Abstract
This paper takes a look at the theory of "zone of proximal development" (ZPD), the well-established model originally launched by Lev Vygotsky. According to the paper, the role of adults in the process of a child's learning and development will be greatly enhanced through the thoughtful application of ZPD. This paper reviews the research, 'Adult Sensitivity to Children's Learning in the Zone of Proximal Development' by Amy Chak, which talks in-depth about ZPD.

From the Paper
"The Vygotsky influence has recently had an impact in a university environment in New Zealand. Indeed, the application of the ZPD model in New Zealand moved well beyond just another theory for "old school" teachers to bravely tackle, and has actually become a "common sense" approach to learning and development. This information comes through another peer-reviewed research article ("Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and Problem-based Learning: linking a theoretical concept with practice through action research"). In the piece, the author explains that students had been employing "problem-based learning" (PBL) methods to develop "relevant content knowledge and the metacognitive skills that will enable them to become good learners and problem-solvers..." (Harland, 2003)."

Tags:stimulate, students, productive, learning, consciousness, cognitive, abilities

Abstract
This paper focuses on Starhawk's philosophy that language shapes consciousness and consciousness shapes reality. Within the paper it is shown that Starhawk's belief is that language can have a deciding factor on a person's perception of themselves, and through this perception they develop concepts of reality in their consciousness. Therefore, this perception then shapes their reality.

From the Paper
"Reality, according to Starhawks, is a state in which we must find definition. It is how we define reality within our consciousness that ultimately determines the type of power that will control our lives. As individuals, what we perceive to be real will be. What we believe to be true will happen. The key to discovering a harmony in life is to come to the realization that people do have a final say in how their lives will be lived, and through the consciousness every individual can make that choice. To understand how this is possible the individual must first comprehend that there are powers in the world. Starhawks contends that there is the "power-over" which is any power that comes from outside of the individual that is controlling."

Tags:starhawk, reality, consciousness

Abstract
One of the most interesting areas of scientific research these days is the brain. This paper discusses the important cerebral functions of memory storage and development of reality and consciousness. It shows how the brain is capable of storing past events in one of its several compartments, but it has to be done efficiently or else past events would encroach upon recent ones thus blurring the boundaries between conscious and unconscious worlds.

From the Paper
"But while man does need to be able to recall past events, it is equally important for him to be able to separate past from present. For this he needs to know what reality is and where he is today and now. This may appear rather puzzling to someone who has just undertaken the study of brain, but it is nonetheless worth pondering. How does man know who he is and what reality actually is? In other words, in order to qualify as a normal rational human being, man needs to be able to separate conscious reality from the unconscious. But consciousness is not something tangible, it is one of those cerebral functions that cannot be explained in concert terms."

Tags:language, processing, Michael, Lemonick, Frontal, lobes

Abstract
This paper discusses the concept of adult development explaining the role of work in adult development. It will focus on why people work and ones views on work or leisure.

From the paper:

Before the start of the industrial revolution in the late nineteenth century, people of all ages inhabited the same social world. Children of all ages were educated together. Children and teenagers worked alongside adults on farms and in factories. Several generations often started one household. Neither children nor old people were set apart from the rest of society on the grounds that they were too young or too old to participate. By the middle of the twentieth century, age consciousness had emerged and people in developed cultures had become accustomed to thinking of life as a progression of distinct ages. Medical students had established pediatrics, the treatment of children and geriatrics, and the treatment of old people. Birthday celebrations had become a commercial enterprise.

Tags:adulthood, society, stereotype, work

From the Paper
"Over the years most socialists have argued that in order for the radical transformation of capitalist society to take place, the emergence of a "new man" would be necessary. To them this meant a socially conscious man who understood the contradictions of capitalist society as traditionally conceived .. i.e., a man who understood his role as an alienated laborer, who understood the reasons for that alienation, and who would move to end that alienation through radical political activity. These men failed to see man in his totality as an economic, social and cultural being.

The latter half of the 1960's saw the beginnings of the development of a new historical approach which was primarily focused on the youth culture. This culture, as well as the ... "

Abstract
This paper discusses the life of pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, William James. It analyzes his life according to Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. The paper looks at five stages of James' life, describes events in his life at those points, and then analyzes their meaning according to Erikson's theories on psychosocial development.

Table of Contents:
Infancy / Early Childhood (0-6 Yrs)
Middle Childhood (6-12 Yrs)
Adolescence (12-20 Yrs) And Young Adulthood (20-40 Yrs)
Late Adulthood To Death (60 Yrs +)
Conclusion

From the Paper
"William James' central conflict, as one biographer saw it, was between his "Promethean" and "mystical" selves: one manifested itself in the philosopher's pragmatism and democratic ideals; the other manifested itself via his long fascination with metaphysics, psychical research, higher consciousness studies, and the like (Raposa 2001). This dichotomy may be overly reductive, but it does show something of James' divided (yet highly functional) self. Observers agreed in describing William James as "tolerant, manly, liberal, romantic, impetuous, mystical, generous, anti-traditionalistic, sensitive, brilliant, kind, eloquent." They saw him, despite his self-confessed depressive states, as optimistic, anti-fatalistic and very sociable. Like all great men, William James possessed a complex, even contradictory nature, which he utilized to his advantage to create and push himself to higher levels of accomplishment, even in the face of depression and self-doubt."

Tags:consciousness, adolescence, adulthood, infncy, depression

Abstract
This paper discusses the fair trade movement - a new economic, social movement that is seeking to change the purchasing habits of individuals in developed countries through marketing and educational programs designed to heighten awareness of the plight of Third World farmers. The paper describes the goals of the fair trade movement and the primary ways that the fair trade movement has sought to achieve its goals. Specifically discussed are the movement's aim of capturing the consciousness of the politically-minded consumer by psychologically connecting the fair trade label with the provision of economic assistance to farmers in developing countries.

Table of Contents:
A Brief Overview of the Fair Trade Movement
The Role of the Consumer in Promoting Fair Trade
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The fair trade movement has worked for the last several decades to close the economic divide between the First World and the Third World through the empowerment of small farmers in developing countries to determine their own terms of production and sale of their produce. It also works to promote environmentally and socially responsible farming methods and investments in those countries. Meanwhile, in the developed world, fair trade organizations work to capture the attention of consumers by gaining access to and influence in political institutions and by providing educational information, as well as through the more traditional business practice of marketing. These methods are used to create in the consumer a sense that their actions are morally right and appreciated by those individuals on the other side of the world, despite the fact that they can receive no feedback from those individuals. Politically conscious consumers in the developed world purchase fair trade goods as a minor form of protest against the traditional economic structures involved in international trade. The fair trade movement is part of a larger global effort toward creating conditions of social justice and political and economic equality for all the world's citizens."

Tags:production marketing investment developing, third world

Abstract
In this letter the writer demonstrates that a theoretical framework such as health as expanding consciousness can overcome the limitations. The writer discusses that as far as Newman is concerned, the role of the nurse is to assist patients with getting in touch with the meaning of their experience and also to identify their patterns of relating. The writer discusses that Newman also focused on human growth and development as the means to expanding consciousness.

From the Paper
"People are still capable of growth and development at any age, but my patient, Mrs. A, wished to be finished with consciousness. She was simply waiting to die. The situation was filled limitations because of the patient's deafness and my own lack of experience. "

Tags:health, choice

Abstract
The paper discusses the biological and environmental transitions that can have a negative or positive effect on an adolescent. The paper considers the issues of an adolescent's physical appearance not being in accordance with his intellectual and behavioural adaptations, the self-consciousness of body image and the cognitive development in perception, attention and memory that can lead to a quest for identity development.

From the Paper
"Adolescence, marked by the onset of pubertal maturation and represented by a period during lifespan where a child becomes an adult, is characterised by many transitions which can either be biologically based (the body) or environmentally based (people, relationships, general society, etc.). Biological transitions include physical and mental transitions whereas environmental transitions consist of social transitions. These transitions enable a child to encounter new experiences and to adjust their thinking to them which allows the child to then become an adult. Therefore, both biological and environmental transitions have an effect on each other and can either have a negative or a positive effect on the adolescent."

Tags:intellect, behavior, self-esteem, identity, body-image

Abstract
"Basil Davidson has argued that the concept of the nation-sate was a poor choice for governing structure in Africa and was indeed doomed from the beginning. Davidson writes about the problems of post-colonial Africa that "the jubilant crowds celebrating independence were not inspired by a 'national consciousness' any more than were the Romanian peasants and their coevals in the nation states crystallized some decades earlier from Europe's old internal empires

From the Paper
"Basil Davidson has argued that the concept of the nation-sate was a poor choice for governing structure in Africa and was indeed doomed from the beginning. Davidson writes about the problems of post-colonial Africa that "the jubilant crowds celebrating independence were not inspired by a 'national consciousness' any more than were the Romanian peasants and their coevals in the nation states crystallized some decades earlier from Europe's old internal empires. They were inspired by the hope of more and better food and shelter" (Davidson 185). When the satisfaction of these immediate needs did not materialize, the people oriented themselves other foci for social allegiance. Eriksen writes,
For the great Pan Africanists, the nation state may have been too small; for very many Africans, it was way ..."