Journal#6 Example

Journal#6 Example Journal#6 – Assignment Example Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence Question Adolescence is the transition from childhood to adulthood, and it lasts from age 11 or 12 until early twenties or late teens. Puberty marks the end of childhood and it is triggered by hormonal changes. These changes can affect behavior and moods. Puberty usually lasts for four years, and it begins earlier in girls than boys (Kail & Cavanaugh 243). During this stage, both boys and girls undergo growth spurt. They begin to develop primary characteristics, which include the reproductive organs, and secondary characteristics such as growth of pubic hair around their genitalia. The leading characteristics of sexual maturity include menstruation, for females, and production of sperms, for males (Kail & Cavanaugh 296). Menarche occurs between the age of 12 and 13 while spermarche occurs at age 13. The adolescents are often concerned with their body images that lead to obsessive dieting, especially in girls. Peer pressure is more inf luential than parents’ pieces of advice and guides, and this leads to drug abuse and indulgence in criminal activities. Depression is also highly prevalent among the adolescent especially girls. Question #2First, the social environment significantly affects the onset of puberty. I have since known that the onset of puberty is standardized in spite of a teenager’s social environment. According to Belsky, Draper and Steinberge, girls whose mothers use harsh punishment on them usually experience their first menstrual cycle at a younger age. Additionally, Menarche occurs in younger girls who experience depression or chronic stress (Kail & Cavanaugh 298). I also learnt that early maturation varies across ethnic or racial groups. For instance, sexual activity, of early-maturing Latinas, was directly linked with having older boys, in the peer groups, who influence them to engage in negative activities such as smoking, drinking and sex. Question #3 From the leadership perspect ive, I learnt that adolescents’ working memory almost has the same capacity as adults’ working memory (Kail & Cavanaugh 246). This means that they are capable of storing information required for a cognitive process. The processing speed is also sufficient to process information more efficiently. Additionally, early maturing boys are likely to become leaders because of self-confidence and high self-esteem, unlike early maturing girls, who are unlikely to become leaders because of the indifferences they have in social situations. Kail, Robert V, and Cavanaugh, John C. Human Development: A Life-Span View. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.

How to Use the Inverted Pyramid in Newswriting

How to Use the Inverted Pyramid in Newswriting Inverted pyramid refers to the structure or model commonly used for hard-news stories. It means that the most important, or heaviest information goes at the top of the story, while the least important information goes at the bottom. Heres an example:  He used the inverted pyramid structure to write his news story. Early Beginnings The inverted pyramid format was developed during the Civil War. Correspondents covering the great battles of that war would do their reporting, then rush to the nearest telegraph office to have their stories transmitted, via Morse Code, back to their newsrooms. But the telegraph lines were often cut in mid-sentence, sometimes in an act of sabotage. So the reporters  realized they had to put the most important facts right at the very start of their stories so that even if most of the details were lost, the main point would get through. (Interestingly, the  Associated Press, which is known for its extensive use of tightly written, inverted pyramid stories, was founded around this same time. Today the AP is the oldest and one of the largest news organizations in the world.) Inverted Pyramid Today Of course, some 150 years after the end of the Civil War, the inverted pyramid format is still being used because it has served both journalists and readers well. Readers benefit from being able to get the main point of the story right in the very first sentence. And news outlets benefit by being able to convey more information in a smaller space, something thats especially true in an age when newspapers are literally shrinking. (Editors also like the inverted pyramid format because when working on tight deadlines, it enables them to cut overly long stories from the bottom without losing any vital information.) In fact, the inverted pyramid format is probably more useful today than ever. Studies have found that readers tend to have shorter attention spans when reading on screens as opposed to paper. And since readers increasingly get their news not just on the relatively small screens of iPads but on the tiny screens of smartphones, more than ever reporters must summarize stories as quickly and as succinctly as possible. Indeed, even though online-only news sites theoretically have infinite amounts of space for articles, since there are no pages to be physically printed, more often than not youll find that their stories still use the inverted pyramid and are very tightly written, for the reasons cited above. Do It Yourself For the beginning reporter, the inverted pyramid format should be easy to learn. Make sure to get the main points of your story - the five Ws and the H - into your lede. Then, as you go from the start to the finish of your story, put the most important news near the top, and the least important stuff near the bottom. Do that, and youll produce a tight, well-written news story using a format that has withstood the test of time.