Does Culture Determine Your Theory of Mind Essay

What has distinguished Homo sapiens from non-human organisms is their ability to develop a theory of mind (Scholl & Leslie, 2001). Premack & Woodruff (1978) originally defined theory of mind as being the tendency to make attributions about behaviour based on acquired knowledge of mental states, such as belief, desire and intention. An equally important aspect of theory of mind concerned the individual’s ability to understand the subjectivity of mental states, comprehending that other individuals have desires and beliefs that differ significantly from one’s own, an understanding that is highly important to human functioning (Baren-Cohen, 1995). This essay questions the influence that culture has on the development of a theory of mind. What was of primary interest in this essay was to investigate the extent to which theory of mind was characterized by universal processes of development and whether underlying cultural factors were responsible for the timing and development of theory of mind. Certain marked cultural differences were suggested as influential variables which could determine the development of a theory of mind, these being parenting styles, number of siblings and executive function which were thought to play a pivotal role in the development of a cultural identity (Lillard, 1998). In the context of cross-cultural comparison, a critical assessment of the false-belief task was conducted. The validity and reliability of the false-belief task was analyzed in relation to the development of theory of mind, and alternative explanations and measurement tools were provided which would allow for a more sensitive and reliable cross-cultural comparison to be made. Described as onto-genetically universal, theory of mind is a construct of human psychology and biology that is universally applicable to every culture (Liu, Wellman, Tardif & Sabbagh, 2008) . A unanimous result from twenty five years of research has reported that a theory of mind is developed in early childhood and exhibited from the age of five or six years old as result of progressive stages of development (Lillard, 1998). Many researchers (e. g Liu et al. , 2008; Wellman, Cross & Watson, 2001) have observed parallel developmental trajectories between western and non-western cultures in relation to the age at which a child acquires a theory of mind. Callghan, Rochat, Lillard, Claux, Odden & Itakura (2005) observed the cross-cultural development of theory of mind in samples of 12-31 children and declared there to be a ‘critical period’ of development between the ages of three and five years old when children begun to conceptualize and understand the difference between belief and reality. From a remote bush community in western Africa, to a mountain village in Peru, researchers (e. g. Avis & Harris, 1991) have observed the universal development of a theory of mind. The communicative purposes of theory of mind are invaluable to the survival and higher functioning of human kind. Cross-culturally, theory of mind is relevant in order to teach, deceive, inform and share planned actions (Baren-Cohen,1999). However, although this cognitive development is fundamental and pivotal to human functioning, research in this field of investigation has challenged the universality and applicability of theory of mind postulating that cross-cultural variations were responsible for determining and influencing the timing and stages at which theory of mind developed. Many prominent research studies have been published in the literature, arguing for the influence of culture on the development of a theory of mind (Wellman et al. , 2001). Astington (2001) has argued that although cross-cultural variation does not reflect a child’s ability to acquire a theory of mind, there may perhaps be sociocultural variances in early childhood experience that could potentially influence how and when a child achieves theory of mind. Similarly, studies have observed a discrepancy in the timing of development across certain industrialized cultures, an example being Canada and the United Kingdom (Wellman et al. 2001), and Japan and North Korea (Oh & Lewis, 2008). A meta-analysis of cross-cultural performance on false-belief tasks was conducted by Liu et al. , (2008) which investigated whether culture contributed to the development of theory of mind. A meta-analysis was conducted on 200 conditions (16-24 children per condition) of children from mainland china and Hong-Kong in order to assess whether the difference in cultural beliefs and values between these two culturally diverse samples had a significant impact on the timing of development. Increasingly more westernized and individualistic, Hong-Kong was predicted to mirror the North American trajectory of development in that children would be more likely to perform above chance on the false-belief task. Liu et al. , (2008) observed that Chinese children were more likely to under-perform on false-belief tasks in relation to their Japanese counterparts and that this resulted in a difference of up to 2 years in timing of false-belief acquisition. However, like many comparison studies, the results of this study were potentially confounded due to relatively small sample size. A condition of 16-24 participants did not allow for methodological error or research bias. Contradictory evidence and potential methodological errors in relation to cross-cultural comparisons has resulted in a thorough examination of the measurement tools used to study theory of mind. A seemingly reliable and valid measurement tool, the false-belief task has to some extent dominated the theory of mind model over the course of twenty five years (Dennet, 1978 as cited by Wellman et al. 2001). Astington (2001) reported that there exists â€Å"a danger in letting a single task become a marker for complex development†, as reliance on a single measurement construct can record potentially confounding results, leading to improbable and invalid conclusions. The ‘chocolate and cupboard’ false-belief task was developed by Wimmer & Perner, (1983) in order to assess whether a child had the ability to understand that their mental representations of the world differed from reali ty. Many researchers have found methodological flaws in the false-belief task claiming that it is unnecessarily difficult (Sullivan & Winner, 1993). A cross-cultural study conducted by Wellman et al. , (2001) confirmed that many children failed the false-belief task due to confusion and lack of understanding. A secondary criticism of the false-belief task has been made in relation to the limitations it places on performance in that it does not take into account fundamental components of theory of mind (De Rosnay, Pons, Harris & Morrell, 2004). Therefore, in order for a valid cross-cultural comparison to be made it was necessary to examine other important mental states such as emotion, desire and intention (De Rosnay et al. , 2004). A five step Theory of Mind scale was developed by Wellman & Liu (2004) in order to conduct a cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind. Preschoolers in North America (Wellman & Liu, 2004) , Australia (Peterson & Wellman, 2009) and Germany (Kristen, Thoermar et al. 2006) were found to follow the same ordered sequencing of conceptual developments, these being diverse desires, diverse beliefs, knowledge access, false beliefs, hidden emotions (Shahaeian, Peterson, Slaughter & Wellman, 2011). Although an identical trajectory of development was reported in many western cultures, a study conducted by Wellman et al. , (2004) discovered an interesting cross-cultural difference in relation to Chinese preschoolers who, although following the same steps of development, completed them in a different order with knowledge access being learned before diverse beliefs. Although there does not appear to be a cross-cultural difference in the mastery of theory of mind, the emphasis placed on knowledge access in Chinese preschoolers over diverse beliefs in western preschoolers is consistent with the importance that collectivist societies associate with social harmony over self-expression and individual beliefs. Reliance on one particular measurement tool has resulted in many extravagant and inconclusive claims being made, one such example being that researchers have associated a below chance performance on a false-belief task with an underdeveloped theory of mind (Astington, 2001). However, many researchers have argued that a three year old’s failure on the false-belief task could be indicative of linguistic underdevelopment or confusion rather than an absence of theory of mind. Leslie (2000) conducted qualitative reviews of cross-cultural performance on false-belief tasks in order to assess whether certain aspects of the methodology were inconsistent across cross-cultural testing. Methodology was found to differ in relation to the type of question asked, nature of the protagonist and type of task. Similarly, there was an inconsistency in the phrasing of the questions across many of the studies, with certain children being asked a question in terms of belief (Where does John think his chocolate is? ) or in terms of speech (where does John say his chocolate is? ). Efforts to reduce methodological error and improve performance have been made by many researchers (e. g. Chandler, Fritz & Hala (1989) in order to demonstrate the plasticity and flexibility of theory of mind. Chandler et al. (1989) found that if the experimental design of the false-belief task was manipulated by implying deception and trickery, performance was more likely to increase. A cross cultural comparison reported similar results when young children actively participated in deception. However, although these results may have provisionally provided an explanation for improved performance, it must be noted that above chance performance on this task did not confirm a child’s ability to conceptualize but mere ly emphasized their ability to ‘play along’ . Due to flaws in methodology and reliance on the false-belief task, researchers have failed to provide consistent and valid results in relation to a cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind. In light of these contradictory results and inconclusive explanations, alternative variables have been analyzed in order to expand on the literature pertaining to cross-cultural differences in theory of mind. Vinden (2001) was of the opinion that the development of a theory of mind aptly reflected parental influence in relation to cultural and moral expectations. Children emulated and modified their behaviour according to their parents’ example, therefore for a child to be capable of predicting and understanding another individuals’ mental state positively reflected parent-child intervention in the early years of their childhood. A cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind assessed whether parental attitudes of Korean-American and Anglo-American mothers influenced how their children developed mental states such as desires, beliefs and intentions (Vinden, 2001). Two previous studies conducted by Kim, Kim & Rue (1997) and Farver, Kim & Lee (1995) reported certain cultural differences between Korean-American and Anglo-American individuals. Korean-Americans were reported as valuing interdependency, social harmony and self-control in favour of individual orientation, symbolic play and independence, traits which were synonymous with the individualistic Anglo-american society. Importantly Korean-American parents were seen as obeying an authoritarian structure of parenting in contrast with Anglo-American parents who favoured an authoritative model . In light of the results obtained by the Kim et al. , (1997) study, it was hypothesized by Vinden (2001) that children of authoritative mothers would be more likely to outperform children of authoritarian mothers on the theory of mind tasks. The results reported were surprising, in that five year old children of authoritarian Korean-American mothers outperformed their Anglo-American age mates on theory of mind tasks, however children of authoritarian Anglo-American mothers were found to under-perform on theory of mind tasks. What could be concluded from this study was that performance on theory of mind tasks could in fact be influenced by parenting styles, but what constituted acceptable parenting was subjective to cultural introspection. In other words, a similar endpoint of development was reached across cultures, due to parenting styles that obeyed a cultural value system (Vinden, 2001). Similarly, a cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind has been made in relation to the number of siblings a child may have. A study conducted by Ruffman, Perner, Naito, Parkin & Clements, (1998) reported a remarkable finding that suggested how a child’s theory of mind could be predicted based on the number of older siblings they possessed. According to Brown, Donelan-McCall & Dunn (1996), children with older siblings developed mental representations about the world around them through symbolic play. Many researchers have argued for the importance of symbolic play in establishing a theory of mind (Leslie, 1987) due to the fact that through discussion and pretend play younger children were exposed to false-belief situations enabling them to emulate the behaviour exhibited by older siblings. However, it is important to remain critical when discussing the importance of symbolic play due to the fact that although above-chance performance on theory of mind tasks may be recorded, the extent to which conceptualization and false-belief is properly understood demands further explanation. Reiterating what has been previously stated by Vinden (2001), it was important to acknowledge that, although the same end point of development was reached across cultures, the stages of development differed based on cultural intervention. In recent years, the skills associated with executive function have been proposed to contribute to the development of theory of mind (Moses, 2001). Many researchers interested in cross-cultural comparison have conducted studies in order to ascertain whether the development of executive skills is directly influenced by cultural beliefs and values. Interest in this area of research has come about due to the importance of understanding theory of mind in conjunction with the development of cognitive processes (Moses, 2001). Executive function is an umbrella term used to describe a plethora of cognitive processes such as inhibition, verbal reasoning, problem solving and working memory which contribute to the development of theory of mind. Executive function has been assessed across a diverse range of cultures in order to determine whether development of executive function skills differ across cultures, and whether this difference in development affects the acquisition of a theory of mind.

Canterbury Tale

Who lived in a cottage with his wife in Astrakhan. Used to be happily married, loved his wife dearly His love was very palpable, seen clearly. But as years passed his feelings towards her began to wither Because the arguments they had were getting bigger and bigger They would scream and shout and yell the night away To the point where they'd wake up their neighbors, all of whom were gay. As their emotional feelings grew more and more distantTheir overall sex life became all but non-existent. While laboring in the fields one day He thought Of a brilliant idea, with whore's he'd lay. While adultery was bad, and this he knew To his morals he thusly bid adieu. He began to visit a brothel Hookers a plenty, all of them docile He'd indulge in his carnal desires While the wife had no clue he was a liar. He returned late one night to home So his wife got a case of the I-think-my-spouse-is-a-cheater syndrome. She asked where he'd been, she absolutely inquired l don't need this† and to be d he retired.Her suspicions were then indubitably confirmed When she revealed something from his laundry and learned In his pocket was a note that said â€Å"intercourse with you was lovely' Signed at the bottom with hearts and lipstick, was Beverly. She finally knew of her husband's infidelity Which stemmed from their lack of chemistry. To receive information and some advice She went to her transvestite brother Bryce. â€Å"Don't get mad, get even† he said â€Å"This may not be the time, but told you not to wed. â€Å"What do you propose do? â€Å"l actually have the perfect solution for you, have acquired a concoction At the recent marketplace auction. Slip this in his food, and into a frog he will turn. † â€Å"If I go through with this, will in hell I burn? † â€Å"My dear sister that I do not know. † â€Å"All right then, whatever, YOLK. † She barely arrived home, before the crack of dawn Just as her husband awoke with a yawn. She prepped a hearty breakfast, the most important meal of the day Which consisted of milk and honey, and a warm souffleWith the honey she mixed her secret elixir Woe is she, what a tricky trickster. Just like a kitty, he tongued it deftly All the way down to the bottom, until ‘twats empty. Immediately his eyes began to swell His mouth opened, but came out no yell Instead he croaked, his transformation was smooth He now had nary a hair on his body, not even a tooth He remained an amphibian, for the rest of his days Regretting his decisions that he made in his naive haze His wife was very happy, tit for tat. Adultery is bad so there's that.

Business Redesign for Healthlite Yogurt Company Essay

Business Structure Healthlite’s corporate headquarters is located in Danbury, Connecticut. All production takes place in processing plants that are located in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Illinois, Colorado, Washington, and California. Healthlite Yogurt Company has 20 sales regions, each with approximately 30 sales representatives. Healthlite has a 12 person in marketing division at corporate headquarters. Products Yogurt and related health products and new yogurt based products which would include frozen desserts and low-fat salad dressings. Major Business Processes for Sales The following are the way Healthlite conducts business in a day-to-day basis: Â · Sales persons must write up hard-copy tickets to place orders through the mail or by fax. Â · Each salesperson stores and retrieves data for assigned customer accounts using the minicomputer system in the regional office. Higher client satisfaction due to value-added customer service is one positive result. Decision-making can be improved because the information systems used are more efficient and can provide them accurate and updated data in real time. Improvement in control of resources (materials, labor and products) and organizational planning. Increased job satisfaction for employees’ particularly regional sales people whose jobs are now greatly facilitated with the aid of the new system. Major Business Process Changes The following major changes are required for the business redesigning plan. Eliminate the need for hard-copy tickets to place orders. Enter sales orders directly into enterprise-wide system instead of using around 20 workers at corporate headquarters to sort and to enter order tickets which could reached up to 500,000 order tickets per week. This also allows all systems users to have access to this data for analysis purposes. Do without the need of using snail mail and fax machines for taking orders. The new business system allows orders to be placed directly through the web site. No longer need to mail printed reports for individual salespeople and sales offices. Salespeople can access the system for needed information at anytime. Sales representatives no longer need to write and mail monthly reports to regional headquarters. Sales information can be accessed from the system. Managers can access up-to-date sales data in the new system anytime they need them. They no longer need to call subordinates and piece information together to update their reports. Announcements, promotional campaigns and pricing discounts can be quickly disseminated though the enterprise-wide system. Thus, helps in improving communication processes between sales managers and sales representatives. Customer Relationship Management tools are available to help with ordering. Customer history management, complaints, and real-time tracking service are also available for use. Reduce the time involved to process orders since faxing and mailing will no longer be required in order to place orders. As a result, this would enable shipments to be delivered on time. Thus, promoting customer satisfaction. Major New Technology Components of the Plan Upon analysis of Healthlite’s needs to implement technology to support the new business processes, an enterprise system comes highly recommended. This is so because an enterprise can best meet the demands and requirements. An enterprise system could link enterprise-wide information processes in turn improving the overall business efficiency. When the entire company is able to use a single software system, all departments can share information readily and freely. Enterprise systems enable the company to avail of a wide-ranging information system technology platform. This technology platform provides a single data warehouse or a databank that can be accessed by different departments to input and to obtain enterprise-wide information. Also, the new system enables data storage in one data warehouse, which will prevent inaccuracy in extracted information. The data should be grouped according to processing sites, but can be accessed by all users. This data storage process will allow differentiation among processing sites at the same time allowing enterprise-wide search capability. It is easy to see then the enterprise system is essential element in propelling Healthlite’s success as it moves into the future. An enterprise system into the Healthlite business will enable the managers to support business processes that will make the company more efficient. The enterprise system will allow for centralized data collection and entry. This centralized entry system will reduce or eliminate paper passing throughout the company. This system will also enable employees to view reports on-line which no longer requires printing of documents or doing paperwork manually unless necessary. This additional feature will help managers and market analysts in accurate sales planning, decision-making, and marketing strategy development by providing them with the ability to collect more accurate information to assist them. Healthlite must also improve the telecommunications infrastructure for the whole enterprise. E-mail capabilities will be needed throughout the company in order to eliminate the ineffective communication using snail mails and fax within the company. Email will enable speedy communication companywide. There is no need to do additional paper works by writing or typing requests. Also, the time and effort necessary to mail or fax the message will be greatly reduced through email. The message sent is received by the person addressed to in real time. If there are problems or requests required, the recipient on the email can quickly act on it. Intranet is another option the company could use. Intranet is a private computer network that can be accessed by authorized persons only. These will ensure that secret company information will not fall on the wrong hands. Adding Intranet and Internet service will definitely improve the company’s day-to-day operations. Recommendations To help facilitate the transition and to make better use of the technology or new system, the following recommendations are given: Â · Healthlite should install an entire enterprise system and not limit itself to the customer relationship management component, or better known as CRM, of the system. In order to be effective, Healthlite could introduce the changes phase by phase. This approach in implementing the enterprise software will enable users to adapt to the system well, starting with the order and sales process and advancing to the most difficult part slowly. Â · The systems development team must focus the development process of the new system on eliminating the existing business inefficiencies in manual reporting, hand order-tickets, and mail and fax order taking. Addition ally, the development team needs to follow the systems development lifecycle to establish its new customer relationship management (CRM) system. All users must be ably represented. This means that representatives in each company division must be involved in developing the system. They should be allowed to make suggestions at the same time provide necessary information in formulating the system. And all users need to have adequate information on the upcoming changes introduced to the system. Â · Healthlite should implement e-mail and Intranet use to improve its internal communications and productivity throughout the entire business. This could help do without the need for paperwork, snail mail and fax. The company should provide value-added customer service by including the customers during the design process of the business system. This is accomplished by soliciting feedback from customers in the form of questionnaires on a regular basis. Â · Due to the low shelf life of the produ cts they sell, Healthlite needs to ensure product freshness by improving the efficiency of its distribution of products and services to customers. With the new automated business system, orders are received and delivered immediately. The timely delivery of the products would ensure their freshness. Â · Management needs to address the accounting discrepancies incurred annually. The accounting problem should be identified and resolved in the design phase to make sure that the new business system they come up with is free of these errors and accounting discrepancies will not occur in the future. Â · Management also needs to ensure that the changes implemented in the business are done step by step especially that the company is in the midst of recent and rapid growth. Management needs to change its views regarding changes and adapt to the new business process accordingly. They should also lead the development process. Â · Managers need to wait until the new business process has materialized and the benefits of the new system are realized before implementing the headcount reduction in order to ensure a smooth cutover. Conclusions Despite its current business process problems, Healthlite has managed to attain succes s in its operations. This means that Healthlite has a lot of room for improvement in the future. And this could be easily attained through redesigning business processes. Currently, the organization uses little or almost non existing technology for their daily company activities. Due to the decentralization, many people are doing the same activities over and over again and doing paperworks manually which are time-consuming and could be transmitted electronically. The rapid growth of the company requires that Healthlite should quickly implement systems changes to improve its business processes and to get the product and services to the customer in a promptly and efficiently. Healthlite’s management also posed some problems due to their very conservative views regarding technology. They need guidance in determining a proven system in which they will be comfortable. The management’s support in the new business process is essential in implementing the changes effectively and leads the company into the future as well as to guarantee its competitive advantage. The company needs to know the importance of using the systems development lifecycle. This process is vital in creating a new business system that will be useful for the company. Also, this phase is important to establish efficient procedures when developing programs that will best fit Healthlite’s needs. An enterprise system will be necessary to advance Healthlite into the future. At the present the company may only focus on redesigning the ordering, sales, and marketing processes. But later on, Healthlite management needs to realize that the CRM system is going to need to be scalable. Healthlite’s business growth despite the difficulties it encountered could mean that the company has a lot of growth potentials in the future. Healthlite therefore needs to accommodate future changes and bigger adjustments. And the new business process they are about to install must be able to handle these changes and need for additional data. The company needs to identify and get rid of the sources of the accounting discrepancies annually between headquarters and the sales force. Management needs the accounting information to make decisions necessary for the company’s growth. The accounting report helps them to address potential problems and see possibilities for future expansion. The discrepancies in their accounting records due to the errors incurred are thus potentially making business decision on bad data. Before the implementation, management needs to address these problems to ensure that they will not arise in the future using the new system. Management needs to take time in implementing the headcount reductions. A successful implementation requires that all employees will be there during its implementation phase. The installation and use of the new system requires the support of all employees. https://support.pearson.com/getsupport/s/?sitename=CW+-+WPS&tabset-dd12d=1 http://business.vcu.edu/departments-and-centers/information-systems/department-resources/software/ https://www.bl.uk/business-and-ip-centre/industry-guides https://identitech.com.au/

African American Impact on Sports

A life is not important except in the impact it has on others lives. This quote was said by Jackie Robinson who was important in paving the way for other black athletes in professional sports. He was the first black baseball player to play in Major League Baseball. What would professional sports be without all the greatest black athletes such as Michael Jordan, Muhammad All or Jackie Robinson? Today the NAB is filled with a large majority of African American players. The NAB would be nothing without those players. Muhammad All was a boxer, businessman and social activist for equal rights for all races.He wanted equal opportunities for all men, regardless of color, to be successful. Michael Jordan was considered the best basketball player of all time with five regular season Most Valuable Player awards along with three all-star Maps. He had a huge impact on the sport, dominating it from the mid 8(Yes through the late asss. Professional sports and society would not be the Same without them. African American athletes, including Jackie Robinson, Jim Brown, Muhammad All, Michael Jordan and others had a huge impact on American society and sports such as baseball, boxing basketball and football.Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. Throughout his 10 year long career he was constantly fighting for more rights for blacks in sports and society. Jackie was the first African American to play in Major League baseball. He was the youngest of five children who were raised in poverty by a single mother. Him and his family already had a hard life even aside from all the racism they faced living in the south in the early 1 asss. His older brother Matthew was one of his biggest inspirations for him to PUrSUe his talent in athletics.Matthew won an Olympic silver medal in the 1 936 Olympic games. After high school Jackie went to the University of California where he lettered in four different varsity sports. Before he could graduate he had to drop out for financial reasons. He then went on to play semi-pro football in Hawaii, but the season was cut short due to the starting of World War II. For two years he served as a lieutenant in the United States Army. However he was arrested for not moving to the back of a interracial bus. The charges were later dropped and he was given an honorable discharge. He had a lot of courage and was very against segregation.After his discharge he laded professional baseball in the negro leagues. But because of Robinsons great success he was soon hired by Branch Rickety to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, in the white league. Branch knew Jackie would be facing severe racism but told him to fight it and stay strong. Throughout his career Robinsons courage was tested. Even many of his teammates were against his playing on their team. Jackie and his family received many threats and criticism. Despite all this adversity Robinson still was extremely successful and was leading the AAA league with a . 349 batting average and . 985 fielding argental.This success got him promoted to the ML and the first game a black player ever played in an ML game was April 15, 1947. The harassment continued. Many teams threatened to not sit out against the dodgers and even some of his own teammates threatened to not play. However Dodgers Manager Leo Drencher told his other players that he would trade them before Robinson. Leo had a very strong loyalty to him. Some people defended Jackie including baseball commissioner Happy Chandler and league president Ford Brick. Jackie Robinson was successful in showing how talented a player e was by being able to push through all the racism and adversity.His first year he helped the Dodgers win the National League pennant. He also led the league in stolen bases and won the Rookie of the year award. In the 1949 season he had a . 342 batting average and led the league once again in stolen bases. This led to him being named the National leagues Most Valuable Player. All these impressive feats led him to be labeled as a hero of the sport. Robinson also became a vocal champion for African-American athletes, civil rights, and other social and political causes. In July 1949, he testified on scarification before the House Un-American Activities Committee.In 1 952, he publicly called out the Yankees as a racist organization for not having broken the color barrier five years after he began playing with the Dodgers. He was very active in social activism for blacks rights. His biggest focus was impacting others lives. Which is shown in this quote said by Jackie Robinson, A life is not important except in the impact it has on others lives. He had a great impact on many peoples lives successfully completing his life goal. After Jackie died his wife created the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which provides nouns students with mentoring programs and scholarships.This program has given 50 million dollars in scholarship money to students across the country. This program was described in the New York Times as, that might be the best educational effort in the country. Jackie was one Of the most influential people on the lives of young people especially young black athletes. Without him this country would not be the same. Cassias Marcella Clay, now known as Muhammad All, was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 1 7, 1942. He has shown throughout his life that he is not afraid of any fight-?inside or outside the ring. Growing up in the segregated South, All experienced firsthand the prejudice and discrimination that African-Americans faced during this era. He faced racial discrimination head on and it even help Muhammad discover his talent in boxing. When All was 12 his bike was stolen and he told a police officer that he wanted to beat up the thief. Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people, the officer said. This police officer also owned a gym and trained boxers and took Muhammad under his wing and trained him. His first fight ever was in 1954 and was an mature fight that he won by split decision.Only 6 years later he won an Olympic gold medal. Then in 1 964 he claimed the throne as heavyweight champion of the world. Soon after Cassias turned changed his religion to Muslim and changed his name to Muhammad All. Later All created a lot of controversy in the government by refusing to fight in the war after being drafted. Alias reason was that he was a practicing Muslim minister, and that his religious beliefs prevented him from fighting in the Vietnam War. (Bio) The government took All to court and he was found guilty of refusing to join the military.All appealed the ruling and after a long court battle the ruling was overturned. However the boxing association still took away Alias titles and suspended him. In 1970 he returned to the ring. That year All took part in what was called the fight of the century. This fight was between All and Joe Frazier, two of the greatest veering in boxing. After 15 rounds of brutal boxing Frazier bested Muhammad in knockout fashion. Later in 1974 they had a rematch and All got revenge by beating Frazier. His last ever fight was a loss to Tremor Berwick to lose his Heavyweight title in 1 981.He announced his retirement in a press conference following the fight. After his retirement he still was very involved in the community and become a great philanthropist. Over the years he has been involved in many charitable activities such as the Special Olympics and the Make a Wish Foundation. He was also extremely active in fighting for equal rights for African Americans. Outside of boxing, Alias message of black pride and black resistance paved the way for the civil rights movement. (skyline) More recently in 2005 he was given the Medal of Freedom by George Bush. Bush also created theMuhammad All Center in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Alias thoughts on this building are Many fans wanted to build a museum to acknowledge my achievements. Wanted more than a building to house my memorabilia. Wanted a place that would inspire people to be the best that they could be at whatever they chose to do, and to encourage them to be respectful of one another. (BIO) Muhammad All is arguable the greatest, and most inspirational men ever. He was constantly helping people and working to make lives better for those around him. These great men have influenced the lives of an uncountable amount of people.

Learning Mathematics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Learning Mathematics - Assignment Example important to provide students a platform to motivate them in going further with the subject and hence the pan balance experiment procedure has been proposed. The above procedure would definitely challenge, motivate and actively involve the students. Establishment of physical classroom environment to support the type of teaching has also been considered and the class would be undertaken in a computer lab and use of technology has been kept in mind with utilizing software to promote understanding. The students would be instructed to perform experiment on the software individually and in teams of two's and three's, the teacher would then visit each student/group and ask their conclusion, which would be then challenged, as the case may be, to bring about a better understanding. Finally, multiple assessment techniques would be utilized to monitor the student's performance and level of understanding these methods include observation, worksheets, experimental results, presentations by students etc. Assessment of the unit The unit will be assessed through a number of sources these would include the following: Observation of the instructor Worksheets Solutions to problems Experimental results tabulated Presentation of the students assignment which would be then graded by the Class LESSON 1 Concept of balancing equation using shapes Time Allotted: 2 periods (1.5 hours) Subject: Introducing Equality Grade/level: 6-7 The lecture described below belongs to the unit of essential algebraic concept and in this the student will balance shapes on the computer software to study equality, essential to understanding algebra. Corresponding relationships will be recognized when the pans balance, signifying the properties of equality. Objectives Students will: develop an...The above procedure would definitely challenge, motivate and actively involve the students. Establishment of physical classroom environment to support the type of teaching has also been considered and the class would be undertaken in a computer lab and use of technology has been kept in mind with utilizing software to promote understanding. The students would be instructed to perform experiment on the software individually and in teams of two's and three's, the teacher would then visit each student/group and ask their conclusion, which would be then challenged, as the case may be, to bring about a better understanding. Finally, multiple assessment techniques would be utilized to monitor the student's performance and level of understanding these methods include observation, worksheets, experimental results, presentations by students etc. The lecture described below belongs to the unit of essential algebraic concept and in this the student will balance shapes on the computer software to study equality, essential to understanding algebra. Corresponding relationships will be recognized when the pans balance, signifying the properties of equality. This lesson will develop algebraic perceptive through an easy study of equality.

Global Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Global Law - Essay Example Her inner thighs, buttocks, perineum, genital areas and groin were severely burned that she had to be admitted for treatment to the hospital for 8 days. While in the hospital for treatment, Liebeck went through skin grafting and debridement treatments. Liebeck filled a claim with McDonalds for $20,000.00, but McDonald refused to pay the said amount so Liebeck brought the case to court. During the discovery proceedings, McDonalds produced documents showing more than 700 claims by people burned by its coffee between 1982 and 1992 and a number of these claims were similar to that of Liebeck. The documents presented by McDonalds proved that McDonalds knows about the hazards that its coffee products have on drive-thru costumers. McDonalds’ quality assurance manager also said that based on the advice of its consultants, the company made it a policy to keep its coffee between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit to keep its taste. This policy stands even though other companies serve their coffee lower temperature and coffee is normally served at home around 135 to 140 degrees. McDonalds’ quality assurance manager admitted that the company did not evaluate the safety ramifications that this practice may have on the costumers. He also acknowledged the fact that any food items served as 140 degrees or more may cause burning. He also acknowledged the fact that since McDonalds’ coffee is between 180 and 190 degrees, the coffee is not fit for consumption as it would cause burning on the mount and throat. 2. Issues to be decided by the court a. Whether or not Liebeck is entitled to compensation for the pains and sufferings that she went through after she was burned by the coffee bought from McDonalds. b. Whether or not McDonalds observed proper safety measures to protect its clients from possible harm that its products may cause. 3. Facts Relied Upon by Stella In arguing her case in court, Liebeck relied on the testimonies of a scholar in thermodynamics applie d to human skin burns. According to the expert, 180 degrees, liquids can cause third degree burns in a matter of two to seven seconds. The degree of the damage on human skin reduces exponentially as the temperature of the liquid reduces to 155 degrees and below. If Liebeck’s coffee had been around 155 degrees when it spilled on her lap, she may not suffer serious burns. 4. McDonald’s Defense McDonald claimed that its costumers buy coffee on their way to work or home with the intention of drinking the coffee once they arrive at their destination. As it is, the coffee would have enough time to cool down along the way so it will not be scalding hot when the costumers get to drink them. Another defense posed by McDonalds is that its costumers know that the coffee they buy from the drive-thru is hot and the costumers want it that way. 5. Court Decision The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages and another $2.7 million in punitive damages. The compensatory da mages were later on reduced by the jury to $160,000 since Liebeck was also at fault. The trial court, on the other hand, reduced the punitive damages to $480,000.00. 6. Opinion on the case Awarding both compensatory and punitive damages to Liebeck is only fitting in this case because McDonalds committed gross negligence in doing its job to protect its costumers. However, I do not agree with the jury’

Coping, Maintaining Health and Preventing Illness Assignment

Coping, Maintaining Health and Preventing Illness - Assignment Example People with Type A personalities have low self-esteem, low patience, and distrust towards fellow humans. These qualities result in irritation, anger, anxiety and lack of sympathy; these symptoms indicate anxiety disorders. Experiencing anxiety disorders indicates or are associated with some form of cardiac issues. Psychology of individuals has a significant impact on their health. Association of psychological distress and chronic heart failure was established by Lesman-Leegte et al.’s (2006) study that indicated most of the patients with chronic heart failure were suffering from psychological distress, either in the form of depression or anxiety disorder. Sogaard et al.’s (2008) research carried out with a purpose of investigating relationships between type A behavior pattern and psychological distress measured in middle aged men participating in two surveys 28 years apart clearly indicated that Type A individuals had high risk of developing psychological distress. Psychological distress needs to be managed through counselling and psychotherapy that can strengthen Type A individuals’ psychosocial characteristics towards more positive outcomes. Aquarius et al. (2006) proved that younger people require higher social support in order to recover from treatment of peripheral arterial disease (a type of heart disease). This social support is to enhance their psychosocial impressions of the self and