The Nurture Assumption Essay Example for Free

The Nurture Assumption Essay I have always held the belief that Nature v Nurture is not a zero-sum game. To steal a line from T. S. Elliot’s The Hollow Men, I believe humans are born into this world a â€Å"shape without form. † That shape, of course, is our nature; the sum of our genetic make-up and natural tendencies based on some combination of predisposition and innate sense of self. The form, then, necessarily reflects our experiences and the way those have restructured our ‘self. ’ The nurture of our mind, particularly at a young age, is instrumental in providing depth and context to our natural shape. Both aspects of our ‘self’ are complimentary. Just like we are unable to understand shape without the context of form, we are similarly unable to understand humans without an understanding in the dynamic of both nature and nurture expressed through our behavior, desires, and interactions. Raising a virtual child did not change my initial thoughts on the collaborative importance of nature vs. nurture. However, I was curious to see what my child, Chase, would be like at 18, and so I answered each question thoughtfully based on what would be best for him. The feedback about Chase provided substantial evidence to backup my nature vs. nurture belief. The influence of nature on Chase’s development was evident in several life stages throughout the program. To begin, the assessments in Chase’s life revealed above average performances in multiple subject areas. This advanced state in development is a common result of a psychological perspective called the Core Knowledge Perspective. This states that infants are born with innate special purpose knowledge systems, which results in rapid early development. In the virtual child program, Chase was, â€Å"advanced in his gross and fine motor skills and seemed to have little goals that involved two steps of planning ahead. † On the flip side, after the positive feedback in specific areas, nurture highly influenced additional development in those areas. By choosing answers like, â€Å"encourage Chase to point to toys that are out of reach so you can get them for him, and encourage Chase to keep trying when there is an obstacle you know he can overcome†, his development is influenced by my decisions and nurturing. Chase was also above average in the language development area. Multiple early childhood development specialist assessed Chase and they determined that he was at a higher level in language development than his fellow peers. Some of their notes included statements like, â€Å"Chases language skills are developing rapidly† and â€Å"he scored in the above average range on tests of language comprehension and production, and provided unusually complete and grammatically mature sentences â€Å"he seems to know an unusual number of names for things. † Chase’s language development can be characterized by a psychological study called, Multiple Theories of Language Development. The combination of the Interactionist Theory and Behaviorist Theory combine the following influences on language development: inner capacities, the environment, and social context. Therefore, I can conclude that Chase’s advanced language development is a result of influences from both, nature (inner capacities), and nurture (environmental social). Chase showed signs of attachment to me and I immediately began several intervention strategies in order to prevent a serious attachment issue in the future. Attachment is an innate survival mechanism and is a system used to control things such as proximately, security, and emotional regulation. Thus it is obvious that attachment is determined through nature. However, studies have shown that children subject to feelings of attachment often have long term effects on behavioral characteristics like personality and communication. Chase was showing signs of attachment by reacting negatively in situations of separation. He was â€Å"hesitant to part with†¦Ã¢â‚¬  both, my â€Å"partner† and I, and he â€Å"started crying† immediately after the handover at the daycare. Moreover, this behavior is linked to the sensitivity and responsiveness of the mother/caregiver and is collinear to the influence of nurture. Lastly, Chase had a â€Å"larger than life† personality; he was very outgoing, and had a natural curiosity about him. His personality was influenced by the mutualistic relationship between nature and nurture. A specific focus on the science behind Chase’s temperament revealed a foundation of nature. The genetic contributors can be described as the â€Å"Biological Basis for Temperament. † Chase is characterized as uninhibited and outgoing, which is determined by obtaining qualities such as: positive reactions and approach to new stimuli, low heart rates, stress hormones and symptoms, and higher left hemisphere frontal cortex activity. In addition, temperament is also influenced by nurture. Therefore, his outgoing personality is the result of many factors like, his environment, relationships with family members, non-family peers, and etc. He was described as, â€Å"very outgoing and friendly with new people†, having â€Å"several good friends and gets invited to parties†, and â€Å"one of the most outgoing and popular seniors at the school. † I tried to choose answers that introduced Chase to new situations and people. Consequently, nurture also played a significant role in shaping Chase’s outgoing temperament. In conclusion, my previous thoughts about the influence of nature vs. nurture on human development go unchanged. As mentioned above, both aspects of our ‘self’ are complimentary. Just like we are unable to understand shape without the context of form. The only change that may have occurred from the Virtual Child program is the reinforcement of my initial understanding of nature vs. nurture.

Preventing Alcoholism Essay -- Public Health

Introduction Alcoholism affects all elements of health. Overuse of alcohol affects physical health as it affects the functioning of the liver; mental health as it affects the ability to think clearly and coherently; emotional health as it affects the ability to recognise and express emotions correctly. Social health is affected as alcohol may affect a person’s ability to create and maintain relationships, finally and most importantly it affects societal health as the individual's actions can have an adverse affect on everyone around them. Alcohol related injuries and diseases are the cause of 207, 800 National Health Service (NHS) admissions in 2006 compared to 93, 500 in 1996. ¹ This increase of more than 100% justifies my health promotion topic. Health promotion to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed by the general public could lead to less people admitted to hospital because of falls due to drunkenness, increased liver health, decreases in the number of cases of coronary heart disease, liver disease, hypertension, STIs and unplanned pregnancy. ²,  ³ The locations chosen were the Accident and Emergency Unit in Bradford Royal Infirmary and a local GP. I chose these locations as I felt they were relevant to the promotion of reducing alcohol consumption. If a person fell or was involved in violence while intoxicated, presumably the friends and relatives of potential patients would be in the accident and emergency unit while waiting for their loved one to be treated. They may pick the leaflet up and recognise the quiz involved relates to their loved one and urge them to get help or at least enquire with one of the local help groups. The other leaflet was taken from the local health centre, people who are attending would pr... ...hold a health fair with stalls providing people with information on the adverse affects of drinking, for example a stall taking pictures of people's faces and then showing the ageing effects binge drinking has on their appearance. Works Cited 1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7414322.stm Accessed on 04/12/2010 2. http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassetts/documents/digitalasset/dh_104854.pdf Accessed on 06/12/2010 3. http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/alcohol/Pages/Effectsofalcohol.aspx Accessed on 01/12/2010 4. http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/new_strategic_direction_for_alcohol_and_drugs_(2006-2011).pdf Accessed on 07/12/2010 5. http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_079327.pdf Accessed on 07/12/2010 6. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/112896/E93197.pdf Accessed on 07/12/2010

CASE: Gold Coast Advertising (GCA) Essay

George Stein sat in his large office overlooking Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. As CEO of the Gold Coast Advertising he seemed to always be confronted with one problem or another. Today was no exception. George had just come out of a long meeting with Jim Gerard, head of the board for the small advertising agency. Jim was concerned about a growing problem with lowered sales expectations and a decreasing customer base. Jim warned George that something had to be done quickly or Jim would have to go on the board of action. George acknowledges that sales were down but attributed this to general economic conditions. He assured Jim that the problems would be addressed immediately. As George pondered his next course of action, he admitted to himself that the customer base of GCA was slowly decreasing. The agency did not quite understand the reason for this decrease. Many regular customers were not coming back and the rate of new customers seemed to be slowly declining. GCA’s competitors seemed to be doing well. George did not understand the problem. What Do Customers Want? GCA was a Chicago-based advertising agency that developed campaigns and promotions for small and medium-sized firms. Their expertise was in the retail area, but they worked with a wide range of firms from the food service industry to the medical field. GCA competed on price and speed of product development. Advertising in the retail area was competitive and price had always been important. Also, since retail fashions change rapidly, speed in advertising development was thought to be critical. George reminded himself that price and speed had always been what customers wanted. Now he felt confused that he really didn’t know his customers. This was just another crisis that would pass, he told himself. But he needed to deal with it immediately.

Balanced Scorecard Essay

A balanced scorecard is very helpful to any organization and should be viewed as a very important document throughout the company. Wal-Mart has developed a scorecard so that their customers can see what goals that the company wants to achieve and also how to achieve those goals. If you look at the scorecard on a regular basis, then you will know exactly how your company is running and what areas you need to work on. Wal-Mart wants everyone to know where to look at their scorecard and how to achieve the goals that they feel will make them even more successful. Wal-Mart also expects that every employee should follow this scorecard to guarantee they are doing the right things to make the company grow even faster and stronger than they already are (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). The financial part is a very important part to Wal-Mart. With this part being successful you will be able to pay all the employees the right amount and also pay all the bills so that the company can make more money and keep thriving in the world today. Also with the financials down, the shareholders will see an increase in the amount of what the shares are selling for and that lets them know what they are making for owning those shares in the company. A competitive position is a major key within a huge retail chain like Wal-Mart. They are number one compared to other store chains similar to them. They continue building stores all over the world while a lot of the competitors keep shutting their stores down. Staying atop of this list is what makes Wal-Mart the leader in general merchandising stores (Wal-Mart Stores, 2013). Another major area of a balanced scorecard is how the customers see what Wal-Mart is doing. This is the most important part other than the  financials but work hand in hand with the financials. If the customers see Wal-Mart as a bad company then they will not buy the items that Wal-Mart is selling and then Wal-Mart will not be able to afford their bills and payroll and eventually have to close down. If they see Wal-Mart as a great place to shop then they will tell everyone that they know to shop there and that will make the revenue rise and make more profit for the company so that they can become even more successful in the future. The customers perspective always pays a big role in any company, if you keep them happy, then the will spend more money and time and energy with your company instead of your competitors (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). Innovation is what you need to do to improve the company and learn how to grow and become a stronger economy. Wal-Mart is trying to be innovative in how they get their ads out to the general public. They are starting to email adds out to individuals emails letting their customers know of great deals and opportunities that are coming up in the local stores (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). They are also developing an app for the smart phones of today with the deals and specials going on within the company. They are trying to get their products and service out in the community. Last but not least are the internal methods. They look at areas they think they will excel in and also the areas that will not excel so much at. The areas that Wal-Mart plans to excel at are usually the electronics. They look at other ideas to help them excel even more than usually and develop a plan to implement how to excel further in these areas. The Ares that are weak, they look for reasons that they are weak and how can they implement a plan to make those areas excel in also. When they can get all the areas in the store to excel greatly then they will become very successful and continue to grow beyond measure. This paper has demonstrated how a strategic plan of a balanced scorecard can help any company grow to a different standard. With these scorecard in effect and followed out completely then any company will succeed in everything that they want to do and become very successful. References Wal-Mart Stores. (2013, November 6). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Forbes. Balanced Scorecard Basics. (2014). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Balanced Scorecard INstitute: https://balancedscorecard.org/Resources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx

Why having an anti-role model is actually a good thing

Why having an anti-role model is actually a good thing We’re all aware of the value of having a role model in our lives- someone we can look up to and aspire to be like, a person who embodies the success and happiness, personal characteristics, behaviors, and mannerisms we hope to someday see within ourselves and have others notice within us. Having this sort of idealized model for us to measure ourselves up against can be beneficial in many ways. They can keep us motivated and on track as we work toward the individual goals we set out for ourselves. They can help us resist negative temptations and influences that could threaten to derail us. They can anchor our ambitions and concretely determine what we need to do in order to achieve the level of success, ambition, and happiness we envision for ourselves. The benefits of having a positive role model in our lives sounds like a no-brainer- but have you ever thought about the power of having an anti-role model and what it can do for you? It may sound strange or counterintuitive at f irst, but keep reading- there is a clear case to be made for why having an anti-role model in your life can be a good thing.What is an anti-role model?Let’s start off with a quick definition of an anti-role model. They represent the exact opposite of a positive role model- it’s someone who embodies the opposite behaviors, traits, and trajectory that you want to have in yourself and your life. An anti-role model often comprises everything that you want to work against and avoid as you plan your life and make progress toward your personal goals.Use negativity to motivate you to be your best selfDespite the negative connotations that immediately spring to mind when thinking about anti-role models, the truth is they can be powerful forces for good in our lives. Knowing what we don’t want to be can be just as powerful as watching someone who always does the right thing in any given situation. The eagerness to avoid becoming an unwanted version of ourselves can be a r eal impetus for positive change, and when forging our life paths it’s just as helpful to know what things we’d like to avoid as it is knowing where we’d like to end up.Set up your ideal career path early onFor many of us, this process of figuring out who we want to become stems from a series of trial and error events, and often-painful life lessons. However, having an anti-role model early on can go a long way to helping you avoid having to make some pretty big mistakes. An anti-role model can also equip you with a set of ethical and moral guidelines and boundaries to adhere to as you journey through life and try to be your best self.Knowing who you don’t want to be can help you figure how who you do want to be. The bottom line is this: if you imagine life as a journey along a path that you set for yourself, knowing the direction you don’t want to move in can be just as helpful as being aware of the right direction for you and can keep you from mak ing a wrong move and getting lost.So, have we convinced you of the potential benefit of having an anti-role model in your life? If so, and you know someone who may fit the bill in this capacity, then consider using your association with them as a positive force for motivation, direction, and change in your life. Good luck!

Criminal Justice Agency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminal Justice Agency - Essay Example To their tribute, the legal structure and law enforcement agencies have not disregarded this predicament. Several courts and lawmaking organizations have, at different times, deliberated and established special measures to safeguard against eyewitness inaccuracy. The majority of States and local law enforcement agencies have recognized their own rules, practice, and instructional procedures concerning the gathering and management of eyewitness proof, several of which are reasonably excellent. The police department is on the clock enforcing the rule of law. The mandate of the police department is to make sure the evidence and testimonies in their custody is true and give the correct account of any incident that occurred and reported to the departments. Investigation on theatre is also important to verify the credibility of the witness testimonial. The scrutiny of the sites is very important since there may be other observers who saw different happening of the reported events. Therefor e, the vigilance of the police on the evidence presented on cases makes the department of police obligated on the provision of protection of the witness, verification of the information relayed and conduction of separate inquiries of the cases to gather more evidence. That is instrumental in assisting the lawmakers achieve instillation of the rule of law to both the offender and the offended. Crime control and crime prevention Crime is a phenomenon that occurs when the profits overweigh losses. The fact that the trend of crime occurs when one finds it plausible for them to have their personal reasons outweigh their morals creates crime in its essence. Crime is a rational choice that many people decide to take and act upon their choice. The modern strategy predicament for a law enforcement agency rests among crime control and crime prevention. Specifically, what methods to use are more functional to trim down crime and alleviate public safety becomes the hard question for the agency. These topics attempts to help law enforcement agencies to make such decisions. The purpose of the topics is to evaluate and evaluate the effectiveness of crime control and crime prevention programs. It adds to criminal justice application by representation of the policy repercussion concerning the competence of these programs (Hughes, 1998). Before implementation of any crime reduction program one needs to first inquire whether the realization of each of these crime reduction programs is either proficient or inefficient. Although recently deliberation on impartiality, responsiveness, and crime control, effectiveness is still an essential thought in guiding both educational study and administration practice. The center on competence adds data on efficiency and value of performance in criminal justice programs (Cowell, & Stenson, 1991). This is due to the concept of effectiveness evaluates the link between program yield and program finances. Criminal justice program assessments focus mostly on value. On the other hand, the use of these control measure also strike questions on their proficiency in crime control. The best deliberation is a comparative knowledge on the control measures the law enforcement needs to incorporate. Crime prevention is a mandate the police department is aware if but it becomes a collective task since the department cannot function singly. The community the police is protecting needs to come up with measures to assist the police give more

E-commerce law in European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

E-commerce law in European Union - Essay Example To quote the report, most retailers "still seem to operate on the assumption that the internal market is partitioned along national lines".1 Doubts over the enforcement of e-commerce laws among the member countries of the European Union have been expressed by stakeholder groups like the European Digital Rights (EDRi). Concerns regarding the future of electronic commerce in the E.U. internal market have arisen because of insufficient surety of legal action by the governments, institutions and private parties. It is said that lack of certainty resulting in legal action may undermine human rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of information, freedom of thought, freedom of creation, the right to education, as well as the rights to privacy and the protection of personal data.2 2 â€Å"EU E-Commerce Law May Undermine Human Rights, Group Says†. IDG News. 11 Nov. 2010. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/210408/eu_ecommerce_law_may_undermine_human_rights_group_says.html The governments, industry groups and E.U. are looking to tighten online privacy to protect user data. As per the Wall Street report, paper work is in processing stage to create â€Å""A comprehensive approach on personal data protection in the European Union." The E.U. member states view the protection of personal data a fundamental right while on the other hand the Digital Due Process coalition, an industry group with members such as Google, eBay, Microsoft, AT&T, the ACLU and Americans for Tax Reform have different plans on privacy reforms. They are against any more protections. Conflicting stakes have created the need to define and enforce rules clearly and limit the undue interference of the regulators.3 As per the new strategy paper of the European Commission, â€Å"People should be able to give their informed consent to the processing of their personal data,† the European Commission said Thursday in a new strategy paper. The E.U. has finally decided to