How Important Is Critical Thinking - 1013 Words

How Important Is Critical Thinking? By Rene Armbruster | Submitted On February 23, 2013 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook Share this article on Twitter Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest Expert Author Rene Armbruster What is critical thinking? Simply put it is looking at both sides of an issue then weighing your position based on factual evidence you have gathered on the subject matter. What is prior (background) knowledge? Prior knowledge is information you know about any given subject prior to learning a more difficult concept. For instance, you must know the answer to 2+2 before you learn 2X2. You might hear critical thinking being referred to as higher order thinking. The two terms are interchangeable. These thinking skills require the person draw inferences from the information they ve been given. The person must also use deductive skills from all of the gathered facts in order to make an informative decision or to take a position on the subject. A person who is passionate about history will think differently from someone who takes science more seriously. Thus the sayings, Think like a historian, or he is thinking like a scientist. The 1983 report, A Nation at Risk, showed that only 1/5 of 17 year olds could write a persuasiveShow MoreRelatedâ€Å"Analysis Is the Critical Starting Point of Strategic Thinking† – Kenichi Ohmae. What Variables Interfere so Often with Our Ability to Start the Analysis Aspect of Strategic Thinking? How Important Is the Analysis?996 Words   |  4 PagesWeek 3 – DQ 1 â€Å"Analysis is the critical starting point of strategic thinking† – Kenichi Ohmae. What variables interfere so often with our ability to start the analysis aspect of strategic thinking? How important is the analysis? What techniques have you employed or seen successfully employed that may help provide the opportunity to start the analysis? Introduction Strategic thinking is defined as the management’s vision of the company; what it should look like in the future. It is the visionRead MoreThe Importance of Critical Thinking to the Decision Making Process914 Words   |  4 Pagesdecision-making process in business is an important part of a company’s success. Making the right decision relies on using the attributes of critical thinking. The following will show the relationship between decision making and critical thinking and how one company uses critical thinking in its decision making everyday to maintain the company’s health and customer satisfaction. Critical Thinking â€Å"Critical thinking is the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any setRead MoreRelationship Between Listening And Critical Thinking1068 Words   |  5 PagesThe Relationship Between Listening and Critical Thinking My fiancà © and I have been together for two years and I know him very well. I know his likes, I know his dislikes, I know his fears, I know what he loves, but most important I know when he is not listening to me. When we first started dating I never really picked up on it and I was just so happy to have him with me that when he gave a â€Å"yea† or a â€Å"mhm† that I figured he was listening carefully and attentively to every little thing I said. Read MoreCritical Thinking And Teaching Methods1648 Words   |  7 Pages but rather accept it and move on. 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Critical thinking in school creates a â€Å"rational person† inRead MoreCritical Thinking1715 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿KENYATTA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM DEPARTMENT: TOURISM UNIT CODE: UCU 103 UNIT TITLE: INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE AND CRITICAL THINKING GROUP MEMBERS NAMES: REG.NO. CONTACTS SIGN GEOFFREY A.G T12S/8705/2013 0728812037 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. PETER WAMBUI T12S/19590/2013 0726581625 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ROSE WACHIRA T12S/21534/2013 0717236599 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... NASSIUMA PURITY T12S/21394/2013 0702057789 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... RADHI OLANG’O T12S/19632/2013 0704290026 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ CHEMUTAI DAISY T12S/19632/2013 0702645207Read MoreCritical Thinking Skills And Academic Achievements894 Words   |  4 PagesCritical thinking skills are beneficial and little is known about the factors contributing to students developing a disposition to think critically or the effect this disposition has on college students’ academic achievements. More studies need to be carried out on how student are capable of thinking critically and use their critical thinking skills and how to make critical thinking dispositions as it impacts people’s life and is necessary to have this skill when working. One important factor foundRead More Thinking and Decision Making Essay1480 Words   |  6 PagesThinking and Decision Making When it comes to the reasoning and problem solving of any issue there are various ways to come to a decision; thinking is the mental process that allows the people in the world to deal with it effectively, according to set goals, plans, ideas, and desires. Thinking involves the gathering of information that forms concepts and engages in problem solving, reasoning, and making precise decisions for the benefit of whom is concerned. Thinking according to Kirby andRead MoreEssay about Critical and Creative Thinking1108 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Critical and Creative Thinking COM/600 2013 Critical and Creative Thinking Critical thinking is an important and valuable skill to have. Critical thinking affects both your professional lifestyle as well as your personal lifestyle. Critical thinkers should encompass skills needed to thoroughly analyze all the variables in a problem. During critical thinking, decisions should be based upon logic, and relevant and accurate data. Problem-solving and decision making is part ofRead MoreHow Is Critical Thinking Used Today?1069 Words   |  5 PagesHow is critical thinking used today? This is a typical question that a student in a non-nursing major may ask, but here at the Christ College, we would be happy to answer that for you. As a student nurse, I use and witness critical thinking and clinical reasoning in the clinical field every day. To better understand this topic, I found two articles to read and review. The first article I found is based on education and the second shows the view of a well-practiced nurse. The first article I chose

The Consequences of Using Drugs While Pregnant Essay

Many women, including teens, abuse drugs while they are pregnant. This rate is especially high to those who are homeless, underprivileged, or live in a broken home. In order for drug abusers to even have a chance at beating their addiction they have to have support whether it’s family, friends, or boyfriend/spouse. They must also let the abuser now all the consequences to themselves and the unborn child. There are many consequences when using drugs during pregnancy such as miscarriage, health risks to baby, and health risks to the mother. And learning disabilities and brain damage to the fetus. Cassandra has this feeling that Tiffany doesn’t know how serious and devastating it is to use heroin while she is pregnant. So she decides to†¦show more content†¦Infants of regular heavy users usually have a low birth weight, because of intrauterine growth retardation and frequent premature births. (http://www.bookrags.com/research/addicted-babies-edaa-01/) Also if you are regularly abusing the drug, the infant may be born physically dependent on heroin. Children born to addicted mothers are at greater risks of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) as well. (http://www.uatests.com/drug-information/heroin.html) Tiffany looks over at Cassandra with tears running down her face and tells her, â€Å"I don’t know what to do? I want to stop but I can’t! I need to use heroin, I can’t go a few hours without it.† Cassandra hugs her and tells Tiffany, â€Å"Yes you can stop! You just need a little help and support, but you also have to know the risks you pose to yourself.† Tiffany’s doctor then asks her after her and Cassandra finished, â€Å"Do you have any other questions?† Tiffany answers, â€Å"Yes. What health risks am I posing on myself?† The doctor know that there are many health risk factors here for the mother so he starts by say, â€Å"While these risks are reason enough to avoid using the drug, pregnant women who inject heroin also expose themselves and their babies to diseases like HIV, hepatitis, and other blood-borne illnesses.Show MoreRelatedA Brief Note On Drug Use On Infants1572 Words   |  7 PagesDrug Use on Newborns Many women abuse drugs whether they are pregnant or not. In both cases, many women are unaware of the consequences of what drugs can do to their body. However, for pregnant women, the situation is completely different. â€Å"Studies show that using drugs -- legal or illegal -- during pregnancy has a direct impact on the fetus† (Gaither 1). In simpler terms, drug use not only affects their own lives but also affects the lives of their unborn children. 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Currently we do have some states with statues that touch on the subject of pregnant and smoking, but while the issue is getting bigger, we should be able to enforce more strict rules that would set a punishment on those harming the unborn children. There have been many studies made about the harm of tabaco products on human body proving that smoking slowlyRead MoreWhy Pregnant Substance Abuse Should Be Treated As A Major Issue1441 Words   |  6 Pagesreasons why pregnant substance abuse should be treated as a major issue. The effects of substance abuse on the mother, fetus, and the overall pregnancy can range from none to extremely harmful. Women who use drugs during their pregnancy commonly give birth to â€Å"crack babies† or â€Å"drug babies†. These babies can have developmental disabilities or other birth defects. The mother may give birth to a premature infant, underweight infant, or even have a stillborn birth. The drug use of a pregnant woman hasRead MoreDrug Abuse Essay1546 Words   |   7 PagesThesis: Drug abuse, also known as substance abuse, is a patterned use of a drug in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or others. Many teens turn to marijuana, prescription drugs, club drugs, alcohol, or other substances as a means of coping with stress, peer influence, and failure of parents to prevent their children from making unreasonable decisions. According to the yearly â€Å"Monitoring the Future† survey of high school age teenagersRead MoreThe Effects Of Air Pollution On Reproductive Health1376 Words   |  6 Pagestermination of a pregnancy. Subjective teratogens are substances in which the mother consumes that cause defects to the child or also termination of a pregnancy. Substances such as air pollution, pesticides and mercury, as well as tobacco, alcohol and drugs are reported as having environmental and subjective teratogenic properties. Airborne particle matter small enough to penetrate human respiratory tracts are referred to as air pollutants; environmental teratogens. â€Å"The bulk of all air pollution researchRead MoreYou Walk Into A Nicu1177 Words   |  5 Pagesexperienced this over the summer while I was doing my externship. Reading about this baby’s story broke my heart, but it also made me say: â€Å"what can we do to try to fix this problem.† I haven’t been sure when to start, so I was thrilled when I found out about this assignment. Even just to get my thoughts down on paper and maybe gain some direction of how to introduce this topic is a step in the right direction. First, I want to address some statistics on drug-addicted babies. ApproximatelyRead MoreHomelessness : The Homeless People Essay988 Words   |  4 Pageshomelessness are the unemployed, pregnant teens, and veterans. Homelessness affects the unemployment in several ways. Some people might become unemployed through substance abuse and housing. Substance abuse can play a significant role in a homeless in a person s life. When you are on drugs, you cannot function well on the job. You will eventually lose your job because the drugs will take over your mind and, so you may become homeless. If a homeless person fails a random drug test he or she will not getRead MoreSubstance Abuse During Pregnancy?889 Words   |  4 Pageshave devastating effects on not only the mothers using the substances, but also infants while they are in utero and after they are born. Many infants born to mothers, who are abusing drugs, suffer from life threatening illnesses and are forever affected through adulthood. Specifically, heroin is a common drug form that is often used during pregnancy and results in the life threatening effects mentioned above. When a woman uses heroin while pregnant, her baby is at risk for many challenging effectsRead MoreNot Pregnant Substance Abusers Should Undergo Treatment Or Criminalization943 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Among social service professionals, a major question continues to present itself. This question consists of whether or not pregnant substance abusers should undergo treatment or criminalization. In regards to Lester, Andreozzi, and Appiah’s research, the medical definition of disease is: â€Å"any deviation from or interruption of the normal structure or function of any part of an organ or system (or combination thereof) of the body that is manifested by a characteristic set of symptoms and

1984Dangers of Totalitarianism Essay Example For Students

1984:Dangers of Totalitarianism Essay he was engaged in the attempt to strengthen legal constraints on trade unions still more tightly than had been proposed under the abortive reforms of Wilsons government. The resulting polarised climate of industrial relations led to the downfall of his government. The Dangers of Totalitarianism 1984 is a political novel written with the purpose of warning readers in the West of the dangers of totalitarian government. Having witnessed firsthand the horrific lengths to which totalitarian governments in Spain and Russia would go in order to sustain and increase their power, Orwell designed 1984 to sound the alarm in Western nations still unsure about how to approach the rise of communism. In 1949, the Cold War had not yet escalated, many American intellectuals supported communism, and the state of diplomacy between democratic and communist nations was highly ambiguous. In the American press, the Soviet Union was often portrayed as a great moral experiment. Orwell, however, was deeply disturbed by the widespread cruelties and oppressions he observed in communist countries, and seems to have been particularly concerned by the role of technology in enabling oppressive governments to monitor and control their citizens. In 1984, Orwell portrays the perfect totalitarian society, the most extreme realization imaginable of a modern-day government with absolute power. The title of the novel was meant to indicate to its readers in 1949 that the story represented a real possibility for the near future: if totalitarianism were not opposed, the title suggested, some variation of the world described in the novel could become a reality in only thirty-five years. Orwell portrays a state in which government monitors and controls every aspect of human life to the extent that even having a disloyal thought is against the law. As the novel progresses, the timidly rebellious Winston Smith sets out to challenge the limits of the Partys power, only to discover that its ability to control and enslave its subjects dwarfs even his most paranoid conceptions of its reach. As the reader comes to understand through Winstons eyes, The Party uses a number of techniques to control its citizens, each of which is an important th eme of its own in the novel. These include: Psychological Manipulation The Party barrages its subjects with psychological stimuli designed to overwhelm the minds capacity for independent thought. The giant telescreen in every citizens room blasts a constant stream of propaganda designed to make the failures and shortcomings of the Party appear to be triumphant successes. The telescreens also monitor behavioreverywhere they go, citizens are continuously reminded, especially by means of the omnipresent signs reading BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, that the authorities are scrutinizing them. The Party undermines family structure by inducting children into an organization called the Junior Spies, which brainwashes and encourages them to spy on their parents and report any instance of disloyalty to the Party. The Party also forces individuals to suppress their sexual desires, treating sex as merely a procreative duty whose end is the creation of new Party members. The Party then channels pe oples pent-up frustration and emotion into intense, ferocious displays of hatred against the Partys political enemies. Many of these enemies have been invented by the Party expressly for this purpose. Physical Control In addition to manipulating their minds, the Party also controls the bodies of its subjects. The Party constantly watches for any sign of disloyalty, to the point that, as Winston observes, even a tiny facial twitch could lead to an arrest. A persons own nervous system becomes his greatest enemy. The Party forces its members to undergo mass morning-exercises called the Physical Jerks, and then to work long, grueling days at government agencies, keeping people in a general state of exhaustion. Anyone who does manage to defy the Party is punished and reeducated through systematic and brutal torture. After being subjected to weeks of this intense treatment, Winston himself comes to the conclusion that nothing is more powerful than physical painno emotional loyalty or mora l conviction can overcome it. By conditioning the minds of their victims with physical torture, the Party is able to control reality, convincing its subjects that 2 + 2 = 5. Control of Information and History The Party controls every source of information, managing and rewriting the content of all newspapers and histories for its own ends. The Party does not allow individuals to keep records of their past, such as photographs or documents. As a result, memories become fuzzy and unreliable, and citizens become perfectly willing to believe whatever the Party tells them. By controlling the present, the Party is able to manipulate the past. And in controlling the past, the Party can justify all of its actions in the present. Technology By means of telescreens and hidden microphones across the city, the Party is able to monitor its members almost all of the time. Additionally, the Party employs complicated mechanisms (1984 was written in the era before computers) to exert large-scale con trol on economic production and sources of information, and fearsome machinery to inflict torture upon those it deems enemies. 1984 reveals that technology, which is generally perceived as working toward moral good, can also facilitate the most diabolical evil. Language as Mind Control One of Orwells most important messages in 1984 is that language is of central importance to human thought because it structures and limits the ideas that individuals are capable of formulating and expressing. If control of language were centralized in a political agency, Orwell proposes, such an agency could possibly alter the very structure of language to make it impossible to even conceive of disobedient or rebellious thoughts, because there would be no words with which to think them. This idea manifests itself in the language of Newspeak, which the Party has introduced to replace English. The Party is constantly refining and perfecting Newspeak, with the ultimate goal that no one will be capable of conceptualizing anything that might question the Partys absolute power. Interestingly, many of Orwells ideas about language as a controlling force have been modified by writers and critics seeking to deal with the legacy of colonialism. During colonial times, foreign powers took political and military control of distant regions and, as a part of their occupation, instituted their own language as the language of government and business. Postcolonial writers often analyze or redress the damage done to local populations by the loss of language and the attendant loss of culture and historical connection. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the texts major themes. Doublethink The idea of doublethink emerges as an important consequence of the Partys massive campaign of large-scale psychological manipulation. Simply put, doublethink is the ability to hold two contradictory ideas in ones mind at the same time. As the Pa rtys mind-control techniques break down an individuals capacity for independent thought, it becomes possible for that individual to believe anything that the Party tells them, even while possessing information that runs counter to what they are being told. At the Hate Week rally, for instance, the Party shifts its diplomatic allegiance, so the nation it has been at war with suddenly becomes its ally, and its former ally becomes its new enemy. When the Party speaker suddenly changes the nation he refers to as an enemy in the middle of his speech, the crowd accepts his words immediately, and is ashamed to find that it has made the wrong signs for the event. In the same way, people are able to accept the Party ministries names, though they contradict their functions: the Ministry of Plenty oversees economic shortages, the Ministry of Peace wages war, the Ministry of Truth conducts propaganda and historical revisionism, and the Ministry of Love is the center of the Partys operations of torture and punishment. Is Nationalism An Infantile Disease EssayUrban Decay Urban decay proves a pervasive motif in 1984. The London that Winston Smith calls home is a dilapidated, rundown city in which buildings are crumbling, conveniences such as elevators never work, and necessities such as electricity and plumbing are extremely unreliable. Though Orwell never discusses the theme openly, it is clear that the shoddy disintegration of London, just like the widespread hunger and poverty of its inhabitants, is due to the Partys mismanagement and incompetence. One of the themes of 1984, inspired by the history of twentieth-century communism, is that totalitarian regimes are viciously effective at enhancing their own power and miserably incompetent at providing for their citizens. The grimy urban decay in London is an important visual reminder of this idea, and offers insight into the Partys priorities through its contrast to the immense technology the Party develops to spy on its citizens. Symbols Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. Big Brother Throughout London, Winston sees posters showing a man gazing down over the words BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU everywhere he goes. Big Brother is the face of the Party. The citizens are told that he is the leader of the nation and the head of the Party, but Winston can never determine whether or not he actually exists. In any case, the face of Big Brother symbolizes the Party in its public manifestation; he is a reassurance to most people (the warmth of his name suggests his ability to protect), but he is also an open threat (one cannot escape his gaze). Big Brother also symbolizes the vagueness with which the higher ranks of the Party present themselvesit is impossible to know who really rules Oceania, what life is like for the rulers, or why they act as they do. Winston thinks he remembers that Big Brother emerged around 1960, but the Partys official records date Big Brothers existe nce back to 1930, before Winston was even born. The Glass Paperweight and St. Clements Church By deliberately weakening peoples memories and flooding their minds with propaganda, the Party is able to replace individuals memories with its own version of the truth. It becomes nearly impossible for people to question the Partys power in the present when they accept what the Party tells them about the pastthat the Party arose to protect them from bloated, oppressive capitalists, and that the world was far uglier and harsher before the Party came to power. Winston vaguely understands this principle. He struggles to recover his own memories and formulate a larger picture of what has happened to the world. Winston buys a paperweight in an antique store in the prole district that comes to symbolize his attempt to reconnect with the past. Symbolically, when the Thought Police arrest Winston at last, the paperweight shatters on the floor. The old picture of St. Clements Church in the room tha t Winston rents above Mr. Charringtons shop is another representation of the lost past. Winston associates a song with the picture that ends with the words Here comes the chopper to chop off your head! This is an important foreshadow, as it is the telescreen hidden behind the picture that ultimately leads the Thought Police to Winston, symbolizing the Partys corrupt control of the past. The Place Where There Is No Darkness Throughout the novel Winston imagines meeting OBrien in the place where there is no darkness. The words first come to him in a dream, and he ponders them for the rest of the novel. Eventually, Winston does meet OBrien in the place where there is no darkness; instead of being the paradise Winston imagined, it is merely a prison cell in which the light is never turned off. The idea of the place where there is no darkness symbolizes Winstons approach to the future: possibly because of his intense fatalism (he believes that he is doomed no matter what he does), he unw isely allows himself to trust OBrien, even though inwardly he senses that OBrien might be a Party operativeThe Telescreens The omnipresent telescreens are the books most visible symbol of the Partys constant monitoring of its subjects. In their dual capability to blare constant propaganda and observe citizens, the telescreens also symbolize how totalitarian government abuses technology for its own ends instead of exploiting its knowledge to improve civilization. The Red-Armed Prole Woman The red-armed prole woman that Winston hears singing through the window represents Winstons one legitimate hope for the long-term future: the possibility that the proles will eventually come to recognize their plight and rebel against the Party. Winston sees the prole woman as a prime example of reproductive virility; he often imagines her giving birth to the future generations that will finally challenge the Partys authority.