Thursday, October 31, 2019
Family Price Fears as Petrol Predicted to Climb to $2 a Litre Article - 4
Family Price Fears as Petrol Predicted to Climb to $2 a Litre - Article Example Oil is a subject which has always been the centre of attention in economics. There are a plethora of theories and concepts which apply to this case study, but for brevity’s sake, we will limit ourselves to just a few. These include the following: The use of relevant diagrams will be made so as to establish the key facts unequivocally. Although there can be more concepts, the discussion will just be limited to inflation and its reasons, and the counteraction of the deteriorating price levels due to exchange rate differentials. We have already witnessed an oil crisis in the not so distant past when the prices went up to $147 per barrel in 2008. Back then, the prices were elevated primarily due to speculative positions are taken by investors and speculators. Today’s situation, however, it differs from the previous one due to the fact that this is an issue driven purely due to economics. The Middle East region accounts for a majority of the world’s oil-producing coun tries. Since this region has come under a lot of turmoil, the supply of oil has been witnessing bottlenecking and this has caused mass panic in the developed and developing economies the world over, to the point where alarmingly high buying is taking place. This aggressive buying by various nations  is driving the prices of crude oil higher and higher.  When we break it down on the most primitive levels, we see two things happening simultaneously. The first is that there is a very apparent shortage of oil as millions of barrels per days are not being produced. Secondly, these supply shocks are triggering investors, companies and even governments to buy large reserves of oil to ensure that they have adequate supply in the coming months.Â
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Robert Frost And William Stafford Essay Example for Free
Robert Frost And William Stafford Essay Introduction            The writer chose to compare and contrast the brilliant poems of two of the most famous poets of all time. â€Å"Birches†by Robert Frost, and â€Å"Traveling Through The Dark†by William Stafford. Both poems cover nature as a theme and through it, expertly laid out their ideas and what they wanted to express.            Robert Frost (1874-1963) was a Californian poet famous for his poems â€Å"The Road Not Taken†and â€Å"Pasture†. William Edgar Stafford (1914-1993) born in Kansas was a military veteran and was a teacher at one point in his life. His best known works are â€Å"The Rescued Year†, â€Å"Stories that Could Be True: New and Collected Poems†, â€Å"Writing the Australian Crawl: Views on the writer’s vocation†, and â€Å"An Oregon Message.†           At first, it may seem that these are just simple nature-themed poems but as we looked deeper, we’ll see that it’s not the case. It may also appear that these two poems have nothing in common since Birch talks about a bent tree and Traveling talks about a dead deer. [We can see that both poems talk about hope and taking chances. Although they differ in presentation and that in Birch, the narrator tried to go back when everything was simple for him – we can see that the two poems touched the difficulty of making a life-altering decision. ]            This paper would further provide proof and verses from the two poems to support the above statements. Individual analysis of the poems would be discussed and their similarities and differences would be concluded in the last paragraph. Robert Frost’s â€Å"Birches†           Robert Frost was a pastor and his devotion to God can be seen through his works. He frequently used metaphors about nature to express his ideas of a situation or special circumstances. In Birches, Frost reminisced his childhood when he was just a young boy swinging the branches of a birch tree. In recapturing the moments, Frost used third-person narration instead of saying directly that it’s him who was swinging the branches. The branches were bent as a result of this â€Å"swinging†, and also as a result of the ice crystals from the ice storm. Frost vividly described the image of the bent birch trees, â€Å"When I see birches bend to left and right. Across the lines of straighter darker trees†and the melting of the ice crystals trapped in the branches, â€Å"Often you must have seen them. Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning; After a rain. They click upon themselves; As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored; As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. Soon the suns warmth makes them shed crystal shells.†The poem tries to make the reader visualize the image in his head; of the bent birch tree, and its’ process of change through different seasons. This colorful description of nature can simply be as plain as about the bent branches of a birch tree; or about the many reasons why a branch, could be a metaphor for a person, would bend or go way out of his or her path in life. He also associated bending birch trees to young girls drying their hair under the sun. The seasons Winter and Summer are allegories of the obstacles one person would meet in his lifetime. This symbolizes the cycle of life, that after every winter, comes spring then summer. Same so with life, after every trouble, comes happiness. Also related to the saying there’s always a rainbow after the rain.            In general, the poem talks about how the boy who used to swing birch trees grew up and became successful in life, and he looks back and wishes for the simplicity of life when he was younger. He wishes to retreat from the current situation that he’s in and feel heaven once more, just like when he was just a young boy, â€Å"So was I once myself a swinger of birches.  And so I dream of going back to be. Its when Im weary of considerations, And life is too much like a pathless wood; Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs.†           In addition to this, the monochromatic tone of the verse â€Å"Id like to go by climbing a birch tree, And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk,†symbolizes the perception of a child, wherein there are only two choices; black or white – right or wrong. This fact upholds the innocence and un-complexity of being a child – the same reasons Frost wanted to go back and swing those birch tree branches once again. However, he can not go back in time when he was still light like a child and the birch tree branches could carry him high up, now, the birch tree branch bowed down and gently let him down touching the earth. He could only, but daydream of those days, â€Å"Id like to go by climbing a birch tree, And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk; Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more, But dipped its top and set me down again.†William Stafford’s â€Å"Traveling Through The Dark†           The poem relates the story of a man driving along a narrow road and comes across a dead deer lying in the middle of the road. Since the road is too narrow to swerve and avoid the dead animal, he got off his car and inspected the dead deer. With intentions of pushing it over the canyon, he touched the deer and realized that it was pregnant. Feeling the warmth of the deer’s tummy and knowing that the baby is still alive. He chose to shove it over the canyon like they normally do to avoid accidents that might happen in the narrow road because swerving might lead to deaths.            This poem may appear to be very morbid and showcases the narrator’s selfishness, but shoving the deer into the river was actually the best and the only thing he could do. This decision did not come easy for him, â€Å"Beside that mountain road I hesitated. The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights.†           Although, literally, the poem poses the difficult question of should you or should you not push the dead deer over the river? It is actually a representation of the difficult choices we make in life. The narrow road symbolizes life and the dead deer is an obstacle or an opportunity. In such narrow road, we can choose to swerve, or go around the dead deer to avoid it, but take the risk of not knowing where we might end up. Or we can stop and push the deer aside. This poem involves difficult decisions which we have to make in order to move on – along the narrow road, and with our lives. Discussion Both poems used nature as metaphors to express what they truly mean. Robert Frost’s bent birch tree branches are analogous to Stafford’s narrow road. The birch tree carried swinging young boys and caught heavy snow every winter, but it remained strong and flexible; instead of breaking, it bended to adapt to a changing environment. Just like the narrow road in Traveling, although it did not bend like the birch tree, the poem offered an opportunity to swerve, get out of the path, and dive into the uncertain. This just shows that life as we know it is not definite. In Birches, the changing seasons from the harsh winter to a bright summer, delivers a promise of hope. Just like in Traveling, the difficult decision of pushing the deer to the river also delivers a promise of hope for the drivers taking the same road. After many hardships in life, the narrator in Birches wanted to go back to the simplicity of a young boy’s life but realized that he can not and he should not, so he continued with his life. Just like the man in Traveling, he made a very hard decision, for the safety of the greater good, he had to live with his decision and he had to go on living.            Both poems present making life-altering decisions – Birches (choosing to stay trapped in the past or to move on) and Traveling (choosing to leave the dead deer on the road or pushing it over the river). However, the presentation of nature in Birches was more alive and vibrant unlike in Traveling wherein it’s dark and dangerous. In Birches, Frost vividly described the setting and imagery of nature and uses a lot of adjectives. While Stafford simply put out the words out there, even taking a sonnet-like form. Conclusion:            Birches and Traveling Through the Dark are among the best poems ever published. They stimulate deeper analysis and interpretation by the simplicity of the words that authors used and the un-complexity of the setting in which they derive the stories from. Poem analysis and interpretation are subjective and is solely based on the reader’s understanding of the texts used. This understanding can either go literally (based solely on the surface meaning of the words) or figuratively, wherein, interpretation in this manner could go about for centuries. There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to poem analysis; the truth is, whatever the critics say about a particular poem – only the author himself knows the real meaning and essence of the poem. References Frost, Robert. Birches. Stafford, William. Traveling Through The Dark
Sunday, October 27, 2019
long-term memory systems of the human brain
long-term memory systems of the human brain Current knowledge is summarized about long-term memory systems of the human brain, with memory systems defined as specific neural networks that support specific mnemonic processes. In the late 19th Century, German Psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus established that humans tend to forget most of what they learn in a class within thirty days. Without some aid to help us retain what we learn, massive amounts of crucial information are lost. This paper describes about the how to improve our memory, how repetition improves the efficiency of memory processing, by improving physical well-being how it helps improving memory, and ways to increase our depths of level of memory processing. Introduction In psychology, memory is regulated by a constantly changing organization of consciousness or an organisms ability to store, retain, and subsequently retrieve information. It has been hypothesized that three processes occur in remembering: perception and registering of a stimulus, temporary maintenance of the perception, or short-term memory; and lasting storage of the perception, or long-term memory. Two major recognized types of long-term cognitive memory are: Procedural memory-involving the recall of learned skills. Declarative memory-the remembrance of specific stimuli. For long-term memory to occur there must be a period of information consolidation. A conscious awareness in remember that they are recollecting something of the past. Some of what we experience day to day is stored away in our minds for future reference, but much of it is not. For example, you might describe in vivid detail the interior of a quaint ice cream parlor you visited last summer, but be unable to recall what flavor ice cream you had. On closer reflection, this is only the tip of the iceberg when we look at the full range of human memory capabilities. One of the interesting features of your memory system is that you dont control what is stored because much of our memory is submerged from conscious view. Memory is an integral part of our existence, yet it is only vaguely understood. When you want to remember something doesnt mean that you can remember the entire. Indeed, when you thinking, most of what you thinking is not stuff that you consciously try to store. You didnt try to commit the whole thing that you did to your memory. In this regard, you might be unable to remember a complete of the event. Its hard to grasp just how specific, or narrow of your thoughts and your memories. For example, suppose you passing your neighbors house, you encounter a barking dog. There are several aspects of the dog that you could think about. Perhaps you could think about the sound of the dogs bark, what the dog looked like, or the meaning of the bark like why its barking, whether its barking at you, the possible that a barking dog will bite, and so on. Each of these thoughts will lead you to different memories of the event the next day. If you think about the sound of the dogs bark, the next day youll probably remember that quite well, but not its appearance. To put this example into broader terms, even simple concepts have multiple aspects of meaning, which one of these you think about will determine what you remember. Literature Review Ways to Improve Memory There are 16 ways to improve our memory. The ways included convince ourselves that we do have a good memory that will improve, exercise your brain, exercise daily, reduce stress, eat well and eat right, take better pictures, give yourself time to form a memory, create vivid and memorable images, repeat things you need to learn, group things you need to remember, organize your life, try meditation, sleep well, build your memorization arsenal, venture out and learn from mistake and listening to binaural beats. (Ben Rubenstein, Theresa Mulligan Tom Viren, 2010) In the article Improving Your Memory-Tips and Technique for Memory Enhancement (Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M.A., Amara Rose, Gina Kemp, M.A., and Suzanne Barston, 2007), they suggested the stages of memory foundation and maintenance. The stages are acquisition, consolidation and retrieval. Besides that, they stated the tips for memory improvements. They suggested that brain exercises can improve memory because memory is just like a muscular strength, the more we work out our brain, and the better we will be able to process and remember information. Furthermore, they also stated the general guidelines and mnemonic devices to improve memory. Healthy habits and nutrition also suggested by them to improve our memory. In Human Memory: What It is and How to Improve It suggested that there are many ways to improve our memory such as the use of certain mental technique, special care with nutrition and medicines (Silvia Helena Cardoso, 1997). For example, stimulate memory with using it to the utmost and challenge a novelty. Pay attention, concentrate and avoid all other thoughts can help us to improve our memory. Other ways which can improve our memory is relax, sleep and nutrition. Besides that, medication, alcohol, smoking and caffeine are believed that may interfere the memory function. Studies have shown that, when compared with non-smokers, individuals smokers of one or more packs of cigarettes a day had difficulties of remembering peoples faces and names in a test of visual and verbal memory (Turkington, 1996). We tend to forget things much easier as we age because the neurons in our brain responsible for memory lose elasticity over time. However, he suggested some methods to maintain a great memory for as long as possible. Sleep well is one of the methods he had suggested. Besides that, use acronyms and other mnemonic devices also help to improve our memory. Rest and eat brain super foods also suggested by him to improve our memory. (Todd ,2007) There are 7 mnemonic devices to improve our memory. First, pegword method that is useful for memorizing lists of unrelated items in order with create a visual image of each item in the list with a peg word. Second, method of loci which is useful for memorizing lists of unrelated items in order with commits a mental walk to memory. Third, use acronym method which creates an acronym using the first letter of each of the items. Fourth, use the acrostic method which creates a sentence in which the first letter of each provides a cue for the materials. Fifth, music or rhymes method can be use to set a familiar tune, rhythm or rhyme on the materials that we going to memorize. Sixth, mnemonic association is the method which associated to-be-remember materials with an aspect of the material that is hard to remember. Lastly, the keyword method can be use for foreign vocabulary words. (Daniel T. Willingham, 2009) Almost everyone would like to improve their memory. The temporal lobes of the brain are located behind the eyes and under the temples at the sides of head. The temporal lobes of the brain are associated with short-term memory and transferring memories to long-term storage. In addition, the temporal lobes are involved with language, reading social cues, understanding music and tone of voice, and mood stability. The hippocampus is another part of the brain located closer to the center and next to the temporal lobes. The hippocampus stores new information for several weeks and helps a person learn new skills. Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants are important in improving our memory. (Wendy Hodsdon, ND, 2006) A multitude of molecular, cellular, systems and behavioral findings have demonstrated the need for sleep after learning for the consolidation of memory. (Seung-Schik Yoo, Peter T Hu, Ninad Gujar, Ferenc A Jolesz and Matthew P Walker, 2007) Short-term memory Short-term memory-closely related to working memory-is the very short time that you keep something in mind before either dismissing it or transferring it to long-term memory. Short-term memory is shorter than you might think, lasting less than a minute. Its what allows you to remember the first half of a sentence you hear or read long enough to make sense of the end of the sentence. But in order to store that sentence (or thought, fact, idea, word, impression, sight, or whatever else) for longer than a minute or so, it has to be transferred to long-term memory. Short term memory (STM) is a limited capacity store that, for example, can be assessed with a digit span task. Most people can hold between five and nine items in STM, but by chunking items together can hold more information. Without rehearsal, this memory trace fades over the course of minutes. A current debate is about how much of this is due to decay alone or interference from subsequent stimuli. Recall for items often shows a J-shaped serial position curve where early and late items presented in a list are recalled better. Late item success is known as the recency effect and reflects short term memory fading, while early item success is known as the primacy effect and is tough to reflect a long term store (Matlin, 1996). Short-term memory allows one to recall something from several seconds to as long as a minute without rehearsal. Short-term memory is believed to rely mostly on an acoustic code for storing information, and to a lesser extent a visual code. Conrad (1964) found that test subjects had more difficulty recalling collections of words that were acoustically similar (e.g. dog, hog, fog, bog, log). This is the process whereby we can take advantage of prior knowledge to package information more effectively and hence to enhance storage and retrieval. For example, sequence of digits that comprised a number of familiar dates, such as 1492 1776 1945, would be easier to recall then the same 12 digits in random order. However, short-term memory has been an unexplainable phenomenon with certain individuals gifted to remember large amounts of information, quickly, and be able to recall that information in seconds. Short-term memory is supported by transient patterns of neuronal communication, dependent on regions of the frontal lobe (especially dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and the parietal lobe. The limited information which manages to pass the hurdle of selective filtering is not necessarily retained with any degree of permanence. It is placed in a temporary storage unit, where information is held just long enough for it to be analyzed and transferred to long term memory. Information received is held only for about five to twenty seconds, and if it is not attended to, either decays or is lost (Magill, 2001). Part of the process of registering the information in the STM is to transform or encode it so it is capable of being rehearsed or practiced and later stored. Emphasis should be on rehearsing the information. It is here that the learner understands the meaning, message, intent, value and the representation of the information in relationship to other information in the memory. In motor skill learning, it is important that coaches and teachers should take into account the capacity of the STM. If a lot of information of a particular skill is given at any one time, then it is impossible for most students to remember all the instructions. So instructions are best kept brief, or broken down into parts to the degree that attention is properly maintained. As we grow older with many cognitive conditions, our short-term memory span often becomes even shorter. This makes us more likely to have trouble keeping up with certain tasks, such as remembering which button to push in a banks phone menu. It also gives our brains less time to successfully move new information to long-term memory, which makes us more likely to forget details of recent events, such as a story our children tell us or instructions our doctors give us. Long-Term Memory Long-term memory, or LTM, is the storehouse for information that must be kept for long periods of time. But LTM is not just a more durable version of STM; the stage model of memory suggests its a different kind of memory altogether. The storage in sensory memory and short-term memory generally have a strictly limited capacity and duration, which means that information is available only for a certain period of time, but is not retained indefinitely. By contrast, long-term memory can store much larger quantities of information for potentially unlimited duration. Its capacity is immeasurably large. Long-term memories, on the other hand, are maintained by more stable and permanent changes in neural connections widely spread throughout the brain. The hippocampus is essential (for learning new information) to the consolidation of information from short-term to long-term memory, although it does not seem to store information itself. Without the hippocampus, new memories are unable to be stored into long-term memory, and there will be a very short attention span. Furthermore, it may be involved in changing neural connections for a period of three months or more after the initial learning. Types of Long-Term Memory Tulving (1987) has proposed the existence of three kinds of long-term memory stage, each with distinctly different properties, and each probably based on different brain mechanisms. The three type of Long-term memory: Procedural Memory -Memory for motor movement and skills -Knowledge about how to do something Semantic Memory -Memory for meaning without reference to the time and place of learning -Memories that recall a personal moment from our past Episodic Memory -Knowledge about the world -Memory for specific experiences that can be defined in terms of time and space -Stores as facts that make little or no reference to ones personal experiences These various parts of long-term memory do not operate in isolation from one another. While it is not clear how they work together, it is clear that they are related and overlap. (Tulving,1972) Storing Information for the Long-Term Memory To store information over the long-term memory, you need to produce elaborate and distinctive memory records. Focusing on the meaning of the input, relating to be remembered information to other things in memory, and forming visual images of the input all lead to distinctive memory records. Forming a visual image is particularly effective, and many memory aids, or mnemonic devices, are based on the use of imagery. Long-term memory also depends on how information is actually presented: Item presented near the beginning and end of a sequence are remembered well, are as items that have been repeated. Spaced or distributed practice turns out to be more effective than massed practice. Two major problems related to the use of long-term memory: To transfer the information accurately to long-term memory. To retrieve the information accurately. The primary strategy for transferring information from working memory into long-term memory is referred to as encoding or elaboration. These terms refer to the process of relating information to other information that is already stored in long-term memory. Piaget and other constructivists have developed detailed theories regarding how information is stored in long-term memory. Differences between LTM and STM in four major ways: The way in which information is recalled: The amount of information stored in LTM is so vast, we cannot scan the entire contents of LTM when we looking for a bit of information, as we do in STM. Instead, LTM has to be indexed. We retrieve information from LTM using cues, much as we use a call number to locate a book in the library. This retrieval can be an intentional act or an unintentional one, as when hearing a particular song brings back memories of a lost love. In either case, only information relevant to the cue is retrieved, rather than the entire contents of LTM. The form in which information is stored in memory: LTM differs from STM in the kind of information that is most easily stored. You will recall that information is usually stored in STM in terms of the physical qualities of the experience (what we saw, did, tasted, touched, or heard), with a special emphasis on acoustic codes. Although sensory memories can be stored in LTM, information is stored in LTM primarily in terms of its meaning, or semantic codes. The reasons that forgetting occurs: Unlike STM, where information that is not rehearsed or processed appears to drop out the system, information stored in LTM is not just durable but actually appears to be permanent. Not all psychologists agree that memories in LTM are permanent, but there is a great deal of evidence supporting this view. If memories in LTM are indeed permanent, this means that forgetting occurs in LTM not because the memory is erased buy because we are unable to retrieve in for some reason. The physical location of these functions in the brain: STM is primarily a function of the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex, whereas information that is stored in LTM is first integrated in the hippocampus and then transferred to the areas of the cerebral cortex involved in language and perception for permanent storage. Stages of Memory Foundation and Maintenance There are 3 stages of memory foundation and maintenance: acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval. At acquisition stage, new information enters our brain. The key to encoding information into our memory is concentration. Unless we focus on information intently, otherwise it goes in one ear and out the other. At second stage, that is consolidation, hippocampus sends a signal to store the information as long-term memory. When we need to recall the information, we reach retrieval stage. Our brain have to activate the same pattern of nerve cells used to store it. The more frequently you need the information, the easier it is to retrieve it along healthy nerve cell connections (Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M.A., Amara Rose, Gina Kemp, M.A., and Suzanne Barston, 2007). How To Improve Memory A) Sleep Well Everyone in the world needs consistently 7-8 sleeping hours to increase our memory. While sleeping, the brain disconnects from the senses, proceeds to revising and storing memory. Besides that, the brain appears to firm up memories of newly acquired information during sleep. At day time, a quick nap can be the impetus for a solution to a problem you have been working (Todd, 2007). Sleep is necessary for memory consolidation. The amount of sleep will affect the brains ability to recall recently learned information. According to recent studies conducted at the Harvard Medical School, getting a good nights sleep may improve our short-term memory and long-term relational memory (Ben Rubenstein, Theresa Mulligan Tom Viren, 2010). Insomnia would produce a chronic fatigue and would impair the ability of concentration and the storing of information (Silvia Helena Cardoso, PhD, 1997). B) Nutrition Eat well and eat right are very essential to improve our memory. Roughly 50-60% of the brains overall weight is pure fat, which is used as insulation for its billions of nerve cells. The better insulated a cell, the faster it sends messages and the speedier our thinking. Therefore eating foods with a healthy mix of fats is essential for long-term memory. Fish, especially wild salmon, mackerel and anchovies, and dark leafy green vegetables are excellent choices (Todd, 2007) B vitamins, especially B6, B12 and folic acid are good for our memory. These vitamins protect neurons by breaking down an amino acid, homocysteine, which is toxic to nerve cells. These vitamins also involved in making red blood cells, which carry oxygen. The best sources of B vitamins is spinach and other dark leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, strawberries, melons, black beans and other legumes, citrus fruits and soybeans (Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M.A., Amara Rose, Gina Kemp, M.A., and Suzanne Barston, 2007). Besides that, antioxidants like vitamins C, vitamins E and carotene are also essential in improve our memory. Antioxidants fight free radicals which are highly reactive and can damage cells that can occur with age. Antioxidants interact with them safely and neutralize them. Antioxidants also improve the flow of oxygen through the body and brain (Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M.A., Amara Rose, Gina Kemp, M.A., and Suzanne Barston, 2007). Eating many colors of fruits and vegetables ensures a wide variety of antioxidants to nourish and protect the brain. The best sources of antioxidants are blueberries and other berries, sweet potatoes, red tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, green tea, nuts and seeds, citrus fruits, liver (Wendy Hodsdon, ND, 2006). Furthermore, Omega-3 fatty acids are a major component of the gray matter of the brain and can also improve brain activity. They count as healthy fats, as opposed to saturated fats and trans fats, omega-3 fatty acids protecting against inflammation and high cholesterol (Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M.A., Amara Rose, Gina Kemp, M.A., and Suzanne Barston, 2007). The fat in the brain is essential to proper nerve function, in nerve membranes, and as a component of brain synapses. People who eat diets high in saturated fats or trans-fatty acids frequently will show signs of dementia earlier than people who eat fish regularly. Omega-3 fatty acids can found in wild-caught, deep sea fish like wild salmon, tuna, mackerel and herring. Fish oil supplement is good for the brain and memory (Wendy Hodsdon, ND, 2006). Moreover, water is also an essential source for our memory. Water help maintain the memory systems working, especially in older persons. According to Dr. Trukington, lack of water in the body has an immediate and deep effect on memory, dehydration can generate confusion and other thought difficulties (Silvia Helena Cardoso, PhD, 1997). C) Brain Exercise Memory, like muscular strength, is a use it or lose it proposition. The more we work out our brain, the better we will be able to process and remember the information. Regularly exercising the brain keeps it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory (Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M.A., Amara Rose, Gina Kemp, M.A., and Suzanne Barston, 2007). By developing new mental skills we can keep our brain active and improve its physiological functioning. The mental skills can be puzzles and games like crossword and Sudoku which can practice on for several minutes per day. Novelty and sensory stimulation are the foundation of brain exercise. We can use our memory to the utmost and challenge a novelty and they can be fun. Almost any silly suggestion can work, says David Eagleman, PhD, neuroscientist and assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. For example, if you work in an office, learn to dance. If you are a dancer, learn to deal with a computer. This could stimulate your brains neural circuits to grow. Besides that, we can try a neurabic exercise, which is an aerobic exercise for our brain. This will force us to use your faculties in unusual ways, like showering and getting dressed with our eyes closed, take a course in a subject we dont know much about, learn a new game of strategy, cook up some rec ipes in an unfamiliar cuisine, drive home via a different route, brush teeth with opposite hand. Thats the most effective way to keep your synapses firing (Ben Rubenstein, Theresa Mulligan Tom Viren, 2010). D ( i) Repetition Priming Definition: the repetition effect: a repeated stimulus is processed better on the second occurrence than on the first. (Christophe Pallier , Nuria Sebasti ´an-Gall ´es and Angels Colom ´e, 1999) Repeated process of a stimulus often facilitates performance on a cognitive task. This facilitation is known as repetition priming and, because it can arise in the absence of conscious recollection of the original stimulus presentation, is often assumed to reveal an implicit form of memory. Repetition priming is a very reliable phenomenon and has been observed in numerous tasks for example, lexical decision (Scarborough, Cortese, and Scarborough, 1977) and word-fragment completion (Tulving, Schacter, Stark, 1982) The basic effect reported in numerous masked repetition priming studies is that manipulating the similarity of a briefly presented, pattern masked prime word and an immediately following and clearly visible target word produces systematic differences in target reaction time (RT; greater overlap = faster RTs). Such effects have typically been interpreted as reflecting processing that is started by the masked prime and then modified when the ensuing target is similar to or different from the prime along some dimension of interest (e.g., orthographic, lexical, or semantic). Because subjects are usually unaware of the identity of the prime, it is widely believed that this type of priming is predominantly sensitive to the fast feed-forward (automatic) components of word recognition (Forster, Mohan, Hector, 2003; Lamme, Zipsser, Spekreijse, 2002). Recently, several masked priming studies have reported that certain measures of neural activity are also sensitive to processes involved in visual letter and word processing (e.g., Dehaene et al., 2004; Grossi Coch, 2005; Holcomb Grainger, 2006; Petit, Grainger, Midgley, Holcomb, in press). In the late 19th Century, German Psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus established that humans forget 90% of what they learn in a class within thirty days. Without some aid to help us retain what we learn, massive amounts of crucial information are lost. The most powerful and simple technique to improve retention is repetition. D (ii) Repetitive Learning Science and plain, old-fashioned observations have proven that humans learn massive quantities from repetition. Advertising is a primary example of this phenomenon with companies spending billions of dollars to present us with seemingly mind-numbing repeated messages. These messages work, even though they are basically passive. Repetition is even more effective when it is an active process and if repetition has meaningful results, then learning will take place. (Jarrett Thoms, 2001) Many studies have demonstrated strong positive effects of repetition on learning. Repeated presentation of items increases memory for those items (Cyndi McDaniel, 2003). Repeated retrieval is also reported to improve memory. By repeating important concepts and then forcing the learner to retrieve those concepts several times, you strengthen the neural pathways, making subsequent retrieval easier and retention more durable and long-lasting. In us, memories do not naturally sit still in cold storage. (John Sutton, 2004) As repeated stimulus is processed better on the second occurrence than on the first, this shows that working memory can be reinforced via repetition, for example, students who practice more in mathematics will have a better chance to solve mathematical question easily when a similar question came out. E) Mnemonic devices Mnemonics are clues of any kind that help us remember something, usually by causing us to associate the information we want to remember with a visual image, a sentence, or a word. (Daniel T. Willingham, 2009) Peg-word system. Peg-word system is a method which is useful for memorizing list of unrelated items in order as well as the specific numbers associated with the words. The key to success in using the peg system is visual association. We can create a visual image of each item in the list with peg word. The pegs provide cues to memory. This method using bizarre imagery helps to ensure that the cues are distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other cues. For example, pegs which is rhyme with numbers, one is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree, four is a door, five is a hive and so on. Next, match these items with the list of words we want to remember. It becomes a task similar to the imagery activity in which we had to remember word pairs using visualization. For example: If we have to write an entry in your journal for school, we also have a geometry assignment due tomorrow, we also have to read a chapter from our psychology text book. We could use either a mental image of our t extbook, or an image that represents the topic in history that we are studying. Lets say we also had to walk the dog. Perhaps leash would be a good keyword. Then, we also have to remember to feed the dog dog bowl. We also plan to eat supper with our friends perhaps a plate or the dining room table would be good for this. We dont want to forget to brush our teeth after dinner. After dinner, you put your pajamas on, drink a glass of water, and go to sleep. We can use the peg system to track our schedule. (Daniel T. Willingham, 2009) bun + journal shoe + geometry shapes tree + history book door + leash hive + dog bowl sticks + plate heaven + toothbrush gate + pajamas vine + water hen + sleep Method of loci. This method also useful for memorizing lists of unrelated items in order. We can commit a mental walk to memory that is a familiar route with separate and identifiable locations, and then create a visual image that associates each item on the list with a location on the mental walk. In order to use the method of Loci, we must first imagine a place with which we are familiar. There are several possible places we could use. We must be able to identify several locations within that one place. It is best if these locations can be given a logical order, such as clockwise, or top to bottom. As with the peg-word strategy, method of loci using bizarre imagery helps to ensure that the cues are distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other cues. For example, heres a mental walk from my front door to my driveway. The first location is my front porch, which has a birds nest by the door, the second is the sidewalk, which has a large crack, and the third is my asphalt driveway with a red paint stain. To memorize the list onion, duck, artist, I would associate onion with my front door, perhaps by putting onions in the nest instead of eggs. Then Id associate duck with the sidewalk by imagining the duck with its beak stuck in the crack, and artist with an artist admiring the paint stain on the asphalt. (Daniel T. Willingham, 2009) Acronym and Acrostic. Create an acronym using the first letter of the items that we have to remember, if we can remember the acronym, we have a good cue for the items. For example, the planets, in order of their distance from the sun: Mecurey, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. We can memorize using acronym method: MVEMJSUNP = My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles. The colors of the rainbow, in order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. The acronym method used to memorize is ROY G. BIV (A made-up name). (Daniel T. Willingham, 2009) Music or Rhymes. The item that we have to remember is set to a familiar tune, set to a rhythm, or made into a rhyme. Rhymes are easier to remember because they can be stored by acoustic coding (a type of short term memory coding in which us remember information by the way it sounds). Music and rhymes are always use among young children as in learning alphabet with ABC song. If we forget the words, the melody can provide a cue to help us remember it. (Daniel T. Willingham, 2009) Keyword. This method is often used for foreign vocabulary words. When we would like to learn foreign language, we can find a word from any language we
Friday, October 25, 2019
The Telescope Essay -- essays research papers
The telescope has changed the world greatly by being able to make distant objects appear closer and more distinct. It helped scientists to discover things that could not be seen by the naked eye. For example, a lot of things in space would have not been discovered if it were not for the telescope. Also, it helped the world of eyesight. It would not only let you see objects from far away, it would also help you see if you had a problem with it. It could also be used for other things: hunting, war, and making new discoveries. What would the world be like without the telescope?      I don’t know what the world would be like, but I some very good reasons why it was good that the telescope was created. Before there was the telescope people had to make discoveries by judgment. They were not very accurate discoveries. They also had to just use the naked eye when they would have to use the naked eye when looking at distant objects that could have been easily seen by the telescope. The telescope was one of the main instruments of what has been called the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century. It revealed unsuspected phenomena in the heaves and had a profound influence on the controversy between followers of the traditional astronomy, the cosmos, and those who favored the naked eye. It was the first extension of man’s senses and demonstrated that ordinary observers could see things that Aristotle had not dreamed of. It therefore helped shift authority in the observation of nature from men to instruments. In short, it was the prototype of modern scientific instruments. But the telescope was not the invention of scientists; rather, it was the product of craftsmen. For that reason, much of it’s origin is inaccessible to us since craftsmen were by large illiterate and therefore historically often invisible.      Although the magnifying and diminishing properties of the convex and concave transparent objects was known in Antiquity, lenses, as we know them, were introduced in the West at the end of the thirteenth century. Glass of reasonable quality had become relatively cheap and in the major glass-making centers of Venice and Florence techniques for grinding and polishing glass had reached a high state of development. Now one of the main problems faced by aging scholoars could be solved. With age, the ey... ...e-maker’s on the Pont Neuf in Paris, and four months later there were several in Italy. We know that Thomas Harriot observed the mon with a six-powered spyglass in early August in 1609 but it was Galileo who made the instrument famous. He constructed the first spyglass in June or July of 1609, presented an eight-powered instrument to the Venentian Senate in August, and turned a twenty-powered instrument to the heavens on October or November. With this instument he oberserved the moon, discovered four satellites of Jupiter and resolved nebular patches into stars. This was just the beginning of many discoveries by the telescope.      As you can see, the telescope has changed the world greatly. Not just by using the telescope for all it’s uses, but also to encourage people to invent and discover things. As I stated before, it was one of the first big scientific discoveries of the Seventeenth century. So I will ask you again, what would the world be like without the telescope? Would we have discovered so many things without it? It is a good thing that it had been invented or we would have a very restricted look on life and everything around us out there. The Telescope Essay -- essays research papers The telescope has changed the world greatly by being able to make distant objects appear closer and more distinct. It helped scientists to discover things that could not be seen by the naked eye. For example, a lot of things in space would have not been discovered if it were not for the telescope. Also, it helped the world of eyesight. It would not only let you see objects from far away, it would also help you see if you had a problem with it. It could also be used for other things: hunting, war, and making new discoveries. What would the world be like without the telescope?      I don’t know what the world would be like, but I some very good reasons why it was good that the telescope was created. Before there was the telescope people had to make discoveries by judgment. They were not very accurate discoveries. They also had to just use the naked eye when they would have to use the naked eye when looking at distant objects that could have been easily seen by the telescope. The telescope was one of the main instruments of what has been called the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century. It revealed unsuspected phenomena in the heaves and had a profound influence on the controversy between followers of the traditional astronomy, the cosmos, and those who favored the naked eye. It was the first extension of man’s senses and demonstrated that ordinary observers could see things that Aristotle had not dreamed of. It therefore helped shift authority in the observation of nature from men to instruments. In short, it was the prototype of modern scientific instruments. But the telescope was not the invention of scientists; rather, it was the product of craftsmen. For that reason, much of it’s origin is inaccessible to us since craftsmen were by large illiterate and therefore historically often invisible.      Although the magnifying and diminishing properties of the convex and concave transparent objects was known in Antiquity, lenses, as we know them, were introduced in the West at the end of the thirteenth century. Glass of reasonable quality had become relatively cheap and in the major glass-making centers of Venice and Florence techniques for grinding and polishing glass had reached a high state of development. Now one of the main problems faced by aging scholoars could be solved. With age, the ey... ...e-maker’s on the Pont Neuf in Paris, and four months later there were several in Italy. We know that Thomas Harriot observed the mon with a six-powered spyglass in early August in 1609 but it was Galileo who made the instrument famous. He constructed the first spyglass in June or July of 1609, presented an eight-powered instrument to the Venentian Senate in August, and turned a twenty-powered instrument to the heavens on October or November. With this instument he oberserved the moon, discovered four satellites of Jupiter and resolved nebular patches into stars. This was just the beginning of many discoveries by the telescope.      As you can see, the telescope has changed the world greatly. Not just by using the telescope for all it’s uses, but also to encourage people to invent and discover things. As I stated before, it was one of the first big scientific discoveries of the Seventeenth century. So I will ask you again, what would the world be like without the telescope? Would we have discovered so many things without it? It is a good thing that it had been invented or we would have a very restricted look on life and everything around us out there.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
I Love School Essay
Doors and windows -It is suggested to use wooden door and window frames instead of concrete or steel. Framing Timber framing -naturally sound insulated -strong structure -construction times are less Recycled steel framing -It’s easy to use when contractors are building your house -less framing material compared to wood but will still be the same structure if you used wood. -Walls, roof and ceilings will not change due to the weather changes -they do not rot, absorb moisture or create mould -resistant against termites Roofing Cool roofing -once the product is painted onto your roof the sun is reflected away. it can be painted on wood, concrete, plaster, metal and glass. -when it’s hot it is preferred that you wear white instead of black, cool roofing is where it reflects the sun and stays cooler because it’s a white colour -cost more than normal roofing but once it starts to work it lowers your bill. -having the roof that you probably have on your house now can re ach temperatures of over 70 degrees storing more heat into your house, cool roofing’s temperature only goes to 20-35 degrees at most without insulation leaving your house cooler and saving you from paying heavy cooling bills. Authentic roof made from recycled materials -been said that it’s virtually unbreakable -they are extremely light weight -has UV protection which stops it from fading -contains no toxin materials Roof tiles -colour will not fade, rust or corrode -are a natural thermal insulator. In winter they keep the cold air out and the heat in. In summer they keep the heat out and cold in -natural sound insulator -they are heat resistance; therefore they provide protection against bush fires -made with naturally occurring clay which can be recycled into new clay tiles and bricks Insulation Spray foam insulation -75% noise reduction reduces mould and condensation growth -saves on electricity bills Structural insulation panels -50% more energy efficient -40% less construction time -the core of the panels is made of Expanded Polystyrene which is made from using a low-environmental process which means it does not contain any major carbons. The Oriented Strand Board which is an engineered wood product is made from harvesting a fast growing crop forest which makes the materials renewable and sustainable. -fire resistant -can be used for floors, foundations and basements -bricks and stone can be installed on the panels SIP’s are also used as walls although you can put stone, or brick over the top of it. There is no need for painting as SIP’s come in a range of colour. recycled denim -made from old jeans that have been cleaned, stripped and covered in boric acid which is mould, fire and insect resistant -doesn’t contain any throat or skin irritations -creates a greater sound barrier -its 100% recyclable -requires small amount of energy to manufacture -doesn’t itch and easy to handle -when the insulation gets wet its manufactured to breathe and release the moisture. Also contains active mould inhibitors recycled paper 100% recyclable -takes 10 times less energy to produce than half of the other insulation -non-corrosive -doesn’t support mould or fungus growth -it reduces overheating and overcooling also good for sound insulation Heating/cooling Solar smart breeze -collects solar energy from under a tile or timber roof and cools the house in summer and heats it in winter Spilt system -energy efficient when compared to portable and window air conditioners Hyd ronic heating -uses radiant warmth. Evaporative cooling -uses natural air Smartbreeze -reduces 40% greenhouse gases -saves energy and electricity bills can also work at night providing nocturnal cooling how it works with a metal roof heating. During winter and cold days there can be a build-up of warm heated air between the roof, sheets and foils. The air is dragged to the smartbreeze unit and the fan energised by the solar panel that’s placed on your roof force the warm air through ceiling vents and into your living spaces creating a warmer environment. Cooling during the day during hot weather hot air builds up into your roof. The solar energised fans force the now cold air into your living space which then reduces the temperature. Roof ventilation Avoiding a build up of moisture in winter and to reduce an excessive heat build up in the summer -Some benefits are – lowing energy bills, greater comfort in home, ensure the health of your family -Removes dust which enters through tiny gaps of the house structure increasing your health. Gardening fake grass Regal grass -100% recycled -Contains no harmful toxins or heavy metals -no infill like sand is needed for the insulation -not spiky like real grass, soft to touch and walk on -doesn’t need to be mowed, therefore low maintenance is needed. There is no need to sweep away the excess grass that’s left over. Termiturf -no watering, mowing or fertilizing -its low maintenance -doesn’t lose colour or fade real grass -Needs to be watered at least once a week -Needs to be mowed, the petrol from the lawn mower pollutes the air -Needs to be fertilized, using fertilizer is bad because the chemicals that are in it get washed into either, rivers, oceans and lakes. That causes algae to grow and creatures that live in the water or drink the water. grey water -grey water is collected from you shower, bath or washing machine, it is then diverted into a pump called the waste water system, once the water flows hrough the pump it is then diverted into your garden. -it can save up to 350-700L per day -less energy and chemical use -lower water bills Drip irrigation -weed growth is reduces because between plants the areas aren’t irrigated -constant moisture which improves growth in plants -you don’t need to move them around like a sprinkler, they can stay there permenately -decreased fe rtilizer cost -60% more efficiency over sprinkler systems Flooring Cork flooring -made from trees. The trees are not cut down, they are made from the bark which grows back every 3 years -cork flooring contains a low or no VOC (volatile organic compound).
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Christopher Columbus Evaluation Essay
Who was the navigator, colonizer, and explorer extraordinaire that fearlessly journeyed the seas and â€Å"discovered†the great â€Å"New World†? It was Christopher Columbus, of course! However, in reality, Columbus didn’t actually discover the Americas. Rather, he traveled to an already-inhabited land with not-so-civilized inhabitants, and expropriated both the land, and the indigenous people. By doing this, he brought settlers from Europe, who helped take over the land, causing plenty of suffering and havoc, but also completing the map and transforming life for people around the world. Some believe he was a hero, and some believe he was a monster. However, one man’s gain is another’s loss in most cases. Columbus brought change, both good and bad, through his actions, which defined his character and personality. Columbus’s journey to the Americas sowed seeds of change and revolution for people all over the world. More people came to the â€Å"New World†to settle, and natives were brought to Europe, and more exotic tastes were introduced to both hemispheres; cattle, sugar, and pigs to the West, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, and cocoa to the East. New animals, especially the horse, changed everyday life for Native Americans, and written language spread the continent, replacing either a complicated system of hieroglyphics or nothing at all. Soon, people from all over the globe began arriving in great numbers, and the continent became a successful beacon of hope for many. Of course, with the up rise of some came the downfall of others. The indigenous people of the New World could not resist the conquistadors’ most devastating weapon: disease. Millions were wiped out by smallpox alone, and many were so ill that they could not resist the European conquest. The natives were not the only ones who suffered. Back in Europe, people started suffering from syphilis with the return of the conquistadors. Tobacco, its pleasures, and its deadly secrets were even more gifts to the Old World from the New. As the local population began to shrink, a new type of foreigner began to arrive in large numbers, the Africans. As agriculture-based economy began to spread in the Americas, so did slavery, and suffering for the Africans. Thus, the seeds of racial antagonism were sowed and still affect our society today. Christopher Columbus’s character and personality have long been debatable. Depending on how you evaluate his actions, he could either be a hero or a villain to you. Young students today are present with the image of a â€Å"largerthanlife†national hero. In some ways, he is. Without him, the American citizens of today might not even be here. However, it was inevitable that an outsider would stumble across this land and introduce their people to it, and the native people to a more civilized lifestyle. At the same time, the way that Columbus went about doing that was definitely inhumane. According to a journal entry from Columbus himself, dated back to 1492, he gained their trust and friendship just so that he could convert them and turn them into slaves. Not only that, but he took over a land that was already inhabited by people, tormented the people so much that there are not even 200 of the native population left today, and claimed that he was the first to sight the land. All this shows that he was very deceiving, unscrupulous, selfish, and definitely lacking chaste. In conclusion, Columbus’s conquest to the New World brought forth change, both for the better, and for worse, while his selfish personality showed through the whole time. Whether you see him as a hero or a villain, the collision of the New and Old worlds was inevitable, and his contributions brought forth a connection and world that we should all be very thankful for.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
The Golden Age essays
The Golden Age essays In the essay "The Myth of the Golden Age" by Mary Beth Norton, Mary did not agree with historians that is was a "Golden Age" for women during the colonial period. She feels that women's lives outside the home were severely limited. Mary felt women never achieved a status later to be lost. The colonial period, even comparatively speaking, was not a golden age for women. During the colonial period most white women were expected to devote their chief energies to housekeeping and to the care of the children. As husbands where expected to support them by raising crops or working for wages. Women also did some outside chores such as gathering fruits and vegetables. They also made clothes for their family. Only the wealthiest women who had servants escaped some of these labors. Native American women had similar work roles. They did not do the spinning of wool or weaving but they did make clothes by tanning and processing the hides of the animals their husbands killed. Like their white counterparts the Native American also drew a division between the domestic labors of women to the public realm of men. Black women were more inclined to work both in field and in house. More often black women engaged in labor out of doors then the whites. Contact with persons outside their immediate family for both white and black females was rare. So many women would take advantage of social interaction by attending church. Important information was passes on by person to person mostly at the local taverns of the county courthouse, both of which were male bastions. Urban women where not so isolated. Their housing where closer then those in the farm and plantation area. They could visit friends and family. They also had the opportunity to attend school. Plus their household tasks was less demanding they had time to take up some of the amenities of the urban setting. Faced with a paucity of alternatives, colonial women made the best of their situation...
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