Hypertext as a Medium for Writing Essay -- Exploratory Papers

Hypertext as a Medium for composingThis paper allow compare and analyze theoretical ideas found in Hamlet on the Holodeck by Janet H. Murry foc employ on Chapter 10 Hamlet on the Holodeck as it relates to hypertext as a specific medium for writing, and Writing Space by Jay David Bolter focusing on Chapter 7 Interactive Fiction and chapter 8 Critical Theory in a New Writing Space and their emphasis on digital poetry and the change magnitude role of the reader in the reading process. The information interpreted from these two works will then be compared to the interactive hypertext webpage entitled Heading South by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) English graduate student, Cheryl wind.In parity to hypertext, the role of the reader seems to be more interactive than that of a typical offline reading. A large amount of evidence supporting the assumption that the reader plays an increased interactive role in interactive or hypertext material is found in both Hamlet on the Holod eck and Writing Space. These examples show how Cheryl Balls poetry is easy to follow and how readers are able to play an interactive part in observing her material. As background information relating to digital poetry and the readers role, Janez Strevhovec, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Academy of Visual Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia states, Today digital poetry provides us with new, provocative, and challenging, to sensitivity even testing forms of experiencing. It is a medium that arse only be understood on the basis of analysis of the present world of the new media, and new perception forms, which originate in the interface kitchen-gardening (Strehovec 4). Strehovecs description of digital poetry simply addresses that it is presented in a new-aged... ...-established outcomes or only a few to choose from. I believe using hypertext as a medium for writing can only increase the importance placed on the reading, not lesson it. The information from Bolter, Murray, and wha t I have gained from evaluating Balls web site has helped me to become better aware of different aspects of hypertext, and what I will and will not use when creating my own webpage. Works CitedBolter, Jay David. Writing Space Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print. Maywah Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001.Murray, Janet H. Hamlet on the Holodeck The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Cambridge The MIT Press, 2001.Strehovec, Janez. Text as a Loop/On the Digital Poetry. The University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2003. Retrieved from the World tolerant Web 15 March 2004.http//hypertext.rmit.edu.au/dac/papers/Strehovec.pdf

On Social Classes In Jane Austens Pride And Prejudice :: essays research papers

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, life for the upper-middle class and the aristocracy was simple and comfortable, at least on the surface. Strict manners and &8220morals, that often prevented them from asserting or protecting themselves, bound these deuce classes of people. Such lifestyles are illustrated quite honestly in Jane Austen&8217s novel, dress and Prejudice. The characters in this novel have comfortable lives on the surface however, internally they are victims of their social status.The husband and wife duo of Collins and Charlotte Lucas-Collins are two prime examples of this mentality. Collins, who is a minister, and bound by the social class of his benefactor, Lady Catherine, always puts on a faade that makes him seem much classier than normal when he is around others. He constantly showed off his possessions. Charlotte, Collins&8217 wife, was not so much his wife by choice, but rather, out of necessity. Charlotte, a twenty-seven grade one-time(a) single woman nearly doomed to remain a spinster for the rest of her life, had to marry soon, and the only man that made a plan was Collins, therefore she had to say yes.Mrs. Bennet, the mother of Eliza, always hurriedly rushes about to get her daughters married. Her haste is understandable, partly, because, the Bennet family has no male heir, therefore any daughters left unmated will be thrust into poverty upon their father&8217s death. However, most of her rushing seems nothing more than the nagging, useless bickering of a gossiping old biddy. Mr. Bingley seems not to be a victim per se, but the people around him and their superficial motives tend to cause him harm. His sister, Caroline, causes many people to avoid Bingley because of her snobbishness. Mr. Darcy, though comfortably intentioned, almost ruins Bingley&8217s most promising marriage conquest by breaking Bingley and Jane Bennet up.

Tourism Essay -- essays research papers fc

Currently, ecotourism is rapidly becoming one of the worlds largest industries. According to the World Trade Organization, 600 million people traveled to see surroundal areas in 2000, spending more than 500 billion U.S. dollars. This makes ecotourism one of the worlds number one earners, ahead of automotive products, chemicals, petroleum, even food .But, what merely is ecotourism? Ecotourism happens to be a special branch of tourism. The Conservation International defines it best saying it is responsible travel that promotes the conservation of nature and sustains the well being of local anaesthetic people . There has been dramatic growth of participation in outdoor recreation and ecotourism activities. The bad impacts of ecotourism have led to high demands and this has attracted tourist developers looking to accession the environment, answering the tourists demands. Unfortunately, there are very few rules or regulations regarding ecotourism and its development. And because of t he lack of rules tourism developers are destroying the environment. This problem can not go unnoticed. We are running out of places to ruin, and we will soon not have any where to call home. According to Erlet Cater and Gwen Lowman,The much needed rules and regulations must admit good and environmentally sensitive, infrastructure-including airports, transport and communications networks, and sanitation and electricity supplies. But above all else, sustainable ecotourism requires commissionful planning . Without this planning, ecotourism is doing more harm that good. I will show how these tourist developers are putting huge strains on the environment and how the effects of this expression will eventually leave the land with the softness to cope with the drastic changes. I believe with carefully planned ecotourism development and rules and regulations, we can make ecotourism and the environment blend simultaneously. First, the tourist developers are adding increased insisting to the limited natural resources, especially in places... ...ions to stop all this destructive behavior. Letting this growing problem go unnoticed will lead to the environments crumbling. We have no other options when it comes to living on another planet, at least at the moment. We need to establish harsher rules and take better care of where we call home.In conclusion, now that I have explained what tourist developers are doing wrong and what they are doing to destroy our environment we can see that the effects of their behavior have been devastating. We are running out of places to ruin and resources to use up. Someone must step up and create rules so we can protect our environment instead of destroying the earth. BibliographyCater, Erlet, and Lowman, Gwen. Ecotourism-a sustainable option?. New York, 1994.Croall, J. (1995) Preserve or Destroy Tourism and the Environment. LondonCalouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Ecotourism. Online Posting. 2 February 2002. 27 January 2004. Theobald, Wil liam. Global Tourism the next decade. Oxford, 1994.Worpole, K. (1999) drive Forces. The Guardian, 8 June.

Introducing New Software and Hardware :: Sales Consumerism Technology Essays

Introducing New Software and HardwareICT Coursework-SpreadsheetIdentifyMr Smith, who is the owner of JC SPORTS, has discovered three mainproblems with his shops basketball sales, these were due to1. The old- make manual systems in his company. (Manual system).2. The want of interest for the latest new products on the market. (Marketing system).3. The lack of a new hardware & packet systems. (Computer system).Surprisingly, because of poor product handling, out of all the salesin his sports and design shop, the amount of basketball sports goodssold dropped massively over the past six months.At the time, I happened to assist Mr Smith as he was save downhis sales. Mr Smith was not very clever when it came to usingcomputers. He needed a quite a lot of alleviateing out.Due to the fact that I was one of his best customers, Mr Smith thenshowed me his most baffling results that he recently found out. Theproblem was that Mr Smith was pretty old fashioned and used theancient, long gone m anual technology like the typewriter to sort outhis business instead of using the modern day computer software andtechnology such as the word processor and the spreadsheet.Since I was compiling this project, I offered to attend him solve thisvery problem by myself doing a series of outline on the sales,marketing and systems later on in that very same week. It was achallenge. Mr Smith was very much obliged and gave me his sales narrationimmediately. I also advised him to shape up and use the latestup-to-date, business & industrial technology around him and not usehis very old, power technology.Later on at home, as I assessed the report, I took into considerationany possible alternative solutions and objectives of the followingconcerning a sales analysis, marketing analysis and a system analysis.These were==========1. Write a questionnaire Write questionnaire in Microsoft Word. (Forthe customers- Customers exit fill it in)2. Do a survey Plot survey results in Microsoft PowerPoin t. (For thecustomers- Questionnaires will be sent out to customers as part ofsurvey)3. Enter all information and data into both Microsoft Word andMicrosoft Excel.4. Cut down prices this will help by attracting customers who wouldlike to buy the product at an affordable price.5. Include deals this is making special offers to customers that theywill find hard to resist.6. Advertise this will help more and more people, customers andbusiness associates know more about the product.7. Introduce new appropriate hardware and software.AnalyseContinuing assessing my project, I conducted a feasibleness study on

Contributions of Thomas Jefferson :: essays research papers

In the year 1800, Thomas Jefferson succeeded John Adams and became the next President of the United States. When coming into office he had numerous ideas of how he wanted to have the country run. Also, in being the front man to the Republican Party he had several people supporting(a) those ideas. However, Jefferson soon realized that not all of his ideas would be able to be incorporated into the government as simply as he assumed and what is more that some of his ideas were not as great as the assumed. Nevertheless, although Jefferson may not have lived up to all of his campaign promises and the expectations of his party, he did use his time as president efficiently and developed the new reputation of the United States.Jefferson was called The Man of the People with his philosophy of government being to put more power into the pass on of the people and limiting the power of government. He was concerned that high taxes, standing armies, and civic corruption could demolish American liberty by giving as well much authority to the government. Moreover, Jefferson thought common liberty required a common good and to put this ahead of ones personal social welfare and make sure to keep the government from growing out of control. He thought the most honorable citizens were the knowledgeable farmers and that cities were a breeding ground for those who would acquaint a threat to liberty. This was because men who relied on merchants or factory proprietors for employment could manipulate their employees votes, as opposed to farmers who were their own bosses.To a degree Thomas Jefferson was virtual(a) when it came to foreign affairs. As an alternative to doing what his political party anticipated him to do he would make decisions based on the common good of the country. For instance, in 1803 when Jefferson was in the midst of his plan to rid America of its national debt, he bought the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon Bonaparte for $15 million, which was nearly the pri ce of the national debt he was trying to dispose of. Being realistic Jefferson bought it because it was a bargain to pay for nearly doubling the size of the United States, made it so the U.S wasnt sandwiched betwixt Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars, and acquired New Orleans. However, most Federalists opposed the purchase and Americans didnt get a chance to vote on whether or not to buy it.

Contributions of Thomas Jefferson :: essays research papers

In the year 1800, doubting Thomas Jefferson succeeded John Adams and became the next President of the United States. When coming into use he had numerous ideas of how he wanted to have the country run. Also, in being the front man to the Republican Party he had several plurality supporting those ideas. However, Jefferson soon realized that not all of his ideas would be able to be incorporated into the government as simply as he assumed and furthermore that some of his ideas were not as great as the assumed. Nevertheless, although Jefferson may not have lived up to all of his campaign promises and the expectations of his party, he did use his age as president efficiently and developed the new reputation of the United States.Jefferson was called The Man of the People with his philosophy of government being to put more advocator into the hands of the people and limiting the power of government. He was concerned that high taxes, standing armies, and civic corruption could demolish A merican liberty by natural endowment too much authority to the government. Moreover, Jefferson thought common liberty required a common good and to put this ahead of ones in-person wellbeing and make sure to keep the government from growing out of control. He thought the most honorable citizens were the knowledgeable farmers and that cities were a breeding setting for those who would pose a threat to liberty. This was because men who relied on merchants or factory proprietors for employment could manipulate their employees votes, as opposed to farmers who were their own bosses.To a degree Thomas Jefferson was pragmatic when it came to foreign affairs. As an alternative to doing what his political party anticipated him to do he would make decisions based on the common good of the country. For instance, in 1803 when Jefferson was in the midst of his plan to rid America of its content debt, he bought the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon Bonaparte for $15 million, which was nearly the price of the national debt he was trying to dispose of. Being realistic Jefferson bought it because it was a bargain to pay for nearly doubling the size of the United States, made it so the U.S wasnt sandwiched between Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars, and acquired New Orleans. However, most Federalists opposed the purchase and Americans didnt get a chance to vote on whether or not to profane it.

General Essay on Chinese Religions Essay

Early Chinese piety belongs to the mythical and prehistoric period. Tradition speaks of the lineages of Chinese culture lying in the 3rd millennium BCE with the Hsia dynasty. As of yet no historical evidence has been imbed for such a dynasty in all references to it ar mythical. It is only with the Shang dynasty, which is traditionally dated from 1766 to 1122 BCE, that we find evidence of a developing culture and spiritual practices. The religion of the Shang was principally characterised by the use of oracle bones for divination and the development of the cult of ancestors.It was believed that the cracks that resulted from burning ox bones or tortoise shells delineate messages displace from the gods or so a variety of matters such as illness, the weather or hunting. Belief in deities and the practice of the worship of ancestors has persisted in Chinese life, and has come to frame the basis of what has broadly been termed popular religion. Popular religion in fact represents a mixture of early religion and elements of the triplet great religions Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. At the heart of popular religion is the worship of deities and veneration of ancestors at shrines in the home or temples.There atomic number 18 many deities associated with this form of religion, but the best known are Shang Ti, the supreme ruler of heaven, and Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy and protector of women and children. In the Chou dynasty a more structured form of religion developed. This is associated with the teaching of Kung-Fu Tzu (551-479 BCE), whose Latinised name is Confucius. Confucius sought to establish a socio- semi policy-making ethical system, with theological beliefs concerned with gentleman destiny and the conduct of human relationships in society, based on a belief in the truth of human constitution.He believed in a providential Heaven (Tien) and in prayer which encouraged him in his mission. He emphasised the five relationships namely, Father-So n Ruler-Subject Husband-Wife eldest son to brothers friend and friend to be expressed by li (correct ceremony) to bring he (harmony). Such relationships were rooted in family piety which came to give a prominent place to Ancestor Worship and to respect for deified men, which came to find expression in the Sacrifices of the State religion. The Confucian fireon can be divided into both parts the v Classics and the Four passwords.The Five Classics were handed down from prior terms and emphasised by Confucius. These are the watchword of Odes the Book of History the Book of Rites the Book of Divination and the Spring and Autumn Annals. The Four Books consist of The Analects (Conversations of Confucius) the Doctrine of the Mean The Great Learning and the Book of Mencius. Out of the teachings of Confucius emerged various schools associated with a master. Notable was the work of Meng-Tzu (c. 371-c. 289 BCE) and Hsun-Tzu (300-230 BCE).Meng-Tzu and Hsun-Tzu formed rival schools whose doctrinal differences were based in a fundamentally different conception of human nature. Meng-Tzu taught that people were fundamentally good and that what made them bad was their environment. Consequently, Meng-Tzu emphasised the importance of education as a kernel for bringing out the innate goodness of people. By way of contrast, Hsun-Tzu had a more pessimistic view of human nature. Hsun-Tzu taught that people were inherently evil, and that they could only be taught to be good through training.He also was religiously sceptical, teaching that religious ritual had no purpose except to provide moral training. It was this negative attitude towards religion that was one of the principal(prenominal) factors behind the subsequent rejection of the teachings of Hsun-Tzu by mainstream Confucianism and the establishment of Meng-Tzus teachings as orthodox. At the same time that Confucianism was developing, two rival schools were mobile in China the Mohists and the Legalists. Mohism was fo unded by Mo Tzu (c. 470-390 BCE). Mo Tzu advocated universal love and opposed the elaborate and expensive rituals that defined Chinese religious life.This put him at odds with Confucianism in that Confucianism advocated grouchy love for ones parents as head as the importance of ritual for interpersonal relations. Although during the 4th century Mohism was strong enough to rival Confucianism, it went into free fall in the 3rd century, and by the time of the unification of China in 221 had virtually disappeared. It is unclear why the tradition declined so quickly. Legalism is more of a political philosophy than a religion. The various strands of legalist doctrine were systematised by Han Fei Tzu (d.233 BCE). Han Fei Tzu had been taught by Hsun Tzu and adopted his pessimistic attitude to human nature. Unlike Hsun Tzu, Han Fei Tzu did not believe that people could be reformed, advocating instead a strong, even ruthless, form of government that could control human behaviour. Legalist principles were put into effect by the Chin dynasty, which unified China in 221 BCE, and was subsequently overthrown in 207 BCE. The brief rule of the Chin had a devastating impact on Confucianism, whose scholars it persecuted and whose books it destroyed.Fortunately for the tradition, Confucianism received official acceptance of the Han dynasty and flourished during the Han period. Under the Han dynasty (206 BCE 220CE), the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), and the birdcall dynasty (960-1127CE) Confucian teaching was used for public examinations. In 631 CE the Confucian canon was made the sole subject for the examination of aspirants to official positions, so Confucianism came to be known as Ju-chiao, the Doctrine of the learned. During the Sung dynasty (960-1126 CE) Neo-Confucianism emerged as a distinct movement in response to Taoism and Buddhism.Two traditions of Neo-Confucian thought emerged the School of Principle, represented by Chu Hsi (1130-1200), and the School of Mind, repres ented by Lu Chiu Yuan (1139-1193) and, later, Wang Yang Ming (1472-1529). Chu Hsi sought to provide a metaphysical explanation of the nature of reality as well as an ethic for human conduct. For Chu Hsi the basis of all reality was the Supreme Ultimate (Tai Chi). In order for people to live properly they had to barf their chi (vital energy) through taming their desires so that they could be united with the Supreme Ultimate.In reaction to Chu Hsis dualistic perception of reality Lu Chiu Yuan presented a monistic picture of the universe. He claimed that the universe and the mind are one. Therefore, through understanding ones own mind one could understand the nature of the cosmos. This was developed by Wang Yang-ming. Wang Yang-ming believed that individuals could perfect themselves through moral self-cultivation. This involved returning to an original mind whose principal quality was love (jen). Also of ancient origin is Taoism whose classic text, the Tao Te Ching, is attributed to a supposed contemporary of Confucius (551-479), Lao Tzu.This text has had many interpreters whose works fuddle developed in various sects, some of which deplete been very influential. There are two streams of Taoism Religious Taoism, which is represented by the many sects concerned with the quest for immortality, and Philosophical Taoism, which was concerned to explain the human condition. The major imported religion is Mahayana Buddhism which is believed to have entered China in the 1st century BCE. An strategic early Buddhist teacher was An Shih Kao who founded what came to be known as the Dhyana School, characterised by its emphasis on meditation.Another major early school was the Prajna school whose doctrines were based on the interpretation of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita). It was, however, between the 5th and eighth centuries that Buddhist schools flourished and developed in China. Schools that were active at this time were San-Lun, Ching-tu, Tien-tai, Chan, Ch u-she, Hua-yen, Lu, San-chieh, Fa-hsiang and Chen-yen. The great persecution of Buddhism in the middle of the 9th century light-emitting diode to its rapid decline, and by the time of the Sung dynasty only the Chan and Ching-tu schools remained significant.Incursions from the West began at an early date, mainly in regard to trade and commerce from Arabia and India, probably to Canton or Hangchow. Infiltration of a different kind took place under the Mongols (1260-1368), when the armies of Ghengis Khan spread westwards over countries occupied by the Muslims. The records of the Yuan dynasty indicate that many distinguished officials (both phalanx and civil) were Muslims, bringing with them knowledge of Arabic science known to Kublai Khan and the use of catapults in siege warfare. In Ming times Arabic books on science came into the empurpled library.After the Mongol period, no great influx of Muslims took place, but they spread into most provinces of China, especially in the north-w est and west (the provinces of Kansu, Szechwan and Yunnan) and in the north-east (in Manchuria and Hipei). They mainly live in their own communities in their mosques and schools. Their first mosque appears to have been built in Sian in 742. Another group attracted by commerce were the Jews who traded across profound Asia, during the Tang dynasty (618-907), whose communities have mainly been along the sea board in cities such as Shanghai and Canton.The earliest evidence we have of a Jewish community in China derives from a letter written in the 8th century by a Jewish merchant I China. By the 9th century there was a distinct Jewish community in Kaifung, its continued presence evidenced by the construction of a synagogue in the city in 1163. From the 15th century onwards the Jews became increasingly integrated into Chinese life to the extent that by the 19th century the community had all but lost its distinctive identity.As a result of the western colonialism of China in the 19th cen tury and the establishment of new trading contacts with europium Jews settled in some of the major cities of China. Christianity came to China first by the way of Nestorian Christians, after the arrival of A-Lo-Pen in 781 where it flourished for two centuries (by favour of the over-embellished court) until the reign of Wu Tsung who closed the monasteries and persecuted the church. It flourished again under Mongol rule in the 13th century, and in 1289 Kublai Khan established an office for the supervision of Christians.At about this time the Roman Catholic Church came to the Mongol empire, when a Franciscan monk came to the Khans court of Kharatorui in 1246. Shortly after that St Louis of France sent an embassy, followed by Marco Polo in 1275 a request from Kublai Khan for a hundred teachers did not, however, bear fruit apart from a small Franciscan mission led by John of Monterovino, who was appointed Archbishop in Cantilec in 1289, and under him three bishops were appointed. Then in the 16th century the Society of Jesus became very active in China inspired by the work of Francis Xavier who had preached in India and Japan.Matteo Ricci came to Canton in 1610 and then to Peking, where he founded a Christian community and gained excrescence as an outstanding astronomer. From that time the Roman Catholic Church has continued despite periods of persecution. Protestant missions date from 1807 with W. Morrisons arrival in Canton for the London missional Society. Other missions soon followed with the Presbyterians in 1847, the Anglicans in 1849 and the Methodists in 1850. Also prominent have been the China Inland Mission, under Hudson Taylor an interdenominational missionary society.In the twentieth century house churches have been prominent, often associated with such evangelists as Watchman Key. These Protestant activists have contributed greatly to educational and medical developments as well as political and social influences from the West these were often ba cked by military force and, therefore, deeply resented. Recent changes under Communist influence, led by Mao, have been profound, strengthening agnostic tendencies for many in the population. Traditional religious practices are still continued in many homes in China and among overseas Chinese.In recent times relaxation of restriction has given fresh opportunity for religious activity. Many Taoist and Buddhist temples, as well as mosques and churches, are being renovated and reopened. Greater openness to the West has been accompanied by renewed conversion to Christianity the demise of communism has encouraged the rediscovery of traditional religious values. Taiwan has provided an important haven for traditional Chinese religions, as well as the establishment of new religions, since the Nationalist government established itself on the island in 1949.A progeny of syncretic movements such as San-I-Chiao (Three in One Religion), were suppressed in China following the Communist triumph, but have found a haven in Taiwan. Other interesting traditions that have been transplanted to Taiwan are those which are collectively designated the Hsien Tien Tao (Way of Former Heaven sects). Five of the best known of these are the I-kuan Tao, the Tung shan She, the Tien-te Shang-chiao, the the Tao-yuan, and the Tzu-hui Tang. These are characterised by a belief in a creator deity (usually a cosmic Mother figure) from whom humanity has strayed.These sects also claim to transcend all other religions and, therefore, provide a way by which all these religions can be united. All but one (the Tzu-hui Tang) were founded in mailand China, later moving to Taiwan. The Tzu-hui Tang was itself founded in Taiwn in 1949. Also originating from the mainland are the spirit-writing cults. These are cults which derive religious beliefs and practices from a deity mediating through an entranced medium. The practice of spirit writing has been a part of Chinese life probably since the Tang dynasty (618- 907).In the 19th century a spirit-writing movement developed in China and entered Taiwan in the same century. This continues to be part of the Taiwanese religious landscape to the present day. There are, of course, a number of recently emerged distinctively Taiwanese movements. Xuan Yuan Jiao (Religion of the Yellow Emperor) was founded in Taiwan in 1957. Xuan Yuan Jiao represents the attempt to recapture the spirit of pre-Han Chinese religion through incorporating Taoist, Confucianist and Mohist teachings and interpreting these as emanating from a tradition that derives from the Yellow Emperor.The religion is highly political in character since its purpose is to revive Chinas national spirit following the loss of the mainland to communism. Buddhism continues to flourish in Taiwan. Following the Communist victory in mainland China in 1949 a further wave of Buddhist monks arrived in Taiwan from the mainland. This has strengthened the presence of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism in the islan d and influenced the character of earlier traditions. Since 1950 the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China has been the focal point of Taiwanese Buddhism.This is responsible for ordination ceremonies for Buddhist monks, nuns and lay people. In more recent long time Taiwanese Buddhism has adopted a more missionary approach both within Taiwan and abroad, particularly in North America. In the 1960s two important Buddhist organizations emerged the Tzu Chi Compassion Relief Foundation and Fo Kuang Shan. The first of these was founded in 1966 by a self-ordained nun named Cheng-yen. This organization has sought to forgo a strong degree of social concern into Taiwanese Buddhism.Fo Kuang Shans origins can be dated to 1967 when when a Chinese monk, the Ven. Hsing-yun, opened a temple at Fo Kuang Shan in Southern Taiwan. Like the Tzu Chi Compassion Relief Foundation, Fo Kuang Shan emphasizes social action as a means to promote Buddhist values. More recently, Ling Jiao Shan in the nort h of Taiwan has become a centre of Buddhist activity. Founded by Master Hsin Tao, Ling Jiao Shan has acquired prominence within Taiwan and beyond on account of its establishment of a museum of world religions with branches in Taiwan and the United States.

Education has undergone a paradigm shift

Education has undergone a paradigm displacement in recent old eras with evince traveling towards larning kinda than learning. Learning is no longer regarded as a unidirectional procedure of k outrightledge transferral/distri bution, but instead is considered a convertational procedure in which apprentices get facts, theories and rules as conceptual tools for problem-solving and concluding within meaty contexts. withdrawnness encyclopaedism ( DL ) has non been immune to this displacement and the technological developments of recent decennaries has hastened the rate of alteration. remoteness skill is defined by the separation of educatee and teacher in infinite and/or clip ( Teaster and Blieszner, 1999 ) and Keegan ( 1995 ) considers that it consequences from the technological separation of scholar and instructor which removes the indispensability of going to a fixed topographic demo at a fixed clip to run into a fixed individual in assemble to be trained or educated ( p.7 ) . Although outgo acquisition might be thought of as a comparatively new term, it has existed in versatile signifiers for over a hundred old ages, get toss off life through correspondence classs and go oning in this manner until world superseded by readingal telecasting and wireless in the mid twentieth century ( Imel, 1996 ) .While it is acknowledged that DL continues to take topographic point through various(a) media, and that on-line(a) bringing is merely one of these methods, the groundswell in synergistic engineerings in recent old ages has concomitantly fostered the development of new methodological analysiss which engender ( social ) establishivist attacks, and it is the issues which surround these developments, and in peculiar some of the ways in which constructivist ideals fecal matter be realised in DL that will be the focal point of this assignment. One of the dramatic characteristics of DL is that it enables larning to be clip and topographic point inde pendent, big scholars be able to set up larning around their mundane modus operandis without being constrained. In the age of IT a diverse scope of instruction ( and new(prenominal) ) engineerings exist to ease blank space instruction where teacher and scholar ar spatially separated and on-line media ar used to cross the educational spread. As engineering has advanced, so the definition of DL has changed, videotaped talks were the standard signifier of bringing in university/ maestro DL classs in the 1980s and 1990s ( Moore and Lockee, 1998 ) and this metaphysical account of spacial and temporal separation continued until the Internet, electronic mail and compressed picture travel DL into new waies and allowed it to happen in real-time. Ongoing technological developments confab suites, wikis, treatment boards, weblogs and videoconferencing have continued to cut down the outdistance in DL as societal media engineerings have enabled an addition in participation through coactio n. The custom of Web 2.0 tools has accelerated the acceptance of two-way, synchronal, collaborative e-learning experiences that are get pour down to replace the top-down, unidirectional instructional theoretical account. These alterations have led many observers to propose that DL requires a new, qualitatively different teaching method build upon this emerging relationship between teachers and scholars. Pedagogical considerations must recognize that the practical schoolroom possesses a typical social-fundamental interaction context and that, although engineerings may be considered transformative, they provide non, of themselves, transform the acquisition experience and pedagogues must understand that distance instruction is truly about do a different sort of construction for acquisition and instruction, non the u rational of engineering ( Kearsley 1998, no page no. ) .Petraglia ( 1998 ) has suggested that educational engineers may hold misunderstood the challenges which are posed within the DL scene by the motion to do learning stuffs and surrounds correspond to the existent universe prior to the scholar s interaction with them ( p.53 ) . These efforts at pre-authentication hazard sabotaging the epistemic dimension of constructivism since the pedagogue pre-determines what steady-going acquisition is, and this may be in struggle with the scholar s ain perceptual experience of what is reliable for them. This effort at contextualising larning bounds constructivism s covering since we need to convert scholars of a jobs genuineness instead than advance environments that deliver pre- authenticated jobs ( ib. , p.13 ) .Knowles, Holton and Swanson ( 1998, p.23 ) have criticised chain-like sequencing of larning events as being elemental instead than holistic, and yet some online acquisition theoretical accounts still use chain-like sequencing which fail to integrate constructivist elements or take advantage of grownup larning theories to heighten the acquisition environment.Since DL operates in a different environment from the traditional schoolroom, distance pedagogues must utilize typical perceptual experiences and techniques to guarantee success, and some educationists ( Moller, 1998 Petraglia, 1998 Jonassen, Davidson, Collins, Campbell and Haag, 1995 ) have proposed that constructivism is most applicable to this context. Furthermore, grownup scholars have peculiar demands and demands compared with striplings and kids, hence, distance pedagogues must cognize how adults might larn best because of their peculiar demands. Therefore, this assignment will try to analyze the regard that constructivism has in the distance acquisition environment when focussed upon grownup scholars, and the ways in which new engineerings are back uping the development of constructivist and societal constructivism ideals within this environment.From behaviouristic psychology to constructivismConventional instruction has normally relied upon an ob jectivist epistemology, this position presumes that knowledge can be transferred from coach to student via direction and pattern, and that true world can be find by the amassing of facts ( Kelly, 1970 ) . Teaching underpinned by this doctrine discourages diverse apprehensions and positions, disregards the different contexts/experiences of the person, and considers scholarly persons to be the inactive receiving systems of cognition. Although the didactic, information-giving technique may be appropriate for some acquisition address and in some contexts, its continuance as a dominant teaching method has stifled acknowledgment of diverse acquisition penchants. In this context accent is placed on teacher-control and student-compliance, in contrast, an recognition that adult scholars bring their ain peculiar larning features to any learning state of affairs leads stiff pedagogues to recognize these features when mean and presenting acquisition.DL has a different scene from the tradi tional schoolroom ensuing non merely from the spacial separation of instructor and scholar, but besides from the differences in instructional design ( Moore, 1991 ) . Since DL can non ease face-to-face interaction in the same manner that the conventional schoolroom does, and as Moore ( Ibid. ) has noted, group or single interaction is influenced by the educational doctrine in usage, assorted research scoreers ( McHenry and Bozik, 1995 McDonald and Gibson, 1998 Comeaux, 1995 ) have focussed upon the survey of interaction in DL.Constructivists ( e.g. , Dewey, 1916 Bruner, 1966 and Vygotsky, 1978 ) cypher cognition as socially constructed through scholar s interaction with others. However, Knowle s ( 1970 ) grownup larning theory ( andragogy ) might be viewed as conflicting with the ideals of collaborative larning cod to its focal point on learner-centred direction and single acquisition aims and penchants. Collaborative team utilisation is likely to be regarded both bit antith etical to these ideals unless the grownup scholar can see positive benefits from consumement. The theories relevant to this country will now be considered.Constructivist and Adult Learning Theory reviewed.ConstructivismIn recent old ages educational discuss has challenged the objectivist position, with an increasing apprehension that on that point are many ways of understanding world. Whilst constructivist authors have described assorted signifiers of constructivism, all recognise the active function which the scholar plays in construing the universe ( Larochelle and Bednarz, 1998 ) . Constructivism contests objectivism s position that cognition reflects ontological world ( Ibid. ) , and alternatively proposes that our buildings and universe positions are non stable, but instead are in a province of flux as we build upon old experiences. These alterations signify acquisition, and back up the apprehension that we are neer inert, but alternatively are ever larning and interacting ( Kelly, 1970 ) . The Hagiographas of Dewey ( 1916 ) , Vygotsky ( 1965 ) , Bruner ( 1966 ) and Piaget ( 1926 ) have all proposed that pupils learn actively and organize new apprehensions based upon anterior cognition, and these positions view the function of the teacher altering from a sage to a usher ( Mason, 1998, p.4 ) . Dewey ( 1916 ) believed that larning state of affairss represent the experience ( s ) of the environment which affect the scholar, and that interaction occurs between the scholar and the environment. Therefore cognition is predicated upon active experience. both(prenominal) Dewy and Piaget considered that pedagogues have a function to play both in determining the pupil s experience from the environment, and understanding which milieus are likely to track experiences that will take to growing. Dewey ( 1916 ) believed that instruction s chief map was to develop the logical thinking procedure, and that jobs to be studied should be drawn from the scholar s ain invo lvements. He viewed it as indispensable, hence, that on that point be a uninterrupted activity in which he is interested for its ain interest ( P.163 ) and that a authentic job develop within this state of affairs as a stimulation to thought ( Ibid. ) . In this manner, constructivist methods underscore the development of the scholar s ability to work out real-life jobs, and in making so free-discovery and problem-solving come together. As a consequence, cognition is dynamic and constructed upon the find procedure ( Dewey, 1916 ) , and the teacher is viewed as a usher alternatively of as a manager of larning since acquisition allows for originative interaction instead than being purely outcome-based.Vygotsky ( 1965 ) moved beyond concentrating upon the person, interlingual rendition and building imports of world, alternatively seeing single acquisition as grounded in the socio-cultural context, and symbolically mediated through language/dialogue. For Vygotsky, the scholar s societal interactions, including those with instructors and other scholars, are critically of here and now to cognitive development, ensuing in Vygotskian theory frequently being referred to as societal constructivism. Vygotsky s Zone of Proximal emergence ( ZPD ) describes how engagement with another ( instructor or equal ) enables scholars to polish their thought or public presentation and do it more effectual this thought was taken farther by Bruner ( 1966 ) in developing the construct of scaffolding. Bruner ( Ibid. ) views instruction as a procedure of personal find, with cognitive growing happening as pupils progress through three larning phases enactive, iconic and symbolic. In revise to bring forth apprehension, pupils must travel through the phases in turn, bring forthing new constructs and thoughts in a procedure of find acquisition, or, with the aid of another, through guided find. Knowles et Al. ( 1998 ) contend that this find should take topographic point in real- life state of affairss in order to be genuinely effectual and argue that much grownup acquisition is informal. Knowles is best known for his proposal of a theory of grownup larning which will now be reviewed.Adult larning theoryAndragogy as an political orientation of constructs, thoughts and attacks for grownup instruction and acquisition was introduced by Malcolm Knowles in 1968 in acknowledgment of the different demands and motives of grownups compared with junior scholars. Conventional pedagogical theoretical accounts do non take history of these differences and so may bring forth tenseness, opposition and feelings of bitterness ( Knowles et al. , 1998 ) Six rules of grownup acquisition have been outlinedNeed to cognize grownups want to cognize why something should be learned, what acquisition will happen, and why acquisition is of import ( Ibid. , p.133 ) . The objectivist theoretical account assumes that pupils will larn what they are told to larn. However, grownups are us ed to commanding and understanding what they do, hence they want to cognize why something should be learnt and what benefit ( s ) larning will convey.Self concept Adults resent and resist and resist state of affairss in which they feel others are enforcing their volitions on them ( Ibid, p.65 ) . Whilst they feel the demand for liberty, old educational experiences may hold made them dependent. It is the grownup pedagogue s function to promote pupils to go self-directing, taking duty for their acquisition.Role of experience Adult scholars are more heterogenous than immature pupils, their anterior experiences impact on acquisition, and they want to do usage of bing foundations of cognition, using them to new learning experiences.Readiness to larn Adults are merely prepared to larn if/when their life state of affairs creates a demand to larn ( Knowles, 1970 ) .Orientation to larning Adults favour problem-solving orientations, larning best when real-life contexts are used to laun ch cognition.Motivation to larn Internal precedences are more of import than external incentives, grownups are motivated to larn when the cognition can be utilised to work out jobs in their lives.Brookfield ( 1995 ) besides considered attacks to andragogy, holding with Knowles that grownups need to be autonomous and take control of their acquisition, and that this acquisition should be grounded in experiences. Additionally, Brookfield identified as of import critical refection focusing on how adults thinks contextually and critically, and larning to larn. Brookfield ( Ibid. ) describes the instruction of grownups to larn how to larn as an overarching intent for those pedagogues who work with grownups ( no page no. )Distance acquisition and ( societal ) constructivismBehaviourist educational schemes, trusting on the development of instructional sequences with results that are predetermined, have formed the footing of capable development for a figure of old ages. Constructivists a re critical of this theoretical account because of its delegating of the function of the pupil to one of inactive receiver, and it reliance upon drill and pattern larning activities with depressed attending paid to mental schemes or the significances behind them. This attack does non do allowances for negotiated shared significances, and fails to recognize the value of larning from errors made ( Williams and Burden, 1997 ) .Constructivism, in contrast to behaviorism, focuses on pupil s innate efforts to do sense of the universe as the footing for the acquisition procedure, and recognises that persons use their anterior experiences in this procedure. The burden on the pedagogue displacements, hence, from being the mechanic of cognition transportation, to going the midwife in understanding s birth ( von Glaserfield, 1996 ) with duty for making rich acquisition environments which provide the chance for meaningful experiences. In sing the function of constructivist theory in distanc e acquisition, Jonassen et Al. ( 1995 ) suggest four rules for constructivist environments that engage scholars in cognition building through collaborative activities that enter larning in a meaningful context and through contemplation on what has been learned through conversation with others ( p.5 ) . The rules propose that on-line distance larning environments should be create with a focal point upon Context, including a real-world component to avoid chain-like sequencing Construction, leting active cognition building through articulation and contemplation Collaboration, happening amongst scholars to back up the development and rating of beliefs and hypotheses, and Conversation, for the dialogue of solutions to jobs.The acknowledgment of the importance of coaction and conversation amongst scholars as cardinal elements in the acquisition procedure is rooted in constructivism s outgrowth societal constructivism, which emphasises larning s societal and collaborative nature ( V ygotsky, 1978 ) . McLoughlin and Oliver ( 1998 ) see that the constructivist position fails to to the full recognize that societal procedures, for illustration coaction, peer interaction and linguistic communication usage, have an of import impact on larning. Social constructivist believing positions cognition as constructed when scholars engage in conversation or activities about habitual undertakings or jobs. Meaning is constructed through a dialogic procedure and acquisition occurs as pupils are enculturated by better skilled equals ( Driver, Asoko, Leach, Mortimer and Scott, 1994 ) . Through this procedure, cultural tools are acquired via engagement in cultural activities. Wells ( 1999 ) considers that Vygotskian theory supports this thought of a teacher-led collaborative community in which all participants learn with, and from, each other as they engage together in dialogic question ( p. twelve ) .Therefore, it is affirmable to see larning non as the teacher-directed lone activity of making specific responses to precise cues as behaviorism suggests, nor as an independent manner of researching the universe and doing sense of the experience as Piaget proposes. Rather societal constructivism positions larning as a socially synergistic procedure in which persons profit significances through interactions with others. Mediation, hence, can be seen as an indispensable component in the societal constructivist larning procedure. A go-between is another who is more knowing or see than the scholar ( i.e. instructor, parent or equal ) who assists the scholar in doing sense of their experiences in order to manner new apprehensions. By adding the factor of mediation to the construct of constructivism, Jonassen et Al. ( 1995 ) and Williams and Burden ( 1997 ) have proposed that four factors influence acquisition, these are instructors, scholars, undertakings and contexts, and Williams and Burden ( Ibid. ) consider that they all interact as portion of a dynamic, on-going procedure ( P. 43 ) . In this manner, societal constructivism regards the instructor as usher or facilitator working with scholars in a collaborative group working within real-world contexts to make significance from problem-based undertakings.Constructing communities and contracting the distanceThe challenge for the distance pedagogue is to unite these factors into a successful acquisition environment and diverse issues of constructivism and andragogy demand to be considered. Palloff and Pratt, ( 2007 ) suggest that making successful distance instruction utilizing on-line methods will affect reassigning our best patterns from the schoolroom into a new sphere, in this new sphere, nevertheless, the patterns may non look on the nose the same ( p.6 ) . The on-line medium obliges DL pedagogues to believe otherwise in order to use its learning-enhancing functionality and pedagogic/andragogic potencies. It poses the challenge, and presents the chance, of making a sense of com munity which can breed societal constructivist acquisition.Within instruction, sense of community includes larning community and societal community ( Rovai, Wighting and Lucking, 2004 ) , and community-building has been identified as a factor in cut downing or forestalling the feelings of disaffection and isolation which may lend to student abrasion in DL ( Rovai, 2002 ) . Learning community comprises of how members perceive group value with respect to shared norms/values and to the ability to run into educational aims/expectations ( Rovai et al. , 2004 ) . Social community is representative of the feelings of community members towards their connection, coherence, safety, mutuality, common trust, and sense of belonging ( Ibid. ) . The DL pedagogue Fosters this sense of community through the creative activity of a safe environment wherein pupils do non experience threatened when showing thoughts, by move on socialization, exposing regard for diverse backgrounds, supplying feedback which directs and keeps communicating fluxing, reacting to pupils educational demands, and keeping an obvious online interceding presence.Brown ( 2001 ) links the grade of community experienced by scholars with the degree of fight and duologue within the category and this is a position shared by Moore ( 1993 ) who considered the dealing of distance acquisition. Transactional distance theory defines the distance in DL as more than merely the spacial disjunction of instructors and scholars, but instead as a distance of perceptual experiences and apprehensions which is partly caused by geographic separation this separation must be reduced if effectual acquisition is to happen. Transactional theory evolved from work by Dewey and Bentley ( 1949 ) , and connotes the interplay among the environment, the persons and the form of behaviors in a state of affairs ( Boyd and Apps ( 1980 ) , cited in Barbadillo, 1998, no page ordinal number ) . The DL dealing takes topographic point between scholars and instructors within an environment with the typical feature of spacial separation and the resultant array of particular acquisition and instruction behaviors.Transactional distance is engendered by the physical separation which creates a communicational spread, or psychological infinite an country of possible mistake between the inputs of the instructor and scholar ( Moore, 1993 ) . Moore ( 2007 ) considers that transactional distance is comparative, non absolute, and that larning programmes are non distance or not distance but instead they have more distance or less distance ( p.91 ) . Transactional development is influenced by three factors duologue, construction and liberty ( Moore, 1993 ) . The nature and extent of duologue may be affected by diverse factors ( class design, teacher/learner personalities, capable affair, environment etc. ) , but the medium of communicating is besides an of import factor. Programs with small or no dialogic interplay have a grea ter transactional distance than those which foster dynamic duologue.The usage of synergistic, electronic media supports this dynamism and so champion the shortening of transactional distance. Structure is evaluated by Moore ( Ibid. ) from the position of the class s flexibleness or rigidness in footings of the constitution of learning techniques, educational ends, appraisal processs and the grade to which single demands are met. in conclusion Moore ( Ibid. ) views liberty as the extent of scholar control exercised over acquisition processs the sum of pick the pupil has over issues of larning ends, rate of advancement, mode of instruction and assessment methods.Moore s theory has obvious analogues with constructivist, societal constructivist and grownup acquisition theories, and it is evident that as andragogical and constructivist elements are introduced, transactional distance will diminish. Transactional distance and duologue are reciprocally relative, therefore a lessening in duologue will ensue in an addition in transactional distance, whilst an addition in dialogue reduces distance. Although Moore ( 1993 ) focussed upon the dialogic interplay between instructor and scholar, using constructivist attacks in combination with societal package Fosters dialogue amongst equals every bit full(a) as between scholar and instructor in the spirit of Williams and Burden s ( 1997 ) socially-constructed, dynamic procedure. Dialogue is besides relative to class construction, an addition in construction lessenings duologue and accordingly increases transactional distance ( Moore, 1993 ) Moore speculated that grownup scholars of course exhibit independent behavior and this liberty relies upon decreased degrees of transactional distance e.g. low degrees of construction and high degrees of duologue. Constructivist ideals can further the decrease of transactional distance and so increase liberty in the spirit of Knowle s self-conception. Interaction plays an of import po rtion in this procedure, and the ways in which engineering can help this must be considered.InteractionThere are basically two types of interaction in a learning state of affairs. One consists of the scholar interacting singly with discipline, while the other involves societal activity the scholar s interactions with others ( equals or instructor ) about the content. A DL environment that is to supply affectional and effectual acquisition whilst making a sense of community and contracting the transactional distance must breed both sorts of interaction. In the yesteryear, societal interaction about content chiefly took topographic point between the pedagogue and scholar, but emergent engineerings have made it progressively executable for scholars to interact with each other and this interaction gives learners the chance to reflect, reconsider and cooperate in reliable problem-solving ( Lave and Wenger, 1991 Berge, 1995 ) . Social interactions which would usually happen in the con ventional schoolroom ( e.g. sharing, treatment, group activities, equal reviewing, etc. ) must alternatively take topographic point via tools and engineerings in distance acquisition environments. However, some of these tools/technologies have restrictions which may impact the kinds of interactions that are possible or likely to go on. Online engineerings provide affordances that can be utilised for larning through substructures which allow connexions to objects and people that are in other environments ( Ryder and Wilson, 1996 Harasim, Hiltz, Teles and Turnoff, 1995 ) . Although these engineerings can further good interactions, they may besides impede them since pupils can non interact efficaciously unless they are easy able to use the media that they have been tasked with utilizing ( Kruper, 2002 Salmon, 2001 ) .Web 2.0 engineerings, which encompass a diverse scope of constituents that can be used to heighten the constructivist larning procedure, may offer a solution to this job . These tools are characterised by their celerity of deployment/ease of usage, enabling coercive information sharing and breeding constructive coaction ( Boulos, Maramba and Wheeler, 2006 ) . The minimum accomplishments needed to entree the characteristics of these engineerings allow scholars to concentrate upon information exchange and collaborative undertakings without the distraction of an environment which is technologically complex ( Kirkpatrick, 2006 ) . These tools wikis, web logs, RSS provenders and podcasts etc. have been jointly called social package and encapsulate a scope of coaction and information-sharing characteristics which may move as cognitive contemplation tools, helping building of significance as scholars develop content.The collaborative nature of societal package allows for the edifice of cognition both with and for others, concentrating upon the community instead than the single scholar. Collaborative acquisition may be synergised by happening in a commun ity of pattern context with scholars engaged in corporate acquisition within a shared sphere ( Lave & A Wenger, 1991 ) . Social package tools can move as cognition platforms for much(prenominal) a community, enabling information-sharing, treatment and coaction therefore helping the development of a constructivist environment. However, Marjanonic ( 1999 ) has criticised synchronal collaborative tools for enabling communicating instead than computer-mediated coaction ( p.131 ) . Hesse, Garsofsky and Hron ( 1997, cited in Pfister and Muhlpfordt, 2002, p.1 ) delineate the possible restrictions of utilizing synchronal text-based tools for collaborative discourse deficiency of societal consciousness, deficient group coordination and lacking coherency of parts Pfister and Muhlpfordt ( 2002 ) besides stress the troubles that there may be in breeding consistent communicating, and equalizing parts within synchronal discourse.However, even in the schoolroom environment collaborative acqu isition is non without its jobs, there may be, for case, pupils who dominate, inactive pupils, pupils who are loath to show their thoughts ( peculiarly if these contradict the instructor s ) , or pupils making no work at the spending of others. The on-line environment may really assist to extenuate some of these jobs and lead pupils to comprehend online group treatments as more democratic and just than the traditional schoolroom s opposite number ( Swan, 2001 ) . Some ( e.g. Jonassen and Kwon, 2001 Lai, 1997 ) assert that topics affecting treatment, brainstorming or contemplation are peculiarly suited to the online environment, and brooding acquisition attacks that enable scholars to reflect on their acquisition and their acquisition processes may be particularly effectual in this context. An of import component of brooding acquisition is that of reflecting upon cognition in order to do it explicit. Social package, for illustration wikis, enables this contemplation to take topog raphic point collaboratively, conveying larning closer to the societal constructivist ideal.Employing tools which foster contemplation and self-assessment is a type of meta-cognitive staging that assists pupils in associating larning procedures to aims, and motivates them to presume duty for their ain acquisition. The usage of scaffolding as an foil of pupil acquisition was proposed by Bruner ( 1966 ) edifice upon the work of Vygotsky ( 1965 ) and in its original signifier viewed the instructor as the most likely scaffolder, making support systems for the pupil. However, in a technologically supported, constructivist environment where the pedagogue s function as guide/facilitator is emphasised, equals, support tools or computing machine coachs are merely every bit likely to supply scaffolding. Beed, Hawkins and Roller ( 1991 ) see that scaffolding must take topographic point within a collaborative context, runing across the scholar s ZPD, and be withdrawn as the scholar develops com petence. From this it is clear that scaffolding within a DL environment may be an inherently societal procedure within which supportive interaction occurs in a collaborative context.DecisionMuch has changed in distance acquisition since its birth, rooted in correspondence classs, in the 1800s. Early classs were extremely structured, with minimum duologue between instructor and taught, and accordingly the distance between them Moore s psychological and communications gap was great. Subsequent developments in communications engineering narrowed this distance, but the objectivist doctrine underpinning the exchange remained basically the same. Whilst it has been recognised for a figure of old ages that constructivist attacks may better the quality of instruction and acquisition in our schoolrooms, it has merely been in recent times, with the widespread usage of broadband and the development of tools which take advantage of its capablenesss, that constructivist ideals have been to the full capable of integrating into DL programmes. The new capablenesss afforded by societal package engineerings and the on-going development of online synchronal communications enable advanced staging and breed societal acquisition. However, distance pedagogues should non be tempted to utilize the advantages that engineering offers to try to extol the traditional schoolroom virtually, or to make state of affairss which pre-determine acquisition. This risks restricting the application of constructivism, and fails to admit that distance larning occurs in a typical socio-interactive context which requires a exclusively attack to learning and acquisition.Recent decennaries have seen important alterations in the bringing of DL as a consequence of new apprehensions about how grownups learn, and prefer to larn, every bit good as the rise of engineerings which enable the distance pedagogue to be present even though temporally or spatially separate. The application of constructivist and an dragogical theories combined with emergent engineerings have enabled the creative activity of practical schoolrooms within which collaborative communities can develop together, with the pedagogue presuming the function of facilitator in the group s co-construction of cognition and significance. This interactive combination of theory and engineering has allowed distance larning to offer the grownup learner the ability to larn without clip or topographic point restraints whilst besides supplying the benefits sense of belonging and collaborative endeavor which the conventional schoolroom may offer. As a consequence, pupils no longer hold to trade-off the advantages of synergistic acquisition against the convenience of distance survey, but instead can bask the benefits of both.

Analyzing the Major Theme in “A Model of Christian Charity”

Analyzing the Major Theme in A Model of Christian Charity John Winthrops A Model of Christian Charity illustrates Americas status as the leading nation of the world and the concurrence of the Americans community. Throughout his speech, Winthrop talked about the bonds and ties, during his speech he talked about the analogous theme using different words in order to reinforce the idea that a successful colony must keep absolute unity and conformity. The whole speech is presented in the first plural person, that suggests that the Puritans (Winthrop is one of them), are undiversified group.In his speech he states many another(prenominal) times that there are lace together in a bond of common cause and common slew, that appears when he says in a bond of common cause and common destiny, every individuals fate subject to that of the group. He also calls attention to Puritans when he says For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hillock, to suggest once more that the diff erent individuals are all delimited into one larger entity, one to which the world will look for leadership and guidance.He doesnt maintain only on unity between and among the individual Puritans,but also he pursues the unity between God and piece,the sacred and the establishmental. He speaks about the more nestle bond of marriage Between God and the Puritans, as he said First, in regard of the more near bond of marriage between Him and us, obligating them to the higher purpose God intends not only to one another. There are many phrases that combine the system of government with that of religion, such as government both civil and ecclesiastical.Winthrop quotes from the Bible many times during his speech, and makes biblical allusions, his allusions always points to rise up the Puritans struggle and to escape oppression. He also compares the finicky commission God has given the Puritans to the commission given Saul to destroy Amaleck in the Old Testament (He indented with him upo n certain articles, and because he failed in one of the least, and that upon a fair pretense, it lost him the kingdom, which should have been his reward, if he had observed his commission).In addition he quotes Moses speaking to the Israelites on their way from slavery to the Promised Land Beloved there is forthwith set before us life and death, good and evil, hinting himself as a kind of law giver directly from God and the Puritans as a new chosen people. Between al the established in North America and elsewhere around the world, Winthrop gives the creation of this colony a biblical importance, as though when scripture is read in the future, the Puritans founding of Massachusetts would be included.The sense of self-importance fills Winthrops speech, and to dramatically emphasize this grandness, Winthrops speak moves from the around elevated and the colonys success, to the most dark, when describing consequences of potential failure. Winthrop states that in success, God will make them (the puritans) a praise and glorypeople will look at them as an example. He eer refers to the Puritans as though they were the most authoritative people to God, commanding all of His attention, as he saysFor we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill.The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to recede His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. He constantly refers to the Puritans as though they were the most important people to God, commanding all of His attention. Winthrop uses language suggestive of ultimate eternal damnation and ruin, saying thatWe shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for Gods sake.We shall shame the faces of many of Gods worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we are consumed out of the good land whither we are going. The conce pt of individual damnation through sin is here applied to a whole people, binding them in their destruction. Winthrop thinks that Puritans are so important to God comparing with other humans in the earth. In his speech Winthrop affect heartyly upon the Puritans (his audition), the great importance of what they are doing and the frightening,universe-shaking consequences if they fail.Winthrop breeds an elevated sense of pride in accomplishment and fearof failure into his audience and demands of them an absolute sense of unity between each other and with their faith, making dissent equal to destruction or damnation. This sense of America being the mettle of the world, a nation of individuals bound together and lives in a unity. Despite the different cultures that make up America, the Puritanical roots remain a strong part of thenational character.

Does Culture Determine Your Theory of Mind Essay

What has distinguished Homo sapiens from non-human organisms is their competency to develop a speculation of brainiac (Scholl & Leslie, 2001). Premack & Woodruff (1978) originally defined opening of intellectual as being the tendency to make attributions or so behaviour based on acquired noesis of rational states, such as belief, desire and intention.An equally important aspect of possible action of mind concerned the individuals aptitude to understand the subjectivity of mental states, comprehending that other individuals live with desires and beliefs that differ significantly from ones own, an understanding that is highly important to human social occasioning (Baren-Cohen, 1995). This essay questions the incline that subtlety has on the victimization of a possibility of mind.What was of primary interest in this essay was to investigate the extent to which theory of mind was characterized by universal processes of maturation and whether underlying cultural factors were answerable for the timing and development of theory of mind. Certain marked cultural differences were suggested as influential variables which could determine the development of a theory of mind, these being parenting styles, number of siblings and executive function which were thought to play a pivotal role in the development of a cultural identity (Lillard, 1998).In the context of cross-cultural analogy, a unfavourable esteemment of the false-belief working class was conducted. The validity and reliability of the false-belief travail was analyzed in relation to the development of theory of mind, and utility(a) chronicles and measurement tool arounds were provided which would allow for a more than sensitive and reliable cross-cultural comparison to be make. Described as onto-genetically universal, theory of mind is a urinate of human psychology and biology that is universally applicable to every culture (Liu, Wellman, Tardif & Sabbagh, 2008) .A unanimous pull up sta kes from twenty five years of research has report that a theory of mind is demonstrable in early childhood and exhibited from the age of five or six years old as result of progressive stages of development (Lillard, 1998). Many researchers (e. g Liu et al. , 2008 Wellman, Cross & Watson, 2001) have observed parallel developmental trajectories between western and non-western cultures in relation to the age at which a child acquires a theory of mind.Callghan, Rochat, Lillard, Claux, Odden & Itakura (2005) observed the cross-cultural development of theory of mind in samples of 12-31 children and declared there to be a critical period of development between the ages of three and five years old when children begun to conceptualize and understand the difference between belief and reality. From a remote crotch hair community in western Africa, to a mountain village in Peru, researchers (e. g. Avis & Harris, 1991) have observed the universal development of a theory of mind.The communicati ve purposes of theory of mind are invaluable to the survival and higher functioning of human kind. Cross-culturally, theory of mind is relevant in order to teach, deceive, inform and share plotted actions (Baren-Cohen,1999). However, although this cognitive development is fundamental and pivotal to human functioning, research in this field of investigation has challenged the universality and applicability of theory of mind postulating that cross-cultural variations were responsible for determining and influencing the timing and stages at which theory of mind developed.Many prominent research studies have been published in the literature, arguing for the influence of culture on the development of a theory of mind (Wellman et al. , 2001). Astington (2001) has argued that although cross-cultural variation does not reflect a childs ability to acquire a theory of mind, there may perhaps be sociocultural variances in early childhood experience that could potentially influence how and when a child achieves theory of mind.Similarly, studies have observed a discrepancy in the timing of development across certain industrialized cultures, an example being Canada and the United Kingdom (Wellman et al. 2001), and Japan and magnetic north Korea (Oh & Lewis, 2008). A meta-analysis of cross-cultural carrying out on false-belief tasks was conducted by Liu et al. , (2008) which investigated whether culture contributed to the development of theory of mind. A meta-analysis was conducted on 200 conditions (16-24 children per condition) of children from mainland china and Hong-Kong in order to pass judgment whether the difference in cultural beliefs and values between these two culturally diverse samples had a significant impact on the timing of development.Increasingly more westernized and individualistic, Hong-Kong was predicted to mirror the North American trajectory of development in that children would be more interchangeablely to perform above chance on the false-belief t ask. Liu et al. , (2008) observed that Chinese children were more likely to under-perform on false-belief tasks in relation to their Japanese counterparts and that this resulted in a difference of up to 2 years in timing of false-belief acquisition. However, like many another(prenominal) comparison studies, the results of this study were potentially confounded due to relatively small sample size.A condition of 16-24 participants did not allow for methodological defect or research bias. Contradictory evidence and potential methodological errors in relation to cross-cultural comparisons has resulted in a thorough examination of the measurement tools utilize to study theory of mind. A seemingly reliable and valid measurement tool, the false-belief task has to some extent dominated the theory of mind molding oer the course of twenty five years (Dennet, 1978 as cited by Wellman et al. 2001). Astington (2001) reported that there exists a danger in letting a single task become a marker for complex development, as reliance on a single measurement construct can record potentially confounding results, leading to improbable and invalid conclusions. The chocolate and cupboard false-belief task was developed by Wimmer & Perner, (1983) in order to assess whether a child had the ability to understand that their mental representations of the world differed from reality.Many researchers have found methodological flaws in the false-belief task claiming that it is unnecessarily difficult (Sullivan & Winner, 1993). A cross-cultural study conducted by Wellman et al. , (2001) confirmed that many children failed the false-belief task due to confusion and lack of understanding. A secondary criticism of the false-belief task has been make in relation to the limitations it places on carrying into action in that it does not take into account fundamental components of theory of mind (De Rosnay, Pons, Harris & Morrell, 2004).Therefore, in order for a valid cross-cultural comparison t o be made it was necessary to examine other important mental states such as emotion, desire and intention (De Rosnay et al. , 2004). A five step Theory of Mind collection plate was developed by Wellman & Liu (2004) in order to conduct a cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind. Preschoolers in North America (Wellman & Liu, 2004) , Australia (Peterson & Wellman, 2009) and Germany (Kristen, Thoermar et al. 2006) were found to follow the same ordered sequencing of conceptual developments, these being diverse desires, diverse beliefs, knowledge access, false beliefs, hidden emotions (Shahaeian, Peterson, Slaughter & Wellman, 2011). Although an identical trajectory of development was reported in many western cultures, a study conducted by Wellman et al. , (2004) discovered an interesting cross-cultural difference in relation to Chinese preschoolers who, although following the same steps of development, finished them in a different order with knowledge access being learned before di verse beliefs.Although there does not appear to be a cross-cultural difference in the mastery of theory of mind, the emphasis placed on knowledge access in Chinese preschoolers over diverse beliefs in western preschoolers is self-consistent with the importance that collectivist societies associate with social harmony over self-expression and individual beliefs. Reliance on one particular measurement tool has resulted in many extravagant and inconclusive claims being made, one such example being that researchers have associated a below chance performance on a false-belief task with an underdeveloped theory of mind (Astington, 2001).However, many researchers have argued that a three year olds failure on the false-belief task could be indicative of linguistic underdevelopment or confusion rather than an absence of theory of mind. Leslie (2000) conducted qualitative reviews of cross-cultural performance on false-belief tasks in order to assess whether certain aspects of the methodology were inconsistent across cross-cultural testing. Methodology was found to differ in relation to the shell of question asked, nature of the protagonist and type of task.Similarly, there was an inconsistency in the phrasing of the questions across many of the studies, with certain children being asked a question in terms of belief (Where does John cypher his chocolate is? ) or in terms of speech (where does John say his chocolate is? ). Efforts to reduce methodological error and improve performance have been made by many researchers (e. g. Chandler, Fritz & Hala (1989) in order to demonstrate the plasticity and flexibility of theory of mind. Chandler et al. (1989) found that if the experimental design of the false-belief task was manipulated by implying deception and trickery, performance was more likely to increase. A cross cultural comparison reported similar results when young children actively participated in deception. However, although these results may have provisionally pro vided an explanation for improved performance, it must be noted that above chance performance on this task did not confirm a childs ability to conceptualize but merely emphasized their ability to play along .Due to flaws in methodology and reliance on the false-belief task, researchers have failed to provide consistent and valid results in relation to a cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind. In light of these contradictory results and inconclusive explanations, alternative variables have been analyzed in order to expand on the literature pertaining to cross-cultural differences in theory of mind. Vinden (2001) was of the opinion that the development of a theory of mind aptly reflected parental influence in relation to cultural and moral expectations.Children emulated and modified their behaviour according to their parents example, therefore for a child to be capable of predicting and understanding another individuals mental state positively reflected parent-child intervention in the early years of their childhood. A cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind assessed whether parental attitudes of Korean-American and Anglo-American mothers influenced how their children developed mental states such as desires, beliefs and intentions (Vinden, 2001).Two previous studies conducted by Kim, Kim & Rue (1997) and Farver, Kim & Lee (1995) reported certain cultural differences between Korean-American and Anglo-American individuals. Korean-Americans were reported as valuing interdependency, social harmony and frugality in favour of individual orientation, symbolic play and independence, traits which were synonymous with the individualistic Anglo-american society. Importantly Korean-American parents were seen as obeying an authoritarian structure of parenting in contrast with Anglo-American parents who favoured an authoritative model .In light of the results obtained by the Kim et al. , (1997) study, it was hypothesized by Vinden (2001) that children of authoritati ve mothers would be more likely to outperform children of authoritarian mothers on the theory of mind tasks. The results reported were surprising, in that five year old children of authoritarian Korean-American mothers outperformed their Anglo-American age mates on theory of mind tasks, however children of authoritarian Anglo-American mothers were found to under-perform on theory of mind tasks.What could be concluded from this study was that performance on theory of mind tasks could in fact be influenced by parenting styles, but what constituted acceptable parenting was innate to cultural introspection. In other words, a similar endpoint of development was reached across cultures, due to parenting styles that obeyed a cultural value system (Vinden, 2001). Similarly, a cross-cultural comparison of theory of mind has been made in relation to the number of siblings a child may have.A study conducted by Ruffman, Perner, Naito, Parkin & Clements, (1998) reported a remarkable finding tha t suggested how a childs theory of mind could be predicted based on the number of older siblings they possessed. According to Brown, Donelan-McCall & Dunn (1996), children with older siblings developed mental representations about the world around them through symbolic play.Many researchers have argued for the importance of symbolic play in establishing a theory of mind (Leslie, 1987) due to the fact that through discussion and pretend play younger children were exposed to false-belief situations enabling them to emulate the behaviour exhibited by older siblings. However, it is important to prevail critical when discussing the importance of symbolic play due to the fact that although above-chance performance on theory of mind tasks may be recorded, the extent to which conceptualization and false-belief is justly understood demands further explanation.Reiterating what has been previously stated by Vinden (2001), it was important to acknowledge that, although the same end point of d evelopment was reached across cultures, the stages of development differed based on cultural intervention. In recent years, the skills associated with executive function have been proposed to contribute to the development of theory of mind (Moses, 2001). Many researchers interested in cross-cultural comparison have conducted studies in order to ascertain whether the development of executive skills is directly influenced by cultural beliefs and values.Interest in this area of research has come about due to the importance of understanding theory of mind in conjunction with the development of cognitive processes (Moses, 2001). Executive function is an umbrella term used to guide a plethora of cognitive processes such as inhibition, verbal reasoning, problem solving and working memory which contribute to the development of theory of mind. Executive function has been assessed across a diverse range of cultures in order to determine whether development of executive function skills differ across cultures, and whether this difference in development affects the acquisition of a theory of mind.