Factors that effect college learning Research Paper

Factors that effect college learning - Research Paper Example This paper attempts to explore all these factors with the help of credible research and then relate the ideas unfolded by research to the process of learning initiated by joining colleges. It should be understood how the negative practice of seeing students as customers only and not knowledge seekers by many college administrators is responsible for decline in college learning and how very demanding parents or students who have their interests based on vocational training alone also interfere with the true spirit of learning process. Understanding the role played by different factors is important as even â€Å"high-achieving students seem less able to grapple with issues that require them to think across disciplines or reflect on difficult questions about what matters and why† (Wilson). The colleges should guarantee such education that students could enlighten the world later on with their charismatic leadership and high moral behavior. â€Å"Students and others pay us lots of money, and we should try treat them respectfully, efficiently, and in a way that satisfies them† (Levine). This practice of seeing students only as customers who could be manipulated and used for the benefit of the administrators by asking them to make big commitments in terms of money on part of the colleges and the practice of viewing colleges solely as vocational training providers on part of students and parents should be abandoned as both these features collectively form a very negative influencer of good learning. Students turn to business schools so that they could be treated there as future business leaders and those schools â€Å"should not, in the words of one of my colleagues, plop students down as pre-M.B.A. goo and then orchestrate an experience from which good customer f eedback is sought† (Snyder, cited in THE EDITORS). It is a deplorable reality and a matter of great concern that the type of undergraduate

Icelandic volcanoes

Icelandic volcanoes Icelandic volcanoes have been associated with many devastating impacts, not only for the people of Iceland. Volcanic hazards tend to extend beyond Icelandic soil and travel to the opposite side of the globe, and are therefore considered worldwide hazards. This shows us that although the eruption occurred on land, the nature and volume of eruptions at mid-ocean ridges are very widespread. An example, of a volcano causing detrimental effects on a large scale was the Laki eruption of Iceland in June of 1783. There were over 1000 people that died which accounts for 25% of the population, and about half of the islands cattle and three-fourths of its sheep died. Furthermore, a large number of hectares and vegetation also perished. A great number of people and livestock died from suffocation caused by the pyroclastic flow- the most dangerous feature of volcanoes. The pyroclastic flow is extremely hot and triggers high velocity winds (exceeding wind speeds in hurricanes) within the cloud and the poisonous volatile gases which are capable of destroying all life within many miles of the volcano in a matter of minutes**. These gases include sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfur trioxide (SO3) which are poisonous alone, however combined with water from sulfuric acid (HCl), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrofluoric acid (HF) and boric acid (H3BO3) can kill within a matter of minutes once inhaled. People and livestock also died due to the secondary effects. The islands vegetation rapidly perished under a blanket of ash. This vegetation could not receive any sunlight to flourish as the ash which coated it blocked the sunlight. Due to a lack of vegetation widespread famine traveled across Europe and diseases surfaced due to the lack of nutrition, effecting the livestock and human inhabitants of the island. Furthermore, the haze that coverers the sky after an eruption, results from the sulfur gases reacting with water vapor, this blocks the suns rays and is therefore detrimental to both life on land and in the ocean. Volcano Laki efficiently eliminated the 1783 summer and it was the coldest in 500 years in some locations, according to tree ring data. The sun was obscured by the vast cloud caused by the Laki eruption and, what should have been a warm summer in the northern hemisphere, took on winter proportions, not just in Iceland, but all over Europe.** Poems were written that i ncluded descriptions of the sun- ‘pale blood red ghost within the volcanic haze. In reference to the laki volcano in Iceland, Benjamin Franklin during a lecture in 1784 made the following comments, when the effect of the suns rays to heat the earth in these northern regions should have been greater, there existed a constant fog all over Europe, and a great part of North America†¦this haze was also observed over Asia and North Africa. These days the haze would cease aviation over much of Europe if an eruption the capacity of Laki occurred. The haze does not only decrease visibility, but it also damages aircraft. For example, the most common result is engine damage that occurs when volcanic ash enters the jet intakes; the volcanic ash melts and cools to become glass coating the turbine blades, often causing the engines to stall. Further secondary effects included contaminated water supplies within Iceland. The water became poison due to its contact with pyroclastic flow and being supplied with acid rain. A build up of fluoride within the drinking water caused ‘fluoride poisoning which resulted in bone deformities in people and livestock evident in graveyard excavations. Volcanoes also have the capacity to interrupt the normal weather patterns not only locally, but also on a large scale. For example, in France the extreme weather resulted in a surplus harvest in 1785 that inflicted poverty upon rural workers, accompanied by droughts, bad winters and summers, involved a horrific thunderstorm and hailstorm in 1788 that damaged crops. This in turn contributed significantly to the build up of poverty and famine that triggered the French revolution in 1780. Recent computer modeling shows that the cooler temperatures in the Northern hemisphere in 1783 caused a weak monsoon for Southern Asia and Northern Africa. The unusual cold in the North lessened the temperature contrast between the land and the oceans, upon which the monsoon winds rely for their development and strength. With little or no monsoon, there are no clouds to produce rain for rivers or to prevent the surface evaporation. Without rain there was no irrigation supplied for crops and this result ed in a food shortage for these countries. The cooler weather also caused the Mississippi River to freeze and the formation of ice in the Gulf of Mexico. These unprecedented weather patterns upon Europe continued for several years Lava is another dangerous feature of volcanoes. The vent of the Laki volcano was marked by a row of lava fountains throwing red-hot molten basalt tens of meters into the air and in a single day, the front of the lava flow advanced 15km2, making it the largest historic eruption. The destructive power of lava flows lies in the high temperature of the rock, which can set structures aflame, and in the size and mass of the flow, which can engulf or crush even large buildings. One observer of the Laki volcano said ‘all the earths plants burned, withered and turned gray, one after another, as the fire increased and neared the settlements. Earthquakes can also be triggered by volcanic activity. The Earthquakes are produced by stress changes in solid rock caused by the insertion and/or removal of magma. These earthquakes can cause land to subside and can produce large ground cracks**. Furthermore, the Laki eruption was heralded by a series of earthquakes and the opening of fissures 25km long, and a shallow graben formed between two of the fissures.

Practice Commentary :: English Literature

Practice Commentary This passage taken from Denton Welch’s Maiden Voyage, introduces the readers to the main character (whose name is not mentioned) in a place that is not well known to the main character. Through the use of foreshadowing, symbolism, effective setting and characterization the author is able to successfully display a situation where an adolescent’s rebelliousness leads him into trouble and unexpected events. This passage begins with one of the characters, Mr. Butler, telling the main character, â€Å"Foreigners are not very popular here.† This very first line of the passage acts as a great opening sentence as it foreshadows the horrifying event that follows and it sets up the ominous and menacing mood of the passage. However this sentence is written so that it is an understatement and thus even though it still foreshadows the event that follows in a subtle way, it does not decrease the effect of that event has on the readers. If the foreshadowing had been made more obvious like, â€Å"Don’t go outside or else they will kill you.† then the readers would not be so surprised when the identity of the object found by the main character is revealed and when the main character finds himself trapped. The author also uses symbolism in order to reveal the identity of the object found by the main character. It is first mentioned as a â€Å"black speck† and because the color black is usually associated with death and evil it catches the reader’s attention and arouses suspicion. Next as the main character gets closer to the object he wonders, â€Å"if it could be a cat crouching in the middle of the road,† or even a dark boulder. By this time the readers are sure that the object being mentioned is going to be an unusual yet scary thing because it is being compared to a black cat (which is seen as an omen) and a boulder (which is seen as an obstacle in ones path). The most important aspect of this passage is its setting as through the setting, the situation of the main character feeling imprisoned in the villa and then becoming trapped is made to seem more realistic and is also made easier to imagine. In the starting the villa in which the main character is staying is said to be surrounded by poplar trees that are tall and thin and are planted in straight lines. This gives the readers the feeling that these trees act as barriers between the villa and the Chinese city that lies outside and maybe even guards the people living inside the villa from the outside dangers. Apart from this it gives a sense of why the main character

Benefits Of Gardening

Benefits Of Gardening Gardening is a hobby for many people. Gardening means nothing to some people. Gardening is done all over the world in any type of weather. Gardening gives us pleasure and is very effective to our minds. Gardening is done at homes, hotels, parks etc. Nowadays there is barely any gardening done. Most people have forgotten the benefits of gardening. In the olden days every house had a garden. It was filled with vegetables, fruits and flowers. Nowadays most people think that gardening is useless.They buy all their vegetables and fruits from the market, but do they know whether the vegetables or fruits they eat are chemicalised or not? If we have our own garden there are two main and basic benefits. One is we can eat the fruits and vegetables without buying thus, reducing the expenditure. Two is we can be sure that the fruits we eat are fresh, healthy and non-chemicalised. The place where I live, gardening is done by most people but still some think it's useless. In my hometown, every house has a garden.It is a shelter from sunlight and it gives us an exercise. Most people nowadays fall sick when they are 40 or 50 years old but in my hometown it's quite different, all work in the garden from early morning till sunrise. It gives us a morning exercise and it makes us very energetic to do our work for the rest of the day. For most people gardening is a remedy for diseases like cholesterol and diabetes. It creates a peaceful mind. In the early morning when you wake up you hear the birds chirping in your garden. You can see green in front of you.People who have eye roblems are advised by the doctors to wake up early in the morning and see green plants. They will help to cure your eye problems. When you have a garden of flowers the fragrance that come from the flowers and the different beautiful colours are a real treat in the morning. Our life expectancy rate goes up if we are physically and mentally healthy, gardening helps in that case as well. I would say that overall gardening is a physical and psychological medicine for everybody. I encourage everyone to do gardening and you will find that you will get very good benefits from it.

Neglect of the Elderly Essay

The neglect of the elderly is an extremely important issue in today’s society. The United States especially seem to treat their senior citizens with a severe lack of respect. In most foreign countries, the elderly are treated with the utmost respect. They are looked upon as the wisest person in their family. In today’s society, it seems as if people are more concerned with their own lives than the lives of those who raised them. This is why something needs to be done. Elderly neglect is a severe problem; one that does not seem to be getting any better. So what do we do when our parents get to the age when they have difficulty taking care of themselves? It seems that the most popular solution is to put them in an adult care facility and let them be someone else’s problem. When babies are born, they cannot take care of themselves. Do parents send them to a baby care facility and let strangers take care of them? No, because that would be preposterous. We care for our children because they cannot are for themselves. Then why is it that when the elderly get to the point that they cannot take care of themselves, we send them off to be someone else’s burden? This makes absolutely no sense. We as their children should be the ones taking care of them. We can ensure that they get the care they need. We would treat them with love and respect, something that they will not get in a facility. Adult homes, senior citizen centers, and assisted living facilities are all businesses. They are controlled by money. When money is tight, so is the care given to the senior citizens. The financial restraints result in the seniors not getting the attention they so desperately need. Some seniors cannot use the restroom without assistance, which sometimes results in them having to sit in their own filth until someone can help them. Imagine not being able to use the restroom by yourself and no one will help you. You end up soiling yourself and you have to sit in your own disgust until the underpaid, overworked employee slopes into your room to unwillingly help clean you up. Is that how anyone should be treated? No, absolutely not. Adult care facilities also suffer from a high turnover rate, which breeds poor employees. These unqualified individuals hold the lives of our elderly in their hands. A prime example would be fast food employees. When you put an underdeveloped person in a high stress, low paying job, you are not going to get top notch service. You are going to find people with bad attitudes that give poor service. Over-stressed and under-qualified caregivers end up giving this same type of service. This issue also tends to lead to elderly abuse, which is another major issue. But why do these people abuse the elderly? Even more puzzling is why do family members abuse the elderly? It was stated that â€Å"most perpetrators of abuse are caregivers who have some history of mental illness or substance abuse, and who are economically dependent on the older adult that they are supposed to be caring for† (Garrett, 2013, para.3). Why do we as a society treat these seasoned individuals with such a lack of respect? I can only imagine that part of the problem is the frustration of the system in place at these businesses. The disgruntled workers take out their frustrations on the seniors. This lack of caring also results in the seniors not being fed properly, which can ultimately lead to severe medical conditions or death. The facilities are not the main problem. The main issue is that people have lost respect for one another. Everyone is so wrapped up in their own lives that they could care less about anyone else. Elderly neglect would improve if we as a society would recognize the importance of supporting and cherishing all things, old and new. Reference Garrett, M. (2013, April 27). Elder abuse. Psychology Today. Retrieved July 24, 2013, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/iage/201304/elder-abuse