Suspense Techniques Applied By Alfred Hitchcock Film Studies Essay

Suspense Techniques Applied By Alfred Hitchcock Film Studies Essay Suspense, horror, and creative are some of the words that describe Alfred Hitchcock s films. Something that no one had ever seen on screen was the techniques Hitchcock used. He was known as the master of suspense for his ways of manipulating and creating the sense of fear in the audience. Knowing the meaning of fear since childhood, he was believed to be the inventor of the suspense and horror genre in the film industry, improving movies with new technology and ideas to deliver exactly what he wanted to viewers to feel and understand. The film The Birds (1963) was a masterpiece and a thriller directed by Hitchcock that had many effective and brilliant techniques that are still used to this day. Alfred Hitchcock (August 13, 1899-April 29, 1980) was born and raised in a middle class family in London, England. Fear was the key emotion Hitchcock was very familiar with while growing up that played a huge part in the films he directed. At the tender age of five, his father sent him to a local police station many times after misbehaving and was put in jail for several minutes. The policeman returned to let him go, just to remind him that this is what naughty boys go though if they get into trouble. His mother would punish him by making him stand up at the foot of her bed for hours. Because of his overweight body figure, he stated that his childhood was very lonely and sheltered . He first went to school at St Ignatius College, but right after his dad died when Hitchcock was 14 years old, he went to the School of Engineering and Navigation, where he was fascinated by photography and film. His first job was working as a title-card creator for the film company Paramount Pictures. It took Hitchcock five years to become a film director. Being a perfectionist, Hitchcock would draw every single scene on his storyboard before shooting a film. This was one of his styles for which Hitchcock became famous. He was very dedicated to his art from the start of his career. Some techniques Hitchcock used were with the camera. The camera would capture shots that were made to build suspense so the audience can see something that the actors themselves don t see. An example of this technique being used was in The Birds. Melanie Daniels, the protagonist of the film, was sitting in front of a jungle gym smoking a cigarette. Black birds, which had attacked Melanie viciously earlier in the film, started gathering behind her, but she did not know, the viewers knew. This technique agitates the audience because something frightful can happen and we can do nothing to warn her. Knowing something that something bad can happen to an innocent makes the audience worried mixed with fear. Another technique he used was the subjective shot where th e camera was placed in the human eye perspective. The camera would stray around the setting or place mischievously looking for something unusual in a room, as if it is a detective itself. This allows the viewers to feel like they are involved in revealing the problem. Before sound films came out, the directors of films had to find a way to communicate to the audience what is the plot of the story, and Hitchcock used this technique even after sound films came out because it was so successful. He used this technique in The Birds. Perhaps the most suspenseful part of the movie was when Melanie was walking slowly up the stairs in the dark with a flashlight in her hand. The camera was put at Melanie s perspective, and we can see how frightening it can be to be in that position when we know that if she goes to the room on top of the stairs, the malicious birds will be there, waiting. The camera would start with a close-up of the actor, and then cut to the shot what they are seeing, and th en back to the actor to see his reaction. The sound of her footsteps was quiet, her breathing shallow, almost no sound was being heard. Finally, when she opened the door, she was attacked brutally. Suspense building was a major technique Hitchcock was famous for using. What we as humans find most horrendous is to know that nature can turn on us and that no place is safe. The Birds had several scenes where this technique was used, one of which was at a children s birthday party. The evil black birds came swooping down and started attacking the children, pecking until their flesh was open and bleeding. This behavior by the birds was unexplained; there was no answer as to why the birds were like this, which caused insecurity to the actors which is framed closely to show the emotion, therefore causing the audience to feel insecure also. The house was attacked during a night, windows were broken, doors were being pecked open, and the roof was being destroyed. At this point in the movie, the actors show deep concern about their safety and that their fear doesn t stop from the horror from coming, and the fear the viewers gain is exactly what Hitchcock was going for. Hitchcock s movies were planned to perfection. His ideas were sketched for every scene and chose his actors carefully that would break the clich or stereotype of people. He was well aware of what the audience was about to go through when they are watching the film, and this is what makes a great film director. Hitchcock wrote, produced, and directed films up until 1979. Despite his fondness for murder, chaos and shock, Alfred Hitchcock led a quiet life with his wife and daughter. In the last year of his life, Hitchcock was honored with the American Film Institutes lifetime achievement award. The master of suspense died in 1980 in Los Angeles, but his techniques are still alive today.

Morality and The Holy Bible :: Holy Bible Essays

Morality and the Bible    Both the legal and salvation philosophies of the Old and New Testaments reflect those of the cultures around them, due to much copying and borrowing of laws and ideas. Furthermore, all societies around the world have similar moral and legal codes -- which is certainly not an accident.    Interestingly enough, the moral codes of the world's religions bear a striking resemblance to each other, with only minor variations. Religions as different as Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism all have proscriptions against killing, lying, cheating, stealing, etc. This is not an accident, for reasons we shall explore below.    Christians may then object that that there is something unique about the Bible that makes it a superior moral code. Unfortunately for Christians, there is actually very little law in the Bible -- either Old Testament or New -- that is original. Consider the Torah of the ancient Jews. The laws of the Babylonians, Assyrians, Sumerians, Hammurapi, Eshnunna, Hittites, Mishnah, and Israelites all bear a striking resemblance to each other, due to widespread copying of laws. Shared social norms produced identical laws against sorcery, kidnapping, sale of an abducted person, false witness, business dishonesty, bribing judges, property right violations, shutting off irrigation canals used by others, etc. The complete list of identical laws and customs is quite extensive.    Nor is the New Testament's approach to the law unique. Most Christians can probably think of nothing more unique than the Apostle Paul's approach to the law, but any student of ancient Greece knows otherwise. Many of the themes that fill Paul's writings were lifted from his Greco-Roman background. During New Testament times, the Greco-Roman world was filled with Mystery Cults, sporting such names as Eluesinian Mysteries, the Orphic Mysteries, the Attis-Adonis Mysteries, the Isis-Osiris Mysteries, Mithraism, and many others. A common feature of these secret cults was a belief in a heroic redeemer, a heavenly being who would visit earth in human form, battle evil, die a sacrificial death, rise from the dead and ascend to heaven, offering salvation from death to all who follow him.    Another influence on the New Testament was Greek philosophy. In particular, Greek dualism taught that the world was sharply divided into opposites: good and evil, body and soul, man and woman, hot and cold, life and death, etc. Now, the Greeks from Plato on had taught that the body is evil, but the soul is pure.

Influenza, Avian Influenza, and the Impacts of Past and Looming Pandemi

Influenza, Avian Influenza, and the Impacts of Past and Looming Pandemics Avian influenza is a disease that has been wreaking havoc on human populations since the 16th century. With the recent outbreak in 1997 of a new H5N1 avian flu subtype, the world has begun preparing for a pandemic by looking upon its past affects. In the 20th Century, the world witnessed three pandemics in the years of 1918, 1957, and 1968. In 1918 no vaccine, antibiotic, or clear recognition of the disease was known. Killing over 40 million in less than a year, the H1N1 strain ingrained a deep and lasting fear of the virus throughout the world. Though 1957 and 1968 brought on milder pandemics, they still killed an estimated 3 million people and presented a new problem of vaccine manufacturing and production. The new avian flu in Asia now claiming 54 lives has the world rushing to find a vaccine and prevent another, even more deadly pandemic Influenza is a pathogenic virus that has been the cause deadly pandemics throughout recorded history. Influenza is caused by an A or B virus, the more deadly of the two is influenza A which derives from the avian species and initiates pandemics in the human population (Levison, 2004). The genomes in influenza viruses are divided into eight parts of RNA. Influenza A viruses are named by the two sets of proteins that protrude from the surface of the cell. The first protein is haemaglottin, or HA, which determines binding and cell entry. There are fifteen HA subtypes with H1, H2, and H3 most common in human infection (WHO, 2005). The second of the two proteins is neuraminidase (NA) that presides over the release of virus DNA from infected cells into host cells. There are nine subtypes of the NA protein (WHO, 2005). The ... ...ration of international health organization on vaccine development, education of medical professionals on safety and protection, and increase of public awareness on basic prevention. Though H5N1 Impacts of Past and Looming Pandemics 7 has only claimed 54 lives, science must compete with nature to assure the lives of millions more. Impacts of Past and Looming Pandemics 8 Bibliography CDC. (2005, May). General Information On Avian Flu. Center of Disease Control and Prevention. July 7, 2005, http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/facts.htm Levison, M. (2004). Infections of Leisure. Washington D.C.: ASN Press Ruben, F. (2005). Influenza: Getting Our Attention. Clinical Infectious Diseases, (40), p. 1697. World health Organization. (2005, June). Avian Influenza: Assessing the Pandemic Threat. WHO. July 5, 2005, www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/H5N1-9reduit.pdf.

Free Essay - Review of Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

  Review of the Scarlet Letter   The novel opens with an explanation of how the romance of The Scarlet Letter came to be presented as a story in its existing form.   Having always wanted to be a â€Å"literary man†, Nathaniel Hawthorne talks about his three-year stint as a Surveyor in the Salem Custom House.   Mostly filled with older gentlemen, the workplace was a very political, Whig-influenced environment and charged with Puritan history.   After brief character sketches of the personalities in the Custom House, Hawthorne then explains how he came upon a special package among the piles of papers.   It contained a red cloth with the letter â€Å"A† embroidered in gold thread and a manuscript by Jonathan Pue (the man who once held Hawthorne’s job).   Finding the story extremely interesting, the author thus retells the story of Hester Prynne from Massachusetts’s Puritan history.   The first chapter begins with Hester being led to the scaffold where she is to be publicly shamed for having committed adultery.   Hester is forced to wear the letter â€Å"A† on her gown at all times as punishment for her crime.   She has stitched a large scarlet â€Å"A† onto her dress with gold thread, giving the letter an air of elegance.   Hester carries Pearl, her daughter, with her.   On the scaffold she is asked to reveal the name of Pearl’s father, but she refuses.   In the crowd, Hester recognizes her husband from Amsterdam, Roger Chillingworth.   Chillingworth visits Hester after she is returned to the prison.   He tells her that he will find out who the man was, and that he will read the truth on the man’s heart.   He then forces her to promise never to reveal his own identity to anyone else.   Hester moves into a cottage bordering the woods.   She and Pearl live there in relative solitude.   Hester earns her money by doing stitchwork for local dignitaries, but often spends her time helping the poor and sick.   Pearl grows up to be wild, in the sense that she refuses to obey her mother.   Roger Chillingworth earns a reputation as being a good physician.   He uses his reputation to get transferred into the same home as Arthur Dimmesdale, an ailing minister.   Chillingworth eventually discovers that Dimmesdale is the true father of Pearl, at which point he spends every moment trying to torment the minister.   One night Dimmesdale is so overcome with shame about hiding his secret that he walks to the scaffold where Hester was publicly humiliated.

Learning Theory of Career Counseling Essay

The original theory (Krumboltz et al, 1976, Mitchell & Krumboltz, 1990), known as Career decision making social learning theory has recently been improved to the learning theory of career counseling (Krumboltz and Mitchell, 1996). The latest version tries to combine realistic ideas, research, and procedures to offer one hypothesis that goes beyond an explanation of why individuals hunt for various jobs. Most recently, Krumboltz developed and integrated thoughts about the function of chance when it comes to career decision making. Synopsis of the development of this theory is given below. At the heart of Krumboltz’s thinking is Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (SLT). Bandura identified a total of three types of learning experiences which include: The Instrumental learning experience This results from direct experience when an individual is positively reinforced or punished for some behavior and its associated cognitive skills Associative learning experience Results from direct experience together with reinforcement when an individual associates some previously affectively neutral event or stimulus with an emotionally laden stimulus. The Vicarious learning experience Here is where people learn new behaviors plus skills through observing behaviors of other individuals or even through the media. 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY OF CAREER DECISION-MAKING (SLTCDM) This particular theory aims at informing clients career decision making options at the same time utilize the triadic reciprocal interaction concept. The role of instruments and associative learning is also emphasized. The practitioner’s tools are therefore reinforcement and modeling. The application of this theory to practice involves the practitioner’s effort to categorize and correct any wrong beliefs held by the client regarding th process of decision making. It was developed to answer the following questions: why people enter particular educational course or jobs; why they may modify course at some stage in their lives; Why individuals may show various desires for different activities during different points in their livelihood. The following are identified as influential in these processes 1.1 Influential factors: Krumboltz examines the impact of four different groups of factors: 1. Genetic Endowment and Special Abilities race gender Physical looks and traits People differ both in their capacity to gain from learning experiences and to get access to various learning experiences as a result of such types of hereditary qualities. 2. Environmental Conditions and Events Social, cultural & political Economic forces Natural forces & resources. They are normally out of every person’s control. Their influence can be planned or unplanned. 3. Learning Experiences Each individual has a unique history of learning experiences that results choice of profession. They often don’t recall the specific trait or series of these learning experiences, but they also recall those general conclusions from them (e.g. I love animals/working with children). The two main kinds of learning experiences as mentioned in this theory are: Instrumental learning experience It consists of: Preceding circumstances/stimulus; Behavioral responses (overt & covert); Consequences. Associative learning experience This is where individuals perceive an association involving two or more sets of stimuli in the surrounding. However, this in most cases could result to occupational stereotypes. 4. Task Approach Skills Interactions with learning experiences, hereditary characteristics, and finally ecological influence result in the improvement of task approach skills. These include: personal standards of performance; work habits; Emotional reactions Formerly acquired task approach skills applied to a new undertaking or problem both influence the outcome of that task or hitch may they themselves be modified. 1.2 Resulting cognitions, beliefs, skills & actions: As a result of the complex interaction of these four types of influencing factors (i.e. genetic endowment, environment, learning and task approach skills), people form generalizations (beliefs) which represent their own reality. These beliefs about them plus the world of work influence their method of approach towards learning new skills and finally affect their ambitions as well as their actions.   . The SLTCDM refers to people’s beliefs about themselves as either: Observation of the Generalizations: An overt or covert statement evaluating ones own performance or assessing one’s own benefit and principles. Involves a constant assessment of our own performance; View of the World Generalizations: Observations about our environment which is used to forecast what will happen in the future and in other surrounding (e.g. the caring professions). 1.2 Resulting cognitions, beliefs, skills & actions: As a result of the complex interaction of these four types of influencing factors (i.e. genetic endowment, environment, learning and task approach skills), people form generalizations (beliefs) which represent their own reality. These beliefs about them plus the world of work influence their method of approach towards learning new skills and finally affect their ambitions as well as their actions. The SLTCDM refers to people’s beliefs about themselves as either:

Latino/Chicano/Hispanic Education Essay

In my research I discovered an abundant amount of information on educating Chicano’s or Latino’s in the United States, particulary California being that an extremely high population concentrations are in California. In this paper I will list some of the most important cultural diversity facts I’ve found regarding educational barriers, communication behaviors, cultural differences, teaching implications, learning styles and tools and insights. First, what is Chicano or Chicana? A Chicano or Chicana is a term used to indicate an identity held by some persons of Mexican descent living in the United States. Often times, it refers to a first or second generation Mexican American living in an urban, Mexican American immigrant community, where there exists the strong ethnic consciousness of being â€Å"Mexican American†. It is considered a term of ethnic pride, though not all Mexican Americans proud of their heritage necessarily consider themselves Chicano. A woman of this category is usually named by the feminine form Chicana, and, following the usual conventions for Spanish words, the masculine plural form Chicanos is used for groups that include both genders. Much attention has been directed to the Chicano or Latino youth in schools today. When looking at a chart provided by the 2000 census (Table 2. 1). It is obvious why Chicano or Latino have been recognized as a major player in schools, workforce and communities. Table 2. 1 Top Ten Countries of Birth and Ancestral Backgrounds of California Youth, Ages 13 to 24, 2000 Country of Birth Number Ancestry Number Foreign-Born U. S. -Born 1. Mexico 783,124 1. Mexican 1,228,338 2. Philippines 76,753 2. African American 310,810 3. El Salvador 59,612 3. German 279,195 4. Vietnam 58,701 4. Irish 210,186 5. Guatemala 42,795 5. English 178,050 6. Korea 28,228 6. Italian 161,383 7. Taiwan 25,859 7. American 158,956. 8. India 23,576 8. Filipino 107,742 9. Thailand 22,822 9. White 94,380 10. China 22,337 10. Chinese 82,943 SOURCE: Authors’ calculations from the 2000 Census. EDUCATIONAL BARRIERS AND TEACHING IMPLICATIONS I feel that educational barriers and teaching implications go hand in hand. I feel this is true since an educational barrier is a direct implication to teaching. Nearly half of all Californians today are first-generation or second-generation immigrants. As that share of the California population continues to grow, it is increasingly important to understand the nature of intergenerational progress for immigrant groups. ( Myers, Dowell, John Pitkin, and Julie Park) Recent research has called into question the intergenerational progress of immigrants, particularly educational progress between the second generation and the third generation. When the educational attainment of second and third generations is compared directly with that of their parents or their parents’ generation, the authors find strong intergenerational progress for all major immigrant groups. ( Myers, Dowell, John Pitkin, and Julie Park) However, even by the third generation, Mexican Americans in California have not attained the educational levels that whites have attained. In other words, there is some progress but even by the third generation only 11 percent of Mexican American adults have earned a bachelor’s degree. In contrast, among third-and-later generation whites, more than a third has a bachelor’s degree. Also, about 30 percent of California’s children are growing up in families where neither parent has completed high school. One consequence of this low educational attainment is that as many as 95 percent of these children might not earn a bachelor’s degree; the low educational attainment of parents makes it less likely that their children will attain high levels of education. Among these children at risk of low educational achievement, Mexican Americans make up a large percentage. More than half of all California youth ages 13 to 24 have a foreign born parent. Because a large number of these immigrant parents have a limited education, lack of improvement in educational attainment from one generation to the next would have serious implications for the state economically as well as socially. Education is an important determinant of social and economic well-being, such as income, health, home ownership, and civic participation. The concern for educational progress is particularly acute for Mexican Americans who, even by the third generation, have very low levels of educational attainment. It finds that intergenerational progress has not stalled but rather that second- and third-generation immigrants have made substantial educational progress when compared with their parents. Most of California’s Latino youth are of Mexican ancestry (84%) and over 60 percent of them were born in the United States. Overall, one in four youth is a first-generation immigrant (i. e. , born in a foreign country). About the same share are second-generation immigrants (i. e. , born in the United States with at least one foreign-born parent). Racial and ethnic differences in educational attainment are strongly influenced by immigration. Of the major racial and ethnic groups in California, young adults of Mexican descent have the lowest levels of education. Of those ages 25 to 29, only 51 percent have earned a high school diploma, compared to 93 percent of non-Hispanic whites. However, the rate for Mexican American youth born in the United States is substantially higher—76 percent. Mexican youth who come to the United States as teens often do not attend high school here. The older their age at arrival, the less likely Mexican youth are to attend school in California. Among those ages 16 to 18 and who recently arrived in the United States, less than half are enrolled in school. Among men, many are working; among women, substantial numbers are working, married, or raising children. In particular, although some research has suggested that educational progress stalls between the second and third generations for Mexican Americans, it has been found that college graduation rates of third-generation immigrants are more than twice those of their parents. Further, although over half of their parents did not graduate from high school, about eight in 10 third-generation Mexican Americans have graduated from high school. Even by the third generation, however, Mexican Americans in California have lower educational attainment than whites have. Despite strong intergenerational progress, less than 85 percent of third and-later-generation Mexican American adults, ages 25 to 34, have finished high school and only 11 percent have completed a bachelor’s degree. (â€Å"Third-and-later† generation includes youth with both parents born in the United States but the data do not identify whether their grandparents or great-grandparents were born in the United States. ) In comparison, among third-and-later-generation whites, 95 percent earned a high school diploma and over a third has a bachelor’s degree. Mexican immigrant youth who arrive at age 15 or older are among the least educated Californians. Improving their educational attainment is particularly challenging because many do not enroll in California schools but are working and raising families. Analysis suggests that about 30 percent of California’s children are growing up in families where neither parent has completed high school and that as many as 95 percent of these children might not achieve a bachelor’s degree. Among these children at risk of low educational achievement, Mexican Americans make up a large share (68%). The success of students in California’s community colleges is of particular importance for improving Latino postsecondary education because almost 80 percent of Latinos who enroll in public higher education enter through community colleges. Of great concern, however, is the low transfer rate to four-year institutions, and transfers are especially low among Latino students. In addition to preparing students for transfers, community colleges provide English language, remedial, and vocational courses. As the value of education and skills in the California economy continues to grow, these courses will become increasingly important to workforce training, especially for those who do not go on to complete a bachelor’s degree. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. Because California has such large numbers of immigrants with limited education, a lack of improvement in educational attainment from one generation to the next would have serious implications for the state economically as well as socially. Educational progress is particularly important because education plays a role in determining racial and ethnic differences in other areas of social and economic well-being, such as poverty, health status, employment, home ownership, and civic participation (Reyes, 2001; Reed, 2003a). This information is important to understand why immigrant families rely so much on each other and not on education and opportunity. Hispanic-Americans are united by customs, language, religion, and values. There is, however, an extensive diversity of traits among Hispanic-Americans. One characteristic that is of paramount importance in most Hispanic cultures is family commitment, which involves loyalty, a strong support system, a belief that a child’s behavior reflects on the honor of the family, a hierarchical order among siblings, and a duty to care for family members. This strong sense of other-directedness conflicts with the United States’ mainstream emphasis on individualism (Vasquez, 1990). Stereotyped sex roles tend to exist among many Latinos: the male is perceived as dominant and strong, whereas the female is perceived as nurturing and self-sacrificing. Note, however, that in Latino cultures, the term â€Å"machismo† (used by Anglos to refer to male chauvinism) refers to a concept of chivalry that encompasses gallantry, courtesy, charity, and courage (Baron, 1991). Indeed, Hispanic culture’s emphasis on cooperation in the attainment of goals can result in Hispanic students’ discomfort with this nation’s conventional classroom competition. This cultural difference could play a negative role when the value of education in the California labor market has increased substantially in recent decades and projections suggest that workers without a college education will continue to see their earnings erode. Among youth in immigrant families, there is tremendous variation in family income and parental education. Among young immigrants ages 13 to 17, about one-third of those from Mexico are living in poor families and only 17 percent have a mother who finished high school (maternal education is measured only for those living with their mothers). These differences in family characteristics contribute to racial and ethnic differences in educational attainment for immigrant youth, which, in turn, contribute to education differences for their second-generation children. Differences in family characteristics explain most of the lower educational attainment of Mexican Americans. Among Mexican American youth, parental education, parental English language ability, and family income are substantially lower than among white youth. LEARNING STYLES An expanding body of research affirms that teaching and counseling students with interventions that are congruent with the students’ learning-style preferences result in their increased academic achievement and more positive attitudes toward learning. Research on the learning styles of Hispanic-Americans in particular, however, is limited. Within the Latino groups, the majority of studies have focused on the learning styles of Mexican-American elementary school children. Several investigations (Dunn, Griggs, & Price, 1993) have compared various ethnic groups of students in elementary school through college levels using a measure that identifies 21 elements of learning style grouped into five categories. 1. ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING STYLE elements include sound, temperature, design, and light. A cool temperature and formal design were identified as important elements for Mexican-American elementary and middle school students (Dunn, Griggs, & Price, 1993). 2. EMOTIONAL LEARNING STYLE elements include responsibility, structure, persistence, and motivation. Sims (1988) reported that Mexican-American third- and fourth-graders were the least conforming of three ethnic groups studied. Yong and Ewing (1992), however, found that Mexican-American middle-school adolescents were conforming. The disparities between these data may result from subjects’ age, lifestyle, and urban/rural differences in the two studies. Both of these studies reported that Mexican-Americans required a higher degree of structure than did other groups. 3. SOCIOLOGICAL LEARNING STYLE elements are concerned with the social patterns in which one learns. Learning alone (as opposed to in groups) was preferred more by Caucasian students than by Mexican-American children (Dunn & Dunn, 1992, 1993) and more by Mexican-Americans students than by African-American children (Sims, 1988). Mexican-American students required significantly more sociological variety than either African-Americans or Caucasians (Dunn, Griggs, & Price, 1993). Mexican-American males were authority-oriented and Mexican-American females were strongly peer-oriented (Dunn, Griggs, & Price, 1993). 4. PHYSIOLOGICAL LEARNING STYLE elements relate to time of day, food and drink intake, perception, and mobility. Puerto-Rican college students exhibit a strong preference for learning in the late morning, afternoon, and evening. The time-of-day preferences of Mexican-Americans are less clear. Sims (1988) found that Caucasians preferred drinking or eating snacks while learning significantly more than did Mexican-Americans. Yong and Ewing (1992) reported that Latinos’ strongest perceptual strength was kinesthetic. Both Caucasians and African-American were significantly more auditory and visual than Mexican-Americans (Dunn, Griggs, & Price, 1993; Sims, 1988). The study by Sims (1988) indicated that Caucasian students exhibited a higher need for mobility than did Mexican-American students. Contrary to findings for the U. S. general population, Mexican-American females had a significantly higher need for mobility than their male counterparts (Dunn, Griggs, & Price, 1993). 5. PSYCHOLOGICAL LEARNING STYLE elements relate to global versus analytical processing. The construct of field dependence/independence is a component of this learning style. Field dependent individuals are more group-oriented and cooperative and less competitive than field independent individuals. Research generally has indicated that Mexican-American and other minority students are more field dependent than nonminority students. Hudgens (1993) found that Hispanic middle and secondary school students were more field dependent than Anglo students; Hispanic female (and African-American male) students had a greater internal locus of control than other groups; and Hispanic male (and African-American female) students had a greater external locus of control than other groups. INSIGHTS AND TOOLS There are a number of state and local programs designed to improve the lives of youth as well as to steer them in the direction of positive future outcomes. Youth ages 13 to 24 are of critical concern because during these ages youth are preparing for the transition to adulthood with its increased economic challenges and responsibilities and often with new marriage and parenting relationships. During these ages, many potentially life-changing decisions are often made, including the decisions to finish high school, to go to college, and perhaps to start a family. For these youth, adult education programs in school districts and community colleges can provide better schedules for part time, evening, and weekend coursework. In addition, as these youth become parents, programs that work with young children can assist parents with parental support and literacy improvement. For second and third generations, and for immigrants who do enter California schools, the quality of the K–12 public education system is clearly a key factor in success. Several recent and continuing reforms are improving California schools, particularly in the areas of student achievement, teacher quality, and quality of facilities. In addition, English language learning is of concern for the children of immigrants. For students whose own parents have limited educational experience, programs of educational counseling and tutoring are particularly helpful. BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Baron, A. , Jr. , Counseling Chicano College Students. In C. Lee, and B. Richardson (Eds. ), MULTICULTURAL ISSUES IN COUNSELING: New Approaches to Diversity (p. 171-184). Alexandria, VA: American Association for Counseling and Development. ED 329 861, 1991. 2. Dunn, R. , and K. Dunn. , TEACHING SECONDARY STUDENTS, 1993. 3. Dunn, R. , S. Griggs, and G. Price. , Learning Styles of Mexican-American and Anglo-American Elementary-School Students. JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT 21(4): 237-247. EJ 470 183. 1993. 4. Hudgens, B. , THE RELATIONSHIP OF COGNITIVE STYLE, 1993. 5. Myers, Dowell, John Pitkin, and Julie Park, California Demographic Futures: Projections to 2030, by Immigrant Generations, Nativity, and Time of Arrival in U. S. , School of Policy, Planning, and Development, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 2005. 6. Neumark, David, California’s Economic Future and Infrastructure Challenges, Occasional Paper, Public Policy Institute of California, San Francisco, California, 2005. 7. Reed, Deborah, â€Å"The Growing Importance of Education in California,† Occasional Paper, Public Policy Institute of California, San Francisco, California, 2003a. 8. Reed, Deborah, Racial and Ethnic Wage Gaps in the California Labor Market, Public Policy Institute of California, San Francisco, California, 2003b. 9. Reyes, Belinda I. , ed. , A Portrait of Race and Ethnicity in California: An Assessment of Social and Economic Well-Being, Public Policy Institute of California, San Francisco, California, 2001. 10. Sims, J., Learning Styles of Black-American, Mexican-American, and White-American Third- and Fourth-Grade Students in Traditional Public Schools. Doctoral dissertation, University of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 1988. 11. Vasquez, J. , Teaching to the Distinctive Traits of Minority Students. THE CLEARING HOUSE 63(7): 299-304,1990. 12. Yong, F. , and N. Ewing, A Comparative Study of the Learning-Style Preferences among Gifted African-American, Mexican-American and American Born Chinese Middle-Grade Students. ROEPER REVIEW 14(3): 120-123. EJ 447 200, 1992.

Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (Book Report) Essay

Mark Twain is often thought of as the most cynical writer in American literature. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is perhaps one of greatest works. In this amusing story, Twain takes an American entrepreneur from his own day and age, and thrusts him back to the age of King Arthur. The novel is therefore about how a nineteenth-century American industrialist might act if he found himself in medieval England. Mark Twain sees the Industrial Age in which he lived as a rabid attempt to exploit everyone and everything. And, that’s exactly what Hank Morgan, also known as the â€Å"Boss†, does when he gets to Camelot. Hank uses science and technology to exploit Camelot. Threatened with execution, Hank remembers that an eclipse is supposed to occur in the near future, and he uses this knowledge to convince King Arthur and the rest of Camelot that Hank is a stronger magician than Merlin. Once Hank gains King Arthurs trust, he is able to do whatever he wants with Camelot and its people. Hank quickly goes about â€Å"improving† Camelot with industries and technologies that are common to nineteenth-century America. One of his schemes is to â€Å"invent† soap and making it available to all of the people of Camelot (since the people didn’t bathe as frequently in the third-century as they did in the nineteenth). Hank is appalled at how much power that the Established Church has over the people. So he decides that the people need to be educated, which will, naturally, weaken the church’s hold. Of course, being an entrepreneur at heart, Hank can’t help but look on Camelot as an opportunity for exploiting people with his superior knowledge. In a very memorable scene, Hank describes the religious devotions of many of the monks of the time as, a monk who expresses his devotion to God by bowing over and over again, all day long, without stopping. Rather than being impressed by the monk’s passionate display of faith, Hank notes the astounding amount of energy the monk puts out every day. Not to see this wasted, he hooks up a sewing machine to the monk, using his bowing motions to run the machine. In this manner Hank manufactures and sells garments as religious souvenirs, and tells the reader–with not a little satisfaction–about the wild success of these garments. Beyond Twain’s customary critiques on slavery and religion, the book also  offers a somewhat different brand of cynicism Twain’s critique of science and progress. When Hank Morgan arrives in Camelot, it is a fairy-tale city that has long represented both nobility and weaknesses. Then, in his quest to â€Å"improve† the city, he destroys it. Everything that defines the time from the smelly, unwashed people to their superstitions and religious fervor is exploited in the name of progress. Here, then, we see Hank Morgan as an expression of Twain’s dislike with the value of modern progress.