Sunday, October 6, 2019
Federal Reserve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Federal Reserve - Essay Example The prevailing outlook over the next couple of months is definitely bleak, and it seems the only way out of it is for the government to launch a stimulus plan to revive the floundering economy. There have been widespread calls for the government to stop these cuts, as these bargain basement policy rates are highly detrimental to the overall economy. Noted professors from Harvard University and big money management houses are imploring the central bank to stop these cuts, as these merely fuel inflation and help boost the prices of basic commodities. However, not all is lost on the nation's fiscal policy as there remains as lone bright spot. The weaker dollar has contributed greatly to stabilizing the economy and holding the fort while all havoc breaks loose. A much weaker dollar coupled with a growing global market has cushioned and reoriented the country's economy by boosting corporate profits. Excluding oil and other basic commodities, the country's fiscal situation is not as bad as it looks on paper. Even with that given, the fact still remains that it is the skyrocketing prices of commodities such as oil which serve as the primary culprit in this economic rut. Usually, whenever the country is in an extended recession the prices will cooperate and go down accordingly.
Friday, October 4, 2019
Health Care Management Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Health Care Management Program - Essay Example Health Care Management Program Some of the best mentors and leadership role models whom she has worked with at prior institutions have helped excel Ms. Webb in providing her with a plethora of best practices, creating learning environments, and pushing her limits and boundaries. She seems to be very grateful for that. For example, some of the main services included in the field of healthcare management are preventative care, emergency services, and follow-up and rehabilitation. Without effective management, the coordination of healthcare services and improvement in the health of patients is not possible. Therefore, healthcare practitioners and concerned authorities need to design an effective healthcare management system in order to ensure provision of best health facilities to people. This course is set up to explain the definition of healthcare management and the roles a healthcare manager represents within the industry. A healthcare manager has the most critical role to play in ensuring the wellbeing of patients. He/she is the one who is responsible for provision of the highest quality health services to patients using all available resources. The purpose of this assignment to gain an insight into the way a health care manager effectively uses their resources related to finance, human retention , human resources, and strategic services. The goal of this assignment given to us is to gain an insight into the way healthcare managers understand their professional practice in terms of a business, as well as to know what efforts they can do to improve the health of patients. ... lar business needs to have an in-depth understanding of all core issues related to the business, as well as of all internal and external business issues in order to run the business successfully. The manager is the person who is mainly responsible for all ups and downs of the business. Therefore, managers must be competent enough to ensure growth of the business. In case of healthcare industry, the managers of healthcare organizations need to have all leadership skills and abilities, as well as advanced professional experience to accomplish the organization’s goals, objectives, and mission successfully (Flynn et al. 2007). To complete this assignment, I visited Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHC) on Monday, September 23, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. to interview Ms. Dianna Webb who is the Business Manager of the said organization. During interview, I discussed and understood her professional duties and responsibilities in her current position at Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHC) located at 13123 East 16th Avenue, B300, Aurora, CO 80045. Ms. Webb’s direct line is (303) 724-2357. Ms. Webb’s educational background includes a BS in Biology from Michigan State University where she set her professional goals to become an OBGYN. However, after shadowing her brother’s pathway to become a physician, she decided to go for something else. Therefore, she began working on obtaining a master’s degree at Cornell to help her professional track with a position in midlevel or executive hospital management where she could lead a department. Her professional job responsibilities at this position include planning budgets, evaluating staff, writing and overseeing quality and patient services. She further told me that she entailed more responsibilities while moving up with her career. For
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Portfolio Analysis Essay Example for Free
Portfolio Analysis Essay In the investment world there are many investment options to choose from, one of there investment option is the mutual fund .a mutual fund is an investment where the investors pool resources together which are then invested in securities, fixed interest stocks and money market instruments like derivatives.            The mutual funds is a professionally managed by fund managed whose sole purpose is to ensure that the returns on the invested assets are maximized to the benefits of the individual investors.            The performance of the mutual fund can be calculated by fund managers whose sole purpose is to ensure that the returns on the invested assets are maximized to the benefit of the individual investors            The performance of the mutual fund can be calculated on a daily basis by taking the current market value of the fund and dividing it with the number of securities in the fund1 Mutual funds are usually open end company governed by the investments company act (1940) in the U. S.A Mutual funds are suitable for those high net worth individuals who are either too busy to deal personally with their investments or those investors who don’t have the investment know-how. Investors in mutual funds should have investment objectives for the mid term to long term so as to reap maximum benefits.            Some of the mutual finds include stock money market funds, hybrid funds and bond funds In the following discussion we are going to discuss dominion funds which are registered in the Guernsey in the channel islands which is an off share country.            The dominion funds are divided in to 2 the chic fund and the x-fund. Dominion funds The company Domination Company is an investment fund management firm that is registered in the Guernsey in the Channel Islands with branch a in Switzerland.            The dominion brand is a sophisticated innovative and elegant. These attributes are in line with the business principles of the company.            The dominion fund is developed to meet the ever changing demands of the intelligent investors of today who include professional investors.            These investors demand extra performance and excellent service from the fund manager and that is why the dominion brand was created to deliver excellent service and returns.            To achieve this level of standards the company has companies two dominion distribution management limited branches in Guernsey and a dominion risk management S.A based in Switzerland. Funds traded The funds managed by dominion company are the x funds and chic funds Chic funds The structure of this fund is that it has the currency class of 3 major currencies (US $ EURO â‚ ¬ GBP  £) which are combined to form the fund. The fund itself is an 80% index portfolio and 20% active port folio.            These funds managed by dominion chic fund limited which invests in diversified stock of luxury goods and services companies recognized the world over.            Apart from being available in 3 currencies an investing in luxury goods companies the funds also offer weekly prices and redemptions.            The objective of this fund is the long-term capital appreciation. This is achieved by the division of the fund in to 2 passive investment –range between 80-100% of all assets invested depending on the stylish structure developed by the investment manager(blackrock merill lynch investment manager) and dominion company. The investment manager is required to manage the basic index in this investment as prescribed. Active investment- forms up to 20% and its objective is to increase the returns and volatility reduction. The active investment is also used to invest in those newly listed companies and in new luxury goods. Assets invested There is no single definition of luxury goods and service and hence the company has luxury to mean.            Those strong market brands with high innovativeness ability to chart price and supply easily forecasted growth and top class. It can also mean products and service of those companies with management, with track records.            The assets in chic fund are in the following sectors with the following geographical distribution Sector distribution                          geographical distribution Beverages and food- 17.38%            Europe-45.95% Accessories- 9.35%                          asia-13.55% Apparel- 7%                                      USA -40.53% Watch, jewellery and optics- 8.04% Transport- 1% Leisure and hotels- 5.56% Sports 9.27% Retail- 3.52% Tech-18.76% Cosmetic-9.33% (http://www.dominion-funds.com/english/chic/investorsentassets.aspx) x- funds were created to utilize the returns generated by the available market based securities over the cost of sourcing funds e.g. through bank loans. The x fund have been designed to minimize the risk assonated with return of based securities and specifically for the risk and professional investors keen on getting a risk hedged investment well above average in the log term. Fund structure The fund is managed by dominion PCC limited which is a protected call company, formed in Guernsey and regulated by Guernsey financial service. Commission. It is an open ended in investment fund.            The fund is a 2 currency (euroâ‚ ¬ and US $) each containing 6 fund. The fund has 3 leveraged options. (Low to medium risk x 0) (medium risk x1) (and aggressive higher risk x 2) with 2 types of assets prudential and Norwich union with- profits funds. It also is priced weekly with monthly redemptions.            X-funds innovative investments combines with profit funds with complex credit lending thus minimizing debt usage risks in the market and at the some time the market and at the same time maximizing returns over the long term. Nature of assets Dominion x-funds are invested in the best and extensive with –profits funds. The reason why dominion has invested in there funds is that of proven unsurpassed. Past performance and their consistency which makes them reliable. In any case anyway there with profits are provided by the blue chip financial institutions in Europe.            The with profits fund that dominion x- fund invests in has the following characteristics which makes them depend able for maximum returns to the investors. with profit funds are accessed only through an insurane e policy.            One of the lalyout out features of an with profit fund is that its well founded with a long investment account that even go beyond a century. They usually involve a relatively stable portfolio that includes stocks bonds property and cash. This means that with profit funds give a level of return that barely flutualesover time. It stable level of return means that the risk involved with this port folio is low.            The other reason why dominion x-fund invests in the with profit funds only over the medium to long term is because when invested only in the short periods they are usually affected by the risk of market value reduction.            They should only be invested in the medium to long-term in order to achieve maximum capacity gains and ensure stable returns.            The assets that the dominion x- fund invests in are the generic with profits, prudential international and Norwich union international funds PCC Protected cell company – open end company- that falls under the Guernsey’s companies law ( 1994) amended and protected cell companies ordinance 1997 amended. PCC as benefits which are; Funds assets fuly utilized by fund investors alone.
Adolphe Appia and Edward Gordon Craig
Adolphe Appia and Edward Gordon Craig Adolphe Appia and Edward Gordon Craig never collaborated with each other in work or spent any significant time in each others company, but their names are linked together before they had met or corresponded and have remained so to this day. Appia and Craig worked independently of each other to lay the foundation of modern three dimensional theatre practices. Adolphe Appia Adolphe Appia (1862-1928), was a Swiss lighting design innovator who saw the possibility of using light during scenic changes and with striking special effects. Appia was the first to develop and use multi-directional colored lighting to paint the stage and move in harmony with the theatrical production (Brockett 78). Adolphe Appia believed that light was a medium capable of conveying both external and internal meanings. Appia observed contemporary theatre and thought that most productions failed to use light and its potential to serve a production. The newly introduced electrical lighting was utilized with a dull notion of how light can work and appeared exceptionally bright, which destroyed any sense of dimensions and depth. Appia began to study light and plotted a detailed course to follow in order for light to become a set of principles underlying and guiding the medium. With this concept in mind, he theorized that light must break away from its enslavement to painted scenery (Beacham 25). Appia stated that an object lit from three or four directions throw no shadows (Beachman 25). Appia then decided that light did not support the expressiveness of music nor did it properly emphasize the plastic, three dimensional, form of the actor and the setting (Beachman 24). Appia discovered that in order to enhance the setting and create a three dimensional look, he first had to identify two types of light and then use them. The first type is diffused light, which provides a layer of light to enhance the more suggestive lighting effects. The second type of light was active, which highlighted what it lit; providing the means for enhancing both the external and inner settings as well. Active light allows the night, be it the moon or torches shining, or the supernatural to be expressed. Diffused and active lighting are used simultaneously, however, only in terms of the intensity. Appia discovered that to avoid extreme shadows, which weakens the effect of active light; diffused lighting can illuminate the setting and the actor. When visibility on stage and shadows are suppressed, active lighting can be used to enable a more dimensional atmosphere. Using these two types of lighting, Appia began to define the shapes and objects on stage, thus enhancing the th ree dimensional plastic form and transformed the idea of plasticity with light on stage (Beachman 26). As part of an exploration of this idea, Appia applied his theory to a stage that did not have true three dimensions. He developed the use of lighting in four forms: 1) the fixed border lights illuminated the painted flats. 2) Footlights were used to light the set and actor from both front and below. 3) Moveable spotlights focused a precise beam or various projections. 4) Light from behind to create a transparent illusion. Appia did find it most difficult to harmonize all of the forms together. His findings of how to use multiple light effects enabled him to manipulate the apparatuses of the time as well as to progress into the future (Beachman 27). Appia then began to realize that light could also give a sense of time, emotion and dimension (Beachman 62). He began intertwining light and music and time. By this he established the convention of light moving (while in sync with the music) and capturing the audiences attention (Brockett 142). As he continued to apply and adapt his own theory to theatrical festivals he designed and/or collaborated with, Appia concludes:   Light, just like the actor, must become activeLight has an almost miraculous flexibilityit can create shadows, make them living, and spread the harmony of their vibrations in space just as music does. In light we possess a most powerful means of expression. Appia conceptualized ahead of his time; he theorized that by having more mobile and easily handled apparatuses will produce active lighting, but would also require further study to perfect their operation. The diffused light would require more fixed installations in order to complement big screens of transparency (Beachman 28). Appia was highly influential in the theatre arts and continued his theories with other theatrical theorists as well as working with Edward Gordon Craig to further develop the idea of complete plasticity through light. Edward Gordon Craig Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966), was an English stage design innovator who defined stage lighting for the modern theatre. He believed that the theatre should be free from dependency on realism and the actor. The actor along with light as a key element should be controlled by one person, the master artist known as the director today. Unlike Adolphe Appia, Craig thought that the theatre only needed one master artist to create all of the production elements and focused on lighting as a general illumination for the whole composition (Brockett 146). Craigs focus on scenic design began to take a more prominent role and lighting became only an afterthought; for which all of his sets and actors were visible to the audience. He achieved this by using border lights, wing strip lights and footlights (Pilbrow 3). With Craig focusing more on the overall visual impact of coordination and balance between light movement, objects and special relationships, he found himself strongly in disagreement with Appias theory that the actors body movement was more significant to be considered above all other elements (Beachman 68). Appia took a deep interest as to why Craig disagreed, so he corresponded with Craig, discussing ideas and concerns. Through this collaboration Craig and Appia combined their ideas into one theory: creating complete plasticity with light. They were to present the Plasticity Theory at the Cologne Exhibit of 1913. However, their first meeting in person was an acrimonious one and Craig refused to present. Frustrated with Appias constant focus on the human body and music, Craig voiced his opinion rather sternly: I told him that for me, the human body in movement seemed to signify less and less and that his vision was clouded by the veils of music and the human form (Beachman 69). Appia refused to present without Craig and after much discussion, they were able to set aside their differences and presented the Appia and Craig Theory of Plasticity at the Cologne Exhibit on May 19, 1913 (Beachman 70). Both Edward Gordon Craig and Adolphe Appia were the innovators of modern stage lighting; their ability to think beyond the technology available at the time, has paved the way to lighting design today. Bibliography Beachman, Richard. Adolphe Appia: Artist and Visionary of the Modern Theatre. Hardwood Academic Publishers: Great Britain, 1994. Brockett, Oscar G. and Hildy. History of Theatre. Allyn Bacon: USA, 2007. Pilbrow, Richard. Stage Lighting Design: The Art, The Craft, The Life. Design Press: New York, 1997. Adolphe Appia Lighting effects Three dimensional effects   Edward Gordon Craig The Mask: Lighting effects Scale effects
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Agroecology and Miguel Altieri Essay -- Agriculture Agricultural Essay
Agroecology and Miguel Altieri Agroecology and agriculture in general took a giant leap forward in 1492 when Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. Previously, the New and the Old World only shared three species: sweet potato, bottle gourd, and coconut. Now that this New World had been discovered, there was much that could be gained, and it was more than just gold (Bermejo 1994). Many attempts at growing crops in the new and very different environment proved frivolous, but others found success. In fact, it is known today that many crops reach their optimum yield in an environment that is different from their own. The first crops introduced into the Americas were the European grains, vegetables, and fruits; these were unsuccessful at first. However, some crops did adapt well to the tropical environment right from the beginning, including: bananas, sugar cane, and citrus fruits. Potatoes, tomatoes, gourds, beans, and chilies have all found their way into European cuisine; these crops all originated in the Americas. Rice, a now major player in Mexican food, was also introduced by the Spaniards. African grasses also replaced low yield grass species in Latin America. This giant exchange of species would completely change the world’s diet (Bermejo 1994). Although explorers set out in a conquest for â€Å"God, gold, and Glory,†and did, in fact, satisfy all of those desires, they discovered something that was way more valuable than anything they could have ever imagined. They discovered a whole new world that had unlimited resources, land, plant species, and anything else they could ever use in their lifetime. In their conquest, however, they managed to almost wipe out a whole population, thousands of years of history, an... ... from http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/wm/60.4/jones.html Lopez, B. (1990) The Rediscovery of North America. The University Press of Kentucky. Lexington. Sandberg, B. (2006). Beyond Encounters: Religion, Ethnicity, and Violence in the Early Modern Atlantic World, 1492-1700. Journal of World History, 17, Retrieved November 10, 2006, from http://historycooperative.press.uiuc.edu/journals/jwh/17.1/sandberg.html Schwartz, B., D'Arcy, H., Schuman, H. (2005, April 1). Elite Revisionists and Popular Beliefs: Christopher Columbus, Hero or Villain?. Public Opinion Quarterly, 69, Retrieved November 10, 2006, from http://80elibrary.bigchalk.com.proxy.uwlib.uwyo.edu/libweb/elib/do/document?set=pbsissue&groupid=1&requestid=issue_docs&resultid=9&edition=&ts=22A09C01D33E00EEC1C57E5266921447_1163398443033&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B106981986
Mercury :: essays research papers
Mercury      Mercury is a metallic element that is a liquid at room temperature, it is one of the transition elements. Mercury's atomic number is 80. It is superconductive when cooled to within a few degrees of absolute zero. Mercury was once known as liquid silver or quicksilver which was studied by the alchemists. Mercury was first distinguished as an element by the French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier in his experiment on the composition of air. At room temperature mercury is a shining, moving liquid that has a silvery-white color, and slightly volatile. Mercury remains a liquid over a wide temperature range. Mercury is a solid when given a pressure of 7640 atmospheres (5.8 million torrs). It dissolves in nitric or concentrated sulfuric acid but is resistant to alkalies. Mercury melts at -39C, boils at about 357C,and has a gravity of 13.5. The atomic weight of mercury is 200.59. Mercury comes in its pure form or combined with silver in small amounts. It is mostly found in the form of the sulfide. Mercury has many uses and is a very important element. A major use of mercury is in electrical equipment such as fluorescent lamps, and mercury batteries. Mercury is used in thermometers because the change in volume for each degree of rise or fall in temperature is the same. The use of mercury in the thermometer instead of alcohol was done by Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit in 1714. It was also used in vacuum pumps, barometers, and electric rectifiers and switches. Mercury is used in a mercury-vapor lamps which are used as a source of ultraviolet rays in homes and for sterilizing water. Mercury-vapor is also used instead of steam in the boilers of some turbine engines. Mercury is sometimes used for amalgamation. Amalgamation is a metallurgical process that utilizes mercury to dissolve silver or gold to form an amalgam. This process has been largely supplanted by the cyanide process, in which gold or silver is
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Children’s Overuse of Technology
Children’s use of technology most affects a person’s cognitive development by eliminating the time that children have for other activities like proper sleep, a basketball game in the park, or just a face to face chat with a group of friends. Technology is not a proper substitute for a play ground, parks or a chat with friends where a child can find unlimited opportunities to learn valuable information about how they fit in the real world. A child’s cognitive development is not harmed directly by technology so much as it is harmed indirectly by abstaining from physical activities, failing to get proper sleep, or not interacting with peers. A study by the Kaiser foundation illustrates the enormous time children spend multi – tasking each day through technology, â€Å"Today’s youth pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into those daily 7 1/2 hours – an increase of almost 2 1/4 hours of media exposure per day over the past five years†(Henry J. Kaiser Foundation 2010, p. 1). It is not to suggest that technology plays no role in increasing a child’s cognitive development; it is to suggest that there is a widening gap between the time a child entertains themselves with technology and the moments that he or she allocate to alternatives activities. The benefits children receive from non – technology based activities are found in many research studies on cognitive development; for example, a study by preeminent sleep theorist Dr. Sadeh showed that the cognitive abilities of elementary school children deprived of just one hours night sleep would be reduced by two years the following morning (Sadeh, Gruber & Ravi 2003, p. 444 -445). Children cannot be engaged in interactive play with their peers, sleep or physical exercise which are so critical to their development, due to an overuse of isolating technological activities such as cell phones, television and video games. Children who spend too much time with technology find themselves isolated from their peers. Leading theorists like Jean Piaget understood the importance of peer interaction as a research tool that provides children with unlimited opportunities to evaluate other people’s concept of how to deal with situations that happen in the world. According to Piaget, â€Å"children gained knowledge about the world through their interaction with others and incorporated that information into cognitive structures†(Piaget 1962, p. 257). Piaget saw unscripted play as a way for children to gain new social skills by assimilating a peer’s new ideas and changing their understanding of the world to accommodate them. Children exposed to peer play gain the skill set which will allow them to progress away from an egocentric view point in which they are the center of the universe to a more abstract vision of the world that encompasses the morals needs of society. A child that has gained understanding of this is said to gain the social, emotional, and cognitive skills and behaviors that they need in order to be successful people in the world. Piaget would find educational value in any technology that allows children the opportunity to freely experiment with their understanding of the world. From the preoperational through the operational stage, children receive educational experiences even from basic technology like karaoke machines or cell phones that provide them the opportunity to test their language skills through experimentation. A child in the preoperational stage will use the karaoke machine in symbolic play to pretend to be a rock star. The operational stage children that are further along on their cognitive development might use a cell phone share ideas on what it is like to be in a rock group. However, the most promising use of technology to Piaget would be software that appears to emulate his theory of assimilation and accommodation. Indeed, Piaget believed that children learned best when a constant flow of information was acquired from others that either reinforced or challenged their perception of themselves in the world. An example of technology that might provide this is the game SimCity, which was marketed as providing people with the opportunity to test their knowledge of cities while learning to build one of their own. However, eventually Piaget would find games like this to be too restrictive in their opportunities for players to decide whether to change their self-constructs of city- life based on the limited real life scenarios in the game. The child is presented with or guided into possible actions by the software program and made to believe there are no limitations to the options one can take; however, software actions are very â€Å"narrow and circumscribed, and – what is even more important for the child – it is defined by the game developer and the manufacturer instead of by the child†(Provenzo, 1991, 1994). According to Piaget (1972), play can provide many opportunities for children to actively learn in a manner that is more intuitive than a direct instruction lesson. Piaget’s philosophy about play is validated by the following research. A study on rats that played rough with each other had a higher degree of neurotropic factor transcripts created in their brains’ cortexes than a rat raised in isolation (Gordon, Burke, Watson &Panskepp 2003, p. 17-20). Research by Diamond et al. (1966) on the thickening of a rat’s cortex showed that when a rat was allowed to freely assimilate and accommodate within an â€Å"enriched environment†(Krech, Rosenzweig& Bennett, 1960, p. 09-513) its cortex was affected profoundly as compared to other rats’ cortexes that were raised in non-enriched environments (p. 117-125). The research was designed to compare the thickening in the cortex of several rats’ brains raised in three different environments: one raised in isolation, three rats in a cage that emulated their natural environment, and three that were placed in the enriched environment. An enriched environment is defined as a cage that has enough room to accommodate the rats and toys that are added at specific intervals during their stay (Krech et al. 960, p. 509- 513). The rats were placed in the environment from 4 days to 80 days, and afterwards the cortexes were removed for comparison (Diamond et al. 1966, p. 117-125). A second set of experiments were designed to isolate factors like age or stress, which were constantly changing to reach the maximum thickening of the cortex. Data comparisons between the cortexes of the rats raised in the impoverished environments and the lone rat were measured, but not compared; however, further experimentation, in this maybe warranted in order to show the effect of peer play. In more play directed study, it was seen that rats that had played rough with each other had brains with a higher degree of neurotropic factors created in the brains’ cortex than a rat raised in isolation (Beatty, Dodge, Dodge, White & Panskepp 1982, p. 417-422). Another study of rats in social isolation showed an even more dramatic need for interactive play when a rat failed to respond with the proper defense mechanism when dealing with a dominant male rat. The study showed that rats that played with peers were successful in assimilating into society by using the tools they learned from peer interaction, much like Lev Vygotsky’s studies showed children did as well (Foroud & Pellis 2003, p. 35-43). Unlike Piaget, Vygotsky believed that a child’s learning process or cognitive development was not based on a solitary exploration of the world, but the influences of the child’s culture, environment or knowledgeable adults. Vygotsky’s studies were based on the significant improvement that children achieved on tests when they worked with an adult as compared to working alone. The test results for children working independently rarely reached the level of a child that had been taught by an adult. In the process of this adult guided development, â€Å"the child not only matures, but is rearmed. It is this â€Å"rearming†that accounts for a great deal of development and change we can that accounts for a great deal of the development and change we can observe as we follow the transition from child to civilized adult†(Luria & Vygotsky, 1992, p. 110). The times children meet with a knowledgeable peer or adult to learn a great deal of understanding is gained by the child. The growth of the child that works with an adult can be observed throughout their lives till they reach adulthood. Vygotsky would find potential in today’s technology and hope for the software technology of tomorrow that he would perceive as supporting his theory of the Zone of Proximal Distance. His theory states: â€Å"the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers [is greater]†(Vygotsky 1978, p. 6). The technology that was capable of teaching critical thinking, analysis and problem solving skills by joining them together to learn about any subject matter. Present technology does not have the natural language skills necessary to be able to respond to a child’s unlimited questions; however, games can guide a child’s thought process by the designer’s implementation of scaffolding techniques into the program. For instance, some games like Oregon Trail are appropriate educational opportunities for learning in the classroom. The game is a form of computer mediated instruction that uses information inserted into the program (scaffolding techniques) to help students complete the tasks that are important to perform an activity; however, it is limited in value since it does not allow children to interact with a knowledgeable adult or peer. Games that allow multiple players to work towards a common goal are available online and could be used to teach children in the way Vygotsky envisioned. Games like The Penguin Club or Halo are designed to allow children to work together towards a common goal; however, they are created to entertain and not to teach. Video games must be designed to capture a child’s interest and be tested to show how they improve a child’s education, or they will remain another example of a technology whose use is restricted solely to household entertainment. Other examples of technology that children use for household entertainment are described in the following study including which technologies are preferred by both sexes and which are preferred by a specific sex. â€Å"Children are far more likely to use technology for entertainment purposes to download music, chat on the social network, email friends or lay video games than do research on a topic of interest than for education†(Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut & Gross 2001, p. 7-30). The study shows boys and girls are likely to use the same technology for the same hours in school. However, after school hours boys were far more likely to play video games than girls. On the contrary, girls were far more likely to use their cell phones to text friends or communicate on the social network than their male counterparts. Both girls and boys still watched television more than any other technology. The study focused primarily on the type of technology a child used to entertain him or her self; however, the study did not delve into the effects technology use had on a child. Grant money has been expanded for research to investigate new social concerns about technology ranging from the possibilities of brain tumors brought about by excessive use of cell phones, desensitizing affects of violent video games on children towards real violence, and attention span problems caused by television and video games. A recent research study on the effects of children playing violent video games and their desensitizing effect on a child’s view of real life has challenged long held tenets of parents and researchers alike. Bowen and Spaniol (2011) designed a study to compare the emotional arousal state and long term memory of individuals that played violent video game as compared to those that did not. The participants viewed 150 photos of scenes that were designed to get a positive, negative, or natural response from the individuals. One hour later the people were asked once again to observe the scenes and this time 150 additional photos were added. The researcher then asked the individuals if they indeed had seen the photos previously and the results were recorded. Afterwards, the students were given a self-assessment test that asked them questions about their emotional state. Researchers predicted the results would show that the participants that played violent video games would remember less of the photos and have a lower level of emotional arousal. The study showed that the results were in favor of the null hypothesis and that there was no significant difference in the long term memory or emotional state of the participant that played video games and the individuals that did not. This study questioned earlier held opinions that violent video indeed caused children to be less sensitive to real life violence. Research by Carnagey, Anderson and Bushman (2007) evaluated the physiological response of individuals that watched a ten minute video showing real-life violence after playing their choice of a violent game or non-violent game for twenty minutes. The individuals that played the violent video game were predicted to have a lowerheart beat and galvanic skin response than the non violent video game watchers. The violent video players did show a lower heart rate and galvanic than the non-violent game players and were considered to be desensitized to violence (p. 489-496). The conflicting results help illustrate how little is known to whether video game technology as any direct adverse on the cognitive development of children that the concerns of society have suggested. Furthermore, studies on the effect of radio waves on heavy long term users of cell phones suggest different conclusions leading to question about its adverse affects on children as well. One study which evaluated brain tumor risk in relation to long term mobile use showed no increase in cancer in individuals that used cellphones excessively over the last ten years (Cardis 2010, p. 14). Another study showed that the brain glucose metabolism rates were significantly higher when using a cell phone causing concern that there may be negative effects from radio signals delivered to the brain (Volkow et al. 001, p. 808-813). It appears that additional research on technology is required, as was expended on television earlier in order to get a clearer picture of its effect on children. Television viewing time at a mean age of 14 years was associated with â€Å"elevated risk for attention difficulties, frequent failure to complete homework assignments, frequent boredom at school, failure to complete high school, poor grades, negative attitudes about school (i. e. hates school) overall academic failure in secondary school, and failure to obtain post-secondary (eg, college, university, training school) education†(Johnson et al. 2007, 481). The Research by Zimmerman and Christakis (2007) showed that six and seven year old children, who had watched an average of three hours of television a day as three year olds, had lower cognitive achievement scores on the Peabody Individual Achievement test for reading recognition and reading comprehension (473-479). Less sedentary activities that children do when not playing video games show a much clearer picture of the benefit they provided to a child’s cognitive development than any adverse effect technology does. Children who rode bicycles, played basketball or performed other aerobic activities at least three times a week for sixty minutes and spent an equal amount of time on muscle and bone strengthening workouts three times a week or more had significantly better grades than the children who did not (Coe, Pivarnik, Woomack, Reeves &Malina 2006, p. 515-1519). In conclusion, software technology as advanced as it may seem is not robust enough to support the theories of Piaget or Vygotsky. Advances in Artificial Intelligence for natural language would be required to make either Piaget or Vygotsky theories close to a real life learning experience. A computer game would need to be able to understand the thoughts voiced by a child and be able to respond to them fluently to recreate a real life experience. That software for video games is far from being developed. A child’s ability to learn from a computer as if it was a teacher is limited by how well the software developer provides guidance within the program to complete each task. A child will never get the freedom to explore and change his or her constructs in the world of technology as he or she can in the real world. In this day of modern technology and the information highway, it may seem ironic that the best thing a child can do to develop his or her cognitive development is to turn the television, video game or cell phone off and go for a bike ride.
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