Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job - Essay Example One of the most important consequences of saying ‘Good Job!’ to a child constantly, Kohn argues, is that it reduces the child’s real achievement. â€Å"As if it weren’t bad enough that ‘Good job!’ can undermine independence, pleasure, and interest, it can also interfere with how good a job children actually do. Researchers keep finding that kids who are praised for doing well at a creative task tend to stumble at the next task – and they don’t do as well as children who weren’t praised to begin with.† (Kohn) In a reflective analysis of this argument made by Kohn, it becomes evident that the author is highly sensible in making this point, because practical experience as well as research evidences supports his claim. One must agree with the author that it is time to stop praising children by saying ‘Good Job!’ because it creates pressure to the youngsters to keep up the good work. It is unquestionable fact that ‘Good job!’ often ignores the thoughts, feelings, and values behind the behaviors of human beings and it unfortunately promotes the less desirable motives in the child.

Literacies for Learning Essay Example for Free

Literacies for Learning Essay The necessity for educational institutions to equip students with the skills to cope in a rapidly changing, culturally diverse and globalised 21st century society, has led academics, such as the New London Group, to encourage educators to acknowledge the various literacy forms utilised in the new millennium (The New London Group, 1996) and to adopt a pedagogy of multiliteracies. This essay will explore the components of a pedagogy of multiliteracies and identify the transformations needed for the successful implementation of multiliteracies into educational practice. Likewise, the notion of language as a social practice which influences teaching content and assessment practices in secondary education will be examined, as will the use of multiliteracies in the teaching of the Mathematics curriculum. To understand the role of multiliteracies in pedagogy theory development, it is important to define the term literacy. Literacy is an evolving term that refers to an individual’s ability to construct and comprehend meaning via the accepted symbol systems of one’s country or language group (Winch, Johnston, March, Ljungdahl, Holliday, 2010). These symbol systems include written and spoken language and visual information such as icons and other graphical information. While literacy was traditionally viewed as a cognitive process with a focus on reading, writing and numeracy identification, in recent years its definition has become broadened to encompass the burgeoning text types being generated via multimedia and information technology (Winch et al., 2010). These electronic text types have quickly established themselves as integral components of a diverse range of 21st century vocations and social interactions (Tan, 2006).  A pedagogy of multiliteracies encompasses multimedia and digital text forms as well as traditional written and spoken texts. Likewise, the central role of literacy in a diverse range of knowledge domains and vocations has resulted in educators being encouraged to view literacy as a vital skill underpinning successful teaching and learning in all curriculum areas. The New London Group (1996) viewed the role of design as an ever changing paradigm of three stage teaching and learning processes. The first step, ‘Available Designs’ is determining what resources are available. These resources include texts, symbols, audio and visual resources. The second step is ‘Designing’ which takes these ‘Available Designs’ and places them within a social context, such as the classroom or learning environment, and is facilitated by an individual such as a teacher. This step creates an output with new meaning for both the learning environment and facilitator. This knowledge or new meaning is known as ‘Redesign’ (The New London Group, 1996). Literacy is a social practice that is not just taught in secondary schools, it is something which is part of each individual’s everyday life. According to Anstey Bull (2000), the way in which an individual may read the world will be strongly linked to the contexts of their own life. The NSW Department of Education and Training (2006) maintains that literacy is a skill that continues to grow and develop and is fundamental to students’ success at school as well as for the rest of their life. For literacy to be successful in schools, it is planned in collaboration with parents and teachers. This collaborative approach reinforces that literacy is inherently a social practice. This approach must include a range of social influences and practices, in order to increase student’s knowledge and skill in the real world for real purposes (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2006). As literacy development is undoubtedly a whole school and community approach, it is essential that a multiliteracies pedagogy, be utilised in the teaching of all curriculum areas. The impact of societal and cultural change is clearly reflected in the mathematics curriculum through the use of digital technologies such as graphical programs and spreadsheets. This use of technology provides numerous opportunities for the teaching of multiliteracies. Through explicit teaching and learning  experiences of digital texts, students are provided with the skills to successfully navigate and comprehend information communicated digitally. These skills can be acquired through students being provided with opportunities to access information via Internet websites. Likewise, students can use information technology to construct their own texts, thus allowing them to communicate their understanding of concepts to others. This may be achieved by encouraging students to construct texts through the use of software programs such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Visio, both of which allow students to communicate information graphically. These digital mediums allow students to acquire skills which will assist them in acquiring real world skills which they can utilise to gain and construct meaning, both in and out of the classroom. (Winch et al., 2010). Technology is an essential part of the transformations taking place in the social, political, cultural and economic spheres of contemporary society (Groundwater- Smith, Brennan, McFadden, Mitchell and Munns, 2009). Secondary school teachers need to prepare students with the skills necessary for life in a rapidly changing, technological world. In order to equip students with these skills, teachers must possess deep knowledge of relevant technologies (Treadwell, 2008). The Mathematics curriculum includes teaching of: statistics, probability, algebra, financial concepts, economics, technology, measurement and trigonometry. These strands include skills applicable to an individual’s school/work life, social life and personal life. Mathematics content areas, focus on aspects of society, reform, technology and life skills. It is important for teachers to link the social practice of literacy with the factors of a pedagogy of multiliteracies to create the best teaching environment they can (The New London Group, 1996). Walsh (2006) cites an example of successfully teaching his students literacy practices, through social relationships. Students worked in groups and were able to demonstrate specific social language structures. They were able to â€Å"enact, recognise and negotiate† in a social environment (The New London Group, 1996, p. 3) by design and re-design of Internet web pages. The created web pages were diverse, with each student using their own discourse to create what they believed the web page should contain. Prior to using multi-modal and digital literacy mediums in their teaching, it is essential that teachers be aware of cognitive and language factors in learning. The  ability to use multimodal learning, digital literacies and genres specific to each curriculum area must be carefully planned by the teacher. According to Winch et al., (2010) a multiliteracy pedagogy involves developing the ability to use language purposefully and skillfully in a range of social settings, rather than learning isolated segments of knowledge such as grammar conventions and spelling. Multiliteracy includes the use and creation of multimodal and multimedia texts (Winch et al., 2010). Multiliteracy seeks to address the rapid changes in literacy brought about by globalisation, cultural and social diversity and information technology (Winch et al., 2010). In response to these societal changes, The New London Group (1996), questioned the role of schools and outlined a need for change in literacy teaching due to key changes in three areas of life: working life, public life and personal life (life worlds). Central to these changes, was the need for schools to integrate learning with life experiences that students have both in and out of the classroom. â€Å"As these three major realms of social activity have shifted, so the roles and responsibilities of schools must shift† (The New London Group, 1996, p.18). The New London Group advocated for a change in the way, education was delivered, by enhancing the existing structures and overlaying with a new â€Å"what† and â€Å"how† of literacy teaching (The New London Group, 1996). The ‘how’ of pedagogy comes from a view of how learning is acquired, embedded and utilised. The New London Group (1996) proposed that a pedagogy of multiliteracies is a complex blend of four methods of design. The first is Situated Practice which involves learning by creating meaningful learning experiences that allow students be in an environment where the learning replicates the social use of what is being learnt. It is an environment where risks can be taken and ‘trial and error’ is used to gain mastery of skills or knowledge. It should be used â€Å"developmentally, to guide learners to the experiences and the assistance they need to develop further as members of the community, capable of drawing on, and ultimately contributing to, the full range of it’s resources.† (The New London Group, 1996, p. 33). Situated Practice should be designed to motivate students to want to know, and engage students in their learning in a safe environment . Assessment or evaluation is not considered part of Situated Practice. Overt Instruction is the second method of how a pedagogy of mulitliteracies is  implemented.  This involves teachers guiding and using effective teaching techniques such as scaffolding or explicit instruction to build student’s knowledge and confidence. Examination of the current secondary school’s Mathematics curriculum, (NSW department of Education and Training, 2010) reveals many opportunities for teachers and students to collaborate and engage in dialogue related to mathematical concepts which will guide and provide a scaffold for student learning. For example, the teacher makes links with prior learning, through asking open questions to the group, and uses multi-modal methods such as mathematical symbols, diagrams, charts and pictures to add to the learning. With each progression of new learning in the lesson, the teacher labels a new part of the diagram. Overt Instruction â€Å".includes centrally the sorts of collaborative efforts between teacher and student wherein the student is both allowed to accomplish a task more complex than they can accompli sh on their own and they are conscious of the teacher’s representation and interpretation of that task.† (The New London Group (1996, p. 20). Thirdly, Critical Framing focuses on the â€Å"how† of a pedagogy of multiliteracies, through the use and application of real world knowledge. This method is where assessment and evaluation of one’s self understanding can begin in relation to cultural, social, political and historical influences on what has been learned (New London Group, 1996). Teachers are able to encourage students to apply their learning in a practical sense and assess the transfer of student’s knowledge or skill. This knowledge is based on what they have previously learned, and requires students to â€Å"constructively critique it, account for its cultural location; creatively extend and apply it and eventually innovate own† and strengthen their ability to demonstrate what they have learned (The New London Group, 1996, p. 37). A mathematical example of this process is the conversion of degrees to radians. Its real life use is the calculation of the speed of a piece of machin ery. This calculation includes the formula in terms of radians rather than degrees. Finally, Transformed Practice is â€Å"where we try and re-enact a discourse by engaging in it for our real purposes† (The New London Group, 1996, p. 36).  Students need to think and learn outside their own discourse and think about how they can re-create their meaning, linking their own discourses to understand what they have learned. An example of this practice was where students were asked to plan and present a lesson including a Wiki activity and a Prezi (presentation tool) that teaches the concepts from a previous mathematics lesson. In groups, students collaboratively utilised the Internet to research topics, and create: work sheets for others to complete, interactive wiki activities, team tasks, and their own YouTube clips. The lesson included the use and creation of multimodal texts and scaffolding of existing knowledge. Students developed new knowledge through authentic multimodal texts such as image, sound, video and written text (Tan, 2006). Gunning (2002) explores the impact of reading and writing difficulties in a social stance, and highlights that poor instructions given by teachers can contribute to a student’s difficulties. Gunning’s (2002) observations and research serve as a reminder that teachers must be sure to provide the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of multiliteracies, to ensure each student has the opportunity to progress. Teachers need to evaluate their current practice and identify the text types typically used in the Mathematics content areas and consider the social needs and teaching strategies that will develop student’s literacy skills (Goos, Stillman., Vale, 2007). In a mathematics lesson, students were introduced to the ‘Simpson’s rule’ formula. The lesson’s aim was for students to measure the area beneath a real life object, gain an understanding of what is needed to complete the formula and how the variables are calculated. Students were required to work collaboratively in pairs, discussing various ways in which measurements were taken in order to obtain an accurate result in working out the area of the object. Likewise, students were required to engage in higher order thinking, in order to formulate possible solutions to the dilemma. These experiences provided students with the opportunity to be inclusive in their learning, and consolidate their understanding of key concepts that are relevant to the lesson goals (Prain Hand, 1999). Teacher observations and questioning during group work, guided the student’s discussions, with the teacher embracing a teaching style where multiliteracies were used. The New London Group (1996) have profoundly impacted on teaching practices, literacy research, policy curriculum and pedagogy (Mills, 2006). Gee (1991) explores  social literacy and the impact of a student’s discourse that are established outside the classroom, from their social group, fa mily and cultural ties. Their view of literacy as social practice and their emphasis on incorporating the rapidly increasing number of electronic and multimodal text types in 21st century society into teaching practice represents a clear break away from the single dimensional teaching of literacy. However, for multiliteracies such as digital literacies, multimodal resources and ICT to provide best learning for students, teachers must be prepared to embrace the view that literacy is a social practice and and an essential skill underpinning all curriculum areas. Teachers also need to recognise that each lesson they teach to students provides the opportunity to develop the student’s literacy skills. In order to facilitate this change in pedagogical ideology, teachers must be prepared to evaluate their current teaching practice and adopt a more holistic approach to developing literacy skills in their students. As a consequence, students should be exposed to participative learning experiences with re al life learning outcomes. References Anstey, M., Bull, G. (2000). Developing multiple and critical readings of text. Reading the visual: Written and illustrated children’s literature (pp. 201-214). Sydney: Harcourt. Gee, J. (1991) What is literacy? In C.Mitchell K. Weiler (Eds.), Rewriting literacy. New York: Bergin Garvey Goos, M. Stillman, G. Vale,C. (2007). Teaching secondary mathematics. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen Unwin. Gunning, T. (2002). Factors involved in reading and writing difficulties. Assessing and correcting reading and writing difficulties (2nd ed., pp. 26-62). Sydney: Allyn Bacon. Mills, K. (2006). Discovering design possibilities through a pedagogy of multiliteracies. Journal of Leading Design, 1(3), 61-72 NSW Department of Education and Training. (2010). NSW Department of Education and Training. (2007). Literacy K-12 Policy Retrieved from https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/curriculum/schools/literacy/PD20050288.shtml?query=literacy+policy New South Wales Department of Education and Training. (2006). State literacy plan 2006-2008: Equitable literacy achievements for all students. Retrieved from http://www.curriculumsupprt.education.nsw.gov.au/policies/literacy/guidelinies/plan/index.htm Prain Hand (1999) Tan, L. (2006). Literacy for the 21st Century. Retrieved from http://iresearch.osprey.url3.net/iresearch/slot/u110/litreviews/literacy4_21st_century.pdf The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. In B.Cope M. Klantzis (Eds.), Multiliteracies, literacy learning and the design of social futures (pp. 9-37). London: Macmillan. Walsh, C. (2006). Beyond the workshop. Doing multiliteracies with adolescents. English in Australia, 41(3), 49-58 Winch, G., Johnston, R., March, P., Ljungdahl, L., Holliday, M. (2010). Literacy: Reading, writing and childrens literature (4th ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press Cope, Bill and Mary Kalantzis (eds), Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures, Routledge, London, 2000, 350pp. | link

Crusader Castles: A Medieval Culmination :: miscellaneous

Crusader Castles: A Medieval Culmination King Edward I of England made a number of military campaigns during his reign, in two of which he captured modern-day Wales. In order to hold his gains he built a series of castles, which are said to still be some of the world’s greatest strongholds. But, over 3500 kilometres away a period of fascinating castle building took place prior to Edward’s as a result of the crusades. These constructions were designed by absorbing the constructive wisdom of the crusaders and those they came into contact with. The crusader castles were built faster, larger, and stronger, to create what are without a doubt, the world’s greatest strongholds. The crusaders designed their castles to provide the essentials needed for survival while developing design techniques capable of turning a castle into a stronghold that were mimicked throughout the medieval world. Once their castles were designed the crusaders displayed a construction ability and ingenuity that turned the designs into r eality, taking any material they could obtain and use it to create anything they needed. So successful was their construction that attacking forces of incredibly larger numbers were needed to capture only a select few of the castles over a hundred year period, and often the circumstances of capture were not a fault of design but an unfortunate twist of fate. Through design, construction, and history, a picture emerges of a pioneering period of military construction that was never matched. The design of a castle is most certainly the greatest factor in its defensive capabilities, and many of the innovations credited to the development of the castle finds itself in the history of the crusades. The most significant development is the concentric castle; this is the concept in which the inner walls are able to fire over the outer walls, either because of close proximity or size. In this manner the maximum amount of firepower can be directed at any one point. Belvoir (See Fig. 1 in appendix) is not only a perfect concentric castle but is also the first datable one (circa 1168). The outer wall was built with flanking towers and towers enforcing the centre of each wall span, with the exception of the gatehouse wall. This wall encloses an area of 130 x 100 meters1, making it one of the largest enclosure castles, it also encloses two further walls, the first of which has only one tower because of its close proximity to the outer wall, the inner wall is built with flanking towers to support the middle bailey.

A Brief Overview of World War I

The World War 1 conflict began in 1914 to 1918. It started as a nearby European war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia on July 28th 1914. It transformed into a general European struggle by declaration of the following nations known as the ‘Allies' and the ‘Associated Powers'; Great britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United states. These nations defied the coalition(central powers). The assassination at Sarajevo in bosnia immediately caused the war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia on June 28th 1914. The Triple Entente was involved in the first world war along with the Triple Alliance. The Triple alliance was formed by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882. These Countries agreed to assist each other if attacked by either France or Russia. In WW1, Germany attacked France which caused the Triple alliance to support them in there war. Russia, who feared the growth in the German army, joined up with Britain and France which eventually formed the Triple Entente. The Russian Government was also very cautious and concerned about the possibility of Austria-Hungary increasing the size of their army's population. One of the causes of World War was that they made all the aforementioned items join in the war (alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism) and then was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. In June 1914, him and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian Nationalist while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia which was part of Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary was in protest of having control of this region. Serbia wanted Herzegovina and Bosnia to belong to them. This assassination led to Serbia being declared of war by Austria-Hungary. When Russia began to mobilize because of its alliance with Serbia, Germany quickly declared war on Russia. This expanded the war including all those involved in the mutual defense alliances. Another cause was Nationalism. Bosnia and Herzegovina no longer wanted to be part of Austria-Hungary but instead be part of Serbia because most of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples. nationalism led directly to the War in this way. The nationalism of countries throughout Europe contributed to the extension of the war and the beginning- in a general way. Each country tried to prove their dominance and power through this. The Battle of Gallipoli was one of the major events that occurred in WW1. This battle began in 1915. By the spring, it sunk stalemate as there was combat on the Western Front. Trenches that stretched from the English channel to the swiss border, there were Enemy troops basically staring at each other. Neither opponent could outflank its enemy resulting in costly direct attacks on well-fortified defenses. Movement of each sides were predicted at the beginning of the conflict had devolved into deadly war(or stagnation). The Battle of Verdun is another major event caused it WW1. it is considered the greatest and lengthiest battle in world history. There has never been a more lengthy battle such as this one, involving so many men, situated on such a tiny piece of land. The battle of Verdun lasted from 21 February 1916 until 19 December 1916 caused over an estimated 700,000 casualties (dead, wounded and missing). The battlefield wasn't even ten square kilometres. There can be no justification for these losses from a strategic point of view. The battle transformed into a matter of prestige of two nations literally for the sake of fighting! Economic change: Technology and weapons experienced a great boost after the war, as the production of automobiles, airplanes, radios, guns, weapons of mass destruction(WMA), and even certain chemicals, boosted wildly. The advantages of mass production and the use of machinery to perform former human labor tasks and encounters, proved to stimulate the economy, the United States' in for example. Much of Europe suffered eye opening losses of property and landscape as well as finances. Europe had the respect of the world as a very reliable money-lender by 1914. Yet just four years later, Europe was in danger for their greatly in debt to her allies for their financial contributions towards the war effort, owing them round about $10 billion. For them to pay back their allies, Many of the European governments began to rapidly print a lot of money, only to subject their countries to a period of inflation. The middle class members who had been living rather comfortably on investments started to experience a bumpy financial period. Germany was hit the hardest in struggling terms with the war reparations, and the German mark drastically lowered the inflation value. In 1923,No more than three months into that year, the German mark boosted from 4. 6 million marks to the dollar to 4. 2 trillion marks to the German dollar. It occurred that the inflation knew it had no bounds.

Essay on John Keats

Endymion is one of Keat’s early adventures in poetry.   The poem reflects Keats’ attitude to beauty.   Endymion is a youth renowned for his beauty and his perpetual sleep.   As he slept in Mount Latmus in Caria, his beauty warmed the cold hearts of Seleue (the Moon) who came down to him, kissed him and lay by his side.   His eternal sleep on Latmus is assigned to different causes but it is generally believed that Seleue had sent him to sleep that she might be able to kiss him. Keats has certainly made use of the myth of Endymion to explore his own way to realize the truth that is beauty (Hewlett, 1949).   But the myth remains only the framework.   Keats invents quite a lot.   Aileen Ward (1963) in this connection says:â€Å"the legend of Endymion’s winning immortal youth through the love of the Moon – Goddess was only the beginning or rather the ending; he had to fill up his four books with living characters, set them moving in a world of th eir own and breathe new meaning into the old legend.†And this meaning he does, indicate at the beginning of the poem:â€Å"A thing of beauty is a joy of ever;Its loveliness increases: it will neverPass into nothing; but still will keepA bower quite for us, and a sleepFull of sweet dreams, and health and quite breathing.†The theme of the poem is love, beauty and youth.   He starts this marvelous adventure laden with exotic scenery, in mid April and locates it aptly in the Isle of Wight:â€Å" †¦ So I’ll beginNow while I cannot hear the cities’ dire;Now while the early hudders are just new,And run in mazes of the youngest hewAbout old forests; while the willow trailsIts delicate ambrer; and the dairy pailsBring home increase of milk†¦Ã¢â‚¬ There are certainly inspired pieces in the first book as Hymn of Pan.   It begins after a description of the Festival of the God, which held on a lawn in a forest on a slope of Mount Latmus.   The whole a ssembly is addressed by the old priest who tells the worshippers of the bounties which Pan has heaped upon them.   The imagery is well chosen to explain the manifestation of God’s energy.   All the objects are described in happy phrases.   The God is associated with the objects of nature, every aspect which imagination, hunting for the objectively mysterious, can comprehend.   The Hymn ends in the lines in which Pan is:â€Å"†¦ The unimaginable lodgeFor solitary thinkings; such as dodgeConception to the very Bourne of HeavenThen leave the naked brain†¦.†The style of Endymion is largely that of â€Å"I Stood Tip-Toe† and â€Å"Sleep and Poetry.† This is luscious, half–feminine and often beautiful (Roe, 1997).   There is a distinct growth, of course, in craftsmanship but the most important point about Keats at this state is his depth and breath of philosophic apprehension of myth.   If we try to search for the meaning of the poe m in the organism of the structure, the divided self of Keats might be clearer, though it will affirm his inclination on the realistic side even at this stage.   The control in certain portions of the poem is uncertain partly because Keats was a young and undisciplined artist (Steinhoff, 1987). Up to the last moment, the hero as well as the poet till the last moment of his life is subject to conflicting desires.As a matter of fact, there is ambiguity in the poem.   The poem’s ending is presented in highly ambiguous way and it could be interpreted on two different levels.   On the mythological level, the maid – Indian Maiden – is only the Goddess in a disguise to test Endymion’s fidelity.   This is a fairy tale device.   So when Endymion seems to give up human love and asserts his devotion to â€Å"things of light† the maiden turns back into the Goddess and rewards him with the â€Å"immortality of passion† promised in the myth (Hew lett, 1949).To conclude, the real significance of the poem lies in search of truth, through the â€Å"bare-circumstance† of this legend.   Keats was the first poet in English who found a human meaning in the myth.   He did not fit myths into an allegorical pattern as Elizabethans did or did not only use them to decorative effect as the 18th Century people did.   Keats’ contribution lies in finding that the Greek myths were relevant to our inner experiences.ReferencesHewlett, Dorothy. 1949. â€Å"A Life of John Keats,† Hurst & Blackett, pp.325-326.Roe, Nicholas, 1997. â€Å"John Keats and the Culture of Dissent†, Oxford Clarendon Press.Steinhoff, Stephen. 1987. â€Å"Keats’s Endymion: A Critical Edition,† The Whitston Publishing Company, Troy, New York, pp.295-300.Ward, Eileen. 1963. John Keats: The Making of a Poet, New York.

Crime Reduction and Prevention essays

Crime Reduction and Prevention essays Using the insight of the Rational Theorists, the objective of this work is to provide an explanation of why willing offenders are able to find suitable targets and/or an absence of guardians in these areas that make them so crime prone. This work will further, based upon the knowledge the writer possesses of the approaches that available for addressing crime and with the attitudes of the city of New York toward crime, recommendations will be developed for improvement of this hot spots. There are many theoretical perspectives one might apply in attempting to address a solution for reduction of the extremely high rate of crime in such cities as New York and one of these is the theory of the Rationalists which is quite similar to the situational prevention theory. The Rational Choice Theory is discussed in the work of Browning, Halcli and Webster (2000) entitled: Understanding Contemporary Society: Theories of the Present who state that this theory is one that makes the assumption that social phenomena that is complex is nature can be explained in terms of the elementary individual actions of which they are composed. (Scott, nd) This view is referred to as one based on methodological individualism, which states that: The elementary unit of social life is the individual human action. To explain social institutions and social change is to show how they arise as the result of the action and interactions of individuals. (Elster, 1989: 13; as cited in Scott, nd) This t heory holds that individuals are motivated by their wants or goals and that they act within specific, given restraints and on the basis of the information they have about the conditions under which they are acting. (Scott, nd) From the perspective of the Rational Theorists the factor of social interaction and exchange ...

Definition and Examples of Understatement

Definition and Examples of Understatement Definition Understatement is a  figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is. Contrast with hyperbole. Jeanne Fahnestock points out that understatement (particularly in the form known as litotes) is often used for self-deprecation on the rhetors part, as when the heavily decorated war hero says I have a few medals, or someone who has just won on American Idol observes I did OK (Rhetorical Style, 2011). See Examples and Observations below. Also, see: EmphasisEuphemismIronyLitotesMeiosisTop 20 Figures of Speech Examples A soiled baby, with a neglected nose, cannot be conscientiously regarded as a thing of beauty. (Mark Twain)I have to have this operation. It isnt very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain.(Holden Caulfield in The Catcher In The Rye, by J. D. Salinger)Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her person for the worse.  (Jonathan Swift, A Tale of a Tub, 1704)The graves a fine and private place, But none, I think, do there embrace. (Andrew Marvell, To His Coy Mistress)I am just going outside and may be some time. (Captain Lawrence Oates, Antarctic explorer, before walking out into a blizzard to face certain death, 1912)Vance: My, we are certainly in a good mood this morning.Pee-wee: That, my dear Vance, is the understatement of the year. Everything seems completely different to me today. The air smells so fresh. The sky seems a brand-new shade of blue. I dont think Ive ever noticed the beauty of this leaf. And Vance, have you always been so handsome?  (Wayne White and Paul Reubens in Big Top Pee-wee, 1988) This [double helix] structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest.(Opening sentence of the Nature article announcing Crick and Watsons discovery of the structure of DNA)Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. (Anton Ego in Ratatouille, 2007)The new EU member states of Poland and Lithuania have been arguing this week for the summit to be called off, and criticizing the German preparations. For historical reasons, the east Europeans are highly sensitive to any sign of Germany cutting deals with Russia over their heads. (The Guardian, May 17, 2007)Well, thats cast rather a gloom over the evening, hasnt it?(Dinner guest, after a visit from the Grim Reaper, in Monty Pythons The Meaning of Life)The adjective cross as a description of his Jove-like wrath that consumed his whole being jarred upon Derek profoundly. It was as though Prometheus, with the vultures tearing his liver, had been asked if he were piqued. (P. G. Wodehouse, Jill the Reckless, 1922) British Understatement The British are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist bombings and threats to destroy nightclubs and airports, and therefore have raised their security level from Miffed to Peeved. Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to Irritated or even A Bit Cross. Brits have not been A Bit Cross since the Blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out.(anonymous post on the Internet, July 2007)Understatement is still in the air. It is not just a specialty of the English sense of humour; it is a way of life. When gales uproot trees and sweep away roofs of houses, you should remark that it is a bit blowy. I have just been listening to a man who got lost in a forest abroad for a week and was scrutinised by hungry wolves, smacking their lips. Was he terrified? - asked the television interviewer, obviously a man of Italian origin. The man replied that on the seventh day when there were no rescuers in sight and the sixth hungry wolf joined the pack, he got a bit worried. Y esterday, a man in charge of a home where 600 old people lived, which was found to be a fire risk where all the inhabitants might burn to death, admitted: I may have a problem. (George Mikes, How to Be a Brit. Penguin, 1986) Observations Understatement is a form of irony: the ironical contrast inheres in the discrepancy between what one would be expected to say and his actual refusal to say it.(Cleanth Brooks, Fundamentals of Good Writing: A Handbook of Modern Rhetoric. Harcourt, 1950)The use of understatement is something that satirists have a mastery of, but as a rhetorical device, we can use it to try to persuade someone by rewording a sentence in less offensive terms. For example, suppose we believe a persons idea to be in error and wish to point this out:I think there may be some additional factors that you may not have accounted for.Your analysis is far too simplistic. No one will take such an idiotic theory seriously. There are many other alternatives we could use, but consider that if we want to convince the person that they are mistaken then we need to pitch our objections accordingly. Perhaps the idea really is idiotic ... but is saying as much likely to incline them to change their opinion? For the second suggestion, it may depend on who we are talking to: a friend, say, may welcome the criticism but a stranger may not appreciate his or her thought being called simplistic, even if it is. Some people might still take offense at the first version, but the determining influences include what we want to achieve and whom we are talking to or writing for. How likely is a person to listen to our critique if they suspect we are talking down to them or dismissing them? (Heinz Duthel, History and Philosophy of Science. Lulu, 2008) Pronunciation: UN-der-STATE-ment Also Known As: litotes, diminutio