Blended learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Blended learning - Essay Example This process enables students and their course facilitators to engage in learning activities that are convenient and effective which would otherwise not be possible under normal classroom environment (Bersin 2004 pg74). In many cases in learning experience, blending brings in more student experience and output, it also facilitates efficient teaching and better management of course contents. The development in technology has provided opportunities for lecturers to design and deliver their course content in a Chunnel that enhances effectiveness of a teacher’s role to his students. Blended learning has enabled broadening of space and opportunities for learning, effective supports course management, it can deliver information and recourses to students promptly and effectively, through collaboration and interactive learning students are able to motivate each other. Blended learning is not just about technology, it is about being creative in finding better ways of supporting learners in achieving their goals. It should also aim as far as possible to provide students with the best learning experience while in school. Blended learning should also address fully support of teachers role to students these includes management and administration of learning materials and resources. The blended learning module will vary with student characteristic, level of study, discipline, needs, academics approach to learning, course learning objectives as well as experience in using technology. Blended learning spans a range of activities between face-to-face interaction and those that are completely online. This learning strategy has three modes of operation to demonstrate the level of use of technology in learning and teaching environment. The first mode indicates that technology is used to improve course management and learning materials for learners support. For

Four Geographic Traditions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Four Geographic Traditions - Research Paper Example As such, the core definitions of each of these traditions will be discussed as well as a level of analysis performed on which tradition speaks best to which particular aspect of geographical analysis. What is noteworthy before delving into a firm and functional definition of each of these four traditions is to understand that the subject of geography has always, since its inception, been focused on the art and science of definition. Without definition, geography would have but a few actionable uses. In this way, it is important for the reader to understand that each of the following four approaches that will be discussed should be viewed within just such a prism. Although one is not superior to all of the others at all time, each in their own way can provide a useful tool of analysis which can help the reader/researcher to draw a level of inference on specific research questions and can help to shine a valuable level of insight into key determinants that would otherwise not be able t o be fully answered with the application and/or use of another of the traditions. Similarly, although each of the four following traditions are still in use within the community of geographic research and scientific studies, some are used to a greater and more affective use than others. Additionally, as the field grows, evolves, and advances, some of the four will no doubt decrease in overall performance; however, this unavoidable decrease of some of these traditions is no reason not to consider the fundamental determinants that have sought to define the way in which the field has progressed and continues to define itself up until the current juncture in time. Naturally, from the aforementioned list, the first of these traditions that will be discussed and analyzed is that of the spatial tradition. The spatial tradition is perhaps the best known and the most common of historical geographic traditions in that it seeks to define a given region based solely upon a firm differentiation of what is â€Å"other† and what is not. Although this tradition is perhaps the oldest in historical terms of implementation and usage, the fact of the matter is that is has continued to grow and develop throughout history (Pattison 3). As a function of this, the tradition has grown to incorporate computerized mapping (i.e. GIS and the like), quantitative techniques and tools for the representation of otherwise abstract geographic terms, aerial photography, and a litany of other spatial analysis tools that have helped to define, group, and differentiate otherwise indistinguishable determinants from one another within the realm of geography and geographic research and interpretation. This â€Å"oldest† of traditions continues to evolve and incorporate the different aspects of technological advancement that have manifested themselves throughout society and the sciences. As a function of this growth, the spatial tradi

Harassment Essay Example for Free

Harassment Essay Harassment at the workplace is one of the major issues that the hospitality industry faces. According to Yeung (2004), the hospitality industry has such peculiar characteristics that make ethical issues particularly important. Drawing on various studies conducted by among others Vallen and Casado, Weaver et al, Enghagen and Hott, and on the basis of his own studies, Yeung (2004) particularly identifies issues such as sexual harassment, and harassment on the basis of race and ethnic affiliation as one of the most outstanding issues in the hospitality industry. According to Perry (2008), employee harassment within the hospitality industry is rampant, and takes the form of gender, racial, or ethnic discrimination. While cases of harassment in other industries are declining, in the hospitality industry employee harassment cases are on the rise (Perry, 2008). This can be attributed to various reasons, chief of which is the fact that the hospitality industry is characterised by a rich ethnic diversity. With many ethnic groups working together within the restaurant setting, for example, Perry (2008, p. 2) writes that â€Å"the friction that commonly occurs between the kitchen and waitstaff often manifests itself in insults and epithets which target race, ethnicity and gender. † Additionally, managers in the hospitality industry have taken to socializing with or dating non-management employees, many of whom are in their teens or pre-teen years, which has the potential of triggering off a sexual harassment lawsuit (Perry, 2008). Another equally important contributory factor to the high levels of employee harassment within the hospitality industry has to do with the dysfunctional rates of employee turnover within the hospitality industry. In the UK for example, Anonymous (2006) estimates that employee turnover is so high that by 2014 an extra 850,000 employees would be needed by the UK hospitality industry. According to Perry (2008), the fact that many employees are leaving the industry, and many others joining the industry, makes it extremely difficult to tailor training programs such as gender awareness training, which has in turn led to the runaway rates of harassment cases. Yet another feature of the hospitality industry is that it is frequented by a lot of young employees, most of whom are in their teens, and for whom subjects as who is sleeping with who are popular topics with them, a factor that has in many ways helped spark off lawsuits even in cases where such claims have merely been rumors (Perry, 2008). According to Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009), harassment at the workplace is triggered off by events that are both external and internal to organizations. Harassment can occur in three ways. It can be a top down process (where subordinate employees are harassed by their managers or supervisors), lateral (where subordinate employees are harassed by their own peers), or a bottoms up process. According to Eaton (2004), within the hospitality industry, non-employees (guests) may also direct harassment at employees. Eaton (2004) states that while the law is very unequivocal when it comes to the need for establishments within the hospitality industry to both prevent and remedy sexual harassment in the workplace when carried out against employees by other employees or supervisors, when it comes to harassment against the employees by guests, it is more interested in what the hospitality operator did to remedy the complaint rather than what he did to prevent it. The law requires that the operators take â€Å"reasonable cause† to remedy such situations, but what is reasonable is left to the discretion of the judge or jury. Ajagunna (2006, p. 259) also states that guests may be harassed and draws on a study he conducted on the impact of harassment of tourists in Jamaica by â€Å"beach boys, street vendors, art and craft vendors, taxi operators and beggars† Roscigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009) identify various manifestations of harassment at the workplace ranging from physical assault to the understated extreme of psychological attacks. In between, we have forms such as constant criticism of the employees or unwarranted disparagement of their opinions. Verbal attacks, the use of demeaning language against an employee, disgraceful comments about the person, or isolation of the employee are other manifestations of harassment. Additionally, employees may be harassed by being made the subject of practical jokes, by being overworked, or being subjected to unreasonable pressure or being given unreasonable deadlines. Other common ways through which employees are harassed include sabotaging their work, imposing responsibilities that are way beyond their ability to perform, or being excessively monitored by their managers or supervisors. Causes of harassment In their evaluation of harassment at the workplace, Roscigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009) explain that harassment occurs when offenders get the chance to hit out at their victims because capable guardians are not present. In such an instance, junior employees are powerless against their supervisors or managers, who can then harass them at will. Towards this end, the writers identify various causes of harassment, the first one of which is race and ethnicity. While an employee’s race and ethnicity accentuates the disparities between him and his fellow employees in as far as status and power are concerned, it makes the employee an easy and soft target for harassment, especially in the event that the employee is a member of a minority group. These employees tend to be more isolated from the dominant groups leading to a high degree of harassment against them (Roscigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). One’s gender also plays a big part in influencing harassment at the workplace, with female employees often bearing the brunt of unwelcome sexual advances which may be displayed through touching, the use of off-color jokes, the display of material with explicit sexual content, and so on (Roscigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). In particular, Eaton identifies two kinds of sexual harassment recognized by law: the â€Å"quid pro quo† type where sexual favors are either explicitly or implicitly solicited in return for a job or a job benefit, and the use of unwelcome physical or verbal behavior against an employee by virtue of his or her gender, and which is detrimental to him or her. Harassment also results from occupational and status disparities. Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009) report that lower cadres of employees are often measly wages and allowances, and given that they report to supervisors who wield a lot of influence and authority, they are easy targets of harassment. Conversely, the authors write that employees who possess high levels of education are not easily amenable to harassment for the reason that they tend to be more conversant with employee protection rights as well as with grievance procedures (Rosigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009) also identify high levels of job insecurity as a contributor to harassment at the workplace. They adduce documentary evidence to show that increasing job insecurity at the workplace has sparked off increases in workplace harassment. For example, an increasingly competitive environment has led to many organizations outsourcing some of their non-core functions, in the process laying off some of their workers and increasingly making use of contingent employees. According to Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009), many employers are exploiting the fear employees have of losing their jobs to make them agree to things they would ordinarily not assent to. The writers indicate that the use of explicit or implicit sack threats to get workers doing what their employers or supervisors want is rife. Contingent workers also perform work that is of low value, and are more amenable to intimidation by their employers (Rosigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). Yet another cause of workplace harassment identified is that where employees harass their fellow employees because they are in competition and feel threatened that their fellow employees are better than them and are thus likely to make them look bad (Rosigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). In addition, the organization culture espoused or enacted by the hospitality establishment also plays a big rile in either contributing to or lessening harassment at the workplace. For example, an organizational culture that seeks to exercise high control of employees (through the use of techniques such as standard operating procedures and excessive supervision) is likely to result in higher incidences of harassment at the workplace as opposed to those which seek to empower rather than control. Another aspect of the organization that has been found to be critical in either ameliorating or worsening harassment is how well organized and articulate the procedures in the organization are, with chaotic procedures often contributing to higher levels of harassment (Rosigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). As mentioned earlier, Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodgson (2009) have attributed workplace harassment to powerlessness, where sufficiently motivated harassers take advantage of the absence of a capable guardian to harass their victims. An example of a capable guardian is the trade or labor union, which has helped reduce workplace harassment through their grievance procedures and their capacity to offer arbitration in dismissal cases. Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009) however report that in recent times the influence and sway of the trade union movement has considerably weakened a factor that has also had some effect in increasing harassment cases. Other capable guardians identified include the extent of accountability which employers or supervisors have towards their employees, and the strictures put in place by the organization to guarantee the rule of law within the organization (Rosigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). Impact of harassment Harassment at the workplace has very costly ramifications for establishments within the hospitality industry. According to Perry (2008), workplace harassment has been known to exact a huge financial toll on organizations. Establishments within the hospitality industry have been known to fork out millions of dollars to settle legal bills for the organization and claimants, as well as damages arising from harassment at the workplace. Perry estimates that the average cost of settling a harassment claim exceeds $300,000. An example is given of the Tavern on the Green, a hospitality establishment in New York’s Central Park which settled a sexual and racial discrimination suit brought against it by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for S$2.  2 million (Perry, 2008). Apart from the financial toll that employee harassment exacts from the organizations, it also affects employee productivity and morale. When employees feel harassed and harbor the perception that their employers are not interested in looking after their interests, their morale and job satisfaction suffers, leading to dwindling productivity. Harassment also leads to higher turnover rates, which also increases costs (such as recruitment and training costs) for hospitality establishments (Perry, 2008). According to Perry (2008), harassment cases also lead to the disruption of business and operations of hospitality establishments, since it forces some key personnel to take time off to help prepare the defense of the establishment. Moreover, harassment cases generate a lot of adverse publicity for the establishments, which has the capacity to bring them down, given the fact that hospitality establishments such as restaurants depend very much on having a good reputation (Perry, 2008). According to Vaez, Ekberg, and LaFlamme (2004), employees who fall victim to harassment normally predisposed to a higher risk of suffering from stress and psychological unease. They exhibit higher rates of absenteeism and typically have higher employee turnover rates than those employees who are not subjected to intimidation. High rates of absenteeism not only mean lost incomes for the employees (many of whom are paid on an hourly basis for the days they attend work), but also to lost productivity for the organizations. Vaez, Eckberg and LaFlamme (2004) also write that employees subjected to harassment normally suffer from lower levels of self esteem and confidence, and are more predisposed to suffering from sleep disorders, digestive problems, musculoskeletal illnesses, and phobias. This inevitably leads to higher medical expenses for both the employees as well as the organization. Measures to reduce harassment There are several measures which establishments within the hospitality industry can take in order to minimize the effects of workplace harassment. According to Perry (2008), hospitality establishments need to formulate written policies which clearly articulate that recruitment, hiring, firing and other HR practices will not be influenced by gender, age, religious, or racial considerations but will be purely based on merit. Having formulated such policies, the establishments need to ensure that the policy is enforced and to undertake regular audits to determine whether the policy is being followed or not. All employees should be made aware of the policy and must sign against it (Perry, 2008). As a way of minimizing workplace harassment to the bare minimum, hospitality organizations will also need to set up third party channels such as employee hotlines, where cases of harassment can be reported. Additionally, the organizations must also ensure that formal complaint procedures are in place and that they are known by all employees (Perry, 2008). According to Perry (2008), hospitality organizations need to offer training to their employees to educate them of the need to refrain from practices that can constitute harassment. Training the employees will not only help provide a valid defense but will also be useful in helping employees â€Å"to recognize their own unconscious motivations and how to avoid interacting in ways that can be offensive to other people† (Terry, 2008, p. 45). The training should cover all the harassment laws, and should be offered both to employees in management positions and subordinates. In the event that cases of harassment are reported, the organization’s response will also count for a lot. In such instances, the organizations must move with speed and investigate such complaints objectively and fairly, preferably by a person who is not a member of the management team such as an external consultant or the human resource head. As Perry (2008, p. 45) writes, Employers who have happy employees who respect each other and interact well are likely to retain them longer. Fair treatment goes a long way toward being the employer of choice.

Nonlinear Narrative In Media

Nonlinear Narrative In Media Nonlinear or disruptive narrative is a technique used in storytelling where the events of a story are achronological, i.e. it is not in a chronological manner, and illogically placed. This method has been used in films, literature, video games and other narratives. In the field of video games, the meaning of the term is different as the stories get played out by the decisions made by the players interaction in the game. The world had come to know that it was during the 5th century BC that nonlinear narrative had come into existence. This monumental piece of literature work is none other than the Indian Epic, the Mahabharatha. The Mahabharata was written in an Indian language called Sanskrit and this major tale has played an important role in the religion of Hinduism, and also played a vital part in the upbringing of the cultures in the Indian subcontinent. This story talks about the human goals (Dharma or duty, Artha or purpose, Kama or pleasure or desire and moksha or liberation) where it explains the individuals relationship to the society and the world and the workings of karma or destiny. With 1.8 million words written, the Mahabharata is the longest epic poem in the world. The Illiad is another grand poem which is credited to Homer, also uses nonlinear narrative. Made in 8th century BC, this poem was set in the events of the Trojan War, which was a ten year siege by a congregation of Greek states led by King Agamemnon. The poem, although covers the final few weeks of the war, describes the battles which had taken part in the war and also depicts the arguments between King Agamemnon and the legendary warrior Achilles. The Illiad is the oldest known Western work in literature. These two poems have a common nonlinear narrative between them. They were the first works to feature the method of In Media Res (It is a latin phrase which in English translates into mid-affairs. This technique of narrative is when the story either begins in the middle or in its conclusion. It was introduced by the poet Horace.) and the first to implement the technique of using flashbacks (Analepsis which is the other word for flashback, is a method which is put in between a narrative and it acts as a tool to explain the events leading up to the current state of the story. It is generally used for a characters origin or major events which have occurred in the past.) From then on, novelists such as Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, Marcel Proust and many others during the 1800s to 1900s played around with the nonlinear narrative, dumping the idea of writing a book in a linear fashion. In the Modern Day, the author Chuck Palahniuk, known for his book Fight Club, writes all his books in a nonlinear fashion. An example would be his book Survivor where the story goes backwards as the end is the starting point of the book and the conclusion of the book is the beginning. Examples of nonlinear novels: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne; Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte; Catch 22 by Joseph Heller; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark; Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh and Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic. Films To define nonlinear storytelling in films is a bit of a task since various films uses the methodology of flashbacks or flashforwards in a linear storyline whereas nonlinear films most of the time includes a lot of linear sequences. Citizen Kane by Orson Welles is an example of a film where the storyline is in an achronological flashback narrative which is tagged as nonlinear. Experimentation of nonlinear narrative in films started in 1916. This was the era of Silent Films where the film is without any sound and the viewer only gets to see images of the film. Intolerance: Loves Struggle through the Ages by D.W. Griffith is the first film to try out nonlinear storytelling. This film is considered to be one of the masterpieces of its generation. This film was made because D.W. Griffiths previous film The Birth of a Nation apparently did not go down well with the people, stating that the film had a huge amount racist content. The film Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) is a surreal film made by Salvador Dali and Luis Brunuel. This film was made in 1929 and is considered the first film to be in a constant state of nonlinearity. The film makes statements about the Church, art and society; which are left to open interpretation by the viewer. Other films made in this era which uses the concept of nonlinear narrative are LAge dor (The golden Age) again by Salvador Dali and Luis Brunuel, Strike by Sergei Eisenstein, Earth by Alexander Dovzhenko, Listen to Britain a documentary by Humphrey Jennings. After World War II, nonlinear narrative had evolved from its embryonic state and it was Jean Luc Goddard who famously stated, I agree that a film should have a beginning, a middle and an end but not necessarily in that order. His works have played a major influence in the method of nonlinear storytelling. Le Weekend (Week End) by Jean Luc Goddard is one of the first films to showcase the randomness of events in a film. Chelsea Girls which was made in 1966 by Andy Warhol was a film very similar to that of Le Weekend in a sense of techniques used. Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), Last Year at Marienbad (1961) and Muriel (1963) by Alain Resnais are films which had experimented with the narrative and the time. Then Italian director Federico Fellini invented his own style of nonlinear narration in his films La Strada(1954), La Dolce Vita (1960), 8 and a half (1963), Satyricon (1969) and Roma (1972). From then on various film makers like Nicolas Roeg, Michelangelo Antonioni, Peter Greenaway, Ch ris Marker, Raul Ruiz and Agnes Varda have all experimented with nonlinear narration. Robert Altman from the United States incorporated the style of nonlinearity in his films such as McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), Nashville (1975), The Player (1992), Short Cuts (1993) and Gosford Park (2001). Woody Allen tried his hand in nonlinear narrative in Annie Hall (1977), Interiors (1978) and Stardust Memories (1980). The 1990s witnessed the growth of nonlinear films due to influential figure Quentin Tarantino who was the catalyst for this cause after his film Pulp Fiction (1994). Other significant works of disruptive narration are Atom Egoyans Exotica (1994); Terrence Mallicks The Thin Red Line (1998); Paul Thomas Andersons Magnolia (1999); and Karen and Jill Sprechers Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001). David Lynch had experimented by combining surrealism and nonlinear narrative in his films Lost Highway (1997), Mulholland Drive (2001) and Inland Empire (2006). While coming into and in the beginning of the 21st Century, filmmakers have been constantly applying their own nonlinear methods into their films frequently. Schizopolis (1996), Out of Sight (1998), The Limey (1999), Full Frontal (2002) and Che (2008) were all movies done by Steven Soderbergh. Gus Van Sants movies like Elephant (2003), Last Days (2005) and Paranoid Park (2007). Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai with his own creative style in films tried his hands in nonlinear narrative in the films Days of Being Wild (1991), Ashes of Time (1994), Chungking Express (1994), In the Mood for Love (2000) and 2046 (2004). Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has made all his films in a nonlinear fashion. Christopher Nolan uses the ideology of nonlinear narration the films Following (1998), Memento (2001) and The Prestige (2006). Memento followed a fragmented and reverse chronology narration in the film. This move was known as the film heading in the direction of post modernism storytelling in contemporary cinema. The narrative structure of the movie places the audience into the shoes of the protagonist. Therefore because of this structure, the viewers get turned into detectives and try to come up with their own solutions. TELEVISION In the east, Japanese animation or anime (As it is commonly known that the term anime is only referred to animations done by the Japanese or any of the eastern countries) implements nonlinear narration in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito (Traveller of Darkness, The Hat and Books), Touka Gettan and Baccano (Italian word which means ruckus). In the series Baccano the story varies from each episode. The events of the anime take place in various settings from the 1700s to the 1930s. The stories are somehow related with each other although not directly with countless number of plots and it is up to the viewer to piece it all together. The television series Lost created by J.J. Abrams extensively use the methodology of nonlinear narration. Set on an island, all the episodes of Lost have scenes interjected in them with a flashback or flashforward which is related to the primary storyline of the episode. Damages another series too uses disruptive narration. The beginning of each season starts off with an event and then travels back six months earlier. Each of the episodes will feature the past, present and future which leads up to the main storyline. Television reality shows like Big Brother, indirectly uses the methodology of nonlinear narration because of its interactivity. The public gets to decide that one of the contestants would get eliminated from the show. This kind of interaction plays with the participants as it develops very interesting scenarios for the public to view. Similar series like Big Brother are Im a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Back To Reality, Cabin Fever and Uttaradhikar (The Inheritance) a television show from Bangladesh.

The Dilemma of Cloning Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Topics

The Dilemma of Cloning      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Man is quickly approaching the reality of cloning a human being. Once regarded as a fantastic vision dreamed up by imaginative novelists, the possibility of creating a person in the absence of sexual intercourse has crossed over the boundaries of science fiction and into our lives. While genetic engineering has helped improve the quality of life for many people, it poses many ethical and moral questions that few are prepared to answer. The most current and volatile debate surrounding human cloning seemed to surface when the existence of Dolly, a clone-sheep, was announced on February 23, 1997 by Ian Wilmut and colleagues at the Roslin Institute in Scotland. The cloning technique, which had never been successfully performed in mammals before, involved transplanting the genes of an adult male sheep with a differentiated somatic cell and transferring them into a female sheep's egg, of which the nucleus had been removed. Since Dolly contained the DNA of only one parent, she was deemed the "delayed" genetic twin of a single adult sheep (1). Since the spring of 1998, several other genetic clones have been announced, including the Massachusetts cell research firm's claim of "designer cattle" and the talk of a cloned mouse in June (2). Skeptics wondered, if such animals as mice and sheep can be cloned, what frontiers remains except for.....us? Recent legislation by the Clinton Administration, following the announcement of Dolly's birth put a ban on any funding whatsoever in support of science dictated toward human cloning. "Personally, I believe that human cloning raises deep concerns, given our cherished concepts of faith and humanity", the President said in a June 1997 national radio address (3)... ... of doing so, and the prospect of cloning a human being is an issue which must be carefully weighed by scientists and legislators alike. It is an event that can shape the history of mankind, but it is also an event that can create history in itself.    Works Cited (1) http://bioethics.gov/pubs/cloning1/executive.htm (2) http://www.reason. com/biclone.html (3) http://www.reson.com/biclone.html (4) http://www.reason.com/opeds/eibert.html (5) http://www.nejm.org/content/1998/0338/0013/0905.asp#tref-6 (6) http://www.nejm.org/content/1998/0338/0013/0905.asp#ref-6 (7) "Cloning: Legal, Medical, Ethical, and Social Issues". Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Health and Environment of the Committee on Commerce. Serial n. 105-70. February 12, 1998. Pp. 14 (8) http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,17681,00.html

Theorectical Bases For Counseling :: essays research papers

Five major theoretical bases for counseling in psychology are biological, learning, cognitive, psychodynamic, and sociocultural. Each one of these perspectives searches for answers about behavior through different techniques and researching a clients childhood or adult life experiences looking for answers to different kinds of questions. Due to the different types and styles of counseling approaches, each counselor forms their own thoughts and explanations. The premise behind the biological perspective in psychology is that all actions, feelings, and thoughts are associated with different events in a person’s life. Biological psychologists examine how the electrical impulses, hormones, and chemicals flowing through the body can affect behavior. Physocologists are concerned with how the aspects of biology effect people’s emotions and their perception of events. Many of the important findings in psychology from the behavioral theory later evolving into the social learning theory or cognitive social learning theory. Behavior therapists used to believe that actions were responses to stimuli that were learned. This concept led to a broadening of psychology. Many groups that were often overlooked by psychologists until behavior therapy became the dominant school of psychology in the U.S. after the 1960's. The cognitive perspective of psychology focuses on the thought process. Psychologists from this school argue that it is necessary to know what is going on in the mind to fully understand why a person will do the things that they do. The reason for cognitive psychology is to understand how perceptions and interpretations relate to behavior. Why some people turn to violence when insulted while another person will not. Many critics of the psychodynamic therapy do not believe psychodynamic theories have any bearing on psychology. Based upon the fact that many of the psychoanalysis assumptions could not be verified. Research psychologists were more related to philosophy rather than clinical science. Though not as scientific as the other theories the psychodynamic theory is still associated with psychology. The sociocultural perspective concentrates on an individual’s culture or society rather than the individual. To understand why people show certain behavior traits. Psychologists look at what effects the person's community and how other people affect a person. These five theoretical bases are similar because they all try to determine what causes a person to be how they are. If I were to do counseling, I think I would like to become a behavior therapist. I am fascinated by what makes a person what they are, and why does a person do what they do?

Feminine Transformation In Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” Essay

Fiction is often used as a vehicle to convey radical ideas to readers. These ideas are usually reflected in the themes of the stories so that the clarity of expression is more apparent. The theme of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is quite unique in that it expresses feministic ideas in a seemingly ordinary situation. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a story that reveals various truths about the woman and chronicles the feministic transformation of this woman towards modern womanhood. Gilman employs the first person perspective in her story to allow her unnamed protagonist to reveal elements of her emotions that would otherwise be concealed from the audience. The protagonist, along with her physician husband and a certain Jenny move into a huge house for the purpose of her recovery from an illness; in the house the husband assigns a room for the both of them which is a large room with distinctive yellow wallpaper all over the walls. The protagonist is then disturbed by the wallpaper and begins to derive images from it which in turn is used as a metaphor for her feministic transformation. The earlier part of the tale reveals much about how the traditional woman actually is. The very first aspect of the traditional woman that one would easily notice from the text is a submissive personality. The lines, â€Å"But John says if I feel so, I shall neglect proper self-control; so I take pains to control myself – before him, at least, and that makes me very tired. † (Gilman) illustrate how the protagonist neglects her own feelings before her husband and this implies that if she prioritizes what her husband felt over what she felt, she was quite likely to do the same with other more menial things making her exceptionally submissive. Another aspect of the woman revealed in earlier parts of the tale is the feminine view on marriage. In the lines, â€Å"John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage. † (Gilman) the protagonist describes how her husband reacts to her when she complains about something weird in the house they were moving into. When the husband laughs, the protagonist concludes that this is normal when two people are married. In effect, the protagonist views marriage as an excuse for ridicule and the fact that she is married to someone requires that she accept that ridicule as part of being married. This is a strange perception on the part of the protagonist but because of the submissive attitude of this main character it is not surprising that she should think this way. Other than this, her submission even affects her desire to write as she conceals her writing, hence, the protagonist admits, â€Å"I did write for a while in spite of them; but it does exhaust me a good deal† (Gilman) because she had to write despite contradictions from her husband as this made her feel better. The decision of the protagonist to write expresses the protagonist’s, â€Å"struggle to throw off the constraints of patriarchal society in order to be able to write. † (Thomas) So, in these first few parts, the author describes the current state of the protagonist, where â€Å"Women were cast as emotional servants whose lives were dedicated to the welfare of home and family in the perservence of social stability†. (Thomas) In a way, the author even discreetly refers to the sexual inadequacies of the relationship by referring to a â€Å"nailed-down bed† in the lines, â€Å"I lie here on this great immovable bed – it is nailed down, I believe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gilman) Eventually, as the protagonist focuses her attention on the yellow wallpaper and the fact that her husband insists that they do not change it despite pleas from the protagonist, she begins to see the wallpaper as something else reflecting the bondage that she experienced from being isolated and treated inappropriately by her husband. This is quite clear in the lines, â€Å"Behind that outside pattern†¦a woman stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern. † (Gilman) Here, the protagonist initially describes a woman apparently caged behind the wallpaper patterns. While this could be images within the protagonist’s mind, it definitely reflects how she feels being in the room and in her situation. This image of bondage is further amplified by the lines, â€Å"At night in any kind of light†¦worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be. † (Gilman) It is at this point that the protagonist expresses an intrinsic feeling of bondage because she is not able to express it outwardly, and so, projects the feeling unto the wallpaper. This particular incident, â€Å"is a reaction to the lack of free agency that women had in the late 1800’s â€Å". (Gilbert) Soon, days before the last day the couple was to spend in the mansion, the protagonist breaks free and becomes a new, more liberal woman. This is implied in the lines, â€Å"I pulled and she shook, I shook and she pulled, and before morning we had peeled off yards of that paper;† (Gilman) which the protagonist used to describe her peeling off the paper. During the motions she admits to helping the woman behind the patterns but indirectly, this implies that the woman she was helping was herself. The act, therefore, of tearing the wallpaper was parallel to freeing the woman behind the patterns, and so, freeing herself from her personal bondage. (Garcia) The protagonist, hence, went from being a traditional woman to a liberated woman in her feminist transformation, even when the conclusions of the story seemed to imply that the protagonist had lost her mind because of the isolation, hence, the lines, â€Å"†I’ve got out at last,† said I, â€Å"in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back! † (Gilman) where she had finally fused her own persona with the persona of the woman behind the patterns. Quite obviously, the textual evidence in this tale consistently describe the struggles of a woman from being the kind enslaved by a patriarchal society to someone who was able to express her own individuality, albeit, unconventionally. The story very clearly describes how one woman transformed gradually from being traditional to being the new or modern woman. ? Works Cited Garcia, Viola. â€Å"Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†. † fgcu. edu. N. p. , 2009. Web. 1 Aug. 2010. . Gilbert, Kelly. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper: An Autobiography of Emotions by Charlotte Perkins Gilman . † fgcu. edu. N. p. , 2009. Web. 1 Aug. 2010. . Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper. † EastoftheWeb. com. N. p. , 2006. Web. 1 Aug. 2010. . Thomas, Deborah. â€Å"The Changing Role of Womanhood: From True Woman to New Woman in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†. † fgcu. edu. N. p. , 2009. Web. 1 Aug. 2010. .