Memory, Thinking, and Intelligence UNIT 4 IP Essay

Memory, Thinking, and Intelligence UNIT 4 IP - Essay Example Although Spearman's Intelligence Model is a useful guide to the comprehension and measurement of the phenomenon of human intelligence, Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Model is both more precise and comprehensive, rendering it more consistent with psychology today. Spearman's Model of Intelligence maintains human intelligence to be comprised of two factors. These are General Intelligence, "g," and Specific Intelligence, "s" (Deary et al., 2004). General Intelligence refers to the general performance of individuals across a wide variety of tasks and is a measurement of their capacity to assimilate and utilise information/knowledge. Specific intelligence, on the other hand, refers to the performance of individuals on specific tasks, as in their gift, or lack thereof, in certain areas (Deary et al., 2004). Specific intelligence, as Spearman contends, and as may be inferred from both definitions, is partially predicated upon general intelligence, with the inference here being that general intelligence supports and promotes specific intelligence. Spearman established the correlation between the two through mathematical formulae (Deary et al., 2004). Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Models can be defined as a step beyond Spearman's Model of Intelligence and identified as a more evolved model. ... These are (1) verbal/linguistic; (2) musical; (3) logical/mathematical; (4) visual/spatial; (5) bodily kinaesthetic; (6) interpersonal; (7) intrapersonal; and (9) naturalist (Shearer, 2004; Jie-Qi Chen, 2004). A review of Gardner's different intelligence types indicates that his theory of intelligence is consistent with Spearman's insofar as he similarly identifies and defines specific intelligences. The primary difference between the two, and as attested to by Jie-Qi Chen (2004) is that Gardner specifies the different types of specific intelligence. It is, thus, that his model can be identified as a progression of the Spearman model. The value of Gardner's model of intelligence lies in the fact that it recognises the complexity of the human intelligence phenomenon, and concedes to the fact that an individual can display gifted intelligence levels in one area while exhibiting below average intelligence levels in another. Shearer draws attention to this particular aspect of the Gardner Multiple Intelligences Model Shearer (2004) and highlights the fact that it builds upon the Spearman one. Quite simply stated, the Gardner model focuses upon the factor of specific intelligences and identifies and defines them. More importantly, by defining and identifying the various types of specific intelligences, Gardner furnishes an explanation as to why some individuals are highly gifted in a particular skill set, such as mathematics, while being under-skilled in other areas, such as bodily kinaesthetic. In attempting to determine which of the two models is more consistent with the study of psychology today, one is bound to, as are Brten and Strms (2005) favour the Gardner model. As Brten and Strms (2005) contend, psychology has,

Sustainable development practices in civil engineering projects Essay

Sustainable development practices in civil engineering projects - Essay Example Therefore, civil engineers should play a very big role in sustainability since they are responsible for designing and building structures that support the society’s daily lives. [2] Sustainable Development In any professional career, there are a set of code of ethics that guide the practices in that field and thus must always be followed. Almost all countries in the world have these set of ethics and relevant bodies that ensure they are followed. For instance, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Code of Ethics in the USA defines how Civil Engineers should be practice professionally. Sustainable development is the pillar of any engineering practice since if it is followed strictly, then other ethical practices will immediately fall in to place. [1] Sustainability can be defined as a way of using a resource in way that it is not depleted permanently. In construction, it can also be referred to as green construction since it is concerned with socio-economic and environ mental impact of creating structures that can be reused. Therefore to ensure sustainability, contractors and engineers are required to design and build structures that will not cause long-term damage to the environment. Sustainable structures are supposed to energy efficient, ensure health safety of people living in around it and also reduced pollution and waste release. [1] Sustainable Development Practices Civil Engineers play a very important role in sustainable development. A civil engineering project will require the incorporation of a various professionals from various disciplines i.e. geologists, biologists, surrounding community and agencies concerned with the enforcement of the code of ethics. All these groups have interest in the project and are supposed to ensure that the project meets all the sustainability practices and also ensure their interests are not put at risk. It is the responsibility of a civil engineer to combine all the interested disciplines and parties in o rder to produce a design and build a structure that meets the goals of the client. [5] For instance, if a new building structure is to be built in an area that was initially used for crop farming, the surrounding area must be able to continue support crop farming even after the completion of the project. Also, if the area is surrounded by a major water body and is used for recreation, these water body need not to be polluted and recreation has to continue after completion of the project. This therefore requires aspect of sustainability practice. A civil engineer will have the responsibility of determining if the characteristics of the soil, layout of the facility, the drainage of the site and the past usage of the land will support the characteristics of the new facility. The engineer will also determine if the available modes of transport system to the facility are adequate, come up with a design that will take into consideration both the aquatic habitat, flora and fauna and design the structure in a way that it has minimal environmental impact to the people living in the surrounding. The design of this facility should also meet the set code of ethics standard. Therefore for such a successful evaluation, an engineer must have an understanding and knowledge of these multiple disciplines and this is brought out by the concept of sustainable devel