UNDECIDED Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

UNDECIDED - Assignment Example The democracy was purely managed by the majority but not be the few individuals. Moreover, rotating of the public offices ought to undermine individuals virtues thus no person is held back by poverty so long as they offer good service to the city. The city is free and generous to the public activities of the citizens and corresponding daily lives (Thucydides 2.37, pgs. 40-41). He asserts the management of the city is different from neighboring cities in regard to the preparation of war, and this makes it open to all individuals and does not expel strangers in order to prevent them from learning in the city. Moreover, the city does not depend on the secret preparation and deceit but the courage of action. It is is because the enemy usually trains hard from the youthful age, but they live relax life, and they still experience great dangers as the enemy (Thucydides 1.77, pg 41). Pericles asserts that seeking council is the best option prior to undertaking any action with the enemy. It is because they are extremely different from their enemy since they take council in matters of virtue. Moreover, they win the trust of friends via offering favors at the expense of accepting a favor. Friendship of an individual is paid by good deed and considered dull and flat since it does not entail

Internet Gaming Addiction Essay Example for Free

Internet Gaming Addiction Essay Computer games are software which developed with an interesting plot, amazing graphics and unreal concepts which you may only see in those games, fantasy movies or animated movies. There are many types of computer games. There are some games that are really addictive making players unhappy if they were offered just a nick of time for playing. Some computer games drive and put the player at the highest level of eagerness to finish the game and wait for the next version. These games are addicting for only a short period of time, and stops after finishing it. The bad thing here is when the player starts to look for another game similar to his previous game. This surely is a sign of addiction. These computer games have characteristics that may or may not be experienced in real life. The difference of these games from the real world is that it makes the user do virtual things that people don’t do in real life. These games are designed to entertain people and one of its objectives is to make people hooked to it. If there are more people hooked, then the producers of the games get more profit. How did these games appeal to the people? Some games may not have done its objective but there are some that greatly caught the attention and time of the people who played it. Another thing is that these games offer competition. It is the same competition that we experience in real life. If the player performs well over the other players in the game, he feels satisfaction. In order to stand among the rest, a player needs to play hard or devote more time. It is just like when we want to standout in class, we have to study harder or when we like to be the most outstanding player in our favorite sports, we have to practice more. A person gets satisfaction after achieving something that he or she wants. This achievement is easy to acquire in computer games as compared to real life. You just sit down, run the game, and enjoy yourself while achieving your goals. However, computer games are far from our real world. You may relate to them, but the real thing is really different. Sometimes, the things that happen to your character in a role playing game may resemble the exact opposite of what is happening to yourself. When your character in the game gets richer, it does not follow that it could happen to the real you. Actually, it does the other thing – you become poorer. Getting addicted to these computer games may be enjoyable but there are serious consequences. Addiction always leads to negative effects. It renders a person irresponsible and makes him forget more important things he should do, and worse, people who are close to him. Sometimes life itself could be just thrown away like a disposable item. A South Korean man was reported dead after playing online game continuously. The death was caused by heart failure due to exhaustion, lack of sleep, and not eating enough (BBC News, 2005). Not sleeping or lack of sleep leads to failure or weakens the capability of our body to resist sickness. And gamers always force themselves to play up to the point that they even lose the time for sleeping. If normal people who lack sleep do not feel good sometimes, then this fact also applies to the gamers. Playing computer games is not for free. It uses electricity, some needs Internet connection, and sometimes you have to pay the game servers to play their online game. Living our daily lives is not for free either. We need resources to support our needs. We need to work to earn resources. Lucky are those teenagers supported by their parents. And obviously those parents will not support for addiction to computer games. It is also a reality that we may earn money from playing games because there are things in a computer game especially in online games that can be traded off with real money. But this money is not enough to support our needs. Addiction to computer games, generally, will not do good effects to the people. If you want to play computer games, you can play them. But be sure to remember not to fall on its trap on becoming addict to it. It has never been good to be an addict on computer games or anything. The only problem is, sometimes, you tend to ignore things because it is being blocked by something attractive or enjoyable. Being responsible is the key to avoid addiction. You better think of yourself, your family and your future. Do not let yourself get entangled in the roots of addiction. You should balance all the things that you do. Do not forget to be happy or do necessary things for your own life. You should know and set priorities in life. You should ask yourself what is important. Think critically, responsibly and do not stop with that. Whatever might be the result of that thinking, carry that on. Just plant in your mind that being an addict to whatever is not good. References: BBC News. 2005. S Korean dies after games session. Retrieved May 1, 2007. http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/technology/4137782. stm.

Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters-II

Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters-II The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters-II (MESSY-II) and Its Adaptation for Iranian Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disability Bakhtiyar Karami, Mojtaba Gashool, Shoaib Ghasemi, Hamid Alizadeh Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters-II (MESSY-II)in a community population in Iran. The Iranian version of the MESSY-II was administered by interviewing care staff of all children and adolescents (n = 355) with administratively defined intellectual disabilities (IDs) living in Tehran,Esfahan, Karaj Kordistan. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensionality of the subscales as well as the proposed two factor structure of the original MESSY-II. The present study demonstrates that the three subscales are highly similar constructs across different language and cultural settings, and that the MESSY-II is applicable in research on populations with varying mental functioning, diagnoses, ages, and living arrangements. Keywords: Social skills, Assessment, MESSY, Rating scale, Factor structure Introduction The development of social skills is an important process in young childhood and adolescence. Deficits present in childhood that are left undetected and/or untreated can lead to increased problems into adulthood (Greene et al., 1999). In addition, impairments in social skills may be related to larger problems such as developmental disability, attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety, antisocial behavior, and other mental health problems (Davis et al., 2011; Lugnegard, Hallenback, Gillberg, 2011; Mahan Matson, 2011; Matson Wilkins, 2009; Worley Matson, 2011). Social skills deficits may occur as a result of these disorders or as part of the disorders themselves. As a result, identification of social weaknesses is essential for providing treatment and improving prognosis and quality of life. Identifying social strengths is also important for treatment and can guide clinicians to use assets that the child already possesses to help improve the areas of defi cit. The assessment and training of social and adaptive skills is important for a number of reasons. First, social and adaptive skills deficits can compromise successful transition from institutional to community living (Jacobson Schwartz, 1991; Doll, 1953). Second, deficits in these areas may contribute to the etiology of psychiatric disorders and behavioral problems (Borthwick-Duffy Eyman, 1990; Matson Sevin, 1994). Finally, social and adaptive deficits often persist in living areas where the philosophy of care consists of passive learning rather than active treatment (Matson Hammer, 1996). The MESSY (Matson, 1988) was developed in 1983 for assessing the social skill deficits of children aged 4 to 18. The original normative sample at the time was based on 744 typically developing children in Northern Illinois (Matson, Rotatori, Helsel, 1983). The initial items included in the measure were based on a review of standardized measures, including items that addressed social behaviors. Two independent raters then selected the items believed to fit the definition of social skills. These 92 items were then administered to 422 children (self-report form) and 322 teachers (teacher-report form) twice, at a 2-week interval. Test-retest reliability was conducted and items with Pearson’s correlations greater than .50 and .55 for the self- and teacher-report versions, respectively, were retained. The results yielded 62 items for the self-report form and 64 items for the teacher-report form. Original tests of reliability and validity indicated strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability andadequat convergent validity (Matson et al., 1983). The MESSY has been translated into nine other languages and researched internationally: Spanish (Mendez, Hildalgo, Ingles, 2002), Chinese (Chou, 1997), Japanese (Matson Ollendick, 1988), Dutch (Prins, 1997), Hindi (Sharma, Sigafoos, Carroll, 2000), Hebrew (Pearlman-Avnion Eviator, 2002), French (Vertà ©, Roeyers, Buysse, 2003), Turkish (Bacanli ErdoÄÅ ¸an, 2003), and Slovakian (Vasil’o (Bacanli BaumÄÅ ¸artner, 2004). In addition, the MESSY has been researched with various populations, including children with hearing and visual impairments (Matson, Heinze, Helsel, Kapperman, Rotatori, 1986; Matson, Macklin, Helsel, 1985; Raymond Matson, 1989) , intellectual disabilities (Matson Barrett, 1982), anxiety disorders (Strauss, Lease, Kazdin, Dulcan, Last, 1989), depression (Helsel Matson, 1984), bipolar disorder (Goldstein, Miklowitz, Mullen, 2006), and autism spectrum disorders (Matson, Stabinsky-Compton, Sevin, 1991).2222 However, there is still no agreement about which factorial structure best explains the data because the results of former studies showed a different number of factors and different arrangements of items. Thus, the objectives of the present study are to examine the psychometric properties of the MESSY for the first time in an Iranian sample and to compare the results to foregoing studies with the MESSY in other socio-cultural contexts. 1. Method 1.1. Participants Thirty hundred and fifty five 355 (223 male, 132 female) participants were recruited from undergraduate psychology courses. Their ages ranged from 3 to 26 years, with a mean age of 11.34 years (SD = 3.87). According to clinical practice in Iran, the participants were classified into having a mild (40.8%), moderate (47.0%), severe (11.3%), or profound (0.8%) level of mental retardation. The most frequent diagnoses were Down’s syndrome (53.8%), autism (20.8%), mentally retarded (16.9%), and 8.5% of the individuals were reported to have other disorders. 1.2. Measures Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters-II (MESSY-II; Matson et al., 2010). The MESSY-II is a social skills measure for a broad range of children, ages 2–16, based on observations of both appropriate and inappropriate social behaviors. This measure is a renormed version of the original MESSY, which was designed to assess social skills in children ages 4–18 (Matson, Rotatori, et al., 1983). The original scale had two different forms: a self-report form and parent/teacher report form consisting of 62 and 64 items, respectively. At present, the MESSY-II only has one form, which is a parent/caregiver report form. During the renorming process it was decided that social skills would best be examined through parent/caregiver report as opposed to self- report due to difficulties with poor insight in the populations frequently administered the MESSY. Also, since the measure’s  utility has largely been clinic and community focused, there is a decreased need fo r a teacher report form. The MESSY-II has 64 items identical to the original MESSY parent/teacher report form, which are each rated on a Likert-type rating scale from 1 (‘‘not  at all’’) to 5 (‘‘very much’’). Recent studies indicate that the scale has strong psychometric properties including internal consistency, and convergent and divergent validity (Matson et al., 2010). Although the original MESSY parent/teacher report form yielded a two factor structure (i.e., Inappropriate Assertiveness/Impulsiveness scale and Appropriate Social Skills scale), the factor structure of the MESSY-II has yet to be established. 1.3. Procedures The participants for this investigation were recruited throughout the children adolescents who enrolled in exceptional children schools. We first select 4 state – Tehran, Esfahan, Alborz Kordistan randomly and then separate a list of exceptional children schools in this 4 state. After permission from authorities (Misinstry of Education in each city), the head teachers were contacted in order to coordinate the data collection processes. Then, after training the head teacher about MESSY-II in an agreed date teachers were asked to complete a paper and pencile version of the final draft of the Iranian version of MESSY-II for each student while one of us (AMo) was present in the agreed school for any possible help or inquiries. Data collected in about 1 month. 1.4. Data Analysis In order to determine the factor structure of the MESSY-II, an exploratory factor analysis with Principle axis factoring was used on the 64 items of the MESSY-II. Given the likelihood of correlations among the underlying constructs of the factors, an oblique promax rotation was used (brown, 2006). The optimal factor structure was determined via examination of the scree plot, and comprehensibility of factors (zwick velicer, 1986). Items with factor loadings greater than .30 were retained for each factor (kline, 2000). Internal consistency of the factors was examined using Cronbach’s alpha (Cronbach, 1951) and the 0.70 criterion for adequate reliability (Nunnally Bernstein, 1994). 2. Results Exploratory factor analysis yielded a two-factor solution for the MESSY-II. The total variance accounted for by the two- factor model was 41.43%. Inappropriate Assertiveness/Impulsiveness factor accounted for 29.37% of the variance. Appropriate Social Skills factor accounted for 12.6% percent of the variance. The correlation between two factors was moderate r= .410. Two items (i.e., item 20: Is afraid to speak to people; and item 46: Feels lonely) did not meet the criteria of .30, and were removed from the measure. Table 1 lists the factors and corresponding items. Next, internal consistency was examined for the two factors of the MESSY-II using Chrobach’s alpha. Inappropriate Assertiveness/Impulsiveness had an internal consistency of .950 (M=70.58; SD=24.87), and Appropriate Social Skills had an internal consistency of .952 (M=75.64; SD=24.91). corrected Item-total correlations were considered for each of the retained factors to determine if the removal of additional items was warranted due to coefficients below 0.30 (Field, 2005). Item total correlations of Inappropriate Assertiveness/Impulsiveness subscale ranged from 0.42 (item 15) to 0.70 (item 9, 17, and 52). item total correlations of Appropriate Social Skills subscale ranged from 0.37 (item 19) to 0.77 (item 41).since no item on any of the scales had a correlation of less than .30 and, therefore, all items were retained following the two items that had been removed during the exploratory factor analysis. 3. Discussion Impairments in social skills are a defining aspect of developmental disabilities, and deficits in these skills can affect the ability of children, adolescents, and adults to progress in other areas across the spectrum of development. Furthermore, social deficits are major risk factors for challenging behaviors (Farmer Aman, 2009; Tenneij, Didden, Stolker, Koot, 2009), and similarly, they can compound problems of psychopathology (Brim, Townsend, DeQuinzio, Poulson, 2009; Matson, Dempsey, Rivet, 2009; Niklasson, Rasmussen, O ´ skarsdo ´ ttir, Gillberg, 2009; Rose, Bramham, Young, Paliokostas, Xenitidis, 2009). For these and other reasons, the development of measures of social skills is very important (Matson Boisjoli, 2009a, 2009b; Matson Dempsey, 2009; van den Hazel, Didden, Korzilius, 2009). The purpose of this paper then, was to determine the factor solution of a measure used to assess social skills, the MESSY-II in Iranian population (Matson et al., 2010). The original MESSY was initially developed nearly three decades ago, but recently renormed (see Matson et al., 2010). Exploratory factor analysis of the MESSY-II yielded a three factor solution. Two of the factors were consistent with inappropriate social skills while the other consisted of items relating to appropriate and adaptive social skills. The data were collected as part of an epidemiological research program including all children adolescents with administratively defined ID living in 4 state – Tehran, Esfahan, Alborz Kordistan. Overall, the results showed that the internal consistency of the Iranian MESSY-II is in line with previous research on the MESSY-II and that the proposed two-factor model had an acceptable fit. This study showed satisfactory cultural adaptation, reliability, content validity and factor structure for the Iranian version of MESSY-II. However, considering the study limitations, the findings should not be generalized. In general this instrument will be a valuable teacher/parent reported measure for the evaluation of social skills (Inappropriate Assertiveness/Impulsiveness Appropriate Social Skills) among children adolescents with mental retardation in Iran and other Persian-speaking countries. Table 1: Factor structure of the MESSY-II Item no. Factor 1: Inappropriate Assertiveness/Impulsiveness Factor 2: Appropriate Social Skills 1 Makes others laugh .484 2 Threatens people or acts like a bully .770 3 Becomes angry easily .688 4 Is bossy (tells people what to do instead of asking) .541 5 Gripes or complains often .638 6 Speaks (breaks in) when someone else is speaking .702 7 Takes or uses things that are not his/hers without permission without permission .535 8 Brags about self .576 9 Slaps or hits when angry .753 11 Gives other children dirty looks .677 12 Feels angry or jealous when someone else does well .615 13 Picks out other Children’s faults/mistakes .561 15 Breaks promises .464 16 Lies to get what he/she wants .537 17 Lies to get what he/she wants .734 21 Hurts others’ feelings on purpose .587 22 Is a sore loser .601 23 Makes fun of others .616 24 Blames others for own problems .619 29 Is stubborn .703 32 Thinks people are picking on him/her when they are not .517 35 Makes sounds that bother others .548 36 Brags too much when he/she wins .526 38 Speaks too loudly .532 43 Always thinks something bad is going to happen .427 48 Gets upset when he/she has to wait for things .450 52 Gets in fights a lot .736 53 Is jealous of other people .467 57 Stays with others too long (wears out welcome) .529 58 Explains things more than necessary .376 60 Hurts others to get what he/she wants .746 62 Thinks that winning is everything .483 63 Hurts others’ feelings when teasing them .759 64 Wants to get even with someone who hurts him/her .717 10 Helps a friend who is hurt .672 14 Always wants to be first .585 18 Walks up and initiates conversation; .470 9 Slaps or hits when angry .340 25 Sticks up for friends .608 26 Looks at people when they are speaking .759 27 Thinks he/she knows it all .316 .493a 28 Smiles at people he/she knows .586 30 Acts as if he/she better than others .675 31 Shows feelings .659 33 Thinks good things are going to happen .474 34 Works well on a team .834 37 Takes care of others’ property as if it were his/her own .767 39 Calls people by their names .607 40 Asks if he/she can be of help .811 41 Feels good if he/she helps others .839 42 Defends self .598 44 Tries to be better than everyone else .741 45 Asks questions when talking with others .671 47 Feels sorry when he/she hurts others .589 49 Likes to be the leader .381 .468 a 50 Joins in games with other children .767 51 Plays by the rules of a game .812 54 Does nice things for others who are nice to him/her -.362 .712 a 55 Tries to get others to do what he/she wants .354 .368 a 56 Asks others how they are, what they have been doing, etc. .579 59 Is friendly to new people he/she meets .713 61 Talks a lot about problems or worries .312 .433 a References Kline, P. (2000) an easy guide to factor analysis. Routledge,: London. Nunnally J. C. Bernstein I. (1994) Psychometric Theory. McGr59aw-Hill, NewYork, NY. Zwick, W. R., Velicer, W. F. (1986). Comparison of Five Rules for Determining the Number of Components to Retain. Psychological Bulletin, 99(4): 432-442. Brown, T. A. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York: Guilford Press. Field, A. (2005). Discovering statistics using SPSS. London: Sage Publications Inc Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334. Davis, T. E., III, Hess, J. A., Moree, B. N., Fodstad, J. C., Dempsey, T., Jenkins, W. S., et al. (2011). Anxiety symptoms across the lifespan in people diagnosed with autism disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5, 112–118. Lugnegard, T., Hallerback, M. U., Gillberg, C. (2011). Psychiatric comorbidity in young adults with a clinical diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32, 1910–1917. Greene, R. W., Biederman, J., Farone, S. U., Wilens, T. E., Mick, E., Blier, H. K. (1999). Further validation of social impairment as predictor of substance use disorders. Findings from a sample of siblings of boys with and without ADHD. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28, 349–354. Mahan, S., Matson, J. L. (2011). Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders copared to typically developing controls on the Behavioral Assessment system for children, Second Edition (BASC-2). Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5, 230–236. Matson, J. L., Wilkins, J. (2009). Psychometric testing methods for children’s social skills. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 30, 249–274. Worley, J. A., Matson, J. L. (2011). Psychiatric symptoms in children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder: An examination of gender differences. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 3, 1086–1091.

Free Essays: Language in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? :: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been

When a person is put in an incredibly horrifying situation where the outcome is unpredictable many physical and emotional changes take place. Joyce Carol Oates’s story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" places Connie, a typical teenager, in this situation. Throughout the story, occasionally using religious undertones, Connie’s language of a typical teenager gradually changes, from calm and somewhat curious to nervous and terrified. Early in the story on a Sunday morning, Connie’s family leaves to go to a family barbeque down the street. Connie is left by herself and chooses to wash her hair instead of going to church. When she hears a car driving up to her house, her heart starts pounding, she pulls at her hair and says, "Christ. Christ.," not in reference to the Lord or religion in general but because she is worried about how bad she looks. This gives and indication of how the author interprets religion in the story, not important and not serious. As the story progresses, Connie’s language takes an obvious turn. When Arnold Friend, someone she has seen but never talked to, shows up on her doorstep, she is somewhat defensive, but curious. "I ain’t late, am I?" is the first thing he says to her when she opens the screen door. Connie replies by saying, "Who the hell do you think you are?", a typical response of someone in that situation. If a complete stranger showed up at my house and talked to me as though we were best friends I would respond the same way. Throughout the story Oates continues to use vulgar language to illustrate the story and show how much Arnold Friend knows about Connie. The more Arnold talks, the more he reveals about his knowledge of Connie and the things and people around her. Soon, Arnold starts naming off all of Connie’s friends, assuring her, "I know everybody." Arnold also knows things about her that he would know only if he was with her all the time, "I... found out all about you like I know your parents and sister are gone somewheres and I know where and how long they’re going to be gone, and I know who you were with last night..." Connie’s fear of the situation sends waves of dizziness through her body, makes her hands shake, and causes "Her heart [to be] too big now for her chest and its pumping made sweat break out all over her.

Quantification of Proteins in Solution by Spectrophotometer Essay

Introduction: Absorption spectroscopy is a common method for finding the concentration of proteins or protein complexes in a solution. Proteins absorb light at specific wavelengths and can be defined by the equation A = log (Io/I). This equation states that an absorbance at a specific wavelength, A is equal to the log of the ratio of incident light intensity (Io), to transmitted light intensity (I). A spectrophotometer can be used quantitatively and qualitatively. A spectrophotometer is used qualitatively to obtain an absorption spectrum, which can be obtained by plotting the absorbance values, over the range of wavelengths tested for the solution. This helps to find out the suitable wavelength that the compound absorbs maximum. And the spectrophotometer is used quantitatively by using the Beer-Lambert Law; Log [ Io/I] = A = ÃŽ ¾cl, where ÃŽ ¾ is the molar extinction coefficient (unit = Lmol-1cm-1), helps to define the absorbance of the protein, c is the concentration of the substance (mol liter-1), and l is the path length of the light (unit = cm) through the medium. Log [Io/I] is called optical density or absorbance of the substance, and does not have units. Also, an absorption spectrum is created, which deals with absorption and wavelength (nm) of light used, with which â€Å"maximum absorption† is observed. Maximum absorption is when most of the solution particles are absorbed, and this happens at a specific wavelength. Since the Beer Lambert law is useful only for a range of wavelengths, it is not applicable to all protein solutions. In this experiment, an absolute standard was calculated using BSA, so that the concentrations of the other unknown protein solutions can be determined (Lambert et.al, 2011).The different assays used for this protein quantification were Lowry, Bradford (Coomassie Blue) and UV direct. Protein assays help to determine the amount of desired particle present (Srivastava, 2008). The aim of this lab is to understand the various aspects of spectrophotometry and its applications in biochemistry, such as quanitification of protein solutions. Methods: (Carleton University, 2012) The steps were followed without any changes made. Results: Figure1. Absorption spectrum of 6Ãâ€"10-5M p-np solution in 0.02M NaOH, for wavelength range between 330-800nm using a Novaspec spectrophotometer. Sample Calculation: c = 6Ãâ€"10-5M l = 1cm A = 1.166 The Beer Lambert equation is A = Æ cl Rearranged, Æ  = A/cl Æ  = 1.166/(6Ãâ€"10-5)*1 Æ  = 1.94Ãâ€"104 L mol-1 cm-1 Table1. Values of extinction coefficient (Lmol-1cm-1) determined using Beer-Lambert Law. Figure2. Absolute standard curve obtained for BSA test protein solution with the 3 different assays tested (Lowry, Coomassie Blue, UV). Table 2. Absorbance values recorded for different protein dilutions (2X, 5X, 10X) for the three assays used, namely Lowry, Coomassie Blue and UV direct. Sample Calculation for BSA stock protein: * Lowry Equation of line from Fig2; y = -5Ãâ€"10-7Ãâ€"2 + 0.0016x + 0.038 For 5 fold; y = 5 * 0.44 = 2.20 Substituting in equation; 2.20 = 5Ãâ€"10-7Ãâ€"2 + 0.0016x + 0.038 X1 = 1600  µg/ml = 1.6mg/ml For 10 fold; y = 10 * 0.23 = 2.30 Substituting in equation; 2.30 = 5Ãâ€"10-7Ãâ€"2 + 0.0016x + 0.038 X2 = 1600  µg/ml = 1.6mg/ml (X1 + x2)/2 = 1.6mg/ml * Coomassie Blue Equation of line from fig2; y = -7Ãâ€"10-7Ãâ€"2 + 0.002x + 0.0219 For 5 fold; y = 5 * 0.36 = 1.80 Substituting in equation; 1.80 = -7Ãâ€"10-7Ãâ€"2 + 0.002x + 0.0219 X1 = 1428.57  µg/ml = 1.4mg/ml For 10 fold; y = 10 * 0.20 = 2.00 Substituting in equation; 2.00 = -7Ãâ€"10-7Ãâ€"2 + 0.002x + 0.0219 X2 = 1428.57  µg/ml = 1.4mg/ml (x1+ x2)/2 = 1.4mg/ml * UV direct Equation of line from fig 2; y = 0.0006x + 0.0175 For 2 fold; y = 2 * 0.42 = 0.84 Substituting in equation; 0.84 = 0.0006x + 0.0175 X1 = 1374.16  µg/ml = 1.4mg/ml For 5 fold; y = 5 * 0.15 = 0.75 Substituting in equation; 0.75 = 0.0006x + 0.0175 X2 = 1179.16  µg/ml = 1.2mg/ml (x1 + x2)/2 = 1.3mg/ml Discussion: Figure 1 shows the absorption spectrum of stock solution (6Ãâ€"10-5M), p-nitrophenol and 0.02M NaOH, and from the graph it can be inferred that 400nm is the wavelength of maximum absorption because absorption is noted to be the highest at this point. Absorbance is noted to increase when wavelength increases till it reaches the point of maximum absorption, after which it decreases till it nearly reaches zero. It is best to consider wavelength of maximum absorption because stronger the intensity, the more accurate will be the readings for absorbance. As seen from table 1, the path lengths remain the same as the cuvettes used were of the same size. The Beer-Lambert Law states that Abs = Æ .c.l, where Æ  = molar extinction coefficient, c = concentration of protein solution, and l = path length of light through medium. Thus, it is noted that absorbance and path length share a directly proportional relationship, i.e. if path length increases, absorbance increases as well. It was clear ly observed in the wide and narrow test-tubes, that as the path length was doubled, the absorbance value doubled too (Srivastava, 2008). Also, from the same equation, it can be determined that absorbance and concentration share a directly proportional relationship meaning that as the concentration decreases, it directly affects the absorbance value obtained, and this value decreases too. Thus, as seen for the four cuvettes tested (in Table 1) as the concentration is halved in every cuvette, the absorbance value is halved correspondingly as well. It is known that the Beer-Lambert law says absorbance is proportional to number of absorbing molecules, and that this is valid for a variety of compounds over a wide range of concentrations. But even as the molar extinction coefficient is seen to be attributed to wavelength, it is true only for monochromatic light (Lambert et.al, 2011). The relationship can be stated as â€Å"Æ  is a measure of the amount of light absorbed per unit concentration†. Molar extinction coefficient is a constant for a particular substance, therefore according to the Beer-Lambert Law it is expected that if the concentration of the solution is halved so is the absorbance. A compound with a high molar extinction is very effective at absorbing light (of the appropriate wavelength), and hence low concentrations of a compound with a high molar extinction can be easily detected. In the values determined (Table 1), the experimental values are in accordance with the theoretical statement except for one cuvette. The cuvette no.3 with Æ  = 1.8Ãâ€"10-4 L mol-1cm-1 does not agree with the trend. Thus it can be deduced that due to experimental error, the Æ  value is inaccurate. Also, from the equation it is understood that Æ  and path-length are inversely proportional as well (i.e. Æ  = Abs/cl) that means that as path-length increases, Æ  decreases, assuming that the concentration is kept constant. But the experimental values do not agree with this statement, because it is seen that as the path-length increases so does the molar extinction coefficient, Æ . Biochemical methods are applied for to determine protein concentration in solutions. Many techniques are less used because they have limitations such as reduced sensitivity, time available for the assay, or they are highly specific about the amino acids in the protein solution being tested. But for e very protein, the component amino acids are different, so there is no single assay that can be used for quantification of all proteins. The absorbance assays use the method of testing the intensity of the color produced by the protein solutions when chemical reagents are added to it. A â€Å"standard protein† whose concentration is known, is treated using the same chemical reagents and thus an absolute standard curve is obtained (Boyer, 2000). In this experiment, the standard used was Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA). Development of color is significantly better in BSA than any other protein, and this makes it one of the most preferred test solutions for quantification of proteins (Antharavally et.al, 2008). Hence figure 2 is obtained by performing the three suitable assays on BSA to produce a standard curve, also it can be noted that only the UV direct gave a straight line passing through zero, whereas the Lowry and Coomassie Blue gave curved lines, passing through zero. Table 2 shows the absorbance values recorded, for different dilutions of the test protein in three different assays. With the help of the values obtained in Table 2, and with the equations obtained from Figure 2, the concentration of protein (mg/ml) was calculated and presented in Table 3. Since all the values in Table 3 were deduced from the equation of standard curve BSA, it is considered as the absolute standard, and the other test protein solutions are known as the relative standards. Using the values from Table 3, taking BSA as the absolute standard, the almost actual concentration of the protein (mg/ml) can be concluded, and they are 1.6 (mg/ml) for Lowry assay, 1.4 (mg/ml) for Coomassie Blue and 1.3 (mg/ml) for UV direct. For Lowry assay, the concentration value for all test proteins was 1.6 mg/ml, which must mean that the value obtained is accurate. For Coomassie blue, BSA and Hemoglobin were the same (1.4mg/ml), Ovalbumin and Lysozyme had similar values of 1.9mg/ml, and 1.8mg/ml respectively, whereas Gamma globulin showed 2.5mg/ml. The value for Gamma globulin is off because of experimental error, of spilling some of the contents from the cuvette while transferring it to the spectrophotometer for calibration. For UV direct, BSA and Ovalbumin have similar readings (1.3mg/ml and 1.5mg/ml respectively), Gamma globulin is 2.5mg/ml, but Lysozyme is 5.9mg/ml and Hemoglobin is 3.8mg/ml. The reason for this could be due to the fact that UV direct helps to identify the presence of aromatic compounds indicating that Lysozyme and Hemoglobin contain aromatic compounds present in them. The Lowry protein assay is the most common and one of the more sensitive, but it is time consuming, on the other hand Coomassie blue (the Bradford assay) is much more sensitive as compared to Lowry, and requires less time too. They both show change of color with proteins. As for UV direct method, it is one of the faster methods too, and it is helpful to identify aromatic compounds because aromatic residues absorb 280nm light (Boyer, 2000). The Lowry procedure can detect protein levels as low as 5 µg (Boyer, 2000). It depends on the color development by the reagent Folin-Ciocalteu. Peptide bonds are formed under alkaline Cu2+ conditions and reduced from Folin-Ciocalteu phosphomolybdate-phosphotungsten by aromatic amino acids (tyrosine and tryptophan) to heteropolymolybdenum blue. The standard curve obtained with BSA helps to determine concentration of unknown protein solutions (Antharapally et.al, 2008). In the case of Coomassie blue, it is more efficient than Lowry because even though there is variation with different proteins, there is very less interference by non protein components (Borley, 2000). Therefore, according to literature, Coomassie Blue is the most preferred protein assay but this contrasts the experimental inferences, because through experimental procedure it was seen that Lowry method gave the most accurate and precise results. With this experiment, the method to quantify unknown protein concentrations has been understood. Also, that this process must be performed carefully to avoid irrational experimental errors. References: Antharavally B.S, Bell P.A, Haney P, Mallia K.A, Rangaraj P. 2008. Quantitation of proteins using a dye–metal-based colorimetric protein assay. Analytical Biochemistry. 385; 342-245. Boyer R, 2000. Modern Experimental Biochemistry, third edition. Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc. USA. (41-45). Lambert J.B, Gronert S, Lightner D.A, Shurvell H.F, 2011. Organic Structural Spectroscopy, second edition. Pearson Education, Inc, New Jersey. (401, 404) Srivastava M.L, 2008. Bioanalytical Techniques. Alpha Science International, Ltd. Oxford, UK. (58,118)

Goals of Linguistic Essay

Mr. 1. Introduction 1. 1. Approaching the issue The task of setting out (to use a neutral word) the goals of a human activity may be approached in a variety of ways depending on conditions such as who is involved in the activity and who has the power to determine the goals. In the case of the goals of a scientific discipline, the question may, in principle, be approached by established scientific methods: * Deductive approach: The highest and most general goal is taken as an axiom, more specific and lower-level goals are deduced from it. * Inductive approach: By methods of the sociology of science, the goals actually pursued by scientists may be ascertained; by sociological methods, it may be ascertained what goals a community thinks should be pursued by the sciences that it entertains. The deductive approach suffers at least from the following shortcomings: * The postulation of the highest goal is itself outside the scope of science. * Clean deduction is only possible in the logical disciplines. What is called deduction in (the rest of) philosophy, the humanities and social sciences is really informal and heavily dependent on the interpretation of words. The inductive approach suffers at least from the following shortcomings: * Just like other people, scientists occasionally pursue selfish or idiosyncratic goals, which a purely inductive approach would not be able to separate out. * The extra-scientific members of a social community – be they politicians or citizens – have limited presuppositions of making a rational contribution to the discussion of the goals of a science, lacking both knowledge and experience of the nature and possibilities of scientific work and presuppositions for appreciating the spiritual side of objective knowledge (see below). On the basis of available evidence, it is safe to say that few of them can distinguish between scientific insight and technological â€Å"progress†. Thus, if one wants at all a scientific approach to the problem of the goals of a discipline, one would have to combine – as usual – deductive and inductive methods, hoping that they will compensate for each other’s shortcomings. It would certainly be reasonable to do this scientific work (from time to time). However, it has apparently not been done. I will therefore abide by taking a common-sense approach to the problem, informed both by some epistemology of linguistics and by some experience with linguistic work. 1. 2. Fundamentals Like any human activity, linguistics has a place in a teleonomic hierarchy (see teleonomische Hierarchie) which is headed by its ultimate goals. Science is the pursuit of objective knowledge/understanding (Greek episteme, German Erkenntnis). The attainment of such knowledge is its ultimate goal. This goal is itself subordinate to the goal of human life, which is the improvement of the conditio humana. It is in the nature of human cognition – as opposed to God’s cognition –, that it can be fully achieved only in communication. To say that the goal is objective knowledge is therefore almost tantamount to saying that it is rational communication. This rephrasing also serves the purpose of avoiding a static conception of ‘objective knowledge’. In the more specific discussion below, the role of communication in the achievements of the goals of a science will come up again. Understanding has two sides, a spiritual and a practical one. * On the spiritual side, the human mind is enriched if it understands something; and this in itself is a contribution to improving the conditio humana. * On the practical side, understanding something is a presupposition for controlling it. Controlling1 the world in which we live is another contribution to improving the conditio humana. Some sciences make a stronger contribution to the spiritual side, others make a stronger contribution to the practical side. This is the basis for the distinction between pure and applied science. Linguistics is the study of human language. Understanding this object has a purely spiritual aspect, which constitutes what might be called â€Å"pure linguistics† and what is more commonly called general linguistics. It also has a practical aspect, which concerns the role of languages in human lives and societies and the possibilities of improving it. This epistemic interest constitutes applied linguistics. Given the divergence in the epistemic interest of pure and applied science, there can be no universal schema by which the goals and tasks of a science should be systematized. As discussed elsewhere (see Wissenschaft), there is a basic distinction between logical, empirical and hermeneutic approaches. Linguistics shares components of all of them. Here we will focus on the tasks of linguistics as an empirical discipline. For such a discipline, the main tasks are: 1. elaboration of a theory of its object 2. documentation and description of its object 3. elaboration of procedures for the solution of practical problems in the object area. In what follows, the main goals of linguistics will be characterized, at a general level, according to this schema. 2. Theory: the nature of human language The spiritual aspect of the human understanding of some object is realized in the elaboration of a theory of that object. In this respect, the task of linguistics consists in the elaboration of a theory of human language and its relation to the languages. Its most important aspects include * the structure(s) and function(s) of human language and languages * the relationship between unity and diversity of human languages * linguistic change * acquisition of one’s native language In characterizing the nature of human language, linguistic theory also delimits it against other kinds of semiosis, both synchronically in the comparison of spoken and written languages with sign languages, whistling languages and, furthermore, with animal languages, and diachronically in the comparison with primate semiotic systems from which human language may have evolved. 3. Empiry: documentation and description of languages As recalled above, linguistics is (among other things) an empirical science. In such a discipline, there is a necessary interrelation between the elaboration of a theory of the object and the description of the object; one informs the other. Furthermore, since speech and even languages are volatile, they have to be documented. The tasks of linguistics in this area may be systematized as follows: 1. language documentation: recording, representation, analysis and archiving of speech events and texts that represent a certain language 2. language description: 1. the setting of the language * ethnographic * social/cultural * genealogical 2. the language system: * semantic system: grammar, lexicon * expression systems: phonology, writing The documentation of a language must be such that people who do not have access to the language itself can use the documentation as a surrogate for as many purposes as possible. In particular, it should be possible to develop a description of a language on the basis of its documentation. The description makes explicit the meanings that the language expresses and the functions it fulfils – what it codes and what it leaves uncoded –, and represents the structure of the expressions that afford this. It does all of this in the most systematic and comprehensive way possible. Such a description may be used for a variety of purposes, most of which are mentioned below in the section on applied linguistics. Both documentation and description take the historical dimension of the object into account. That is, in the synchronic perspective, they are systematic, while in the diachronic perspective, they are historical. 4. Practice: application of linguistics The daily use of language for communication and cognition is replete with all kinds of tasks and problems that require science for a proper solution. Some of them are: * compilation of grammars, dictionaries and text editions for various purposes * native and foreign language teaching * testing of linguistic proficiency * standardizing and planning languages * devising and improving writing systems * development and maintenance of special languages and terminologies * analysis and alleviation of communication problems in social settings * diagnosis and therapy of aphasic impairments * intercultural communication, translation and interpreting * communication technology: speech technology, automatic speech and text production and analysis, machine translation, corpus exploitation †¦ The descriptions produced in â€Å"pure† linguistics – not only descriptive linguistics, but also socio-, psycho-, neuro-, ethno- etc. linguistics – are exploited for the formulation of technical procedures by which tasks arising in the fields enumerated may be solved. And contrariwise, the demands arising from those practical fields are taken as challenges by theoretical and descriptive linguistics to produce theories and descriptions that respond to them. 5. Methodology: epistemological reflection and working tools The nature of the goal of science – objective knowledge – requires the elaboration and testing of methods by which putative knowledge may be attained, verified/falsified and applied in the solution of practical or interdisciplinary problems. * The epistemological side of this activity is a stock-taking of the particular nature of the activity of the linguist, its goals, conditions and possibilities. There will be reflection on the logical, empirical and hermeneutic nature of the object of linguistics and the approaches appropriate to each facet. * The operational side of methodology is the elaboration of particular methods within such a methodological frame of the discipline. Given the interplay of specific aspects of the linguistic object with specific problems and purposes, specific sets of methods may be developed to deal adequately with such aspects of the object, to solve such problems and serve such purposes. This involves * in the deductive perspective, the operationalization of concepts and theorems and the elaboration of tests * in the inductive perspective, the elaboration of standards of representation of linguistic data and of tools for processing them. While a contribution from general epistemology may be expected for the epistemological side of linguistic methodology, its operational side is entirely the responsibility of the particular discipline. Its status as a scientific discipline crucially depends on its fulfillment of this task. 6. Cooperation: interdisciplinary fertilization. The articulation of science into disciplines is, first of all, a necessity of the division of labor. As observed above, a particular discipline is constituted by the combination of an object with an epistemic interest. The object is just a segment of the overall object area susceptible of scientific insight, the epistemic interest depends on all kinds of factors, and the combinations of these two elements are consequently manifold. In other words, no discipline is autonomous and self-contained. The contribution that it makes to human understanding can only be assessed if it is compared and combined with other disciplines. The theories developed by a discipline must define their object in such a way that it becomes transparent where they leave off, i. e. where the interfaces for the combination of related theories are. And they must be formulated in such a way that non-specialists can understand them and relate them to the epistemic interest pursued by them. Thus, a linguistic theory has to make explicit what it purports to cover and what not – for instance, only the linguistic system, not its use –; and linguists should say what they think is required for taking care of the rest. Moreover, the products of linguistic description and documentation must be represented in such a way that non-linguists may use them. For instance, there must be * grammars usable by foreign language curriculum designers * semantic descriptions usable by ethnographers * models of linguistic competence testable by neurologists * formal grammatical descriptions usable by programmers. Finally, linguistics must be capable of and receptive in taking up insights and challenges from other disciplines. For instance, * phonological concepts must be related to phonetic concepts * models of linguistic activity must be inspired by findings of psychology and neurology * models of linguistic competence must be able to account for the performance of plurilingual persons. Interdisciplinary cooperation is the touchstone of the communicative capacity of a scientific community. A discipline that can neither inspire other disciplines nor be inspired by them gets isolated and unnecessary. 7. Conclusion Above, five areas of goals of linguistics have been identified: 1. Theory: the nature of human language 2. Empiry: documentation and description of languages 3. Practice: application of linguistics 4. Methodology: epistemological reflection and working tools 5. Cooperation: interdisciplinary fertilization These goals do not belong to the same level. Goal #1, the elaboration of a theory of its object, is the highest goal of any science. As already mentioned, goal #1 is interdependent with goal #2, because a theory of an object area presupposes its proper description, and a proper description presupposes a theory on which it can be based. Furthermore, the production of documentations and descriptions is a service to the society. This is even more true of goal #3: The solution of daily-life tasks and problems is a practical contribution to the improvement of the conditio humana. It has to be done by someone, and if it is done by the discipline that has the relevant know-how, it is both better for the solution of the problem and better for the social standing of the discipline. Finally, the demands emerging from extra-scientific practice may feed back into the content and form of descriptions. Goals #4 and #5 are more science-immanent. Neither the elaboration of a methodology nor interdisciplinary cooperation are anything that would be of direct relevance outside a scientific context. They are, however, preconditions for the attainment of goals #1 – #3. As said before, no serious theory can be developed, no adequate descriptions and documentations can be produced, and no practical problems can be solved, without an arsenal of pertinent methods and without a systematic interchange with disciplines that partly share the object area or the epistemic interest.

Free Essays on Marc Quinn ‘Self’

Marc Quinn ‘Self’ 1991; size 81.9 x 24.75 inches ‘Self’ is a blood head sculpture. The art movement, which Marc Quinn belongs to, is modern art. The piece Self is a very modern piece it was made in 1991. The first thing that strikes me about this piece is that it is unusual! The first thought that came into my head was how much blood did they use? And had anyone ever created anything like this before? When I gathered my research there was different opinions about the amount of blood used to create Marc Quinn’s’ ‘self’, some authors said he had used 8 pints and others said 9 pints. His own blood (extracted over a five-month period) into a silicone model of his head then placed inside a refrigerated and transparent Perspex cube. According to some of the research Marc Quinn’s sculptures perhaps more than any others have come to stand for wilful sensitivity to the body and mortality fostered by British art in the 90s. The literature believes Quinn has chosen to use his own body as a primary source, saying â€Å" the self is what one knows best and least at the same time, casting the body gives one the opportunity to see the ‘self.’ while Marc Quinn acknowledges that his work may be shocking, he does not consider himself to be a â€Å"shock artist†; instead, he is interested in unveiling a certain reality and using science as a means of facilitating a personal artistic statement. Some art and design journalists believed Self is known throughout the art world as a powerful icon and when there is articles about Marc Quinn’s work, it is often put in the forefront as a strong image. Marc Quinn states it is a great sculpture that gets people interested in his work, as it is a radical piece of art. Marc Quinn has had a major influence on art as reading the research about marc Quinn it became obvious that he uses whatever materials it takes to create his ideas. Marc Quinn likes to use materials for their intrins... Free Essays on Marc Quinn ‘Self’ Free Essays on Marc Quinn ‘Self’ Marc Quinn ‘Self’ 1991; size 81.9 x 24.75 inches ‘Self’ is a blood head sculpture. The art movement, which Marc Quinn belongs to, is modern art. The piece Self is a very modern piece it was made in 1991. The first thing that strikes me about this piece is that it is unusual! The first thought that came into my head was how much blood did they use? And had anyone ever created anything like this before? When I gathered my research there was different opinions about the amount of blood used to create Marc Quinn’s’ ‘self’, some authors said he had used 8 pints and others said 9 pints. His own blood (extracted over a five-month period) into a silicone model of his head then placed inside a refrigerated and transparent Perspex cube. According to some of the research Marc Quinn’s sculptures perhaps more than any others have come to stand for wilful sensitivity to the body and mortality fostered by British art in the 90s. The literature believes Quinn has chosen to use his own body as a primary source, saying â€Å" the self is what one knows best and least at the same time, casting the body gives one the opportunity to see the ‘self.’ while Marc Quinn acknowledges that his work may be shocking, he does not consider himself to be a â€Å"shock artist†; instead, he is interested in unveiling a certain reality and using science as a means of facilitating a personal artistic statement. Some art and design journalists believed Self is known throughout the art world as a powerful icon and when there is articles about Marc Quinn’s work, it is often put in the forefront as a strong image. Marc Quinn states it is a great sculpture that gets people interested in his work, as it is a radical piece of art. Marc Quinn has had a major influence on art as reading the research about marc Quinn it became obvious that he uses whatever materials it takes to create his ideas. Marc Quinn likes to use materials for their intrins...