European Description Essay Example for Free

European Description Essay The fear when youre in a social situation in which you may be exposed to some kind of harm, or so as you may think. It can arouse a panic attack, the persons fear is noticeable and they would rather avoid such situations. It is normally diagnosed in people under 18, and can last for about 6 months. This fear is not created because of a drug, and if a general condition is present, it is not related to it in any way. European Description: Often starts in adolescence and is experienced around small groups of people. It can be seen in both males and females. In some cultures, direct eye-to-eye contact can be stressful, and nausea, hand tremor and panic attacks may be seen too. Most of this is related to low self-esteem and there is always a prevailing fear of being criticized. In extreme cases, total isolation may be experienced  Treatment:  Most phobias can be treated through therapy, however in very extreme cases, pharmacotherapy (includes the use of antidepressant drugs) may be needed. (APA 1998) The cognitive behavioral therapies reassure the patient that there is nothing that could possibly harm them. This is done by approaching a situation which may be frightening for the patient and then breaking it down into pieces to allow ways to cope with that (such as muscle relaxation). These therapies have been in practice for a while and have been proven fruitful. A limitation of this treatment is lack of therapists to take care of such situations. An article also suggested that serotonin reuptake inhibitors also help in such conditions. Is the sudden, rapid, unusual kind of behavior which may be vocal or physical called tics. It normally attacks someone before the age of 18 and there is no research to know its cause; it is neither the side effect of a drug nor a general disease. The period can last for about a year, and the tics occur as frequently as a few times a day. European Description: A tic is defined as a sudden and involuntary movement, which is of no use but may be suppressed. Common tics include blinking of the eye, sniffing, shrugging your shoulders whereas more complex ones can be more physical, such as skipping around, or even causing harm to one self. It is an uncommon, chronic disorder which occurs more in males compared to females and has been proved hereditary. De la Tourrettes Syndrome is when theres a lot of overlap of vocal and physical tics which can be observed during childhood or adolescence, and can lead on into a patients adult life too. Tics may be suppressed and can be put off by going to sleep! Recent research: + Magazine Article  Sleeping Patterns in children with Tourette syndrome: a polysomnographic study  To evaluate data on sleep quantity/quality and tics during night sleep in children with Tourette syndrome  Polysomnography of teenage and young kids who suffered from Tourettes were taken [ they did not have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ]. The control for this experiment was a group of 16year old sex and IQ matched teenagers. Their sleeping patterns were noticed to have added short movements, which lasted about 15 seconds and their tic activity and sleeping span were studied. It was seen that kids who suffered from TS showed major changes in their sleeping span and slept for longer than the control group. it was also seen that they were awake most of the time, rather than fully asleep. The number of stages that they went through had no difference. Movement was seen to be similar, but TS patients showed a little bit more movement.  It was seen that there is no direct link between sleep span and movements in your sleep. Children with TS have disturbed sleep which is because of their tics during the day. There is a need for further research on this issue Treatment: A placebo-controlled trial of risperidone in Tourette syndrome  A study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and safety of risperidone in children and adults with TS  The study lasted for 8 weeks and patients were selected randomly for a placebo controlled trial. Total tic score was being measured.  34 participants (26 children and 8 adults) from 6 to 62 years were available. Total Tic scores were similar at baseline (26.0 +/- 5.1 for risperidone vs 27.4 +/- 8.5 for placebo). After 8 weeks of treatment (mean daily dose of 2.5 +/- 0.85), the 16 subjects on risperidone showed a 32% reduction in tic severity from baseline, compared to a 7% reduction for placebo patients. The 12 children randomized to risperidone showed a 36% reduction in tic symptoms compared to an 11% decrease in the 14 children on placebo. Two children on risperidone showed acute social phobia, which resolved with dose reduction in one subject but resulted in medication discontinuation in the other. A mean increase in body weight of 2.8 kg was observed in the risperidone group compared to no change in placebo. No extrapyramidal symptoms and no clinically significant alterations in cardiac conduction times or laboratory measures were observed.  Therefore it was seen that Risperidone appears to be safe and effective for short-term treatment of tics in children or adults with Tourette syndrome. Longer-term studies are needed to evaluate the durability of efficacy and safety over time.

Better Teaching Through Provocation Essay Example for Free

Better Teaching Through Provocation Essay The quest for an effective pedagogy differentiates the teacher from the researcher. Within the humanities and social sciences, we are constantly confronted with the challenge of communicating complex material in a novel and effective manner. Active teaming is bolstered by an approach that emphasizes creative problem solving, and critical thinking. And active learning often begins with a question. Despite those techniques, philosophical inquiry can sometimes lead to esoteric, pedantic, or even banal approaches to teaching that leave the neophyte intellectually lost or detached from the learning process. As a discipline, philosophy itself is intrinsically provocative. In the spirit of Nietzsches infamously provocative style, the use of stimulating techniques in teaching introductory college courses can be immensely beneficial. Goals of Provocation The goals of provocative teaching are grounded in a conceptual framework of critical thinking as well as in an understanding and appreciation of the many psychological processes that influence mental life. The teachers strategy should be designed to provoke or pique students to think; that is, to analyze the grounds of their beliefs, which can be directly applied to their personal lives. Stirring questions and statements should challenge (and respectfully critique) the method and rationale by which students arrive at conclusions and reexamine the grounds for their beliefs and attitudes. Guiding Principles Guiding principles in formulating provocative teaching techniques as follows: 1. Orient the technique toward the entire class, not just one student. 2. Allow an appropriate pause time for class response.  3. Respond to all students responses. 4. Validate and confirm student attempts to respond or offer an explanation. 5. Use the discussion to launch into a formal presentation of the material or to augment existing didactic strategies. Classroom Examples Provocative techniques combined with systematic questioning may be applied arbitrarily to any topic. Through provocative systematic questioning, the student realizes that this type of reasoning is an informal fallacy based on an appeal to authority that became conditioned and serves as the grounds for his belief. It is better to focus questions toward the entire class, in a case like this, by focusing on one student, others join in to offer competing arguments or supportive rationale that are further examined by the class as a whole. That generally leads to an inclusive process rather than an exclusive centering on one student. Parenting and Corporal Punishment Students believed that corporal punishment was immoral. Most students believed it was morally acceptable, and some even made a case that it was immoral not to physically discipline children when they commit transgressions, because physical punishment teaches them morals. Provocative exercises may provide a personal utility for self-discovery that departs from the traditional procedures of pedantic pedagogy. Risk of Provocation When we examine controversial issues in class, we should be respectful of individual and cultural differences that may influence certain beliefs and practices, while we still maintain intellectual integrity. It should be a tacit assumption for students that acts of provocation are designed to bring rational and emotional constructs under the rubric of knowledge. No provocation should be executed merely for shock value. Because some students may feel intimidated by philosophical questions, the professor should try to be sensitive to the students cognitive acumen as well as their emotional development. Sometimes, students who are overly emotional, rigid, or vulnerable to a particular topic simply need to be reminded that the discussion at hand is only an object of intellectual investigation and certainly not a personal attack. Conclusion  We must find a method that suits our personalities and didactic styles. Instead of traditional lecturing, the combined use of provocative questions and statements that force the class to respond to a particular issue may have more impact and personal meaning than fort-formal approaches. Furthermore, the use of probing and systematic questioning gears students toward an introspective analysis of their personal beliefs, not only grounded in reason, but also linked to emotional and psychological motives that influence their perception of cause and effect. One will notice progress in their critical thinking skills over the length of the course. Rather than professing an impetuous position based upon unreflective conditioning, students offer more solid argumentation with developed rationale for their beliefs and attitudes.

Impact of the Sugar Regime Reform

Impact of the Sugar Regime Reform THE CAP REFORMS: 2005-2007 SOURAV ROY THE SUGAR REGIME REFORM (2005-06) The European Union (EU) forms one of the largest sugar producers in the world. This position was formed through the application of protectionist policies ranging from production and prices to exports and imports that is applicable throughout the EU. The policy that is prevalent in Europe with regard to sugar regulation is commonly known as the CMO (Common Market Organisation). Since its inception in 1968 the CMO had hardly undergone any reform. Taking into account all the reforms that the EU’s Common Agricultural programme (CAP) had gone through the 1992 MacSharry Reform, Agenda 2000, and the 2003 CAP reform- the sugar market of Europe had escaped through all the reform periods. But the 2003 reforms gave rise to certain factors which led to the need for reforming their sugar market. First the Everything-But-arms (EBA) initiative that led the EU to withdraw tariff from 48 developing countries which means that there availability of more quantity of sugar. Secondly, the sugar re gime of EU does not comply with the EU’s WTO export rules which in turn imply that EU cannot export out-of –quota sugar. Thirdly, there was addition of 10 more countries in the EU which led to the increase in the imbalance of demand and supply of sugar. The main purpose of the CMO is to ensure uninterrupted sugar production within the countries of the EU where sugar production is feasible. This is made possible through the National Production Quota given to the producers of sugar within the EU. There also exists an intervention price – a minimum amount that is guaranteed to the producers of sugar so that they have the incentive for continuous sugar production. The EU under takes several mechanisms in order to protect the domestic sugar industry. Firstly, EU imposes high restrictive quotas on import of sugar substitutes. Secondly, high amount of subsidies are given to dispose off the excess amount of supply and maintain high domestic prices. The 2005 sugar reform under the CAP of EU aims at (1) lowering the production of sugar at places where the cost of inputs are higher or where the rate of yield is low (2) to bring the export subsidies in line with rules laid down by the WTO (3) to reduce the import of sugar from the EBA countries into the EU (4) to reduce the price gap between sugar and other substitutes of sugar. The main elements of the new sugar regime reform 2006 are as follows: Over a four year period beginning in 2006/07 the intervention price for sugar is reduced from 631.9 Euros to 404.4 Euros per ton, that amounts to a cut of about 36% In order to compensate for the price cut, the farmers were entitled to receive a compensation amounting to 64.2% of the price cuts. Farmers in those countries giving up at least 50% of the quota on sugar are provisioned to receive a coupled payment (coupled with production) of 30 percent of the income loss along with all possible national aids. Unlike the previous reform, in this reform the A and B quota are coupled together into a single quota amounting to 17.4 million tons of sugar. In order to encourage the system of quota, a voluntary restructuring scheme is introduced for a maximum period of 4 years. The scheme involves buying out quota from th producers of sugar and encouraging factory closures. With regard to the management of the supply side, it consists of both the old and the new system mechanisms. An important feature is the replacement of the intervention system with a reference price. The supply management mostly depends on the private storage system when market prices fall below the reference price. The border protection measures did not undergo a change except for cutting down on the quotas and the tariffs in order to bring them at par with the WTO commitments. Non preferential import duties including the special safeguards were not affected by the new regime. An examination of the market reveals some effects of the current sugar regime reform. Although the existing reform has been replaced by a new reform, there still exist some price support policies which have the potential to limit the extent to which the goals of the reform policy can be achieved. Moreover, high import barriers will continue to shield the domestic sugar industry. The inability of quota holders to trade quotas across member states may restrict the degree of industry adjustment toward greater cost efficiency. The application of the new sugar reform regime is going to alter the sugar market for the EU. According to the estimates given by the EU commission, a cut in the export of sugar due to the due to the rules set out by the WTO there is going to be a reduction in the production of sugar amounting to be around 2 million. High cost regions like Ireland, Greece, Italty and Portugal would face a lot of trouble while the low cost regions would be in a advantageous position to increase production. With regard to trade, shipments of sugar were expected to increase to the EU from the EBA countries after 2009 but there exists certain uncertainty regarding this. Under the SWAPS provision, the EBA countries could import sugar at world price and then export locally produced sugar within the EU. Even with the lower intervention prices, very few people within the EU believe that EBA countries will be able to export raw sugar at a reasonably low price. Under the reform, only the ACP countries within the LDC group (i.e., Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) have the potential to offset losses in their current quota exports to the EU by increasing their export volumes under the EBA Initiative. THE 2007 REFORM In order to have an environment-friendly development the various sections of CAP are monitored. On the November 2007 the commission declared that there will be a â€Å"Health Check up† on the various reforms of CAP. It gives the direction that the CAP should undertake to continue the reform process that started in 2003 with the introduction of SPS (Special Payment Scheme). It mainly focuses on three measures: Simplifying the SPS scheme. Market measures New environmental challenges. Simplifying the Single Payment Scheme According to the CAP Health Check, the Single Payment Scheme should be developed in the following ways: standardising the application of the system in order to limit cases where aid is still granted under a coupled support system; continued adaptation of the principle of cross-compliance, which promotes sustainableagriculture whilst taking account of societys new requirements; Reviewing the allocation of aid: limiting the higher level of payments and increasing the minimum area threshold required for small amounts. Market developments In order to encourage effectivecompetitionon agricultural markets, the Commission intends to review some CAP management instruments which no longer meet market requirements, in particular measures concerning cereals and dairy products. New environmental challenges This illustrates the new challenges that the CAP could contribute towards meeting: climate change, bio-energy and water management, as well as other challenges such as biodiversity.

Johns Battle with the Sea :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was a cold, dark morning on the northwestern coast of the United States. A family was curiously standing on the beach, cold and wet from their ordeal at sea the day before. They slowly began to review what had happened that night. Soon, they would make their way to a nearby town for shelter, so that their story might be known to all who traversed the town near the coast.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story of the family started when they had rented a small ship to sail for the evening. The father, John, had known how to sail since he was a boy, and he continued sailing on a small ship of his own until he married Rebecca, his current wife. The weather forecast for the evening was overcast, with no storms expected. They left the dock promptly at six o’clock, and sailed west for an evening on the sea west of San Francisco. What is known about the Pacific Ocean is a case in itself; the Pacific is totally unpredictable. John, however, considering himself seasoned from a childhood of sailing with his father, thought that he knew the ocean like the back of his hand. He did, however, commit a sin of the sea; he thought that he knew what the ocean was going to do. As for the Pacific’s unpredictability, a hidden pocket of cooler air had risen from the South Pole and had struck a warm front, causing very heavy rains in this region of the Pacific that be gan to move south.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John sighed to himself as he thought of the beauty of the night and how the sky was barely overcast. Even if it rained a little, he thought, there was a rain cover that came with the ship so they could be dry. He was disappointed when he looked at the sky to the south, and realized that he might have to use it. It might be an inconvenience, he reflected, although they could still eat the dinner they had packed and stay inside of the ship.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now it is known that there are treacherous reefs and sandbars off of the coast of northern California, and this night was no different. As the storm came from the south, and swirled towards the east, the ship was drifting east at an alarming rate, unnoticed by John or any of the family. At 8 o’clock, after the family had finished eating their dinner, the family was sitting in the ship talking about what they had been doing recently and discussing the possibility of another sailing outing such as this one.

Compare and contrast the view that ‘An Arrest’ is a tale of nature Essa

Compare and contrast the view that An Arrest is a tale of nature rejecting a human villain with the view that it is concerned only with a vengeful superego ‘An Arrest’ is an ambiguous story. You can look at it in different ways. One way to see it is as a tale of nature rejecting a human villain. This view is put forward right from the beginning. When the narrator uses words such as â€Å"confined† and â€Å"fugitive† to describe the state of Orrin Brower, he creates the image of an animal isolated from human society. This is because ‘confined’ is usually a word to do with animals or mad people who are not allowed to be in contact with humans Further evidence to support the argument of Orrin Brower being portrayed as a savage beast comes when the author writes that he had, â€Å"recovered liberty,† which is like an animal being released into the wild. Orrin Brower does not feel guilty for beating Burton Duff or think of the consequences of his actions, as a human would; he only feels and acknowledges his freedom which is an animal-like thing to do. When he is on the run he decides to escape to the forest which may be as he is treated like an animal he starts to believe that he is one. The fact that the narrator states ‘he had the folly to enter a forest’ suggests that even though he thinks of himself as an animal, Brower is not and therefore does not belong in the forest- this proves that nature will inevitably try to discard him. As he enters the forest, we are told that ‘the night was pretty dark with neither moon nor stars visible’ which could be seen as a nature trying to confuse Brower. We begin to doubt Brower’s animal-like image when Bierce writes, â€Å"Brower had never dwelt thereabout, and knew nothing of the lay ... ...re following him to the prison was not human at all. As I mentioned earlier Brower has committed some serious crimes which are the result of the id part of his brain taking over. The id is the part of our brain which wants all our basic needs- our Inner Desires- such as sleep, food and sex. However our superego stops us from becoming lazy, greedy or rapists. What happened to Brower is that his id took over and his superego was shunned so he committed these crimes without any guilt. At the clearing in the forest, Brower’s superego suddenly starts operating again and conjures up the image to make the guilty conscience, which comes with it, disappear by sending him back to justice. Bierce seems to have dropped many hints to leave both views arguably correct. Personally, I think Bierce has done this deliberately to leave the story as ambiguous as the title.

Comparing Epic of Gilgamesh and Book of Genesis of the Holy Bible :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Parallels Between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible The most well-known parallel between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible is the story of the Flood, in Genesis 6-7. This is essentially equivalent to the story that Utnapishtim, the Sumerian Noah, tells to Gilgamesh on Tablet XI. Even the way the narrative is laid out is similar - the gods put a bug in Utnapishtim's ear; a description of how the ark is built ("daubed with bitumen," a common glue or mortaring agent in Mesopotamia); everyone piles in, and it starts to rain. When it's over, Utnapishtim releases a dove, then a swallow, and finally a crow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the section of the Bible that really seems linked to Sumerian mythology is the book of Ecclesiastes. The writer of that book informs us, in Eccl. 12:9-10, that in the course of composing it he read widely, presumeably everything that he could get his hands on in those days. From internal evidence it's obvious that he read some version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. It's fascinating to see that the story, already very ancient by Biblical times, circulated so widely in the Middle East.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (in the Revised Standard version) runs, "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up." This appears in fragmented form in Tablet V column ii of the epic. (If you want to look at the tablets in English translation the best one is by John Gardner.) It was apparently a common proverb in the Middle East, and you can easily find equivalents all over the place in literature. It appears in King Lear and in Beowulf, "Bare is back without brother behind it." (Alliteration's artful aid, what?)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Epic of Gilgamesh has two main parts. In the first, Gil has a number of the standard Conan-the-Barbarian style adventures, whomping monsters, humping maidens, defying the goddess Ishtar. And he's king of Uruk, one of mankind's first cities - all very picturesque, and would make a great cover for a genre paperback. Then, in the second half, Gil has a spiritual crisis and goes on a quest for eternal life. Well, when he's wandering around having angst, he meets a Wise Woman, a barmaid - it seems the Sumerians invented beer, too.

Local Literature Essay

The 1990s have been an era of growth in computer usage for campuses across the United States. A national survey of information technology use in higher education indicated an increasing integration of computing related activities into college courses (Campus Computing Project, 2000). This survey reported that three-fifths of undergraduate courses utilized electronic mail and two-fifths made use of World Wide Web (WWW) resources. Parallel to this trend is the growing number of colleges and universities instituting requirements for student computer ownership (â€Å"Growing number of colleges require†¦,† 2000). This article reported that many of the schools implementing the requirement did so to guarantee that all students had access to the same computing resources. Research by Brown (1999) indicated that at schools without a computer ownership requirement, only half the students are likely to own one. Comparing Computer Usage by Students in Education Programs to Technology Education Majors Aaron C. Clark and Eric N. Wiebe http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v13n1/clark.html Previous Editors: Mark Sanders 1989-1997; James LaPorte: 1997-2010 FOREIGN STUDIES January, February, March 2011 A STUDY ON COMPUTER USAGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARD COMPUTERS OF PROSPECTIVE PRESCHOOL TEACHER Sheikh Tariq MAHMOOD Makhdoom Ali Syed Ziarab Mahmoodi http://ijonte.org/FileUpload/ks63207/File/tumu.pdf The purpose of this study is to determine the status of computer usage and the attitudes toward computers of prospective preschool teacher and to investigate of several variables on their attitudes. For this purpose, â€Å"Computer Usage Information Form† and â€Å"Computer Attitude Scale† was applied to 126 prospective preschool teachers. This study is conducted with survey methods. The data is analyzed through standard deviation, mean value as well  as t-test and one way ANOVA for group comparison, besides to find which group causes the difference in the group comparison, a PostHoc Tukey HSD test is employed. At the end of the study it is determined that the prospective preschool teacher use computers more at home and internet cafes and their levels of using computer programme are intermediate or upper. It is also determined that there is a significant difference according to the variables of taking computer course, computer ownership, level of using computer program, frequency of computer usage, computer experience and class of the scores of attitudes toward computers. On the other hand, there is no significant difference according to the variables of gender. It is recommended that future studies should focus on investigating academicians’s level of usage of computer program and attitudes toward computer technologies.