Ellen Foster Object Relations Essay

Ellen Foster is a ten-year-old, Caucasian, female who experiences a series of traumatic events during her childhood. These traumatic events include her witnessing domestic violence in the home, her mother’s suicide and subsequent physical, sexual and psychological abuse by her alcoholic father, her maternal grandmother and other relatives (aunts and cousins on the mother’s side). Ellen shuttled from home to home, staying for a short time at the home of her teacher, then to different relatives’ homes, to finally a foster home where she eventually resides. Ellen’s â€Å"new mama†, as she refers to her, is a much better role model then she has ever experienced before. New Mama is supportive and nurturing towards Ellen. Ellen reports that government and church funding support the foster family. She has no siblings. Ellen is intelligent and enjoys doing art. She often rides a pony at her new foster home. Ellen misses her mother, and longed for a caregiver before she had new mama. This is evident when she reports eaves dropping on a â€Å"colored† family and â€Å"started making a list of all that a family should have. Of course, there is the mama and the daddy but if one has to be missing then it is OK if the one left can count for two. But not just anybody can count or more than his or herself (p. 67)†. She often sought help from her Aunt Betsey and neighbors. Her mother, father and grandmother, or â€Å"mama’s mama† as Ellen calls her, are all deceased. The grandmother was old and abusive towards Ellen forcing her to work the fields with the â€Å"colored† field hands on her farms in the middle of a sweltering hot summer until school started. Ellen eventually becomes the caregiver and housemaid to mama’s mama after the grandmother fires all of her household servants. Despite Ellen’s care and good works for her, the grandmother despises her because she is convinced that Ellen was in â€Å"cahoots† with her father in abusing her daughter, taking her revenge out on Ellen since the father is dead. Ellen has a best friend, an African American girl named Starletta, Since Ellen likes Starletta, and she struggles with her own burgeoning racism. She has beliefs about African Americans that are mainly negative. Ellen eventually realizes that race makes no difference in the quality of the person. Ellen enjoys art and playing with her microscope often fantasying about being a scientist on the brink of a new discovery that will change mankind. She sees a counselor at school on Wednesdays. Ellen does not enjoy doing therapy and has negative transference towards her counselor. Presently she is seeing me for therapy. She can be aggressive, defensive and competitive at times at school. During one session Ellen reported that her counselor asked her about her last name because â€Å"Foster† isn’t her real last name. She did not want to discuss it any further. Perhaps she chose the last name â€Å"Foster† from her label as a foster child. Object Relations As stated by Lesser and Pope (2011) according to object relations theory, â€Å"human development takes place within the context of relationships (p. 69)†. British object relation theorists, Melanie Klein, Ronald Fairbairn, and Harry Guntrip introduce definite and functional ideas about what internal object world, or the inner world, consists of. The inner world includes representations of self and other, representations structured by thoughts, recollections, and occurrences within the external world. A representation has a lasting continuance in the inner world and although it begins as a cognitive structure, it eventually takes on a profound emotional meaning for the person (Berzoff, Melano-Flanagan, & Hertz 1996). The word object is set apart from the subject. The subject is the self and the object is the part outside the self, the object is what the self identifies with, encounters, wants, has uncertainties about, feels denial about, or absorbs. In Freudian drive theory and in ego psychology, the term object is sometimes used in reference to people. The word, object, in drive theory can be to some extent depersonalized, because the word essentially does exemplify a thing not a person as in: â€Å"the object of oral impulse can literally be the breast†(citation). In psychodynamic theory the word object, usually refers to people, but other objects such as cooking, art, pets, or can become objects when they are profoundly and representatively connected to powerful object experiences in the inner world. Some of Ellen’s physical objects are her microscope, her encyclopedias, her money, and her art supply. A conjecture about Ellen’s inner world and what these object represent is that her money could represent an insurance plan, in case things go wrong. And her microscope, her art, and her encyclopedias represent an escape for her and they also represent hopes for the future. Klein (1948) was the first theorist to revise Freud’s notion of the object by giving more consideration to the interpersonal environment in deciding its influence in developing personality. She amongst other object relations’ theorists now defined the target of relational needs as a concept known as relationship seeking. Klee 2005 stated that relationship seeking is the belief that through relationships with significant people in our lives, we take in parts of others (objects) and gradually develop a self-structure that we ultimately call a personality . This mental process by which a person changes the regulatory features of her environment into internal regulations and features is called internalizing (Lesser & Pope 2011). D. W. Winnicot (1958), a pediatrician and psychoanalyst, is influential in the field of object relations theory, gave great consideration to the notion of being alone. He believes that the ability to abide, take pleasure in, and utilize healthy solitude could be refined, ironically, only in the proximity of another. If aloneness is experienced as desolate, isolated, or miserable, it becomes agonizing. This can happen is a child has been neglected. In this situation, the inner world is not filled with enough soothing figures. On the contrary, aloneness becomes too excruciating or insufferable for the child, if the inner world is too crowed with threatening and abusive figures who offer neither protection, reassurance, nor tranquility. The ideal environment for the growing child to share experiences with the soothing figure for a period of time and to experience time alone to reflect and to adventure on the child’s own (Berzoff et al. 1996). Klein (1948) described six early processes and primitive defenses developed from early infant years. Projection is when the infant believes an object has characteristics that are in fact the infant’s own feelings. Introjection is the mental desire in which the infant consumes the perceived in the world. Projective identification is creatively splitting off a part of oneself and ascribing it to another in order to control the other (Berzoff et al. 1996). Splitting occurs when a child cannot separate conflicting thoughts or feelings in the mind at the same time, and therefore instead of integrating the two thoughts or feelings the child focuses on just one of them. A split can take any form, from visual appearance to concepts and ideas. For example, a frequent split is into good and bad. The good part is preserved and cherished at the same time the bad part is wrestled with or repressed. In extreme case of schizophrenia, when a part of the self linked with one of the separate thoughts, and another part of the self is linked with another, the person is then split (Berzoff et al. 1996). Idealization is a defense used to keep painful and unacceptable feelings out of consciousness. The feelings that are troublesome are usually the same feelings that people often want to reject: â€Å"anger, disappointment, envy, sadness, desire, and greed (p. 145)†. Devaluation is the opposite of idealization and is a defense mechanism used to reject troublesome feelings such as â€Å"neediness, weakness, insecurity, envy, or desire (p. 146)†. A person who denies desire through devaluation ends up feeling smug and superior but quite alone (Berzoff et al. 1996). An important developmental point in object relations is the depressive position according to Klein (1948). The depressive position is constantly maturing throughout a person’s lifetime. Feelings of remorse, grief, and the yearning for atonement take hold in the developing mind in the depressive position. The person now recognizes the ability to cause harm or push away a person who one undecidedly loves. The defenses attributed to the depressive position include the manic defenses, such as preoccupation for reparation. As the depressive position causes growing integration in the ego, prior defenses shift in the character, becoming less powerful, allowing the character to move into psychic reality (Berzoff et al. 1996). Throughout this turbulent time in Ellen’s life she is experiencing many new relationships and is relationship seeking with many adults. These adults are supposed to be caregivers for her. These people are her mother, father, her grandmother, Julia, Aunt Betsy, Aunt Nadine, and new mama. There is a time after Ellen’s mother dies that I feel she is too alone, in agreement with Winnicot (1958). Ellen often reports that when she would come home from school â€Å"it was already dark and he had the lights on. I went in and did not speak to him. I did not speak to him or else I stayed outside most of the time (p. 24)†. She said that her father was drunk all the time, often passed out, she was alone and eventually she had to take care of the bills. There are other times when Ellen’s life is overflowing with abusive adult figures in her life. On New Years Eve, Ellen claimed that a bunch of black drunk men came into her house with father. â€Å"My daddy showed up at my house less and less†¦he did show up on New Years Eve. Of course I went and hid when I heard him and a whole pack of colored men come in the door (p. 36)†. Ellen is frightened when this happens often trying to escape through a window in her room. In accordance with Winnicot (1958), aloneness becomes too much too bare for Ellen and she feels the need to hide. Her inner world is too crowed with threatening and abusive figures who are threatening her safety. The whole mother’s side of the family overcrowds Ellen’s inner world too. This is a risk for Ellen, because disruptions in object relations may result in an inability to fall in love, emotional coldness, apathy or withdrawal from interaction with others, co-dependency, and/or extreme need to control relationships (Berzoff et al. 1996:70). Ellen attempts to control Starletta as much as she can through projective identification; she splits off a part of herself and attempts to control Starletta. Ellen often tells Starletta what to do, for example one day when Ellen was over Starletta’s house and she wanted to play, however Ellen thought to herself and told Starletta the following: â€Å"Starletta still had on her nightgown and she needed to be washed. ‘You got to wash before I will play with you’ is what I told her (p. 31). She taped Starletta’s crayons back together after she broke them. She would often talk down to Starletta: â€Å"’Tell your Mama I thank her’ I said to her. Say it over in your head and out loud so it will not leave your head (p. 52)†. This relationship may unconsciously aim to get rid of unmanageable feelings for Ellen and help her deal with these feelings. Ellen’s relationship with grandmother is toxic at best. In the beginning, Ellen thought that her grandmother might like having a girl around the house, even though she is not a â€Å"vision†(pg), but Ellen said she had good intentions. In my opinion, â€Å"good intentions† meant she wanted to have a relationship with her grandmother. The grandmother wanted to punish Ellen for Ellen and her father causing her daughter’s suicide. Ellen confronts her grandmother, asking her why she hates her so much. Ellen asked her grandmother: â€Å"Well I know you hated my daddy but what about me? Why can’t you see that I am not like him? (p. 78)†. The grandma lashes out at Ellen with an onslaught of abusive hurtful words directed towards Ellen to break her down. Ultimately, that is what Ellen does she shuts down. â€Å"So I decided to spend the rest of my life making up for it. Whatever it was. Whatever I decided I one day I actually did (p. 78-79)†. Ellen is in the depressive position, she feels guilty about everything for her mothers death, for her fathers death, and then for the grandmother’s death when she passes. Ellen utilizes her manic defenses, in my opinion, when she finds the grandmother dead and decides to dress her in her â€Å"Sunday’s best† clothes and surround her with flowers in order to make amends with her guilty feelings. â€Å"I made her like a present to Jesus so maybe he would take her. Take this one I got prettied up and mark it down by name to balance against the one I held from you before†¦. be sure I get the credit for it and if you can please show me some way that you and me are even now (p. 92). Ellen becomes slightly preoccupied with reparation. Ellen begins to move past this phase when she moves in the home of her Aunt Nadine. Object relations can be applied to Ellen’s traumatic past and helps to identify some significant points in her life that she would like to work in future treatment. A pleasant thing about object relations is that as the therapist and patient collectively examine the patient’s internal world and its effect on the patient’s relationships, the patient and therapist are in a relationship as well. In this way, patient and therapist have an existing shared connection that both can study and learn from (Berzoff et al. 996). Sociocultural Theory Sociocultural theory stemmed from the work of psychologist Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky (1934/1986) felt that human cognition was innately social and language based. Vygotsky believed inner speech is qualitatively distinct from normal external speech. It is language, advanced during the earlier years, and progressively improved during the middle years ( where Ellen’s age lies) that actually aids in giving the older child the capability to organize things mentally rather than by using concrete items (Lesser & Pope 2011). As Berk 2003 stated: Vytgotsky felt that children speak to themselves for self-guidance; he felt language was the foundation for all high cognitive processes, including control attention, deliberate memorization and recall, categorization, planning, problem solving, abstract reasoning, and self-reflection (p. 257). One of Vygotsky’s concepts is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZPD is the difference between what a child can achieve when working by themselves and what the same child can achieve when given assistance from someone with the necessary knowledge (Wertsch 1985). Vygotsky viewed the ZPD as a way to better explain the relation between children’s learning and cognitive development. The lower limit of ZPD is the level of skill attained by the child working alone; this lower limit can also be accredited to as the child’s actual developmental level. The upper limit is the level of latent skill that the child is able to reach with the assistance of a more capable instructor (Wertsch 1985).. A concept associated with ZPD is the concept scaffolding. It is essential to make a note that Vygotksy never used this concept in his writing; introduced by David Wood, Jerome S. Bruner, and Gail Ross (1976). Scaffolding is a process through which a mentor or more competent peer helps a person in his or her ZPD learn for as long as necessary and tapers off until the student no longer needs the mentor, much like a scaffold is detached from a building when construction is finished or deemed stable (Wood et al. 1976). Vygotsky viewed make-believe play as the vital context for development of self-regulation. Despite the fact that Ellen is ten years old going on eleven years old, this still pertains to her. Make-believe is full of shared dialogue and development-enhancing skills. Vygotsky takes make-believe to the next level making it a important part of development a distinguishing, experiential ZPD in which children try out a wide range of difficult skills and learn culturally valued skills developing a significantly stronger capacity for self-regulation

Reducing Stress through Meditation

In today’s world every one experience stresses almost every day and human body involuntarily reacts in ways that prepare them to fight or run. However, stress is something that needs special attention and if it is not taken care properly it may lead physical damage to every part of the body. There are several studies that suggest the beneficial affects of meditation is exactly the opposite ways that stress does. Therefore, they claim that â€Å"meditation can restore the body to a serene state, serving the body to repair on its own, and averting further harm due to the physical effects of stress† (Scott n.pag). This paper is a literature review on what the experts think of the impact of meditation on stress management.It is a well known fact that stress and tension has become the common thing in the world today. There are enormous pressures of work, finances, family life, disease, studies, parents, children, etc. â€Å"In fact it is proven beyond doubt that stress and anxiety are the main cause for many serious health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and strokes and many more problems† (Monslow n.pag).Meditation is an age old technique that includes relaxing methods such as â€Å"listening to the breath, repeating a mantra, or detaching from the thought process, to focus the attention and bring about a state of self awareness and inner calm† (Canter 176-177). Though many researchers have worked on this issue it has been difficult to prove its therapeutic value. However it is assumed that this stress releasing activity may have prophylactic and therapeutic health benefits. This has been proven because of certain physiological effects such as a decreased of slowed heart rate or a particular electroencephalographic pattern that occur during meditation and describe a calm state may provide insight into how meditation works.According to a study conducted by Eisenberg et al. (964-972) â€Å"an association was found in a meta-anal ysis of cognitive behavioral techniques such as meditation for hypertension†. In another study of â€Å"meta-analysis trials of relaxation and meditation for trait anxiety that included 70 trials of meditation and showed that the 35 trials of transcendental meditation were linked with significantly larger effect sizes than other techniques† (Eppley et al. 957-974).According to another study in asthma problem it was found that sahaja meditation which is a technique of passive witnessing of thoughts, improved some outcomes. However, differences were not maintained at two months (Manocha et al. 110-115). Similarly, studies showed that people with epilepsy practising sahaja meditation had a significant decrease in objective stress measures and frequency of seizures (Panjwani et al 111-116; Panjwani et al 165-172).A study that was designed to determine the effectiveness of a group stress reduction program based on mindfulness meditation for patients with anxiety disorders. I n this study 22 study participants were selected with a structured clinical interview and found to meet the DSM- III-R criteria for generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. During the study assessments, including self-ratings and therapists' ratings, were obtained weekly before and during the meditation-based stress reduction and relaxation program and monthly during the 3-month follow-up period.It was found that a â€Å"group mindfulness meditation training program can successfully decrease symptoms of anxiety and panic and can aid preserve these reductions in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or panic disorder with agoraphobia† (Kabat-Zinn 936-943). The findings of a study by Kaplan et al (284-289) suggested that a meditation-based stress reduction program is effective for patients with fibromyalgia. In fact this is a chronic illness characterized by extensive pain, tenderness to light touch, fatigue, sleep distur bance, and resistance to treatment.In yet another study by Barnes et al. (366–369) that was taken up to determine the impact of stress reduction on blood pressure in adolescents by the Transcendental Meditation program it was found that there was a greater decreases in daytime systolic blood pressure (P < .04) and diastolic blood pressure (P < .06) in those people who were practicing transcendental meditation when compared with the control group. Therefore the study concluded that there is a beneficial impact of the transcendental meditation program in youth who are at risk for the development of hypertension.A study carried out at Harvard University found that elderly individuals who learned Transcendental Meditation exhibited considerably superior improvements in a range of age-related aspects of mental and physical health when compared to other techniques or among the control group with no-treatment. This study demonstrated that majority of subjects involved in Transcenden tal Meditation rated this technique as individually helpful and uncomplicated to do when compared to the other techniques. A follow-up study after three years found that all those who had learned Transcendental Meditation were still alive compared with significantly lower survival rates for the other groups and for the remaining population of the institutions where the study was carried out (Alexander et al. 950-964).Work CitedAlexander CN, Langer EJ, Davies JL, Chandler HM, Newman RI. Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: an experimental study with the elderly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. (1989) Vol 57, 6 pp 950-964.Barnes, V.A., Treiber, FA and  Johnson, MH. Impact of transcendental meditation on ambulatory blood pressure in African-American adolescents. Am J Hypertens (2004) Vol 17 pp 366–369.Canter, P The therapeutic effects of meditation, editorial STUDENT BMJ VOL 11 (June 2003) pp: 176-177.

ICT in U.K. Education Essay

Information and communication technologies are changing the life styles of human beings and the activities of organizations and individuals that depend on information. ICT stands for Information Communications Technology. ICT coordinates the individuals, businesses and organizations by using the digital technology. ICT is highly adopted by many government organizations it the areas like community services and educational programs. The richness of innovative technology for learning process made the system to be adopted by various government organizations in different countries by for their developmental programs. The quick development in information and communication technology (ICT) has significant changes in the way the world operates and communicates. This has an impact on educational needs, both in terms of the comfort and the delivery of educational services. Overview of ICT activities in UK Education sector According to BECTA (the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, December 2006) the ICT has made a good achievements in education of U. K. The U. K government has invested more than ? 3. 5 billion to create an infrastructure for ICT in the schools of England from the year of 1998. By adopting ICT technology, the UK schools have developed online curriculum through multimedia based teaching and learning programs. The Infra structure in U. K schools was increased to facilitate computer based teaching programs. The pupil to computer access ratio is 1:6 in primary schools and in 1:3 in secondary schools. The internet is accessed by 99% of schools in U. K. In that 97% of primary schools and 99% of secondary schools are connected to the broadband network. The U. K government has implemented single educational network to facilitate the broadband connection to every school in the country. The broadband connection is accessed by 16 million of users in education system and with the use of ICT, 350000 of U. K teachers were saving time in regular teaching administration activities. In U. K, every school has interactive white board and every day, one million primary school children are using the e-learning process in class (according to the DfES) PURPOSE OF STUDY The scope of the current study The current study focuses on the leadership and management strategies in implementing the ICT in education of U. K context. Vision towards ICT Becta has the following vision for the implementation of ICT The engaged school – ICT supports both ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ learning by breaking down the barriers within the school and between the school and the community it serves. The extended school – ICT extends the School services to society by offering the facilities like health, leisure and recreation by adopting ‘open all hours’ philosophy. The expanded school – ICT learning process allows cross-organizational, collaborative models to facilitate new ways of learning. Purpose in implementing ICT Jagdish Rai analysed 3 types of purposes for the education institutes in adopting ICT 1. ICT for courses: To Acquire and absorb flexible learning & Access to web resources, CAL, Multimedia , databases that give presentation and animation 2. ICT for learning: To apply and extend productivity & analytical tools,; evaluate through computer based tests; sharing and creating knowledge through computer and video games. 3. ICT for Admin: For information handling, Student administration, course evaluation

Japan's Culture vs. United State's Culture Research Paper

Japan's Culture vs. United State's Culture - Research Paper Example In comparing the cultures of Japan and the United States, it is clear that the differences provide for very different outcomes in relationship to economy and success. The central government is involved in the success of their school systems. School systems are the same throughout the nation with moves from one region to another meaning that a child will not be in a different state of educational advancement in one place compared to another. Equity is achieved through the centralized control of the education system. Communities are not responsible for defining their own education system, but rather there is a high quality of standardization that exists though out the country (Berger, 2009). Children spend longer days, longer weeks which include Saturdays, and a longer period of the year in school. School systems are only shut down for one month out of the year. Three fourths of the children attend supplemental public school which is called juko (Berger, 2009). Japanese children routinely score higher on science and mathematics tests. One criticism, however, is that so much time is spent on rote learning that concept of meta-cognitive skills are not as well developed. Learning discipline through memorization is emphasized while thinking skills are not fully developed to the capacity that could be achieved. In 2002, the Japanese government made changes in order to create more relaxed learning in order to maximize controlled curriculum at 30% with the rest of the curriculum being devoted to teaching children how to think (Berger, 2009). Family life in Japan, therefore, is based upon the importance of the group dynamic. Georges (2009) shows that the ideal family relationship is one in which â€Å"a feeling of oneness† exists to the point that the members of the family understand one another without having to discuss anything. Contrasting to American ideas of teenage life, when polled on how much teenagers believed that their family

Relationship Between the Characters in Winter Dreams by F. Scott Essay

Relationship Between the Characters in Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Essay Example Dexter has American dream since he employed his efforts in pursuing the interest of his life. When he met Jones for the first time, he was attracted to her. He did not move, instead he spent a lot of time staring at the beautiful woman. This paper analyzes Dexter relationship with Judy. The relationship between Dexter and Jones seems to be a first sight love relationship (Becnel, 140). When Dexter saw Jones for the first time, he was glued to her. The attraction of Dexter to Jones influenced the choices that Dexter made. He was ready to quit his job because of the beautiful Jones. Dexter told caddy master that he was done with his job. He made this remarks after a strong attraction to Jones. He wanted to spend his life with Jones and would do anything to achieve that ambition. The extent to which he was attracted to Jones shows how true feelings could influence his decisions. Dexter left a low a paying job to seek a means that could help him win the heart of Jones (Fitzgerald 513). D exter’s decision to quit the golf club hanged on the influence of the eleven-year-old Jones who treated him like a junior. Jones undermined Dexter because of the wealth that her family had. The relationship that existed between Dexter and Jones was an intimate relationship. Dexter wanted Jones to be with him. He could not control or hide his feelings towards Jones. It was difficult for Dexter to make any decision that could keep him away from Jones. Dexter had a dream of winning the heart of Jones. He was convinced that wealth could help him win the heart of Jones. On the hand, Jones did not reciprocate Dexter’s love. In intimate relationship, partners need to exercise dialogue. Dialogue held between partners provides a chance for making correction and ironing out relationship differences. Jones did not offer any information that was transparent in their relationship. The relationship between Dexter and Jones portrays a theme of emptiness (Stanley 333). Dexter dream en ded when Devlin gave him news regarding the status of Jones. He took his time to know more about Jones life. Their conversation ends when his American dream of leading his life with Jones ends. The reaction of Dexter indicated the extent of love that he had for Jones. Though Jones had been out of his life for about seven years, he had a deep feeling for her. Life in the story ceases to have meaning because of the shattered dream of Dexter. He does not find any meaning to life since the dream in his entire life is meaningless. Dexter looked at his age and realized that he had spent his life chasing for a dream that could not come true. At the end of Dexter’s discussion with Devlin, Dexter saw the reality in their relationship. He realized that he had banked his hopes where they could not be appreciated. Sometimes a relationship could prove to be sour. When a partner does not reciprocate in a relationship, life in that relationship ceases to have a meaning. Dexter had spent his time acquiring wealth in order to meet the needs of his desired love. He knew that Jones could not accept him without wealth. He ventured into business with an aim of making wealth, which could sustain his life with Jones. Devlin message comes as a shock to the relationship. It shuttered the dream that Dexter had about Jones. It is important to note that Dexter knew that Jones had been married. Ironically, he felt that Jones could still

Israel-Palestine Conflict and the Role of Egypt Essay

Israel-Palestine Conflict and the Role of Egypt - Essay Example The Israel-Palestinian conflict is one of the most important issues in the international politics and various efforts have been initiated by United Nations and various countries to resolve the issue and bring about a compromise between the two parties of the conflict but none of the efforts has been able to achieve success (Harms and Ferry). There are many other issues related to the conflict which include the economic failure of the Palestinian authority and the deplorable condition the Arabs in the region, the terrorist activities of the Islamic extremist, violation of international laws by both parties of the conflict and the human rights violations in the region. The conflict has gained extraordinary importance because of the fact that Jerusalem is the sacred city of the three major religious communities of the world; Christians, Jews and Muslims and due to the dismal security situation of the region, a large number of pilgrims are not allowed to visit their holy places. Both par ties of the conflict are not willing to show any type of flexibility in their stances and thus a deadlock persists despite repeated international interventions and efforts. The most feasible solution presented by the United Nations and the international community is the establishment of two states in the region, a Palestinian State for the Arabs and an Israeli state for the Jews; majority of people in the region agree on this solution, however they have failed to come up with an acceptable partition plan. The acts of violence committed by the Palestinian armed groups and the Israeli army have also complicated the whole peace promotion process. Important international actors in the conflict include United Nations, United States, Russia and the Arab League particularly Egypt. The history of the Israel-Palestine conflict can be traced back to the end of the 19th century when the first Zionist Congress was held in Switzerland with the establishment of the World Zionist Organization. The Jews of the world aspired to return to Zion (Jerusalem) as part of their religion, and that is why in the latter half of the 19th century the Jews started to organize themselves and started to strive for an independent Jewish homeland in the region of Palestine. The World Zionist Organization established a Jewish National Fund for encouraging the immigration of the Jews from various regions of the world to the Palestinian regions and large sums of money were spent on the purchase of land from the Ottoman rulers and later the from the British rulers. During that time, for the first time in history, Arab Nationalism also started to become popular among the Arabs of the world, particularly in this region. The Jews managed to buy large areas of land in the Palestinian regions and started to build the Jewish settlements and at the same time Jews from all over the world were encouraged to migrate to the Palestinian regions in the newly constructed settlements. During the beginning the mi nor conflicts stirred up because of the accidental killings by the Jews and Arabs in the regions, however the Arabs soon became aware of the Zionist ambitions of the Jews, particularly the peasants and farmers of the lands where the Jews have started to build settlements. These farmers, known as fellaheen felt dispossessed of their lands and started to protest before the Ottoman leaders about the increasing Jewish settlements

Global Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Skills - Essay Example The opportunity enabled me to gain more confidence in communicating with diverse people with an array of cultural orientation, specifically from France, aside from my native country and in America. The new insights gained from learning the French culture and language equipped me with the basic skills to increase the possibility of living in Europe and enable me to communicate with others using their language. Further, by reinforcing learning the dimensions of culture, I was able to acquire a better edge from other people of the same qualifications as mine, but without the knowledge of speaking French. Through learning intricate details of the French culture, I was fortunate to have shared interesting facts that could improve communication, interpersonal relationships and possible entry to global organizations from that country, in particular, if given the right opportunity. To reiterate, I enrolled in a French for travel class that provided basic theoretical guidelines on grammar, sy ntax and frequently used statements for daily communication. In doing so, proficiency in French was initially gained. With regular practice and continued study in higher class modules, I am sure that I would be highly proficient in the language. These skills could be applied in future plans to either live or work in Europe. The basic communication skills of learning French would be used for relevant correspondences: both speaking and writing, as one envisions working with a global organization, either in France, or with branches in Europe. As a result of learning a third language, I gained more competence and confidence to communicate with people from France or from other French speaking countries. Learning more about cultural values, traditions and practices of their particular culture honed my global skills and prepared me for future endeavors in Europe, or possible in other countries around the world. With the initiation of learning a third language, I can always opt to study oth er languages deemed appropriate and consistent with future plans to either live in a particular foreign country or to work in a global organization. Global Knowledge The lessons provided by the French for travel class, a writing intensive class, and an art class enabled me to expand knowledge encompassing geographical and socio-cultural facts in non-US countries. The theories, applications and historical concepts learned from these classes widened my understanding on diverse cultural perspectives of Europe, in particular. The knowledge gained from these activities assist in making intellectual comparative analysis between the cultural orientation of my native country, the practices, values and norms in the United States, and that of the new learning. These activities assisted in gaining expanded global knowledge of rich traditional and culture from other countries that would prepare me for future plans to work in global organizations. The classes and activities, likewise, provided e nriched information on the French culture and art history, among others, that encouraged friendships and strong interpersonal relationships from diverse students from Europe. The art history class, for instance, gave me wider perspectives and information on the evolution and components of art in Europe through time. It made me more appreciative of aesthetic value of different art forms, styles and expressions found in various media. The experiences made me appreciate contemporary generation’s open outlook and ability to embrace, accept and possibly

Open Source Versus Closed Source Software Essay

Open Source Versus Closed Source Software - Essay Example Currently, there are a huge number of categories of the open source software that include but not limited to the Application Software, Operating Systems, Programming Languages and Server Software. Under each category there are many items / applications, for example, the application software include: Mozilla Firefox – a web browser, OpenOffice – an office suit, Eclipse – an integrated development environment, 7-zip – a file archiver or compressor etc. The operating systems include: the Linux, Android – a mobile OS, FreeBSD etc. The open source computer programming languages include: PHP – a scripting language used to develop websites, Perl, Ruby etc. The open source server software include: Apache – a web server, Joomla – a web content management system etc. Closed Source Software Closed source software also known as proprietary software is computer software which is only available without source code and licensed under limited l egal right as per provided by the copyright owner. The buyer of the propriety software is permitted to use the software having restrictions on modifications, redistribution, update / upgrade or reverse engineering and it is typically owned by a single organization. The vendors usually provide an executable or compiled form of the software application’s source code so that only the central processing unit of the computer can understand the machine language that cannot be converted into the source code. The propriety software is not allowed to redistribute or sharing the software with others, in case anybody else wanted to use the proprietary software it is required to purchase another unique license of the software. In other words, the proprietary software is the property of the owner / developer / publisher that cannot be copied or modified, with an appropriate price and need to comply the license agreement (National Taiwan University, 1991). Like the open source software, th e proprietary software has much more categories of the software include: Operating System, Computer Programming Languages, software applications, public domain software, private software etc. There are several examples including Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Programming languages – ASP.Net etc., Microsoft Office etc. Open vs. Closed Source Software – Advantages and Disadvantages For every advantage there exists disadvantage, therefore, both types of software have there exist advantages as well as disadvantages. Let’s talk about the advantages of both types, the advantages of the open source software include: free of cost, right to modify and redistribute the source code, the technology neutral or the open source software can be used with other software, freedom and flexibility of having multiple vendors, high security, quality, customizability, interoperability and audibility. "Open Source software tends to be free of dependency on related products. Purchasers of ten perceive that the product works best with other products from the same manufacturer. Open Source software offers its users greater freedom to purchase other products, avoiding lock-in to particular manufacturers." (QinetiQ, 2001) There are many disadvantages of the open source software as compared to the closed source software that include but not limited to the less availability of support, updates, less reliability as anyone can change / edit the code and

Gestational diabetes and implementation Orem self-care model Research Paper

Gestational diabetes and implementation Orem self-care model - Research Paper Example Insulin resistance in pregnant women is an adaptive change that ensures delivery of glucose from the mother’s system to the fetus. According to Wada et al. (2010), placental hormones, such as placental growth hormone and progesterone, increases the activity of p85 in the 3T3-L1 found in adipose cells; and inactivates the second messenger system responsible for insulin response. Unhealthy eating habits, such as too much sugar in the diet, can cause glucose to accumulate in the mother’s blood; and prolong its clearance from the system eventually leading to gestational diabetes. The complications associated with GDM include: preeclampsia--blood pressure above 140/90 mmHg and protein in the urine; preterm labor; and increased risk of infection. GDM effects on the baby include: macrosomia (birth weight of 4000 to 4500 g); neonatal hypoglycemia; jaundice; calcium or magnesium imbalance; and stillbirth. Health Issue â€Å"Each year, nearly 135,000 American women develop type 2 diabetes while they are pregnant...even though their blood sugar levels were normal before pregnancy† (Metzger, 2006, p. 243). ... The complications associated with gestational diabetes can jeopardize the health of the mother and the fetus; and can lead to death. Macrosomic infants are predisposed to shoulder dislocation and suffocation while the probability that the mother will have to undergo emergency caesarean section is increased (Vidarsdottir, Geirsson, Hardardottir, Valdimarsdottir, & Daqbjartsson, 2011). According to Ekabua et al. (2005), perinatal mortality rate is highest in infants weighing 4.0 to 4.4 kg (4000 to 4400 g), as well as in macrosomic babies delivered via caesarean section. Cause of death includes obstructed labor, which cut-off the oxygen supply to the fetus and ruptured uterus that cause the mother to hemorrhage as well as cut-off the oxygen supply to the fetus (Ekabua et al., 2005). According to Thadhani (2009), gestational diabetes and preeclampsia are linked to a high incidence and a high death rate during pregnancy and increases the woman’s predisposition to develop diabetes a nd cardiovascular diseases after pregnancy. Planned Intervention Prenatal care ensures that the pregnant woman and the fetus are healthy for the entire duration of the pregnancy. Prenatal care allows the obstetrician to detect early signs of pregnancy-induced complications, especially gestational diabetes and prevent it from causing untoward effects to the mother, as well as the fetus. Due to the increasing incidence of gestational diabetes, Leu and Zonszein (2010) suggests that early screening of all pregnant women, unless categorized under the low risk group, should be employed by health care providers. Glucose tolerance test should be administered between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy, or earlier if gestational diabetes has occurred in past

Against gun control Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Against gun control - Research Paper Example Gun tragedies are frequently taking place throughout the world. Research indicates that only in United States of America the rate of gun homicides is 72% i.e. of every 100 homicides 72 are committed using guns (Stray). There are some people who are actually against the control of guns. Though they are very few in numbers yet their argument is far substantial as compared to those who are in favor of it. This paper aims to put forward the arguments from both sides while maintaining a firm position against it. Thesis Gun control is a significant need of today’s world in order to protect and safeguard humanity. However if one would closely analyze the overall situation then it is easy to identify that the real issue is not with the access and availability of guns, but rather the main problem is with the people and their peculiar mentality which compels them to harm or kill others. Therefore the present strategies related to gun control do not seem much beneficial and neither have they shown any decrease in the rate of crimes. People in favor of gun control usually emphasize upon the affects and influence of external environment. However, they neglect the fact that most of the human actions are driven by an internal force or motivation which is not only uncontrollable but it is also only under the influence of one’s mind. Therefore it would be more favorable to change the overall mindset of people rather than implementing laws regarding gun control through an outside force. Evidence In order to understand the concept of gun control and why few individuals stand against this argument, it is substantial to first look at why the government agencies want to remove guns from the society. The answer to this lies in the current statistics of homicides and other criminal activities such as bank robbery, theft, kidnapping, etc. Guns are largely considered to facilitate the overall crimes especially homicide because of its distinguishing features (Myers). For in stance, it is significantly easier for a gun holder to kill someone from a distance. Similarly it is a very handy weapon which can be easily kept in pockets or in bags. People who are shot by these guns due to any reason undergo serious injuries which prove fatal most of the times. Therefore the legislation is forced to remove guns from societies and to limit its use so as to grant maximum protection to the citizens. However, the most important point which they fail to consider is the hidden mentality and the real attitude of people which compels them to get indulged into such crimes. For instance, if an individual has determined to kill someone then he could do that through a knife or other weapons as well, representing that guns are not a necessary element of criminal acts. This indicates that it is far better to work on the mentality and human nurture rather than gun control since the former would generate more substantial results on long term basis. Research and analysis of the subject clearly indicates that people who are in practice of using guns are of the point of view that the use of gun is actually not the real issue rather the problem lies in the attitude of people (Sherfinski). Gun possession and its use to save the dignity of an individual is the most significant constitutional right. However with the legislation of gun control, this right of the population is challenged while the real issue remains the same i.e. the ever increasing rate of crime. The seemingly simple elimination of guns from the society is in real the removal of protection and liberty of masses which will

Sixth Amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sixth Amendment - Essay Example A ruling in a federal court backed the president's powers to confine an American citizen without trial for security purposes or when seen as aiding terrorist attacks, on a closer consideration of the sixth amendment the above action by the president is a gross violation of human rights as stipulated in the bill of rights (Shea, 58). The failure of the state to accord Padilla a speedy trial as allowed in the sixth amendment. Through the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment, which protects the, defendant from delayed trial since the time of indictment to the beginning of the case. The constitution allows a period of six months within which the prosecution should commence trial on all felonies, apart from murder cases; however, Padilla went through unlawful confinement for more than three years this indeed was a violation of the law. Padilla denial of the right to assistance of counsel or any attorney representative, in 2003 Paul.D.Clement then the deputy solicitor general. St ated in court that the accused had no right to a counsel assistance. On his attempt to challenge the president's declaration of him as an enemy combatant. He went on to argue that the laws of war do not recognize the rights of such an individual as in ordinary criminal law:, however, this was a complete contradiction. To the precedents of a similar situation where president Washington. Granted Major John Andre who was a British spymaster also Benedict Arnolds intelligence handler a public trial. According to Abadinsky in his book he stipulates well that going by to the practice of the judicial system an individual should stand trial in the state and district where the crime took place, however, while, in different detention centers, it was unknown where he could stand trial. Padilla went through solitary confinement, sleep deprivation among other inhumane treatments. Padilla faced enhanced interrogation, which also torture by international law. This was a gross violation of civil li berties in the pretext of safeguarding national security (Howard Abadinsky, 129). For the whole time in prison, Padilla faced of with witnesses against him which is not in line with the sixth amendment. Who's clause on confrontation provides the accused with the right of confrontation. To enable him meet with the witnesses face to face for cross examination. Through detention and denial of a speedy and public trial. Padilla did not exercise his right to call his own witness to counter the accusations as provided by the sixth amendment. In the compulsory process clause, which allows defendants. To introduce their own case during the trial, this would have compelled the prosecution to release evidence. For the benefit of Padilla prior to trial creating a fair chance of defense. Such violation in its own stance could qualify for the reversal of any conviction made before the defendant. Though the president claimed to have gained the powers from the congress. Through various resolutions , they become effected when the country is at war; however, it is worth considering that. The so-called war on terror was not war rather it was just a rhetoric. Since the congress is the only chamber that declares war, and it has never done so since world war two. In my own conclusion, it is evident that the unlawful detention of Padilla was a precedent to the abolition of the right to trial

What Race and Ethnicity Means Essay Example for Free

What Race and Ethnicity Means Essay When I hear the word â€Å"race†, the first thing that I think of is a person’s skin color, facial features and the texture of their hair. Although I am colorblind, I can’t help but to think of this when I hear the word race. This is due to the fact that the majority of the time when we fill out an application or any paperwork of importance the question of race is raised. I’m not sure why it matters, your experience and education seems more important to me. It seems as if some people still want to separate us depending on the color of our skin. Being that there’s so many races mixing, there’s no such thing as a pure race. Race seems to be unimportant to me. Ethnicity is a word that I prefer and enjoy when speaking of culture. Ethnicity makes me think of everybody’s struggle dating back from their ancestors to the present. Where did your ancestors originate? Where did you come from? Ethnicity is ones background and cultural differences. For example just because I am considered black doesn’t mean that I am from Africa; which means that I will be considered an African American. I thought for years that I was an African American till an African man that I was friends with broke it down to me and gave me some knowledge to read. He is considered an African American because he’s from Africa and now resides in America. I am considered to be a black American because I’m from America. This is weird being that my ancestors were American Indians. Your ethnicity is the group that others place you. I do have my personal opinion on all of this and why America still tries to identify us by race. Since my opinion was asked I felt the need to tell the truth on how I feel. Race and ethnicity are important in America because some people in the government still strives for division and don’t want us to come together as one. It seems as if the government gets more powerful when we separate ourselves from each other. If we all were to come together I feel as if they would consider us as a threat.

Differentiation made among poor readers into dyslexics

Differentiation made among poor readers into dyslexics Is dyslexia a big, expensive myth (Mills 2007)? Despite the popular acceptance of dyslexia as a type of learning disability, particularly as a persistent and significant form of reading difficulty, the debate surrounding its existence, definition, and diagnosis persists (Doyle 2003). For many years now, school systems around the world have developed and implemented strategies in order to address dyslexia because it affects a considerable percentage in the population. In the United Kingdom, one out of 10 people are considered dyslexic, 375,000 children (Hayes 2005) and in other studies, 5% of the childrens population (Ramus 2003). Dyslexia is widely thought to be a deficit that can be overcome with proper learning interventions; some very prominent personalities have been said to succeed over dyslexia: Hans Christian Andersen and Nelson Rockefeller, for instance. Scientific and academic discourse on dyslexia, which is derived from the Greek words dys meaning difficult and lexia meaning reading, is plagued by a definitional crisis (Snowling 2000; Ingram, Pianu and Welsh 2007). Until now, there is still no consensus on the definition of dyslexia. Moreover, issues on categorisation also face the dyslexia community (Lyon, Shaywitz, and Shaywitz 2003). This is perhaps because poor reading is influenced by a myriad of factors: socio-economic disadvantage, poor diet, poor living conditions, and others. This paper centralises on the controversy on whether or not a) it is possible to differentiate dyslexics from garden-variety poor readers and b) it is useful to make such a differentiation. The issue of differentiation has significant implications and until now, psychologists and academic writers are still debating over it. Treating dyslexia as a distinct entity seems logically sound. In every class, there are students who do very poorly in reading bu t exhibit higher ability in other competencies. There are also those who do poorly in reading and in generally all other competencies. In terms of diagnosis, some claim that differentiating dyslexics from poor readers will enable educators to development the most suitable interventions. Nonetheless, the definitional crisis over dyslexia makes it a dilemma to make that diagnosis. Labelling someone as dyslexic actually makes the assumption that existing literature and empirical data have generated more precise insight into what dyslexia is. The fact of the matter is experts have only agreed to disagree on the criteria by which dyslexia is diagnosed, including the types of intervention necessary to help children overcome their reading difficulties (Rice and Brooks 2004). The peril of differentiating dyslexics and garden-variety poor readers without any clear and conclusive parameters for diagnosis is that in the end, students with temporary reading difficulties may be branded dyslexics needlessly and students who are in genuine danger may not be getting the appropriate learning interventions they need. Due to the unstable and inconsistent definitions of dyslexia, some academic writers have questioned whether the disorder really exists. Some people view dyslexia as a social and emotional construct (Elliott 2005, p. 485) and politicians claim the impairment as a fictional malady (Hayes 2005, p. 1) to suggest that dyslexia is an artificial disorder concocted by the school system to promote their interests or to hide weaknesses in language instruction. Some have even claimed that dyslexia has a class bias: that it is the middle-class way of covering up intellectual weakness. Despite these allegations, the dyslexia movement worldwide has gained wide acceptance and scientific endeavours, which although inconclusive have provided greater insight into how this impairment can be overcome by children and adults. This paper explored recent literature on dyslexia, its definitions, causes, and critically discussed the issue of differentiation between dyslexics and garden-variety poor readers, how such a difference could be diagnosed, and its implications. The paper concludes that while there are proposed methods of evaluation, there remains no conclusive means of differentiating dyslexics and garden-variety poor readers. 1 Dyslexia: definitions and causes 1.1 The reading process In order to critically examine dyslexia, models of the reading process need to be reviewed. There have been two predominant theoretical models to answer the questions: how do children read? and how do they learn how to read? (Harrison 2000, p. 35). Kenneth Goodman (1970, as cited in Harrison 2000) explained that reading was a selective process which requires children to use minimal language cues but maximum contextual information. In what he calls the psycholinguistic guessing game, Goodman argued that the objective of reading is not word or letter recognition but to make sense of it the construction of meaning. Recent studies have shown the fluent reading requires a fairly complete and rapid visual processing of text while hypothesising or guessing as Goodman (1970) suggested has a small role to play in word recognition. The most widely accepted model of reading among experts and psychologists is the interactive model which states that the reading process is largely supportive of the bottom-up model as well as the input of top-down processes when required (Harrison 2000). This means that in order for individuals to read fluently, what occurs is automatic, rapid, and context-free word recognition having a fixation duration dependent on the relative word frequency of separate words. Stanovich (1980) attempted to incorporate what is known about skilled and unskilled reading into the interactive-compensatory model. A key concept of this model of reading is that a process at any level can compensate for deficiencies at any other level (p. 36). Stanovichs model was a response to both bottom-up models and top-down models which had their own problems. One of the problems for the top-down model is that for many texts, the reader has littlele knowledge of the topic and cannot generate predictions. While the top-down models may explain beginning reading, with slow rates of word recognition, they do not accurately describe skilled reading behavior. Stanovich (1980) argued that good readers recognised words rapidly because their recognition was automatic. It was poor readers, by contrast, who needed to make the greatest use of context in order to facilitate word recognition, and they did so at the expense of needing to devote extra time to this part of the processes. The o bvious implication of this model is that accurate, rapid word recognition is really important in fluent reading. 1.2 Defining Dyslexia Dyslexia is difficult to define. Although there have been several definitions introduced since its inception, experts have relied on identifying exclusionary and inclusionary characteristics to define who has dyslexia (Rice and Brooks 2004). Fletcher and Lyon (2008) offered three primary reasons why dyslexia is hard to define. First, dyslexia is unobservable construct meaning that attempts to measure it are imperfect and people suffering from the disorder cannot objectively report it. Second, dyslexia is dimensional, meaning that there are varying degrees to which individuals may experience difficulty, from minor, severe, and even in-between. Third, what characteristics to include and what to exclude have been a site for great disagreement among practitioners and psychologists. Nevertheless, common points in several definitions can be seen are elaborated in this paper. A specific learning disability Defining dyslexia as one disorder among a whole umbrella of learning disabilities (LD) has been criticised (Shaywitz, Morris and Shaywitz 2003; Snowling 2000). Studies have shown that among all learning disabilities, reading disability is the most prevalent, affecting 80% of people diagnosed with learning disabilities. In the past, LD encompassed a broad selection of difficulties experienced by children and adults in several competencies: reading, listening, writing, mathematics, and speaking. Dyslexia is now defined as a specific learning disability (Shaywitz, Morris, and Shaywitz 2003, p. 2). Some definitions on dyslexia describe the different areas impaired. The British Association of Dyslexia (2010) defines dyslexia as a specific learning difficulty which mainly affects the development of literacy and language related skills wherein difficulties may experienced in rapid naming, working memory, phonological processing, processing speed, and other skills. The definition also elaborates that dyslexia may occur among people who are of normal or average intelligence. Shaywitz, Morris, and Shaywitz (2003) explained that among the indicators of dyslexia may be poor spelling, inaccurate word recognition, and poor decoding abilities. The National Centre for Learning Disabilities treats dyslexia as a language processing disorder which may impair reading, writing, spelling, and speaking. Dyslexia Scotland (2010) defined dyslexia as a specific leaning difficulty affecting almost 10% of the population. Dyslexics are said to experience difficulty in reading, spelling, writing, and mathematics. It explained that dyslexia occurs as a consequence of poor short-term memory; hence, dyslexics do poorly in learning abilities because they are unable to maintain the sequencing of numbers, words, or simple instructions. The Miles Dyslexia Centre (2010) defined dyslexia as a combination of abilities and difficulties which affect the learning process in one or more of reading, spelling, writing and sometimes numeracy/language (n.p.). Dyslexics have weaknesses in the following areas: memory, processing speed, short-term memory, visual perception, auditory perception, spoken language, and motor skills. Nevertheless, their definition of dyslexia also reiterates that in place of such weaknesses, dyslexics are gifted with creative or oral skills and that the impairment occurs regardless of socioeconomic or linguistic background. In addition, the National Strategy for Improving Adult Literacy and Numeracy Skills point out that dyslexia is the result of poor phonological processing and poor short-term memory. Hence, dyslexics often struggle with following instructions, copying notes from the board, and difficulty in reading (Department for Education and Skills 2004). The Dyslexia Institute (2002) also outlined some of the shortcomings of dyslexic individuals, such as: 1) difficulty in processing real-time information due to poor short-term memory or working memory, 2) problems in the phonological process which make them struggle in associating letters to sounds, and 3) problems in visual processing. A neurobiological dysfunction Many definitions focus on the neurobiological origins of dyslexia (Shaywitz, Morris, and Shaywitz 2003; Nicolson and Fawcett 2005). Dyslexia is seen not as a consequence of impaired vision or poor intelligence, but as a neurological disorder which has caused brains of individuals to interpret and process information in a different manner (National Centre for Learning Disabilities 2007). The National Institute of Health (2008) also viewed dyslexia as a problem with the brains ability to recognise and process symbols which may affect childrens capacity to separate sounds in spoken words or in rhyming skills which are fundamental in the reading process. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS 2010) indicates that dyslexics experience difficulties with writing, phonological processing and rapid visual-verbal responding. It defined dyslexia as a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a persons ability to read. These individuals typically read at levels significantly lower than expected of them despite having normal intelligence (NINDS 2010, n.p.). While the effects of dyslexia vary, the most common characteristics among dyslexics are said to include phonological processing, spelling, and rapid verbal-visual response. Dyslexia is also heritable and recent studies have pointed to genes which make individuals predisposed to the learning disorder. A phonological deficit Secondary to the biological basis of dyslexia is that it is the consequence of a phonological deficit. The phonological deficit hypothesis originated from Pringle Morgan, considered to be the father of dyslexia (Snowling 2001). According to this hypothesis, reading entails the segmentation of texts into the smallest units of language called graphemes. Graphemes are then converted to phonemes which then become then complete sound of a word. For this to take place, the reader needs to assemble and address the phonology of a word. Dyslexics have difficulty in phonemic representations and phonemic recall due to poor short-term memory and other weaknesses in brain mapping. The International Dyslexia Association (IDA 2008) describes dyslexia a language-based type of learning disorder. Dyslexics experience difficulty in developing fluent single-word decoding skills. Furthermore, Fletcher et al. (2002, as cited in Rice and Brooks 2004) supported the notion that dyslexia indicates a problem with phonological processing. Accordingly, children who suffer from dyslexia are identified when they appear a deficit in the skills of words recognition which is associated with rapid naming and phonological memory. In addition, Snowling (2001) considered the importance of phonological processing as one of the etiology of dyslexia. Therefore, this definition focuses on the issues with word-decoding more than reading comprehension, which are controversial and critical point to distinguish between children who have specific difficulties in reading and those who have more problems and weaknesses in language. Finally, this definition is clear by clarifying that dyslexia includes some difficulties in spelling and other writing skills. Snowling (2001) attributes dyslexia to weaknesses in language that affect the development of reading and spelling with dyslexic people. The phenomenon of weakness in language do not affect the reading directly, but also affect the development of the spoken language, which is the basic foundation for learning to read. Snowling (2009) then defined dyslexia as: A specific form of language impairment that affects the way in which the brain encodes the phonological features of spoken words. The core deficit is in phonological processing and stems from poorly specified phonological representations. Dyslexia specifically affects the development of reading and spelling skills but its effects can be modified through development leading to a variety of behavioural manifestations (pp. 213-214). This definition stresses the importance of focusing on the ability to read text not only accurately, but also rapidly and with the importance of proper expression. The acute shortage in the development of fluent reading is characteristic of dyslexia, which continues into adulthood, even if accuracy evolved. Therefore, the importance of reading fluently must be encouraged dyslexic children who read accurately but not fluently will pass unnoticed. Fletcher et.al. (2002, as cited in Rice and Brooks 2004) agreed that most students with dyslexia frequently encounter problems in reading comprehension because of the difficulties in the accuracy and fluency of word recognition. They may also suffer from these problems even if the skills of the accuracy and fluency were improved because of weaknesses in vocabulary as well as in language abilities. One of the most popular and widely-used definition dates back to 1928 and developed by The World Federation of Neurology: A disorder manifested by difficulty learning to read, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence and sociocultural opportunity. It is dependent upon fundamental cognitive disabilities which are frequently constitutional in origin (as cited in Gustafson and Samuelsson 1999, p. 127). This definition is the basis of what is known as the discrepancy-based view of dyslexia (Fletcher et al. 2007). This definition assumes dyslexia as an unexpected difficulty in reading. By unexpected, dyslexia is taken to occur as a reading disorder in a child or an adult who despite having all the various factors crucial to developing fluent reading (motivation, intelligence, good instruction) still struggles with reading (Shaywitz 1998). More challenging has been the question of how to operationalise the unexpected nature of dyslexia. This has been achieved by allowing a certain amount of discrepancy between a childs level of intelligence (evaluated through an IQ test) and reading ability. Some schools use the absolute discrepancy involving 1 to 1.5 standard deviations across scores while others use the regression-based model of ascertaining the correlation between reading achievement and IQ. The discrepancy-based definition of dyslexia provides the basis for the categorisation of dyslexics with garden-variety poor readers. Genuine dyslexics are those who despite having average intelligence struggle with reading while poor readers are those who struggle with reading because of intellectual weakness and other demographic and sociocultural factors. The phonological deficit is considered as the cognitive basis to dyslexia (Snowling 2001; Vellutino et al. 2004). Nonetheless, this deficit is also viewed as secondary only to other deficits such auditory temporal processing deficits (Tallal 1980) or low-level visual deficit induced by inhibitions in the magnocellular system (Livingstone, Rosen, Drislane, and Galaburda 1991). 1.3 Visual Processing in Dyslexia The most dominant etiological explanation for dyslexia had been that it was phonological deficit and not the result of problems in visual functioning or processing. However, in the 1980s, several researchers undertook systematic studies and found that many dyslexic readers experienced visual deficits. For instance, Getman (1985, as cited in Ramus 2003) attributed problems in visual tracking to oculomotor deficiencies as well as a supposed deficit in the transient visual system. This theory has been discredited by several controlled experiments but the hypothesised effect of the transient visual system gained empirical interest. While proponents of theories attributing dyslexia to visual deficits do not exclude other explanations, the relationship between dyslexia and problems in visual processing has spurred academic interest in the subject. The main theory behind such systematic reports indicates that dyslexia is caused by a deficit in the transient system or the magnocellular system in the visual pathway. The magnocellular-deficit theory explains that two parallel systems lead the visual pathway from the eyes to the visual cortex: the magno- (large) and parvo- (small) cellular systems. The larger system consisting of large cells possesses high conduction velocity as well as sensitivity to rapid movement and stimulus changes. The smaller system is sensitive to fine spatial details and color. Dyslexia occurs among people which have magnocellular systems that have reduced sensitivity (Lovegrove, Garzia, and Nicholson 1990). The magnocellular system indirectly influences the parvocellular system by pressuring the latter in the course of the reading process. As one reads, there occurs a series of fixations followed by saccades or short rapid eye movements. The magnocellular deficit theory proposes that the larger system is stimulated by the saccades and the parvocellular system by the fixations. Dyslexia occurs when there is inhibition in the magnocellular system, consequently suppressing activity in the parvocellular system. While a number of psychologists and writers have accepted the magnocellular deficit theory, there have also been counterproductive results. For instance, in a review of contrast sensitivity studies which support the magnocellular deficit theory, Skottun (2000) found the studies which are consistent with the theory are outnumbered by studies that disprove it. An explanation behind the conflicting results is the lack of definite parameters to diagnose dyslexia. One author has alleged that the confirmability of the magnocellular deficit theory is confined to only one subtype of dyslexics (Borsting et al. 1996, as cited in Skottun 2000). 1.4 Auditory Processing in Dyslexia Another alternative explanation to dyslexia does not discount the deficit as phonological in nature but sees it more as one that stems from an auditory deficit in temporal processing. This theory is based on Tallal (1980) who proposed that children who are poor readers have difficulty processing brief or rapidly changing acoustic events whether used in speech or not. Hence, children find it difficult to judge the temporal order of nonspeech tones presented but stop-consonant-vowel syllables as well. This deficit interferes with their overall speech perception which is crucial to normal development of language, in turn, a fundamental requirement in reading. Tallal and colleagues arrived at this hypothesis after studying children with language impairments. When presented with high and low tones at long (400ms) and short (50 ms) interstimulus intervals (ISIs), the children were found unable to make temporal order judgments (TOJ). Tallal (1980) found that compared to normal readers, dyslexics performed poorly when presented long ISIs. From this observation, Tallal made an inference that dyslexics have a non-linguistic deficit in temporal resolution of rapidly changing auditory stimuli which impairs speech perception. Tallal also inferred that this deficit underlies the phonological problem. Studies which replicated Tallals work had mixed findings. Reed (1989, as cited in Ramus 2003) found that when using stop consonants and tones, dyslexics performed poorly compared to normals in making TOJs but performed equally with normals when presented with steady state vowels. Other studies lent support and contradiction to Tallals hypothesis. For instance, Mody, Studdert-Kennedy, and Brady (1997) concluded that dyslexics suffered from speech discrimination deficits rather than TOJs. In sum, evidence suggesting a direct link of temporal processing deficit to dyslexia has not been established. The auditory disorders that are observed in individuals with dyslexia are not particularly rapid or temporal in nature. These disorders are restricted to a subset of the dyslexic population, and have little influence on the development of phonology and reading. It therefore seems that the phonological deficit that is characteristic of dyslexia can arise in the absence of any auditory disorder, with the most severe auditory impairments nevertheless acting as aggravating factors (Ramus 2003). 2. Does dyslexia exist? There is also some debate on whether it is meaningful to speak of dyslexia as a distinct disorder in relation to other individuals classified as poor readers. If it can be proven that there is no significant difference among individuals diagnosed with dyslexia and your average or garden-variety poor reader, then it would make sense to question whether to study dyslexia at all. 2.1 Difference between dyslexics and garden-variety poor readers Gough and Tumner (1986, as cited in Siegel 1992) introduced the concept of the garden-variety poor readers in order to separate dyslexics from poor readers found to be poor in language, listening, verbal knowledge, decoding skills or pronunciation language. The authors differentiated dyslexics from the poor readers by diagnosing them as low in decoding skills but not long in listening. Behind this differentiation is the definition of reading disability based on an aptitude-achievement discrepancy (Stanovich 1991). There were children who were observed to be poor readers but perform well in other skills. On the other hand, there were poor readers who perform poorly in intellectual skills. This discrepancy criterion made the key assumption that: poor readers with a high aptitude (based on IQ test scores) were neurologically and cognitively different from poor readers with a low IQ. Hence, clinically, the term dyslexic came to mean only children with significant discrepancy in reading ability and intelligence. The discrepancy criterion is the basis of legal statutes governing special education practice in the U.S. and elsewhere. Academically, research definitions of dyslexia use this criterion widely. Dyslexia is officially diagnosed using the discrepancy criterion in the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders (World Health Organisation 1993), and to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV [DSM-IV]. Before a child or adult is diagnosed as dyslexic, his or her reading achievement must be considerably lower than what is expected of him or her by age and IQ score. Valtin (2010) concludes that using this criterion, dyslexia is then defined as a medical, eetiological concept of specific reading impairment in children of normal intelligence, due to genetic or neuropsychological deficits'(p. 3) while normal reading disability occurs in children tested as having subnormal intelligence. The operationalisation of the discrepancy concept has been critiqued as a reification of something that has not been substantiated empirically (Stanovich 1994). The basic assumption is that a child or adults intellectual capacity is the norm for determining reading underachievement. Hence, the degree of discrepancy of reading ability from IQ was judged as meaningful, in the almost total absence of empirical evidence (Stanovich 1994, p. 581). Children with reading disabilities were categorised as RD-D or reading-disabled with IQ discrepancy (dyslexics) and RD-N (reading-disabled without IQ discrepancy (poor readers). Supporters of the discrepancy criterion argue that differentiation among poor readers assists in determining which learning interventions suit groups of reading-disabled children. Because dyslexics suffer from reading disorders without showing measurable signs of intellectual weakness, their needs are different from those who read poorly because of low IQ, socioeconomic disadvantage, health problems, and others. There are many however who question its usefulness in diagnosis because dyslexics and garden-variety poor readers experience the same weaknesses in spelling and reading (Valtin 2010). Moreover, the task of differentiating children with reading disorders into dyslexics and garden-variety poor readers is a largely arbitrary one (Rice and Brooks 2004) because it may be diagnosed under one method but not in another. Because there is no clear-cut definition of dyslexia, it has been considered a construct to refer to descriptive characteristics and not due to any cognitive dysfunct ions (Rice and Brooks 2004). 2.2 Diagnosing differences between dyslexics and garden-variety poor readers It is also relevant to review existing literature and empirical data to conclude that it is scientifically possible to distinguish which children are dyslexics and which are garden-variety poor readers. While some findings have pointed to noticeable differences between dyslexics and poor readers, they are mixed and cannot be considered unequivocal evidence to suggest differences in both groups. Rice and Brooks (2004) listed several studies that suggested moderate differences in the performance of dyslexic and poor readers on a few reading-related tests but these differences are overrun with similarities in performance of the same groups in tests measuring reading-related characteristics such as reversal errors in alphabet, digital sequencing errors, spelling of sight vocabulary, phonemic segmentation, and pseudoword reading. Moreover, studies (Fawcett et al 2001, Jorm et al 1986, as cited in Rice and Brooks 2004) have also found that garden-variety readers had lower scores than dyslexics in the areas of rhyme task, memory span, segmentation, and pseudoword repetition. Badian (1994) conducted an experimental study to secure support for the treatment of dyslexia as a separate entity by proving that dyslexics and garden-variety poor readers differ significantly in cognitive skills which are reading-related. Using 110 children subjects grouped into three dyslexic, garden-variety poor readers, and good readers, Badian (1994) found that it is empirically sound to differentiate dyslexics from garden-variety poor readers. While nonword reading and phonological awareness among dyslexic and garden-variety poor readers were both low in comparison to good readers, the study found that dyslexics had unique weaknesses in phonological coding of graphic stimuli and automatic visual recognition, consistent to Stanovichs phonological-core variable-difference model of dyslexia. Aaron (1989) also found differences between dyslexics and non-dyslexic poor readers in an experimental study on reading comprehension but not on word reading. Using two groups of primary-level poor readers, one group diagnosed as dyslexics (normal IQ scores) and the other as NSRD (nonspecific reading-disabled) or those having below normal IQ scores. The dyslexics were inferior than other two groups in terms of spelling and decoding, were more context-dependent when it came to word recognition, and did the worst on inferential comprehension. Ellis, McDougall, and Monk (1996) had somewhat contradicting results with Aaron (1989). Using four groups dyslexics (mean IQ 118), normal readers (mean IQ 107), and garden-variety poor readers (mean IQ 80), and precocious readers (mean IQ 126) the study measured reading accuracy as a measure of reading ability. They concluded that dyslexics and garden-variety poor readers had insignificant differences in decoding skills, consistent with Siegels (1992) claim and Stanovichs (1994) assertion. Moreover, unlike Aarons (1989) earlier finding, the poor readers obtained lower scores on comprehension of text and listening comprehension compared to dyslexics. The lack of scientific rigour in some of the psychometric tests and research on differentiation has also been criticised. Two control groups are required to undergo such experiments. Controlling for confounding variables in the tests is also difficult. Researchers need to take note of demographic and psychometric measures to establish validity of the findings (Chiappe et al. 2001, as cited in Rice and Brooks 2004). While Aaron (1989) and Badian (1994) gathering encouraging results that support differentiation, they also accepted several methodological issues with their experiments. First, the definitions were not uniformly used. There were considerable age differences in the sample of normal readers and garden-variety poor readers as well as the type of experimental design used. 2.3 Relationship of intelligence and dyslexia The discrepancy-based criterion in diagnosing dyslexics is largely because of a few prominent and highly gifted dyslexics known in history. Hence, dyslexia has come to be known as a disorder afflicting individuals who are otherwise intelligent but have difficulty reading. However, as Siegel (1992) explains, there is absolutely no scientific data suggesting that only intelligent people have dyslexia or that people considered of low intelligence cannot suffer from dyslexia. The reason why level of intelligence is used to isolate individuals having reading programs is that the IQ score is the best measure of someones intellectual capacity. Hence, people with a high IQ can be said to have greater intellectual capacity than those who have lower IQ. In the context of the reading-disabled, a dyslexic is someone who cannot perform up to their maximum potential because of neurobiological or genetic factors. Intelligence scores also

Animation In Live Action Movies Film Studies Essay

Animation In Live Action Movies Film Studies Essay Live action animation movies are the movies in which CG characters interact with live-action character/environment which will be interlinked and will be playing their respective role in the movies. The first live action animation movie was Gertie the Dinosaur by Winsor McCay. This started in the silent film era. Unlike the common belief, mickey mouse was not Disneys 1st success .With Alice comedies Disney has hit success which worked on the concept of incorporating animation in live action environment. Disney has also tried various movies using Donal duck. Classic example of a live action animation movie was Space Jam where the real life character(micheal jordan) accidentally enters a toon world and joins the Looney toons characters in a basketball match. Another record breaking live action animation movie was Who framed Roger Rabbit which was based on a novel written by Gary wolf. Combining real life character with CG character was not an easy job. It took much time to interlink and to get a realistic effect with CG character in a live action environment. Live action animations in earlier stage was done in different ways. Animated characters and real life characters have been positioned precisely to get better output using an optical printer or an aerial image animation cameras and the negatives would be printed twice on the same release print. Alice in Wonderland CG characters like rabbit, butterflies , rabbit and real life characters were done with much complicated methods. The interacting of both CG character and real life character were done that much good that normal people cant find which one is cg chracter and which one is normal character. To animate a action sequence of kicking a ball by real life character and it is falling somewhere that can not been seen by our naked eye. For that sequence 1st we have to shoot the person who is kicking the ball with action then with the help of softwares we will place that ball where ever we want. It is extermely difficult and biggest challenge to get that realistic feel. Advanced special effects were used in interaction of animated characters and real life chracter to make the film more realistic in the movie Who framed Roger Rabbit. No other live action animation movies were able to achieve successful stories like who framed roger rabbit. Who framed roger rabbit was the movie happened during 1988,but present software technology and features make the movie more realistic. India is still far from perfection when it comes to animation in live action. All the live action animated projects tries and uses animation to the fullest but we are just not there yet. One of the examples of animation in live action in Indian films would be Taare Zameen par by Aamir Khan. 1.2 billion is expected to reach india by 2010 though animation industry . India has a massive growth of 27% rise since 2008. Principles of classical animation was trained to indian people by Disney Studios aniamtor Clair weeks during the period of industry evolution in 1950. King Kong, the legendary giant gorilla is one of the most famous and iconic characters in the history of motion pictures developed by the Hollywood film industry. He would be the first ape who fell love with the beauty. The whole world stunned by watching the god of Skull island fought with the Tyrannosaurus Rex and and Pterodactyl to save the life of the beauty. King Kong is a character created by Merian C Cooper and later released as a stunning special effects movie in 1933, which gross a huge amount from the box office at the time of the great depression. The story is about a gigantic gorilla named Kong and how he is involved with the young lady Ann Darrow. The film was directed by Merian C Cooper and Ernest B Schoedsack. This film is notable for Wills O Briens stop motion animation. Technically this film was a revolution and it helps to make 1930s as the golden era of motion pictures. A nine year old boy, living in the Pukerua Bay town of New Zealand bust in to tears when Kong slipped off the Empire State Building. When he was 12, he tried to recreate the film by using his parents super-8 camera and a model of Kong made of wire and rubber, but eventually gave up on the project. Inspired by this film he become a film director. This boy is none other than the Academy award winner peter Jackson. In 2005 he had fulfilled his dream by making the remake of the 1933s King Kong. It was full of ground breaking visual effects and CGI animation and won three academy awards including for best visual effects. Both the films used advanced technologies of that time and had influenced the future films. The old King Kong movie was a milestone in special effects and sop motion animation, in place the new King Kong movie was all about visual effects and computer generated animation. In this paper, I will first describe King Kong(1933) and King Kong(2005), then I will point out similarities and differences between the two films, and finally I will discuss how both of these film influence the future. About King Kong 1933 Origin of the concept Merien C Cooper was searching for a natural drama type story for his next film after done his works Grass (1925), Chang (1927) and The Four Feathers (1929) successfully for the Paramount pictures. He had an interest in exotic animals and he observed a lot about animals while the location shooting in Africa for Paramount pictures The Four Feathers. He inspired by the film The Lost World, an adaptation of Conan Doyles novel, which told a story of a modern day journey to a remote Amazonian plateau where living dinosaurs still roam. While reading the book The Dragon Lizards of Komodo he thought about making a fictional natural drama film. Komodo is about Dragons which were caught by humans and brought to city. Later they caught some diseases and dead. Instead of dragons Cooper thought about gorilla and he decided to bring his gorilla in to New York City. He want to kill his gorilla in a tragic way more than any kind of diseases. Even his previous films was huge success the exhibitors still complained that the film would have done better if it had a love story. So Cooper included a lady into this concept. In 1931, Cooper was offered a job by Radio Keith Orphium pictures as executive assistant to the vice president of production, David O Selznick. Upon arriving at RKO Cooper immediately started a new film project The Most Dangerous Game. To direct this picture he hired his friend and former partner Ernest Shoedsack. Same time RKO had canceled on big budget project Creation. The crew had been working for one year for the project. Cooper was really impressed with the special effects, especially the stop motion animation created for the film by an Irishman Willis O Brien. Cooper thought that it might be p ossible to bring his gorilla story in to screen in an economical manner, instead of costly and lengthy location trip, by using this stop motion technique. Cooper had discussed his concept with O Brien. O Brien painted a portrait of an explorer and a woman being attacked by a gorilla. In order to make it more dramatic O Brien increased the size of the gorilla in to ten foot. Cooper had not yet decided the size of his character. O Briens painting impressed Cooper to consider increasing the size of ape in to 20 foot. Cooper reworked on his concept to focus on the adventures of a 20- foot tall ape. The models of large dinosaurs and jungle sets had been made for creation. Cooper thought it would decrease the production expense if they use these models and sets. Cooper thought increasing size of the gorilla would increase the possibilities for mayhem it could create in the New York city. Knowing all this excitement require an equally exiting end, Cooper began to looking for a spectacular way to end his story. The idea came to him was to have the gorilla climb to the top of a tall building and battle with many airplanes before it was finally gunned down. Cooper want his gorilla climb the tallest building of that time, the Empire State Building. Cooper discussed his idea with the RKO board but except Selznick nobody liked it. They thought the idea was far too weired and the film would be much too expensive to make , especially in the time of great depression. Cooper and O Brien had made ten concept art and they shoot two sequences in order to present to the board. They had shoot the log seen in which Kong was shaking a log which placed between a cliff while some sailors were trying to cross the log. For this they used the set and actors of The Most Dangerous Game, which were shooting in the same time. They had also used a finished seen of Creation in which a dinosaur w as hunting a sailor. After seeing this clips, board of RKO approved the project and set budget

Bolts a Man For All Seasons: Reasons For A Persons Actions :: essays research papers

Bolt's "A Man For All Seasons": Reasons for A Person's Actions Reading about individuals whose ways of life are dramatically different from our own provides readers with fresh insights into their own experiences and ideas. A reader of A Man for All Seasons, by Robert Bolt, may not be accustomed to the actions of the play's characters. Though, it is important to figure out and understand why the character reacts or acts as he/she does. This enables the reader to have a new or modified outlook on his/her own actions. If one turns the kaleidoscope of his/her life just a little, the world becomes a different place. Sir Thomas More lived the type of life that is foreign to many readers. More's actions were all based upon two things, his conscience and God. When More is being pressured into signing the oath by Norfolk in the name of fellowship, he replies by saying, " And when we stand before God, and you are sent to Paradise for doing according to your conscience, and I am damned for not doing according to mine, will you come with me for fellowship?"(77). He adheres to his philosophy and conscience, knowing that he will inevitably be executed. One who is reading this may reply by thinking More's decision was asinine. The reader may believe that life is the greatest value to man, and to place anything above it would be asinine. More's behavior was bizarre even to his own time period. His daughter, Margaret, pleaded for him to sign the oath, "Then say the words of the oath and in your heart think otherwise"(81). Her father could not morally be satisfied by this. More believed that when an oath is taken, one is placing his pledging his self and soul. " When a man takes an oath, Meg, he's holding his own self in his own hands. And if he opens his fingers then- he needn't hope to find himself again"(81). On the other hand, Richard Rich's actions were not based upon conscience or morality. He would sacrifice his friend's life in order to receive a job offer. After Rich testifies, and More learns that Rich was appointed Attorney- General for Wales, he is full of disgust and disbelief when he says, " For Wales? Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the world.....But for Wales!"(92). Rich can be portrayed as the lowest of life forms. More implies that Rich abandoned his conscience to have a title, which in the whole scheme of things is really insignificant. On that day of judgment,

Euthanasia Essay - Concerns About Euthanasia -- Euthanasia Physician A

  Ã‚   A medical examiner from Oakland County, Michigan and three researchers from the University of South Florida have studied key characteristics of 69 patients whose suicides were assisted by Jack Kevorkian between 1990 and 1998. Their findings are published in the December 7 New England Journal of Medicine. Autopsies show that only 25 percent of Kevorkian's clients were terminally ill when he helped them kill themselves. "Seventy-two percent of the patients had had a recent decline in health status that may have precipitated the desire to die." However, "no anatomical disease was confirmed at autopsy" in 5 of the 69 people. In light of the generally lower rate of suicide among women, it was notable that 71% of these patients were women. Persons who were divorced or never married were over-represented among Kevorkian's clients, "suggesting the need for a better understanding of the familial and psychosocial context of decision making at the end of life" [L. Roscoe, J. Malphurs, L. Dragovic, and D. Cohen, "Dr. Jack Kevorkian and Cases of Euthanasia in Oakland County, Michigan, 1990-1998," Correspondence, 343 New England Journal of Medicine 1735-6 (Dec. 7, 2000)].    Numerous studies have established that the Americans most directly affected by the issue of physician-assisted suicide -- those who are frail, elderly and suffering from terminal illness -- are also more opposed to legalizing the practice than others are:    * A poll conducted for the Washington Post on March 22-26, 1996, found 50% support for legalizing physician-assisted suicide (Washington A18) Voters aged 35-44 supported legalization, 57% to 33%. But these figures reversed for voters aged 65 and older, who opposed legalization 54% to 38%. Majo... ... suicide: attitudes and experiences of oncology patients, oncologists, and the public." 347 The Lancet 1805 (June 29, 1996):1809    Humphry, Derek. "What's in a word?" Euthanasia Research & Guidance Organization 1993, Table 1-A.    Koenig, Dr. Harold et al.. "Attitudes of Elderly Patients and their Families Toward Physician-Assisted Suicide." 156 Archives of Internal Medicine 2240 (Oct. 28, 1996)    Lee v. Oregon, 891 F.Supp. 1429 (D. Or. 1995), vacated on other grounds, 107 F.3d 1382 (9th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 118 S. Ct. 328 (1997).    "Poll Shows More Would Support Law Using Gentler Language," TimeLines (Jan.-Feb. 1994):9    Washington v. Glucksberg, 117 S. Ct. 2258, 2262 n. 7 (1997. -- -- --. 117 S. Ct. at 2272, quoting United States v. Rutherford, 442 U.S. 544, 558. 1979.    Washington Post, April 4, 1996.