Dead Men at War: The Ideological Battle Between Karl Marx and Adam Smith

This thesis’s foremost purpose is to illustrate the nature of the intellectual battle waged between Karl Marx and Adam Smith. A detailed summary of each philosopher’s respective ideology is given, as well as an explanation for how such ideologies arose. Furthermore, an illustration of how the writings of Marx and Smith impacted historical events is provided. Ultimately, this thesis seeks to explain the core differences between Marxism and the free market system, and why such differences exhibit a great need for the preservation of liberty

Group cooperation, inclusion and disaffected pupils: some responses to informal learning in the music classroom

This paper examines some personal and inter-personal issues concerning group-work and informal learning in the music classroom. It analyses data from a recent research project, which adopted and adapted the informal music learning practices of popular musicians, for use in the classroom. The discussion focuses on three aspects of the project. Firstly, it considers the issue of group cooperation, or the ways in which pupils interacted to organise their learning in small groups. This includes various approaches, identified as ‘group learning’, ‘peer-directed learning’ and ‘leadership’. Secondly, the paper addresses the topic of inclusion in relation to how individuals with differing needs and experiences were able to respond to the project, and the extent to which the learning practices allowed differentiation. Thirdly, weaving through the first two strands, the paper examines the inclusion of pupils who had been identified by their teachers as disaffected. This involves considering the roles of imaginative play and personal identity in the music classroom, with relation to both music’s cultural delineations and its sonic properties

Innate talents: reality or myth?

Talents that selectively facilitate the acquisition of high levels of skill are said to be present in some children but not others. The evidence for this includes biological correlates of specific abilities, certain rare abilities in autistic savants, and the seemingly spontaneous emergence of exceptional abilities in young children, but there is also contrary evidence indicating an absence of early precursors of high skill levels. An analysis of positive and negative evidence and arguments suggests that differences in early experiences, preferences, opportunities, habits, training, and practice are the real determinants of excellence