My role model Essay

To me a role model is someone in my life that has influenced me in a positive way. They help shape the way I am in the present and what I am going to be in the future. They are some one that I can look forward for advice in a tough situation and I know that they will give me advices with wisdom. They will never judge me on my past but only look to help because they really do care about me. Some one who I never feel awkward talking to about my problems because I know that it will not change their view of me and they will not reveal any information about me to other unrelated person or someone who are nosey. A role model should be sincere and not out for there own good but the good of others. I think that they should be older then I am because they need to have more experience then I do and need to have a deeper insight. It would be pointless to have a role model who knows less then me. Read more: My role model essay But apart from my parents, , teachers or very best friends like Brian Lee really do care about me a lot, there is nobody should be deserved to have a talk about, or can drag my attraction, or makes me change my personality and reach more achievements. I don’t have a real one honestly, but I would be searching for him or her! ( You must feel surprised that why do I write such a short paragraph this timeï Å )

Universal Healthcare Persuasive

The United States is the only developed nation without universal health care coverage, and the current state of affairs is bankrupting millions. the United States spends more on health care per an individual than any other nation, the World Health Organization reports that the United States only ranks 28th for life expectancy and 37th for mortality of children under the age of 5. For immunizations, the United States ranks 67th – Botswana is 66th. More than 46 million Americans go uninsured each day, 9 million of whom are children. Some believe that universal health care would bankrupt America, but the Congressional Budget Office found that it would actually save $100 to $200 billion dollars per a year, according to the Connecticut Coalition for Universal Health Care. The cost of health care in the United States is also costing American jobs. To avoid hefty insurance premiums, American businesses have moved offices out of the States. Health Care Statistics in the United States Health Insurance. The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care system. Source: Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences In 2010, the percentage of Americans without health insurance was 16. 3%, or 49. 9 million uninsured people. Source: US Census Bureau Of the 83. 7% of people with health insurance in 2010, coverage was 55. 3% employment-based, 9. 8% direct-purchase, and 31. 0% government funded (Medicare, Medicaid, Military). (Overlap reflects coverage by more than one type of health insurance). Source: US Census Bureau The primary reason given for lack of health insurance coverage in 2005 was cost (more than 50%), lost job or a change in employment (24%), Medicaid benefits stopped (10%), ineligibility for family insurance coverage due to age or leaving school (8%). Source: National Center for Health Statistics More than 40 million adults stated that they needed but did not receive one or more of these health services (medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses) in 2005 because they could not afford it. Source: National Center for Health Statistics Medicaid, which accounted for 15. 9% of health care coverage in 2010, is a health insurance program jointly funded by the federal and state governments to provide health care for qualifying low-income individuals. Source: US Census Bureau Medicare, a federally funded health insurance program that covers the health care of most individuals 65 years of age and over and disabled persons, accounted for 14. 5% of health care coverage in 2010. Source: US Census Bureau Medicare operates with 3% overhead, non-profit insurance 16% overhead, and private (for-profit) insurance 26% overhead. Source: Journal of American Medicine 2007 Since the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was created in 1997, the percentage of children ages 0-17 with health insurance has increased from 86% to 93%. Source: National Center for Health Statistics: December 2011 2. 5 million young adults have gained health insurance as a result of the provision in the Affordable Care Act that allows them to remain on their parents insurance plans until age 26. Source: National Center for Health Statistics: December 2011 Health Care Expenditures Health care expenditures in the United States were nearly $2. 6 trillion in 2010, an average of $8,402 per person. Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services In 2009, national health care expenditures were paid by households 28%, private businesses 21%, state and local governments 16%, and federal government 27%. Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 75% of all health care dollars are spent on patients with one or more chronic conditions, many of which can be prevented, including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, lung disease, high blood pressure, and cancer. Source: Health Affairs Half of health care spending is used to treat just 5% of the population. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2012 Since 2001, employer-sponsored health coverage for family premiums has increased by 113%. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2012 The share of the economy devoted to health care has increased from 7. 2% in 1970 to 17. 9% in 2009 and 2010. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2012 The U. S. spends substantially more on health care than other developed countries. As of 2009, health spending in the U. S. was about 90% higher than in many other industrialized countries. The most likely causes are higher prices, more readily accessible technology, and greater obesity. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2012 Infant Mortality In 2005, the United States ranked 30th in infant mortality. Singapore has the lowest rate with 2. 1 deaths per 1000 live births, while the United States has a rate of 6. 9 deaths per 1000 live births. Infant mortality is considered an important indicator of the health of a nation. Source: CDC, NCHS Data Brief, Number 23, November 2009 Approximately 30,000 infants die in the United States each year. The infant mortality rate, which is the risk of death during the first year of life, is related to the underlying health of the mother, public health practices, socioeconomic conditions, and availability and use of appropriate health care for infants and pregnant women. Sources: CDC and National Center for Health Statistics, 2008 The main cause contributing to the high infant mortality rate in the United States is the very high percentage of preterm births. One in 8 births in the United States were born preterm, an increase of 36% since 1984. Source: CDC, NCHS Data Brief, Number 23, November 2009 Life Expectancy Life expectancy at birth in the United States is an estimated 78. 49 years, which ranks 50th in highest total life expectancy compared to other countries. Source: CIA Factbook (2011) Lack of health insurance is associated with as many as 44,789 deaths per year in the United States. Source: Harvard Medical School Study, American Journal of Public Health, December 2009 People without health insurance had a 40 percent higher risk of death than those with private health insurance, a result of being unable to obtain necessary medical care. Source: Harvard Medical School Study, American Journal of Public Health, December 2009 Bankruptcy Nearly two-thirds, or 62%, of all bankruptcy filings in the United States in 2007 were due to illness or medical bills. Source: American Journal of Medicine, June 2009 Among the medical bankruptcy filers in 2007, most were well-educated, owned homes, employed in middle-class occupations, and three-quarters had health insurance. Source: American Journal of Medicine, June 2009 Everyone has the right to health, including health care, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Health care is a public good, not a commodity. The U. S. health care system must fulfill these principle s†¢Universality: Everyone in the United States has the human right to health care. †¢Equity: Benefits and contributions should be shared fairly to create a system that works for everyone. †¢Accountability: The U. S. government has a responsibility to ensure that care comes first. If you are against universal health care or don’t have an opinion on it at all, I urge you to read the following. I will attempt to simply and concisely prove why the United States needs to change its current health care system. In the United States of America, 44. 8 million people are without health insurance. Either they can’t afford it or they are denied coverage because the companies do not think they will be â€Å"economical enough†. Even if one does have medical insurance, chances are they will be denied coverage at one point in their life. This is due to the privatized, profit-driven system, which encourages legalese like co-pays, thresholds, limited coverage, and more. Our private system, contrary to popular belief, is incredibly expensive for the state. We give 15% of our GDP to healthcare for a system that is supposedly run by corporations. That’s the highest GDP percentage in the world that is spent on healthcare. Here’s why a universal healthcare system would be better for many reasons. Those who agree that health care is a basic human right (78% of Americans do) would easily list this as the first reason. Universal Health Care would also be cheaper. According to the WHO, the United States spends $3371 per person, per year for health insurance. Look at what these countries pay: Australia: $1017 (#2 in the world). Yeah. We pay three times as much as Australia, the number two country on the list, for a fundamentally broken system. And where does most of that money go? Into the pockets of big insurance company management. As for the doctor pay: Yes, doctors will be paid less. Perhaps as much as 30% less. In spite of this, doctors will still be one of the highest-paid professions in the United States, even with universal health care. Furthermore, under the new system that many are proposing, med school would be partially or completely subsidized by the government. Another argument often heard: â€Å"Taxes would spike†. Not if it’s done right. US government spending is SECOND-HIGHEST in the world per person, for a private system. Countries with Universal Health Care, like Australia, Canada, UK, etc. all have less government spending per person that us, and a better system. Same or less amount of spending means the same or less amount of taxes. Enough of the status quo. It’s time for change. It’s not just about voting with your heart, it’s about voting with your brain. Universal Health Care is the logical alternative.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Research Paper

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Research Paper Example The notion of disillusionment is a characteristic of his life, but not in such a pronounced way as Gatsby or even his friend, Tom, and indeed, most of the major characters of the novel. Nick is from the US Midwest, but travels to New York in order to learn the bond business.[Fitzgerald 8]. It is worth noting that his profession is in many ways the very back-drop to the roaring twenties. It was the era of extreme prosperity brought about by healthy stock-market which would eventually crash and in turn, be a main catalyst and cause for the Great Depression. Nick moves into a Long Island community known as West Egg where his next door neighbor is Jay Gatsby – the main protagonist of the novel and of course, the source for the title of the work. The theme of disillusionment is typified in the character of Nick on a number of levels. First, his pursuing a life in the 'East' is the most general area that defines most of the action of the novel, but is proclaimed in the end as a mist ake: â€Å"After Gatsby's death the East was haunted for me like that, distorted beyond my eyes' power of correction. So when the blue smoke of brittle leaves was in the air and the wind blew the wet laundry stiff on the line I decided to come back home.† [Fitzgerald 140]. As narrator, the story is seen mostly through Nick's eyes. So, he is the figure who interprets for the reader, the decadence of Gatsby's life, the shallowness of the characters – such as the affair that Daisy carries on with Gatsby and the affair that her husband carries on with Myrtle, and finally, the conflicts most of the characters have over their pursuit of wealth and the emptiness of its acquisition. The emptiness of acquiring wealth and status is unquestionably one of the constant themes of the book. In many respects, it is embodied in the figure of Daisy Nick's cousin and her husband Tom: â€Å"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money of their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made† [Fitzgerald 142]. One of the core plots of the work concerns Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy. Initially he had met her when he was a young soldier in Louisville before going to Europe to War. While she promised to wait for him, she wound up marrying Tom because of his wealth and because her family approved of the relationship. In other words, she gave up a relationship built on passion for a life of security – however much she carries a lot of disdain for her husband, Tom. Gatsby's life is probably the most disillusioned compared with all of the characters. Gatsby is from a poor family, and when he met Daisy as a young soldier, he lied to her about it because of the shame and also the insecurity of feeling that she would not like him if he didn't have that type of foundation. In a sense, he was right about the latter part given th at Daisy does decide to marry Tom because of the security element. Gatsby goes to extreme lengths in order to reverse his fortunes. And, this involves both legitimate but also illegitimate business interests. He is involved with organized crime which is something that reflects the era of prohibition, but also, something that reflects the extremes that he is willing to go to in order to obtain Daisy. This is not a line that Nick crosses for approximately the same goal. The disillusionment of his pursuit is articulated in the following: â€Å"

The Influence on Identity of Changez in the Novel The Reluctant Essay

The Influence on Identity of Changez in the Novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Essay Example However, it worked to his advantage in the co-operative world of Manhattan-based Underwood Company. Because he was always top of his class, Jim the person that employs him shortly takes keen notice of him. The notice is mainly because of two things which include the fact that they shared the same education background at Princeton and same economic background that was coupled with financial hardships (Hamid, 34). The discussion that is advanced in this paper looks at the indecisive nature of the protagonist and how this aspect has been affected by other characters in the novel especially Jim and Juan. It opines that despite the fact that Changez has a high level of education, much of his actions are deviated by the characters in the novel. It is therefore difficult to identify his own standing in the main issues that the writer tries to project through him. In this perspective, the author tries to show that the influence of many factors put together like environment add to the persona lity of an individual and direct the position taken. The input of education is important in one’s life. The protagonist goes through a high level of education but several instances indicate that the person is motivated by his previous environment. Ailing from a poor background, Changez is forced to live in a society of the elite in order to receive an education. He has to cook his own meals just to sustain his livelihood while receiving the education. The identity that is being built here is resilience. He has to survive in a totally new environment despite the fact that his previous environment does not fit this lifestyle. Poverty forces him to come up with techniques to survive and in this case, he has to make do with the little he has. We are also informed of the cases in the novel that he is footing much of his educational bills by aids.

Macroeconomic risk and financial risk to the financial system in Research Paper

Macroeconomic risk and financial risk to the financial system in developed countries - Research Paper Example Discussions Public Debt Nature of the risk Public debt means the amount of money which the government of any country owes to its creditors ; both foreign and domestic. The total debt for OECD countries has risen from 73 % of the GDP in 2007 to 106 % of the GDP in 2012 (OECD 2011).There are some developed countries like Greece , Italy and Portugal and Japan which have had historically higher level of debt. However the worry is that even countries like USA and UK are have now levels of debt which may be unsustainable in the long run. The debt level of United States has risen from 60 % in 2006 to 109% in 2012.The Euro zone is already suffering from the debt crisis and no immediate solution to the problem seems to be in sight. Causes of the risk The first question which comes to mind is reasons due to which high public debt exists. The simple reason for the high debt situation is because government of a country spends more than it earns. Public Debt can actually boost long term growth of the economy if it is used in building productive assets like infrastructure which invite more investment and increases the GDP of the country. However the problem in the developed countries has been that increasing amount of debt has been used to finance non productive activities. United States has been engaged in the decade long war on terrorism which has led to increased military spending and thus higher debt. High levels of pension and social security have been blamed for the Euro zone crisis which is again an unproductive spending (Sanderatne). The immediate reason for the debt levels of developed world to raise post 2006 has been the financial crisis of 2008 and the stimulus packages given by governments to bail out banks and to kick-start the economy (OECD 2011). The US government provided a fiscal stimulus package of $831billion.The problem could have been solved if this stimulus led to an increased growth but the world suffered from a double dip recession which has caused t he developed countries to be in a precarious situation – GDP levels still remain low and the countries have a high debt on their hands. Consequences of High Public Debt High public debt has shown to have impact on the following areas – private savings , public investment , total factor productivity and the real interest rates. When government borrows more, it means that there is limited amount of money available to private investors which leads to lower private investment, lower growth of industries and thus lower employment and wages (Checherita and Rother.). Studies conducted by various researchers such as Manmohan Kumar and Jaejoon Woo for the IMF illustrate that once countries breach the 90 % level of debt , their GDP growth declines by as much as 30 %.Similar results have been obtained by studies which were conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research (Kumar and Woo.). Debt taken by the government also

Trade Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Trade Law - Essay Example Benny was asked by Carlos to make all shipping arrangements; though it is the buyer’s obligation to make such arrangements under FOB contract. ‘Under an FOB sale, the buyer is responsible for making the arrangements for shipping the goods to their destination’. Thus, it had to be Carlos’ obligation to make all shipping arrangements with him being the buyer of the goods. Moreover, according to the FOB contract law, the seller is not under a duty to ship the goods until he has received shipment instructions from the buyer; thus Benny was not obliged to arrange any shipment without Carlos giving him the necessary instructions. It should be added, that this is the Buyer’s responsibility to arrange the shipment of goods to the port of destination. . The two cases were destroyed during loading at the port; it is necessary to find out who is responsible for these losses. According to s 20 of the Sale of Goods 1979, risk passes with property and in FOB sales risk passes along with property upon shipment – that is, when the goods pass the ship’s rail.

Cloud Atlas movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cloud Atlas - Movie Review Example The second story starts showing the concerns for a young bi-sexual English man known by the name of Robert Frobisher. He ran from one place to another hiding from the debts he had gathered, a bad habit of gambling right after his disinheritance by his fathers will back in 1931. This English man went to Belgium with a plan so that he could crawl his way into a famous music composer's menage, with the help of his offerings and his dexterous musical skills he managed to put a roof above his head and earns some money for his pocket. Vyvyan Ayrs was a syphilitic and egotistical old man who was still belligerent to write music, and hired Frobisher, unknown to the facts of the English man’s secret life. Frobisher detailed his experience in the form of letters which he mailed them regularly to his best friend the back in England, Mr. Rufus Six Smith. As time passed by, everything went better than Frobisher had anticipated for. He became an essential asset for the musician’s mus ical conformations, Frobisher illegally slept with the old man's wife, stole and altered documents from the old musician’s estate, so that he could sell them for the needed cash urge he had in his past life. In one of these items, Frobisher found, was a copy of Adam ‘The advocate's journal’. Frobisher started to create his own music, a genius who began to arise and the bi-sexual began to write his first symphony, the Cloud Atlas Sextet. The movie then fast forwards to the nineteenth century, 1970 California where a journalist Luisa Rey was found investigating possible dangerous insinuations of a new-fangled nuclear plant being constructed. She meets Rufus Six smith, who was an elderly physicist, and the one whose reports would expose the real truth behind the... Movie Review – Cloud Atlas talks about six different stories that rally back and forth through time. The first story starts with the scene of the mid eighteenth century from the South Pacific region when an American lawyer named Adam Ewing take a trip by ship from the island of Chatham Isle and travel back to San Francisco. The second story begins displaying young bi-sexual English man named Robert Frobisher. He ran from one place to another hiding from the debts he had gathered, a bad habit of gambling right after his disinheritance by his fathers will back in 1931. The movie then fast forwards to the nineteenth century, 1970 California where a correspondent Luisa Rey was found investigating possible dangerous insinuations of a new-fangled nuclear plant being constructed. In the fourth epilogue we met Mr. Timothy Cavendish present-day here in England, where a small flourishing publishing business suddenly accomplishes huge triumph when one of the movies broadcasted became a h uge success. The movie then takes the audiences towards the 22nd century where most of the earth had been diseased and the remaining citizens had overcrowded into large cities run by conglomerates. Finally we come across the final story which is set in an un-sociable future of the iron-age in Hawaii. These six stories in the movie Cloud Atlas explored most comparable themes, but each story is presented in a different manner which immensely differentiates its viewpoints. The prettiness of these stories is that they are one way or another inter-twined within each other.

DWC ENVIROMENT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

DWC ENVIROMENT - Research Paper Example ntial district, logistic district, and reserved area for the development of commercial, leisure, and exhibition facilities (Dubai World Central, 2015). An external and external environment, target market and positioning, SWOT, and marketing mix are analysed in the paper to allow for the formation of insightful recommendations for implementation at DRC. Porter’s five forces aid in the analysis of a business internal environment through examining the influence of suppliers, consumers, new entrants, substitute products, and competitors to the organization (Porter 2008, 12). DWC provides a new technologically advanced platform of management of aviation, logistics, and other forms of business related or adjacent to an airport; it has differentiated itself from the competition and faces very low threat of entry. The need for the development of advanced infrastructure, a lot of capital input as evidenced by the development of DWC, which is estimated to costs $US 33 billion aid in deterring any new entrants. The development of the modern infrastructure at the DWC means the use of the very best suppliers of technologically advanced software and the enormity of project requires reliance on the best contractors and developers, Getting quality hardware, software, and manpower requires the payment of a steeper price that gives the suppliers power over DWC. The power of the suppliers has however been reduced using contracts, competitive bidding, and agreements but still supplies have control resulting in the moderate bargaining power of suppliers for DWC. High costs of purchase and maintenance of Material Handling Equipment are also the other factor that provides for supplies having bargaining power. DWC serves a wide market, owing to its global scale of operations, resulting in the ability of a single consumer to have considerable power to influence the decisions and pricing. Consumers lack access to a platform offering the quality and extensive services available at DWC

Why Sartre Was Wrong Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why Sartre Was Wrong - Personal Statement Example One of the most famous quotations from Being and Nothingness is â€Å"Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.† The idea that freedom is a negative thing, is something that a person is condemned to, is very strange. It is a bit like saying the light is darkness or absence is a presence. What Sartre means is that freedom is a terrible responsibility if all you have is your one life and nothing more. But this doesn’t make too much sense, if a person believes, like Sartre, that the world is meaningless. The nausea of seeing yourself and your perceptions reflected back in the world or the world filling with yourself is also something to be disagreed with. In a way, the kind of existentialism Sartre complains about is really solipsism: the belief that you are the only thing in the world, or the only thing that exists. If Sartre stopped for a moment to look at the world, he wouldn’t see his own ugly face reflected back in the petal of a flower or in a sunrise: he would see a dazzling display of the natural world and the fact that people are part of it all, that this is designed to be our world where we should be happy.Sartre was clearly a very smart man, but he was too much a product of his time and unable to get outside of his gloomy state of mind to see the world as it really is. There is so much wonder and strangeness in the world that it is actually quite difficult to do what he did: reduce it all to ash.... His old world was destroyed and he literally had to try to come up with new values for a new world. It is just a bit disappointing that these new values are not based in the past and are cut free from any tradition or original truth like the existence of God. One of the most famous quotations from Being and Nothingness is "Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does."3 The idea that freedom is a negative thing, is something that a person is condemned to, is very strange. It is a bit like saying light is darkness or absence is presence. What Sartre means is that freedom is a terrible responsibility if all you have is your one life and nothing more. But this doesn't make too much sense, if a person believes, like Sartre, that the world is meaningless. The nausea of seeing yourself and your perceptions reflected back in the world or the world filling with yourself is also something to be disagreed with. In a way the kind of existentialism Sartre complains about is really solipsism: the belief that you are the only thing in the world, or the only thing that exists. If Sartre stopped for a moment to look at the world, he wouldn't see his own ugly face reflected back in the petal of a flower or in a sunrise: he would see a dazzling display of the natural world and the fact that people are part of it all, that this is designed to be our world where we should be happy. Sartre was clearly a very smart man, but he was too much a product of his time and unable to get outside of his gloomy state of mind to see the world as it really is. There is so much wonder and strangeness in the world that it is actually quite difficult to do what he did: reduce it all to ash.

Analysis of Witan Pacific Investment Trust Plc- Fund Management Essay

Analysis of Witan Pacific Investment Trust Plc- Fund Management - Essay Example Witan Pacific is an investment trust that was established in 1907 as General Investors & Trustees Limited (GIT). The company then used to invest in a diverse range of assets. Following the 1929 market crash, the company shifted from equities to Treasury Bills, cash and British Government Securities. GIT merged with City and Gracechurch Investment Trust in 1975. GIT was renamed F&C Pacific Investment Trust in 1984. In 2005 it adopted a multi-manager approach where Witan Investment Services was entrusted with management of the operations and Aberdeen and Nomura became the investment managers of the company (Witan Investment Services Limited, 2012). Investment Objective The investment objective of the fund is to give its shareholders a portfolio of investments with a balance of assets in the region of Asia Pacific with the aim to outperform MSCI AC Asia Pacific (Witan Pacific, 2011, p.1). Investment Strategies In order to achieve the aim and objective, the fund has devised a set of strategies: In order to diversify risk and add value for investors, active multi-manager approach is used. The company faces the foreign currency exchange risk and equity market risks in emerging markets such as settlement risks with regional exchanges. Other risks include selection of investment managers and other generic risks related to specific country. The company does not use foreign currency hedging instruments but regularly report the sensitivity analysis of each foreign currency exposure. This might be due to the fact that using hedging instruments with underlying emerging markets currencies except yen may add to the existing inherent risks. Also the concentrated exposure to Japanese markets has been reduced from 2010 levels (figure 5). The investments are also more diversified on the basis of sectors (figure 6). The multi-manager strategy and regular reviews by the board have helped mitigate the equity market risks and settlement risks because of the different investment approach. Investment in fund with two different investment approaches diversifies risk by averaging the risk and return. Investment in two different funds will increase the costs for the investors. To manage the fund’s growth predominantly through return on capital. The NAV total returns over 1 year, 3 years and 5 years period are more than the benchmark return (figure 12). Over the five years, the NAV has been at premium to the share price of the trust over 5 years. The NAV total returns and total shareholder returns include dividends re-invested. Buy-back shares when the company’s shares are at a discount to the net asset value. The bought back

Significant Health Care Event Essay Example for Free

Significant Health Care Event Essay While writing this paper on health care it will be discuss how some significant event relates to the changes taking place in health care today. It will also examine if this event made an impact in the historic evolution of health care. Last thing this paper will discuss is do my personal belief and values agree with this change? This significant event is technology. The growth of technology has played a role in how health care is changing in the United States. According to Leiyu Shi â€Å"technological revolution has been primarily responsible for bringing medicine into the public domain. Technology have open debate over how people will pay for health care, what kind of health care they will receive and what role will governments play in health care. Health care has gone through three historic phases; the first phase was preindustrial era that was from the middle of the 18th century to the latter part of the 19th century. The second phase postindustrial era started in the late 19th century and the phase the country is currently in the corporate eras, which mark the growth of globalization, organizational integration, managed care, and information revolution. There have been several ways technology has changed health care services. One way is the improvement in records keeping. This makes it easier to keep up with patient’s records and help hospital workers do their job more effectively. Record keeping was made safer and easier when hospitals went to electronic health records, errors was far less than before electronic records. It also makes it quicker access for the physicians and staff to find files that was needed in a timely manner. By having this information on a screen in front of the physician, it makes the physician be able to make a decision based on a patient entire medical record. The Internet has empowered patient to research their own symptoms and find a doctor of their choice. Hospitals are using websites, blog, and social media to connect with potential patients and to get the good thing that they are doing to help people when they are sick. Technology offered patient hope of finding a cure or a much easier and faster way of doing procedures. Technology has changed the world, now we can take college classes’online, grocery shop from your home and technology has made a major improvement in the health care field. The digital revolution has completely changed the way we get information on, and treatment for, our health. I believe technology has helped the growth of healthcare and it will continue to make thing better for the patients and healthcare across the United States. I personally agree that technology will continue to help with the ever growing need for more ways to do patient friendly surgeries for health care and I witness this as an employee of a health care facility. For example I watch the way some procedures are done with the new technology da vinci robotic surgery. According to Intuitive Surgical Thanks to a breakthrough surgical technology, there is a new category of minimally invasive surgery for which you may be a candidate. It is an effective, minimally invasive alternative to both open surgery and laparoscopy. Through the use of the da Vinci ® Surgical System, surgeons are now able to offer a minimally invasive option for complex surgical procedures. Before this technology came to the hospital the surgery required large open incisions, this meant recovery time was more and also it was proven the patients will be in more pain this way. The da vinici surgery has help patients get back to their normal lives faster, shorter hospital stay, and less pain. In conclusion health care is in a better place today because of the significant event of technology being part of health care. Scientist will continue to strive and make new technology to improve the way surgery is done. Government has to find a way to come together on how Americans can afford to have healthcare. My beliefs and values are that the United States has to move toward making sure all Americans have health insurance.

Study On What Is Reflection Nursing Essay

Study On What Is Reflection Nursing Essay This assignment looks at the study of theoretical reflection in conjunction with how effective communication skills can be developed to expand our knowledge. To achieve this I will explain what reflection practice is using models of reflection; evaluate theories of personal development what they are and how they are used. Discuss how reflective practice benefits communication skills and in turn influence our knowledge of nursing care. What is reflection? In scientific terms reflection is seen as light, heat or sound striking a surface to give off a reflection (Darlene 2006). Reflection is also seen as philosophical understanding of how one can gain knowledge through experience and use different approaches to the same scenario (ref). Reflection can be described as; meditation, deep thinking and or giving careful considerations to possibilities and opinions of a given situation (Mcferran and Martin 2008). The novel idea of reflection rose from a theorist John Dewey (1859-1952); his proposed view on reflection is described as persistent, active thinking and taking into consideration the supporting evidence that forms knowledge to the given situation. This theorist suggests that the person uses their mind and emotions to facilitate reflection (Bulman and Schutz 2008). This suggests that John Dewey describes reflective individuals has being open-minded, responsible and wholehearted (Vaugn and Leblanc 2011). Deweys perception of reflection was a platform for many authors to elaborate on in terms of understanding reflective practice. Johns and Freshwater (2005) propose that health professionals should find the meaning of reflection through description rather than definition because to define reflection is to suggest the author has authority over its meaning. This in turn allows reflections models and frameworks to be used intuitively giving a more holistic approach, it can be subjective and purpose driven (Johns and Freshwater 2005). Mann et al (2007) describes Schons (1983) view that reflection can happen in two ways: reflecting upon activities whilst they are happening called reflection in action (present reflection) and reflecting upon activities once they have happened (reflecting on the past). Reflection can also be seen as the engine that facilitates superficial learning into finding a deeper understanding that enables the practitioner to transform what is known to knowledge in action (Boud et al 1985 cited in Rolfe et al 2011). Reflection (Broad overview) Describe some of the different theories and models of reflection that are available and how they are used. Explain how reflection can aid personal development. Schon, reflection on and in action Models of reflection, Driscolls, Atkins and Murphy, Gibbs, Johns, Kolb. 750 words Reflection Model and frameworks There are many different models of reflection which seem to have similar philosophical theories attached to each approach. Rolfe et al (2011) asserts models are methodologies and frameworks are methods used to understand and give guidance on how use the chosen reflective model and models therefore are ontological this mean they have formal specifications for representing ideas and concepts that aim to improve personal growth and development. Models of reflection developed by Schon and Argyris (1992) involves three elements: (1) knowing-in-action (2) reflection-in-action and (3) reflection-on-practice (Ghaye and Lillyman 2010). Ghaye and Lillyman (2010) have extrapolated Schons work to include knowing-in-action; they propose that practitioners customise and tailor their own knowledge or theories to the situation presented. Knowing in action is described further by Carper (1978) who identifies five approaches to knowing in action; empirical, personal, ethical and aesthetic knowing ( Newton and McKenna 2009). Empirical knowing is the formation of knowledge organised into general laws and theories for the describing and predicting phenomena pertaining to nursing practice (Averill and Clements 2007). Empirical means of knowledge tends to seek out theoretical explanation which can be replicated and be publicly verifiable (Newton and McKenna 2009). Newton and McKenna (2009) further suggest that empirical knowledge can only be effective when it is interpreted within the context of given clinical situation and how it is assimilated into practitioners personal knowledge. Personal knowing described by Carper (1978) is about finding out how much we know about ourselves when faced with clinical challenges and that health care professionals may not necessarily know about the self but do strive to know about the self. Newton and McKenna (2009) state that Caper (1978) does reiterate that it is difficult to master however it is an essential in understanding nursing care. Newton and McKenna (2009) suggest that personal knowing demands a deeper level of understanding and awareness to communicate and interact with ourselves and others. This type of knowing requires the nurse to be empathic, nurse attempt to do this by developing a personal yet professional relationship between the patients as opposed to viewing a patient as an object (Newton and McKenna 2009). Moral actions and ethical choices are intertwined with personal knowing to which Carper (1978) suggests presupposes personal maturity and freedom. Ethical knowing is about the moral aspect of nursing that is concerned with making choices, making justifiable actions and judging outcomes (Newton and McKenna 2009). The main focus of ethical knowing is trained towards issues of obligations that would require rationalisation and deliberate reasoning (Carper 1992). Chinn and Kramer (2004) suggest that rational can be expressed through codes, moral rules and decision-making. Newton and McKenna (2009) assert that having knowledge of moral issues is not isolated to ethical codes of nursing disciplines for example the Code of Conduct written by the NMC (2010). Newton and McKenna (2009) assert that ethical knowing is only partly learnt through applying codes and moral rules but is more through experiencing situations that initiate reflection upon what is or has happened and how this affects patient care. Aesthetic knowing is the process that is involved in understanding the given clinical situation by interpreting the information provided and how it impacts others involved in the situation (Johns 1994). Aesthetic knowing allows nurses to use their judgment and skill to respond in clinical situations often referred to as the art of nursing (Johns and Freshwater 2005, Bulman and Schutz 2008). Newton and McKenna (2009) assert that there is an essential component attached to aesthetic knowing which is having empathy, which gives the patient reassurance that the practitioner is able to experience another persons feeling and situation the patient is faced with. Gibbs( date) Driscoll(dates)and Kolb ( date)all conjured reflective models which are each similar to one another; they are all cyclical reveals that learning through reflection about what is or what has happened is continuous cycle. Gibbs et al (1988) model please see appendix 1 (a) Do you know of any other models that perhaps dont take on such a cyclical approach†¦ consider the work of Chris Johns, Mezirow, Boud et al also†¦. How do they compare and contrast with each other? Why might one model of reflection suit one situation or context better than another?Think about which models promote single loop or double loop learning if you can. Reflective practice (Specific) Give an overview of how reflection is used in nursing. Explain its relevance to nursing and how and when it is used. Explore the concepts of reflective practice and critical incident analysis. Introduce use of reflection for personal development. CPD, self regulation. Identify the different situations where reflection can be used. Skills V critical Incidents what is a critical incident. 750 words Reflective practice is seen has using reflective techniques to improve, maintain change in clinical procedures and influence guidelines to encourage greater safety of patients in all areas of health organisations (Bulman and Schutz 2008). Health care organisations in the UK have undergone and still continue to undergo changes to how it is regulated (Rolfe et al 2011). The emphasis is largely associated with increasing patient safety and risk reduction (Rolfe et al 2011). The four main bodies in the UK; Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) and General Social Care Council (GSCC) and General Medical Council (GMC) which are concerned with the controlling, training and regulating of the healthcare system in UK (Rolfe et al 2011). Evidence-based studies have taught the NHS and regulatory bodies how to change practices and procedures to create better outcomes for patients, they have also encompassed further development for staff to promote a better use of resources through continuing professional development CPD (Ghaye and Lillyman 2010). An example of this could be the pressure sore nurses taking on the responsibility of giving guidance to non-specialist nurses to take care of patients with such conditions. This could not have been achieved if it was not for reflective thinking being part of the learning process (ref). How do we use reflective practice within our day to day practice? Consider the approaches that mentors take when supporting students, look at the principles involved in preceptorship and clinical supervision†¦ Communication skills (Application) Discuss and analyse how reflection can be utilised to improve your communication skills in practice. Explore how and when you would use it. What practical steps would you take and what resources would you utilise and why. Link reflection in and on action to communication situations giving information (in), breaking bad news (on), then use of journals, models, writing, peer support. 750 words Conclusion Sum up 500 words You have made a solid start at this assignment so far and have introduced many ideas which are relevant to the topic. These themes now need to be explored in greater detail . You have a slight tendency to introduce theoretical concepts ( not all of which are uncomplicated) without fully explaining their meaning†¦. Take care to avoid this as just mentioning them does not mean that you understand them and we will be looking for evidence of understanding. You also need to pay attention to your sentence construction as there are several poorly constructed sentences noted so far†¦. Make sure that when you lift them from the text you have referred to , that you do adapt them to make sense in the context that you are trying to use them. I would like to have a look at this piece when it has been developed a bit more. You are definitely heading in the right direction though and overall have made an effective start.

Demand for communication in english in vietnam

Demand for communication in english in vietnam Introduction 1. Reasons for the research The demand for communication in English has become very urgent in Vietnam since the governments open door policy in late 1980. More and more people, especially working people and students have to learn English to use it at work, in their studies or future jobs. In fact, many adult learners of English who start learning English even from grade one speak English like â€Å"bulls in a China shop†. Therefore, the Communicative Approach, using group work activities, has been predominant and widely applied to improve Vietnamese learners communicative skills of English in Vietnam. Using this learning-centered approach in pedagogy is actually a concern for many English teachers in Vietnam in general and especially for the English teachers at the English Department of my university. Group work has brought innovation in speaking more in terms of theory than in terms of Vietnamese teachers real classroom practices. I am twenty two years old and have been teaching English at my university for two years. I am teaching one section of speaking skill per week in a very diverse class of students with different levels of speaking proficiency. Many of my students are sometimes eager to talk in their groups while others just look bored and keep quiet in these groups. Moreover, my students sometimes use Vietnamese a lot in their speaking English class and one member of the group dominates others. According to Harmer (2007), uncooperative and unmotivated students present a serious problem and can easily disrupt the instructional process while productive activities involving speaking in groups are more demanding and time consuming. Although cooperative learning was originally developed for general education, several researchers have documented its application to second language learning (High, 1993; Holt, 1993; Kessler, 1992; McCafferty, Jacobs DasilvaIddings, 2006). In terms of speaking English, I wante d to investigate the implementation of group activities to understand their effects on the English oral fluency of my first year English major students at a Vietnamese University. I would like to explore how my students speak English with their partners and think of activities. I would like to find whether or not interpreting group work activities in different ways of group work develops the first year English major students oral fluency in my English speaking class. Hopefully, the research findings will be helpful for me to give great perceptions and understandings about implementing group work activities to develop English oral fluency with first year English major students at my university. Therefore, the result will be reflected on my decisions about the organization of effective group work activities in my English speaking classes to develop the quality of teaching. 2. Research questions: How can group work activities be used with first year English major students at a Vietnamese University to develop their English oral fluency? Why do modifying group work activities impact on the English oral fluency of first year English major students at a Vietnamse University? Organization of the research The research is divided into seven main parts under these headings: Introduction, literature review, context, methods and methodology, analysis and findings, reflections, and conclusion. Part one, Introduction includes rationale, the research questions and the overview of the research. Part two, Literature review gives and discusses related theoretical background to the research. Part three, Context describes the context in which the research has taken place. Part four, Methods and methodology includes reasons for the methods chosen, the ethical procedure of my research and the difficulties I faced. Part five, Analysis and findings, tells my story of the research. Part six, Reflections, includes strong and weak points of my research and my experience about doing research. Part seven, Conclusion, finally reviews the outcomes and summarizes the whole research project and provides implication for further research. Literature review 1. Definition of group work Johnson, Johnson and Smith (1991, p 15) defines that: Group work, in language class, is a co-operative activity, during which students share aims and responsibilities to complete a task assigned by the teacher in groups or in pairs. It can be said that in group work, all the members have chances for greater independence in making their own learning decisions without the teacher controlling any more. They learn to negotiate more equally with their friends and in most cases they feel free to express themselves and use the language. In group work, the focus is not on accuracy but on fluency. In speaking class, group work is often conducted in small groups and lasts for about ten minutes to a class period depending on specific tasks. The following part discusses the pros and cons of using group work activities in language classes. 2. Benefits and difficulties of using group work activities in language class Many different kinds of speaking activities such as dialogue, discussion, interview, etc can be performed in groups. In certain types of those activities, group work no doubt offers many advantages. There have been a number of studies reporting the potential benefits of pair and group work activities in language teaching and learning. According to experts in second language acquisition, negotiation of meaning facilitates both learning and acquisition and is defined as: The modification and restructuring of interaction that occurs when learners and their interlocutors anticipate, perceive, or experience difficulties in massage comprehensibility. (Pica, 1994, p. 494) Following is the summary of the most common benefits of using group work in language class. Group work promotes learners responsibility and autonomy. Group work increases students participation, talking time and oral fluency. According to Harmer (1997), group work provides more opportunities for students initiation, practice in negotiation of meaning, extended conversational exchanges, face-to-face give and take and adoption of roles. Vygotsky (1978) also believes that learning is not directed one way between teacher and students but in different ways between students and students and between teacher and students. Ur (1996, p232) also shares the same idea: In group work, learners perform a learning task through small group interaction. It is a form of learner activation that is of particular value in the practice of oral fluency; learners in a class that is divided into five groups get 5 times as many opportunities to talk as in full class organization. Working in groups enables students to produce better decisions to solve a specific task. Group work promotes individuals motivation. Group work enables students to use the language and also motivates them to be more involved and concentrate on the tasks assigned. Richards and Lockhart (1994) believes that through working in groups, students feel relaxed and comfortable to share ideas and play active roles in the learning process without the correcting feedback of teachers. Therefore, they have the benefit of sharing ideas with other group members, learning from other friends mistakes or success and helping others to learn. Because the comprehension of the subject under discussion is often increased in group work, students certainly became more motivated. According to Doff (1988), working in pairs or in groups encourages students to be more involved and to concentrate on the tasks. In the non-threatening performance environment of the collaborative classroom, motivation is often improved as students feel less inhibited and more able to explore possibilities for self expression. The next part will discuss several difficulties which are often believed to affect the successful implementation of the group work activities in language class. Organizational difficulties According to Sheils (1993), in some teaching contexts, the use of group work activities is inappropriate due to the unsuitable physical setting. For instance, my classroom is too big with unmovable desks or there are a large number of students in a class. This also leads to another difficulty relating to the class management. I am afraid of organizing group work because of noise and indiscipline which affect other classes. It is hard for me to provide proper management. If I go and pay attention to one group, the rest of class may forget the task and play about. Students will convert into the mother tongue when they are required to work in groups or they will use class time to chat with each other or become lazier. As such, their speaking skill cannot be improved and their time is wasted. Learner-related difficulties The lack of linguistic knowledge to contribute to group work is the typical difficulty faced by many students. Speaking is one of the most complex linguistic skills because it involves thinking of what is to be said and responding spontaneously to what has been thought. In order to be able to do this, patterns, structures, and words must be chosen to fit the right situation or situation or attitude intended. Byrne (1986) has pointed out that thoughts are controlled to a great extent by vocabulary. We can not talk about something if we have no words for it. The inability to verbalize thought or feeling may distort ones perceptions of objective reality, increase tendency to overact and hinder the likelihood of easy collaboration. Once students do not know enough of the language to express themselves with ease, they often become reluctant to participate in group work. There are also other situations in which the students personality (e.g., shy, passive, reserved, etc) or personality conflict(e.g., incompatible personalities) influence students participation in group work activities. Vygotsky (1986) supposed that relationship of peers has also an influence on interaction in groups. Peers can be proficient learners, learners who are different from teachers (Swain Lapskin, 1998), more or less proficient learners (Ohta, 1995), more or less informed junior students (McDonald, Kidman, Clarke, 1991), and peers as native and non-native speakers in the classroom (Barnard, 2002). Sheils (1993) said that though many students are happy to speak in chorus or under the teachers guidance when doing some kinds of drill, they are inhibited when being asked to express themselves freely in the presence of the whole class. Furthermore, the fear of being corrected in front of the other students may also cause the uneasy collaboration and lead to unproductive groups. In those cases, students may never have been encouraged sufficiently to â€Å"have a go† without worrying about mistakes or they may be accustomed to the traditional teacher- centered class. Learning style preference certainly affects the students performance in group work. In her study, Nguyen (2004) illustrates the influences of students learning style preference on the students performance in group work activities. She mentions that the learning style preference in Eastern countries like China or Vietnam is greatly influenced by the Confucian culture. The students were often familiar with being transmitted knowledge from the teachers rather than from their peers. Therefore, it might be difficult for the teachers to implement group work activities in language classes due to the students negative responses to communicative language teaching and learning. Beside the factors discussed above, there are other situations in which some students, though they do not have problems with the lack of appropriate linguistic competence or personality, have no ideas to contribute or to react to the topic given by the teachers. This may happen when the topic needs too much specialized knowledge to discuss or even when there is nothing interesting to say about it or even when the tasks do not need multiple contributions from all students but can be completed by only one or two individuals. However, there have been a number of researchers who have reported positive effects of group work activities on the development of speaking ability in the language classroom. They are, therefore, worth considering putting into the classroom more regularly. Also, more investigations should be conducted to find out the most appropriate techniques or procedures to implement successful group work activities in speaking class, both teachers and students need to play effective roles. The following part discusses the roles the teachers and the students need to perform in order to implement group work successfully. Concerning the allocation of members into groups, Hurd (2000) says there is no â€Å"one right way† to allocate students into groups. Rather, there are members of practices teachers can use. He also states that most selection methods fall into four categories. These are random appointment, self-selection, selective appointment, task appointment. 3. Group work and speaking fluency Brown (2003) raises a question â€Å"Can we really develop our students fluency?† According to him, in teaching fluency, teachers must be willing to let go of some control in our classroom, let my students have some of the control and let them to do some of the work and set up situations in which fluency can develop, and encourage my students to actually communicate. In fact, I do not need to teach fluency all of the time, but some of the time students need a little guided communication time during which their knowledge of many aspects of the language can develop into fluency. Brown (2003, p.15) also states Teachers set up activities and then get out of the way that many students can be talking at the same time [†¦] However, setting up such activities is exactly what the students need to develop. There is many other research by Ur (1996) and Maurice (1983) noting that the use of group work activities can create many opportunities for students to practice speaking fluency. Context Twenty four of my first year English major students in my class who took part in my study were from eighteen to twenty- two with four males and twenty females. I have taught them spoken English for one term with Communicative Method which does not pay much attention to a fixed curriculum but focus instead on authentic materials. My students had one speaking lesson every week and each lesson lasts for 90 minutes. Therefore, I had time to understand about their English competence very well along with their characteristics, and backgrounds. Before entering the University, one third of them finished 7 years of English at high school. The rest studied English for 3 years only. When entering the University, they already have some basic knowledge of English grammar, but most of them are still weak at speaking, reading, listening, especially, those who come from rural or remote areas where the conditions of learning English are very poor. About 30 % of the students who lived in areas with go od conditions of learning English in secondary schools and high schools are at better level. Nevertheless, in high school, most of them could not use English communicatively, because they had been taught with the Grammar- Translation method with much focus on grammar rules, memorization of vocabulary, translation of texts and doing exercises to enter a university. Another reason was that they had few opportunities to communicate with foreigners or native speakers. I wrote inform consent letters (see appendix 1) and delivered them to all the students of the class to ask them for their permission to participate in my research. I did the research with two female informants. Firstly I chose A because she has studied English for 7 years in the city high school with high level of communicative skills. Secondly I chose B because she has studied English for 3 years in a local school with low level of communicative English skills but she is good at writing and reading English. I saw many times A and B went and chatted with each other inside and outside the class and heard other students say that A and B were close friends. Methods and methodology At the beginning of my project, I explained my intentions to the students and asked them for their permission to conduct the research. I told two informants that I would record their spoken language as part of my research on how to develop their English oral fluency. Luckily, they agreed because A and B had good attitudes to me, to University, especially to learning English to find good jobs. I also gave each student a consent form letter which might be useful in setting out clearly for learners what their participation would involve and how the results of the process would be used. The head of my department was aware of how and why I was conducting my research. Learners interviewed their friends and wrote up friends characteristics, attitudes towards group work and useful strategies of speaking English. The results might help them develop motivation in speaking English. After collecting data I gave back my final draft of report to my students to check whether or not my interpretation of what they said corresponded with their own understanding. I formally thanked everyone who had helped me and sent copies of my findings to anyone who has been of substantial help to me. I combined observational and field note techniques to organize data about behaviors, contexts, group organization and records of interactions between informants. Therefore, using notes to collect research data became more effective than other data collection techniques took over. Besides, I used a small hand-held recorder as a time saving option during group work activities and students interviews. This allowed me to note important data while they were still fresh in my mind. I could also talk into the recorder, listen to the recordings again and start thinking. I organized A to interview B in Vietnamese on their feelings and opinions about group work and learning experience during their break time of 20 minutes. I provided a set of preplanned questions (see appendix 7) in no fixed order and asked the group to audio-record their responses. I did this to in order to increase my own and my learners understanding of students feelings about group work. I used semi structured interviews between learner and learner because they ensured greater consistency, reliability and balance in the research relationship. Two students engaged in their free flowing conversational process in a friendly way to share with each other about their learning experience in speaking English and their perception of group work. I chose this approach to understand deeply about the factors affecting group work to develop English oral fluency. I felt a lack of experience in writing up the final research findings. It worried me whether I was adopting the right approach, and that my data collecting methods became a bit slapdash and less thorough than they should have been. I felt pressured for time during the process and in writing the report because I also taught and did the research at the same time. Chapter five: Analysis and Findings I conducted the research with my students when they had started studying in the second term for two weeks. The first time, I observed speaking in the English class at the first period in the morning. The class had not had any examination of speaking in the second term of the first year. In the first term, A got mark 8 and B got 5 for speaking examination. We had two speaking periods in the same day per week. The second time, I observed the speaking fluency of A and B after one week of the first observation, at the first period in the morning. A sat next to B in the same front table of the classroom. Before conducting the research for a week, I informed them that I would do the research in the class. And I delivered twenty four consent letters to all my students, asked them to tick the box if they agreed to participate, collected all letters after 5 minutes and read at home. During observing, I used highlighter, sticky notes and collected data on set target in the observation sheet. I used themes and codes (see appendix 2) to organize and collect data in field notes when I was observing. I put the recorders in each group of the class. Because desks and chairs were fixed and unmovable I asked my students to work in groups of three with their neighbors at the same desk and imagine a story about the picture (see appendix 3) on the blackboard. A and B were in the same group with C who could speak English very well. At first, they were eager to talk in the group because they thought they had many things to speak about and the picture was very interesting. I just sat at my desk with books, looked and made notes in the observation sheets. When I observed I realized that A and Bs oral English fluency was not interfered by with the noise of other groups. I just required my students to create their own stories about the picture in their groups in 15 minutes and present their stories in front of the class. I saw almost all students looked very excited and smiled when I showed the picture and said: â€Å"The most interesting story would get good marks†. I fixed the picture on the blackboard and explained about characters in the picture. A and B kept quiet for a while in their group and later A asked: â€Å"B, what is your story? And why will we have to do this task?† B was too shy and said nothing while A started speaking English. She had a huge amount of ideas about the picture to share with other members while B just listened to A and nodded her head. Often, B said â€Å"right†, â€Å"ok† and looked at me. After speaking English for 3 minutes, A asked B to take note what she had said. Sometimes, A stopped speaking and asked others to express their ideas. B also spoke some short utterances to support the st ory. A commented on B and Cs opinions. B almost always agreed with A and she just kept silent and looked very nervous to speak English. A and C dominated B while B had no more chance to practice. For example, B almost always asked questions and read sentences which were written and said very short utterances like: â€Å"you should change this word into that word†. Sometimes B suggested new ideas for the story but she was too shy to persuade others to agree therefore B looked unhappy in her group. After they finished the story, A began to chat in Vietnamese with another girl friend at the table behind about a film on TV that night while B turned around and exchanged her stories with other groups in Vietnamese. B wanted to talk but she had no chances in her group so she found another whom she could speak with. When the time was up, I asked each group to tell their story. When other groups were presenting, A did not pay much attention to that. A asked B to present the story in f ront of the class when I called them. B was too shy to speak and did not speak fluently and always looked at her note taking paper. C and A said â€Å"no† and they stood up and continued to present their own ideas. B sat down and felt more comfortable when she did not have to speak. The task was finished on time and almost all A and Bs utterances were in English. After the first class of observation, I asked students to be free for 20 minutes in the next period to interview in pairs. I paired A and B and recorded their conversation to understand about their feelings, difficulties and struggles of working in groups. I concluded that B felt intimidated when working with someone of much better ability although the more fluent students sometimes tried to help their partners. Moreover, B could not talk because she made a lot of mistakes and did not know how to say things in English. Although B wanted to talk she thought her friends would laugh at her when she spoke. My lesson was not interesting enough to encourage all students to engage in speaking although the picture was very good. Because I did not give enough requirements and explanation of the task A and B did not understand what they should do in group work. I did not pay much attention to the group organization, task requirement and students understanding. A and B got good marks but they did not like my lesson. A and B did not feel satisfied with the lesson. A said that the lesson was not interesting enough and should be made clear for all students. Nevertheless, B liked to be in groups with A, and other more fluent students because she had chances to learn from them to broaden her knowledge and vocabulary. After the first observation, I changed my mind about my teaching. I though about reasons why my students did not engage in their groups and decided that I should require them to produce a story with five or six simple tense and future tense sentences. And I should deliver this picture for all groups as a handout while the blackboard was used to present students results. I should go around and listen to my students and encourage them to speak English. In the next period, I rearranged the desks of the class in a U shaped arrangement of groups to allow an easy transition to plenary mode. Students grouped by themselves with friends who had the same interesting topics after they were provided some background knowledge of each topic. After collecting information of observing, I compared the results of two sessions to find out differences between A and B in oral English fluency in their groups. I would not give each group the same mark because this was unfair and created competitive groups rather than co-operative groups and totally defeats the purpose of grouping at the first time. I wrote the topic â€Å"favorite places† and asked my students for related vocabulary. I made students involved in the task. A and B said aloud their vocabulary about this topic. Lan also mentioned some of her favorite places in Vietnam while Hoa asked me and her friends a lot of clarifying questions like â€Å"how do we say this word mean in English ?† or â€Å"Can you explain again?† After that I let my student read one short passage about a famous place in Vietnam (see appendix 4) without name and asked my students to guess. A and B were very eager to talk because they had been this place. Later, I asked them to choose one picture of famous places (see appendix 5) to create a conversation to introduce this place in groups and used as many comparative adjectives as possible. I delivered chosen pictures for each group and said: â€Å"It is no problem if you make errors because you can learn something through getting it wrong.† I asked all students to stand up and find other two partners to talk with. A and C decided to choose the same picture to discuss and called another Cs friend. B joined in a group of two other friends who also lived in the rural area and had the same level of speaking English as her. Then they discussed to choosing a favorite place to talk about for 15 minutes. A had a lot of ideas to s hare with her partners. A talked loudly and continuously then C and his friend took a turn. A and B felt comfortable to talk with peers whom they wanted to talk with. B felt more confident to share ideas with others who had the same ability level. When other friends commented on B opinions she also looked happy and tried her best to negotiate. She listened to others and took notes on their ideas. When B met with difficulties she asked me for help. And I explained and encouraged her work like: â€Å"that is good†, â€Å"say it again†, â€Å"thank you†, â€Å"well done†, etc. She encouraged others to talk and commented on their ideas. She said: â€Å"good†, â€Å"not suitable†, â€Å"you just think more about this†. She helped others to have chances to talk. When they had time left As group continued to think more about how they might make their stories more interesting. When other groups were presenting, A and B listened carefully to t hem. A and B were almost eager to present their groups conversation. Based on all the data, I found that students changed their feeling and behavior when they worked with different partners. It meant that group organization played an important role in developing students English oral fluency. A and B spoke more fluently when they were in groups of the same ability level. In the second lesson, a safe environment had been achieved where everybody liked to work with each other. In the mixed group, A almost did nothing while B was reluctant to speak English. In the second session, when they were in groups with the partners on the same level they felt more relaxed to talk. I found that B spoke three times more English when working with students of the same ability than when she had more fluent partners. I concluded that the students were motivated to speak English but perhaps felts intimidated when working with someone of much better ability. While listening to the taped conversation of the second observation I observed that members of Bs group generally took turns to speak, that no individual was dominant, and that they helped each other with vocabulary. The conversations were quite fluent and accurate. B leaned on the table to speak with other partners. It was unavoidable for my students to use Vietnamese but it was not much. However, the taped conversation of the first time indicated that, although A was very cooperative and tried to help her partner, she tended to dominate the conversation and overcorrect her partner without giving B much chance to talk. From interviews, I found that my less able students liked to use English with more fluent partners when they had to be self-reliant, when I was not present, when they were not corrected all the time, and when they were not being tested or monitored. Besides, based on the observation and interviews, it could be concluded that the students English oral fluency was also be influenced by the teachers preparation. In the first lesson, I did not provide enough explanations, knowledge and encouragement to help them understand and engage in speaking English. In the second lesson, my students felt very excited in speaking English when they had enough vocabulary and interest in the task. Reflections During this investigation, I learned a lot about my students attitudes towards and abilities in using English. Gathering information from the students about how they use English was important to me. I discovered a way to deal with a class of mixed abilities and found a way to motivate my less able students. This project confirms my beliefs about the value of using group work and has reduced my anxiety about grouping less able students together. I can create different groups for different activities. Depending on the task, I will want to have students of different skill levels working together or students with the same level working together. For example, a harder task might lead me to mix skill levels, however a task where outcome is not an important goal, the instructions are not difficult, and the process easy to follow, could lead to homogeneous grouping. During doing this research, I ha

The American Olympic Association Essay -- Sports, Training, Olympic Ga

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC), initially named the American Olympic Association, was formed in 1896. Members of the committee sought to provide assistance to United States Olympic athletes with training and other needs. As the USOC is not government funded the committee has relied heavily on corporate funding and private donations (â€Å"Team USA,† 2011). However, over the years while the continued appeal of the Olympic Games remained, the increased cost of housing, clothing, and caring for U.S. athletes along with other professional sports vying for corporate sponsorship, made obtaining funding difficult. Thus, the USOC was challenged with persuading corporate benefactors that investing in the Olympic Games was a lucrative and cost effective venture (O’Rourke, 2010). Therefore, the methods used by the USOC to persuade companies to invest as well as motivating factors underlying corporate sponsorship are explored. Case Analysis Persuasion Message The ability to communicate effectively is essential in business (O’Rourke, 2010). In order to provide information, convey a message, and explain an idea, communication tools must be applied daily (N, 2005). The most important communication tool is the persuasive (N, 2005). This is due to the fact that whatever is being conveyed at the workplace requires a degree of persuasion (N, 2005). Hence, persuasion is the ability to move an individual or group into action. Boyer and Stoddard (2011), describe persuasion as â€Å"the act of getting a sentient being other than yourself to adopt a particular belief or pursue a particular action (p. 1). Therefore, in order for persuasion to be effective a level of trust between the parties must exist (O’Rourke, 2010). Thus, the challen... ... their association with the Olympic movement and develop interventions including updated marketing and promotional strategies to correct the problem. Moreover, an exclusivity right for some corporate sponsors has caused corporations without this type of contract to feel second rate which creates the possibility for ambush marketing to surface (Palomba, 2010). Ambush marketing is a company’s attempt to associate itself directly or indirectly with an event, team, or celebrity without being granted proper permission or pay the necessary licensing fees. As a result, official sponsors may not receive the full benefit or commercial value of paying to be legitimate sponsors (Palomba, 2010). Therefore, the USOC needs to protect legitimate sponsors by enacting or enforcing protective legislation to curtail or eradicate ambush marketing tactics (Palomba, 2010).

Graduation Speech :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Good evening. I’d like you all to do something for me. Think of one person who has inspired you, someone who you look up to and admire; someone who has done impressive things in their life. This person is someone that you will never forget. Now realize that that person has had to put in a great deal of work and time to achieve great things in their life. Know that nothing worth having or achieving comes easily. People like these can be hard to come by, but as students of Stoll High School, we have been extremely fortunate to have access to an entire staff of eager, ambitious and passionate teachers. Over our years here at SHS, many of us have been encouraged by one, if not more, of these extraordinary people. Perhaps when I asked you to think of that person who has inspired you, it was one of your teachers. These are the people who make a difference in the world. They may not affect the price of tea in China, but they challenge people around them to become better than they ever could on their own. Personally, I have been motivated and inspired by several excellent teachers. I would love to go through and list them all and tell you what they’ve done for me, but I’m afraid that if I did, I would lose the attention of those of you who are still actually listening to me. However, I would like to mention two of my personal heroes. First of all, the most challenging teacher I have ever had, Brady Smithson. I’m not sure exactly how I did it, but I survived two and a half years in her English classes, and somehow managed to keep my sanity. But through it all, she taught me to work harder than I ever imagined I could. Thanks for everything. And also, there’s my greatest inspiration, John Grabowski. Mr. Grabowski, thank you for the exceptional improvements which you have brought to the music program. It is so encouraging to see a teacher who views his work not as a job, but as a quest.

Plato Essay example -- essays research papers

The great philosopher, Plato, wrote two specific dialogues; the book Timaeus and the book Critias. Plato was a professional teacher who valued intelligence immensely. Plato founded the first Philosophical Academy in Athens in the early fourth century BC. He devoted his life to philosophy and the teachings of his friend Socrates. Plato learned from Socrates and passed on his knowledge to his students. After his friend's sudden death, Plato became dissatisfied with the government in Athens. He filtered away from his family and lived his dream of researching and teaching philosophy. Plato focused on many philosophical aspects and wrote numerous dialogues. In the book Timaeus, Plato spoke of the beginning of the world and the creation of living creatures. Plato believed the human body and soul were created with precise, divine planning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the book Timaeus, Plato described the Father of the universe as a very masterful being and a divine planner of the human body. Plato revealed that the Father told the other Gods to create mortal figures of them. Plato recalled the words of God, â€Å"There are three kinds of mortal creature yet uncreated, and unless they are created the world will be imperfect, as it will not have in it every kind of living creature which it must have if it is to be perfect† (57). The Father of the universe is very precise in the way the beings are created. He tells his Gods to use the mixture from the soul of the world to create the ...

How significant is the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men? Essay

Loneliness is a state of detachment, separation, and isolation and a feeling of being friendless and forlorn. The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck picks up this feeling as one of it’s main themes. Several characters from the novel either isolate themselves or are being isolated. The main characters George and Lennie on the other hand have a strong relationship and many others envy them for this but even those two find themselves confronted with loneliness in some way. The two protagonists George and Lennie have a special kind of relationship and this makes them stand out from the others. Many of the other characters are very lonely and even Slim, the most popular worker on the farm, how special and rare George and Lennie’s relationship is. By sharing a dream together they relieve themselves of their loneliness. Both are in some way dependant on each other and that is exactly what many others search for. Crooks comments on his own loneliness by saying that â€Å"a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody†. Candy and Crooks are two characters, who are excluded because of physical features and they both admire George and Lennie’s friendship. Candy is an old man who lost a hand during his work on the farm. He feels he is excluded from the others and very much holds on too his old dog. After this dog is shot he looses an important part of his life. One could draw some kind of comparison between the relationship of Candy and his dog and George and Lennie. Both of these two have a similar kind of dependency on each other and without each other they no longer have someone or something to look out for. So after Candy has lost his dog he offers George and Lennie his money in order for them to allow him to join them in their dream. This shows how little all of his savings mean to him if he can have just someone around him. Not only Candy though shows his loneliness and has suffered from it. Crooks, the black stable-buck, shares a similar fate to the old Candy. At the time the novel takes place black people were looked down upon and excluded. Crooks clearly suffers under this and although he initially displays aggressiveness, the reader can still sympathize with him because it is rather clear that this origins from his isolation and loneliness. When Lennie enters his bunk house he at first tries to throw him out but then decides to tease Lennie by asking him what would happen when George wouldn’t return. This displays Crook’s curiosity for the type of bond that exists between George and Lennie. Even though he does not believe George’s and Lennie’s dream will ever come true and even though he at first seems rather rejective towards the other characters he decides to ask whether he can join them. Demonstrating his strong longing for companionship. One more character though experiences loneliness even though it is not for the same reasons as for Crooks and Candy. Curley’s wife is excluded for different than Candy and Crooks but experiences the same kind of injustice. As she mentions, she is not very happy with her husband Curley. Therefore she flirts with the other men one the ranch but they try to keep away from her. They are afraid of getting in trouble with Curley and therefore she very much is isolated from everyone on the ranch. In Lennie she finds someone she can tell her feelings to because he cannot care any less about it and does not understand the reasons for her being isolated. This is her downfall but in someway frees both of them from their curse. Curley’s wife dies even though she is married in loneliness. Lennie would without George have no chance in the hard life of that time. In George Lennie not only found a protector but also someone to relieve him from his doom of being lonely. The other men left on the farm are all in some way lonely. Even though they keep contact they do not have anyone to look after or to take care of. Exactly that is where George and Lennie differentiate themselves from the others. All characters in the novel, besides George and Lennie, are in some way lonely, whether it is because some physical feature, their age, their sex or simply because of the circumstances of the time. They all had lost their goals on the way and therefore the connection to the people around them. George and Lennie on the other hand have a bond that connects them on two levels first of all the dependency on each other and second of all their shared dream.

Delta Airlines

The use of new technology, such as internet e-check-in and self-service kiosks, allows the processing of a significant number of passengers to be decentralized from the airport itself. This allows a better use of airport staff resources and reduces bottlenecks while, more significantly, allowing more departing passengers to be processed. Frequent flyers and business flyers who tend to travel with little luggage and appreciate any time-saving measures are currently leading the way in self-service check-in use. The other functions of self service kiosks are the kiosks help customers shave 5 to 15 minutes off the time they have to stand in line. Passengers can use the kiosks to check in for their flights, get boarding passes for originating or connecting flights, select or change seats, request to stand by for an upgrade, check baggage, change flights, and initiate multiparty check-ins. Delta plans to add more than 400 kiosks and enhance functionality to include international check-in and fee collection. With this change, Delta will offer customers more than 800 kiosks in airports nationwide. Airports such as Northwest and Delta airlines are now finding that the self-service kiosk is a valuable tool in the reduction of queues. But while the kiosk technology has been around for some time, it has still taken the industry a lot of coaxing to make passengers comfortable with the technology. The self service kiosk technology includes networked special-purpose microcomputer terminals * Video touch screens * Built-in thermal printers * Magnetic-stripe card reader The TouchPort which is being manufactured by Kinetics USA provides the best of the available technology system for the implementation of the Self service kiosk. The system consists of: * Intel ® P4 Processor 2. 8 GHz * 15† Touch Screen Display (Optional 17† Touch Screen Display Available) * 8† Wide-format Thermal Printer * Magnetic â€Å"Dip† Style Card Reader * Built-in System Support * Snap & Go Installation * Ease of Serviceability * System Reliability * The system is completely customizable and can be modified to include a large number of features as per the requirements of the buyers. Moreover, the system is easy to maintain is not very costly also. Ans2. -Delta customers will benefit from: –  · Broader reach and enhanced functionality – More than 400 enhanced kiosks will be available in 80 U. S. cities by the end of 2002.  · Quicker transaction times – Delta customers who use kiosks will receive a boarding card in less than one minute, on average.  · Dedicated customer service agents – Delta provides customer service agents dedicated to assisting customers with kiosk usage and baggage check. Self-service check-in kiosks are just one product in an array of technology enhancements provided by Delta to make travel easier for its customers. Delta offers the industry’s most extensive line of virtual check-in products available, including virtual check-in through delta. com, a toll-free telephone line, wireless Palm Powered handhelds and Web-enabled phones. Additionally, Gate Information Display Screens (GIDS) and Flight Information Display Screens (FIDS) are other technology products designed to save customers time, while keeping them informed. Delta Air Lines, the world’s second largest carrier in terms of passengers carried and the leading U. S. airline across the Atlantic, offers 5,590 flights each day to 410 destinations in 71 countries on Delta, Delta Express, Delta Shuttle, Delta Connection carriers and Delta’s worldwide partners. Delta is a founding member of Sky Team, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Without the use of such information kiosks, the customers had to spend a lot of time waiting in the queue for checking-in the airport. Moreover, the customers who are frequent travelers and business class people who do not have much time get annoyed with such long waiting times. As a result, such a system would definitely help the travelers and a lot of customers would be delighted to use this system and it creates a lot of value for the company as well. Ans3. – These fully automated information kiosks provide a very high business value for the airline industry which is one of the most emerging fields because of the increasing globalization. Thus a large no of people keep travelling for business purposes to various countries. These corporate people do not like spending their precious time waiting in the queue to check-in to the airport. As a result, the implementation of such self service kiosks are always of a very high value for the airline industry as it helps them getting more customers. Yes, they do give an airline company a lot of competitive advantage. When an airline company implements such an information system, by which a customer can do all the things sitting at home and has to just walk in to the airport half an hour before his flight would surely give that company a competitive advantage over the others who are not implementing. Because the customers of those airline companies have to spend a lot of time after coming to the airport when the other company lets them do everything at their convenience. Traveling for business or pleasure isn't what it used to be. In order to develop and maintain brand loyalty while streamlining operations in an increasingly competitive global market, airports, air carriers and hoteliers have been challenged to transform their business processes and integrate new forms of customer-facing technology. Self-service technology has played an important role in this industry transformation. Today, travelers can manage air, hotel, train, and rental car reservations and check-in using kiosk, web or mobile applications. Increasingly, these applications support preferences ranging from dietary restrictions to airplane seating to hotel room/bed types and much more. In addition, travelers can use self-service kiosks while at an airport, hotel or off-site location, bypassing long queues. While selfservice travel kiosks have the potential to improve the traveler experience by making traveling easier, quicker and more enjoyable, some travelers may experience barriers when trying to use them. Self-service kiosks often utilize touch-screens which can be difficult if not impossible for persons to use if they are blind or have low vision or mobility impairments as a result of age or disability. Providers of self-service travel kiosks are increasingly interested in removing such barriers in order to: †¢ Continuously improve the traveler experience and differentiate themselves. †¢ Build brand loyalty in an increasingly competitive global market †¢ Capture market share for the growing segment of travelers with disabilities, whose annual business and leisure.

Charlie Fish

The wife did nothing. I would say that he is the protagonist in the story, because he is doing nothing wrong, the only thing he does is to think evil thoughts. The protagonist is usually the â€Å"good† guy in the story and the main character. I wouldn't say he is good, because he have intentions to kill his wife, but in the end it ‘s her who is the antagonist and let him die. D: Typical for the crime genre is that there often is a crime or someone who breaks the law.For example the woman in the story is breaking the law by not helping her husband, and as it says on the last line â€Å"l fall to the floor. My wife Just sits there, watching. † The main character is often a police officer(the good guy) or a criminal(the bad gay), in our story you could say the main character is both. He's a bad guy inside, but â€Å"behave† on the outside. The tension also plays a major role and there is also often plot twist in the crime genre.In the story we as readers had an idea that he non will kill his wife, but in the end it is her who kills him, it's called a plot twist and the tension is built up. I think It's a good story, because the excitement Is built up and It does not end as expected. The author manages to build something up, although the story Is so short. Charlie Fish By Cannonaded â€Å"Death by Scrabble† by Charlie Fish is a story a husband and his wife. It's the hottest angry at his wife, so angry that he would beat his wife to death.He is Just waiting for he right time. The words they put down on the board, begins to happen in reality. When he puts the word â€Å"QUAKE† down, and she thereafter put â€Å"DEATH†, it all starts to shake and the man gets a piece stuck in his throat, which he had hidden in his intentions to kill his wife, but in the end it's her who is the antagonist and let him I think it's a good story, because the excitement is built up and it does not end as expected. The author manages to build something up, although the story is so short.

Cold War Essay

The existing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union proceeded to spike between 1945 and 1950. The disputes between these two countries pressured them to start a war. Of the post World War II goals that contributed to the Cold War, there were a prominent few, including the â€Å"Iron Curtain†, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO. During the Cold War, competition for methods of weaponry skyrocketed. Some of said tactics were Satellite nations, the Space Race, and the buildup of arms. Originally, The United States and the Soviet Union formed a bond simply because of their mutual fear that the Nazis would gain control over Europe. After the war was over, restructuring of Europe commenced. When this began to happen, a power struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States developed. The tension continued to rise, but neither wished to go to war because of the whopping number of lives taken from World War II, therefore, the term â€Å"Cold War† makes sense. Winston Churchill gave his famous â€Å"Iron Curtain† speech on March 5th, 1946, which mainly focussed on changing the world’s view of Stalin and his dictatorship. Citizens were blind to Stalin’s cruel dictatorship, simply because they needed some kind of leader. Churchill stated in his speech that, the â€Å"Iron Curtain† separated West and Eastern Europe. The East European government adopted a communist system and fell under the control of the U.S.S.R. (Doc #1). This created tension, induced by ideology differences. President Truman made up a plan, in which he felt that there should be a policy of the United States to provide financial aid to countries who are trying to avoid domination from other countries. Truman gave $400 million in aid to Turkey and Greece (Doc. #2). This heightened pressure between the U.S. And other countries because of how strong the U.S. obviously was, compared to any other country. This was also a threat to other countries. Marshall, secretary of State, stated that the vast amount of political, economical, and social damage Europe were going through would not only effect the continent itself, but the world as a whole. He stated that this was a major concern, and the U.S. should do everything in its power to fix this torn continent. He stated that without the assistance, there would be ongoing hunger and poverty (Doc. #3). Marshall gave $13 billion to Europe to aid the damage. The Truman Doctrine, and the marshall Plan, were both attempts to maintain successful political, economical, and social stability throughout the world to prevent the post war downfall from occurring once again. Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union, captured Berlin. This upset many countries and so, NATO was born. They believed that an attack on one country was an attack on them all. The arms race occurred as a result because the countries stated that armed forces would be used if necessary to protect a country who had to undergo an armed attack.