Linguistics and Language Essay Example for Free

Linguistics and Language Essay In this essay, I will explain as well as compare two theories of first language acquisition, behaviorism and innatism. I will explore the differences between them in such categories as the role of the learner, the role of the environment and as well as their strengths and weaknesses. I will then state and explain which one I find more tenable with examples of relevant literature. Role of the Learner Behaviorism, credited to B. F. Skinner in the 1950s, states that the learner knows nothing to start with, he is an empty slate [o1] to be taught. The learner is passive and learns by positive-negative reinforcement, only repeating what he hears. Innatism, credited to Noam Chomsky in 1965, states that the learner is wired from birth for language. The learner is equipped with a LAD, a language acquisition device. This device allows the learner to discover the rules of his language, any language. Role of the Environment Behaviorism states that the role of the environment is key and vital to the learning process. The environment is the active agent while the learner is the passive agent. The environment produces the necessary language input for the learner. It is up to the environment to give positive and negative reinforcement for the learner. Innatism states that the role of the environment is minimal because it only acts as the trigger for learning. It is also thought the environment is flawed and can’t be relied upon to always give perfect information. Therefore, it is up to the learner to find the rules of the language[o2] . Strengths There are a few strengths to support the behaviorism theory. It is easy to monitor the learners’ performance. This is how parents (as teachers) usually teach their children, through nurturing which puts emphasis on the role of the environment. This theory can also explain why learners have the ability to memorize. On the other hand, there are several strengths of the innatism theory. A learner cannot memorize all the possible different language and grammar combinations that he learns through the environment. The LAD helps the learner to generalize rules and make his own creative use of the language. A child will resist using an irregular form because of over-generalizing, and he will create his own form of a word according to the rules that he has internalized. And these rules don’t necessarily conform to adult grammar rules which include many exceptions. By applying these internalized and generalized rules, a child is able to acquire a language at a fast pace. [o3] Weaknesses The Behaviorism theory only accounts for the performance of the learner, and not on his competence. The learner is passive, so this theory does not focus on the learner’s mind and knowledge. It also does not explain why children acquire a language so quickly even if they are exposed to different environments. In addition, this theory also doesn’t offer an explanation of why children over-generalize rules such as the simple past tense of irregular verbs even though they hear irregular forms in the environment. There are also several weaknesses to the Innatism theory. One of the first weaknesses is that it demands the existence of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD), its existence is difficult to prove and is immeasurable. This theory also doesn’t take into account different kinds of learners, just ideal learners with ideal grammar. The environment plays a minor role in this theory, so it doesn’t take into account the social aspect of the learner. My Opinion Looking at the two of these theories, I find the Innatism theory the most tenable. In my own experience with my children and students, the learners do not always model my behavior. This usually occurs with irregular patterns, particularly past tense verbs. This is similar to the â€Å"wug† test where a child will form a past tense of a verb that he has never heard before by applying the general grammar rules that he has learned. This behavior cannot be memorized and must be driven by an internal structure. Another reason to support this theory is that learners with impaired intelligence have been able to learn the structure of language. It has also been proven that American Sign Language which is taught to the deaf also has its own language structure. In addition, the creation of Creole languages supports the theory. As a Creole develops, grammar and structure are built in. The LAD would account for the formation of these languages as well as for creative uses of language by a learner. Conclusion In this essay I have explained two theories of language acquisition, behaviorism and innatism. In doing so, I have explained the different roles of the learner as well as the environment. I have also explored strengths and weaknesses of each theory and why I support the innatism theory over the behaviorism theory[o4] . [o1]Good one, I forgot this in my essay [o2]Do you think you should mention poverty of stimulus here? [o3]ording? Universal grammar is built off of two propositions, that all languages are governed by a set of universal principles, and that the mind is equipped with parameters which are set intuitively by the child according to the language input they receive. UG researchers have found a number of universal principles. One of the more prominent principles is structure dependency. Structure dependency states that all sentences regardless of the language are built off of propositions that carry both a noun and a verb phrase; in other words, every sentence in every language must have at least a subject and a verb (Chomsky, 1959). One parameter setting that is contained in the LAD is the head setting. Some languages such as English are head first, other languages such as Japanese are head last. Various arguments have been used to support the existence of universal grammar. Chomsky (1959) has proposed the poverty of the stimulus argument, positing that the input children receive cannot account for what they produce, and therefore, children must have an innate facility. He argues that the input is marred in two ways; first it contains a hodgepodge of performance slips, and secondly, it does not contain any negative evidence. How do children acquire language when they don’t know what they can’t say, or how do they learn to speak correctly when the input they here is at times in correct? They do so, according to Chomsky, through this innate capacity. Jackendoff (1994) offers another argument in support of universal grammar, the argument from expressive variety. Jackendoff argues that given that languages are recursive, there is simply no way of storing all of the possible sentences one can create in one’s mind. In other words, sentences don’t come from habits, but rather from creative expression. Universal grammar has had a lot of capital in language acquisition theory, although it has been critiqued on some fronts. Connectionists, particularly, N. Ellis (2006) has argued that language acquisition is not due to an innate faculty and the creative expression of humans, but equates it to a usage-based approach where children learning piecemeal frequently reoccurring chunks of language. Another argument against the innate language faculty is that UG researchers have claimed that only humans have access to syntax, yet this has been found not to be true. Certain animals, such as the humpback whale and songbirds have been found to possess a recursive syntax, suggesting that syntax and language may have evolved from lower order primates. Whereas universal grammar begins with language from the inside, Sociocultural theory, another prominent first language acquisition, posits language acquisition begins from the outside. Vygotsky, the founder of sociocultural theory, argues that language is a psychological tool, which children acquire and learn to manipulate as they interact with their environment and with more capable peers (Vygotsky, 1978). Children first learn language as they interact with their parents. Parents use caretaker speech, which makes it easier for the child to understand and grasp a hold on the concepts of the language. As the child begins to understand and produce simple utterances, they are able to use the language to mediate their psychological functioning (Vygotsky, 1978). Vygotsky argues that children begin learning language by first learning single words, which are pure meaning. As they develop their language skills, and engage in social speech, single word sentences are augmented through incorporation of non-meaningful elements, such as function  words, and the child’s thoughts and words begin to develop more sense meanings. For instance, where the word ‘cat’ for the 1 or two year old child could have served as an exemplar for all cats, by the time the child is nine, and having undergone a variety of experiences related to cat, they have imbibed the word with their own unique s enses. Thus syntax and word senses expand, the more a child learns. Now, whereas social speech began from one and developed into many, inner speech, the speech that goes on inside of our heads becomes more and more truncated. Vygotsky argues, contrary to Piaget, that egocentric speech does not ‘disappear’ rather it becomes internalized as inner speech. And this inner speech is something that could not be understood by anybody but the person who is thinking it. Vygotsky suggests that just as people who have known each other for many years, and who have had a large amount of experiences together exhibit language tendencies of shortened syntax because of their historical shared experience, a person’s inner speech also exhibits this characteristic, but even more so; the stuff of thought is nothing but psychological predicates (Vygotsky, 1978). One of the primary ways humans learn anything, according to Vygotsky, is through the zone of proximal development. This concept explains that what a person can do today with assistance, they can do tomorrow by themselves (Vygotsky, 1978). Applied to first language acquisition, the child may receive help from an expert, such as their parents, who point at objects and say their name, for example, cat. After seeing this, the child may repeat ‘cat’ immediately after. The next day, as the child sees the cat, it says the word ‘cat’ without needing to be told by their parents. Chomsky maintains that languages consist of an infinite number of sentences and cannot be learned through habit formation. Language is too complex to be learned in such a short amount of time (Chomsky, 1959). He believes that every human is born with an innate language learning capacity, which is embedded in the language acquisition device (LAD). Chomsky believes that all language share grammatical structures. This is called universal grammar (UG). Proof of UG includes poverty of stimulus, which explains how children acquire the language despite their limited exposure and incorrect input they may receive. Another evidence for UG that languages are recursive, (Jackendoff, 1994). It is impossible to know all the possible combinations; however, they are learned by children. According to UG, there must be some sort of innate capacity that provides the additional information. The fact that children are resistant to correction once again proves that language is developed through an innate capacity. According to Chomsky (1959), all languages share principles, which are invariable across languages. For example, noun phrases and verb phrases. This is called structure dependency. All languages have verbs and nouns. What distinguishes languages from each other according to Chomsky, are parameters, which are language specific. For example, some languages are head first, and some are head last. In relation to UG, Eric Lenneberg (1967) introduced the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH), which is a window of language learning opportunity before puberty. Proponents of CPH believe after this period, language learning becomes a much more difficult task and adults tend to rely on other mechanisms such as problem solving skills, reasoning, and deductive instruction to learn a language. Evidence of the CP is for example abused children, who despite being removed from the environment where they were deprived of social contact, were not able to learn the language. There have been many criticisms to Chomsky’s UG, for example, the LAD cannot be located and is immeasurable. Also, Chomsky’s theories overlook the effects of social contact and the environment on language learning. Social interactionist Vygotsky (1978) was a strong proponent of the social interaction hypothesis. He believed that learning takes place through social interaction, and give and take of information with caregivers, parents, or peers. According to Vygotsky, children begin with external speech, which could consist of one word only, but have the meaning of a whole sentence. Gradually, as the child grows older, he develops more complex and longer sentences and associates more meaning with his words. A child also engages in private speech (similar to adults), which is usually meant for problem solving or thinking out loud, but is not meant for sharing although articulated. Vygotsky believes that as the child develops more linguistic skills, this private speech becomes internalized and turns into inner speech, which is pure meaning, and does not consist of subjects; it is predicated. In direct opposition to the environment being the active participant in language learning, Chomsky flips behaviorism on its head and presents the learner as having a primary role while environment becomes secondary. Within the Universal Grammar Theory (UG), Noam Chomsky (1959) presents a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that is responsible for the language learning process. Purely biological, language is filtered through the innate LAD that is structured with principles that are unchanging and parameters that vary according to the language being learned. Proofs to support this theory are many. Syntax and the head-first/head-last parameter are two such proofs. As a child learns language, they hold to one of only two possibilities in any given language – head-first and head-last – and language is formed through recursion and syntactic movement that follow a pattern within a particular language. This shows that language is rule-governed and that the LAD is programmed with language foundations from which a child can develop. That children are resistant to correction follows this same thought as they develop language through the LAD. Language is not linked to intelligence as we see in brain damaged adults who are completely coherent in language skills and others who are cognitively normal but cannot speak correctly. Stroke victims also show that, depending on the area of the brain that is affected, intelligence and speech are not linked. Broca’s and Wernicke’s Aphasias show that certain areas of the brain affec t speech while intelligence remains unaffected. As evidenced by the Gopnik family, genetic impairments have also proven that a glitch in the UG can be passed down from one generation to another, thus proving that the LAD is indeed biological (Jackendoff, 113). Eric Lenneberg’s Critical Period Hypothesis (1967) and the cases of â€Å"wild children† are yet further evidence. Lenneberg holds that the LAD becomes dormant or ineffective after a certain age – around the age of 12 – and this is why children acquire language so much more quickly than adults who are attempting the same. Through these studies of particular children who did not learn language and who were void of contact with language as a whole, it shows that the younger the child, the more fully they were able to learn language. Once a child was passed the age of 12 or so, they were unable to acquire proper language skills. The younger children were not only able to learn more adequately but then went on to continue in the language learning process as a normal adult would. As many proofs as there are for Chomsky’s UG and the LAD, criticisms are plentiful as well. First and foremost, where is the evidence that a device like LAD exists? It certainly has not been located in the brain, therefore, it remains immeasurable and some have serious doubt as to its legitimacy. This theory also limits the role of the environment and gives no account for the social context of the language learning process. It idealizes the speaker and the grammar itself to a certain degree and packages the entire process a bit too neatly. Cognitive Development Theory Jean Piaget’s (1955) work in cognitive development is foundational on many levels. Watching his own children, nature, and certain study groups of young children, Piaget introduces a theory that is completely developmental. As a child is ready and developed (both biologically and cognitively), they are able to assimilate, accommodate and adapt new experiences. Underlying in this theory is reasoning and logic. The role of the environment is minimal and the learner is vital but only as they are cognitively developed and ready for new experiences. A child will not learn what they are not cognitively developed to receive at that point no matter what the instruction. Piaget holds to the notion of children developing schema. As a new experience is received and they are biologically and cognitively ready to receive it, they will develop new schema to fit into the framework of schema that they already have developed. This theory also relies heavily on egocentric and socialized speech with each one serving a different function. Egocentric speech is what is used (mainly by children) when words and thoughts are spoken out loud but the one speaking is only dealing with their own thoughts and ideas. Socialized speech is a shift away from egocentric speech where one simply derives pleasure from speaking to being a way of exchanging their ideas or opinions. Although Piaget’s work and theory is critical, it neither accounts for the child’s behavior as a whole nor for the cognitive development after the stage of ‘formal operation’ is reached. It offers vast insight into the developmental process of a child but little instruction on attaining language skills. It was also based solely on a Western model and is therefore quite limiting. SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Input Output Hypotheses As a result of older models of language teaching where attention was given to language grammar, Krashen (1981) places his focus on communication input. He contends that if the learner is given a chance to absorb the language, they will be better equipped to acquire it. Rather than forcing output immediately, Krashen holds to a silent period where learners have the privilege of just listening to language before attempting it†¦much like a young child would in learning their mother tongue. Comprehensible input (i + 1) is the formula that Krashen holds to for optimal language learning for second language learners (SLLs). This states that if a SLL is offered input that is only slightly beyond what they already know, acquisition will take place. He also makes a differentiation between language learning and language acquisition, claiming that acquisition is what is needed for the language learning process. Criticisms of Krashen’s hypothesis are that input alone cannot account for acquisition and that some grammatical forms cannot be learned without being taught. Swain (1985) introduces her Output Hypothesis in contrast to Krashen and claims that no matter the input, if the output is unintelligible, acquisition has not truly occurred. It is the output that forces learners to grapple with the grammatical processing and figure out what works. Through output, a learner can realize their problem areas, can experiment with new areas they are unsure of, and gives them the chance to analyze problems they are having in their language learning process.

E.e. Cummings, Poem, Anyone Li Essay -- essays research papers

E.E. Cummings "anyone lived in a pretty how town" I first read this poem and I thought of love, two people in love. Anyone and noone are in love and that is what matters to them, to be in love with each other and with life. It involves the day, the night, and how the weather changes. The seasons revolve and the children grow up to become adults. As I read the poem I realized there were three sections to it. Which consist of anyone and noone, "women and men" in line four, and the children. The first stanza is strange the first time you read it. You do not understand "anyone" is a person and not just anyone. I believe that line six is referring to all of the adults in the town, Cummings does not want us to think of the town people as separate people but as a whole group undistinguishable from on another. This is told in line five where it states "little and small", he is grouping them in very close together. The children are separated into there own group. As they grow through the seasons in lines ni ne, ten, and eleven, they pass on into adulthood. They in essence no longer exist in the poem. The bells ringing might have something to do with them becoming adults, since I do not see them relating to any other parts of the poem. The bells seem to be an important part of the town since they are mentioned in the second line of the poem and those exact lines are repeated in line twenty-four, sixth stanza of th...

Internet and culture Essay

Introduction Technology affects culture in various ways. As the industrial revolution made its impact in Europe in the nineteenth century, the factory mode of production and assembly line operations had a significant impact on family structures. In the twentieth century the popularity of radio and television gave way to large scale broadcasting media that reached out to a large population. The post second world war era saw a proliferation of mass media shaped by new age advertising that attempted to create new markets, sometimes by determining people’s needs and sometimes by shaping their wants. This has been seen by many as a culture shaping mechanism that attempts to harmonize the entire world. One of the first models that studied this phenomenon is the Frankfurt School, which analyzed the processes of cultural production and political economy, the politics of cultural texts, and audience reception and use of cultural artifacts (Kellner 1989 and 1995). The Frankfurt school studied this trend in both the US and in Germany and was witness to the rise of modern media and a culture that evolved around the cinema, popular music, radio, television, and other forms of mass culture (Wiggershaus 1994). The Internet Revolution However the internet revolution that came on the heels of the collapse of the Berlin wall and the dismantling of the Soviet system, putting an end to the cold war unleashed other forces that would counter the unifying theme of global corporate controlled media. The Internet allowed people to access specific information, it made it possible for the ordinary person, cutting across digital divides to upload his or her won thought and through various websites, blogs and contributed material enabled a large amount of personalized information to be shared and debated. The forces of globalization coupled with individual thought and attitude made the internet a forum that could counter the uniformity that mass media was prone to develop. The future of the internet is one where larger communities develop of like minded individuals or of individuals who debate and discuss issues of their concern. The digital divide, thanks to cheaper broadband, is already dwindling and larger communities across the globe getting connected. The web, with its search engines and portals that carry loads of information, already is a seamless source of information that is easy to access and offers information for free. Email that developed along with the web is now something everyone uses and has brought back people in touch with each other without having to send slow snail mail or spend money in calling their contacts over the phone; Email will continue to be one of the most important tools on the web used by large populations for easy communication. Search engines have already developed to a large extent and the contribution of encyclopedia like Wikipedia to those wanting to share information and learn new things is already well documented. As Zittrain (2006) argues, â€Å"The most plausible path along which the Internet might develop is one that finds greater stability by imposing greater constraint on, if not outright elimination of, the capacity of upstart innovators to demonstrate and deploy their genius to large audiences. Financial transactions over such an Internet will be more trustworthy, but the range of its users’ business models will be narrow. † Conclusion However, what is yet uncertain is how this new technology shapes the future of culture in an international setting. Will it cause further stress as more people use the technology to spread terror, child abuse, sell spurious drugs over the net and indulge in petty financial fraud? Will it be an invasion of privacy as more and more personal information is stored in web pages across the net? Would it lose its current free flowing inclusive character and get regulated by various governments worried about the nature of the Internet that allows everyone to be the author and the reader at the same time? The future will answer these questions, but till then as we surf the web getting more and unique information, individual thoughts and insights, send email and blog, the power of this new technology captivates those of us who now spend hours on the net. REFERENCES †¢ Kellner, D (1989) Critical Theory, Marxism, and Modernity. Cambridge and Baltimore: Polity and John Hopkins University Press. †¢ Kellner, D. (1995) Media Culture. Cultural Studies, Identity, and Politics, Between the Modern and the Postmodern. London and New York: Routledge. †¢ Wiggershaus, R (1994), The Frankfurt School. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. †¢ Zittrain, J. L. (2006) â€Å"The Generative Internet†. Harvard Law Review, Vol. 119. pp 1974 -2040. At http://www. harvardlawreview. org/issues/119/may06/zittrain. pdf. Last Accessed May 1, 2007.

Cyber Ethics Essay example - 1082 Words

Cyber Ethics: Rules for Using the Web We all have heard of ethics. According to Webster’s II New College Dictionary (1995), ethics is the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession. As Winn Schwartau (2001) stated â€Å"ethics is also about understanding how your actions will affect other people†. Cyber-ethics is the ethical decisions we make when using the Internet. We are tasked to use the Internet on a daily basis and we task students to use the Internet regularly, but to use it properly we must adhere to ethics. Ethics is not a law but your moral code. We must know how to avoid plagiarism, know the acceptable use of the Internet, and we must be familiar with Censorship in order to know what moral†¦show more content†¦Learn the quot;cyberquot; vocabulary. There are new words out there, meaningful to your children. Make sure you understand the lingo. Talk with your kids about cyberprivacy amp; safety --- personal, family, emotional, physical. Talk about et hics amp; morality with the family. Establish an agreement as to what all of you believe, (make sure its legal!), and stick to it. Question your childrens schools and teachers as to what --- if anything --- they are doing in cyberethics. This has national standards that are required to be taught, just like standards in reading and math. The Socrates Institute has designed â€Å"The CyberEthics Project,quot; a comprehensive K-12 curriculum in cyberethics, for schools to use across the country. It helps to increase the students awareness of the consequences, safety, legal and ethical use regarding the Internet and other forms of electronic data (Radnofsky amp; Vuko 2004). To find out more about the project visit their website at http://www.socratesinstitute.org. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;We also have to monitor to see what students are accessing online. Because of the First Amendment, it is hard to censor what is published on the web. 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Concept of Volleyball - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2271 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/04/02 Category Sports Essay Level High school Tags: Volleyball Essay Did you like this example? Sports fill the nation with diehard fans and hours of television screen times for many people daily. For some sports though there are many rules, regulations, and dynamics behind the game. For instance, volleyball is a game many are fans of, but many who have never seen a match or have a head of volleyball alone may find the game confusing. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Concept of Volleyball" essay for you Create order Through the decades volleyball is a sport that has changed drastically. Changing the concepts of ruling and regulations of the game. Rules for high school matches versus club matches. The dynamics of getting the perfect pass or mastering that serves to ace the opponent. All in all, volleyball is commonly known as the most underrated and unappreciated sport of our generation. Having this mindset diminishes the key concepts of volleyball. The idea of the game with the equipment, terms, fundamentals and the rules of the game. The idea of volleyball begins with two teams with six players on each side. The players use their hands to take a ball back and forth over a regulated high net. The ball must touch the court within the opponents playing area before it can be returned. To prevent this a player on the opposing team gets the ball up and toward a teammate, before it touches the court surface†that teammate may then volley it back across the net or guide it to a third teammate who volleys it across the net. A team is allowed only three touches of the ball at a minimum before it must be returned over the net to the other team. A touch is regulated as any physical contact with the ball. Rather it is with the players hand, or head a touch is a touch. There are ruling with touching the ball also. For instance, if a player contacts the ball trying to catch it and throw it back up this would be ruled as a lift. In this instance, the call by the ref would be made and the ball and point would be given to the other team. Volleyball requires a minimum of equipment and space and can be played indoors or outdoors. The game is played on a smooth-surfaced court, divided by a center line into two equal areas, one of which is selected by or assigned to each of the two teams. Players may not step completely beyond the center line while the ball is in play. A tightly stretched net is placed across the court exactly above the middle of the center line. The height of the net and the antennas are all regulated to correctly admit to the age of the players. A ball must pass over the net entirely between the antennae. In this sport, there are allowed 6 players on each side at a time. Normally, you would have your libero, setters, hitters, and back ro w players. Volleyball has three common terms used when having the ball getting at most three touches on it before it is sent back over to the opposing team. Volleyball has changed into a very specialized sport. Many teams will include in their starting line-up a setter, two center blockers, two receiver-hitters, and a universal spiker. Only certain players will be involved with service reception. Players will also have specialist positions for attack and defense. Substitutions are allowed during the game. Since 1998, volleyball has been using a new scoring system. Teams scored a point on every rally, meaning a rally point system. Regardless of which team served. Formerly, a team could only win a point if it served the ball. Winning the serve back from the opposition was known as a side-out. Matches are played best of five sets. The first four sets are played to 25 points, with the final set being played to 15 points. A team must win a set by two points. There is no ceiling, so a set continues until one of the teams gains a two-point advantage. Previously, all sets were to 15 points, with the first four sets having a ceiling of 17 and the final set requiring at least a two-point winning advantage (fivb.org). First, there is a pass. When a player passes a ball, their forearms are straight and at a 90-degree angle from their body. Their hands are either in a cuffed fist or flat prayer hands common terms used for the positioning of the players hands for passing. Many believe that the best way for passing is staying low at a 90-degree angle that can have the passes at a neutral position that makes it easier to contact the ball. The best passers seem to move backward, absorbing the ball on their arms allowing for more control passing. Also, the way the players body is positioned during a pass is very important too. The angle of their forearms has positioned the speed of the ball, and the position of their feet. These three concepts depend on the angle and the height of the ball being passed to the setter. In the end, making the setters job easier. Libero is most commonly the best passer on a team. They are the player who wears the different colored jersey indicating special subs or rotations that wouldnt normally be allowed with a normal colored jersey. The liberos base or home for plays is normally on the far left side of the 10-foot line. There they are expected to dig balls from the right side, middle or outside hitters to keep the ball in play. Liberos are most commonly the most agile and quickest on their feet. Liberos are known for picking up balls that are far above their head or to diving from their base to the 10-foot line to keep the ball in play. Most commonly if the setter happens to take the first ball the libero is expected to take the second contact to set up the hitter for an attack. The libero always must keep their head on a swivel. Being a libero though has many regulations. They can only serve once, they must substitute behind the 10-foot line, they cannot pass the 10-foot line on an attack and they cannot set a ball that is in front of the 10-foot line either. Along with the Libero, there are also the back-row players. These are the ones who are most likely designated for passing and getting the ball to the setter and making it easier for the setter to get the ball to the hitters. These three contacts or less make it difficult for the other team to receive or try to get up. Back row players are commonly forgotten when a great hit or set came to be. There wouldnt have been a rally in the first place. Most back row players are loud and agile and wanting to get to every ball and making it known who has the ball. For instance, when a back-row player is going to become in contact with the ball most players say mine. Indicating that they are going to contact the ball and having others ready for the next contact. Not only does the back row come with fundamentals it is very important to always have their head on a swivel. If the setter messes up the ball, they try their best to better the ball and get it over. Also, when a hitter is going to conta ct the ball the back-row player can communicate to them where to hit it. The line is straight down the court vertically, or cross hitting the ball diagonally. Other key terms for indicating to the hitter to hit but seeing how important it is for the back-row player to fully communicate. Next, is setting. Wide hands and fingers are placed above the eye level and forehead level of the player. Using both their arms and legs, the player pushes the ball with both of their hands at the same time to set the ball. The setter is commonly the captain of the team meaning they oversee the plays and keeping the rest of the players in line. Setters must know the lineup and certain rotations and communicating shots and certain tactics to get a point for their team. The setters need to beat the ball to the spot and being ready to anticipation the location of the pass. Also, be ready to move from their base in case of a miss pass or miss communication between the passers and get in position to set. The setters are the one who is to set up the hitters for their attacks. Setters must have good hands and eye-hand coordination for getting the balls from the passers and to the hitters for an attack. Being a setter is a very important task. They oversee telling their hitters what they are hitting or what plays they are running. For example, is the outside going to hit a fast set, known as a 4, or are they going to come in hitting a higher ball in the middle, known as a 2? Setters oversee also communicating with not only their hitters but their back-row players also. They need to communicate to them that they need a higher pass or a tighter pass to the net to keep them on. With all the accountabilities of a setter, there are many advantages too. Setters contact the ball 95% of the time. They are most likely the teams captain or all-around player depending on their atheism and accountability. Lastly, the most common term is hitting. While hitting one either does the standing approach or the jumping approach. Either way, the player starts out with their hands in front of their body in an almost runners position. As the ball is set up and realized from the setters hand, they would take their dominant hand behind their head at another 90-degree angle and use the other hand as a glider of the ball. Now, with a jumping approach, as the set ball hits its peak, you would start the approach. As a dominant right-handed person, one would start with their left foot stepping forward, then right and then jump on their left to contact the ball. Withstanding or jump hitting, one would contact the ball with the center of their palm as fast as they could sending the ball across the end. All in all, in getting three contacts. Bump, set, spike or pas s, set, hit. Hitters are the teams key assets normally to finishing a rally. They are the ones with will most likely send the ball over with an aggressive attack on the other team. Having three hitters in the front row is the most common way to play. Hitting starts out with a strong hand and forearm, high vertical, and strong finish. When hitting one must start with their hand above their head at a 90-degree angle facing upward. After this, the ball is tossed to the hitter. When contact is made the ball should touch the palm of their hand with their fingers spread out. Once contact is made, the player needs to follow through. What this means is that the players hand and forearm should swing all the way through to where the hand should be facing downward, and having the ball go over the net at a fast and hard speed. The concept of hitting comes along with a term called blocking. This is when a hitter on the other side of the attacker is jumping up to interfere with the attackers hit. Blocking is an action that a player or players close to the net to intercept the ball coming from the opponent by reaching higher than the top of the net (theartofcoachingvolleyball.com). Only front-row players are allowed to complete a block. A block is completed whenever the ball is touched by a blocker. A collective block is acted by two or three players close to each other. In blocking, the player may place their hands and arms anywhere above the net, provided that this action does not interfere with the opponents hit or the net. Now if the player does touch the net or interferes with the pursuit of the players hit the ref will blow their whistle and give the point to the attacking team. All the terms and uses of volleyball can get confusing, but there are limitations and regulations as well. Each team may request a maximum of two time-outs and six substitutions per set. The request for time-outs or substitutions must be made after the play has ended. A coach is not allowed to sub or ask for a time-out mid-play. A team is not allowed to make multiple requests for substitution during the same interruption (theartofcoachingvolleyball.com). Two or more players can be substituted at the same time within the same request. Regular game interruptions may be requested by the coach, or in the absence of the coach, by the game captain, and only by them. Substitution before the start of a set is permitted and should be recorded as a regular substitution in that set. The ideas of volleyball along with the equipment, terms, fundamentals and the rules of the game, it shows many how a sport has so much more than what meets the eye. For example, finding more facts that people havent heard or even seen before. Volleyball is not only a physical but mental sport as well. With all the skills and teamwork, a certain team can have. A truly good team has a connection and c ommitment to the sport many seem to push away. Works Cited 35th FIVB Congress 2016. Official Volleyball Rules 2017-2020. FIVB-Vo

Drug Alcohol And Its Effects - 2128 Words

An elderly man, Frank went to his doctor for a routine check up after having some complications with his heart. While at the doctor, he was encouraged that having an alcoholic beverage a day to lower his risk of heart disease. After much consideration about the doctors prescription Frank decides with his wife that it may be a good idea. Frank had never drank before in his life, and what this doctor suggests will be a huge factor in him. Frank became an alcoholic at the age of 72. This brings questions to mind such as if Frank had been educated about alcohol and its effects of it in over abundance, would this have changed his outcome? People become responsible by being properly taught, given responsibility, and then held accountable for†¦show more content†¦Most states after the prohibition set their legal drinking age to 21 which at the time was the age of majority at the time. Few states had a lower purchase age for alcohol. Thirty states followed these minority states in the early 1970 s; of which the majority lowered the MLDA to 18 years of age (Wagenaar A. C., 1993). Most states reasoning behind this lowering of this age of majority was because the legal voting age was changed from 21 to 18 in 1971. With continued moment through the years things altered each states though and reasoning and again a majority change the alcohol purchase age to 19 years of age. The bump in age was because of an increase of 18 year old deaths and alcohol related accidents (Wagenaar A. C., 1993). There were also direct correlations to the seat belt laws and these numbers. In 1984 congress passed a law requiring states to raise their legal ages of purchase to 21 by Oct of 1986 or loose funding for their federal highways. By mid-1988, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had raised their purchase ages to 21 (Wagenaar A. C., 1993). With the drinking age at 21 and higher than the legal age of majority, brings some tension for many Americans. Alcohol has been an issue for many ages, even in biblical times there were issues with alcohol and drunkenness. The United States current solution, that of negligence and head s in the sand, is not working. The laws that there are for the minimum legal drinking age or MLDA are not

The Mind-Body Problem free essay sample

He believed in an independent soul inhabiting in a mechanically operated body. The reality of the body needed no proof, but the reality of the soul did. Since he doubted everything, he said that we could not doubt the existence of our self, because there must be a self that exists to do the doubting. Descartes was concerned about how the nonmaterial soul could interact with the matter of our body. He resolved the problem of the incompatibility of the two entities by naming this problem dualism. Dualism is an ancient concept and is deeply rooted in Greek thought. They said that a persons soul was of an entirely different essence than the body. They also said that those dual entities had no interaction with one another. They saw them as foreign to one another; the body was the prison house of the soul. In the problem of dualism, Descartes discussed that the body could be divided up, such as removing a hand or a leg, but the soul was indivisible. The soul occupied the whole body, and the removal of any part of the physical body did not reduce any part of the soul. He claims the body was procreated, and the soul was created. Even though the two realities of the soul were of a completely different character, they could react with each other. He finds that reaction as a mystery. The interdependence of the mind and body was what Descartes considered a human being. The mind and body formed a unit. Descartes said that the body, including the brain, was simply mechanical in its principal of operation. That is only true if the body is considered without a soul. The mechanistic view of the brain was not questionable if the soul doesnt make any essential part of its operation. Descartes talked about the nature of the soul, since it has no matter or substance. He said that the perceptions of sense and physical passions of people are dependent upon the body, but the awareness lies within the soul. The soul become aware, such as conscious and self consciousness, and how it succeeds in acting upon the body. Its awareness is due to the action of the body upon it. Descartes said that the body is just extended matter, and the soul is unextended spirit. When the extended is acted upon by the unextended, a definite point of interaction is required, and is found in a place in the brain called the pineal gland. The point of interaction was at the site of the pineal gland, and it was the only place he thought that is not duplicate as all other brain structures were thought to be. He said the soul wasnt to be viewed as locked in and shut up in the pineal gland. He said it was just the point of interaction, but not the box of the soul in any sense. The soul is united to all parts of the body conjointly. The whole body is the souls housing as long as the body remains intact. When a part of the body is cut off, such as a leg or finger, there is no loss of part of the soul as a consequence because the soul is indivisible. It just occupies what is left of the body. Descartes clearly stated there is a dualism of the mind and body, and their interaction is very real. Our brain is the major place for the consciousness of the soul, yet consciousness is distributed throughout the whole body. Descartes made the mind and brain separate entities, dependent upon each other. I thought of an analogy to go with that; a fountain pen and ink. They are interdependent, and the pen will not write without the ink, and the ink carries no message without the pen. I strongly believe in the idea of dualism that Descartes proposed. The mental and physical have quite different properties. Mental events have a subjective quality to them, where physical events seem not to. An example would be when one asks what a burned finger feels like, or what nice music sounds. Sensations like these cannot be reduced to something physical. There is no place in the brain where electric stimulation can cause a person to believe or decide. Although our thoughts can be true or false, our brains status cannot be true or false. Nobody can tell what we are thinking by measuring brain waves. What really grounded my position on arguing for Descartes position was the doubting argument; I can doubt that my body exists, but I cannot doubt that I exist as a thinking thing because I am existing to think. I also think that Descartes argument is true because of his idea about the soul being an indivisible, nonphysical entity. Just because someone loses their legs in a car accident, it doesnt mean their soul goes away with their lost legs. People who criticize and oppose Descartes ideas claim that if the soul and body were substances of entirely different natures, interaction between them would be impossible. Duality means that there are there are two types of substances in the world, physical and non physical. There needs to be another substance to rationalize having a brain and having a god, and free will. If the brain is performing physical duties to make us think, then wheres my soul? How am I involved in making decisions and thinking? There must be something apart from this brain and physical world. Another argument is also based upon what happens if the brain is damaged. When damage occurs from physical trauma or pathological diseases, our mental powers are always compromised. The argument holds that if the brain and mind were actually separate, our mental powers would not be compromised. It is a very strong opposing argument, however, it also depends upon the presumption that God does not have a reason for letting our brain limit our mental function while we are living. The arguments for the existence of dualism are strong, but they are dependent upon an anti-supernatural presumption. Descartes mind-body problem is definitely an open ended topic with strong arguments from the supporting or opposing side. Its a very interesting and intriguing topic. It all started with his quote about the ability to exist within his thoughts, I think, therefore I am. I believe that the body and mind/soul are two completely different parts that make a unit of the human being. They intertwine and interact in a very mysterious way. The idea of dualism was further continued and researched by many other famous philosophers such as Thomas Nagel. This is something that will rest in my thoughts more, as I continue to ponder about the nature of my soul, the interaction it has with my body, and my existence.