From the Paper " The purpose of this paper is to discuss each of the eight lifespan development periods (prenatal, infancy and toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood) as cited by Laura E. Berk. The discussion reviews the basic facts, concepts, and developmental issues salient for each period.
Prenatal Period-Conception to Birth
This is the period during which a one-cell organism grows into a human baby. Eisenberg, Murkoff and Hathawy (1991) provide an extensive discussion of this period, pointing out that development proceeds according to genetic instruction. Gestation, the term commonly used to refer to all of the development occurring before birth, is said to occur in three.."
Abstract The paper looks at three books which reflect alternative and progressive models of education that defy conventional expectations of a school. "Dewey's Laboratory School: Lessons for Today", by Laurel N. Tanner presents key practices of Dewey's laboratory school as vital lessons for educators today. "I Learn from Children", by Caroline Pratt, provides an insider's perspective of the creation of an experimental school that mirrored many of the principles advocated by Dewey. "Scaffolding Children's Learning: Vygotsky and Early Childhood Education" by Laura E. Berk and Adam Winsler discusses Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective on education which states that the way human beings think is shaped by social experience. The paper shows that these three books share a common vision in creating an ideal learning environment for children. It shows, too, that unlike the traditional classroom, where the teacher teaches a pre-determined curriculum to a group of passive students, the classrooms depicted in these books are dynamic entities.
From the Paper "Tanner offers a powerful and convincing presentation of Dewey's principles of education. According to Tanner, educators today should emulate many of the characteristics of Dewey's school. According to Dewey, schools should recreate a "cooperative society on a small scale" in order to produce adults who are able to cooperate and work together in larger society (Tanner, 1997, p. 2). Pratt also shares Dewey's vision of a school mirroring the real world on a "children's scale" to prepare children for the real world. By attempting to reproduce this world, the children will have to understand the functioning of the various components and learn to interact with one another (Pratt, 1970, p. 26). The everyday life on the streets constituted a vital resource of learning for the young children and the teachers (Pratt, 1970, p. 31). When the eight-year-olds took over the responsibility of running the school store, they not only learned about the intricacies of the organization, but also the store's historical and the geographical dimensions (Pratt, 1970, pp. 108-109)."
Abstract The romantic relationships we engage in may well be a product of early experiences with primary caregivers according to modern attachment theorists (Hazan & Shaver, 1987 and Fraley & Shaver, 1998). Based upon an ethological viewpoint, attachment theory promotes survival and safety of the species. This biological need for safety and protection motivates the infant to attach itself to the primary caregiver through attention seeking behavior. Over time these behavior forms a true emotional bond between the caregiver and the infant which is believed to influence further relationships along the lifespan into adulthood (Berk, 2000). The laboratory based assumption that adult attachment styles evolve from childhood experiences is challenged within this paper and methodological limitations visited within contemporary studies. Difficulties within naturalistic observation is also addressed and cross-cultural validity examined.
From the Paper "Attachment theory began in 1969 with a student of the psychoanalytic discipline, John Bowlby (Berk, 2000). He hypothesized that emotional development stemmed from early childhood bonds formed between the primary caregiver and the infant. From an evolutionary perspective attachment is a human survival mechanism; innately built into infants? genotype to provide protection and safety. Subsequent to birth infants perform behaviours that initiate the first stage of attachment (eg. crying, smiling or making eye contact), these behaviours are innate biological mechanisms that aim to keep the primary caregiver in close proximity. Reinforcement is then given by the caregiver in response to these behaviours initiating the most important reinforcement schedule of the child's life (Lyddon & Sherry, 2001)."
Abstract This paper provides an overview of the discussions presented in three different articles regarding gastric bypass surgery. The articles summarized are "Medical Management of Obesity" by Ethan Berke, "Hope for the Morbidly Obese" by Michelle Bock-Lopez, and "Mechanisms to Stop the Epidemic of Obesity: Surgical Therapy for Obesity" by Harvey Sugarman. These articles include discussions on the benefits and risks of the surgery and demonstrate both the growing population and success of this surgery. The articles also review information regarding concerns about both the safety and efficacy of the approach. Two of the articles reviewed by this paper are appended.
From the Paper "Multiple reports that more and more adults and even children have become morbidly obese in the United States have led to searches for effective interventions. One of the interventions beginning to receive widespread use is gastric bypass surgery, which limits the amount of food an individual can consume and thus helps prevent overeating that leads to or supports a state of obesity."
Abstract This paper discusses fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a combination of birth defects that is associated with consuming alcohol during pregnancy and which is the leading cause of mental retardation and birth defects. It provides a look at FAS, using four reliable sources as a basis of analysis. The sources used are Streissguth, Jacobson and Jacobson, the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), and the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). The information obtained from these sources is compared with the textbook, "Infants and Children Prenatal Through Middle Childhood", by Laura Berk.
From the Paper "The terms FAS, fetal alcohol effects (FAE), possible fetal alcohol effects (PFAE), and alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) are not interchangeable. Notes Streissguth, "Children who have only some of the characteristics of FAS (i.e., not enough for a full diagnosis) are often said to have fetal alcohol effects (FAE) or possible fetal alcohol effects (PFAE)" (p. 5). The terms FAE and PFAE have no distinct distinguishing criteria that make them a separate diagnosis, although they can be as destructive as FAS on the patient. The Institute of Medicine introduced the term alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) in the mid-1980s, a term that centered in on the CNS characteristics of the disease, rather than growth deficiencies and facial characteristics."
Abstract This paper is a comprehensive review of the issues of domestic violence. It includes a literature review on the subject by some of the major researchers in this field. The paper also examines policy implications. The author concludes that domestic violence is a serious crime, and offenders must be treated as such.
Introduction
Minneapolis Study
Colorado Study
Omaha Study
Charlotte Study
Miami-Dade Study
Milwaukee Study
Findings and Offenders
Analysis and Recommendations
Policy Implications
From the Paper "The issue of domestic violence was originally brought up in the late 1970's. Women in America at this time were beginning to break out of their domestic roles and play a more integral part in American life. As women's roles began to take shape and become more important their safety and domestic statuses became a greater concern to politicians and practitioners. In 1981 Richard Berk and Larry Sherman were given a grant by the United States Department of Justice and the National Institute of Justice to seek the best solution to dealing with domestic violence in American cities. As we will discover, their research was only able to skim the surface to the question of how to handle domestic violence. Their research initiated a plethora of subsequent research which has since been launched, analyzed, and reanalyzed all with many findings. I will summarize the literature on this subject and compare and contrast the results and the suggestions.
In my research I will scrutinize the seven main research experiments that have been used for the majority of journal articles, policy implementation and police practices within the deterrence literature."
