Alan Cromer’s Connected Knowledge A prospective reader casually thumbing through the pages of Alan Cromer’s Connected Knowledge: Science, Philosophy, and Education, would probably expect the book to explore how science and the philosophy of science should inform educational practices and pedagogy. Indeed such an exploration takes place, but the reader might be surprised to find that it is in the form of a vehement crusade Cromer wages against constructivism with science and a scientific habit of mind as his sword and shield. In battle like style, Cromer starts on the defensive, trying to debunk the postmodernist interpretations of modern physics often used to declare science and thus all other academic pursuits “subjective.” After defending his own territory (Cromer is a physics professor at Northeastern University), Cromer goes on the offensive against those he deems largely responsible for constructivist thought--the “highly fragmented” sociological disciplines. First he sets out to demonstrate that by using a scientific habit of mind he can create a social theory of human behavior valid across a wide range of cultures and social contexts. In other words, even in the social sciences, everything is not relative. Then he aims to use the tools of psychologists, maze rats and intelligence testing, to discredit constructivism in favor of standardized education. The Defense The amazing transformation the study of physics underwent in the two decades following the turn of the 20th century is a well-known story. Physicists, on the verge of declaring the physical world “understood”, discovered that existing theories failed to describe the behavior of the atom. In a very short time, a more fundamental theory of the ... ... middle of paper ... ... and in-class performance mediates movement between the groups. Response As the tone of the above discussion probably made clear, I rather enjoyed the first part of Connected Knowledge, which challenges many of the popular misinterpretations of modern physics. Cromer’s arguments are cogent even for the non-scientist, and it is clear that this is his field of expertise. But when Connected Knowledge ventured out of the realm of physics into that of social science, I found the discussion somewhat arrogant. In his attempt to discredit constructivist thought, Cromer offers only one way of understanding the world. I find such a view too narrow and too restrictive. I am not a relativist in that I think all approaches are equally valid, but I don’t believe that science provides the only route to understanding and should be the basis of every decision we make.
...hey are told and obeying the rules. This narrative supports the claim of the article because it criticizes the tests that have resulted from excessive reforms. In conclusion, I believe that the narratives as well as all the other rhetorical devices used in the article made Chris Hedges’ argument stronger and more persuasive.
Federalism is the division of power in order to avoid making the central government the most powerful unit. It is the same when it comes to making laws, it is divided into congress and executive branch, but the judicial branch has to
1).Kirkpatrick, Larry D. and Wheeler, Gerald F. Physics a World View. 4th ed. Fort Worth, Philadelphia, San Diego, New York, Orlando, Austin, San Antonio, Toronto, Montreal, London, Sydney, Tokyo: Barrosse and Vondeling, 2001
Risk is a factor of everyday life. From driving a car to work to cooking dinner for the family, there is a certain level of risk associated with most of the daily tasks completed an individual in their daily routine. However, most of the daily risks taken by an individual does not affect their daily routine because the individual understands the risk associated with each task and has a contingency plan, which was developed through life experiences. The same is true for project and program managers.
James Kallman has different approaches to solution of risk management and which is important due to the situation. Understanding the types of risks such as operational and strategic risks is crucial to evaluating the solution for the risk involved. According to Kallman (2008), “A convenient way to see the portfolio of all risk management solutions is to analyze the risk management solution tree” (p. 1). The risk management solution tree provides a detailed layout of decision making and the process of each step depending on the previous step. Goals consist of both threats and opportunities and however one choses to approach the goal is how the flow of the tree will be managed. Avoiding both the opportunity and threat will cancel the goal. Kallman’s main solution against risk is the use of prevention wherever applicable. According to Kallman (2008), “Prevention loss control projects not only preserve assets and save lives, they also save risk financing costs” (p. 1). If management is able to prevent the loss due to risk, the need for other costs such insurance premiums that have the ability to fluctuate due to the risk associated with the company, reduction projects to decrease the risk, advertising and other resources required for the use of increasing
Federalism is both an idea and a kind of system. As the ideology of federalism advocated a unified country, emphasis on a certain degree of concentration of power, in fact, is a kind of special forms of nationalism, its purpose is to establish a unified nation. As a national political organization form of federalism system refers to the political between centralization and the loose confederation of a kind of system. Under the federal system, the original internal affairs and diplomacy of autonomous state fusion in unified the country. Australia, Brazil and India is a federal country, while the United States has a federal system is the most lasting.
Federalism is a political construction where the land is governed by two levels, local and central government, and are each given powers to regulate with distinct parameters provided by the constitution and the amendments. Although it may seem like there is a level distribution of power between local and national government, the national government reigns over local governments. The national government is supported by the constitution to do whatever is necessary and proper for the protection of the nation according to the elastic clause, which grants them implied powers which are left to be interpreted by Supreme Court. Moreover, the national government has explicit enumerated powers in addition to those implied powers, which supports the
Risk exposure not only includes legality issues, but also incorporates quality and safety risks, reputation risks, health risks, and mostly importantly, financial risks. The reality is that the above stated risks are interdependent and can have drastic effects on the administration of an organization. The reason risk management is such a daunting task stems from its ambiguous nature (Burke, 2013, p169). Risks are difficult to detect because of the interacting pieces that generate the likelihood of a risky result. Measuring risks also proves to be a seemly convoluted process due to the subjectivity behind the matter. Risks can only be measured as far as the human brain can process the complex parts and contingencies involved. Finally, risk mitigation also poses a problem as finding a solution to an unknown problem is just as difficult as identifying the issue at
The European states, which have joined the EU voluntarily, forfeited some of these aspects of sovereignty with the goal of creating a stronger more unified Europe. These countries have established a supranational government consisting of several bodies. Th...
There are many cultures that weave in Mexico. Maynard, Greenfield, & Childs (1999) explain that it is traditional in Mexico for women from Zinacantan culture to be excellent weavers. In fact, a woman who can weave well is supposed to make a good wife (Maynard et al., 1999). Overall, men do not participate in any form of Zinacatan weaving (Maynard et al., 1999). It is standard for the Zinacatan w...
Kirkpatrick, Larry D. and Gerald F. Wheeler. Physics: A World View, 4th ed. Orlando, FL. Harcourt College Publishers: 2001. p- 365-71
Naylor, S., & Keogh, B. (1999). Constructivism in Classroom: Theory into Practice. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 10(2), 93-106. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1009419914289#
As has been discussed before, risk identification plays an important part in the risk such as unique, subjective, complex and uncertainly. There are no two identical leaves in the world; similar, there are no two exactly the same risk either. Hence the best risk manger could not identify risk completely. Besides, risk identification assessment is done by risk analysts. As the different level of risk management knowledge, practical experience and other aspects between individuals, the result of risk identification may be difference. Furthermore, the process of identifying risk is still risky. Once risks have been identified, corporations have to take actions on limiting risky actions to reduce the frequency and severity of risky. They have to think about any lost profit from limiting distribution of risky action. So reducing risk identification risk is one of assessments in the risk
When examining a study from a constructivist lens, the researcher must ask themselves: How does learning occur? What is the mechanism behind learning? Is it external? Internal? Due to social connections? These are example guiding questions constructivist researchers seek to answer. Constructivism is defined as individuals constructing their own knowledge of the world either internally, or externally by interacting with individuals. When individuals encounter a new experience, it causes them to compare it to their previous idea or experience. This interaction leads to a change in what the individuals believe, or a discardment of the new information. At some point every human tests and revises their knowledge through interactions and experiences. Examples of these experiences can be the classroom, home, and interactions with people. The mechanism of how an individual construct
The understanding that matter was composed of atoms was changed with the discovery of smaller particles than the atoms, which are protons, neutrons, and electrons. But during the 1960’s, the multitude of particles being discovered was making the understanding that matter is composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons, insufficient. Murray Ge...