Theoretical perspective of present study as related to literature Essay Example for Free

Theoretical perspective of present study as related to literature Essay The present study presents a qualitative approach to determining whether the block schedule is advantageous to school systems. As the above literature review indicates, current studies are inconclusive as to whether or not block scheduling leads to an increase in test scores. This study will look at additional factors of the block scheduling system in order to determine if block schedule can produce positive academic outcomes directly or indirectly. Rationale for Present Study. While the literature as a whole provides only statistically insignificant support using test scores as determinants for the academic merit of block scheduling, other variables have not been the focus of these studies. These variables include attitudes of principals, teachers, parents and students, school climate, utilization of alternative teaching methods and other less tangible outcomes. Specifically, block scheduling often results in better nonacademic outcomes (e. g., positive class climate and enhanced instructional opportunities) than does traditional scheduling. Thus, the findings from the present study that students in block scheduling perform academically as well as or slightly better than students in traditional scheduling supports the implementation of block scheduling in high school settings. However, if the only goal of adopting a block scheduling program is to improve short-term student test scores, then the literature and this study are less enthusiastic (Lewis, Dugan, Winokur, and Cobb, 2005). In addition to academic advantages, some teachers claim school climate and discipline has improved as teachers spend more time with each other (O’Neil, 1995; Short and Thayer, 1998). Summary Oftentimes, test scores do not tell the whole story. Schools with block scheduling may see increased achievement in places they least expected. Over time, these results might translate into the academic achievement that remains ambiguous at present. Introduction . The results of this study could potentially add to the body of knowledge regarding the strengths and advantages of block scheduling versus traditional scheduling. It is incredibly short-sighted to view test scores as the only indicator of improved academic achievement. As the studies above indicate, test scores are inconclusive in determining whether block scheduling is effective. However, there are two flaws here. First, only one study took into effect the factor of time on block schedule when conducting its research. This time factor gives the schools system time to settle in to and to perfect its system. Second, the studies seem to ignore other variables which can contribute to academic achievement and performance. According to Magdol, (1992), the factors that contribute to academic achievement fall into the following groups: â€Å"Individual, Family, Peer, School, Work and Community. The school factors she isolates are Alienated Teachers, Inflexible Curricula, Lack of Counseling Services for At-Risk Students, School Transitions, Weak Administrative Support, Large School District, Large School, Low Participation in Extracurricular Activities, Negative School Climate and Uninvolved Parents† (Magdol, 1992). Design of Study This study will examine two high schools, one which uses block scheduling and one which uses traditional scheduling. Students, teachers, teachers and administrators will be surveyed as to discipline issues, attendance and scores on the GHSGT in order to determine if any trends evolve that correlate with these variables. Then an analysis of the advantages of block or traditional scheduling within these schools can be made. Sample and Site The block scheduled school used in this study is Upson-Lee High School in Thomason, Georgia. The traditionally scheduled school used in this study is Spalding High school in Griffin, Georgia. Students who have completed their eleventh grade year and who have taken the social studies component of the GHGGT will be used as the sample group.

Free Essays - I Found Timelessness :: Personal Narrative, Descriptive Essay

I Found Timelessness    Today, waiting on the schoolhouse steps, I saw something I had never seen before. My back against the warm brick wall, in happy prospect, I stared abstracted towards the red-orange of autumn on a tree. At the very center of my concentration was a single leaf; a torn yellow-green, not even red yet. But it fell. I saw the precise moment of release - the instant the leaf actually disconnected from the branch. It was the brevity of perfection. Partition in sunderance, an umbilicus severed, a future unlatched; an end and a beginning. There was an eternity within; the filial unity, the brief struggle for escape, then the sudden absence of support; and from an empathic vicariousness I found myself within.    I found my entire life in the transience of an instant; I sat up, in respect and humility. The leaf swung in descending pendulum. I rose to grab it, then stopped. I was standing in a small pile of wet and shredded leaves. The leaf, lifted by a breeze, slowed, suspended, paused then rolled over on itself. I knew that one day this leaf too, would crumble into a crust of sinew and stem - so I let the leaf continue, rising upward.    The leaf waltzed in an orbit around itself. Others fell around it, but I kept my attention. This leaf was lighter. It took its time. The torn yellow leaf, because of its shape, spun differently than the rest. The leaf was continually tossed up in irregular oscillations, gaining further distance, until it came near the wall of the building. As the wind approached the brick schoolhouse, the air was forced up and over, trying to pull the leaf along with it.    The leaf reached up, against gravity, and against the lacerated shreds below. It hung, pulled up and down by destiny and self-aspiration.

Stress, Dieting, and Periodontal Disease

Christine Dursunian Principles of Dental Hygiene II Professor Willis Research Paper Stress, dieting and periodontal disease and to compromised systemic health. Stress, dieting, cultural diversity, foundation of health and periodontal disease: The average person would never think that all four of these topics would coincide with one another. They do, each affecting the other as stepping stones towards periodontal disease. Periodontal disease, including periodontitis and gingivitis, are chronic, bacterial infections and inflammatory diseases affecting the periodontium (tissues that support the teeth).Periodontal diseases are the most prevalent chronic diseases affecting children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. The periodontium is a complex, highly specialized, shock-absorbing and pressure-sensing system consisting of four interrelated tissues supporting the teeth: cementum, periodontal ligament, alveolar bone and junctional and sulcular epithelia (1). Periodontal disease can aff ect one or many teeth. It can also lead to progressive bone loss around teeth, which can lead to loosening and possible loss of the teeth if left untreated.There are many factors to periodontal disease that have been proven to be directly related to this growing disease, in certain populations and cultures that have been proven to stand out more than others. Through research and advanced studies with guidelines of evaluation, stress and dieting has been shown to be associated with periodontal disease(2). These additional factors involve diet, lifestyle, cultures, also including collective types of strains in ones everyday life. Periodontal disease is an infection of the tissues that support the teeth.These infections are associated with specific pathogenic bacteria that colonize the subgingival area. When the teeth are being supported by the gingiva; the gingiva does not attach to the tooth firmly as one might think. Part of the tooth’s anatomy consists of a shallow v-shaped gaped called the sulcus which exists between the tooth and the gingiva. Periodontal disease affects this gap causing the tissue supporting the tooth to break down. Periodontal disease transitions through different levels to become what it is.Research studies indicate that a specific set of guidelines during evaluation of the association of stress and periodontal disease are important. When proposing experimental approaches, specifically in psychosocial stress and periodontal disease; present studies and future experiments show the next six factors to be very useful. Periodontal disease is measured as unique disease outcome and should not be included in a composite index with other oral diseases(3). Validated instruments are assessed for stress, distress, and copying behaviors.These helpful instruments, validated by prior studies, also on the population for each applied for research. Indications of compliance with oral health organization system should measure at-risk behaviors. Incl uding oral health behaviors such as preventive dental visits, regulations of oral hygiene regimens, and an assessment of plaque, gingivitis, and other existing disease. By rigorously establishing psychosocial factors such as stress distress, and coping behaviors are true risk factors for periodontal disease case studies and case-control series generate hypotheses (4).These hypotheses are over large cross-sectional and longitudinal epidemiological studies. Studies in which mechanisms of psychosocial stress or distress show the application of periodontal disease The necessity to show relationship and correlation of applying different assessments such as biochemical mediators of stress, immune functions, or neurological and endocrine alterations as well as behavioral changes are significant in these cases(5). Lastly are randomized controlled trial methodology, the intervention of studies using stress management to establish efficacy of modification of stress as modality of stress-assoc iated disease.Managing these controlled trials allows to reduce stress or distress. Periodontal disease has been associated for years with risk factors such as oral environment, age, female hormones, family factors, smoking and nicotine, and diseases associated with periodontal disease. When discussing oral environment the first issue that comes to mind is lack of oral hygiene. Lack of oral hygiene encourages bacterial buildup and plaque formation, which puts the oral cavity into a very susceptible position for periodontal disease.Inadequate contoured restoration has also created rise to periodontal disease for its restorations of fillings and crowns. By poor dentistry the restorations help trap for debris and plaque because of its defect in contour. Anatomical tooth abnormalities are influential risk factors just as poor restorations would be, because of these abnormalities the teeth are not aligned in their natural state causing food particles to build up to the ladder of periodon tal disease causing plaque and bacteria formation. Lastly would be the anatomy of the third molars, also known as the wisdom teeth.This tooth especially is a known to be a major breeding ground for bacteria, by reason of its location and patients finding difficulty reaching posteriorly to the mouth while brushing. Other studies of this particular tooth show the unique tissues surrounding this molar region has been destructed of the plaque formation and the tissue becoming more sensitive when the third molar is impacted, meaning when the tooth is wedged between another tooth and the jaw. Next commonly associated risk factor with periodontal disease is age.Another problem in aging, comes the increase of obtaining periodontal disease. Studies have shown that thirty percent of the adults in America have periodontal disease and mostly found in people over the age of seventy years old, eighty-six percent have periodontitis (6). Rare cases it has been shown for young adolescents who are su bjected to this disease. Adding to this is family factors, periodontal disease often occurs to members of the same family. A mixture of factors belong to this title, such as intimacy, genetics and hygiene.A considerably important factor is smoking and nicotine. Being the most significant factor, causing bone loss and gingival recession and inflammation by reducing the amount of oxygen present in the gingiva tissue. When nicotine combines with oral bacteria, the production levels expectations are greater. Lastly are diseases associated with periodontal disease, such as diabetes, type one and two, osteoporosis, herpes related gingivitis, human immunodeficiency virus associated with gingivitis, autoimmune disease (7).Others diseases of genetic disorder are also at high risk for periodontitis. Contemporary conceptualization of the stress process supports the evaluation of stress at three levels. Stressors, moderating and mediating factors, and stress reactions. These three factors have emphasized the process and the unity stress can have on periodontal disease, including emotions and coping(8). These stress responses would be determined primarily by the process that makes personalized perception of a stress indicator or a threat to ones health.The aim of each study is to unfold influential factors such as personality traits, coping strategies, and experimentation of referenced information (9). The resolution of all studies suggested that depression, stress, and salivary cortisol are important correlates of periodontal disease. Therefore, it is likely that periodontitis is related to immunologic and behavioral changes related to psychologic states. Salivary cortisol seemed to have different associations with periodontal disease, because of the outcomes in models involving stress compared to models involved with depression.Periodontitis is indicated when addressing depression or stress. By strongly suggesting that stress, distress, and inadequate ways of handling di fficult situations of coping are important risk indicators for periodontal disease. Furthermore, it is likely that systemic disease associated with periodontal disease such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, preterm delivery and osteoporosis may share psychosocial stress as a common risk factor.During these early beginnings of study and research, requirement for one to fully understand the molecular and cellular basis of the role of stress, and in turn these studies may lead to effective intervention strategies that minimize or negate stress as a contributor to periodontal disease. Research has also proven within certain limitations this systematic review showed a positive relationship between stress and psychosocial factors and periodontal disease.However, caution should be used when interpreting this review because the different methodologies used in the included studies may have an impact on the results of the reports. The difficulties inherent is isolating the variable of stre ss, the lack of a reliable standardize   psychological analysis to quantify and define most psychiatric disturbances, the individual ability of patients to cope with negative life events, and the different types and clinical parameters used to determine periodontal tissue breakdown may cat as a confounding biases and cause result distortion at several stages. lthough a positive relationship was observed between stress and periodontal disease, further representative research is need to determine the impact of stress and psychological factors as risk factors for periodontal disease. Reference: Ng SKS, Leung WK. A community study on the relationship between stress, coping, affective dispositions and periodontal attachment loss. Community Dental Oral Epidemiol 2006; 24: 252-66 Page RC, Kornman KS. The pathogenesis of human periodontitis: an introduction. Periodontol 2000 1997; 14 9-11 Robert J. Genco, Alex W. Ho, Jeffrey Kopman, Sara G. Grossel, Robert G.Dunford and Lisa A. Tedesco. M odels to Evaluate the Role of Stress in Periodontal Disease. Department of Oral Biology, Periodontal Disease Research Center, School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo. Vol. 3, No 1, 288-302 July 1998. Amy E. Rosania, Kathryn G. Low, Cherly M. McCormick, and David A. Rosania. Stress, Depression, Cortisol, and Periodontal Disease. Department of Psychology, Bates College, Lewiston, ME. Volume 80, Number 2:260-266 February 2009. Breivik T, Thrane PS, Murison R, Gijermo P. Emotional stress effects on immunity, gingivitis, and periodontitis.Eur J Oral Sci 1996; 104:327-334 Green LW, Tyron WW, Marks B, Juryun J. Periodontal disease as a function of life-events stress. J Human Stress 1986;12:32-6 Annsofi Johannsen, Gunnar Rylander, Birgitta Soder, and Marie Asberg. Dental Plaque, Gingival Inflammation, and Elevated Levels of Interleukin-6 and Cortisol in Gingival Crevicular Fluid From Women with stress-related Depression and Exhaustion. Volume 77 – November 8 2006; 77:1403-1409 Genco RJ, Ho AW, Grossi SG, Dunford RG, Tedesco LA. Relationship of stress distress and inadequate coping behaviors to periodontal disease.J Periodontol 1999;70;711-23 Daiane C. Peruzzo, Bruno B. Benatti, Glaucia M. B. Ambrosano, Getullo R. Nogueria-Fiho, Enilson A. Sallum, Marcio Z. Casati, and Franciso H. Nociti Jr. A Systematic Review of Stress and Psychological Factors as Possible Risk Factors for Periodontal Disease. Volume 78- Number 8. 2007;78:1491-1504 Kaufman E, Lamster IB. Analysis of saliva for periodontal diagnosis- A review. J Clin Periodontal 2000; 27: 453-465 Arowojolu MO, Onyeaso CO, Dosumu EB, Idaboh GK. Effect on academic stress on periodontal health 2006;29:9-13

Capital Punishment Has On The State Of California - 968 Words

Judge Arthur Alarcon and Prof. Paula Mitchell of California have recently done a study on capital punishment and the cost that it has had on the state of California. Their findings may shock some, California has spent $4 billion in the past thirty years to up keep the death penalty, and the average capital trial cost $1 million more than non-capital trials (Alarcon Mitchell, 2011). Capital punishment is a legal process where the punishment for a crime is death. This is a concept that has been around for a long time. One of the earliest written documents that support capital punishment is Hammurabi’s Code with the theory of â€Å"an eye for an eye† (Mark, 2011). The topic of capital punishment has become a very controversial one in the past couple decades. Many people are against it, saying that it is a â€Å"cruel and unusual punishment† and those for it fight say what a great deterrence it can be. While capital punishment may have had a purpose in the past, in our modern society I believe it should be an obsolete practice. As stated before, capital punishment is very costly. $90,000 per year per inmate is the difference between an inmate on death row and one sentenced to life without parole (Tempest, 2005). On average California spends $250 million on each execution, these numbers start to add up and they are most certainly more than what it would be to sentence them to life without parole. The side that is for capital punishment would say that these cost are necessary to keep ourShow MoreRelatedThe Debate Of Capital Punishment1313 Words   |  6 PagesCapital Punishment Introduction The state of California has carried out 13 executions since the enactment of capital punishment in 1992 (NAACP, 2016, 10). According to the NAACP winter quarterly report, there are currently 743 prisoners on death row (NAACP, 2016, 39). 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The death penalty is the sentence of execution for murder and other capital crimes. Which are punishable by death? The death penalty is used only in 38 states (www.deathpenalty.org). The state of California is homeRead More Californias Death Penalty Essay1570 Words   |  7 Pagesabout an issue that has been a concern for decades – California’s Death Penalty. The Death Penalty has long been a problem in California from costs, deterrence, overcrowded prisons, execution of the innocent and so on. Then if were having all these problems why should we continue using this system? nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The death penalty is the sentence of execution for murder and other capital crimes. Which are punishable by death? 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For many politicians, the death penalty has been a key pillar to winning a state or election; and, to some extent, politics have been a key influence in America’s justice system. Many nations have outlawed capital punishment, with the United States included between 1972 and 1976. In the United States, there has been a renewed movement for this â€Å"eye for an eye† method, citi ngRead MoreDeath Penalty for Murders1634 Words   |  6 Pagessevere punishment in the United States. People who have performed heinous crimes can be sentenced to capital punishment in some states; however, this type of chastisement is rarely performed. Capital punishment has more negative aspects than it has positive. The states that have legalized the death penalty face the excessive costs associated with it, which can be damaging to their economies. In addition, there is always the chance of executing an innocent person when carrying out capital punishmentRead MoreThe Death Penalty Act Of 1851 Essay1724 Words   |  7 Pagesexecutions in Californian were authorized under the criminal practice act of 1851 and later lead capital punishment to be incorporated into the penal code on Feb. 14, 1872. Essentially, hanging was allowed to be implemented and caused executions to be publicized. In 1937, legislature allowed lethal gas which effectively replaced hanging and lead to the build ing of the only lethal gas chamber in the state of California at San Quentin. The first execution by lethal gas was conducted in 1938 and the continued