Writing Feedback / Nature Vs Nurture; Which influences early human development? [6]

There is no denying the fact that both genetic and environmental factors have an influence in determining the course of human development to some degree. This subject has been a long-running debate through the centuries by many scholars all over the world. Motor development after birth is one of the prominent examples that illustrate the interaction between genetically planned maturation and environmental influence. 'Nurture' is the upbringing, education and environment an individual experiences, and 'nature' is the hereditary characteristics, which act as a determinant of personality and character. Though the question still remains as to which of the two is better, current opinion suggests that a union of natural development before and after birth, and the experiences that infants come across, affect and improve their courses of maturation. This essay will identify the influences on early human development leading to prove nurture's stronger and vital role in the maturation of one's social and psychological identity.

Developments that are independent of environmental events are determined by inborn biological aspects. For example, the genetic structure of fertilized ovum determines sex of the fetus, color of hair, general body size and characteristics, etc., are expressed in development through the process of maturation. This is evident when considering the fact that almost all children go through the same sequence and stages of motor behaviour: rolling over, sitting without support, standing while holding onto furniture, crawling, and then walking. "In the process of normal growth, all human infants learn to speak, but not until they attain a certain level of neurological development." (Atkinson, 1999) All this sums up to show that the development process is genetically programmed.

It basically means that the way parents raise their children may possibly not be very important to engrave a positive adult character. "Judith Rich Harris, one of the most exceptional heroes of behavior genetics wrote in her 1995 article, and then in her 1998 book, the importance of the nonshared environment (in particular, peer socialization) on infant development, and partially explains why siblings who share half their genes and raised by the identical set of parents within the same family can time and again be very different, as dissimilar oftentimes as kids from different families. As the late great behavior geneticist David C. Rowe puts it: "Parents are often given too much acknowledgment for children who turn out well and too much fault for children who turn out badly. The source of underlying influence is not in nurture variation, but in the genes and in unshared environmental variation." (Kanazawa, 2007)

DNA breakthroughs are revealing that even the finest parenting doesn't have the results experts promise. "One of the strongest and most counterintuitive findings in this nascent field of genomics is that children with a sweet temperament, which is under strong genetic control, are the least likely to emulate their parents and absorb the lessons they teach, while fussy kids are the most likely to do so. Fussy children have a hypersensitive nervous system that is keenly attuned to its surroundingsïincluding what Mom and Dad do and say." (NEWSWEEK, 2008).

Although these aspects are fairly related to genetically programmed maturation, what genuinely influences child development is the environmental atmosphere a child experiences. The idea that all children go through the same stages of motor development may contribute to the fact that different children go through the same stages at different rates. More recent studies indicate that extra stimulation can hasten the appearance of motor behaviors in children to a great extent. This discusses the idea that when children are encouraged and stimulated to speak, the development of speech is accelerated (Atkinson, 1999)

The strong influence of nurture in the course of human development arises from existence of several environmental factors that may increase or decrease the rate of maturity in infants. The abnormality of the uterine environment affects the growth of the fetus. Seriousness of the damage borne by the fetus depends on which organ system was in a critical stage of development at the time the mother was infected by the disease. (Atkinson, 1999) Poor maternal health and malnutrition, smoking and consumption of alcohol also disrupts the normal maturational process of the fetus very severely.

Cases where an individual lacking marvelous environmental conditions turns out to be the worst scenarios of childhood clearly makes the case for parents and other environmental factors to have relatively greater influence on a child's growth. And so the importance of parental encouragement and support throughout the learning and developing process of a child is unavoidable. Research has recognized a causal link that "the children of pleasant and competent people grow up to be pleasant and competent people because of how they were treated by their parents and what they learned at home." (Eberstadt, 1998)That is, the emotional health of parents, their social instability and socio-economic status are also among the other environmental factors that can affect the normal maturational process of children.

Today most psychologists agree that not only does nature and nurture play very important roles, but that they work together constantly to guide maturity. But as is evident from most researches, the development of many personality traits early in humans, such as sociability, emotional stability, and motor development, development of speech and health of the infant is majorly influenced by environmental factors. Debates prevail, and always will, but realities all around our lives prove time and again nurture's role in shaping certain basic physical and mental features in humans. Most ideas lead to the same conclusion- the influence of nurture on early human development is not only stronger than that of nature, but is an inevitable fact of life.

Writing Feedback / What are the aims of academic study and how can they be achieved? [4]

Academic study is commonly considered to play the most important part in one's education. Different views such as the aims to undertake an academic study and factors that affect the performance lead to the origin of such importance of academic study. Students' performance in academic study to ensure having a career or to enjoy learning can be improved and achieved by several factors in a school, college or university. Academic study trains students to achieve skills making them fully prepared for work in that particular field. For example, M.Sc International Securities, Investment and Banking in University of Reading equips students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the challenging field of investment banking and have been designed with the support of industry practitioners (University of Reading). Academic study may include writing, reading or researching about several aspects of a subject according to academic conventions. It is a mechanical exercise providing a clear expression of ideas, knowledge and information. It helps find a way to explore, address, and express academic issues and in communicating results or information. This essay will deal about the aims of academic study, different ways to achieve them, and the possible influences on academic performance.

The aims of academic study can be related to various aspects. The most important and widely accepted aim of study is to ensure having a career or a future job. Many may also find it interesting to discover more about theories and little known facts, or to discuss philosophy. Some may simply involve in academic study because they enjoy the art of learning and wish to develop their personal growth. It also enables members of a community to exchange ideas which promotes the mind to develop further, contributing to the social and economic advancement of society and therefore improves the cooperation between different members of world society. The choices and aims are endless, and so are the ways to achieve these aims.

Academic study helps students achieve and understand a wide area of academically important subjects, specialized information, and grasp extra knowledge that expands one's experience in that particular subject.

As a student, it is very important to develop various characteristics that help achieve success in academic aims while studying at university. These characteristics include knowing one's strength's and weaknesses in a particular subject or aspect of study and even thinking about how to develop one's abilities further. Using a logical, reasoned approach to study and thinking about how to deal with a particular task is highly important. Moreover, the ability to communicate results successfully after learning how to study a subject in depth can also arise from one's interest in finding things out.

The factors that affect and improve academic performance are countless. The most important of them all is the availability of resources (e.g. computers, laboratories, textbooks) and student motivation. If a student has to pursue academic study without the help of necessary resources, then he/she might just as well fail to achieve success in that subject. Motivation plays a much more important role. Students can be motivated in extrinsic and intrinsic ways. In the former, students perform well in a task for external reasons, such as good grades, prizes, etc. And in the latter, students accomplish in a work because they realize that their educational achievements are theirs only and work for their aim without any thoughts to be recognized of their effort.

Researchers still argue about the effect of class sizes (ratio of students to teachers) in the performance of students over a period of their educational life. Recent study has shown that the smaller the class size, the better students performed in academic study. Fewer students in a classroom meant effective communication between the teacher and the students, less noise in class, greater individual attention, it also encourages more discussion in class and helps motivate students, thereby increasing academic performance.

It is also fascinating to know that physical education in all forms helps improve academic performance of students in schools, universities or colleges."CDC epidemiologist Susan Carlson says researchers believe physical education is linked to academic achievement for both physiological and behavioral reasons. In addition to physical changes, such as increased blood flow to the brain, Carlson says such exercise programs can foster positive classroom behaviors. This may enable better classroom participation and concentration skills and decrease disruptive behavior, which "would result in improved learning." (USA TODAY,Heather Terwilliger, 2008)".

Academic performance can also be affected by the time spent in school, the existence of various forms of diversity, and the socio-economic status of the student's family. The existence of more time to bond between the teachers and students in a school, college or university improves the effect of a healthy learning environment. The absence of ethnic and linguistic diversity plays one of the key roles in favoring this improvement. The parents of most students who excelled in a particular field of study were mostly less likely to be divorced, making them active participants in involving in their children's education.

To sum up, academic study should be encouraged with the power of self-reflection. It is vital to realize the importance of knowing the subject in depth for a successful academic career. Academic study not only helps an individual achieve his aims in life, but also ensures that he receives the best of education helping him to improve his living conditions and enriching him with the divinity of knowledge.