Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Face Recognition Ability Inherited Separately from IQ Essay Example for Free

Face Recognition Ability Inherited Separately from IQ Essay This article supports the modularity hypothesis of the brain where it is expressed that the human brain is like a Swiss knife that is represented as â€Å"a general purpose tool with special-purpose devices† (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010, n. p. ). Such kind of mentality is based on the idea that specialized genes are located in various regions of the brain which function for specific cognitive abilities like face recognition. In attempt to further investigate this issue, the researchers studied the relationship of face recognition to heritable characteristics by utilizing the help of 102 pairs of identical twins and 71 pairs of fraternal twins. The experiment made use of black-and white images of 20 different faces which were shown to each participant on a computer screen each for one minute and this step was followed by the mixing of 10 of the original 20 faces to 20 new faces. Results showed that identical twins, whose genes are 100% common, were more likely to provide matched results of the face experiment (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010). Moreover, 39% of the variance is attributed to genetic effects thereby suggesting that face recognition is a heritable trait. IQ relatedness of face recognition, on the other hand, was investigated by employing the participation of 321 students which revealed that the ability to recognize faces is independent of IQ (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010). The results gathered in this study affirm the hypothesis that some cognitive skills are not correlated with IQ which is the indicator of general intelligence (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010). Subsequent studies are intended to investigate if other cognitive abilities like language processing, navigation, reading and the likes are related to IQ. Consequently, the significance of these findings is seen on the study of autism and dyslexia because these heritable developmental disorders might also be dictated by specific genes on the human brain. Lastly, the findings presented on this paper are believed to be credible because they are grounded on empirically derived evidence. However, it is suggested that a larger sample size must be used to further confirm the statistical acceptability of the results. Nevertheless, the researchers made substantial and highly qualified efforts on the choice of participants because identical and fraternal twins are really the most appropriate subjects for studies that investigate heritable properties. In general, this study is a timely research endeavor that can lead to a series of promising effects in the fields of neurobiology and developmental psychology. Reference: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2010, January 20). Face recognition ability inherited separately from IQ. Science Daily.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Dance In The Early Twentieth Century Essay -- history of jazz

The history of Jazz music is one that is tied to enslavement, and prejudices, and it is impossible to separate the development of Jazz music from the racial oppression that occurred in the United States as they are inextricably connected. Slavery was a part of our country’s development that is shameful and yet, lead to some of the greatest musical advances of the twentieth century. Slavery in the United States first began in 1619 when Dutch traders seized a Spanish slave ship and brought those aboard to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia. When the North American continent was first colonized by Europeans, the vast land proved to be more work than they had anticipated and there was a severe shortage of labor. Land owners needed a solution for cheap and plentiful labor to help with the production of profitable crops such as tobacco and rice. Although many land owners already made use of indentured servants- poor youth from Britain and Germany who sought passage to America and would be contracted to work a given number of years before they were granted freedom- they soon realized that in order to continue expansion they would need to employ more labor. This meant bringing more people over from Africa against their own will, almost depleting the African continent of its healthiest and most capable men and women (Slavery in America, 2009). Individuals with African origins were not English by birth, instead they were considered foreigners and outside English Common Law and were not granted equal rights. Many slave owners intended to make their slaves completely dependent on them and prohibited them from learning to read or write. The oppression of black slaves was on the rise and many sources estimate that nearly twelv... ...ca | (2006, August) Scholastic.com. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/history_of_jazz.htm 6) Peretti, B. W. (1992). White Jazz Musicians of the 1920's. The creation of jazz: music, race, and culture in urban America. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 7) Scaruffi, P. (2005, January 1). A History of Jazz Music. A History of Jazz Music. Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://www.scaruffi.com/history/jazz1.html 8) Slavery in America. (2009, January 1). History.com. Retrieved April 17, 2014, from http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery 9) Stearns, M. W., & Stearns, J. (1968). Jazz dance; the story of American vernacular dance. New York: Macmillan. 10) White, S., & White, G. J. (2005). The sounds of slavery: discovering African American history through songs, sermons, and speech. Boston: Beacon Press.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Impact of a Deaf Child on Families

Impact of a Deaf Child on Families A bird calls and the phone rings. Yet the girl makes no move to listen to one or to answer the other. A baby’s cry goes ignored and the tea kettle on the stove continues to whistle. Most, but not all cases of childhood deafness and hearing-impairment are diagnosed between the ages of 18 months and 3-years-old (Mapp 50). Sometimes called the invisible handicap, hearing loss explains why sign language is the third most used language in the United States (Jones 54).While recognition of sight problems or physical impairments may be triggered by spotting eye glasses or a wheelchair, deafness must be discovered through acts of direct communication. The girl walks down the hall and does not acknowledge her friend calling her name. The term disabled has been much debated in recent years. It is both a classification of a functional limitation and a branding stereotype that scars a certain type of person. More than 90 percent of deaf children are born into hearing families.Before the 1970s, the impact this group of unique children had on their families and how the family structure adjusted was little studied (Mapp 7). Though raising a deaf child is challenging at times for parents and influential on how siblings are treated, it can also be a rewarding experience and an adhesive to hold together a family. When a child is diagnosed with deafness, it is the flag marking the beginning of a series of potentially draining events for his or her parents.Though many parents say that raising a deaf child differs in subtle yet slight ways from the already challenging aspects of raising any child, they also agree that their child’s disability tends to amplify emotions, especially in the early stages of diagnoses. There are feelings of disbelief, confusion, and disappointment that lead to anger while guilt mingles with a sense of mourning. Through all of these overwhelming responses, parents learn to deal with the seclusion, to recogni ze the drawbacks of their situation, and to effectively develop strategies for their families.Though it is too generalizing to say that all parents react the same way to their child’s hearing loss, many parents do react in similar manners. It is the hearing parents that are affected the most by the arrival of the news of hearing loss in their child. Deaf parents, on the other hand generally embrace the handicap of their child because they realize they have the resources and language knowledge to help the child. In studies done comparing deaf hildren from hearing parents with those from deaf parents, the children from deaf parents significantly outscored their counterparts in areas such as vocabulary, reading, social skills, and mathematics. An explanation for this may be that the children of hearing parents experience something called â€Å"language deprivation† by which they are stripped of the knowledge commonly passed down through the direct exposure to a language n atural to their parents (Mapp 190). For this reason, the stresses of raising a deaf child fall heavier on hearing parents.Many hearing parents feel this diagnosis shatters the illusion that their child is and will be perfect. This loss of innocence is a sentiment that many parents mourn. Many parents of deaf children have had little or no contact with the deaf community and are forced to comprehend a subject entirely foreign to them. Shock is a common response and works well as a defense mechanism that enables parents to begin the stages of mourning the illusionary loss of their normal child (Luterman 6). This shock gradually fades to disbelief as parents grasp at the permanent and incurable meanings of the word â€Å"deaf. Many ask how such a thing could happen in their family and occasionally the hearing problem is kept a secret. Though she was diagnosed in kindergarten, the girl begged her parents to keep her secret for years, senselessly believing that if no one knew about it t hen the problem did not exist despite the molds she wore in her ears. On top of denial, many families feel overwhelmed and that they have been given too much information in too short of a time period and may feel either ill-equipped to face the challenges of the diagnosis.With this fear often times comes anger and most parents of hearing impaired children feel a fundamental anger without an outlet through which to vent. There is anger at themselves, at the world, and even at the deaf child themselves. Sometimes this anger turns itself inwards and manifests itself as depression; other times it is capable of either strengthening or creating rifts within family systems and relationships. Perhaps one of the most prominent emotions felt by parents of deaf children is guilt.The future they had envisioned for their child has been violated in ways they never expected. Many parents would agree that having a hurting child and being helpless to assist them is one of the most distressing feelin gs they will ever experience (Luterman 9). Although having a deaf child can be rewarding in many ways it is very hard to see this in the beginning and the diagnosis affects parents in some very unique ways. Since the 1970s, studies have been done directly assessing the impact a deaf child has on families, especially on parents.It became clear from these studies that mothers and fathers deal with the stresses of their ill child in very different ways. Since mothers are typically invested in the daily stresses of raising a deaf child, studies have shown that they are more likely to be very involved in health and safety issues. Fathers on the other hand are typically found to engage in more distant roles of parenting due to occupational time consumption and are more successful at developing relationships with their child that does not revolve around the child’s disability (Luterman et al. 34-35).Studies have also shown that the time following a child’s diagnosis can be pa rticularly trying on husbands as they are trying to reassure their wives that everything will be fine while privately attempting to deal with their own deep and emotional grief (Luterman et al. 7). The separate roles each parent takes on complement each other by providing unique skills for their child. One of the most emotional taxing yet gratifying parts of raising a deaf child is that the mother is typically the one member of the family most capable of communicating with the deaf child.She becomes not only a mother, but an educator, social guidance counselor, communication specialist, interpreter, and audiologist consultant (Mapp 15). The girl’s mother went to the school district when the girl entered high school hoping sign language classes were available as a precaution in case her half deaf child continued to lose her hearing. They refused to even consider letting sign language qualify for her foreign language requirement. Another recurring theme in the challenges faced by parents is the abundance of ignorance in the faculty of school systems themselves.One frustrated parent wrote said about mainstreaming her deaf child into a hearing school, â€Å"†¦the teacher sometimes forgets†¦her limits and limitations†¦and does something incredibly dumb, such as the time in fifth grade when the teacher gave my daughter an oral spelling test of single words† (Luterman 175). Though most studies have focused extensively on the impact of a deaf child on parents, it is equally important to understand how it affects siblings. Family dynamics as well as parental reactions shape whether the hearing problem will strengthen the family structure or create tenuous situations.The definition of a family is a system of which all parts are inextricably interconnected (Luterman et al. 41). The sibling of a deaf child is typically forced to grow up faster than other children their age and assume greater responsibilities. One of the greatest favors a paren t can do for the sibling of a deaf child is to realize that an entire family unit cannot be healthy when revolving around the limitations of one of its members. In 70% of the cases of deaf children, there is one or more sibling involved in the family’s makeup (Mapp 65).These children can suffer from having a disabled sibling because their parents may feel both physically and emotionally exhausted after caring for the child that seems to need more attention. The sibling may feel neglected and guilty that they somehow evaded deafness themselves while their brother or sister is suffering. There may be feelings of shame and embarrassment when an adolescent child draws attention by signing with their sibling in public. Older children may feel a deep rooted anxiety that their own children will suffer from hearing loss.As with the relationships between parents, it is important that siblings be given a venue of open communication to vent their anxieties and frustrations. Clear commun ication is the key to a successful family structure. It has been found that some siblings may react with attention-seeking strategies like poor academic performance, illnesses, and recurrent tantrums. Other children may internalize their issues and end up with innate resentment issues when they are older (Luterman 143).While having a deaf sibling undoubtedly has drawbacks many siblings reported positive attributes as well. The recurring theme was that compassionate individuals with greater sensitivities to prejudices came from families with disabled children. These siblings also attributed the bond their family shared to their ability to form a cohesive unit during times of crisis (Luterman et al. 50). In order to thrive, it is vital that the family copes properly with the stressors associated with a deaf child.One of the most damaging, yet well intentioned acts a parent of a deaf child can commit is overprotection. Parents of handicapped children regularly underestimate their child ’s abilities, thus not allowing the child to make mistakes and learn. Overprotection leads to feelings of incapability and will hinder the child later in life. It must be acknowledged and accepted that even with interpreters, communication in a mainstream school will only be at about 75 percent for a deaf child (Jones 53). Instead of shielding a child from this barrier of communication, a parent must learn to mbrace it as a time of growth and a test of patience. Many parents see having a deaf child as a gift, as an opportunity to tap into strengths they never before realized they had. Though mothers of deaf children are likely to name healthcare providers as sources of support whereas hearing mothers named friends, it seems as though the levels of happiness of both women are consistent (Mapp 118). A parent’s attitude toward having a deaf child molds not only interfamily relationships, but the success of the child themselves.The original confusion of their child’ s diagnosis can morph into knowledge; the anger becomes a steady energy and focused drive, while the guilt turns into a lifelong commitment. The most important part of having a deaf child is that it forces ever member of a family to reevaluate life and realize just how precious of a gift it is. A disability only becomes a handicap when an individual allows it to skew their perception and hinder their accomplishments in life (Duckworth et al. 2). The girl smiled at her parents as she boarded the plane for college.It was through the hard work of her parents that she had made it so far. Never had they allowed her to see herself as tainted. They dealt with their issues quietly and ensured that the girl’s sister was never left behind. Through a sense of humor, teacher meetings, hard work, and patience they had shown her that her limitations led to endless accomplishments. The diagnosis was a hearing impairment and the girl is me. Works Cited Duckworth, Derek and Mark Philp. Childr en with Disabilites and their Families. New Jersey: Humanities Press Company, Ltd. 1982. Print. Jones, Reginald L. , ed. Reflections on Growing up Disabled. Virginia: The Council for Exceptional Children, 1983. Print. Luterman, David M. and Mark Ross. When your Child is Deaf: A Guide for Parents. Michigan: York Press, Inc. , 1991. Print. —. Counseling Parents of Hearing-Impaired Children. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, Inc. , 1979. Print. Mapp, Idalia, ed. Essential Readings on Stress and Coping among Parents of Deaf and Hearing- Impaired Children. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2004. Print.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Proofreading for Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement

These two proofreading exercises will give you practice in applying the rules of subject-verb agreement. After completing the exercises, compare your responses. Proofreading Exercise #1: A Fluke of Luck The following paragraph contains five errors in subject-verb agreement. Identify and correct the faulty verb forms. The sheep-liver fluke is a parasitic flatworm with a very complex life cycle. The fluke start life by hatching inside a snail. The fluke is then ejected from the snail in a ball of slime. These balls of slime is eaten by ants. The fluke digs its way through the ants body until it reach the ants brain. There, the fluke takes control of the ant by manipulating its nerves, thus turning the ant into its personal robot. Under the command of the fluke, the ant climb to the top of a blade of grass. If the fluke is in luck, the ant is eaten by a passing sheep. From the sheeps stomach, the fluke work its way home--to the liver. The Answers The sheep-liver fluke is a parasitic flatworm with a very complex life cycle. The fluke  starts  life by hatching inside a snail. The fluke is then ejected from the snail in a ball of slime. These balls of slime  are  eaten by ants. The fluke digs its way through the ants body until it  reaches  the ants brain. There, the fluke takes control of the ant by manipulating its nerves, thus turning the ant into its personal robot. Under the command of the fluke, the ant  climbs  to the top of a blade of grass. If the fluke is in luck, the ant is eaten by a passing sheep. From the sheeps stomach, the fluke  works  its way home--to the liver. Proofreading Exercise #2: Life Forms The following paragraph contains seven errors in subject-verb agreement. Identify and correct the faulty verb forms. Anomie Plaza, like all shopping plazas, were designed for automobiles rather than human beings. All-natural life has been extinguished; even the weeds along the curb appears artificial. But somehow, amidst all the plastic, steel, and concrete, a solitary shrub manage to survive. The shrub, not in vigorous bloom but certainly alive, stand a few yards away from the entrance to Huxleys department store. It grows straight up through the concrete. Now and then a shopper pause to examine this odd life form, not for sale in any of the 67 stores. Occasionally, someone will glance around furtively and then break off a twig, slip it into a shopping bag, and hurry back to the parking lot. Why people do this are a mystery to me. Are such people intent on preserving life or destroying it? Whatever the case may be, the shrub so far ​have managed to survive all assaults. The Answers Anomie Plaza, like all shopping plazas,  was  designed for automobiles rather than human beings. All-natural life has been extinguished; even the weeds along the curb  appear  artificial. But somehow, amidst all the plastic, steel, and concrete, a solitary shrub  manages  to survive. The shrub, not in vigorous bloom but certainly alive,  stands  a few yards away from the entrance to Huxleys department store. It grows straight up through the concrete. Now and then a shopper  pauses  to examine this odd life form, not for sale in any of the 67 stores. Occasionally, someone will glance around furtively and then break off a twig, slip it into a shopping bag, and hurry back to the parking lot. Why people do this  is  a mystery to me. Are such people intent on preserving life or destroying it? Whatever the case may be, the shrub so far  has  managed to survive all assaults.