Categorical clustering Essay Example for Free

Categorical clustering Essay Theories which link recall directly to the way in which the information is encoded are very well supported and accepted among cognitive theorists; however, there is a lack of research on specific tricks to encoding which may aid in recall efficiency (Roy, 1967). The theories on this are widely accepted but, in fact, are poorly supported due to their common sense value. There is a need for more research about the ways in which environment directly effects efficiency of recall. Considering all of the research done on the correlation between encoding methods and recall, it can be seen that recall is directly affected by the modality and physical characteristics of encoding (Squire, 1987). Mnemonic devices are techniques to improve retention and most involve some combination of vivid visual imagery, organization of information into meaningful units, and hierarchies, and association with well-learned information (Winn, 2001). Many different memorization techniques have been designed to accommodate the unique way that every brain encodes the most effectively. Mnemonic devices have been devised to help the naturally most effective way for each individuals brain to encode information, but are geared towards visual learners. Kinetic and Auditory Learners need to modify what is being encoded in order for it to be effectively recalled later (Expanding, 1996). These specific techniques add meaning to an otherwise meaningless list of items (Sternberg, 1999). Common mnemonic devices include categorical clustering, interactive images, pegword systems, method of loci, acronyms, acrostics, and keyword systems. Henry Roediger has studied the comparative effectiveness of these mnemonic strategies and found that it was influenced by the kind of task required at the time of retrieval. He went on to suggest that when choosing a method for encoding, one should keep in mind the purpose of recalling the information (Sternberg, 1999).. Students are often asked to memorize large amounts of information at one time. There is a very small amount of research on the effectiveness of different mnemonic devices specifically effective for the purpose of recalling scholastic information. One method which has been theorized to fit this type of purpose of recall is categorical clustering. It has already been theorized by Weston Bousfield that the human brain automatically separates information into categories. In 1953 he tested this theory by showing that if sets of test words can be divided into categories, participants will automatically cluster their recall output by these categories. Aiding the natural inclination to categorize with mnemonic devices could greatly help memorization. Theories about this are very poorly supported. Further investigation of this specific mnemonic device is important in investigating how it affects the recall of lists of words. Knowing this would be relevant in scholastic and other environments in which this device could be especially helpful. Hypothesis  IB Juniors given a list of 18 words with a list of 3 category titles will recall the items on the list more accurately than those given the list without the category titles  Null Hypothesis  There is no difference in recall between IB Juniors given a list with category titles and those given the list without the titles. Methods: Design  Design  The design that will be used for this experiment is independent samples, because it meets the needs of the experiment and also minimizes error and is effective in controlling specific internal validity concerns. This specific design controls for testing and progressive errors, most order effects, maturation, and mortality. This design, however, does not control for history. The only unwanted subject variables in this experiment would be learning or memory deficit disorders. Drastic problems that keep a student from being able to memorize or learn new things effectively would negatively affect the experiment and make the results more difficult to generalize. To control for this, as a sort of pre-screening, only juniors enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program will be used as volunteers. It can be ensured that any student which has made it that far within that rigorous an academic program has no drastic disorders which effect his or her memory or ability to learn and retain information. This also controls for selection in that all IB Juniors are statistically equivalent. Diffusion of treatment in this experiment could be a problem if the subjects share words or information from the lists while trying to recall them. This could largely alter the results of the experiment and therefore the researchers will be preventing subject interaction and supervising them as they are recalling remembered words. All subjects will be given the exact same list of words, only 1/2 will be given simple category titles. The words will still be in the same order and place on the page to control for instrumentation errors. Ethics Because subjects will be tested in front of a teacher, it will be made fully aware that they will be ethically treated and that in no way will this experiment alter their status in that classroom. The researchers will establish a clear and fair agreement with the research participants prior to their participation. This agreement will clarify the aim of the study, that it is completely optional, and ensure that the results will be shared with the participants after all data is collected and analyzed. The researchers will make the subjects fully aware that the study is not only optional, but that the subject can decline to participate or withdraw from the research at any time without any repercussions whatsoever. All necessary aspects of the research will be described and the volunteers will give their informed consent prior to participation. Results will remain confidential and anonymous, but the final purpose of the study shall be revealed in a follow up session. Since all of the participants are under 18, the principal and the party who is legally responsible for the students while they are on campus (Mrs. Benware) will be made aware of the aim of the study and give her consent to let any volunteers participate in the study. III. Methods: Participants The entire population of IB Juniors may be used in the experiment; however, the statistical concepts of sampling make it unnecessary. The sample will consist of IB Juniors from Mrs. Jamisons 3rd and 6th period classes, and from various other teachers which give informed consent for the researchers to talk to their classrooms about the experiment and offer the opportunity for the students to volunteer. The participants will be a representative group of the entire population of IB juniors. Students which are taking psychology dont create any errors in population validity, as they havent participated in enough training in psychology for their results to be altered in any way because of it. To obtain a random sample from the IB Junior class, students from random classrooms will be asked to volunteer. A random sample of 30 IB Juniors is used in the experiment. They are all 16-17 years of age and have similar academic backgrounds and capabilities, as they are all in the International Baccalaureate program.

The Rise of Trump and the Mainstreaming of White Nationalism

The Rise of Trump and the Mainstreaming of White Nationalism Tweet Storm: The Rise of Trump and the Mainstreaming of White Nationalism The opening event for The College of New Jerseys Womens History Month 2017 was a talk given by Dr. Jessie Daniels titled Tweet Storm: The Rise of Trump, the Mainstreaming of White Nationalism, the Real Threat to Building Just and Sustainable Communities. The talk took place in The College of New Jerseys Library Atrium on March 8, 2017 and began with Dr. Janet Gray introducing Daniels by detailing her impressive academic history. Dr. Daniels is a professor of sociology at Hunter College and at the Graduate Center at CUNY who specializes in critical social psychology. She is internationally recognized as an expert in the expression of racism on the internet and the author of two books, White Lies and Cyber Racism, which were the basis of her talk. Daniels opened her talk by first recognizing that the material she would be covering, while important, could be triggering to some members of the audience and promised to not have the anti-semitic and racist imagery on display for longer than necessary. She then goes on to explain how she views white nationalism as a serious, growing threat to developing just and sustainable communities and that she will be discussing these ideas in the context of the most recent U.S. election. Daniels uses her two books, which were accidently written on either side of the internet (Daniels), to examine the growth and change in the white supremacy movement and system in the United States due to the drastic increase in availability of the internet in the late 1990s. White Lies focuses on white supremacists printed publications (Daniels) and is a quantitative analysis of 400 publications from five different white supremacist organizations (Daniels). From her analysis, Daniels first argues that white su premacy is gendered both in regards to the supposed positive attributes of whites and the supposed negative attributes of non-whites. Her second argument is that the rhetoric of white supremacy is similar to the popular political rhetoric around race in general. While this may be extremely apparent to us today, when White Lies was published in 1997 these observations and analysis were novel both in academia and in social justice communities. In her second book, Cyber Racism, Daniels revisits the five groups explored in White Lies to see if had they made this transition; did they make it across the internet on to doing white supremacy digitally (Daniels). She did a quantitative content analysis of Stormfrontà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦andà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a quasi-experimental in-depth interview designà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦based on web usability studies (Daniels). One of her major findings is white supremacists use of cloaked sites, which she defines as sites that intentionally disguised authorship in order to conceal a political agenda (Daniels), and that racism is changing due to the digital revolution. While this is not surprising, her second finding that students are willing to consider information given on these cloaked sites if asked but are usually deterred by the unprofessional look to the sites is terrifying in its implications. Daniels argues that the goal of white supremacists is to challenge these moral and political victories, like the abolition of slavery, to say lets debate that again (Daniels). This gives white supremacy legitimacy as a reasonable position to hold that can be debated and has caused the United States to be a haven for white supremacy. Our class has spent a significant amount of time talking about white privilege especially in connection to current events such as the Womens March last January and the continuing rise in police brutality against people of color. I believe Daniels second book Cyber Racism and its conclusions could have added another dimension to those discussions since we did not explicitly touch on white supremacy in any of them. Daniels argument that racism has drastically changed due to the digital revolution directly connects to my short presentation on Native Feminism on our second day of class. During that presentation, I included a quote from Sydne Rain which included the line The tone-deafness of all these angry white supremacists around me. Their lack of care.. The use of white supremacists in the quote portrays the new white supremacy described by Daniels in her second book. White supremacy is now much more cloaked than it has been in the past which has led to many average people holding bel iefs that are characterized as white supremacists beliefs. Rain touches upon several realities directly caused by historic and current white supremacy but the average person would not label many of these realities as white supremacy because they only recognize the pre-internet version of the system. This talk also spoke to a topic we have only briefly covered in class but will go more in-depth with in the near future: cyber feminism. Cyber feminism was coined in the 1990s as a way to describe how feminists were critiquing, theorizing about, and using the internet for feminist work. Daniels directly, but probably not purposely, addressed this idea when discussing the revolution of the internet: Then one day I went to bed and when I woke up everyone had the internet. While Daniels never mentions cyber feminism in her talk, her description of how she became interesting in using the internet as a tool for research on racism, white supremacy, and how the internet affected the effect of white supremacy on young adults was essentially the definition of cyber feminism. I believe this talk will inform the classroom discussion on cyber feminism when we reach the topic especially since at least half the class attended the talk. Overall, I found the talk to be informative and enjoyable and the speaker to be conscientious and willing to address complex issues that do not have easy answers. I was glad Daniels took the first few minutes of her talk to recognize that the images she would be showing could be triggering for some members of the audience and to promise to only have them on the screen for as long as she needed. The fact that she took time to do this and followed through on her promise, especially in reference to the anti-semitic images with the recent attacks and threats on Jewish communities, told me she was extremely conscientious and aware of what she was presenting. It was during the questioning part of the event after the talk where she showed how willing she was to address complex issues. I asked a rather difficult question about where she thinks the future of white supremacy is going, both in the short and long term, and how she thinks changing demographics of the United States would affect th is. She did not dismiss my question and answered it to the best of her ability in my opinion. Daniels argument about how students analyze online sources, especially cloaked sites, has been one of the largest take-aways for me. On a personal level, I wonder if I am guilty of dismissing a cloaked site simply due to graphics and if I would recognize these sites for what they are if they did have more professional designs. On a professional level as a teacher, I wonder how my students are interacting with these cloaked sites. Ultimately, this event left me concerned and wondering how I could address these topics with my own students. Work Cited Daniels, Jessica. Tweet Storm: The Rise of Trump, the Mainstreaming of White Nationalism, the Real Threat to Building Just and Sustainable Communities. Womens History Month 2017, The College of New Jersey, 8 March 2017, The College of New Jersey Library, Ewing, NJ, Lecture. hokte (sydnerain). And it makes me so, so fucking angry to type this. The tone-deafness of all these angry white supremacists around me. Their lack of care. 22 January 2017, 8:45 PM. Tweet.

The Maasai Tribe Essay -- Kenya tribe Maasai Essays

The Maasai are one of the many southern-most tribes located in Kenya. They are physically related, and also in many other forms related to the Samburu and Turkana. The Maasai have a relatively complex culture and traditions. In fact, for many years they were unheard of. By the late 1800’s we soon discovered more about the Maasai, mostly from their oral histories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is presumed that the Maasai came from the north, probably from the region of the Nile Valley in Sudan. Also presumed is that they left this area sometime between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, migrating southwards towards he Great Rift Valley. According to the Maasai oral history, they came from a crater or deep valley somewhere to the north, at a place called Endikir-e-Kerio . Although many scholars have called this place the southeastern region of Lake Turkana, many of the oral histories say that they may have come from further up north, near the Nile river. Whichever location this is, the migration was caused by a dry spell. According to the Maasai a bridge was built, and after half the livestock and people had left the dry area, the bridge collapsed, leaving back the other half of the population. These people later climbed out of the valley, and were helped by the present day Somali, Borana and Rendille peoples. The Maasai later entered Kenya, and moved south through the Rift Valley, where there was pasture for their cattle. Because there was very little surface water, the Maasai resorted to pastoralism instead of agriculture.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Maasai have adapted to their environment to ensure survival and the maintenance of their culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Maasai have adapted to the conditions of their environment through their religious rituals, which function in keeping their political structure, and maintaining cattle numbers. The idea of religion in the Maasai culture is attatched with the importance they place on the stages of life. Spear indicates that for the Maasai, God is close yet completely unknowable. Each ritual transition between age-groups is a step toward old age and metaphorically a step toward God. According to Emily McAlpin in â€Å"The Maasai culture and Ecological Conditions† the most important event in the ceremony is the sharing of meat which brings all participants clos... ... one is in this society, the more power attained.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most common form of sharing goods and distributing them is through allied kin groups. There is no doubt sometimes disagreements amongst the Maasai people, therefore most kin groups have an ally kin group. These are useful when a luxury item is sought after and one group has it and is willing to lend or give it to the other, not a necessity. When something is needed for survival, the whole society will help.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bibliography: 1.Cronk, Lee 2004 From Mukogodo To Maasai: Ethnicity and Cultural Change in Kenya (Westview Case Studies in Anthropology), Westview Press, pp. 27-35 2. Hetfield, Johnston 1997 The Maasai of East Africa (Celebrating the Peoples and Civilizations of Africa) PowerKids Press; 1st ed edition, pp. 9-13 3.Spear, Walker 1993 Being Maasai: Ethnicity & Identity in East Afri Ca (Eastern African Studies), Ohio University Press pp. 214-221 4.Kituvi, Mukhisa 1990 Becoming Kenyans: Socio-economic transformation of the pastoral Maasai (Drylands research series), Acts Press, pp. 193-201 5. Sankan, S.S. Ole 1985 The Maasai ,Kenya Literature Bureau, pp. 77-84

The American School System: A Rough Road Ahead :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The American School System: A Rough Road Ahead There are many similarities and few differences between E.D. Hirsch’s â€Å"Why America’s Universities Are Better than Its Schools,† and Benjamin Barber’s â€Å"America Skips School.† The main purpose of both articles is to address the fact that Americans fall far behind in the scholastic accomplishment of their young students. Mutually, the two authors agree that American K-12 students learn more each day outside of the classroom than they do inside the classroom, and that the schools need serious reform. Barber focuses his attention on the financial situation of the schools, as well as the political standpoint that the government just does not care, and the American government has simply given up on its children. Hirsch tackles the idea that if our K-12 schools stay with their current level of teaching, it is only a matter of time before the institutions of higher learning will no longer be considered among the best in the world. At the present time, it seems as though America’s youth have been placed into a category for which they are no longer looked upon as a bright future for our nation as was considered in the past, as Barber has commented, â€Å"Jefferson thought schools would produce free men: we prove him right by putting dropouts in jail† (159). Children today are becoming more street-smart, and feel that there is no need for true knowledge. For example, â€Å"Knowledge is considered less desirable than more ‘practical’ all-purpose goals such as ‘higher order skills,’ ‘self-esteem,’ ‘metacognitive skills,’ and ‘critical-thinking skills† (Hirsch 144). They see it as much more important to look at what society rewards its people with, and that seems to be anything but a good academic background. In today’s culture, the people who are praised in America are the people who are able to make millions of dollars by performing music, acting in front of the camera, playing a sport, and unfortunately in some neighborhoods, selling drugs. Barber concurs that â€Å"When the society undoes each workday what the school tries to do each school day, schooling can’t make much of a difference† (157). Our students think in terms of what is going t o bring them to the peak of the success mountain in this great motherland where everyone has equal opportunity.

How To Wash A Car Essay -- essays research papers

How to wash a car There is many different ways to wash a car, but here is the correct way that generally works for the majority of people. Washing a car thoroughly takes five different steps to complete a clean exterior. Step1: Wheels are a good place to start, because the cleaning products for wheels work best on dry surfaces. Spray on the solution as directed by the instructions, and see if the dirt and dust is removed. Use a little more spray in bad areas to help get the wheels completely clean. Try and get all road grime and grease off of the wheels. Use a soft brush to clean cracks and crevices on the wheels, but don't scrub too hard. If you have alloy wheels, make sure that the cleaner is safe for the clear coat that may be on it. Rinse the wheels off and after all dirt and grime is removed. Try and keep any abrasives like steel wool pads and wire brushes away from the wheels. This could damage them by scratching the surface of the wheel. Step2: Use the hose to wet the car thoroughly from top to bottom. It is better to use a pistol grip hose nozzle, and set it to make a big stream that will drive off bird droppings and other dirty spots on the car. Try to avoid high-pressure handles that are found at self-serve places. High-pressure handles can damage a car by driving road grime into the finish, rather than washing it off. Also try to aim the hose up under the car and into the wheel wells to wash off road salt and gunk that has accumulated. Step3: If there's still is...

Why Women Should Be Able to Vote

Today, I am speaking for the affirmative to why women in Australia should be given the rights to vote for many obvious reasons. My reasons being; firstly, we should all be treated equally with justice or else Australia would not be considered as an egalitarian society. Secondly, other countries have benefited their society by passing women’s suffrage. Lastly, women are just as hard-working as men and deserve as much as men do. To start off, I without a doubt believe that women should be able to vote as Australia or we would not be known as an egalitarian society.Egalitarian means to treat everyone equally regardless of their gender, social class, nationality, education, family, appearance or job. Why should we call ourselves an egalitarian country if we’ve even consider to not give women political privileges such as voting or contributing to ideas based on gender? Women are counted as citizens of the country. They still pay taxes and obey the law. Yet, their ideas and v oices are being crucially mocked and ignored.By allowing women to vote, contribute ideas and analyse problems, we would have more intense debates and more conflicts in arguments. However, we would also be aware of more common problems and needs of the people that need to be met. My next reason why women should be allowed to vote is that countries allowing women’s suffrage have benefited from these actions. The first country allowing this to be passed was our neighbouring country, New Zealand in 1883, and then followed by Denmark, Norway, Germany and Finland in the mid-1900s.Australia can grow by following the footsteps of these countries as they now have a wide variety of ideas beneficial to both men and women because it serves the citizen’s need which should priority. It also gives women, hope and role models to look up to. Lastly, women should be able to vote because we are just as hard working as men. A majority of women are capable of doing tasks men can do. Women are very committed to their family.How can a woman financially support her family if she does not get paid as much as men due to men’s bias? Women are expected to only do large amount of cooking, cleaning and looking after kids. It would only be fair if they were able to vote as their votes would contribute to what is best for the country and its future. In conclusion, I strongly believe women having the right to vote will increase our economy as its extremely beneficial for the people’s rights, needs and the future of Australia being known as an egalitarian country.

Holi Essay

Holi is a very popular Hindu spring and Full Moon festival. It is followed by Dhuleti, the festival of colors. It is celebrated on 2 and 3 March, 2007. The two-day Indian festival of Holi is one of the twelve Full Moon festivals of the Indian lunar calendar. Each month begins with the New Moon and is divided into 2 fortnights, the bright half of the waxing moon and the dark half of the waning moon. The Full Moon (purnima) in the middle signifies culmination and fulfillment: the perfect time for a festival! Holi celebrates the Full Moon called the Holi Purnima, which occurs in the lunar month of Phalgun (February-March). Holi thus celebrates the coming of spring, which is enacted in a legend of fire. An evil demon, ruler of heaven, earth and hell, forced everyone to worship him as a god. His little son Prahlad, however, remained faithful to Lord Vishnu. So the King wanted him dead. His wicked sister, the demon Holika (after whom the festival is named), could not be harmed by fire. Taking up Prahlad, she entered a bonfire. But through Vishnu’s intervention, she was the one who burned and the child remained safe. Bon fires commemorating this tale of devotion overcoming even the most powerful of obstacles are lit on the first day of Holi, the day of the Full Moon. People throw cow dung into the fires and shout obscenities at Holika. Where the spring element is more dominant, the first fruits of the harvest are offered to the cleansing fire. Embers are carried home to light fires in the houses. Holi is a lighthearted celebration of exuberance and cheer. There are wild processions to drum beats and dances to traditional Holi folk songs. People let go of past grievances an look forward to a new beginning. The young are allowed to get intoxicated, behave rudely and play pranks. Everyone goes visiting, and guests are offered ghujias (sweetmeats made from flour, almonds and raisins) and cool thandais (a milk-based drink), which can be laced with small amounts of â€Å"bhang†, or marijuana. Holi is most known as a festival of colors. On the first day, the eldest male of the family sprinkles colored powder (gulal) and colored water on each family member. The colors, especially red, are made from flowers and signify blossoming. The second day is Dhuleti, when all hell breaks loose. Children, young men and women form separate groups and go out covering everything and everyone with colors. Holi is a celebration typical of Northern India, but it is so much fun that most of India and Hindus all over the world celebrate it.