Comparison and contrast of direct instruction with constructivist learning approaches

Martin Luther essays

Martin Luther essays Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany, the son of Hans Luther, who worked in the copper mines, and his wife Margarethe. He went to school at Magdeburg and Eisenach, and entered the University of Erfurt in 1501, graduating with a BA in 1502 and an MA in 1505. His father wished him to be a lawyer, but Luther was drawn to the study of the Scriptures, and spent three years in the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt. In 1507 he was ordained a priest, and went to the University of Wittenberg, where he lectured on philosophy and the Scriptures, becoming a powerful and influential preacher. Luther began his career as an Augustinian Monk in the Roman Catholic Church. Consequently, Luther was initially loyal to the papacy, and even after many theological conflicts, he attempted to bring about his reconciliation with the Church. But this didn't last long because Luther waged battle with the papacy. On a mission to Rome in 151011 he was appalled by the corruption he found there. Money was greatly needed at the time for the rebuilding of St Peter's, and papal emissaries sought everywhere to raise funds by the sale of indulgences. The system was grossly abused, and Luther's indignation at the shameless traffic, carried on in particular by the Dominican Johann Tetzel, became irrepressible. As professor of biblical exegesis at Wittenberg (151246), he began to preach the doctrine of salvation by faith rather than works; and on 31 October 1517 drew up a list of 95 theses on indulgences denying the pope any right to forgive sins, and nailed them on the church door at Wittenberg. Tetzel retreated from Saxony to Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, where he published a set of counter-theses and burnt Luther's. It is usually considered to be the original document of the Reformation. Basically, this document exposed all the wrongs of the Catholic Church from indulgences to immoral behavior of priests. The Wittenberg students retaliated by burning Tetzel's, an...

U choose a topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

U choose a topic - Essay Example In the past, video games were played by teens (young adults), but today, relatively old people are seen playing the games and enjoying themselves. As of 2005, over US$ 35 billion was spent on video game consoles, handled game devices, game software, online games and mobile games. Also, new generation consoles developed by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, as from 2005, were projected to push up the sales to over US$ 51 billion, in 2010 (Gamble 198). The video game industry also employs people experienced in other old-fashioned businesses, but some have skills and knowledge tailored to the video game industry. For instance, a majority of recruiters target only game industry experts, which has led to numerous employment opportunities. Through this, it can be noted that this industry is a vital player in the world economy. This paper will discuss the key success factors in this industry. It will also discuss how the industry is changing and evaluate the strategies used by big players such a s Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. Question 1 Demands in the video game industry will always be there. However, the strategies that players in this field use to market themselves are the ones that matter the most (Gamble 87). Some of the key strategies of marketing a product in this field include: marketing related, technology related, distribution related and skilled and capability related (Flew 53). The marketing of video games in the past was simple. Advertising was done by word of mouth and, at times, only steady in ads of leading video games consumer publications. However, in 1994, video game marketing became a more substantial factor such as clear advertising and a strong brand name. With regards to technology, the video game industry has the skill to develop production process for the demands and needs for the client, which, if the purchaser wants 8-bit video game, then the industry would create that type of creation. For instance, modernizers have a behavior of purchasing new s ystems, which offer vital technology improvement over present alternatives and are usually unresponsive to software availability, price breadth of distribution, brand identification and factory support (Gamble 87). Finally, with regards to skilled and capability related, the video game industry is experiencing the growth of more and more groundbreaking products over a short period of time, with organizations copying each other’s products to earn in the race to success. Even though, the vital players in this industry operated both in global and domestic markets, more success was attained on national grounds (Flew 53). Question 2 Regarded by others as an oddity in the mid-70s, the video and computer game industries have developed from centered markets to the mainstream business (Gamble 202). The industry took in almost US$9.5 billion in the United States, 11.7 billion and 25.1 billion, in 2007, 2008 and 2010, respectively. Contemporary personal computers and video game consoles owe numerous advancements and modernizations to the game industry: graphics cards, sound cards and 3D graphic accelerators, DVD-ROM and CD-ROM drives, are some of few more notable and significant improvements. Sound cards were established in order to add high and digital-quality sound to games. They were later improved and enhanced for audiophiles andmusic.Graphics cards were created for more colors, as well. As time moved

Research paper final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research paper final - Essay Example This should change because maintaining vibrant Internet demands that the government respects privacy of the information people share online. This research paper argues that illegal data mining is a threat to the Internet and American technology companies. According to data from American data companies, National Security Agency’s Internet surveillance, and illegal data mining is hurting international sales of American Internet companies and hurting online freedom. Estimates by a policy research group called Information Technology & Innovation Foundation says by 2016 US companies will lose an estimated $35 billion in lost revenues (Herman 15). Some of the companies likely to lose out most are Apple and Google that benefit most from an open Internet without national boundaries. Data mining is become an important way of getting personal information because so many people rely on the Internet to communicate and get all types of information. According to Carr (2008), he does not all his research as a writer online. Previously, he had to get magazines, books, and other written materials to research and this used a lot of time and slowed down his productivity. Internet research on the other hand is easy. He says that he starts his research by selecting a few articles, which guides him onto resources that are more similar by clinking on links. Within a short time, he is able to get quality resources that he can use for his writings. The downside of this convenience is his activities can easily be tracked. Search engines and other websites track their visitors using cookies. Tracking is done for purposes of advertising. The other groups of people interested in online activities of people are hackers and the NSA. Hackers are interested in stealing personal informa tion for personal gain. NSA on the hand track online users in order to detect illegal online activities and communications between

Organizational Cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizational Cultures - Essay Example To begin with, organizational culture is the personality or a face of an organization. Organizational culture consists of the assumptions, stereotypes, believes, values, norms, and artifacts of the members of taken organization (McNamara). The corporate culture of organization can be easily seen simply by the way people relate to each other, the way they communicate, whether they possess esprit de corps, etc. Briefly, it can be said that the basic functions of organizational culture are to give the staff a sense of identity, to promote commitment, and to enhance stability in the corporation. There are different types of organizational cultures just like there are different types of personal cultures. Herein I would like to present the following four types of cultures. Academy Culture is a culture in which employees are highly trained and tend to stay in the organization, while working their way up the hierarchical pyramid. Examples of such organizations are universities, hospitals, and large corporations. Baseball Team Culture is the culture where each employee is in high demand and can easily get employment elsewhere. Good examples of organizations with such cultures are fast-paced, risky companies, such as investment banking, advertising, PR agencies, etc (Curry). Club Culture is a culture which is comprised of employees who are trained to work in closely-knit groups. Examples of organizations possessing this type of culture are the military, as well as law and notary firms. Fortress Culture, is the most unstable culture from the mentioned above, because in its framew ork employees do not know whether they should expect to be laid off or not (Curry). Examples of organizations possessing fortress culture are savings and loans companies and car manufacturing companies (McNamara). Organizational culture can also be described in regard to three levels that were first introduced by Edgar Schein, a professor who has left a notable mark in the field of organizational culture. The fist and most visible level is behaviors and artifacts. This evident level consists of behavior patterns and external expression of culture. Artifacts and behavior usually tell us what the group of people is doing, though when observing behaviors it is impossible to understand the reasons behind the particular actions (National Defense University). At the next level of culture are values. Values bring about and determine behavior, they give us explanations that are behind the actions of staff, however, they are not directly observable, as behaviors are. The last and deepest level of culture is the level of assumptions and beliefs. Once understanding

Families And Sibling Abuse Analysis Social Work Essay

Families And Sibling Abuse Analysis Social Work Essay Abuse, whether it be physical, emotional, or sexual, can infiltrate a family setting and alter the dynamics greatly. Within a family there are different relationships and bonds, and each one of those relationships may have a different motive and form of abuse within it. A type of abuse within a family that does not receive much attention from society is abuse by siblings. In general, abuse within a family is thought of as a parent abusing a child and asserting their authority in such a way, but the matter of abuse by a sibling is also very important to understand and there are many implications of such abuse. This research paper will address the importance of sibling relationships to further understand the implications that come about from abuse within them, what healthy sibling relationships should look like, the commonality of different relationships of siblings having incest, types of family configurations where sibling abuse is present, and the treatments of siblings that abuse a nd are victims of abuse. Four articles will be used to understand the issue, Sibling Family Practices: Guidelines for Healthy Boundaries (2009) , Sibling Incest: Reports from Forty-One Survivors (2006), Making Sense of Abuse: Case Studies in Sibling Incest (2006), and Treating Sibling Abuse Families (2005). Abuse is a very powerful word that comes with many connotations. The actual definition of abuse has problems with it because it is not universally accepted and the perceptions of abuse from individual to individual vary greatly. Everyone has their own personal opinion on what abuse consists of and in general it is typically thought of as causing harm to another person. Abuse is an issue that has many intersecting factors and many layers that are rooted deep in relationships. One type of abuse that is of great importance, as are the others, is sibling abuse. Sibling abuse is abuse that is perpetrated by one sibling to another and may be physical abuse or sexual abuse, known as incest. The importance of this type of abuse is that it is not given much attention in society and it is difficult to comprehend. Society does not recognize sibling abuse as easily as it will recognize abuse between intimate partners or even abuse between parents and their children. Due to the lack of awareness it is very important to understand what a healthy sibling relationship is, cases of sibling abuse, and treatments of the siblings. By looking at four articles, a view of the issue will come into focus and some light will be shed on the issue of sibling abuse. In Johnson, Huang, and Simpsons research, Sibling Family Practices: Guidelines for Healthy Boundaries, (2009) surveys help conclude what is socially acceptable and what is not within a family. The survey was taken of five hundred people and their opinions generally corresponded. The research showed that when it came to hygiene, bathing together is acceptable for children younger than five if they are of the same gender. If the children are of different genders, the research shows that it is acceptable for children younger than four to bathe together. Showering is a similar issue, being acceptable for same gendered siblings that are younger than six and acceptable for different gendered siblings younger than four and a half years. The data also reflects adults opinions regarding affection, with the statistics on kissing being 37% saying siblings should never kiss on the mouth and 23% of people saying they should kiss at all ages. (Johnson, Huang, Simpson, 2009). Hugging is widely acce pted between siblings. Caffaro and Caffaro address healthy sibling development in Treating Sibling Abuse Families (2005). Caffaro and Caffaro lend a look at the development of sibling relationships, explaining that sibling ties begin in childhood with parents writing the script. (Caffaro Caffaro, 2005). It is common for parents to assign roles for their children without actively meaning to do so. Siblings are often raised being in a natural competition with their sibling and trying to live up to the label that has been placed upon them by their parents. An example would be labeling a child as the smart one and their sibling as the polite one. These two children would compete against each other to keep their title from the other and would also strive to maintain their title, forming it into their self-identity. Carlson, Maciol, and Schneider conducted research in Sibling Incest: Reports from Forty-One Survivors (2006) in order to get a concise picture of sibling sexual abuse. The research was conducted using thirty-four women and seven men and the majority of the forty-one participants were of white. The study conclusions found that three of the males initiated sexual behavior with their sisters and the other men were victims of sibling incest that was brought on by brothers of theirs. Four women of the study were victims of sibling incest because of their sisters and the other thirty women were sexually abused by brothers. The research from this article clearly shows that males are the most common perpetrators of sibling incest and women are more likely to be the victims, but men are also sometimes the victims of sibling abuse brought on by brothers. Corresponding with this data, Caffaro and Caffaro found that sixty-three percent of the women in their study were victims of incest due to th eir brothers sexual assault. In contrast to the prior study, Treating Sibling Abuse Families (2009) found that the second most common form of sibling incest is from one brother to another, the next most common being sisters sexually abusing their brothers, and the least common form being sisters sexually abusing their sisters. (Caffaro Caffaro, 2005). As discussed earlier, it is difficult for society to see all of these cases as abuse and incest because of the difficulties there are in defining abuse and there are also different views between families of what is acceptable and normal. In Making Sense of Abuse: Case Studies in Sibling Incest (2006), Bass, Taylor, Knudson-Martin, and Huenergardt discuss the possibility of abuse being seen as normal within a family. The research done in the article is case studies that follow two Latin American families where sibling incest was present. One of the families viewed abuse as normal and used secrecy as a way to maintain the abuse. Also, the family did not see outside systems as positive and held the opinion that the systems were invading their personal lives. The second family in the research differed from the first in the way that they viewed abuse as a mistake and unacceptable and they used secrecy to protect rather than perpetuate abuse. The second family also differed in seeing outsi de systems and legitimate and, although the systems caused some hardships, they saw them as appropriate and not intrusive as the first had. (Bass, Taylor, Knudson-Martin, Huenergardt, 2006). Treatment for sibling abuse may begin with what is referred to as a Sibling Abuse Interview, or SAI for short. (Caffaro Caffaro, 2005). The SAI functions by asking questions of all family members about the relationships that are currently between the siblings and also the history of those relationships. The SAI asks questions that deal with abuse and trauma and also points out areas of family resilience. Treatment is usually similar to treatment of other forms of abuse, but the therapy is slightly modified. There are two different perspectives when it comes to sexual abuse of children and they are the Child Protection Movement and the Feminist Movement. The Child Protection Movement holds the philosophy that the child victim is the most important at that time and that the entire family is responsible for protecting that child and providing them safety. The ultimate goal of the Child Protective Movement is to reunite the family with a healthier way of living. The Feminist Movement fa vors advocacy over all others. This perspective feels that it is necessary and most beneficial for the victim to have an advocate on their side that is determined to establish protection for that child in the present and the future as well. The Feminist Movement supports family reconciliation, but it does not hold it as a top priority. (Crosson-Tower, 2010). These two theories produce different forms of treatment and have different strategies for treating the victims of incest. Both hold the victims protection above all else but they differ in terms of what is best for the child, whether it be healthy family practices or advocacy for the victim. The four studies discussed help to give a broad understanding of sibling incest, from the healthy sibling relationships that are used as basis, what sibling incest can be interpreted as in terms of common types, family influences on sibling incest regarding their mindsets, to the treatment and outcomes of sibling incest. The studies were largely consistent and all painted pictures that corresponded with one another. There were some minor discrepancies in findings, such as the commonality of different forms of sibling incest, but in general the larger messages were all the same. The implications of the research presented is a better awareness of sibling incest and the ability to recognize red flags when they are present. Sibling incest is more prominent than society likes to think and without understanding sibling incest, it is difficult to prevent it from happening. With understanding, family structures that allow for incest can be recognized and sibling incest can hopefully be dimin ished.

The United States Effect on Puerto Rican Music Essay -- Puerto Rico Mu

The United States Effect on Puerto Rican Music The United States played an important role in the evolution of Puerto Rican culture, more specifically music. While Puerto Rican culture remains distinct from that of American culture, its historical progression is forever tied with that of the United States. This is evident in the evolution of Puerto Rican music. It is also evident in the experience of Puerto Rican musicians both on the island and in the Diaspora. U.S rule was in part responsible for Puerto Rican migration both within the island and off the island. This is so due to the political and economic relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. As a result new genres, or styles of Puerto Rican music were created. The U.S also controlled how the music of the island would be communicated to the rest of the world. This effected the way Puerto Ricans expressed their identity through music. The establishment of United States rule in Puerto Rico had an effect on the evolution of Puerto Rican culture as experienced by musicians in the United States. In evaluating the Puerto Rican situation it is important to discuss the context in which Puerto Rican musicians came to the United States, more specifically New York City, and what led to this migration. The rise of the sugar staple and downfall of coffee in Puerto Rico, as caused by the United States, resulted in a migration of Puerto Rican workers. They moved to sugar processing areas on the island, in search of jobs. Among these workers were musicians. Musicians could not sustain themselves on music alone. Therefore, just as the rest of the population had to follow the jobs, so did the... ...ans. This effected the expression of Puerto Rican identity through music. While artists such as Pedro Flores and Rafael Hernandez made Puerto Rican music in its more native form, and also expressed frustrations as to the current situation of Puerto Rico, such open expression was limited. In essence, the progression of Puerto Rican music is a microcosm of what has been the Puerto Rican experience since the rule of the Spanish. A dominant power has invaded this aspect of Puerto Rican culture and dictated the arena in which it can be expressed, and how it can be expressed. As a result the question of what is true Puerto Rican music is complicated. It is not my intention to diminish the quality, uniqueness, or distinctiveness of Puerto Rican music, but rather to acknowledge the role the United States has played in its evolution and its depiction to the rest of the world.