Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy - Research Paper Example The author of this research paper provides the reader with the description of a condition called Duchenne muscular dystrophy that is named after French neurologist Guillaume Benjamin Amand Duchenne who is known for his description of the disease in fine detail. This research paper focuses on discussing of the various aspects of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy, such as it's basic definition, description, epidemiology, pathogenicty, symptoms and diagnosis, treatment and on-going research. This desiase is common in boys between ages 3 and 5 and progresses very fast with most patients completely unable to walk by age 12. However, the disease can be detected with about 95% accuracy by conducting genetic studies during pregnancy. Currently, several possible treatments are being investigated in trials globally in hospitals, laboratories, independent researchers, research institutions and higher learning institutions such as universities with the major focus placed on pursuance cure from ste m cells and gene therapy. The researcher explains current treatment methods that basically aim at merely controlling symptoms and improving quality of life. It is concluded that duchenne muscular dystrophy remains one of the greatest health concerns amongst young children and especially boys today. It is prudent that expectant mothers who are carriers of the disease get help from doctors during their pregnancy so that steps can be taken to minimize effects of the ailment on their children as treatment is still researched.

Impact of Government Curriculum on Teaching and Learning

Impact of Government Curriculum on Teaching and Learning Governmental Control Over Curriculum and the Impact on Teachers as Skilled  Professionals Introduction Caldwell and Hayward (1998) state that the need for reform in England’s school system was realized in 1976 (p. 1). Yet, it was not until 1988 with the Education Reform Act instituted under Margaret Thatcher that a â€Å"national curriculum, national tests† and control of the schools by the government began to become a reality (Caldwell Hayward 1998, p. 1). Murnane and Steele (2007) contend that national involvement in the public schools was intended to support the learners, as well as the teachers (p. 15). However, because of the continued awareness by governments that Western educational institutions were lagging behind the accomplishments of Eastern schools, continued changes in the area of education and government’s control over it have completely altered the educational landscape (Murnane Steele 2007, p. 15). This is because of an adopted neo-liberalist policy approach that has favored markets over learners and policies over teacher effectiveness (Apple 200 1, p. 182). As a result teachers are becoming â€Å"deskilled† and incapable of maintaining their own control over their effectiveness in the classroom (Hall 2004, p. 3). As this control subsides, therefore, teachers are leaving the profession due to frustration and an inability to maintain their professional capabilities in the schools. This knowledge provides evidence that the neo-liberalist policies that have been adopted in the United Kingdom are not achieving the end results as once forecast and that there is perhaps a need to reconsider these policies in order to ensure that teachers that are the foundation of education retain the skills and knowledge that is necessary to instruct society’s children. Neo-Liberalism Apple (2001) indicates that there was once a â€Å"classical liberalism† that existed in relation to the schools and those policies related to education that impacted teachers and students (p. 182). However, Apple (2001) states that as time has progressed the classical liberalism of the state policies has been altered toward a â€Å"neo-liberalism approach† (p. 182). According to Apple (2001), it is important to understand the differences between these two types of views of education because these differences are at the core of the educational issues that schools in many countries face today (p. 182). Olssen (1996) defines classical liberalism in the schools as a method of â€Å"freeing those within the schools from state control† (p. 337). Olssen (1996), on the other hand, specifies that neo-liberalism supports the state’s role in controlling education by â€Å"creating a market†¦[that involves] the conditions, laws and institutions necessary for its operation† (p. 337). Apple (2001) argues that when an education â€Å"market† is, therefore, created it is a market that seems to suggest â€Å"individualization† (p. 182). However, the individualization of the market is subjected to the controls of the government and the policies that force parents, teachers and students to act in a certain manner, leading to the end results that the state intended from the start (Apple 2001, p. 182). This is because the actions of the entities connected to education are restrained by the boundaries set forth in the policies of the government and as those boun daries become more tightly fixed the actions of the parties are more predictable. Choice and Influence on Teachers Apple (2001) expands on this notion by examining the middle class in society (p. 182). Apple (2001) stipulates that when parents of different nations in the middle class are given the opportunity of school choice the government knows that those parents will naturally begin placing their own criteria and/or expectations on schools (p. 182). Consequently when parents are unhappy with the curriculum at one school the teachers at the school are forced to alter that curriculum in order to meet the demands of the parents or they will loose the students within that school (Apple 2001, p. 182). The loss of students within a school means the loss of government funding, the loss of jobs, the lack of teacher’s ability to provide resources and ultimately the loss of the school itself in the community. Therefore, as Apple (2001) indicates, the government policies may be suggesting that people have a greater choice; yet, what is actually occurring is a more significant control of schools th rough the ability of parents to actively use choice to influence curriculum in relation to the schools (p. 182). As parents influence how the curriculum is created, consequently, teachers are placed under greater scrutiny and are forced to expand their offerings in the classroom – even if these offerings include learning that the teacher is not knowledgeable or skilled in. Brooker (2003) contends that the manner in which parents and private entities are capable of influencing the education of students is evident in the United Kingdom with the inclusion of computer technologies in the elementary classroom (p. 261). Over the past decade there has been such a significant increase in the demand for computer technology training of young students. Yet, those schools that do not conform to this expectation are loosing students (Brooker 2003, p. 261). In general this is because parents, manufacturers and the government insists that if children are not trained in the use of computers at an early age they will not be capable of competing with their peers or those in the outside world later on (Brooker 2003, p. 261). Yet, Brooker (2003) argues that technologies in the classroom has impacted teachers negatively due to the fact that many of today’s teachers are not skilled in the use of computers and they are not capable of acquiring the knowledge needed to instruct their students adequately (p. 261). This is because, in general, many schools fail to provide teachers with new training that will support the increase in the instructional scope and teachers do not have the ability to seek outside skill training and maintain their work schedule at the same time. New Teacher Training The concept of choice and control offered by the government is also being reflected in proposals by government entities associated with initial teacher training (Apple 2000, p. 1). Apple (2000) specifies that in the current educational climate what is being considered is the â€Å"deregulation† of teacher training as a means of promoting competition among institutions of higher learning (p. 1). Essentially what this causes to occur is that colleges and universities are freely allowed to choose their own approaches to teaching and teachers have the choice of training institutions that they prefer. However, as time progresses it becomes apparent to schools and the communities that support them which teachers are trained effectively and which are not (Apple 2001, p. 182). This occurs when standardized test scores are revealed from students, reflecting directly back on the teacher’s abilities to educate (Apple 2001, p. 182). As a result, when enough teachers from a particul ar institution are incapable of developing learners that can pass standardized tests that institution begins to realize a decline in enrollment (Apple 2001, p. 182). Although teachers in training are given the choice of schools to attend and colleges are given freedom in determining how those teachers are training, ultimately it is the governmental control of policies that impacts whether or not the institution of higher learning will survive and what curriculum will be used to teach teachers in society. In the neo-liberalist approach to education there is evidence that the freedoms that are being given to colleges and universities are instead tools that negatively impact teachers entering the profession, often with the new teachers being unaware that they are ultimately slated for failure before they even begin their careers. Able Students Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz (1994) stipulate that governmental control over education further impacts teachers and curriculum due to the fact that teachers and schools begin to attempt to avoid students with special needs and â€Å"seek out able children† (p. 19). This is because special needs students require a greater amount of teacher time, teacher expertise and teacher interaction with students that takes away from the teacher instructing â€Å"able† students who do not have special needs (Ball, Bowe Gewitz 1994, p. 19). In England, Ball, Bowe and Gewitz (1994) state that this intent to encourage able students enrolling in schools by teachers and administrators is directly related to the â€Å"publication of performance indicators such as examination league tables† because schools find it difficult to explain that test scores may be low due to an abundance of special needs students (Ball, Bowe Gewitz 1994, p. 19). Yet, Gerwitz, Ball and Bowe (1995) further argue that control of the curriculum and teacher performance is also related to the students of different cultures (p. 6). For example, in England it is known that African American students traditionally have difficulties in the schools because of the large segment of this population that is impoverished (p. 6). Poverty is correlated to the abilities of the students, with those in the impoverished classes historically performing less successfully on standardized tests (Gerwitz, Ball Bowe 1995, p. 6). Apple (2001), therefore, states that this causes teachers to develop curriculum that targets students who are more capable of learning and ignores those students that standardized testing was intended to support in the first place (p. 182). Fragmentation Allen and Ainley (2007) contend that as time progresses the governmental control over the curriculum in the schools is continuing to expand, impacting how teachers not only teach, but changing what is taught to students, causing a fragmentation of teacher control over their own labor (p. 1). An example of this exists within English schools as education reform is focused on vocational education for students beginning at age 14 (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1). According to Allen and Ainley (2007) the government came to the conclusion that there was a decline in students graduating from schools with marketable skills and this impacted their success after public schooling (p. 1). The issue, therefore, became less concentrated on a student’s ability to read, write and perform simple math and more on specifically training students to function in specific jobs once they have left academia (Allen Ainley, 2007, p. 1). Allen and Ainley (2007) indicate that this brings about two specific issues. First, while teachers in the United Kingdom have indicated that they do not support this policy, teacher organizations throughout the country have ignored teacher protests and called on educators to ensure that the policies are successful (Allen Ainley 2007, p 1). Second, programs for vocational training are being largely created in schools that instruct low income or impoverished students, with those students in high performing schools working with a traditional curriculum (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1). What this means is that while governmental policies are once again suggesting that there is choice in relation to education, the policies are ensuring that only those choices that support what the government deems appropriate for education will be made (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1; Chitty 2004, p. 160). Furthermore, Murnane and Steele (2007) state that this causes teachers to be inundated with having to cope with a curriculum that is ever-changing and that they believe they no longer have control over (p. 15). As a result teachers are leaving the teaching profession in vast numbers and this is creating a greater shortage in the teacher workforce than ever before (Murnane Steele 2007, p. 15). Conclusion Duggan and Pole (1996) suggest that the dissatisfaction in the teacher workforce began to be ever apparent in the 1990s (p. 139). Hall (2004) states that this is an issue that has increased over time because of policies such as â€Å"the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies in primary school and the Key Stage 3 Strategy in secondary schools†, as well as the inclusion of technologies and standardized testing that â€Å"constricts teachers† and their capabilities throughout the curriculum (p. 3). According to Hall (2004) the types of control connected to the schools and the deskilling of teachers are endless (p. 8; Appendix 1). Consequently there is an increased teacher workload, decreased teacher satisfaction and a reduction in the number of teachers that want to or are capable of instructing students in the manner in which government and/or society demands. For the future of education in the Western world this could mean that the attempt by government to regulate education and create more successful outcomes for students in England has the opposite effect, as is indicated by Hall (2004, p. 3). The research indicates that the original intent of education to create students that were capable of being productive citizens after their educational careers ended became extremely complex when it was realized that Western students did not achieve at the same rate as Eastern students. Therefore, a neo-liberalist policy toward education by the government was adopted, suggesting that choice was available to parents, teachers and students and that a greater freedom in education would exist. Yet, the research also demonstrates that the idea of choice was restricted by the policies related to education that were adopted by the government and that these policies minimalized the choices that actually existed. Moreover, these neo-liberalist policies became so intricately woven within education that the choices made by those connected to education could be predicted and manipulated with ease. For teachers this has meant that they are overworked, under-trained and unprepared for the demands o f the modern educational system and given few options as to how they can overcome these issues. This knowledge provides serious implications for the educational system because as teachers continue to become frustrated due to their increasing deskilled status they are leaving the teaching workforce. This knowledge provides evidence that the neo-liberalist policies that have been adopted in the United Kingdom are not achieving the end results as once forecast and that there is perhaps a need to reconsider these policies in order to ensure that teachers that are the foundation of education retain the skills and knowledge that is necessary to instruct society’s children. Appendix 1 (Hall 2004, p. 8). 1. Regulated market control: metaphors of the market and consumer demand are imposed upon schools; success and profits go to those who best meet consumer demand. Teachers’ work is evaluated in terms of measured outputs set against cost. Competition is the key element in relations between schools. (Ball, 1994) 2. Technical control: this is embodied in structures rather than people – in, for example, notionally ‘teacher proof’ teaching materials and text books, and in specified competences (Apple, 1988, 1996) 3. Bureaucratic control: hierarchical power is embedded in the social and organisational structure of institutions – jobs are differently divided and defined, have different salaries, and supervision, evaluation and promotion arrangements. The potential for establishing a career operates as a control mechanism. 4. Corporate control: the focus of the institution is on economic rather than social good. A competitive ethos prevails. Managers focus on economic goals. The head teacher is perceived more as a line manager than as a first among professional equals. 5. Ideological control: hegemonic beliefs – for example, that a good teacher has certain characteristics – become part of the dominant ideology within schools. These ideas and beliefs are reinforced in pre-service and in-service training. Certain conceptions of teachers’ work become naturalised – for example, a move away from child-centred discourse to market based discourse. 6. Disciplinary power: Foucault (1977) shows how, by means of the technologies of power – hierarchical observation, normalising judgment and examination –individuals are ‘disciplined’ into ways of understanding their work. Minor procedures and routines are specified (times, dress, expected responses) in ways that become anonymous and functional within a school; teachers and others within the school regulate their own behaviours to meet these expectations. Smyth describes this as a ‘triumph of technique over questions of purpose’ Bibliography Allen, M. and Ainley, P. (2007) Education make you fick, innit? London: Tufnell Press. Apple, M. (2000). Power, meaning, and identity. New York: Peter Lang. Apple, M. (2001). Markets, standards, teaching and teacher education. Journal of  Teacher Education. 52(3): 182-207. Ball, S., Bowe, R., Gewirtz, S. (1994). Market forces and parental choice. In S. Tomlinson (Ed.), Educational reform and its consequences (pp. 13-25). London: IPPR/Rivers Oram Press. Brooker, L. (2003). Integrating new technologies in the UK classroom. Childhood  Education. 79(5): 261-289. Caldwell, B., and Hayward, D. (1998). The future of schools: Lessons from the reform  of public education. London: Falmer Press. Chitty, C. (2004). Education policy in Britain. London: Palgrave. Duggan, R., and Pole, C. (1996). Reshaping education in the 1990s. New York:  Routledge. Gewirtz, S., Ball, S., Bowe, R. (1995). Markets, choice, and equity in education.  Philadelphia: Open University Press. Hall. C. (2004). Theorizing changes in teacher’s work. Canadian Journal of Education  Administration and Policy. Retrieved January 1, 2009, from http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/pdf_files/hall.pdf Murnane, R., and Steele, J. (2007). What is the problem? The challenge of providing  effective teacher for all children. The Future of Children. 17(1): 15-35. Olssen, M. (1996). In defense of the welfare state and of publicly provided education.  Journal of Education Policy. 11: 337-362.

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1. PAPILDYTOS REALYBÄâ€"S MIKROPROGRAMÃ… ² SAVYBÄâ€"S IR REIKALAVIMAI 1.1 Papildytos realybÄâ€"s samprata ir savybÄâ€"s Papildyta realybÄâ€" (angl. augmented reality, lietuviÃ… ¡kai dar vadinama iÃ… ¡plÄâ€"stine tikrove) – tai sparÄ iai populiarÄâ€"janti nauja technologija, leidÃ… ¾ianti realiu laiku per vaizdo stebÄâ€"jimo Ä ¯rangÄ… matomÄ… vaizdÄ… papildyti virtualiais objektais ir informacija (1 pav.). Tarp daugybÄâ€"s skaitmeniniÃ… ³ nuotraukÃ… ³, televizijos reklamÃ… ³ ir video filmÃ… ³ kartais sunku suprasti, kur prasideda papildyta realybÄâ€", o kur tik skaitmeniniai elementai. Grafikos redagavimo programa (pavyzdÃ… ¾iui „Photoshopâ€Å" ar „Corel Drawâ€Å") nuotraukos realÃ… ³ vaizdÄ… papildÃ… ¾ius 2D iÃ… ¡galvotais objektais, papildyta realybÄâ€" nebus sukuriama – nÄâ€"ra 3D elementÃ… ³ ir interaktyvumo, o tai yra labai svarbios Ã… ¡ios technologijos sÄ…lygos. Ã…  iai technologijai taip pat nepriskiriami filmai ir televizija. Kai kurie filmai, tokie kaip „JÃ… «ros periodo parkasâ€Å" ar „Avatarasâ€Å" gausiai naudoja erdvinius ir virtualius objektus, sklandÃ… ¾iai perdengtus su realia 3D aplinka, taÄ iau jie nÄâ€"ra interaktyvÃ… «s ir negali bÃ… «ti priskirti papildytai realybei. Siekiant plaÄ iau Ä ¯sigilinti Ä ¯ papildytos realybÄâ€"a sÄ…vokÄ…, iÃ… ¡skirsime tris pagrindines jos savybes [9]: 1) galimybÄ™ sujungti tikrÄ… ir virtualiÄ… informacijÄ…; 2) papildyta realybÄâ€" yra interaktyvi realiu laiku; 3) papildyta realybÄâ€" veikia ir yra naudojama 3D aplinkoje. Papildytos realybÄâ€"s sistemos dÄâ€"l naudojamÃ… ³ platformÃ… ³ gali bÃ… «ti skirstomos Ä ¯ dvi kategorijas: mobilias ir fiksuotas. Mobili papildytos realybÄâ€"s sistema suteikia vartotojui judÄâ€"jimo laisvÄ™ daugybÄâ€"je aplinkÃ… ³, o fiksuota sistema atvirkÃ… ¡Ã„ iai – negali bÃ… «ti perkelta ir yra naudojama tik ten, kur yra Ä ¯rengta. IÃ… ¡skiriamos keturios papildytos realybÄâ€"s platformos: 1) asmeniniai kompiuteriai su internetinÄâ€"mis kamero... ...aguoja Ä ¯ Ã… ¾mogaus ar kitÃ… ³ objektÃ… ³ prisilietimus, ir suteikia jiems virtualiÄ… informacijÄ… realiu laiku. Tinkamiausias pavyzdys Ã… ¡iam metodui suvokti yra „Microsoftâ€Å" projektas „LightSpaceâ€Å", kuriame panaudota papildyta realybÄâ€" ir 2007-ais metais iÃ… ¡leistas „Microsoftâ€Å" stalinis kompiuteris „Surface. „LightSpaceâ€Å" sukuria aplinkÄ…, kurioje bet koks pavirÃ… ¡ius ir netgi erdvÄâ€" tarp tÃ… ³ pavirÃ… ¡iÃ… ³ yra visiÃ… ¡kai interaktyvÃ… «s [12]. Kombinacija tarp pavirÃ… ¡inÄâ€"s kompiuterijos ir papildytos realybÄâ€"s yra vadinama erdvine kompiuterija (angl. spatial computing). „LightSpaceâ€Å" kameros ir projektoriai yra sukalibruoti Ä ¯ 3D realaus pasaulio koordinates, kurios Ä ¯galina tas kameras ir projektorius atvaizduoti bei stebÄâ€"ti grafines projekcijas ant bet kokio pavirÃ… ¡iaus – tam nÄâ€"ra reikalingas skaitmeninis pavirÃ… ¡ius. Ä ®diegus tokiÄ… sistemÄ… Ä ¯ bet kokiÄ… patalpÄ… ji tampa skaitmenine, interaktyvia erdve [13].

Accomplishments of Ancient Rome

In the 3,000 years that make up the ancient history of the emergence of Western Civilization, Rome’s contributions to society include the construction of bridges, domes, and temples. The Romans had great architecture skills that have stayed with us in one form or another for thousands of years. Each construction has evolved into many different forms that are found all over the world today. Each country or civilization uses the items differently, but without the help from the Romans and Greeks transportation may have been harder to accomplish and buildings would not have the beauty they have today. Short bridges are not hard to build.They can easily be made by throwing a log across a narrow stream or river. It’s building a bridge across a wide river that can be difficult. Building a straight bridge across a wide gap can be unsafe and unsecure. The Roman’s invented a bridge in the form of an arch. This caused the bridge to be better equipped to handle heavy weight without having to put many supports in the water itself. Like all inventions, the first few arch bridges had flaws but they were worked out and now many bridges across the world have an arch like structure to them. The arch structure can also be found in historical buildings because of its beauty and uniqueness.The Romans were very proud of their accomplishment and they used it whenever they could. The Ancient Romans were the first to construct the dome. The Pantheon was an important building built in Ancient Greece that contained a dome. It is very noticeable from the exterior of the building. The dome of the Pantheon is one of the largest masonry domes every built. A heavy concrete base supports the weight, while the upper walls and dome are constructed of a lighter mix of concrete. The center of the dome has an opening which allows light and rain to enter.Many buildings and houses right here in New York have a roof with a dome shape to it. It is really popular in old Victorian ho mes. The Ancient Romans were not the first to construct temples but they contributed their own ideas to the structure. Some temples, such as the Temple of Saturn, have been rebuilt many times. Eight Ionic columns still remain on the Temple of Saturn today. Romans often didn’t include the fluting from the column shafts. Roman temples had columns and many pieces of artwork hung throughout the buildings showing Roman life just like the temples of Greece.Every building design starts off very basic and excels into something great and powerful. Each architectural design was created for some reason or another. If for some reason the Romans didn’t create the arch, dome or temples it doesn’t mean that it would never been created. They were just the first ones who needed or desired them first. I’m sure someone; somewhere would have had the idea of creating such beautiful pieces of architect. But as it stands today, we thank the Romans and Greeks for our earliest fo rms of advanced architecture.

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Benzophenone's nonpolar nature makes it insoluble with water (which is polar), soluble with methanol (which is of intermediate polarity) and soluble with hexane (which is nonpolar). This is because generally, like dissolves like nonpolar will dissolve nonpolar but not polar, and vice versa. But note that this is an imperfect science you would expect hexane to dissolve faster and more completely than methanol (because of the differing polarities), but the opposite occurred.This may be ecause of benzophenone's ketone group, which adds a slight polarity to the molecule, making it a little polar, although mostly nonpolar. Biphenyl, which is completely nonpolar, will have similar solubilities as benzophenone: insoluble with water (polar), partially soluble with methanol (intermediate polarity) and soluble with hexane (nonpolar). But with biphenyl (unlike with benzophenone) the solubilities are exactly as expected, because of biphenyl's complete nonpolarity.But that explains any difference s in solubilities between the two molecules. Polarity also played a role in the alcohol reactions: water, which is polar, will be insoluble with I-octanol (which is nonpolar), insoluble with I-butanol (also nonpolar), and soluble with methanol (polar). But it's a little more complicated: the carbon chain of each of these organic compounds will always be nonpolar and therefore hydrophobic, but as these are alcohols, the -OH group, which is polar and therefore hydrophilic, comes into play as well.So it's kind of a battle between the hydrophobic carbon chain and the ydrophilic alcohol group, and when the chain is long, as in octanol, it will overpower the alcohol. Conversely, in small alcohols like methanol (or ethanol etc. ), where the carbon chain is much shorter, it will exert a smaller hydrophobic force and the overall molecule will therefore be hydrophilic. The hexane-alcohol reactions had the opposite solubilities, due to hexane's nonpolar nature (and the rule of like dissolves l ike): soluble with I-octanol (nonpolar), soluble with I-butanol (nonpolar), and insoluble with methanol (pola