Abstract
Chess is an important theme in "Through the Looking Glass". The rules of the game, as well as the characteristics of the pieces, are Carroll's metaphor for society in Victorian England, particularly in caricaturing governmental and public figures. The game is also Carroll's way of conveying that social relations in the Victorian era were an arbitrary, but deadly serious game.

From the Paper
"The question is, can machines think? The answer is complicated by the further issue of how to define thinking. While it is clear that machines can think in certain terms, it is less certain that machines can think in the way human beings do. In recent years, these issues have been analyzed by philosophers and scientists in a variety of ways, from considering how to develop a machine that can emulate the complexities of the human mind to how to test such a machine to see if it can think or not. Often, the issue has been addressed as a competition, such as that between human chess champion Gary Kasparov and a chess-playing computer known as Big Blue. The fact that Kasparov won the most points in the six matches does not change the fact that the computer almost won--does this mean the computer can think?

There is no doubt that computer technology has improved..."

Abstract
This paper briefly describes how "Reservation Blues" represents a motivating piece of literature because it demonstrates how Native Americans were not afraid to confront the difficulties of life to accomplish their greatest desires and to succeed. Focus is placed on the relationship between the two main characters in the novel, Chess and Checkers, and how they were influenced by white culture.

From the Paper
"Alexie brings the subject of a love-hate relationship to the so called "whites" that Chess and Checkers portray early on in his novel. They all seem to face the same problem of trying to live in a white mans society while facing the stereotypes such as alcoholism, drugs, and a poor education. His use of stereotypes in different areas, makes it seem as if he is discriminating against Native Americans and making the Whites a bigger power. Alexie also uses mental, spiritual, and emotional struggles to show how the love-hate relationship that Chess and Checkers have toward the White Americans have been very influential on them. In Chapter 2, early on in the story, Alexie brings in the two white girls, Betty and Veronica, that join the band then leave because of issues with the Indian girls, Chess and Checkers, who are then turned into singers for the band. "Two white women, Betty and Veronica, had somehow found their way onto the reservation and showed up at every rehearsal"(Reservation Blues, pg 41)."

Tags:chess, checkers, white, native, american

Abstract
This paper describes observation of a child under the age of one, focusing on motor development, cognitive adaptive abilities, language, social-emotional behavior, and temperament. Includes in depth charts on assessing each of these categories. Compiles the works of Thomas Chess and Birch, Piaget, the Bayley Scale of Infant Development, Denver Developmental Screening Test.

Tags:bayley, chess, cognitive, denver, emotional, language, motor, piaget, social

Abstract
This paper provides a biography of four Asian child prodigies who are still living, including: Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Abigail Sin (piano), Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (chess), and Eric Lo Shih-kai (golf). Various aspects of their lives are covered, including economic background, childhood influences, and others such as whether child prodigies are born or made.

From the Paper
"Mozart and Beethoven are commonly cited as child prodigies. In more recent times many Asian child prodigies from Yo-Yo Ma and Abigail Sin to Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Eric Lo Shih-kai have produced amazing accomplishments while children. Parents, teachers and intense devotion to practice or training are often highly influential in the development of child prodigies though the mystery remains whether prodigies are born or created. As Andrew Marshall writes 'The brains of very smart children appear to function in startlingly different ways from ...'"

Tags:talent, preternatural, training, practice, commitment, ability, potential, teaching, teachers, orchestra, Olympics, PGA

Abstract
The paper discusses how Amy Tan's story "The Rules of the Game" offers readers the metaphor of a chessboard, a metaphor in which black--the opposition--stands for the old world of Waverly's mother and white, --the offensive team--stands for the progressive ways of America. The paper shows how Waverly sees her Chinese and American cultures in conflict like the conflict on a chess board, and she tends to side with her American side, the side her mother is not on. However, the paper also looks at how Tan emphasizes both the positive and negative characteristics of Waverly's mother in harmony with one another and how Waverly ultimately sees the chessboard as a display of the perfect harmony between positive and negative and American and Chinese culture.

From the Paper
"From the first opening paragraphs of Tan's "Rules of the Game" it is clear that that the conflicting Chinese and American cultures of an Urban, San Francisco Chinatown are of great importance to the Jong family. The Jong family children live in a world where they have the comforts of their culture in Chinatown--the traditional cooking and friendship of their contemporaries, the traditional shops and medicines, and the pervasive belief in luck. Despite this, it is clear that their lives are constantly infiltrated with American-ness: they are Baptists, go to schools where they hear Chinese stereotypes such as "Chinese torture," and believe in Western traditions, such as Santa Clause. Although it may not seem so at first, the conflict between Chinese and American culture is a driving force in Waverly's life. While she exhibits a respect for her Chinese ways, she seems to see her culture as something that holds her back. Indeed the "sly thought" to ask her mother about Chinese torture, assumption that younger children did not know Santa Clause was not Chinese, and frustration with her mother's honor and pride are examples of this. However, when Waverly calls the chess tournament she has yet to play in "too American," while secretly wanting to go, she makes clear for the first time that on her chess board, the American pieces are her white, offensive pieces, while the Chinese pieces are the black opposition. She must defeat the Chinese customs in order to proceed."

Tags:Waverly, culture, pride, wisdom

Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts McTigheand Wiggins' "Understanding by Design" and Marzano's "What Works in Schools", which both address the problems facing public school education. The paper points out that McTighe and Wiggins propose what they call a "backward planning design process." That is, before one designs a learning experience one needs to identify the desired results, the evidence that will illustrate these results and finally the method best suited for reaching these results. The paper contrasts this with Marzano's approach, noting that it differs mainly because Marzano views a master teacher as analogous to a chess master, with strategies to recognize and exploit thousands of situations. The paper further explains that Marzano's book seeks to provide teachers with a vast repertoire of tools for evaluating and then meeting the needs of students. The paper concludes that although the two articles have very different styles and starting points, they both offer a great deal of advice for instruction and complement each other by providing different approaches for taking what research says about learning and using it to improve instruction.

From the Paper
"In dealing with student level factors, Marzano presents research investigating the assumption of many educational reports, which claim that factors involving the student's background and home life are the greatest determinants of academic success. Since the home is outside of the school or teacher's direct control, Marzano presents more of an explanation of how students learn. Under "Student Motivation", he outlines how teachers can enhance and use student motivation including ways to give feedback, provide engaging tasks and opportunities for students to construct long-term work of their own design. These sections parallel Wiggins and McTighe as they are authentic examples of "instruction by design.""

Tags:curriculum, school, teacher, instruction, method

Abstract
This paper explores how the death penalty is and has always been an issue of great debate and how issues such as racism, incompetent lawyers, faulty evidence, false testimony, moral responsibility, and other problems are all major considerations. It looks at how the American justice system is riddled with mistakes and prejudice; minorities and the poor are singled out and persecuted, while those who are socially ?acceptable? are free to walk to freedom. It puts forward the argument that the life of not even one hundred murderers is worth the life of one innocent man and how the system degrades human life by making it a biased game in which humans are like pawns in a game of chess.

From the Paper
"Today we have numerous ways of trying to determine the innocence or guilt of one who is accused. There are serology tests as well as DNA tests. Hairs or a scrap of skin will be found on a crime scene, and from these specimens scientists and doctors can determine whose hair or skin it is. In many cases the specimens belong to the offender. In rape cases, the semen is tested and usually the person to whom it belonged is then convicted. However, to a skilled lawyer, or anyone else who prefers to twist the evidence around in such a way that they see what they want to see, this DNA evidence can be misrepresented and the data manipulated in such a way that it shows what the lawyer wants it to show."

Tags:minorities, prejudice, poor, innocence, dna

Abstract
Theoni V. Aldredge is considered one of America's most gifted costume designers. To date, her stage credits have included "I Can get It For You Wholesale," "Mr. President," "Anyone can Whistle," "A Chorus Line," "Annie," "42nd Street," "Dreamgirls," "Chess," and "The Secret Garden." When designing costumes for a period piece, it is not unusual for Aldredge to alter original fashions to make her designs more palatable for modern audiences. To determine how Aldredge achieves this goal, this paper provides a background and overview of the designer, followed by relevant biographical information. A discussion concerning Aldredge's alteration of original fashions for contemporary audiences is followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.

From the Paper
Theoni V. Aldredge was born Theoni Athanasiou Vachilioti in Salonika, Greece on August 22, 1932 (Brennan 2004). Aldredge was educated at the American School in Athens and then at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago. In fact, when it comes to incorporating color into her designs, Aldredge reports that she has a passion for pale lavender: "I use it in every show, often with pale blue and white. These are the colors of my country" (Lampert-Greaux 2002:38). She has designed extensively for stage and film as can be seen from a sampling of her productions at Appendix A. Aldredge's first professional designs were created over a half century ago for the Goodman Theatre in 1950 (Owen 1987). In 1957, Aldredge moved to New York City where she established a long association with Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival. Since that time, in New York alone, she had designed over 165 shows by 1987 (Owen 1987)."

Tags:theatre, fashion, design

Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between Red and Andy in "The Shawshank Redemption" which is a drama about the experience of being in prison. "Red" is an inmate who has been in prison for thirty years and develops a relationship with the protagonist, Andy Dufresne, a New England banker who is wrongly convicted and given two life sentences for the murder of his wife and her lover. The paper shows how during his incarceration, Andy is assaulted, carves a chess set from stone, procures the funds and builds a prison library, assists other inmates achieve their high school equivalency diploma, launders money for the corrupt prison warden and after twenty years, escapes to Mexico and exposes the warden.

From the Paper
"Andy's central conflict is his view of himself. "My wife used to say I'm a hard man to know - like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. She was beautiful. God, I loved her. I just didn't know how to show it, that's all. I killed her, Red. I didn't pull the trigger, but I drove her away. And that's why she died, because of me, the way I am." Andy becomes introspective and analyzes his own behavior in the past and finds it lacking. The history and culture in which Andy originates is that of education, success, and professional dedication. Twenty years of prison has had a profound effect on Andy. Prison where the culture is comprised of each man having to look out for himself and do whatever is necessary to survive, but the need is still there for help and support."

Tags:prison, conflict