Abstract The paper explores the history and development of the contextual cueing effect. The paper explains that this is an information retrieval process that appears to have strong connections to the environment in which stimuli occur, the time in which stimuli occur, the previous cultural experiences of the perceiver and the memory of the perceiver. The paper looks at discoveries in contextual cuing in different areas and the limitations and implications of contextual cueing in theory and in practice.
Outline:
Introduction
History and Development of Contextual Cueing
Contextual Cueing For Real-World Scenarios
Limitations and Implications for the Research
Summary
From the Paper "The initial research into contextual cueing occurred in 1998, when Chun and Jiang sought to establish whether visual task orientation was governed in part by what they referred to as "global context" (p. 28). The researchers started from the perspective that the complexity of visual images is such that "only a small subset of this information is available to conscious or working memory at any given moment" (p. 28). Yet despite the limited information available, the image was still readily assimilated and processed by the viewer. Moreover, Chun and Jiang (1998) noted that earlier research efforts had demonstrated that visual accuracy was contingent upon traits other than straightforward visual perception, such as training in sight and information processing."
Abstract The paper first illustrates the differences in the way Africa is depicted by the two authors, Conrad and Achebe. Particularly, it compares the depiction of the African landscape, the native peoples, and the culture of Africa in the two texts. Additionally, the paper discusses the contextual frameworks of the novels for a better understanding of why such contrasting images of Africa exist among them.
From the Paper "Chinua Achebe, in "Things Fall Apart", and Joseph Conrad, in "Heart of Darkness", present sharply contrasting images of Africa. This is most evident in comparing their depiction of the African landscape, the native people, and the African culture. However, any comparative analysis of the two works should be approached bearing in mind differences in their contextual frameworks. Viewed from such a perspective, it can be argued that the differences in the portrayal of Africa merely represent the reality of the two novels written with different purposes, from different cultural viewpoints and at varying points of human development."
Abstract This paper employs a contextual analysis to develop policy recommendations for reducing youth gun violence. The analytic framework used in the paper addresses the dimensions of history, law, economics, sociocultural influences and political processes. The paper offers several policy recommendations, including intervention and prevention, particularly in regard to at-risk children and youth.
From the Paper "This research project employed a contextual analysis method to examine the question of how public policy on youth gun violence can be shaped. The analytic framework addressed the dimensions of history, law, economics, sociocultural influences and political..."
Tags:Contextual analysis, youth, gun violence, juvenile delinquency, gun control
Abstract This paper discusses how, in teaching practice, it has been accepted that teaching and learning do not occur in a vacuum. According to the paper, studies have shown how the remarkable creativity of individual teachers can bring contextual factors creatively to life in teaching and learning.
Outline:
Students
Teachers
Resources
From the Paper "This could be indicative of the general orientation in the classroom. Because the majority of the school population is black, there may be a tendency to focus on this group and its concerns in the educational effort itself. This shows the importance of inclusivity in the classroom. In terms of context, it is vitally important to make individual students feel like part of the classroom as well as welcome in its proceedings. Hence, in the case of Kansas City, demographic groups in the greatest minority should be the most pertinent focus in classroom interaction. This is one of the ideas echoed by educators such as Paolo Freire. Freire and others promote the ideal of inclusivity in the classroom. When a child is made to feel important not only in terms of the individual self, but also in terms of culture, he or she receives vast motivation to perform. This appears to be substantiated by the provided statistics."
Abstract The paper presents the theoretical foundation of Murray Bowen and Ivan Nagy therapeutic approaches, comparing and contrasting the specificity of concepts, pathology and treatment. The paper emphasizes that the main common point which unites the two theories is their focus on family-of-origin experiences when conceptualizing cases. The paper presents concepts and therapy techniques in order to emphasize the common points and differentiating points. Also noted is the need for more empirical studies to validate the effectiveness of the two theories and concepts.
From the Paper "Contextual Family Therapy was founded by Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy in the 1950's, by turning from psychoanalysis to family therapy, and emphasizes that family life may be described in terms of four main dimensions: facts (such as ethnicity or family size); psychology (such as thoughts and emotions); transactions (such as interaction patterns); and relational ethics (the balance of fairness among people) (Carr 2006). The core issue of contextual family therapy is relational ethics - establishing fairness - as the central way of helping families to resolve problems. Contextual therapists consider that the problems develop as a result of an imbalance of justice within the family across generations. The lack of balance manifests itself in the family relationships as a ledger of entitlements and debts that also suggests what has been given and what is owed. Significant imbalance in such ledgers even across generations leads to problems. One way of imbalancing relational ledgers are invisible loyalties. They lead to developing problems. As Alan Carr noted, invisible loyalties are "the unconscious commitments that children make to meet debts to parents or entitlements arising from their interactions with them" (Carr, p. 163). For instance, an adult that has been neglected as a child feels entitled to neglect his children at his turn. Split loyalties usually are the result of parental conflict and happens when a child is faced to side with one parent, this generating a sense of entitlement at having lost a parent."
Abstract The paper discusses community, classroom and student characteristics that include geographic factors, community and school population, socio-economics, race/ethnicity, community stability and classroom rules and routines, grouping patterns, scheduling and arrangement and how they affect the teaching/learning process. The paper explains that contextual factors also acknowledge the impact of aspects like attitudes, perceptions, expectations, abilities, gender, socio-cultural background and maturity on every learning experience. The paper also looks at how community, classroom and student characteristics influence instructional planning and assessment.
From the Paper "It generally goes without saying that contextual factors play an important role in mathematical classroom via the way they affect the teaching/learning process. Among these factors are environmental (geographic location), community and school population, socio-economics, race/ethnicity, community stability, political climate and community support for education as well as classroom factors represented by rules and routines, grouping patterns, scheduling and classroom arrangement. Student characteristics should also be examined when designing instruction and assessing learning, such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, special needs, achievement/developmental levels, culture, language, interests, learning styles/modalities and skill levels."
Abstract This paper is an examination of narrative context as found in four stories: "Ragtime", "Streetcar Named Desire"," Big Boy Leaves Home", and "Soldier's Home". The paper looks at the consistencies of narrative contextual themes throughout each story. It observes that narrative contexts are character driven and are marked by an interaction with the environment.
Abstract This paper discusses the concepts enumerated in the book "When Religion Becomes Evil," written by Charles Kimball and analyzes the contextual information in the book. The paper also discusses the five warning signs that Kimball outlines regarding when a religion has become corrupt: absolute truth claims, blind obedience, establishing the "ideal" time, the end justifies the means and the declaration of holy war. The paper concludes with the writer's brief review of the book.
From the Paper "This leads us to the last warning sign, of when all the previous are in place, and the religion believes its purpose is war that is sanctioned by God. Religions throughout the past have thought their acts of war were justified and even demanded by God. But we have come a long way since then, and reports of booming voices form a bush or the sky are not enough to convince people to go to war. Radical sects of many religions, however, do proclaim a holy war on the "other", especially when the other challenges the group identity (Kimball, p 189). One good example is the transformation of the notion of jihad as a holy war against the temptations that would lead away from God, to jihad as a holy war against other social groups."
Abstract This paper explains that the current debate about the legitimacy of cross burning under state law has been a conflicting issue with the primary constitutional provisions, which protect a person's right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment. The author points out that the critical issue of racial intimidation by the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) in the case of "Virginia v. Black" provides a foundation for various leniencies by the Supreme Court to allow racial intimidation as a precursor for validating Virginia's laws, although they correctly struck down the statute of cross burning as a blanket prohibition against the cultural milieu of Christianity in the state. The paper concludes that the premise of racial intimidation portrays a contextual denial of the right to burn a cross at a KKK rally, but the religious nature of Virginia's law violated the Fist Amendment of the Constitution.
From the Paper "This perspective has brought great controversy over the use of derogatory language as a basis for intimidation, but since the Virginia law did not provide any type of deeper semantics to the issue of the "breach of peace" the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional to prevent cross burning. The premise of religious freedom took a precedence in this ruling, since the very language of the Constitution does not deny any type of freedom of religious expression, but only if it does not physically harm another person. Perhaps, the ruling of "Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire" goes against this form of intimidation as an exception."
Tags: state, klu klux klan, absolutism religious contextual
Abstract This paper demonstrates, using the example of Southern California Edison (SCE), the use of appropriate conflict management styles within a contextual framework of department function, objectives, and circumstances. The two chosen departments, which form the basis for comparison, are the claims department and the public relations department of SCE. Further, given the purpose of this paper, the discussion that follows is structured on the lines of outlining each department's function, objectives, and contextual use of conflict management styles.
From the Paper "Set up under the support of Customer Care, the function of the SCE Claims Department is to investigate, evaluate and process every customer claim on a case-by-case basis (Southern California Edison). Given that the processing of claims involves deciding whether SCE is financially liable or not to customers who have suffered from damages caused by power shortage or interruptions, it can be inferred that the claims departments has the objective of minimizing SCE's financial liability. At the same time, it is also obvious that the claims department has an objective of achieving customer care, given the very fact that the function operates under its umbrella. This means that the claims department has the dual objective of simultaneously endeavoring to do damage control among dissatisfied customers through a process of customer care and retrieval. Conflict Management Styles Leading from its function and objectives, it can be logically inferred that the two styles of conflict management best suited to this department would be the accommodating or competing styles. The actual use of either would, however, depend on the contextual validity of each individual case."
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate, using the example of Southern California Edison (SCE), the use of appropriate conflict management styles within a contextual framework of department function, objectives, and circumstances. The two chosen departments, which form the basis for comparison, are the claims department and the public relations department of SCE. Finally, the discussion that follows is structured on the lines of outlining each department's function, objectives, and contextual use of conflict management styles.
From the Paper "Set up under the auspices of Customer Care, the function of the SCE Claims Department is to investigate, evaluate and process every customer claim on a case-by-case basis (Southern California Edison). Given that the processing of claims involves deciding whether SCE is financially liable or not to customers who have suffered from damages caused by power shortage or interruptions, it can be inferred that the claims departments has the objective of minimizing SCE's financial liability. At the same time, it is also obvious that the claims department has an objective of achieving customer care, given the very fact that the function operates under its umbrella. This means that the claims department has the dual objective of simultaneously endeavoring to do damage control among dissatisfied customers through a process of customer care and retrieval."
Tags: sce, customer, care, structure, management, edison, southern, california
This brief yet concise paper examines and analyzes the results of four specific social and psychological theories and the manner in which they relate to the behavior and socialization patterns of African-American males.
Abstract This paper defines and details the reasoning behind and the various aspects of the developmental pathways model, the social development model, the social ecological model and contextualism which was introduced in 1942 and originally known as 'pragmatism.' This paper delves into the manner in which the theories listed above were used to explore and understand particular behavioral patterns inherent in African-American men. The writer of this paper also discusses and analyzes the results found in each of the theories mentioned in this paper.
Table of Contents:
Developmental Pathways Model
Social Development Model
Social Ecological Model
Contextualism Bibliography
From the Paper "According to Morris, Pepper's use of the term "contextualism" first occurred during 1932, where he referred to John Dewey's pragmatism. According to this philosophy, context refers to the influence of history and the changing context of meaning. What this means is that a specific time frame produces specific effects in behavior. Thus, a perception of behavior in African-American males during a specific time frame influences behavior in their peers. Drug use among young African American males is then to be analyzed according to the context of broader influences than merely the family. This is particularly relevant in a world that has become increasingly globalized by developments in technology and trade. The world beyond the immediate boundaries of city and country has become immediately accessible by means of the Internet, e-mail and cellular technology."
Tags: behavior, male, gender, social, psychological, theory
Abstract This paper is on the Peter Brook production of the "Mahabharata", the Indian epic. The author contends that the process of de-contextualization of characters, plot elements and pieces of narration out of the Mahabharata's original context and into a Western mode of performance, plot construction and interpretation exhibits the latent Orientalism of the Brook production, and represents the profound and perverse commodification of the India classic. The author further explains how it was Brook's perspective and alteration of this epic that reached a broader Western audience.
From the Paper "As a world defined by over 200 nations, and thousands of cultures, an incredibly rich history and set of traditions exists. The last century has marked a turning point in our planet's history. As never before, the distance and separation of cultures is becoming ever smaller, due to better transportation and communications infrastructures, and a desire to conduct business on a global scale. There is also an interesting and concerning adoption and synthesis of cultural practices and traditions. One could debate rather academically the merits of cultural encounter and interaction, and to say that perhaps with a synthesis of different cultural practices, a new culture is born. That may be, however the focus of this essay is to critically investigate and discuss the adoption or representation of other cultural traditions, without comprehending their meaning or significance. This is demonstrated through the Western commodification of cultures, the notion of Orientalism, and specifically focusing on the Brooks/ Carri?re production of the Mahabharata."
Abstract This paper examines the theories of Anna Wierzbicka and her use of a "metalanguage" in order to solve the ambiguities and culture-contextual problems inherent in language. The paper argues the absurdity of Wierzbicka's theory.
From the Paper "In her piece, "Speech Acts and Speech Genres Across Languages and Cultures", Anna Wierzbicka attempts to construct a 'metalanguage' for linguists to define foreign terms and concepts. (1992) This metalanguage, as it was proposed, would eliminate the ambiguity of using culturally loaded words when attempting to define speech acts, genres, and events in other languages. While her initial premise concerning culturally loaded text was intriguing; the attempted creation of a pseudo-scientific 'metalanguage' was not only absurd, but also defied her own initial discussion on the specific cultural context of speech acts."
Tags: language, linguistics, proto, speech, wierzbicka, anna, matalanguage, culture
Abstract The paper shows that while Boswell's "The Life of Samuel Johnson" is somewhat jaded by personal benevolence, Boswell was more in tune with Johnson's flaws than, for example, his own. It shoows that between his self-praise and esteem for Johnson, James Boswell manages to provide the reader with instances that truly reveal a complete portrait of the great writer and give a glimpse into the wit, intellect and wisdom of Samuel Johnson.
From the Paper "The selection from "The Life of Samuel Johnson" by James Boswell must be interpreted contextually as it is relayed from the perspective of Boswell who clearly throughout the piece voices obvious bias in favor of his subject. Boswell's own arrogance is another glass through which the biography is conveyed and a significant portion of the text is devoted to that. However, there are certain instances, particularly in the quotes he records, where Boswell seems to truly capture the essence of Johnson's personality. Samuel Johnson is described as a somewhat liberal Christian who, although he holds high regard for the knowledge of the Ancients, lives his life in a style more befitting the Moderns of the day."
Tags: 17th, augustan, british, classical, enlightenment, literature
