five cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, and St. Paul. 30p. New Relationships With Schools. Organizations That Build Community by Connecting With Schools. Volumes One and Two  http://www.publicengagement.com/practices/publications/newrelationshipssmry.htm (Collaborative Communications Group for the Kettering Foundation, Nov 2004) Case studies of organizations that establish strong connections between communities and schools using many different entry points. Includes a profile of New School Better Neighborhoods, a nonprofit intermediary organization in Los Angeles that works to design schools that serve as centers of communities. The organization brings together community stakeholders to plan multiuse development that combines residential, recreational, and educational use of scarce land in densely populated urban areas. Schools, Community, and Development. Erasing the Boundaries http://www.practitionerresources.org/cache/documents/56274.pdf Proscio, Tony (The Enterprise Foundation, Columbia, MD, 2004) This describes the results of efforts in four neighborhoods in Baltimore, St. Louis, and Atlanta to connect community-based revitalization initiatives with school reform programs in the same neighborhoods. Chapters include: 1) Building and Learning Go Seperate Ways; 2) The SchoolCommunity Alliance in Practice; 3) The Developer as Educator; 4) Housing and Economic Development. 39p. Using Public Schools as Community-Development Tools: Strategies for Community-Based Developers http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/communitydevelopment/W02-9_Chung.pdf Chung, Connie (Harvard University, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Cambridge, MA; Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. , 2002) This paper explores the use of public schools as tools for community and  economic development. As major place-based infrastructure and an integral part of the community fabric, public schools can have a profound impact on the social, economic, and physical character of a neighborhood. Addressing public schools, therefore, is a good point of entry for community-based developers to place their work in a comprehensive community-development context. The paper examines ways in which community-based developers can learn from, as well as contribute to, current community-based efforts, particularly in disinvested urban areas, to reinforce the link between public schools and neighborhoods. Furthermore, the paper considers the policy implications of including public schools in comprehensive development strategies, and asserts that reinforcing the link between public schools and neighborhoods is not only good education policy, but also good community-development policy and practice. An appendix presents contact information for organizations participating in school and community linkages. 55p.

Characteristics of a Person

Characteristics of Personhood Rationality The ability to reason is seen as being one of the defining characteristics of personhood. Rationality can be summarised in our ability to make considered choices and decisions at a higher intellectual level. Rationality is illustrated in our ability to justify our thoughts and actions through reason, scaled to emotional or practical variables. Aristotle considered that the thought-processes that precede our actions are pivotal to personhood.Such thought-processes generally involve evaluating the positive and negative consequences of our actions, and deciding whether the ‘reward’ is worth the ‘cost’. This ability to predict consequences of our actions isn’t shared by the lower animals, and is pivotal in making the distinction between a person and a non-person. We have the ability to justify our beliefs and actions and to enter into reasoned dialogue with others. Rationality also leads to the ability to evaluate experience and draw logical, considered conclusions which will influence our actions in the future.The lesser animals lack this capability, a view which is illustrated in the following example: the squirrel stores food for the winter in order to survive, however the squirrel does not store food because it knows that food will be scarce in the winter; the squirrel stores food because of impulses governed by animalistic instinct, and nothing besides. The squirrel could not consider the possibility of an abundance of food in the winter, and decide that it did not wish to store food for the winter, and is confined to the demonstration of instinct.To further illustrate this point we could say that dogs have desires but they do not have choices. For example, when a piece of meat is left unattended, a dog would see it and eat it straight away because it desires the meat and has no regard as to whom it belongs or whether eating the meat would be of benefit to it. In this sense, animals suc h as dogs act on the basis of their desires. On the other hand, we as humans would firstly deliberate between the pros and cons of what to do with this piece of meat, taking into account the various factors and potential consequences of eating it.Humans will not simply act on the basis of their desires but will make a decision and then perform an action according to the decision that we make through our rationality. Possessing a network of beliefs Possessing a network of beliefs is a characteristic that predominately distinguishes humans as persons, as opposed to animals. A network of beliefs can be formed on the basis of reasons in accordance with our rational nature as persons are able to reflect upon the relative strengths and weaknesses of the evidence of these beliefs, basing our belief system on what others tell us and on our own experiences.It is believed that in comparison to most animals, humans have a much more complex network of beliefs. For example, a dog may avoid eatin g chocolate because of a bad experience devouring a whole box – but it is doubtful that the dog is able consciously to hold the belief that â€Å"chocolate makes me sick†. A human, however, has the ability to make a rational decision from past experiences and act upon this belief.For example, if a person eats chocolate and is allergic to it and is thus made ill by it, through a network of wider beliefs such as â€Å"allergies causing illness†, â€Å"the feeling of being ill being horrible†, etc a person can deduce that â€Å"chocolate makes me sick and therefore I won’t eat it again†. Unlike animals we can have beliefs about the past and future and refer to these beliefs as the past and future; an animal may remember something as a belief from the past such as the chocolate but can only see how it will affect the present.We can also have beliefs about beliefs; humans have the ability to hold beliefs about possibilities and things that may ha ppen in the future, whereas animals can only have beliefs about the actual and fact. Language User Language users are beings who can communicate with others through a range of mediums. This means that they are able to talk about ideas in the abstract. Furthermore, language is necessary for the possession of genuine ideas and concepts about the world. Language allows people to understand their desires; without language, beings would be unable to communicate and request their desires.For example, a cow can feel hungry and desire grass but it doesn’t know that it desires grass and feels hungry because it does not have those concepts. These concepts are human linguistic concepts. A creature’s mental horizon is broadened by the ability to represent the world by signs. Language gives the user the ability to express thoughts about an infinite number of things. Furthermore language allows the intelligent construction of arguments; it allows the user to criticize and justify. M oreover, language permits a new king of socializing, based upon discussions.It allows interaction and develops personalities. Language broadens people’s knowledge and their emotions. All of these examples mean that one is a person if one can use language. This is because language allows you to formulate your thoughts and having thoughts and self-awareness means you have the capacity to understand the thoughts of others. This means you are a person. Self Awareness Self awareness is the ability to experience and do things whilst understanding what it is that’s going on and having an awareness of the fact that it is ‘I’ that is having the experiences.Descartes defines self awareness as having a conscious mind. He believed that using speech and reason were good examples of the mind working. He uses this theory to eliminate animals from what he classes as a person, and in turn describes them as ‘nothing more than a complex machine. ’ However, altho ugh we are unable to know whether an animal is self-conscious or not, they are clearly conscious in the sense that they are aware of their surroundings and at times can be unconscious. However, consciousness is not the same as self-consciousness.Another way in which self awareness can be described is by a person’s ability to talk about themselves using words such as ‘I’ or ‘mine’. It is the ability to describe ones mental state to others and to understand them from the first-person point of view. Looking back upon your memories is another example and knowing that it is ones self that has experienced these memories. A good example to illustrate self-awareness is the ‘mark test’. This is where a mark is placed on the head of a participant who is then placed in front of a mirror.If the participant tries to wipe the mark off their reflection in the mirror, then it is argued that they do not recognise the reflection in the mirror as them and therefore lack self-awareness. If, however, they wipe the mark off their foreheads, then clearly they understand that the reflection in the mirror is them and they therefore have a sense of self. Infant humans beyond the age of 24 months, as well as some animals such as apes, dolphins and elephants, can successfully complete the test whereas other animals are not.This shows that self-awareness is not a characteristic that can be associated with all animals and as such may be a way of distinguishing between animals and persons. Social Being One characteristic that is thought to be essential for personhood is that of being a social being. Humans, unlike other animals, have a â€Å"prior awareness† of the existence of other human beings. We identify ourselves in the context of our relationships with other human beings and through our various roles in society. Arguably, we can only recognise ourselves as a person if we have prior awareness of the existence of other such persons.T hroughout life, humans form complex social relationships with others which they often maintain and develop. Human beings have a more developed society than animals such as dogs and horses due to the fact that humans have plans, intentions and schemes. They are individuals but this individuality stems from society. This inherent social nature is dependant upon our ability to communicate, allowing us to establish social roles and connect with others. Through this we see our own identity, as belonging to groups: work, culture, nationality and so on. Arguably, our â€Å"persona† might be largely formed because of these networks.To have a good life, we must interact with others in order to be able to reflect upon our own selves. In this sense, persons depend on society for not only specific ambitions and goals but also for language, beliefs and to compare themselves to other individuals. It is through this that we can discover the best way to live and therefore hopefully live a go od life. We cannot achieve a good life in isolation as we cannot share our thoughts and feelings with other people. Human beings are social animals and it can be argued that being a person necessarily involves having complex relationships with others.Penguins huddle together for warmth, instinctively, not for any reason more complex than this. They don’t have meetings, parties or â€Å"heart to hearts†, and wouldn’t later reflect upon this, or develop because of it. Creativity, autonomy and individuality Autonomy is the ability to reason about whether to perform an action or not and suggests that persons are not controlled by our natural instincts, unlike animals. It appears that a person is not entirely influenced by basic instinct, and can refer to more complex thoughts and ideas in decision making.This is shown through the example that a dog does not reflect on whether to bark at the stranger in the street, or continue to go about its own business in the shad e, whereas a person will often reflect upon the reasons for and against acting upon their immediate desires. A person is able to rise above their basic animal drives and take a measure of control over their own lives. By enabling us to reflect on how to act, reason gives us some mastery over our passions, elevating us above the level of creatures of instinct.The capacity to reflect and reason gives us a measure of autonomy or self-control. Individuality allows each person to identify and emphasize the uniqueness of each of us and it is argued that an individual person is defined not so much by their shared human essence as by the particular characteristics of his or her own nature. Human beings in all societies give themselves proper names which uniquely identify them as individuals and some philosophers have argued that it is a natural tendency for all human beings to construct a unique personality.Also, animals appear to have no concept of creativity or imagination and only experi ence things for what they are. For example, an animal would not understand metaphor, because a metaphor is a representation of something else, and an animal cannot fathom this concept. Yet, people do have the ability to be creative and imaginative. Moral Sense Having a moral sense means that we are able to decide what we should and shouldn’t do, to identify what is good and bad, and to label actions moral or immoral. Kant says that a person uses their moral principles and this determines their actions.He also says that we, as moral persons, are able to recognise what our duties are and then we can further choose whether to act in accordance with these duties. Acting in accordance with our moral duties rather than our desires is what makes our actions truly free as we can transcend our desires in order to do what we see we ought to. For example, although we may not want to give ? 5 to famine relief, we realise that we ought to and recognising this duty can motivate us to act o n it. Morals tend to be related to humans, as animals don’t have the notion of orality. For example, in the case of a lion killing an antelope for food, we see this as an act of survival; therefore we cannot blame the lion for being immoral. However if a human killed an antelope for sport it could spark a moral debate, as some people would agree with it and some people would think it immoral. If we can’t attribute morals to animals, but we can attribute morals to humans, then there is a distinct difference between the two. This distinction illustrates that maybe we only attribute morals to persons.

Double-Helix Structure of DNA

Double-Helix Structure of DNA In biology, double helix is a term used to describe the structure of DNA. A DNA double helix consists of two spiral chains of deoxyribonucleic acid. The shape is similar to that of a spiral staircase. DNA is a nucleic acid composed of nitrogenous bases (adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine), a five-carbon sugar (deoxyribose), and  phosphate molecules. The nucleotide bases of DNA represent the stair steps of the staircase, and the deoxyribose and phosphate molecules form the sides of the staircase. Why Is DNA Twisted? DNA is coiled into chromosomes and tightly packed in the nucleus of our cells. The twisting aspect of DNA is a result of interactions between the molecules that make up DNA and water. The nitrogenous bases that comprise the steps of the twisted staircase are held together by hydrogen bonds. Adenine is bonded with thymine (A-T) and guanine pairs with cytosine (G-C). These nitrogenous bases are hydrophobic, meaning that they lack an affinity for water. Since the cell cytoplasm and cytosol contain water-based liquids, the nitrogenous bases want to avoid contact with cell fluids. The sugar and phosphate molecules that form the sugar-phosphate backbone of the molecule are hydrophilic, which means they are water-loving and have an affinity for water. DNA is arranged such that the phosphate and the sugar backbone are on the outside and in contact with fluid, while the nitrogenous bases are in the inner portion of the molecule. In order to further prevent the nitrogenous bases from coming into contact with cell fluid, the molecule twists to reduce space between the nitrogenous bases and the phosphate and sugar strands. The fact that the two DNA strands that form the double helix are anti-parallel helps to twist the molecule as well. Anti-parallel means that the DNA strands run in opposite directions, ensuring that the strands fit tightly together. This reduces the potential for fluid to seep between the bases. DNA Replication and Protein Synthesis The double-helix shape allows for DNA replication and protein synthesis to occur. In these processes, the twisted DNA unwinds and opens to allow a copy of the DNA to be made. In DNA replication, the double helix unwinds and each separated strand is used to synthesize a new strand. As the new strands form, bases are paired together until two double-helix DNA molecules are formed from a single double-helix DNA molecule. DNA replication is required for the processes of mitosis and meiosis to occur. In protein synthesis, the DNA molecule is transcribed to produce an RNA version of the DNA code known as messenger RNA (mRNA). The messenger RNA molecule is then translated to produce proteins. In order for DNA transcription to take place, the DNA double helix must unwind and allow an enzyme called RNA polymerase to transcribe the DNA. RNA is also a nucleic acid but contains the base uracil instead of thymine. In transcription, guanine pairs with cytosine and adenine pairs with uracil to form the RNA transcript. After transcription, the DNA closes and twists back to its original state. DNA Structure Discovery Dr. Francis Crick and dr. James Watson at a molecular biology symposium. Ted Spiegel  / Contributor  / Getty Images Credit for the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA has been given to James Watson and Francis Crick, awarded a Nobel Prize for their work. Determining the structure of DNA was based in part on the work of many other scientists, including Rosalind Franklin. Franklin and Maurice Wilkins used X-ray diffraction to ascertain clues about the structure of DNA. The X-ray diffraction photo of DNA taken by Franklin, named photograph 51, showed that DNA crystals form an X shape on X-ray film. Molecules with a helical shape have this type of X-shape pattern. Using evidence from Franklins X-ray diffraction study, Watson and Crick revised their earlier proposed triple-helix DNA model to a double-helix model for DNA. Evidence discovered by biochemist Erwin Chargoff helped Watson and Crick discover base-pairing in DNA. Chargoff demonstrated that the concentrations of adenine in DNA are equal to that of thymine, and concentrations of cytosine are equal to guanine. With this information, Watson and Crick were able to determine that the bonding of adenine to thymine (A-T) and cytosine to guanine (C-G) form the steps of the twisted-staircase shape of DNA. The sugar-phosphate backbone forms the sides of the staircase. Source: The Discovery of the Molecular Structure of DNA- The Double Helix. Nobelprize.org, Nobel Media AB, 2014, www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/dna_double_helix/readmore.html.