To Whom So Ever It May Concern

About six months ago, I devoted a considerable amount of my time searching the Internet for an appropriate graduate school where I could utilize and advance my knowledge as well as achieve my primary goal to work in the areas of graphic and web designing.I narrowed my choices to four graduate schools, namely, Dakota State University, Montana Tech, University of Missouri Kansas City, and University of California, San Diego Extension or UCSD. After further research my final choice was the Digital Arts Center at the UCSD. I was convinced and impressed after talking to friends, alumni and after reviewing available material about the Digital Arts Center that I had made the right choice.I will definitely recommend this School to anyone aspiring to make a career in the Digital Arts. Information Technology enables improved decision-making and information sharing, provides access to resources previously unavailable to business, facilitates learner-centered instructional organizations, makes p ossible new kinds of learning for students, and creates new professional development.In my opinion the happiest person is that person who works in a job that interests him or her. I like to learn new skills and acquiring up to date information, because they can help me to adapt to a fast-changing world, enrich my experiences, explore my interest, and give me higher self-esteem.I believe in the maxim that education is a constant pursuit, and that educated persons devotes their entire life to the quest for knowledge. At present I am working as an aircraft charter Coordinator and dispatcher for a private Jet firm. For the past few years I have been preparing marketing material for my company using Adobe Photoshop and this has brought to the surface my latent talent and desire to work in this fascinating field.My competence in this field has won me numerous accolades from my employers. I am very good at computers and have an innate talent for grasping the nuances of computer hardware an d software. My intention is to change my career to graphic and web designing.A visit to your fascinating web site reveals that the courses of particular interest to me, on offer are, first, digital design and communication, which involves the working with illustrations, photography, publications, etc. This course will help me to develop comprehensive presentation skills. Second, web design and production, this course enables one to create professional level projects.Third, multimedia production, this course makes one an expert in special effects, etc.(digital arts center, n.d). The well-qualified and experienced faculty, excellent laboratory facilities, exceptional research work and the inspiration given to students would provide me with an ideal platform for achieving my goals.I look upon the courses offered by you as avenues to achieve my objective. I assure you that I would keep up my diligence and good demeanor during the course. I hope you find my purpose definitive and that I satisfy your requirements in respect of a promising student. I am eagerly looking forward to prove my capability in your esteemed institution.References.Digital arts center. UCSD Extension. n.d. Retrieved from http://dac.ucsd.edu/index2.htm

African Americans in the U.S. Essay

African Americans (American Blacks or Black Americans), racial group in the United States whose dominant ancestry is from sub-Saharan West Africa. Many African Americans also claim European, Native American, or Asian ancestors. A variety of names have been used for African Americans at various points in history. African Americans have been referred to as Negroes, colored, blacks, and Afro-Americans, as well as lesser-known terms, such as the 19th-century designation Anglo-African. The terms Negro and colored are now rarely used. African American, black, and to a lesser extent Afro-American, are used interchangeably today. Recent black immigrants from Africa and the islands of the Caribbean are sometimes classified as African Americans. However, these groups, especially first- and second-generation immigrants, often have cultural practices, histories, and languages that are distinct from those of African Americans born in the United States. For example, Caribbean natives may speak French, British English, or Spanish as their first language. Emigrants from Africa may speak a European language other than English or any of a number of African languages as their first language. Caribbean and African immigrants often have little knowledge or experience of the distinctive history of race relations in the United States. Thus, Caribbean and African immigrants may or may not choose to identify with the African American community. According to 2000 U. S. census, some 34. 7 million African Americans live in the United States, making up 12. 3 percent of the total population. 2000 census shows that 54. 8 percent African Americans lived in the South. In that year, 17. 6 percent of African Americans lived in the Northeast and 18. 7 percent in the Midwest, while only 8. 9 percent lived in the Western states. Almost 88 percent of African Americans lived in metropolitan areas in 2000. With over 2 million African American residents, New York City had the largest black urban population in the United States in 2000. Washington, D. C. , had the highest proportion of black residents of any U. S. city in 2000, with African Americans making up almost 60 percent of the population. Microsoft  ® Encarta  ® 2009.  © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Atlantic Slave Trade, Atlantic Slave Trade, the forced transportation of at least 10 million enslaved Africans from their homelands in Africa to destinations in Europe and the Americas during the 15th through 19th centuries. European and North American slave traders transported most of these slaves to areas in tropical and subtropical America, where the vast majority worked as laborers on large agricultural plantations. See Slavery. Between 1440 and 1880 Europeans and North Americans exchanged merchandise for slaves along 5600 km (3500 miles) of Africa’s western and west central Atlantic coasts. These slaves were then transported to other locations around the Atlantic Ocean. The vast majority went to Brazil, the Caribbean, and Spanish-speaking regions of South America and Central America. Smaller numbers were taken to Atlantic islands, continental Europe, and English-speaking areas of the North American mainland. Approximately 12 million slaves left Africa via the Atlantic trade, and more than 10 million arrived. The Atlantic slave trade involved the largest intercontinental migration of people in world history prior to the 20th century. This transfer of so many people, over such a long time, had enormous consequences for every continent bordering the Atlantic. It profoundly changed the racial, social, economic, and cultural makeup in many of the American nations that imported slaves. It also left a legacy of racism that many of those nations are still struggling to overcome. Microsoft  ® Encarta  ® 2009.  © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Civil Rights Movement in the United States, political, legal, and social struggle by black Americans to gain full citizenship rights and to achieve racial equality. The civil rights movement was first and foremost a challenge to segregation, the system of laws and customs separating blacks and whites that whites used to control blacks after slavery was abolished in the 1860s. During the civil rights movement, individuals and civil rights organizations challenged segregation and discrimination with a variety of activities, including protest marches, boycotts, and refusal to abide by segregation laws. Many believe that the movement began with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and ended with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, though there is debate about when it began and whether it has ended yet. The civil rights movement has also been called the Black Freedom Movement, the Negro Revolution, and the Second Reconstruction. Microsoft  ® Encarta  ® 2009.  © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. AAVE Distinctive patterns of language use among African Americans arose as creative responses to the hardships imposed on the African American community. Slave-owners often intentionally mixed people who spoke many different African languages to discourage communication in any language other than English on their plantations. Moreover, many whites were unwilling to allow blacks to learn proper English. One response to these conditions was the development of pidgins, simplified mixtures of two or more languages that speakers of different languages could use to communicate with each other. Some of these pidgins eventually became fully developed Creole languages spoken by certain groups as a native language. Significant numbers of people still speak some of these Creole languages, notably Gullah on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia. African American Vernacular English (AAVE), also called black English or Ebonics, is a dialect of English spoken by many African Americans that shares some features with Creole languages. Microsoft  ® Encarta  ® 2009.  © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

A Child Called It

A Child Called â€Å"It† is a true story based on one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is a twisted, brutal, and emotional book about the childhood of the author Dave Pelzer and his alcoholic mother who played many sick games on him as a child. It is about his struggles everyday to live and go on and try to beat his mother in her games. Until he is one day taken away by the Daly City Police Department and put in custody of the San Mateo Juvenile Department. His mother, Catherine Pelzer, started out as the perfect mother. Loving, caring, fun, nice, and she and her husband, Stephen, took Dave and his siblings on many trips to different places in California and all around the United States. Until one day things changed in the Pelzer household, Catherine and Stephen began arguing. The arguing caused Catherine to take all of her pent up aggression out on Dave, which is when the abuse started. She first began the abuse by burning him on a gas stove and then the abuse got much worse and she began playing â€Å"games† on him and not feeding him until his chores were done in a certain time. If they were not done in the allotted time, he was not fed that day. His father first began trying to help Dave, by sneaking him food whenever he was home from work and trying to convince Dave that things would get better in the Pelzer household. Until one day, he was caught. When Stephen was caught, arguing broke out and the â€Å"games† played on Stephen became a lot worse and more brutal than ever before. Stephen Pelzer began not coming home after work but would instead drink all night at bars and stay at hotels to avoid the arguing with his wife. Dave Pelzer,the protagonist, first began scared that the beatings and the â€Å"games† would never stop. He began to tell himself that he couldn't give up and that he had to try his mother at her own â€Å"games† and try to survive everyday or his mother would end up killing him. But as time went on and he was beginning to be fed less and less, he decided to come up with different plans to feed himself everyday. So he came up with the plan that everyday he was going to get to school extra early and steal food out of the other children's lunchboxes. Then one day children began complaining that they had food missing and then then the principal decided that Dave was stealing the food. So the principal called his mother, and the beatings gotten severely worse. Another plan he came up with is that during his lunch hour, he was going to go the grocery store and steal food during the hour. But this plan did not last long when he was caught by the manager, and he called the school and he was then reported to his mother and the beating got even worse. In the end, the nurse saw all the wounds that his mother had inflicted on him and the nurse and the principal talked about it. They then decided that they would report his wounds to the police department. The San Mateo Juvenile Department then took custody of Dave and he was removed from the household. His mother was never arrested but Dave was moved into foster care and he was never abused again. A child called â€Å"it† I don’t believe that anyone could read this book and not be disturbed it. It is a poignant and heart wrenching book of one child’s great misery at the hands of his extremely â€Å"ill† mother.The types of abuse that were inflicted upon him were horrific and terrifying to read about, let alone to have suffered through. I had to pause several times in the reading just to take a breath and try to absorb that anyone could have endured such horrors and survived it. It often brought me to tears and shock from the sheer sadness of it. David Pelzer’s writings were clear, concise, and held back no punches.At times, I felt myself filled with rage at the injustice and cruelty this man bore as a helpless child and the incredulity that it was permitted to go unchecked for so long. It seemed so inconceivable that no one interfered or made any attempt to stop it from family to public officials. This did not happen in the Dark Ages but in the 1970’s in California a nd in a country which was and is supposed to be a nation of freedom and enlightenment.How could the system have so totally and miserably failed this child? The â€Å"why† of that was still a mystery to me when I had reached the conclusion of the book? The only answer I could come up with was that no one could be bothered until it just finally became so evident that it could no longer be ignored. That, in itself, is almost as dire a tragedy as the misery and pain this child had to feel and live through.First question: A discussion of how this book impacted you emotionally and cognitively.The first real reaction I had was to the way the boy felt so unworthy in the beginning chapter of the book. This is a classic sign of child abuse, where it becomes the purpose of the abuser to demean and belittle the abused until they have no self confidence left or any sense of personal dignity. A human being that believes in themselves will fight back and refuse to be submissive.The motherâ €™s constant spew of criticism was intended for just that purpose so that David would not try to oppose her and would suffer through her abuse without fighting her. It gave her a sense of power over him, ill regardless of the fact that she was an adult and he was a child where the physical odds were against him.As each stage of the abuse became more violent and degrading as well as life threatening, my shock grew the further I read into the book. At points, it was hard to believe that a mother could be so uncaring of her child. Her coldness and lack of guilt amazed me but David’s mental and emotional fight to preserve his sanity and survival awed me more.When she broke his arm was horrible but to make him suffer through the night just so she pass it off as a fall off a top bunk and therefore, in her mind, take away any risk that she might be held accountable for it, impressed upon me just what a callous coward she was. Yet that incident seemed to pale in the mockery of th e stabbing where she simply bound his wounds and let him heal at home without any medical help.She knew if she took him to the hospital that there would questions and reactions and she would come under suspicion but in truth, the saddest and most despicable action came from his father when David turned to him for help and the man simply told him to go back and finish the dishes before the mother noticed.He let his child stand there and bleed on the carpet and did nothing. Why? Because he was afraid of his wife and her mouth! He put his comfort over the safety of his child and that is unbelievable that any loving parent would do that!I could better understand David’s siblings’ withdrawal out of fear of the mother but the father and the grandmother, both adults, failing to act in David’s defense was almost beyond comprehension.The malicious way that the mother taught her youngest son to view his older brother was feasible because a child, especially a very young o ne, reacts to the way they are taught. He was blameless in a way and more so than David’s older brothers. It brought forth the question to my mind as to why â€Å"just David† and not the other boys?Why were they allowed to eat and have privileges and David wasn’t? What was it about David that made his mother single him out as the one to be despised and abused? These were questions that the book never quite answered in my opinion. Of course, the book was written from the first person point of view, which of David and in only being a child, how would he know what caused his mother to turn on him and treat him so abominably?Second question: A discussion of the instances of where people could have stopped the maltreatment but did not.This question goes back to the instance of the father in particular. He was the only other adult in the house and it should have fallen on him to stop the abuse when it first began. Despite the fact that his wife hid the abuse from him in the beginning and made David never reveal it to his father, how could he have not noticed? With the mother denying the child food, the boy would have grown thinner and wan with an unusual lack of energy or vibrancy normal to a child David’s age.The father would have also had to see how the child clung to him when he was home. Then as time progressed and the father did openly admit to what was happening, why did he not stop it? If he had been a truly loving and caring parent, he would have taken immediate action to stop it, no matter how much he cared about his wife.He simply did not want to â€Å"rock the boat†, to use an old adage. He chose to ignore the situation and pretend that it was not happening. David was alone in a world that he was too small to be able to defend himself in.

What Factors Contribute to a Successful Computer-Based After-School Dissertation

What Factors Contribute to a Successful Computer-Based After-School Programm for At-Risk Children in an Urban Middle School - Dissertation Example The scope of this work is focused on whether the participation in an after-school program is beneficial to at-risk middle school students. This topic is important because there is a need for increasing the amount of time in which students are involved in educational activities beyond the regular school day. In these days of increased budget constraints any program that is competing for funding will have to be able to prove its efficacy. Having data to support the impact on academics of at-risk students will be beneficial to the program which requires funding, the entity which will supply the funding, and the students themselves as they will be able to determine if their time and/or money will be well-spent. This was a research project using interviews and reviews of academic progress reports/report cards. These methods allowed the researcher to not only establish a baseline as far as the students’ grades are concerned but allowed for a look at the students’ points-of-vi ew of the program. The interviews took place at a middle school. The findings show that participation in the after-school program led to improvements in academic performance in math. However, there were also several additional benefits as a result of the participation in terms of feelings, attitudes and behavior. ... I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Theodore and Patricia Wilson for their encouragement and support in what has turned out to be one of my greatest journeys. Without the additional support and understanding of my family and friends, this dissertation would not be in existence. Acknowledgements I would like to express my appreciativeness to my committee chair and mentor, Dr. E. Alana James, for her constant inspiration, feedback, and reinforcement. Thank you to Dr. Camilla Ferebee and Dr. Thea Williams for serving stupendously as my dissertation committee members. Their valued suggestions and knowledge have guided me through this wonderful three year journey. Table of Contents Abstract II Dedication III Acknowledgements IV Table of Contents IV Chapter I: Introduction of the Study 1 Background of the Study 1 Problem Statement 2 Purpose of the Study 3 Research Questions 3 Early Signs of Need of Extended Day Learning 4 Key Terms 4 Assumptions, Limitations, Scope, a nd Delimitations 5 Assumptions of the Study 5 Limitations of the Study 5 Scope of the Study 5 Delimitations of the Study 6 Significance of the Study 6 Summary 6 Chapter II: Review of the Literature 7 Introduction 7 History of After-school Programs 7 No Child Left Behind 10 Federal Role of Out-of-School Learning 12 At-Risk Students 14 Computer Usage in After-school Programs 15 Attendance and Academic Success 17 Benefits of Math After-School Programs 18 Summary 18 Chapter III: Methodology 20 Introduction 20 Research Questions and Hypotheses 20 Research Questions 20 Hypotheses 21 Background and Purpose 21 Methodological Design 22 Participants 24 Data Collection and Analysis 24 Consent and Confidentiality 26 Assumptions and Limitations 26 Summary 27 Chapter IV: Results 27

Reflection paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Reflection paper - Assignment Example Working in a community projects develops a rational way of making decisions for the students. Lions Clubs International is a large club organization that has over 1,300,000 members in over 46,000 clubs all over the world. Lions Club has community projects that support students by providing a program that empowers them (Martin 66). The main aim of the Lions Club international is to aid students develop their leadership skills and still make a positive impact to their community. The organization achieves this through the Leo clubs which are approximately 6,400 with 160,000 Leos (members). As a Leo in the community project of green team recycling our main motto was to reduce, reuse, and recycle (Martin 210). We engaged in advocating for recycling of items like hearing aids, paint, books, and magazine to keep our environment clean. At the initial stage of joining the project, I learned that I am a role model to my community in preserving my environment. The program offered activities that create a positive attitude towards the environment. Our Leo club focused on promoting recycling in our neighborhood by creating an awareness of taking the initiative of caring for our homes (Sirgy et al. 250). We collected used glass, aluminium, plastic bags and containers to resource recovery locations. All the Leos worked together in teams to take up the recycling challenges to hospitals and parks. We also campaigned on encouraging the local residents to participate in the recycling events within the city. Through the recycling program by the Lions Club International, the community has embraced the idea of recycling. Large organizations and other state owned corporations donate their outdated and non-functional computers to recycling companies (Taylor 94). The recycling companies dismantle the equipments, sort the parts by type, upgrade the components, reassemble units, and then have them distributed to students who may not afford a computer to use in their studies.

Free writing journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Free writing journal - Essay Example There are many closing doors in the story, a symbolism of Miss Emily’s refusal to adapt to the changes. Miss Emily’s refusal to accept the changing nature and behavior of the society and her environment made her a recluse. This indicates that refusal to accept that our world is changing is a ticket to getting stuck in one place and never moving forward to where we want to be. There are several indications in the story proving Miss Emily’s refusal to become part of the modern world. She didn’t want to put tin numbers on her door and she doesn’t want to have anything to do with the postal service. She didn’t want to accept her debt and she insisted she had no taxes to pay. A Rose for Emily makes us realize that even if we stick to our traditions, there will come a time that our old ways can only be found in books. As people die, traditions die as well, even if we tried so hard to keep things the way it used to be. Since death is inevitable, we cannot assure ourselves that tomorrow, what we’re doing today will still be what the future will be

Work Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Work Ethics - Essay Example Qualities like punctuality, cooperation and teamwork are traits that must be present in an employee given to any type of work. Be it the white collar professional or the blue collar laborer, all these groups have to abide by these rules. Every organization must ensure that their employees have perfect attendance along with productivity scores to create a profitable and professional environment. However, there are certain work ethics that are employed in white collar jobs at a far greater degree than for blue collar jobs: respect for different race or sex. Appearance is another ethic which is important in white collar jobs rather than blue collar ones. This gives the white collar workers a greater edge over manual jobs. 2) Upper middle class benefit the most from the work ethics produced by their organization. This is because these professional white collar workers are safe from problems like sexual or ethnic harassment, an ethic which is usually ignored amongst the lower classes: semi-professionals, working and marginalized members. Equality is an ethic which has not been mentioned in the work ethics program. It should be considered to ensure that no employee is disrespected because of their position at the job. The class differences can pose as a great source of inequality. These barriers should be removed before they create further problems within society.

Homeostasis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Homeostasis - Essay Example As body needs to respond to any disturbance in the internal milieu very quickly therefore initial response of the body is a reflex response usually takes place through peripheral controlling systems, especially nervous system. Failure of homeostasis causes diseases disease and sometimes death. Major systems controlling homeostasis in the body are nervous system and endocrine system. These systems have got their own specific characteristics which make them integral components which help maintain homeostasis: There are some physiological set points related to various systems in the body. Whenever there is disturbance to these set points body responds to this change and tries to bring the situation back to normal. This reversal of disturbance or change is necessary to keep an individual healthy and alive. Some of these conditions or parameters are: Central nervous system (CNS), autonomic nervous system (ANS) and endocrine systems work together to maintain these parameters within normal limits. Any change in the set points is detected and recognized by these systems and efficiently maintained by these systems with the help of feedback system. ... 6. Adrenal medulla: adrenaline - adaptation to stress; 7. Pancreas: insulin - regulation of blood glucose level. Physiological set points There are some physiological set points related to various systems in the body. Whenever there is disturbance to these set points body responds to this change and tries to bring the situation back to normal. This reversal of disturbance or change is necessary to keep an individual healthy and alive. Some of these conditions or parameters are: Body temperature: regulated close to 37 C Blood pH: kept at 7.4 Arterial blood pressure: maintained around 120/80 mm Hg Maintenance of blood glucose level Maintenance of fluids and salts, osmoregulation Central nervous system (CNS), autonomic nervous system (ANS) and endocrine systems work together to maintain these parameters within normal limits. Any change in the set points is detected and recognized by these systems and efficiently maintained by these systems with the help of feedback system. Initially, most of the time, nervous control takes this initiative of maintaining homeostasis o short term basis; afterwards, endocrine system takes the responsibility of responding change in the internal milieu. Homeostatic system functions following the "feedback mechanisms". Although, negative feedback system is utilized most of the time but in a limited number of situations positive feedback also gets itself involved (Wikipedia 2007; Biology Online). All feedback systems work in a systematic and well organized way, the major components of a feedback systems are: Sensors; Signal transmitters; Control center and Effectors. Sensors are directly involved in the situation, which disturb the internal environment of the body they relay signals to the central

Abstract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Abstract - Essay Example Modern management will have to adapt to the challenges of the present as well as the future, according to change brought in by rapidly evolving technologies such as the internet. The conventions and rules created by theorists back in the 20th century, although redundant and inefficient, still continue to drive the management strategies of almost all business organizations. Hamel asserts that management is now out of date because there have been no great breakthroughs in management practices that have revolutionary impact on business. It is not the operating or the business model but its management model that limits the performance of a business. Innovation in management practices has the potential of generating long-term advantages for a business. Thus, it is concluded that business organizations have to rework their management practices in line with the changing demands of the 21st century and with the current technological and economic

Israeli's treatment of arab citizens, Research Proposal

Israeli's treatment of arab citizens, - Research Proposal Example The fire of hatred burns brightest in the hearts of the Arabs for America because they were tools to kindle the hegemonic designs of the Arabs on the Israelis. Therefore the United States is facing rising anti- Americanism almost all over in the world. Pew Global Attitudes Project, (June 2003) Some of these reactions are due to the U.S strikes directed towards some Arab countries including its occupation of Iraq and secondly the political, military and economic support by the U.S in support of Israel against the Arabs. Another reason for the Arab antipathy and hatred for America lies in the fact of America’s support for a major number of undemocratic regimes of the Arabs. The Arab public sees U.S. positions in the Arab-Israeli conflict as biased and feels the U.S. government is not an honest broker in the conflict.† (Nicolas Francis, Moises Naim, and Abdel Monem Said Aly, (2002) These unfavorable conditions have led to the great hostility between the Israeli and the Arab s which seems to be blowing out of proportion time and again thus intensifying problems further. Shocking reports from the Department of State’s Annual Human Rights Division give us a clear insight into the Israeli’s treatment of the Arab minority. Depressing facts of abuses on the human rights of the Arabs by the Israelis have been well documented over the years to give us the bigger picture of life in the Arab countries. For over 30 years now, the Israelis have detained, tortured and killed many of the Arabs thereby fuelling resentment still further. In addition to this countless Arab homes were demolished and their lands confiscated without any explanation given to any human rights organization whether national or international for the past many years. The Arabs in Israel constitute about one –fifth of the population of the country but in spite of their large numbers they are deprived of most of the civil rights which other citizens of the country enjoy. According to the

An International Study Essay Example for Free

An International Study Essay The third method of research this essay is going to look at is journals. Again these are similar to websites. Journals are generally up to date on the subject that is being researched, and will cover recent topics that are being discussed in the news and that people are researching. The problem with journals is that they are one persons point of view on a certain subject, and could be very bias to one point of view. This means that their may be inaccuracies in the information, or some of it could be made up. The correct way to reference from a journal is the surname of the author or authors, the year of publication, the title of the article, the title of the journal, the volume number, the issue number and the first and last pages of the article. For example Alemayehu E, Mooloy D, Guyatt G, Singer J et al. Variability in Physicians Decisions on Caring for Chronically Ill Elderly Patients: An International Study. Canadian Medical Association Journal 1991, 144(9):1133-1138. The final method of research is newspapers. The positives and negatives of newspapers are similar to that of websites and journals. Newspapers are updated everyday and cover recent topics. Many newspapers tend to be either left wing or right wing, therefore making them bias on certain issues which do not allow fair opinion. These means that there will be inaccuracies in information gathered. Another negative of using newspapers is that some stories may be made up just to make headlines and to sell the newspaper. The way to reference from a newspaper is similar to that of a book and journal, except that as with the journal the volume and issue numbers are not needed. An example of a newspaper reference is, Warnock M. (2008) Legalize assisted suicide, for pitys sake. The Observer. 19th October 2008:p22. The two conventional systems of referencing this essay will look at are the Harvard System and Footnotes. The Harvard System is one of the most commonly used forms of referencing, and different institutions have different variations. The most common way to present it in the U. K is to put the author-date references with the year shown last and titles should now be underlined or in italics (Neville C, 2007). There are both pros and cons of using this system. One pro is that it is both easy to teach and therefore easy to teach (Neville C 2007). Another pro is that it is easy to carry out and there are no distractions such as adding footnotes or endnotes (Neville C 2007). The cons are that the citations can become long winded and it is also difficult to reference television, radio and other audio sources (Neville C, (2007) The complete guide to Referencing and Plagiarism, Open University, Maidenhead) Footnotes or running notes (British Standards) are another conventional method of referencing. This section of the essay will use footnotes to references to give a clear understanding of the way it works. This style of referencing uses bracketed numbers or superscript in the text, for example, Euthanasia can be carried out by giving a lethal injection or by not giving treatment to keep the person alive (1). The number is then referred to at the bottom of the page to inform the reader of the source of information. As with the Harvard Referencing system there are both pros and cons of this system. As there is a history behind footnotes, it arguably gives it a dignified presence(2). Another pro is that it allows the reader to immediately refer to the source, rather than having to turn to the reference or bibliography page(3). The most obvious disadvantage of this style of referencing is that the author is not able to go back and make any additions(4). Some people find that footnotes can distract them from what they are reading(5). 1. BBC News (2006) Ethics of Euthanasia. Accessed 20th October 2008 from the World wide web:http://www. bbc. co. uk 2. Neville C(2007) The complete guide to Referencing and Plagiarism, Open University, Maidenhead 3. Neville C (2007) 4. Neville C (2007) 5. Neville C (2007) In any institution, be that educational or research, there are certain rules that govern the use of information. These are called copyright or intellectual property law. Everyone should know these rules to avoid plagiarism. The rules do not allow anyone to use images, sounds, written words unless permission is given by the creator. The 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act states the duration as; i. For literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last remaining author of the work dies. If the author is unknown, copyright will last for 70 years from end of the calendar year in which the work was created, although if it is made available to the public during that time, (by publication, authorised performance, broadcast, exhibition, etc.), then the duration will be 70 years from the end of the year that the work was first made available.

Book Report Writing Template Essay Example for Free

Book Report Writing Template Essay This is a guide only. It is not meant to write the report for you. It gives you a format or template for writing your own report. The original draft was developed by a teacher friend of mine to use with her own students. I have made a few additional enhancements which I believe make the model more clear and complete. A note of caution here. Your instructor may have another book report format that he/she prefers. So, make sure they approve of this format before using it. The following book report format template is appropriate for students at the pre-college level who are required to write a report about a book they have read. For the type of book summaries applicable to college and university level (undergraduate and post-graduate), as well as for business and professional situations, you can check out the following book summary sample. 1. Introductory Paragraph The first sentence should state for which instructor and class the book-report is being written. The second sentence should state the title of the book and the authors name. The third sentence should tell how many pages the book has and the name of the publisher. The fourth sentence can state basic bibliographic information about the book. Bibliographic information means not only the author and title but also what company published the book, what year it was published in and any other relevant information such as the edition and if the book has been translated, simplified or abridged. (see copyright page and the back of the title page. ) The next sentence should state the reason(s) you decided to read this book. Why did you choose this particular book? Typical reasons might be: You like the author. You like this type of book (i. e. mystery, western, adventure or romance, etc. ). Read more:Â  How many sentences in one paragraph. Someone recommended the book to you. It was on a required reading list. You liked the cover. These reasons do not have to be complex. Most people choose the books they read because they like the author or somebody recommended it to them. If you chose the book because you like the author, then state why you like that author. An optional sentence can be used if the cover (back cover) of the book gives you any additional information then add a sentence with that information. Was the book a best seller? Are there X million copies in print? Did it win any major awards? 2. Main Character(s) Paragraph The first sentence of this paragraph should state who the main character or characters of the book are, and why they are important. Refer to this person or these persons as the Main Character or Main Characters. You will need at least a complex sentence for this, and probably more than one sentence. 3. Other Characters Paragraph You should compose at least one sentence for each of the other prominent or important characters in the book. State the name of each of the other important characters, and the key role that each one plays in the book Most books have five or six prominent characters besides the main character, so simply listing each one and stating their role in the book will give you a good sized paragraph. 4. Plot Summary Paragraph This is perhaps the hardest paragraph to write in five sentences or so. If you have to write a bit more dont worry. Here are the main points to cover: State the type of book (Mystery, Western, etc. ). What place or country was the book set in? What time period was the book set in? (19th century, the present, ancient Rome, the 23rd century). Other physical locations which are important, like: ships, airplanes, houses, or buildings. Other notable attributes of the book. (Was it violent, scary, fast paced, etc. ). What is the main character trying to do? What is the outcome of the book? etc. Make sure you cover all of the major parts of the plot. You might have to go back through the book, chapter by chapter, and make a few notes. 5. Personal Impressions and Conclusion Paragraph Simply talk about what you liked or did not like about the book. Use this paragraph as your conclusion. It should summarize your overall impressions of the book and bring the report to a close. Start with a sentence that states that you are now writing a conclusion. (For example: My final thoughts on A Fine Balance are that it is a fascinating book but I am not entirely sure if I completely understood the thematic message of the book. Restate your reasons why you liked and/or disliked the book using different words. Write two sentences that talk about the books good points and weak points. Write a sentence or two about what you learned from the book. Close with a sentence that states whether you would recommend the book to others. Dont be afraid to give your own honest impressions of the book. After all, if youve read the book thoroughly, you are entitled to your own interpretation of it. Typically, your book report should not exceed two double-spaced pages, and it should be somewhere between 600 and 800 words in length. Research Assistance This site, which claims to be the best single research source online, maintains an inventory of more than 25,000 research reports on thousands of subjects; many of which are book summaries. Most are available for immediate download. If your subject isnt already in their archives, they will do custom research and writing for you. You can download existing papers and/or order custom research papers 24 Hours a Day!

Quantitative Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR)

Quantitative Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) QUANTITATIVE REAL TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (RT-qPCR) Primers All primer sequences were designed using the online tool Primer 3-BLAST (NCBI) and the primers were obtained from Sigma Aldrich, Bangalore, India. Relative expression of transforming growth factor beta (TGF- ÃŽ ²), myosin heavy chain beta (ÃŽ ²-MHC), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was studied. Forward and reverse primers for the above genes were used for amplification. Table 5. PCR Primer details RNA isolation All glasswares were rinsed with diethyl-pyrocarbonate (DEPC) treated water to inhibit RNases. Total RNA was isolated using guanidium thiocynate-chloroform-phenol method of Chomczynski and Sacchi (1987). Total RNA isolation kit (BioUltra, Sigma Aldrich,USA) was utilized for this study After cleaning with saline, heart and aorta tissues were homogenized in denaturing solution with freshly added ÃŽ ²-mercaptoethanol. After homogenization 2M sodium acetate solution (pH. 4.0), water saturated phenol and chloroform: isoamyl alcohol (49:1) was added. The mixture was shaked vigorously and allowed to cool on ice for 15 minutes. The mixture was centrifuged at 10,000 Ãâ€" g for 20 minutes at 4 oC. The aqueous phase was transferred in a fresh tube and an equal volume of ice cold isopropanol was added. RNA was precipitated by placing the sample at -20 oC for one hour. Then the mixture was centrifuged at 10,000 Ãâ€" g for 20 minutes at 4 oC. The pellet was washed with 70% ethanol and RNA was stored in DEPC water at -80 oC. RNA quality and quantity was assessed by nano-drop spectrometer. Real time PCR amplification SYBR Green Quantitative RT-qPCR Kit was used in this study and the PCR experiment was carried out in eppendorff realplex mastercycler. 1 µg RNA was reverse transcribed by using Molone murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) reverse transcriptase as per manufactures instructions. Then the amplification program (94 oC – 45 seconds, annealing – 45 seconds, extension 72 oC- 1 minute) was applied with specific annealing temperature. The annealing temperatures of TGF-ÃŽ ², ÃŽ ²-MHC, eNOS and GAPDH were 58, 52, 55, and 55 oC, respectively. The specificity of the primers was confirmed by resolving the PCR products in 1.5% agarose gel electrophoresis. The relative fold change of expression was calculated by normalized the expression with GAPDH. The RT-qPCR results were quantified using the ‘threshold line’ and the ‘cycle threshold’. The ‘threshold line’ is the point at which the reaction reaches a fluorescent intensity above background. The cycles at which the samples reach this level is called the ‘cycle threshold’ (Ct). The statistical analysis of the RT-qPCR results was calculated by using the à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Ct = (Ct value of gene of interest – Ct value of GAPDH). Relative gene expression was obtained by à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Ct methods (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Ct sample – à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Ct of control), with the use of the control group as a calibrator for comparison of all unknown sample gene expression levels. The relative gene expression fold change was derived from 2–à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Ct (Schmittgen and Livak, 2008). IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION (IHC) Immunohistochemistry (IHC) IHC was performed as described by Rocha et al., (2009) using Super Sensitive Polymer-HRP Detection System kit, from Biogenex, USA. The Super Sensitive Polymer-HRP Detection System is a atypical detection system using a non-biotin polymeric technology that makes use of two major components: a Poly-HRP reagent and super Enhancerâ„ ¢. As the system is not based on the biotin-avidin system, the problems associated with endogenous biotin are completely eliminated. The detection of antigens in tissues by immunostaining is a two-step process. The first step involves the binding of an antibody to the antigen of interest and the second step involves the detection and visualization of bound antibody by one of a variety of enzyme chromogenic systems. The choice of detection system will dramatically impact the sensitivity, utility and ease-of-use of the method. Procedure Paraffin-embedded tissue was cut to obtain sections of about 4  µm thickness. The mounted paraffin-embedded slices are deparaffinized in xylene and rehydrated using an ethanol/H2O gradient. Heat mediated antigen retrieval step was carried out for 10 min and then the slides were allowed to cool to room temperature for another 20 min. This was followed by peroxidase block treatment (to block endogenous peroxidase enzyme activity) for 10-15 min and then power block treatment (to block non-specific binding of antibodies to highly charged sites) for another 15 min. The sections were incubated with the concerned diluted primary antibody solution (for 2 h (1:200)) followed by treatment with the super enhancer solution (for 30 min) and super sensitive Poly-HRP solution (for 30 mins). After colour development with DAB and counterstaining with haematoxylin, the sections were observed under the microscope and photographs were taken. TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY The ultrastructure of the heart specimen was examined by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) according to the method of Lang (1987), by the technique of thin sectioning. Reagents Glutaraldehyde solution: 3% Osmium tetroxide: 2% osmium tetroxide in 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH -7.4 Ethanol: 75%, 95% and 100% Uranyl acetate: 1% Lead citrate: 3% Sodium phosphate buffer: 0.1 M, pH 7.4 Procedure Immediately after the sacrifice, the heart tissues were dissected and fixed with a solution of 3% glutaraldehyde for 2 hours at room temperature and washed thrice with phosphate buffer to remove glutaraldehyde. Post-fixation was done by a solution containing 2% osmium tetroxide in 10mM sodium phosphate buffer and left overnight. Then, the osmium tetroxide solution was removed and replaced with 75% ethanol. This reduces the remaining osmium tetroxide to osmium dioxide, which forms a precipitate in the alcohol. After 10 minutes, the alcohol was replaced with a few ml of 75% ethanol. After 30 minutes, the alcohol was replaced with 95% ethanol and left for 30 minutes. This solution was replaced with 100% ethanol and washed thrice and then dried in acetone. After dehydration, the tissues were equilibrated for 30 minutes in 1:1 mixture of epoxy propane and the embedding medium, epon 812 (also called epikote resin-812). A mixture of the resin and two hardening agents, dodecyl succinic anhydride and methyl anhydride were used. A diamine catalyst generally N-benzyl-N-diethylamine was added just before use. The 1:1 mixture was poured off and replaced with full strength resin. This step was repeated several times to ensure full infiltration of the embedding medium. The tissue was then transferred to a beam capsule with a wooden stick and the capsule was filled with fresh resin mixture. The wooden stick was used to tease the specimen down to the center of the bottom of the capsule. Next, the block holder was placed with the specimen in hot air oven at 60 °C for 48 hours to polymerize the resin completely. Once the blocks are hardened, they are ready for sectioning. The ends of the specimen blocks were trimmed using glass knives and ultra thi n sections were cut using an LKBUM4 ultramicrotome. The sections were picked upon carbon grids and post-stained with combined uranyl and lead stain and rinsed with distilled water and dried. After drying, the grids were examined under a Philips EM201C transmission electron microscope (Philips, Eindhoven, Netherlands). WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS Western blotting was performed to analyze the expression pattern of eNOS in the aorta and reperfused hearts according to method of Laemmli (1970). Principle Following the protein estimation, the samples were separated using SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis and the separated molecules are blotted onto a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane. After blocking, the primary antibody was added and allowed to bind to the protein followed by washing (which removes non specifically bound antibody); then an enzyme-labeled secondary antibody was added, to detect the primary antibody. The location of the secondary antibody was determined by adding an appropriate substrate for the enzyme conjugated to the secondary antibody. Reagents Acrylamide stock: 30% acrylamide, 0.8% N,N†²-methylene bisacrylamide Separating gel buffer: 1.5 M Tris, pH 8.8 Sample buffer: 0.5 M Tris, pH 6.8 Sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS): 10% Ammonium per sulfate (APS): (10%) N,N,N,N-tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) Separating gel overlaying solution: Water-saturated isobutanol Sample Buffer: Tris (0.5M, pH 6.8)-2.5 mL SDS (10%)-4.0 mL Glycerol (100%)-2.0 mL ÃŽ ²-Mercaptoethanol-0.8 mL (or 1 M DDT-0.5 mL) Bromophenol Blue (0.1%)-300  µL Distilled water (400  µl) to 10.0 mL Running gel buffer Tris-6.05 g Glycine: 28.80 g 10% SDS: 10.0 mL or (1.0 g) Distilled water to 1000 mL Staining solution Coomassie brilliant blue R250- 300 g Methanol-80 mL Acetic acid-20 mL Distilled water-100 mL Destainning solution Acetic acid-100 mL Methanol-300 mL Distilled water: 1000 mL Procedure The aortic tissues were homogenized in an ice-cold radio immuno precipitation buffer (RIPA) (1% Triton, 0.1% SDS, 0.5% deoxycholate, 1 mM/L EDTA, 20 mM/L Tris (pH 7.4), 150 mM/L NaCl, 10 mM/L NaF, and 0.1 mM/L phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF)). The homogenate was centrifuged at 10,000 Ãâ€" g for 20 min at 4 °C to remove debris and the supernatant was used to determine the protein concentration of the lysates using the BCA protein assay kit (Merck, India). Transfer of proteins to membrane Samples containing 50 ÃŽ ¼g of total cellular proteins were loaded and separated using 10% SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Following electrophoresis, the proteins were transferred from the gel to a membrane by using semi-dry blotting system (AA Hoefer, SEMIDRY BLOTER, USA). Before assembling the transfer system, soaked PVDF membrane in methanol for 10 minutes and blotting papers in cold transfer buffer. Prepared sandwich, blotting paper, membrane, gel and blotting paper, were placed in the transfer apparatus and few drops of transfer buffer was added and subjected to an electric current 20 V for 1 h under cold condition. After the transfer, the sandwich was removed from the transfer system. Membrane was stained with 0.5% ponceau in 1% acetic acid to confirm equal loading and then washed with distilled water. The PVDF membrane were blocked with 5% blocking solution (containing 5% BSA in 0.5 M Tris-buffered saline, pH 7.5) for 2 h to reduce the non-specific protein binding sites and then incubated with primary antibody (anti-eNOS), in blocking solution with gentle shaking overnight at 4 °C. After this, the membranes were washed with TBST (Tris-buffered saline and 0.05% Tween-20 (TBST)) thrice for 10 minutes interval and then incubated with respective secondary antibody anti-mouse IgG (Sigma-Aldrich, USA) conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. Then the membranes were washed with TBST thrice for 10 minutes interval. The reaction was developed with a DAB detection system (Merck, India). Bands were scanned using a scanner and quantitated by Image J, a public domain Java image processing software, Wayne Rasband, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA. H9c2 cardiomyoblast cell culture Rat embryonic cardiomyoblast derived H9c2 cells was obtained from National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, India. Cells were cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and a combination of penicillin-streptomycin (1%) in a humidified 5% CO2atmosphere at 37 °C. The assay was performed by seeding H9c2 cells in the concentration of 1Ãâ€"104 cells/well in 96-well plate. In vitro oxidative stress and mitochondrial transmembrane potential study In order to evaluate the cytotoxic effect, viability was checked with MTT assay on D-carvone (25–100  µM) treated H9c2 cells. For assessment of protective potential of D-carvone against oxidative stress, different concentrations of D-carvone (0.1, 1 and 10  µM) were incubated with H9c2 cells for 2 h, and then co-incubated with 500  µM/L H2O2 for further 18 h (Jia et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2011). For viability analysis, MTT solution (5 mg/mL) was added to each well, and incubated for 4 h at 37 °C. After incubation, optical density (OD) was measured on a microplate reader at 570nm. With the 10  µM dose of D-carvone, the level of intracellular ROS formation was quantified with fluorimetry using redox-sensitive fluorescent probe 2, 7-dichlorodihydrofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA). Further, to examine mitochondrial membrane permeability transition (MPT), H9c2 cells were incubated with 5 mg/mL Rhodamine 123 (Rh123) at 37 °C for 30 minutes (Park et al., 2003). The images were acquired using the Olympus IX71 inverted à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uorescence microscope. Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) protocol D-carvone was dissolved in 1% DMSO (vehicle) and administered orally to rats using an intragastric tube daily for 7 days. The rats were randomly divided into four groups of six rats per group: (i) control group pre-treated with vehicle alone for 7 days (isolated rat hearts subjected to continuous perfusion). Isolated rat hearts obtained from the following three groups were perfused with a modified Krebs buffer solution for 10 minutes to stabilize the cardiac functions and then subjected to 30 minutes of global ischemia, followed by 60 min of reperfusion: (ii) I/R hearts pre-treated with vehicle alone for 7 days (Control (I/R)); (iii) I/R hearts pre-treated with D-carvone (I/R + D-C 10 mg/kg body weight); (iv) I/R hearts pre-treated with D-carvone (I/R + D-C 20 mg/kg body weight). Langendorff isolated heart preparation The animals were anaesthetized with an intramuscular injection of ketamine (75 mg/kg body weight). After thoractomy, the hearts were rapidly excised and placed in cooled (4 °C) Krebs Henseleit bicarbonate solution [composition (in mM): 118 sodium chloride (NaCl), 4.7 potassium chloride (KCl), 1.2 magnesium sulphate (MgSO4), 1.2 potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (KH2PO4), 2.3 calcium chloride (CaCl2), 25.0 sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), 11.0 glucose]. composition (in mM): 118 sodium chloride (NaCl), 4.7 potassium chloride (KCl), 1.2 magnesium sulphate (MgSO4), 1.2 potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (KH2PO4), 2.3 calcium chloride (CaCl2), 25.0 sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), 11.0 glucose. The heart was then attached to the cannula through aorta and retrogradely perfused with the Krebs solution maintained at 37 °C and continuously gassed with a mixture of 95% O2 5% CO2. Perfusion pressure was kept constant at 80 mmHg. The ischemia and reperfusion protocol was followed as described previously (Khan et al., 2006; Senthamizhselvan et al., 2014). An elastic water-filled balloon was introduced into the left ventricle through a left atrial incision and connected to a Pressure Transducer (AD Instruments) linked with a PowerLab data acquisition unit (AD Instruments). The balloon volume was adjusted to achieve a stable left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) of 5-10 mmHg. The percentage rate-pressure product [RPP = (LVSP-LVEDP) Ãâ€"HR] and percentage coronary flow was assessed as described previously (Esterhuyse et al., 2005; Ferrera et al., 2009; Swaminathan et al., 2010). Coronary effluent was collected for the estimation of LDH activity. Macroscopic enzyme mapping of infarcted myocardium (Triphenyl Tetrazolium Chloride test) TTC (triphenyl tetrazolium chloride test) test used for a section of the heart tissue. Lie et al. (1975) method was used for the triphenyl tetrazolium chloride test (TTC) analysis acclimated for the macroscopic enzyme mapping appraisal of the infarcted myocardium was completed. A freshly prepared solution of 1% TTC in phosphate buffer was prewarmed at 37-40 °C for 30 minutes in a darkened glass. To remove the excess blood, the heart tissues were washed rapidly in cold water without macerating the tissue. After removing epicardial fat, the left ventricle was taken separately. To obtain slices not more than 0.1-0.2 mm in thickness, the heart was transversely cut across the left ventricles. The heart tissue slices were kept in the covered, darkened glass dish containing prewarmed solution of TTC and the dish was kept in an incubator and heated to 37-40 °C for 45 minutes. The heart slices were turned over thrice and made certain that it remains fully immersed in the TTC solution. At the end of the incubation period, kept the heart slice in fixing solution to fix the tissue. Colour photographs of slices were obtained by a camera with macro lens. The expected reaction of the TTC test was as follows: normal myocardium (LDH enzyme active) turned to bright red, infarcted myocardium (LDH enzyme deficient) turned to uncolored white.

Teaching an Applied Critical Thinking Course: How Applied Can We Get? E

Teaching an Applied Critical Thinking Course: How Applied Can We Get? ABSTRACT: Encouraging students to apply classroom knowledge in their personal, everyday life is a major problem confronting many teachers of critical thinking. For example, while a student might recognize an ad hominem argument in a classroom exercise, it is quite another thing for him or her to avoid the same in interpersonal relations, say with parents, siblings, and peers. One approach to this problem is the creation of interaction software to which students can turn for input on the rationality of their own thinking. Students can then speak to computers rather than instructors about their private lives without having to share confidential information with any other human being, yet still receive relevant feedback. I discuss software technology that actually performs this function. The software in question is an interactive, artificial intelligence program that checks beliefs for faulty thinking ("fallacies"), including inductive and deductive errors. The system "scans" student es says for possible fallacies; asks questions at relevant junctions; provides individualized feedback on fallacies committed; provides summaries of fallacies found; diagnoses thinking problems; issues recommendations; and provides other pertinent information. The current movement in "applied philosophy" has helped to re-awaken the Socratic notion that philosophy is a way of living and not merely an academic pursuit. The crux of this movement has been that philosophical theories and methods can make valuable contributions to practical life problems. One very visible area of applied philosophy has been that of ethics. Thus, applied ethics today includes applications of philosoph... ... of fallacy commission in each of the five groups of fallacies addressed in the course. In a sample of about 150 community college students, the mean total score on the PLAI pre-test was 132.543, whereas the total mean score on the post-test was 113.647 indicating a overall improvement (across all five fallacy categories) of 18.896. CONCLUSION While, at this juncture, more data needs to be collected and its significance evaluated, there is reason to think that instructors of critical thinking can, with the assistance of computer technology such as that summarized above, effectively narrow the gap between classroom and students' "external" world. Without undue invasions of students' privacy, instructors can oversee and assess their students efforts in applying critical thinking to personal living. And they can do this without ever having to leave the classroom!

Essay --

Marivic D. Toledo Eng2 X-1R LRP (Final draft) Landfilling: The Philippines’ Next Method of Waste Reduction The world, reaching the edge of vulnerability, suffers from small to large capacity of calamities caused by either natural or human activities. From North to South, the melting of glaciers causing sea level rise, and from East to West, the extreme and strenuous heat of the sun withering soils and root crops leading to intense scarcity - all eventually become the first and foremost factor to human suffering and misery. Philippines, a developing country, suffers most in this predicament together with the belonging nations, informally called as â€Å"Third World countries†. However, these calamities are not done generally by those of the developed countries alone. All nations: American, Asian, African or whatever nationality contributes to the worsening Global warming that is currently experienced worldwide; making the citizenry all liable and responsible for any undue instances and effects accompanying it. Generally, there are different factors that affect and cause this environmental phenomenon. One of these is solid waste. Solid wastes are waste materials and residue which are either made of plastics, woods, metals and the like which eventually, as of to date, continuously increases. Due to increasing solid waste, improper implementation of solid waste segregation, and ineffective usage of numbers of sanitary landfills in the Philippines, improvisation and implementation of sanitary landfi lls and developmental programs should be imposed by the Local Government Units nationwide for maintenance and execution of proper waste segregation. With these, the problem on solid waste management can be minimized. Basically, landfill is a me... ...e problems but did not become effective enough to maximize its full use because of the different problems encountered upon implementation. But by following proper techniques and strategies, these problems can be addressed. All people have their own respective responsibilities which they are required to live by. Depending on one organization or a certain group of people is not even the key in minimizing the country’s waste problems. Together with responsible leaders, it requires full participation and cooperation of every citizen in doing necessary measures on waste reduction. Actions are already made, only that it should be improved and properly implemented to maximize its full use. All of these – when done with unity and perseverance – will be the most powerful and effective tool in minimizing solid waste management problems and achieving a better - healthier life.

Why I Volunteer Essay -- Contribution to My Community Service

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Ghandi I believe I have been truly blessed to have the opportunity to grow up in Smallville, USA, in a home where my parents have instilled in me the principle that there is a service requirement beyond our immediate household. Realizing what has been provided for me by my parents, my church and my community, I want to use my college degree to serve my community. Not only have my parents modeled before me that we are to volunteer our time and services as citizens to make our community a better place to live, but they have always encouraged me to become involved in church and community activities. Therefore, church and community service, which I feel are inseparable for a thriving community where people desire to live and raise families, have become a way of life for me. I have been taught t... ...ontinue to locate and expand, I am committed to obtaining a quality college education to become an investment for my community. If I am selected as a recipient of this scholarship, your organization will not only be investing in my education but you will also be investing in my community for many years in the future as I live out my commitment to fulfill my obligation of giving back to a community that has helped mold and shape my life.

Albertsons Works on Employee Attitudes essay

ALBERTSONS WORKS ON EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES 1. The Successful Life program made by Foreman's dramatically influences the company's profitability. This program made a transparency between the management and the employee. Like for example on the 1st day they begin it in inspirational hand-out. In this case management build and let their employee know what was the goal of the company and what are those things that they have to do t contribute in the company success. The program also encourage each individual most especially those that is in the lower position to appreciate their present in the company.It is very important that we will not set aside our employee. As much as possible management should recognize them and let them feel that they are important in an organization. In return this employee will give their best and contribute their knowledge for the benefit of the company. Remember the best asset of a company is the employee!. 2. † Positive attitude is the single biggest thing that can change a business†. It's right! If we think positively our outcome will be positive. What if for example we made a mistake then other people see that mistake. Some treat it as negative but for some they treat it as positive.Positive in the sense that they treat it as opportunity or room for improvement. So! if all the employee will be motivated well and lead it to company's goal the change in business will be more like easier. Appreciate each individual; positive attitude is like building and empowering employee by sharing each individual talent and skill. 3. I should have to monitor if this program are really effective. I should have not to think for the benefit of the company. I have to look the feedback on how my employee turns it into productivity. It was like building relationship with my employee.But still with this program there is a risk. What if my employee leave me after this program?. If this program will last for example three months then with that period I should see little changes in our business. I had a experience regarding giving this kind of program some of my co worker undergone the program just left the company and went abroad. What happen was management was very disappointed because they will contribute it to other company. 4. Foreman's program was pretty much good. I think I should have to relate it in my real work. Every morning we have what we so called circle meeting.Like in Foreman's program we try to share each experience on shifting period we share the problem we encounter in the line then what are those things that we've done. Every third week of the month we had a Plant wide meeting were in all the question and concern were raise. This Foreman's program seems to be motivating to every employee because this program gives each individual importance. In this kind of program employee encourage to contribute and share their talents. It's not just always work we should not put pressure in our workplace. At least in a mean while we have to put some relaxation so that our employee will be more productive.

Compare the Evidence of a Nordic Presence in the Americas

Compare the evidence of a Nordic presence in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus with the evidence of a West African presence during that period. It has been said by historians that the Nordics and the West Africans were in the Americas before Columbus arrived in 1492. Though evidence, such as oral sagas, tracing routes which it was said they took, artifacts, skeletal remains, among others, have been found to prove that they could have been present; there are still debates as to whether or not they actually came to the Americas before Columbus.Some believe that the evidence of the presence of the Nordics is more admissible than that of the West Africans. The Norse (also known as the Vikings) got their name from the language they spoke, ‘Old Norse’. They were originally from Scandinavian countries. It believed that they came to the new world for several reasons such as; the fact that it had a rich supply of salt to preserve their goods, they were explorers, the co untry they lived in, Greenland, soon became over populated and they experienced a great famine in 975. It is also believed that there was a political unrest between the cans in Northern Europe.There has been many pieces of evidence to support the theory that the Vikings were, in fact, present in the new world during the pre-columbian era. Some of the settements of the Vikings were found, still standing, such as ‘York’ and ‘Dublin’. There was not much written records on the Viking so most of their history was passed down orally through sagas, through which we first heard of their exploration into Europe and the Americas, there were two sagas which survived; these are the Greenlander’s Saga and The Saga of Erik the Red. The sagas claim that the Vikings interacted and traded with the native people that they found in the Americas.The sagas led to the finding of some substantial evidence such as the archaeological remains found in ‘Newfoundland†™ and there it was discovered that there was a Viking settlement in the town called ‘L’Anse aux Meadows’, in this town historians discovered that the Vikings did travel further south into the Americas and explored the land they spoke of in their sagas, Vinland. When they ventured further down into Vinland historians discovered butternut wood and butternuts, which were not native to the area so it is believed that the Vikings brought it there from further south (lands surrounding the Gulf of St.Lawrence). Other artifacts such as architectural structures, woodworking items, boat rivets and personal items were found in the region, which historians dated back to about AD 1000 with the use of scientific method. Another hard piece of evidence found in ‘Vinland’ was a Norse coin which was found off the coast of Maine and was dated back to between AD1065-1080 which suggests that there was interaction of these people and the indigenous peoples. This gave hi storians physical evidence that coincided with the oral sagas. All this evidence pre-dates European arrival by as early as 500 years.It is also believed that the West Africans came to the New World centuries before the arrival of Columbus. Ivan Van Sertima is one of many who argue that West Africans made contact with the new World before Columbus. According to Sertima the Africans travelled from the African coast from the north to the west and crossed the Atlantic. According to the famous Egyptian Scholar, Ibn Fadi Al-Umari, in 1342, there were two large voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, before Columbus’ voyage, both of these voyages were pioneered by one man, Mansa (king) Abubakari II. In the year 1311, Abubakari abdicated his thrown to Mansa Musa.Not a son of his son but in fact his brother. He (Abubakari) equipped 1000 of his ships with the finest men, sorcerers, physicians, sailors and navigators. Every ship had supply ship attached to it. The number of ships totalled 20 00. The other 1000 ships were loaded with foodstuffs, drugs, fruits and drinks to last his team for 2yrs. It was believed that Abubakari arrived on the other end of the Atlantic in the year 1312. Proof of the Malian expedition can be noted in the names given to places in Haiti as the Malians renamed places after themselves. Examples of such are Mandinga Port, Mandinga Bay and Sierre de Mali.It is said that the African mariners that came to the western hemisphere were looking for trade and knowledge of what lied beyond their coasts. They brought with them flora and fauna, cloth, their scientific knowledge, technology and the arts. Modern experiments have shown that the ancient African boats could have made the journey across the seas to the new world as they were strong enough. Boat builders in Central Africa’s Lake chad made a papyrus craft that was sailed from North Africa to Barbados in eastern Caribbean in 1969, there were similar journeys that showed that even the small b oats could with have survived these crossings.Some of the evidence that the West African’s were in fact present in the region before Columbus’ arrival are; the linguistic continuities in the region, an example of this is when it was recorded that the indigenous peoples referred to the Africans as ‘guanine’ which was the first piece of evidence that west Africans were in the region, it, however, was not seen as strong enough by many historians to hold up such a theory. There were no written evidence that they were there, it could be assumed that they could have been lost, or destroyed as it was seen that the Europeans were not always tolerant of these other cultures in their explorations.History has recorded some incidents where the writings of natives and precious metals and gems were destroyed (in the case of the precious metals and gems, they were used or melted down) by the Europeans when they came to the land of the natives, as they saw some of these a s pagan items. Another piece of evidence found by historians were the archaeological remains that were found, the age of these remains were dated back according to how deep the archaeologist had to dip for it.The successive layers of dirt only built up over time, so the archaeologists knew the date of the dirt layer then the date of the artifacts to the layer which was found. Additional evidence that supported the thesis that both these cultures came in contact came from clear evidence of the facial features of the images and figures, which were done using various materials such as clay, gold and copper that were found in the relics which were dug up.The images and figures found in the relics were unmistakably inspired by an African as the phenotypical and cultural characteristics were clearly of an African origin, this could be told by â€Å"†¦their colouration, the fullness of lip, prognathism, scarification, tattoo markings, beards, kinky hair, generously fleshed noses, and even in some instances, identifiable coiffures, head kerchiefs, helmets, compound earrings†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sertima 1976). † Also, there were huge head sculptures which were discovered in the Central and South America that also had African features.Skeletal remains which belonged is believed to have belonged to Africans were found. Further evidence is seen in the religious rituals of the people in Mexico, as their gods and ceremonies are closely modelled to those of the African society. Also, the use of shells as currency rather than just symbolic items and also the botanical continuities such as the presence of species of African origin, for example; banana, jack bean, yam and others. Other evidence which came directly from the natives themselves when they explained to the Europeans that they â€Å"received an alloy called guanine’ from the Africans†, the alloy which they spoke of consisted of a mix of precious metals. It was also noted that some of the artifacts of the natives which Columbus collected, such as the cloths used by the natives closely matched the weave, colouration and style of cloths used by African communities in Guinea. An explorer, Balboa, also recorded that he came across scattered groups of people who looked very much like Africans in regions that he had ‘discovered’.This shows that the Europeans themselves came across Africans in the region. There is also the scientific evidence (oceanography) which points to the fact that the Africans were very capable of getting to the new world before Columbus, The Atlantic World’s coastline was linked to the African coastline by the ocean currents which moved between the two areas, which meant that the Africans who were seen in the Americas would not have had any problems using these ways to make their way to the new world.In both cases, as relating the presence of the Nordics and the west Africans in the western hemisphere before Columbus, the main problem is t he fact that there are not much written accounts by the people themselves, and so it is easy to call the evidence inadmissible as in the world today facts are based on what is written in the books.There is, however, more admissible evidence for the Nordics as it relates to how they got the western hemisphere as there route can be traced easily, though it is said that the Africans got to the western hemisphere using Pacific current known as the Kouro-Siwo and the Equatorial currents of the Atlantic Ocean. In both case, settlements were uncovered, and evidence of things they left behind such as flora and fauna, personal items among other things.It can be said that though there was not much written accounts of their presence, there is sufficient evidence that they had, indeed, been present in the Americas in the pre-columbian era.BIBLIOGRAPHY Africaspeaks. com Bornblackmag. org Campbell, John and Heather Cateau. History for the Caribbean in the Atlantic World. Ghanaweb. com Shepherd, V erene Liberties Lost. Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, Worker. org

Health Belief Model Essay

Health belief model is a framework for nurses to utilize for education in health promotion. It investigates the individual’s willingness to adapt, the individual’s recognition in expressing the necessity in adjusting, and comprehending the advantages of physical and mental wellness changes. Nurses can play a vital role in influencing an individual in making instantaneous and perhaps lasting behavioral health modification. Smoking is one of the most crucial life threatening issues that society face. Smoking cessation to improve one’s health is as an example on how to encourage individuals in making behavior changes. Initially, it is essential for a nurse to assess an individual normal or average smoking pattern in a day. It also important to know how long they have been smoking, to assess their willingness to learn. Long-time smokers may disregard or may be more non-compliant with teaching because of thinking that damage has already been done. (Porter, 2013). Information will be provided on disease processes related to this lifestyle, such as heart disease and multiple lung diseases. A nurse has to explore an individual’s knowledge resulting to continued tobacco use. Understanding of patient’s behavior and own knowledge of the chosen lifestyle gives a nurse a clear education plan on what needs to be included with health promotion. If a patient is not aware of his or her risk factors for a disease, teaching should be directed towards informing the individual about the personal risk factor. If the individual is aware of the risk, but feel that the behavior change is overwhelming, you can focus your teaching in helping the individual overcome the barriers. Comprehension of overall behavior and circumstances that influence a patient’s decision-making is important. It helps in effective planning of suitable interventions for an individual to promote health and wellness and an effective plan of care. References Edelman, Kudzma, Mandle, Carole, Elizabeth, Carol. Health Promotion throughout the Life Span. 7th Edition. Mosby, 2010. VitalBook file. Retrieved from https://pageburstls.elsevier.com/#/books Porter, A. (2013). The Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse in Promoting Smoking Cessation in the Adult Population.MEDSURG Nursing, 22(4), 264-268.

Microsoft Hazel Case Essay

Hazel had worked for the same Fortune 500 Company for almost 15 years. Although the company had gone through some tough times, things were starting to turn around. Customer orders were up and quality and productivity had improved dramatically from what they had been only a few years earlier due to a company-wide quality improvement program. So it came as a real shock to Hazel and about 400 of her fellow coworkers when they were suddenly terminated following the new CEO’s decision to downsize the company. After recovering from the initial shock, Hazel tried to find employment elsewhere. Despite her efforts, after eight months of searching, she was nowhere closer to finding a job than the day that she had started. Her funds were being depleted and she was getting more and more discouraged. There was one bright spot, though: She was able to bring in a little money by mowing lawns for her neighbors. She got involved quite by chance when she heard one neighbor remark that now that his children were on their own; nobody was around to cut the grass. Almost jokingly, Hazel asked how much he’d be willing to pay. Soon Hazel was mowing the lawns of five neighbors. Other neighbors wanted her to work on their lawns, but she didn’t feel that she could spare any more time from her job search. However, as the rejection letters began to pile up, Hazel knew she had to make an important decision in her life. On a rainy Tuesday morning, she decided to go into business for herself – taking care of neighborhood lawns. She was relieved to give up the stress of job searching, and she was excited about the prospect of being her own boss. But she was also fearful of being completely on her own. Nevertheless, Hazel was determined to make a go of it. At first business was slow, but once people realized Hazel was available, many asked her to take care of their lawns. Some people were simply glad to turn the work over to her; others switched from other lawn care services. By the end of her first year in business, Hazel knew she could earn a living this way. She also performed other services such as fertilizing lawns, weeding gardens, and trimming shrubbery. Business became so good that Hazel  hired two part-time workers to assist her and, even then, she believed she could expand further if she wanted to. Questions: In what ways are Hazel’s customer s likely to judge the quality of her lawn care services? Hazel is the Operations Manager of her business. Among her many responsibilities are forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance, and maintenance. What kinds of things would she likely forecast? What inventory items does Hazel probably have? What scheduling must she do? What things might disrupt her schedules and cause her to reschedule? How important is quality assurance to her business? Why? What kind of maintenance must be performed? Hazel decided to offer the students who worked for her a bonus of $25 if she implemented one of their ideas on how to improve the business, and they responded with several good ones. One idea that she initially rejected now appears to hold great promise. The student that proposed the idea has unfortunately left, and is currently working for a competitor. What should Hazel do? Hazel Case Revisited Questions: What competitive advantage does Hazel have over her competitors? Hazel would like to increase her profits, but she doesn’t believe that it would be wise to raise her prices considering the current state of the local economy (she is aware of this current state because of her keen environmental scanning abilities!). Instead she has given some thought to increasing productivity. Explain how increased productivity could be an alternative to increase prices? What are some of the ways that Hazel could increase productivity? Hazel is thinking about purchasing some new equipment. One type of new equipment she is considering is power sidewalk edgers. She believes that power edgers will lead to an increase in productivity. Another type of new equipment would be a chain saw, which would be used for tree pruning. What trade-offs must Hazel think about in her analysis? Hazel is fairly successful in her neighborhood and now wants to expand into other neighborhoods, including some that are up to five miles away. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? (this is a classic expansion dilemma) Hazel does not have a formal mission statement and a set of objectives. Take one of the following positions and defend it: Hazel does not need a formal mission statement and a set of objectives. Many small businesses don’t have them. She definitely needs a formal mission statement and a set of objectives. They would be extremely beneficial. There may be some benefit to Hazel’s business, and she should consider developing one.

Beautiful Happiness In A Meaningless Life Short Story English Literature Essay

Beautiful Happiness In A Meaningless Life Short Story English Literature Essay I intend to write a short story featuring a few of the more potent themes present within the novelette â€Å"The Outsider†. This short story has simply been written to entertain, and explore the central themes and issues that I have chosen. The content of the story is gruesome and described with vivid details in some cases, so the target audience would be fairly mature, and have an orientation towards fanciful fantasy worlds. The story is set in a land where the local entertainment consists of arena type pit fights. These pit fights are similar to a council of the city’s rich and wealthiest, with the lower classes also in attendance. These pit fights are also the place where status is gained and lost among these affluent members of society, with the slaves that compete being used as a means to this end. I have also interpreted the ending of â€Å"The Outsider† differently in my story, with my main character realising that he can make a difference with his life, and that he can live for other people rather than himself only. The content of the story is gruesome and described with vivid details in some cases, so the target audience would be fairly mature, and have an orientation towards fanciful fantasy worlds. The story is set in a land where the local entertainment consists of arena type pit fights. These pit fights are similar to a council of the city’s rich and wealthiest, with the lower classes also in attendance. These pit fights are also the place where status is gained and lost among these affluent members of society, with the slaves that compete being used as a means to this end. I have also interpreted the ending of â€Å"The Outsider† differently in my story, with my main character realising that he can make a difference with his life, and that he can live for other people rather than himself only. The ring of steel on steel resounded around the arena, to join the din of gaudy music and jeering shouts ensuing from th e on looking patrons of this violent event. The ‘Slave Games’ took place every day, from the blaze of the new fire in the sky at its start, to its dying embers at dusk. The games consisted of slaves and a monster entered by the ‘Games Keeper’. Of course to make it more complicated, there were two different types of slaves, the ones entered by their master, and the ones donated. By a slave being entered it was similar to a bet being placed, with a small fee for entry paid to the games master, the fee also gave slaves the privilege of a weapon of choice. At the conclusion of the battle if the monster was the last one standing, the games master would keep the majority of the winnings, otherwise if a slave was the victor; their master was granted higher standing in society and a large sum of gold as their winnings. There was also an unspoken tradition, that the victorious slave was granted freedom for their heroic deeds performed within the arena. The ‘do nated’ slaves on the other hand, were the unwanted outcasts of rich society that the Games Keeper bought for a small fee, to â€Å"liven up the games† as he would call it.

Performance Pay at Safelite Auto Glass Case Study

Performance Pay at Safelite Auto Glass - Case Study Example Performance Management is undoubtedly one of the most important areas in managing the operations of a business enterprise. It is clear that the present management of Safelite Auto Glass, particularly the CEO John Barlow and COO Staglin want the firm to be profitable and expand into new markets. Ever since the change of management in 1987, there have been efforts towards expanding Safelite’s reach and markets. For this purpose, Barlow hit upon the idea of allowing the setup of franchise operations all across the USA, a move which increased the number of Safelite outlets from 250 to 550 within two years from 1987 to1989 (Hall et al., p 1) . The problem here was that stores were opened up rather haphazardly and customers had problems locating the stores. To deal with this issue, the CEO then hit upon the idea of using mobile trucks to provide repair and installation services to the customers at their own location. There was no need to bring the vehicle to the repair outlet. But h ere again the problems faced were coordinating the needs of the customers and reaching the locations correctly. To solve these issues, it was decided to open up warehouse style locations complete with technicians and fitters who could service, repair and fit out a car windshield all from this central location. The communications network installed here was used to route calls to the technicians so that service and repair work could be carried out with a minimum of time wastage. A limiting factor here was that too many calls came into the more central and popular locations while others stayed idle, but this too was being addressed by forwarding calls to locations that were not so busy. It is quite evident that these expansion efforts came with a cost. To make more use of idle capacity on the part of those warehouse locations that were not too busy, the managers of those locations had themselves been put on a performance pay plan that required them to do some actual fitting, repairing and servicing when the place was not too busy. Quite possibly some of the managers might have resented this double role. Yet the fact is that they had to improve the productivity of the warehouse before they could be considered for a rating upgrade. While it is clear that the present performance pay plan is not working, part of the reason is management’s lack of strategic long term thinking. This is evident from the way that problems creep up and are solved on the run. In the beginning the franchise system created a glut of stores in some locations and scarcity in others; it also created internal competition which was counterproductive. The use of trucks as mobile repair shops was innovative but included a cost that should have been considered before launching this initiative. Safelite’s own deficiencies in the current performance pay plan make it seem that the workers are being discriminated against after the initial guarantee period of 12 weeks have passed. At the in itial stage, the worker is being guaranteed a 12-week basic wage rate depending on his previous productivity. But after 12 weeks have passed, the worker has to prove himself again by meeting the difference and also make efforts to increase his productivity. This might not always be possible due to seasonal variations, intensity of competition and manager bias in a particular warehouse. As indicated, the workers would take it easy in the first 12 weeks of the plan unless pushed by conscientious managers. They would prefer to play pinochle (Hall et al., p 5) while maintaining a minimum of productivity. Secondly, despite the best communication systems there is a lack of proper coordination between the order takers on phone and the technicians and the drivers. This point needs to be addressed because it is having an

Cinematographic Representation of Violence and Abuse of Women Essay - 1

Cinematographic Representation of Violence and Abuse of Women - Essay Example Norindr main concept that he examines deeply is modernity and he stresses that it has been an ongoing manifestation of the omnipotent cultural force, an incomplete project in the West. As a result, Norindr examines the active participants in the transformation to be the ‘modern subjects’ of the emerging modern societies who are negotiating imaginative ways; their place in the postcolonial spaces in some cities such as Saigon. In his film vision, he identifies Tran Anh Hung Film which, although it had been shot from a Vietnamese ‘aura’, the movie is a selection of Vietnam that had lost its traditional innocence. Prostitution, capitalism, and torture are what the filmmaker wants to debunk as being the clichà ©s about Vietnam, similar to what has been conveyed in Vietnam Hollywood war movies. The film shows people living in hopes, ambitions, and frustrations engraved in a culture of crime, prostitution, and uncannily no respect for humanity. In his thesis, Nor indr believes that the violence, capitalism, and misrepresentation of women in Tran Anh Hung Film is a manifestation of emerging modernity that has taken the shape of Western colonialism such as the crime business which is evident in the film. Paul Narkunas is also critical about the life of frustration that has been experienced by the Vietnamese due to the influence of the West. Narkunas is very descriptive about the 1986 market liberalization in Vietnam and directly begins his analysis by describing Tran Anh Hung Film. Narkunas examines the economic transition of an eighteen-year-old cyclo, and the camerawork emphasizes on the diagramming of flow of money and bodies.  

Social Networking Sites Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Networking Sites - Essay Example Face to face meetings, especially for the first time, are usually exciting events. One gets to scrutinize a new acquaintance physically and gauge his or her intelligence through conversations. Almost immediately, one can form an impression of the other, and this may remain unless proven otherwise in the next meetings. A lot depends on the spontaneity of a person – how quick his or her wit is, how personable he or she is, and how one’s sense of humor clicks with another’s. Glimpses of one’s personality shines through except for people who have put up a lot of defensive walls around themselves. For these people, it may be more challenging to see through their real selves. Getting into a social networking site such as Tagged to meet new people online offers a different scenario. One creates his or her own profile, putting in information he chooses to share, lay it out in a design he or she prefers, and adds a profile picture, or more for his or her picture gallery. Then a choice to set this profile in private or to be seen publicly is made by the user. The profile picture is available for public viewing, and becomes a choice in a buffet of new prospects to be chosen as contacts or â€Å"friends† by other members. If someone likes to include another in his friends’ list, then he makes an effort to ask that person if he or she can be added as â€Å"friend†, and upon acceptance, they become part of each other’s online contact list. It is up to them to maintain communication either by sending messages, picture tags or add comments (either text or picture or video) in one’s profile. They may also opt to communicate outsid e the site by exchanging contact details or chatting in another messaging system like Yahoo Messenger or MSN Instant Messaging. Here, they may restrict their communication to online chat or see each other by webcam or actually meet in person. It is really up to the individuals how they want

Resistance to Change and Rapid Change Coursework

Resistance to Change and Rapid Change - Coursework Example Once such absenteeism takes place, there becomes lack of consensus to the change agenda and the subjects in turn refuse to see the need to corporate. In another breadth, resistance to change takes place because subjects develop suspicions of unfairness in regards to the changes that take place. Commonly, resistance happens through the development of organizational conflicts (Jim, 2001). Also, resistance may happen through a lack of commitment towards new regulations that are spelt out in the course of the change. What is more, resistance take place through absolute disregard and disobedience to the instructions associated with the change. To address the issues of resistance to change, managers are advised to understand why resistance would take place and a will power to address the issues head-on. A democratic organizational decision making system that takes up the interest of all stakeholders on board is for example suggested as a very useful strategy in addressing the issue of resi stance to change. This strategy is sure to work because it seeks to bring all people on board ahead of the change implementation. Once everyone gets satisfied with the need for there to be change, they are left with no other choice than to heed to the changes (Bill et al,

Negotiation skills - QUESTIONS 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Negotiation skills - QUESTIONS 2 - Essay Example Avoiding in a conflict situation generally means postponing, showing lack of assertiveness or withdrawing from issues (at present time) in order to deal with them later or in other words showing reluctant behavior in terms of solving problem. However this avoidance may be deliberate in order to come up with the better solution later or for so many reasons (Trainer, 2012, p. 3). Moreover using this technique too much can result in creating a communication gap which further leads towards unhealthy co ordination as both parties are unable to know the stance of each other. Similarly if avoiding is overused it may affect the nature of the decision or stance of the other party. Likewise if avoiding is underused it may result in creating a situation which might hurt individuals feeling as usually discretion is not very much opt by individuals. Furthermore if individual is less likely to follow avoiding policy he is likely to be threatened by various issues and conflicts. Accommodating generally means sacrificing ones interest, goals or motives in order to give preference to others for satisfying their concerns. It can be use for number of reasons for instance if an individual is wrong and feels like correcting himself, or if a boss in a company accommodates employees in order to give them chance so they can learn from their previous mistakes (Trainer, 2012, p. 3). Accommodating if overused can lead towards losing of respect as employees are likely to make mistakes and take employer for granted. Moreover employer may lose his overall control over his employees because of overuse of accommodating factor. However if this factor is underused it may result in creating trouble in so many dimensions, for instance in creating goodwill, realizing, and accepting one’s own mistakes. Compromising is a phase in which both parties understand each other’s point of view and are willing to give up