Experience of World War One Portrayed by Siegfried Sassoon and Erich Re

Whilst patriotism and romanticism initially called men to war in 1914, by 1918 the idealism soon changed with the reality of trench warfare. Soldiers from across Europe, and indeed the world, first entered World War One with innocent enthusiasm. The expectations of the young men who joined, however, were shaped by the culture of age. It was the romantic mood of the time which essentially reinforced the hope that war would be won in honorable battle and ‘be over by Christmas’. These expectations were far from reality. The experience of war at the Western front was marked with the realities of modern warfare. Indeed, the old methods of fighting yielded to a static war of attrition, characterized by great battles, such as that of the Somme in 1916. However, it was the periods spent in rest that most dramatically affected the morale of individuals over time. The ceaseless artillery bombardment and futile offences created uncertainty and frustration among soldiers in the tre nches. And it is their experience of disillusionment and war weariness, which is most poignantly reflected in the literary evidence of Siegfried Sassoon and Erich Remarque. Whilst such literary works are limited as historical evidence, collectively, they provide a telling review of the war experience in Britain, Germany, France and Australia between 1914 and 1918. Soldiers entered the war in 1914 under idealistic expectations. By mid-September, 500 000 men had volunteered in Britain, and by 1915 over one million had joined up. What precipitated these men to join was, essentially, the culture of age. It was war propaganda in Britain, Germany and Australia that most significantly shaped the romantic and idealistic mood of the time. More so than ever, the war ex... ... illusions of 1914. In a culture of age, which portrayed war in a patriotic and romanticised image, the soldiers flocked expecting adventure and heroism at the front. Then, there came the period of harsh reality in the trenches. In the great battles of 1916 the soldiers experienced attrition in battle and harrowing living conditions at rest. It was, therefore, the combination of physical and psychological factors that most significantly affected individuals over time in the trenches. And then later, there came the final agony of 1918. The frustration and bitterness which met the soldiers over time is most profoundly reflected in the literature of war. Simultaneous to these developments were the war experiences of women at the home front. In any case, by November 11th 1918 the armistice had ended the war. However, the difficult task of making peace still lay ahead.

Implicit and Explicit Learning: Two Different Systems?

Implicit and explicit learning: Two different systems? Implicit and explicit learning methods have been empirically tested over many years and the debate still goes on, are they connected to one another or are they two separate systems? This essay aims to evaluate studies on both sides and come to a conclusion based on current research. Implicit learning was first defined as, how one develops intuitive knowledge about the underlying structure of a complex stimulus environment, without a conscious effort (Reber, 1967).This in Lehman’s terms is essentially unconscious learning, meaning that certain things are learned without our brain being actively used to learn them. Explicit learning on the other hand is defined by Mathers et al (1989) as being very similar to the conscious problem solving processes, this is because our brain attempts to form a mental representation of the task and searches memory for previous knowledge before testing mental models of task performance. Grant & Berg (1948) showed just how clear implicit learning is when they created the Wisconsin card-sorting test (WCST).The participants had to categorize cards but were not told how to categorize them, but only if it was right or wrong. After a few tries the participants were able to successfully match the cards to the right categories however when asked why they could not explain why they matched the card to that category, showing that this learning was done implicitly and is hard to explain how they came to that conclusion. A clear example of explicit learning is when a child is learning their math timetables because they are consciously participating in a new learning exercise.Cleeremans & Jimenez (2002) describes implicit-explicit learning as a continuum whereas Aizenstein et al (2004) suggests that different areas of the brain are active during different types of learning. As there are different types of learning, there are also different types of memory and learning and memory are inextricably linked with one another. Therefore neurologists and psychologists have argued that if there are 2 separate systems of memory then surely, as memory and learning are so closely interlinked, learning must also have a similar system (Kihlstrom, Dorfman & Park, 2007).Grammar learning has being at the centre of the majority of research as the human brain deciphers grammar through both memory and learning. This was shown in Reber (1967) study or artificial grammar learning, where he presented participants with a string of artificial sentences that have been created by using a complex set of grammatical rules. Reber concluded that while all the sentences across both groups technically made no sense, participants identified that there was a set of grammatical rules behind the sentences.When the sentences changed and some were grammatically correct and some were not, participants knew that there was something wrong about the sentence however they could not explain what this was. This is because the participants were unconsciously learning the set of rules while reading the sentence. During different types of learning, different areas of the brain become active and have increased blood flow, this presents a solid platform for a multiple system view of learning in humans.This debate has been discussed in the context of memory as well as learning systems. Goschke (1998) provides evidence for this when he studied the implicit learning of motor sequences. Goschke discovered, through brain imaging, that different domain-specific areas of the brain became active during motor sequence learning, areas that suggest the different areas of the brain become active through one learning task. Consequently proposing the theory for independent learning systems.This theory was reinforced when Aizenstein (2004) used modern technology in the form of fMRI scans to measure regional brain activity during concurrent implicit and explicit sequence learning, this study found that b rain activity was very similar in both types of learning. With the visual cortex and the striatum showing activity in both conditions, however the main difference between the conditions was direction of activation change in the visual cortex. In the implicit condition the visual particle had a negative ? indicating a reduced response related with the learning trials. The prefrontal cortex was also activated more in the explicit condition. Although Aizenstein found a difference in the regional brain activity, there was also an overlap in activity in the two conditions, replicating the findings of Willingham, Salidis & Gabrieli (2002) and Schendan, Searl, Melrose & Stern (2003). There has been evidence found in studies on amnesia patients that strongly suggests that implicit and explicit memory is two very distinct systems.Levy, Stark & Squire (2004) discovered that, through a series of experiments on memory-impaired patients, implicit priming (the identification of an item is improve d from an earlier encounter) is still intact in the patients. However new priming proves to be difficult for them. This is due to damage to the hippocampus and other related structures in the medial temporal lobe consequently amnesiacs find a task difficult if it depends on the linking of unrelated items.As there are many models of multiple learning systems that have being empirically tested over the years, this has become the most commonly accepted model of learning. This is also due to modern technology such as fMRI also reinforcing certain factors that suggest a multiple system view, as Aizenstein (2004) showed. Consequently not many researchers take it on themselves to go against the majority and opt to research a singular system view of learning. However, despite a small amount of valid research on this topic, there is still substantial evidence that prolongs this debate.Cleermans & Jimenez (2002) present research that indicates the learning process is not two separate systems of implicit and explicit learning, but that it is a continuum. This continuum runs from weak learning, implicit learning, along to strong learning, explicit learning, therefore proposing learning not as two separate systems but as a single loop of learning. Perruchet & Amorim (1992) ran a series of experiments on sequence learning and the effect of conscious knowledge on changes in performance.Through these experiments they concluded that, although many claims have being made for dissociations between learning systems, Perruchet & Amorim regarded these as groundless. Meaning that although there might have been experiments created to thoroughly test the hypotheses, Perruchet & Amorim argued that these tests failed to provide reliable empirical support for dissociation. Stanton & Nosofsky (2007) also provided evidence against the multiple learning systems hypothesis.In this study, Stanton & Nosofsky aimed to reverse the dissociations already established by Reber (1967) and Goshke (199 8). He aimed to do this to demonstrate how the earlier studies failed to provide solid evidence for a dissociation, by reversing the dissociation Stanton & Nosofsky showed just how invalid the previous results were. They concluded that a better research strategy would be to create more fully specified versions of both multiple and single system models of learning therefore being able to evaluate them more wholly.Another key point raised by Willingham & Goedert-Eschmann (1999) is that despite learning being a multiple system, there is evidence for a single system connection. They provide evidence that connects the two systems by parallel learning. When a participant is explicitly learning a sequence, their implicit knowledge of the task is improving alongside explicit learning, consequently signifying a connection between the two systems.Willingham & Goedert-Eschmann focused this research on the parallelism of the two structures as little research had been done on this theory because of the amount of researchers focusing their resources on the separability of the two systems. In evaluation, the literature reviewed in this essay has being quite compelling, with the majority of research on a multiple system view of learning it seems to be the most widely accepted theory despite no concluding evidence. As there has been a vast amount of research on a multiple system view, there is little on a single system view thus making it hard to evaluate both systems fairly.Despite this, using the literature I have discovered, a conclusion can be made that there is more evidence for a multiple system of learning. Especially in neurophysiology shown by Aizenstein’s (2004) results from the fMRI scans did show some slight differences in brain activity when different tasks were presented that required implicit and explicit knowledge/learning. On the other hand Cleermans & Jimenez (2002) suggest that there are slight differences, similar to Aizenstein (2004), however this i s due to a singular system in the form of a continuum.As memory and learning are closely connected and there has being different types of memory established, short-term memory and long term memory, there has been many researchers looking for a link between memories and learning processes. As learning is defined as the process of laying down some sort of memory trace, there is no reason to suspect that different memory systems will be able to identify certain categories of learning (Ashby & Maddox, 2005). Despite all of the research up to date, no single piece of research has been able to show that different types of memory and learning are directly linked to one another.However Ashby and Maddox did conclude that different memory types (for example sensory and primary memory, short term and long term memory) could identify different categories of learning consequently suggesting that more research needs doing into this phenomenon. Willingham & Goedert-Eschmann (1999) provided an inte resting explanation of the learning system, they hinted at two separate systems of learning, an implicit system and a completely separate explicit system, that were connected. This was through parallel learning.For example as we explicitly learn a sequence, our implicit system is learning concurrently with our explicit system. Providing evidence for a new theory that, although they are two separate systems, they still work together. Finally, judging from the research that has being done, a conclusion can be made that although the majority of literature out there is focusing on trying to separate the two systems and support the multiple system theory of learning, there are still unanswered questions that have arisen from research.Cleermans & Jimenez (2002) provide a very interesting approach to these theories and propose an idea of a learning continuum, this question is still unanswered 10 years after the theory was proposed. Willingham & Goedert-Eschmann (1999) also have an input in to this debate, they suggest that while explicit and implicit learning systems are separate, they are still constantly synchronized because whilst we are explicitly learning something, our implicit system is working to store the knowledge so we do not need to consciously engage our brains next time we come across the same or similar problem.The final question that is still unanswered is a debate that has gone on for decades, is learning and memory connected? The final answer to that question is yes, yes it is however researchers are still looking into whether certain types of learning go to certain areas of the brain to be stored as memory or whether memory types cannot distinguish category learning. In conclusion, from current research, the most widely accepted theory is that there are multiple learning systems and that it is not a singular system for both explicit and implicit learning.References Aizenstein, H. J. , Stenger, V. A. , Cochran, J. , Clark, K. , Johnson, M. , Nebes, R . D. , & Carter, C. S. (2004). Regional Brain Activation during Concurrent Implicit and Explicit Sequence Learning. Oxford Journals: Life Sciences & Medicines, Cerebral Cortex, 14(2), 199-208 Ashby, F. G. , & Maddox, W. T. (2005). Human Category Learning. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 149-178. Cleeremans, A. , & Jimenez, L. (2002). Implicit Learning and consciousness: A graded, dynamic perspective. In R. M. French & A.Cleeremans (Eds. ), Implicit Learning and Consciousness (p1-40) Hove UK: Psychology Press. Goschke, T. (1998) Implicit learning of perceptual and motor sequences: Evidence for independent systems, in Handbook of Implicit Learning (Stadler, M. A. and Frensch, P. , eds), pp. 401–444, Sage Publications. Grant, D. A. , & Berg, E. (1948). A behavioral analysis of degree of reinforcement and ease of shifting to new responses in Weigl-type card-sorting problem. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38, 404–411. Levy, D. , Stark, C. & Squire, L. 2004). Intact Co nceptual Priming in the Absence of Declarative Memory. Psychological Science, 15(10), 680-686 Kihlstrom, J. , Dorfman, J. , & Park, L. (2007). Implicit and Explicit Memory and Learning. Retrieved November 6th, 2012, from http://ist-socrates. berkeley. edu/~kihlstrm/IandMLandM. htm Mathers, R. C. , Buss, B. B. , Stanley, W. B. , Blanchard-Fields, F. , Cho, J. R. , & Druhan, B. (1989). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 15(6), 1083-1100. Perruchet, P. , & Amorim, M. (1992). Conscious knowledge and changes in performance in sequence learning: evidence against dissociation. Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition, 18, 785-800. Reber, A. S. (1967). Implicit learning of artificial grammars. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, 77, 312-327. Schendan, H. E. , Searl, M. M. , Melrose, R. J. , & Stern, C. E. (2003). An fMRI study of the role of the medial temporal lobe in implicit and explicit sequence learning. Neuron 37(6) ,1013–1025. Stanton, R. , & Nosofsky, R. (2007).Feedback interference and dissociations of classification: Evidence against the multiple-learning-systems hypothesis. Journal of Memory & Cognition, 35(7), 1747-1758. Willingham, D. B. , & Goedert-Eschmann, K. (1999). The Relation Between Implicit and Explicit Learning: Evidence for Parallel Development. Psychological Science, 10(6), 531-534. Willingham, D. B. , Salidis, J. , & Gabrieli, J. D. (2002). Direct comparison of neural systems mediating conscious and unconscious skill learning. Journal of Neurophysiology, 88(3), 1451–1460.

Malcolm X Essay - 895 Words

Malcolm Little also known as Malcolm X was one of the most inspirational civil rights leader during the civil rights movement. He was a very powerful person to certain people and change many people’s lives during this time even until this day. Even though his movement was reckless and not peaceful, what he was saying was very powerful and meant a lot to African-Americans. Malcolm X will always be known for being one of the best Civil Rights Leaders during the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X was born May 19, 1925 and was raised in Omaha, Nebraska. Growing up Malcolm and his family were going through a lot in the area they’re living in during the time. It was so bad that they moved from different states to get away from the racial†¦show more content†¦While in jail, Malcolm read a lot of books to catch up what he had missed out on the year he dropped out of school. Malcolm turned Islamic while he was in jail. He felt that changing his religion would change his life around once he was released from jail. Malcolm now being a free man, he traveled to Detroit, Michigan, where he worked with the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad, to expand the movements following among black Americans around the nation. Malcolm felt that when he gave speeches around the country, people would be inspire and want to join the Nation Of Islam. If you didn’t know what the Nation Of Islam is, the Nation Of Islam was an organization of African- Americans, teaching and favoring the separation of black and white racial groups of the United States. Malcolm became the Minister of Harlem and in Boston, he was Temple no. 7 in Harlem and Temple no. 11 in Boston. Malcolm X had emerged as a leading voice of the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm style of living wasn’t as peaceful as Dr. Martin Luther King. His style was more aggressive, he would want to fight or kill you rather than having a peaceful march and having everyone come together as one. Couple of years later, Malcolm became confused about being in the Nation Of Islam. Malcolm learned that Muhammad his hero and mentor had violated many of his own teachings. Malcolm ended up leaving the Nation Of Islam in 1964, and left the United States and traveled toShow MoreRelatedEssay on Malcolm X1346 Words   |  6 Pagesamong all of these leaders though, Malcolm X. Although fighting for the same thing as his colleagues in the civil rights movements, he was considered by many to represent the more extreme side of the battle for equality in the United States. It is his standout views and beliefs that make Malcolm X one of the most prominent and fascinating African-American leaders in the 1950s and 60s. Malcolm X was born May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska by the name of Malcolm Little. His childhood was plaguedRead More Malcolm X Essay746 Words   |  3 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Malcom X was a man known widely for his strong beliefs. His willingness to accept the preaching of Elijah Muhammad and serve him loyaly, was due to his past experiences with the white man. Starting off as a boy in Lansing, next moving to Boston, then living in Harlem, his experinces with various white people shaped his belief system. Towards the end of his life, his interaction with group of very different white people on his pilgrimage brought about a change in hisRead MoreEssay on Malcolm X962 Words   |  4 PagesMalcolm X On May 19, 1925 Malcolm Little was born to Louise and Earl Little. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm was the seventh of eleven children. Malcolms father, Earl, was a Baptist minister from Reynolds, Georgia. His mother was raised in Grenada in the British West Indies. His father was also became an organizer for Marcus Garveys Universal Negro Improvement Association. Marcus Garvey and his followers fought for racial separation and more power for blacks. Growing up, MalcolmsRead More Malcolm X Essay1409 Words   |  6 PagesMalcolm X Malcolm X, a civil rights leader in the 1960s believed that blacks and whites should be segregated. He also believed that white man was evil and were trying to brainwash all blacks and that Martin Luther Kings non-violent protests werent working and that violence was needed for change. Malcolm Xs life was a life with a lot of conflict and violence in it. Malcolm X was born under the name of Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska in 1925. His father was a baptist minister and anRead MoreEssay on Malcolm X1699 Words   |  7 Pages The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley was published in 1965. It is national best seller about the life and times of Malcolm X. On May 19, 1925 Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His father was a preacher who spoke out about the unity of black people. This caused several white racists to strike out against Malcolm’s father and his family violently. His family moved to Lansing, Michigan where Malcolm, his parents, brothers, and sisters were shot at, burned out of their home, harassedRead More malcolm x Essays1283 Words   |  6 Pages Malcolm X was a very interesting and complicated person. Throughout his life, Malcolm had exposure to practically every type of person the world had to offer. In his younger years, he excel led in his community predominately surrounded by whites. He then got into the hustling business within the black community which supplied for all types of people. After that, he joined the Nation of Islam, joining himself with many Muslims. Lastly, Malcolm went on a Hajj to Africa, where his communication withRead MoreEssay on Malcolm X1238 Words   |  5 Pagesis living every night in fear, the burning down of your home by the Ku Klux Klan and the â€Å"accidental† death of your father who’s head was detached from his own body? This is the only memory that comes to Malcolm Little from his childhood. Malcolm Little who is famously recognized as Malcolm X was born into a world of hatred on May 19, 1925 in Omaha Nebraska. His father was a freelance Baptist Preacher who incorporated the teaching of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Gravey. With continuous threatsRead MoreEssay on Malcolm X1889 Words   |  8 PagesMalcolm X Outline A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything. Thesis Statement: Malcolm  X was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans. Detractors accused him of preaching racism, black supremacy, anti-Semitism, and violence. Introduction I. Malcolm X opposed the mainstream civil rights movement, publicly calling for black separatism and rejecting nonviolence and integrationRead MoreEssay on Malcolm X2023 Words   |  9 PagesMalcolm X   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Malcolm X was a man of strong words and beliefs. Some say that he was a man of hate and violence. Some also say that he was a smart man of hope and peace. Malcolm X‘s influence on people was felt more than it was alive rather than dead. Malcolm X was a major contributor to the black societies across the world. He fought for what he believed in and educated the young. Though his early life was full of up’s and downs he managed to, what some would say, â€Å"turn his life around†.Read MoreMalcolm X Essay1795 Words   |  8 Pageswas this man? Malcolm X, an 8th grade drop with a dead dad and a mentally unstable mom who started with a life of crime, but after learning about Islam, had a new outlook on things. An Ironic quote from Malcolm X is [If youre not ready to die for it, take the word freedom out of your vocabulary]. Malcolm X, a devout Muslim, who saw the injustices in the Muslim African American community, used his voice to fight for equality and freedom. Malcolm X or at the time was known as â€Å"Malcolm Little† was