Learning Theories Amongst Young Adults

Introduction The concept of ‘learning' has been embedded In each and every one of us from the daddy were born. Since, the beginning of man, learning has been incorporated Into our very nature whether we are conscious of It or not; from learning how to control fire to noticing how that fire provides us with warmth and security to ward of wild animals. Learning as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is the activity or process of gaining knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something'.Over the years, psychologists have come up with different theories on how we learn. Marketers have taken these theories and applied them to gain a better understanding of how consumers learn and behave, in order to develop better marketing strategies to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers. This is commonly known today as consumer behavior. The rapid increases of millennial consumers over the years have Intrigued marketers to further understand and analy ses this new breed of consumers. Hence, to understand their behaviors Is to understand how they learn and process Information.There are many ways to learn and along with that, many different learning theories. In this research, I will be focusing on three mall learning theories related to young adult learning and what are the implications of these theories to marketing. Learning Theories of Young Adults & How Marketers Apply Them To analyses how young adults learn, we have to first understand the term young adult'. In actuality, there is no definition to the term; however it is widely used these days to describe an individual who lies within the transition period between the adolescence to adulthood period.The term is also typically used to better categorize his segment of individuals in researches, studies and even marketing. According to Erosion's Stages of Development, the young adult stage ranges between the ages of 18-35 years (Erikson, 1968). Due to the advancements of this ev er-changing society, learning today Is not the same as It was 20-30 years ago. The exposure to technology from an early age has altered the way these ‘dealt natives' think and process information compared to previous generations before them (Presents, 2001 Thus, the towards understanding how young adults' learn. Knowledge is perception – Socrates.Learning is no longer Just a passive assimilation of knowledge (Pigged, 1968), which is passed down from teacher to student. As Benjamin Franklin once said, â€Å"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn†. The conventional student-teacher or teach me' methods of learning can no longer be applied to the young adults of this generation. Instead, the use of a more active learning method such as cognitive learning is more relevant today. Cognitive learning is a theory that defines learning as a behavioral change based on the acquisition of information bout the environment' (Mossy, 2009).There are three main branches of cognitive learning; the iconic rote learning, vicarious learning and reasoning or analogy learning. Iconic rote learning The first area of cognitive learning we will be looking at is Iconic rote learning. Iconic rote learning is defined as learning the association between two or more concepts in absence of conditioning (Neal, Sequester, Hawkins, 2002). The essence of this concept is repetition, where the intended concept is repeated over again to engage the attention of the intended target.On the surface, this concept might seem similar to hat of the classical conditioning method which also involves repetition. However, this concept differs from classical conditioning because of the absence of a stimulus- response mechanism, a direct reinforcement or reward involved. The aim of iconic learning is Just to boost the attention and promote awareness off concept to associate its key attributes. Young adults today are faced with a â€Å"continuous partial atte ntion† syndrome, where there is an overload of information from the use of technology (Coleman, 2013).It is difficult to teach a young adult today in a classroom, specially with the use of smoothness, laptops and gadgets, while simultaneously trying to receive information from the speaker or teacher. Moreover, young adults have the tendency to be distracted by the thought of needing to check their text messages or notifications from social-media circles. This attachment to technology is the reason why the transfer of an intended information or concept, has to be extensively repeated to obtain the constant attention or awareness of the intended person, in order for learning to occur.Herbert Simon, a Nobel-winning economist rote â€Å"Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention†. Therefore, marketers who understand this theory, apply it to their marketing strategies to attract the attention of young adult consumers. Advertisers use mediums such as televis ion commercials, Youth ads, and print media to create a link between the brand and its key benefits to consumers through iconic rote learning. For example, the extensive repetition and occurrences of a Cataracts advertisement, associates the brand to premium coffee.Once consumers have made the connection between Cataracts and premium coffee, consumers will cognitive processing. The presence of these commercials can even be made on digital platforms such as tablets and smoothness through downloaded APS (applications). Hence, with the right amount of exposure and occurrence, marketers will be able to capitalize on the ‘distraction' of technology to learning and use it to their advantage when marketing young adults through infiltrating popular internet mediums such as Backbone and Youth. Vicarious learning Vicarious learning, also known as observational learning (sometimes called modeling or imitation) is simple learning by observing others and copying their behavior Fletcher and Gorton, 2007). Often used in conjunction with Bandanna's social learning theory, made famous by the ‘Boob doll' experiment; considers that children learn complex social behaviors by copying the behaviors of adults. Later on, Bandeau acknowledged that learners also play an active role in the learning process by only choosing models which are consistent with their own personal beliefs and values which produce desired outcomes (Bandeau, 1989).Androgyny, also known as the study of how adults learn, was made popular by Malcolm Knowles who believed that adults are self-directed, goal-orientated and bring life experiences and knowledge to their learning experience (Knowles, 1989). Hence, it is clear that Bandanna's theory not only applies to only children but to young adults as well because they only model those who align with their own prior beliefs and knowledge, to reach a desired goal or outcome. Thus, marketers who understand these learning theories apply them to their marketin g strategies to reach young adult consumers.For instance, popular Swedish retailers H&M use David Beckman (a famous footballer and celebrity) as their brand ambassador and spokesperson for their clothing line. Young adults who identify and look to Beckman as their role model will tend to imitate him; including what he wears in this case. Analytical or reasoning learning Analytical or reasoning learning can be defined as â€Å"an inference process that allows consumers to use an existing knowledge base to understand a new situation or object† (Hawkins and Motherboards, 2010).In analytical learning, critical reasoning based on existing understanding and knowledge is used together with new information or concepts in the learning process. This is common in young adults as they incorporate life experiences and pre-existent knowledge to their learning experience, as mentioned earlier based on the androgyny study (Knowles, 1989). Simply put, this theory of learning helps young adult s use a pre-existing knowledge of something that they familiar with, to learn something that which they are not familiar with.Typically, high-involvement products involve more reasoning thinking because consumers are motivated to learn about products that they are interested Marketers who understand this theory use it to reach young adult consumers. An example of this is the purchase of high-involvement products such as smoothness. Users in Malaysia were between the ages of 25 to 34 (Enterprise News, 2011), hence falling within the young adult category (Erikson, 1968).The consumer behaviorism model suggests that a typical consumer goes through four stages before purchasing a product; recognition, searching for information, evaluation of alternatives and finally, the purchase decision (Kettle and Keller, 2012). Therefore, in the purchase of a smartened, young adults in Malaysia use analytical or reasoning learning to acquire as much information about the smartened when comparing betw een brands and prices.Hence, marketers in the smartened industry, should market their smoothness based on emphasizing on the unique specifications and restorability of price in order to gain a comparative advantage over competitor brands. If the product attributes align with a previous knowledge or experience, then the young adult will be motivated to learn more about the smartened and eventually decide to purchase it. Conclusion Young adults have become the main target market of marketers. Hence, it is critical to understand how they think, behave and learn.In this assignment I highlighted who young adult are and analyses the different cognitive approaches to learning when it comes to young adults which include; iconic rote, vicarious and analytical learning. These learning theories have a direct impact on the decision-making process of young adult consumers in purchasing items. I have also given real life examples which illustrated and describe the appropriate marketing strategies to not only reach but significantly affect and influence the way young adults purchase products.

To Kill a Mockingbird Part 1 Chapter Summaries

Harper Lee; To Kill A Mockingbird CHAPTER SUMMARIES Part 1 Chapter 1 The story is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, who is almost always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout describes her family's history and her town, Maycomb. She and her brother, Jem, are also introduced to Dill, and the children share their stories and imaginations about the man next door. Chapter 2 September arrives, and Dill leaves Maycomb to return home. Meanwhile, Scout goes to school for the first time, of which she has been eagerly waiting for. However, it does not go as well as she had expected†¦. Chapter 3 Walter Cunningham comes to lunch with the Finches and Scout learns a lesson in manners from Calpurnia and a lesson of compromise from Atticus. Back at school, Miss Caroline discovers what a ‘cootie’ is. Chapter 4 The rest of the school year passes grimly for Scout as she does not like the slow curriculum. After school one day, Scout and Jem find some mysterious presents in the knothole of an old oak tree on the Radley property. Dill returns, and the kids play a new game. Chapter 5 Jem and Dill grow closer, and Scout begins to feel left out of their friendship. As a result, she starts spending time with one of their neighbors: Miss Maudie Atkinson. And the children's fascination with Boo Radley continues. Chapter 6 On Dill’s last night, the three kids venture out to try and see into Boo Radley's back window. This adventure leads to terrifying results, especially for Jem. The kids are forced to lie when the neighbourhood hears the commotion. Chapter 7 A few days after the kids adventure, Jem finally tells Scout what actually happened to him that night and as the summer comes to a close, Scout and Jem find more presents in the Radley tree, but their reward is suddenly cut off by Mr. Radley. Chapter 8 Winter comes quickly, bringing a rare snowstorm to Maycomb. Miss Maudie's house is ruined in a fire and whilst the neighbourhood is helping, Jem and Scout are asked to stay put by the Radley place where scout has a rare encounter with Boo without even knowing it. Chapter 9 Scout runs into trouble with both a classmate and a cousin when the two boys taunt her about her father, whom they call a â€Å"nigger lover. † Atticus explains to Scout that he will be defending a black man named Tom Robinson. Chapter 10 Scout had previously thought that Atticus was too old to do anything. However discovers that he does actually possess some talents, when he is asked to shoot a sick dog with one shot of a rifle and gets it, this amazed Scout and Jem. Chapter 11 Jem and Scout learn more about their neighbour Mrs. Dubose, Jem in more ways than one as he is asked to read to Mrs. Dubose every afternoon as a punishment. About a month after jem had completed this, Mrs. Dubose died of a morphine addiction.

Admissions Essay Essay Example for Free

Admissions Essay Essay Essay Topic: University , Admissions Choose cite format: APA MLA Harvard Chicago ASA IEEE AMA Haven't found the essay you want? Get your custom sample essay for only $13.90/page ? The realization that education is a critical component of my professional and personal success has been a gradual realization for me. However, I believe that with my current conviction about the importance of education, I will be able to achieve great success in Central Washington University’s MBA program. As a teenager I did not always understand the importance of education in regard to my professional and personal development. During my high school years and early college years, I cared more about sports and hanging out with my friends, than getting good grades. As a result, my grades suffered and I did not benefit as much from my classes as I could have when I was younger. Throughout these years, my Dad encouraged me and tried to motivate me to put more effort into my studies. It was through his positive encouragement and an accounting class that I took with Ms. Smith that finally changed my entire outlook on education. Not only did Ms. Smith pull me aside and tell me that I was not working up to my potential, but she made me see that what we were studying really mattered to my life. I realized that if I was going to be successful in life I would have to apply myself and master the material I was learning in my classes. Since I came to this realization, I have been working harder in all of my classes to become more knowledgeable and educated person. Currently I am working to ensure my academic success by working hard in my classes and preparing to get a masters degree in business administration. I now put my classes as top priority in my life and also use my free time to better myself as well. As a younger kid I gave very little thought to what I did in my free time, and thus spent the majority of my free time playing video games and hanging out with friends. However, as I have come to my realization that education and knowledge are critical to my personal and professional success, I now prefer to read books and other publications about all sorts of topics to develop my understanding of the world I live in. Furthermore, I have taken a variety of math and business classes as an undergraduate student to better prepare myself for my career goals. To ensures my success in these classes, I have consistently taken advantage of professors’ office hours and tutoring sessions whenever I need extra help in a certain area. My primary goal is to get a Masters Degree in business administration in order to gain the knowledge and experience I need to start my own business. I am extremely eager to learn as much as possible about succeeding in the business world, and I believe that Central Washington University will feed my thirst for knowledge with quality classes and knowledgeable professors. I hope that this program will help me accomplish my goals by teaching me the leadership skills, strategic planning skills, as well as the general knowledge I would need to be successful businessman. I also believe that both the students and faculty at CWU will be people I can relate to and learn from. I have also heard that this specific program at CWU strives to give its students as much hands-on experience as possible to better prepare them for the real-world. This educational philosophy is aligned with my needs as a student, and it will help me to turn my ambitions into a reality. I believe that the combination of hands-on-experience, motivated peers, newfound skills will help me to achieve my lofty goals once I finish this program. Admissions Essay. (2016, Aug 15).

Leadership and Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Leadership and Change Management - Essay Example To overcome resistance to change, it is shown that Tesco’s management must ensure effective communication and education of employees on the proposed change. The final section focuses on the democratic leadership style as the most appropriate for change management at Tesco. It is thus considered that democratic leadership will see Tesco through a successful change process. The international presence of Tesco is still inadequate. To expand, Tesco will need heavy investment, which might increase the company’s debt. Additionally, some of the countries that Tesco has expanded into may not be highly profitable. For instance, although Tesco expanded into Korea, the consumer spending of this country is low, hence this poses a high risk for Tesco. Opening stores in high risk areas jeopardises the financial health of the company (Tesco 2015). Before expanding, Tesco must evaluate its resources and the risk level of the host country. The industry in which Tesco operates is highly competitive, and this does not guarantee Tesco sustained profitability. The major competitors of Tesco include ASDA Group Ltd, Safeway Inc., ALDI Group, Somerfield, Sainsbury plc and Morrison among others (Appendix 1). These existing competitors challenge Tesco in different areas, including pricing, among others. Tesco must differentiate itself and adopt an effective business model in order to overcome competition. The Sainsbury reduced its prices by 6% while Safeway is focused on lowering its prices as a strategy to continue is recovery process. Similarly, Asda is committed to retaining price leadership in the industry. Tesco is also focused on price leadership, therefore, this implies that the industry experiences price war, and this might influence the profitability of the industry in an adverse manner (Data Monitor 2004). Tesco must adopt an effective pricing strategy to address the price war it is

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 42

Business - Essay Example The inventory at hand by this quarter is 86,400 fans that are calculated as 126% of the 2006 first quarter production levels. Due to the application of this cushion by Riordan, a viable production plan will be easily maintained without minor adjustments on the plan of 2005. Riordan requires the master production schedule (MPS) to help in the determination of the parts that will be needed weekly to meet its quarterly projected needs. The fact that this company uses a make-to-stock system makes it able to easily satisfy its customer demands without any delays in production. In case the inventory level drop to a given level, theres an automated system with a fixed order quantity method that I used to order parts. Whenever the capacity remains unremarkable, and theres a high reliability on the Riordans suppliers so that there are no significant delays in delivery, a flexible time fence is used (Soares & Vieira, 2009). At the Riordans Chinese facility, for a fan production, the material requirement plan (MRP) is usually based on the master production schedule (MPS). The MPS is used for the finished product that is the fans, and it also predicates the MRP. It is important that a well-reviewed production schedule is based on the inputs from every department so as to balance conflicting objectives, maintain inventory levels low and use resources efficiently. Soares, M., & Vieira, G. (2009). A new multi-objective optimization method for master production scheduling based on genetic algorithm. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology,

Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act Essay

Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act - Essay Example Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act The U.S. Supreme Court has declared the constitutionality of the act except for a few passages that it declared to be â€Å"taxes† more than anything else. So my question is â€Å"If there is a questionable passage in the Affordable Care Act, how can it be declared constitutional and fair to those concerned? The president declared that he would not tax the middle class Americans and yet one of the penalties indicated within Obamacare for those who fail to comply is referenced as a tax. How was it possible for Congress to mandate a new tax within a new health care policy? †. This is a question that I feel needs to be answered since Obamacare, as it has to be popularly known, affects everyone living in the United States regardless of citizenship and residency status. To begin with, the Affordable Care Act has had shady beginnings and a rocky start as a campaign promise of then candidate Obama to the American people. By promising to provide the people with a comprehensive health care plan that will cover every single person living in this country, he needed to come up with a plan that could actually work for all concerned. His people in Congress out together the Affordable Care Act under his guidance and direction as a fulfillment of that promise. The problem is that the Affordable Care Act has come under close scrutiny and legal challenges from most political and private parties who view the act as a form of dictatorship on the American people. ... With the legal challenges posed before the Affordable Care Act among the various states in the country, and the state declarations that they would not enact such a government empowering law upon the citizens of their state, the question was then brought before the Supreme Court whose judicial representatives decided that the landmark March 2010 law had a majority of provisions that could be considered as legal and was therefore constitutional in form and content. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (2012) the Affordable Care Act is a , â€Å"... comprehensive health care reform law makes health insurance affordable for millions of Americans and protects them against potentially catastrophic medical expenses.† By definition, the Affordable Care Act sounds like it will finally clear up the problem of health care coverage for most Americans since the law will force insurance companies to cover the illnesses of their policy holders and their family alike without the safety net of being able to refuse coverage for certain illnesses during certain situations, those who oppose the law say that this particular vision of the government pertaining to healthcare coverage will not work because the provision will force the insurance companies to eventually shut down as they try to cover all pre-existing conditions and current conditions of their policy holders regardless of company guidelines. However, everyone has a bone to pick with the fact that the Affordable Care Act has a clear provision that dictates upon every American citizen to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty for not having any coverage. Those who oppose the law claim that this is a direct violation of the

Tactics and Strategies (for a business) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tactics and Strategies (for a business) - Essay Example Debts are an important strategy in providing financial support for the business. The use of equity should be substituted with debts which have a higher potential for financing the organization. Each of the shareholders needs to be aware of how they can generate value. The organization’s management should play the role of planning and incorporating decisions regarding finances and all the ventures that the organization undertakes, especially those involving cash flows in one way or another. It is important for the company to have wide-ranging customer strategies. These are significant in the improvement of customer value. It is important for the management to be capable of evaluating strategies involving customers, especially regarding the operating environment. Working with other companies in order to establish their manner of operation as well as the way they relate with customers is important in understanding how to create customer value. The organization should focus on all aspects of its operations especially regarding the manner through which customers’ opinions reach the management, as well as the manner through which customers receive response to their enquiries from the management. Understanding what competing companies are offering can help the organization to make a comparison in regard to customer satisfaction. After the management establishes whether the customers are satisfied, it is important to link this satisfaction to the company objectives in order to establish if they have been satisfied. Investing in research and development is important in ensuring that the organization is capable of branding and satisfying customers in general. Such strategies are important in the enhancement of value within the organization. Information technology is essential to any business that operates in the modern

Cubist movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cubist movement - Essay Example This â€Å"something that can be conceived but not seen nor made visible† is often referred to as the sublime, a quality of transcendent greatness â€Å"with which nothing else can be compared and which is beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement or imitation† (Wikipedia, 2006). The presence of this sublime element, then, inspires the imagination in a specific direction based on which elements remain visible or understandable. Its significance is in the way in which it brings attention to the uncertainty of meaning inherent in the work, such that no resolution makes itself apparent. For artists of this period, the best way to achieve this sublime element was to forget the training they received in art school in order to recapture the sense of wonder and imagination reflected in art produced by children through the use of ‘primitive’ geometric forms. To understand how the sublime can be communicated through visual art, the work of cubist master Pab lo Picasso will be discussed in terms of materials, subject matter, content, composition, color and impacts of context or the time period in which they were produced. The cubist movement is now widely recognized as an early phase of the avant-garde. Author Peter Wollen recognized it in 1975 as a means of breaking the boundaries of traditional signifiers and make reference instead to the relationship between the signifier and the signified (Wollen, 1975). As this idea expanded, the traditional approach to art of making reference to an established set of symbols was further broken down and explored through abstraction and minimalism. The ultimate breaking down of this was the examination of how the art medium was able to communicate a world of transition and change, reality and illusion within the very context of its delivery. â€Å"What soon emerged as the dominant strand was

American Gov't Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

American Gov't - Essay Example The federal elections envision an electoral or indirect approach to elections but the states are free to decide the precise formula by which its own electoral votes are counted. The Electoral College has been the subject of much debate and criticism; such criticism tends to derive from the fact that a presidential candidate can win the popular vote and still fail to win because of the nuances of the Electoral College. Such criticism is hardly abstract as George W. Bush defeated Al Gore in just this way. Not only can the Electoral College operate to deny the popular vote, but it can also render certain states increasingly important and other states increasingly trivial or irrelevant as far as presidential elections are concerned. Large swing states with winner-take-all electoral laws, for instance, receive more attention and more personal time than other states. Under this electoral system, Florida becomes more important than California, Ohio more important than New York, and Pennsylvania more important than Texas. What ought to be a national election, reflecting a broad spectrum of national interests and concerns, instead becomes a carefully calculated race to secure electoral votes at the expense of popular votes and large swing states at the expense of smaller states. It might be cynical to suggest that such a system thwarts notions of popular democracy, and yet it seems difficult to reconcile the consequences of an Electoral College with notions of one-person-one vote. To be sure, one person does not really equate to one vote under this system and the particular value to be assigned to a vote depends on the state’s underlying approach to the allocation of electoral votes as well as to whether the voter resides in a large swing state, a large non-swing state, or a smaller state. The ideals of popular democracy, and

Technical Communication Essay Example for Free

Technical Communication Essay Chapter 1. Introduction to Technical Communication. Communication is the exchange of thoughts, message or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behavior. Derived from the Latin word â€Å"communis†, meaning to share. Communication requires a sender, a message, and a recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender’s intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast distance in time and space. Communication requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the message of the sender. Technical Communication would mean a communication specific to the sender and the recipient and both would be from the same field of knowledge. This communication may not be understood by any others in the sense that the messages passed across are in a language that can be understood by persons from once field of knowledge. Here the importance subset of such a communication. Technical Communication is the flow or exchange of information within people or group of people sharing a common platform of similar knowledge or people from the same field with or without the technical knowledge. Means of Communication 1. Verbal Communication: Spoken and pictorial languages can be described as a system of symbols (sometimes as known lexemes) and the grammars (rules) by which the symbols are manipulated. The word â€Å"language† also refers to common properties of languages. Language learning normally occurs most intensively during human childhood. Most of the thousands of human languages use patterns of sound or gestures for symbols which enable communication with others around them. Languages seem to share certain properties although many of these include exceptions. There is no defined line between a language and a dialect. Constructed languages such as Esperanto, programming languages and various mathematical formalisms are not necessarily restricted to the properties shared by human languages. Communication should also include the display of text, Braille, tactile communication, large print, accessible multimedia, as well as written and plain language, human –reader, augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, including accessible information and communication technology. Manipulative Communications are intentional and unintentional ways of manipulating words, gestures, etc. to â€Å"get what we want â€Å", by demeaning, discounting, attacking or ignoring instead of respectful interaction. Sarcasm, criticism, rudeness and swearing are examples. 2. Non Verbal Communication: A variety of verbal and non-verbal means of communicating exists such as body language, eye contact, sign language. Nonverbal communication describes the process of conveying meaning in the form of non – word messages. Research shows that the majority of our communication includes chronemics (use of time) , haptics (using the sense of touch),gesture, body language or posture; facial expression and eye contact, object communication such as clothing , hairstyles, architecture, symbols infographics, and tone of voice as well as through an aggregate of the above. Speech also contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage. These include voice lesson quality, emotion and speaking style as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress. Likewise, written texts include nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words and the use of emoticons to convey emotional expression in pictorial form. 3Oral communication: Oral communication, while primarily referring to spoken verbal communication, can also employ visual aids and non verbal elements to support the discussion, and aspects of interpersonal communication. As a type of face-to face communication, body language and choice tonality play a significant role, and may have communication also garners immediate feedback. Historic Stages in Written Communication: 1. Pictograms in the form of stone graphics hence immobile. 2. Written form on papyrus, paper, clay tablets. Introduction of common alphabets and also the invention of printing in the 15th century made the written form a very strong means. 3. Transfer of information through controlled waves and electronic signals. Effective Communication All communication, intentional or unintentional, has some effect. This effect may not be always in communicator’s favor or as desired by him or her. Communication that produces the desired effect or result is effective communication. It results in what the communicator wants. Effective communication generates the desired effect, maintain effect increase effect. Effective communication serves its purpose for which it was planned or designed. The purpose could be to generate action, inform, create understanding or communicate a certain idea/point etc. Effective communication also ensures that message distortion does not take place during the communication process.

Implementing Guidelines for Pediatric Tonsillectomies

Implementing Guidelines for Pediatric Tonsillectomies Practice Paper: Implementing Quality Based Procedures  Guidelines for Pediatric Tonsillectomies at Credit Valley Hospital Kathryn DePass Trillium Health Partners, encompassing three sites- Credit Valley Hospital, Mississauga Hospital, and Queensway Health Centre, claims their hospitals are leading with outstanding performance, fiscal responsibility, and quality patient care (Trillium Health Partners, n.d.). With the emergence of the Health System Funding Reform in 2012, drastic changes were made to hospital funding. In particular, to promote innovative and evidenced-based practice, thirty percent of hospitals overall funding was allocated towards Quality Based Procedures (QBP) (Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Heath Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, 2013). QBPs are specific clusters of patient services that offer opportunities for healthcare providers to perform services based on best practice. It is suggested that when organizations adopt clinical evidenced-informed practices, quality patient care will flourish, while also increasing system efficiencies and decreasing costs (Ontario Health Association, 2013). One of the procedures covered under QBPs is Pediatric Tonsillectomy, with or without Adenoidectomy. The Quality-Based Procedures Clinical Handbook for Paediatric Tonsillectomy with and without Adenoidectomy (2013) articulates the specific evidence-based components of care that should be provided for these patients from pre- to post-operation. The Director of Women and Childrens Health indicates that practice variation, lack of standardization, lack of evidenced-based practices, and physician resistance all contribute to the organizations inability to enact QBP standards for this procedure since it was issued in 2014. Specifically, no standardized pre-screening tool exists to assess for complications prior to surgery. In particular, children are neither assessed nor properly diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) using a sleep study, the gold standard. This assessment, however, is vital since OSAS patients have a high risk of postoperative respiratory complications (Le ong Davis, 2007). On the day of surgery, it is not standard that patients receive a pre-operative acetaminophen loading dose for prophylactic pain management. Some anesthesiologists vocalize their discomfort with administering acetaminophen rectally, while others are not aware of the significant impact of this administration on post-operative pain management. The American Academy of Otolaryngology Clinical Practice Guideline for Tonsillectomy in Children states that rectal administration is better tolerated than oral administration and is the most effective in reducing pain and opioid requirements following surgery (Baugh et al, 2011). In addition, children with adequate acetaminophen analgesia have less post-operative nausea and vomiting. Both the Director and Educator of Pediatrics argue that physician resistance has been a significant barrier to implement QBP standards (Cathie Boudeau, personal communication, April 27, 2015). Nonetheless, both the surgical and pediatric nurses have disclosed that they look forward to changes that encourage standardization and quality patient care. The Educator has explained that she has already began drafting a post-operative standardized PPO form, which has, surprisingly, gained significant approval by physicians. Therefore, the Educator has requested the writer focus on standardizing the pre-operative experience. Currently, patients and families receive a Pre-Operative Information Sheet. The Educator has noted, however, that this form does not align with QBP advisement. In addition, families have vocalized that the sheet should be more comprehensive and visually appealing. In addition, a standardized pre-assessment form to screen for complications needs to drafted. Changing behaviour in regards to administration of pre-operative acetaminophen will also be considered in this project. The Quality-Based Procedures Clinical Handbook for Paediatric Tonsillectomy with and without Adenoidectomy (2013) will be used as the reference to create a Pre-Operative Information Sheet for families and patients, as well as a pre-assessment checklist to screen for complications. In order to encourage adoption of all new changes and to change behaviour, knowledge of change management is imperative. Therefore, a literature review was conducted to guide the implementation of this project. Inclusion criteria parameters for the literature search included the years 1995 to 2015. Search terms included organizational change, management of change, and change management. Databases used were MEDLINE, PubMed, and CINAHL. Many articles were retrieved (about 300 hits). The search was then narrowed to focus on health care and hospitals. Roughly 145 articles were reviewed. Empirical studies were assessed for clarity of methodology, peer review, and external evaluation. Finally, the number of articles was narrowed down to 45, which met the specific criteria for change management in health care. Change management literature draws from a wide range of disciplines, as well as theoretical and organizational perspectives, such as psychology, sociology, business policy, and social policy, creating a complex and robust body of evidence which is challenging to appraise and synthesize. Furthermore, the literature contains numerous and varying frameworks, models, evidence, and illustrations; that may describe, analyze, guide, approach, and test initiatives, programmes, and tools for change. There are no frameworks or models of change unique to healthcare organizations although several models are conducive to change efforts in these areas. Therefore, the literature that was reviewed focused on dominant change management models that are often applied to health care organizations. Furthermore, some models are used primarily for higher levels of leadership. For the purpose of this project, literature focusing on micro-level processes was selected. Case studies, surveys, and pilot studies are the most common methodologies in change management literature. While these methodologies are considered low on the evidence hierarchy, due to the limited ability to control subjects in healthcare, these methodologies do seem the most realistic and accessible means of implementing and evaluating change. Within the literature, one of the most influential perspectives of change management originates from the planned approach created by Lewin in 1951, which argues that change occurs in three progressive stages: unfreezing current behaviour, moving to the new behaviour, and refreezing the new behaviour (Elrod Tippett, 2002). For many years this three-step model has been the dominant approach to organizational change. Critics argue, however, that planned theories are based on the assumption that organizations act under constant conditions that can be controlled and planned for. As a consequence, an alternative approach, namely an emergent approach was developed. This approach considers change to occur so rapidly and unpredictably that it cannot be managed from the top down. Instead, it is argued that change is a process of learning, whereby the organization responds to both internal and external changes (Barnard Stoll, 2010). This approach speaks to the concepts of change readiness and facilitation of change which are viewed as superior to the planned approach with specific pre-planned steps for change initiatives (Todnem, 2005). Nonetheless, emergent approaches do suggest that a sequence of actions should be enacted to increase the likelihood of change being successful (Luecke, 2003). Emergent theories assume that in order to respond to change, managers of change have to have possess a in-depth understanding of the organization, its structures, strategies, people and culture. With this understanding, managers of change are able identify the most appropriate approach to change while recognizing possible facilitators and barriers (Burnes, 1996) The literature argues that while these two approaches are often cited to be polar opposites, it is important to note that they are theoretical approaches. Therefore, the best strategy for organizations to manage change is to utilize both these approaches, in the form of frameworks or models that best meets the particular needs of the organization (Burnes, 2004). When the variety of frameworks, models, and approaches to change management are applied to health care organizations, common trends emerge. These trends include environmental circumstances, organizational harmony, power dynamics, organizational capacity, nature of change, and process of change (Antwi Kale, 2014). Environmental circumstances include the external conditions to the organization that forces change, such as increased competition and technological innovation (Lau, 1999). Organizational harmony illustrates an agreement among individuals and units within the organization. All members should have congruent missions and visions and be working collaboratively towards the same goal. Further, overall organizational plans, processes, and goals should also be compatible (Antwi Kale, 2014). Power dynamics refers to the hierarchy of influence within an organization. Understanding which individuals can influence the change process is important. Change leaders should have buy-in from these individuals before undertaking a change initiative; this will increase likelihood for success (Mitchell, 2013). Organizational capacity indicates that the organization has the necessary human and financial resources to undergo change. Moreover, it is essential that the necessary skill sets and knowledge be present to allow change to occur (Bazzoli, Dynan, Burns, Yap, 2004). Nature of change refers to the rationale behind a change initiative. Change initiatives must consider an organizations external and internal situation. Furthermore, ample evidence must be available to justify that a proposed plan for change has the ability to solve a presented problem (Antwi Kale, 2014). Finally, process for change is the actual step-by-step approach to implement a change. Change leaders must make certain that these steps are agreed upon by all stakeholders and evidenced to create the desired change (Antwi Kale, 2014). The Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF)s Evidence Informed Change Management Approach was chosen to be the main model to guide the project as it contains all of the mentioned concepts. In addition, it is structured around specifically targeting the needs of Canadian healthcare organizations and outlines change as it pertains to micro level contexts. The approach presents a practical model for change management and contains four stages: planning, implementing, spreading, and sustaining change (CHSRF, 2012). The planning stage of change involves understanding the context and influential forces of change while determining the organization ability or readiness to change. To understand the context, change managers must determine which steps and people need to be involved to implement change and garner support. Readiness and capacity for change is determined by assessing all individuals at any level of the organization and considering how they will be affected by the chang e. Furthermore, the capacity for the organization, for example, financially, to undergo change, needs to assessed. After the planning stage, change agents can implement change by executing their planned approach. Spreading change entails promoting change beyond its initial context and influencing the culture to introduce new customs, traditions, and ways of practicing. Lastly, sustaining change entails surveying and modifying the change process as practical experience is gained over the course of implementation. The literature also emphasizes that the key to successful change management is strong leadership. Gill (2002) explains that effective change leaders are able to frame the change in terms of results for all involved. Further, change leaders foster and create environments that allow people to experiment with new ways of practicing. This coincides with the Leadership Competency from the Canadian Nurses Associations Advanced Nursing Practice National Framework (2008). Learning about a patients experience and collaborating with other interprofessional disciplines assisted in identifying gaps in care, specifically the lack of adoption of QBP standards for Pediatric Tonsillectomies, resulting in practice that is not evidence-based and negatively impacts patient care delivery. In addition, while changing practice has been attempted in the past, the application of knowledge learned from the competition of a literature review on change management and discovery of an influential model on change , the writer can be successful in enacting a new and effective means of practicing, ultimately improving patient care. Also, the specific nature of this projects focus, to ensure QBP standards are followed, which promotes advocating for system efficiency, quality patient care, and low cost, aligns with the leadership competency of understanding and integrating the principles of resource allocation and cost-effectiveness in all levels of decision-making (CNA, 2008). Literature on change management is diverse and robust, with applicability to health care organizations. In this literature, it is apparent that in order to manage change specifically in healthcare, a model or approach needs to be selected to address an organizations specific needs and current issues. Understanding the organization as a whole and the people within it is an imperative and first step in planning change. Collaborative work among change managers and targets of change will ensure readiness for change, ease of implementation, and sustainability (World Health Organization, 2010). In addition, strong leadership is a significant component of organizational change, laying the foundation to support the change through its continuum. Utilizing these concepts and knowledge will be imperative in guiding the implementation of QBP Standards for Pediatric Tonsillectomies with and without Adenoidectomies at Credit Valley Hospital. References Antwi, M. Kale, M. (2014). Change Management in Healthcare. Queens School of Business.  Retrieved from http://business.queensu.ca Barnard, M. Stoll, N. (2010). Organizational Change Management: A rapid literature review. Centre for Understanding Behavioural Change. Retrieved from http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/cubec/migrated/documents/pr1.pdf Bazzoli, G., Dynan, L., Burns, L. Yap, C. (2004). Two Decades of Organizational Change in Health Care: What Have we Learned? Medical Care Research and Review, 61(3). doi: 10.1177/1077558704266818 Baugh, R., Archer, S., Mitchell, R., Rosenfeld, R., Amin, R., Burns, J., Patel, M. (2011). Clinical practice guideline: Tonsillectomy in children. Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery, 144(1),p 30. Burnes, B. (2004). Emergency change and planned change- competitors or allies? The case of XYZ construction. International Journal of Operations Production Management, 24(9), p 886-902 Burnes, B. (1996) No such thing as a â€Å"one best way† to manage organizational change. Management Decision, 34(10), p 11-18 Canadian Health Services Research Foundation. (2012). Evidence-Informed Change Management in Canadian Healthcare Organizations. Retrieved from http://www.cfhi fcass.ca/Libraries/Commissioned_Research_Reports/Dickson-EN.sflb.ashx Canadian Nurses Association. (2008). Advanced Nursing Practice: A National Framework. Ottawa, Canada : Canadian Nurses Association Elrod, P. Tippett, D. (2002). The death valley of change. Journal of Organizational Change  Management, 3. p 273-291 Gill, R. (2002) Change management- or change leadership? Journal of change management,  3(4), p 307- 318. Lau, A. (1999). Making sense of contemporary strategic implementation: towards a conceptual  model. Public Administration Management, 4(4), p 494-507 Leong, A., Davis, J. (2007). Morbidity after adenotonsillectomy for paediatric obstructive  sleep apnea syndrome: waking up to a pragmatic approach. The Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 121, 809-817 Luecke, R. (2003). Managing Change and Transition . Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press  Mitchell, G. (2013). Selecting the best theory to implement planned change. Nursing  Management, 20(1). Ontario Hospital Association. (2004). Toolkit to Support the Implementation of Quality-Based  Procedures. Retrieved from https://www.oha.com/KnowledgeCentre/Library/Toolkits/Documents/OHA_QBProcedur es_toolkit_FNL.pdf Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Heath Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. (2013). Quality-Based Procedures Clinical Handbook for Paediatric Tonsillectomy with and without Adenoidectomy. Retrieved from www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/ecfa/docs/qbp_tonsil.pdf Todnem, R. (2005). Organizational Change Management: A Critical Review. Journal of Change Management,5(4), p 369-380. Trillium Health Partners. (n.d.). Who We Are. Retrieved from  http://trilliumhealthpartners.ca/aboutus/Pages/Overview.aspx World Health Organization (2010). Framework for action on interprofessional education and  collaborative practice. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.  http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2010/WHO_HRH_HPN_10.3_eng.pdf

Appeasement Essay -- History European Historical Essays

Appeasement The task of explaining why appeasement, has been continuously addressed by historians over the years. To date, there is still no single cause identified. Nonetheless there is however a general consensus amongst historians that the frightful events of world war one, distilled a sense of fear and regret amongst British society, and consequently Britain strived to prevent any future war, through whatever means necessary. In the aftermath of World War 1, lay a mutual understanding between the British government and society that never again should a catastrophe such as World War 1 occur, it was described as the "war to end all wars" reinforcing the view that it was a cataclysmic event which should never be re-enacted upon society. British public became disillusioned with the use of force in international relations and as a result sought an approach consisting of an effective system of collective security. In post war society anti-war books, films and poems all became increasingly well lik ed and several pacifist pressure groups were formed with the sole aim of achieving peaceful solutions to international problems. These groups were known as The Peace Pledge Union, The Peace Society and the No More War Movement. World War 1 essentially left Britain in a state of mourning, and accordingly thousands of war monuments were erected, and an annual day of mourning and remembrance was established, known as Remembrance Sunday. This was an attempt to pay tribute to those heroes lost in the war and to act as a subtle reminder of the devastation caused by the war in a bid to prevent any future conflict. As a result of the desolation a common consensus was becoming apparent amid the general public, which was that, there were no clear societal gains from the war and the obvious economic, and political decline of the country showed no gains in that sector either. Hence the reduction of arms and peace became vote winners in elections. Appeasement can be defined as " a disposition to avoid conflict by judicious concession and negotiation". Neville Chamberlain noted that the British public would not wish nor accept another war. Therefore the British government sought to follow a policy of appeasement. However, everyone did not share the acceptance of the policy of appeasement. Looking on with hindsight many historians have condemned the actions of Chamberlai... ...nland. There are mixed opinions towards this policy, and the question why historians have debated appeasement continuously over the passing decades. Many believe that Chamberlains policy of appeasement was fuled by a desire to do everything in his power possible to avoid war, and his belief that all European powers shared the dame feeling. The catastrophic events of World War one set in a deep fear and hatred of war among many. It is also felt that Chamberlain followed the policy of appeasement as a means to buy some time as he realised that British defences were hopelessly inadequate, as British military strength had been greatly reduced due to the commitment of disarmament. Even at the time of the Anschluss Britain was declared unprepared for war. Therefore to conclude, whatever the reasons for the continual policy of appeasement, it can be said that appeasement with the sole aim of preventing war did not succeed, however what it was seen to do was prolong the inevitable. Many strongly feel that the continual demands of Hitler were flared by the lack of opposition, and his continual greed for expansion, his demands were rarely attacked, simply given into with little hesitancy.

Noah Webster, A Man Who Loved Words by Elaine Cunningham :: Book Review Summary Report

The book I read was "Noah Webster, A Man Who Loved Words." It was written by Elaine Cunningham. The book has twelve chapters. The book has 176 pages in it. This book is a very good book. I would recommend it to anyone my age. The book was kind of sad also. In the beginning of the story, Noah is five. He was always eager to learn. Noah could not wait to learn. When he could go to school, he was so excited. One thing that was upsetting to Noah was that the older boys could only go to school during the cold seasons. On the first day of school, Noah was expecting to learn to read. They didn't, so Noah was upset. Once Noah was ten, he had to work on the farm. By then, Noah knew how to read and write. Noah read the books he borrowed from the priests. When Noah was fifteen, he went to college. He was really excited because there were teachers to meet, books to read, and lessons to learn. Noah was going to go to Yale University. The day he finally left, Noah was sad about leaving his family. His father helped him unpack. Noah's roommate was Oliver Walcott. In June of 1776, Noah got a letter from his father saying that there was going to be declaration of independence for the country from Great Britain. The letter also said there was going to be war. For the second year of college everyone was talking about the war. Noah wanted to help fight the British. A few days later, Noah got really sick. Noah had smallpox. Luckily, Noah got better really soon. In 1778, 21 year-old Noah graduated from college. Noah wanted to be a lawyer but he had no money or a job. Finally, Noah applied to be a teacher for the winter terms. His students loved him dearly. He enjoyed teaching. Noah promised a spelling book for his students. Still the students worked hard to please their school master. By 1781 Noah was a junior esquire attorney at law. He studied and studied. All that studying helped Noah. He mastered all the law books in his friend's library.

Essay --

Introduction Hyperlipidemia is a condition that effects hundreds of millions Americans every year. Hyperlipidemia is an excess of fat like substances in the bloodstream that include cholesterol and triglycerides. Hyperlipidemia is a condition that shows no symptoms and can only be diagnosed through blood tests. The treatment is aimed at lowering the LDL cholesterol, which is bad cholesterol. A variety of medications are used in the treatment including statin drugs, fibrates and bile acid sequestrants. Overall the condition is treatable with the right lifestyle modifications and overall healthy diet. Hyperlipidemia Hyperlipidemia is an excess of fat like substances in the bloodstream that include cholesterol and triglycerides. Fat like substances are also called lipids that seem to create chaos in the arteries and overall in excess are not good for a patient’s body because they are known to clog a person’s arteries which lead to many other diseases and conditions that are much worse, including a heart attack. Lipoproteins like the LDL (low density lipoproteins) and the HDL (high density lipoproteins) are the fat like complexes in the blood. Hyperlipidemia can be further separated into two subcategories including hypercholesterolemia, which means a high level of cholesterol in the blood, hypertriglyceridemia, which is a high level of triglycerides in the blood, which is the most common form of hyperlipidemia. The treatment of the condition is aimed at lowering the bad cholesterol in the blood. Diagnosis The overall diagnosis of the condition is based on the patients’ medical and lifestyle history before they are to access the patients’ lipid profile. The doctor would want the patient to also be healthy and... ...iarrhea, stomach pain and skin rash. Lopid is a very effective medication in the use of hyperlipidemia by lowering the levels of cholesterol and triglyceride levels at a reasonable price. Conclusion Hyperlipidemia is a common condition in men older than 45 and women older than 55 that affects the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. It is also more prevalent in people with a family history of the condition. Hyperlipidemia is diagnosable by blood test to check unhealthy lipid levels in the bloodstream. Patients with this condition can either help themselves by following the recommended treatment or it will lead to more serious conditions like cardiovascular disease and even heart attack and stroke. Hyperlipidemia is a treatable condition with lifestyle and dietary modifications used concurrently with lipid lowering agents on the market today.

Different Perspectives in Looking at Literacy

I. IntroductionThe objective of this paper is to provide a general discussion on how literacy can be understood from different perspectives. Just the like the proverbial 5 Blind Men of Hindustan who described the elephant albeit incompletely and relative to their experience, literacy can also be understood from different perspectives. We may say that though all these perspectives are correct, they are also at the same time all inadequate to describe the whole phenomena of literacy.Yet by bringing all of these perspectives together, we can come with a fuller picture and definition of what literacy really is. It is the aim of this paper to come up with a more complete understanding of literacy. In the end, we will bring together the different perspectives and come up with a wider view. Eventually it is hoped that through this, a better understanding of literacy can be achieved. Yet in the end, the definition would still be incomplete for literacy is a process and learning never really ends.The point however is to live it at its utmost definition and contribute to its enhancement. There are four perspectives that will be dealt with in this paper with which literacy is tackled. These are: 1. Literacy as a skill; where cognitive skills in speaking, reading, writing, and functional literacy are discussed 2. Literacy as socially situated; where literacy is defined by the specific social context from which it springs. 3. Literacy as a process of learning; where literacy is seen as a lifelong and unending process4. Literacy as text where critical analysis of the social constructions are processed.II. BodyLiteracy as a skill The Cognitive science perspective on literacy looks at literacy mostly as reading and writing skills where reading must become like second nature and automatic while at the same time having a very accurate interpretation. The brain must be able to process reading as fast as it can and in the most precise comprehension as possible. This skill must be practice in order to have mastery over it (Abadzi, 2004).Writing on the other hand is another skill which is intricately connected to a particular syntax of a specific linguistic script which are meaning-based and sound-based (Barton, 1994). An example of meaning based writing is the Chinese character which is not an alphabet but a representation of what is being referred. An example of sound-based writing is our current alphabet based on the Greek system of writing assigning vowels and consonant sounds to actual letters that would signify meaning. This is considered to have technological superiority over other forms of script (Olson, 1994).There is a belief that writing is more superior to speech because it is the actual transcription of the spoken word. Thus the cognitive argument emphasizes on the significance of literacy in society’s advanced capacities and progress. However this view has been criticized. To quote from Olson: ‘The focus on literacy skills seriously underestimates the significance of both the implicit understandings that children bring to school and the importance of oral discourse in bringing those understandings into consciousness in turning them into objects of knowledge.’ (Olson, 1997 cited in Street 2004)Thus one needs to factor in oral competencies together with reading and writing skills in looking at literacy as skill (Robinson, 2003). Numeracy skills also have to be added as an important component of literacy. Literacy skills must also include those that enable access to knowledge and information such as skills in surfing the internet, technological skills, computer literacy, among others (Lankshear, 2003). This new view paved the way for the concept of functional literacy which can complement the limitations of the skills based perspective.Functional literacy is defined by the World Congress of Ministers of Education on the Eradication of Illiteracy, Tehran September 1965: â€Å"Rather than an end in itself, l iteracy should be regarded as a way of preparing man [sic] for a social, civic and economic role that goes beyond the limits of rudimentary literacy training consisting merely in [sic] the teaching of reading and writing. † (Yousif, 2003) Functional literacy is most often linked to development which not only means teaching reading, writing, ‘rithmetic and speaking, but also knowing how to go about in society such as finding a job.Literacy as Socially Situated The ethnographic perspective to literacy looks into the practices of literacy in different cultural and social contexts. This perspective has been coined NLS or New Literacy Studies (Gee, 1999). This perspective looks at ‘the everyday meanings and uses of literacy in specific cultural contexts and links directly to how we understand the work of literacy programmes, which themselves then become subject to ethnographic enquiry’ (Street, 2004). This perspective looks at literacy not only as a skill but as a social practice which is socially constructed and imbedded in the culture of society.It argues that reading and writing are not neutral skills but based on concept of ideology, identity, being and knowledge. Thus this perspective emphasizes on the social situatedness of literacy. This is a more culturally sensitive approach where there is no single and universal definition of literacy but only in the social context wherein meaning is derived from (Doronilla, 1996). Most often than not the classification of illiterates are done on traditional societies on the hunting and gathering mode of economic production.However we cannot impose this definition on their lives because the applicability of being â€Å"literate† on their culture is not going to be very significant. Thus there is a call to review the literate-illiterate dichotomy. In a study by Sylvia Scribner together with Michael Cole in (The Psychology of Literacy, 1981) on the functions of literacy in Vai of north-west L iberia, they argue that literacy will only be fully understood within the context of the people’s social practices (Barton, 1994). The argument is such that being literate means that one can navigate well in his or her social world.In traditional societies, learning to read and to write is not as compelling as learning to hunt and survive in the forest. The criticism levelled at this approach is that it emphasizes too much on local context without factoring in external forces such as colonization, religious evangelization, economic globalization and others (Brandt, 2002). Others also question this overemphasis on cultural difference when literacy should be encouraging peoples of the world to integrate and create meaningful social, economic, and political linkages (Maddox, 2001).Anthropological and ethnographic researches looking into the communicative process reveals that it is the local contexts that define literacy and that the texts can only be produced within specific cul tural and social perspectives. Thus literacy should not be imposed from the outside as a dominant discourse but should naturally development from one’s culture. Literacy as a process of learning The constructivist perspective looks at literacy as a continuing process rather than an end product. Knowledge is seen as continually evolving and being socially constructed in the process of doing.This looks into the perspective of the learner and how he or she makes meaning and sense from his own experiences. In this perspective, critical reflection is the key to individual and social transformation. This was developed by Kolb in adult education where the design is experiential and learning begins by personal reflection (Kolb, 1984). Paulo Freire is one of the main theorists propounding on this perspective. I quote from Paulo Freire, â€Å"Every reading of the word is preceded by a reading of the world.Starting from the reading of the world that the reader brings to literacy progra ms (a social- and class determined reading), the reading of the word sends the reader back to the previous reading of the world, which is, in fact, a re-reading. (Freire, 1995)† For Paulo Freire, literacy is not a matter of learning to speak, then to read then to write. These are all part of the learning process. Literacy is such that it gives meaning to our life and to our world as we continue to be part of the never ending process of social transformation.The whole process of interpretation and meaning giving should not be without conscientization and resolve to higher action. Part of Freire’s pedagogy is praxis which is a combination of theory and practice where literacy can dialogically transform the world (Freire, 1995). For Freire literacy originates first and foremost, from the social practices of man and his actual encounter with the world. Literacy as text Linguists, educationalists, and literary theorists look at literacy from the perspective of it being the à ¢â‚¬Ëœsubject matter’ (Bhola, 1994)) where the nature of the given texts are created and used by individuals.These texts may vary in terms of genre and subject, the levels of difficulty in the language being used, and in ideological content which can be explicit or hidden. This perspective looks at literacy where texts are bound together in intertextuality where people’s practices and texts intertwine. Thus the texts have the power to reproduce social practices such as social inequalities, gender relations, and racism among others. This is referred to as discourse.Others improved this perspective by also including non verbal communication, gestures, body language are part of the communication process where different cultures and contexts can change the interpretation of meaning (Kress, 2001). Thus people choose ‘representational resources’ on a case to case basis depending on what situation and what context. To illustrate, even the theories of literacy are themselves embedded in the assumptions and values of institutions and individuals. This perspective requires a critical reading of the text as social constructed and at the same time socially recreating society.Meanings are constructed according to social binaries and collusion of different values and forms of life. The criticism levelled at this perspective is determining its applicability in multi cultural settings and in a rapidly globalizing information society where the internet serves as a main medium bridging different cultures. Moreover, this perspective tends toward nihilism if we begin to look at all text being socially constructed, one may conclude that there neither defining value nor stable foothold to culture. Literacy as a Dominating IdeologyNeo Marxists levels its attack on the idea of literacy itself as a western and dominating ideology that creates social inequalities. This is being done by derogatory classification of â€Å"illiterates† without even lookin g at their specific culture and life forms from their own point of view. Literacy as an ideology is said to impose a standard created by the First World which brings with its own economic system of capitalism as already accepted. Thus the space of indigenous peoples for discourse is reduced only to a certain level of â€Å"literacy† from which they can discourse.Those who cannot speak the educated language are silenced. Technical discourse is preferred over experiential discourse. Bringing it all together If we look at the various perspectives in which we have analyzed literacy, we can see some common denominators in which all these perspectives can agree upon. These are: 1. That literacy should involve the whole range of human communication skills such as reading, writing, speaking, counting and even non verbal communication and the study of proxemics and body language as forms of representation. 2.That literacy is contingent on the needs of the learners and the needs of soc iety. 3. That literacy must be able to empower and engage the people and must thrive within a positive learning environment. Yousif gives general definition of literacy based on these 4 perspectives: â€Å"Literacy is a technical capacity and a social act whose principal focus is reading, writing and numeracy as a step in a lifelong learning process that can lead to creative expression and conceptual problem-solving skills.Its principal objective is to enable the individual to achieve his goals and to  contribute to the welfare of his community (Yousif, 10-12 June, 2003). † If we examine the definition above we will observe that at the core of literacy are cognitive skills but it does not end there. The definition of Literacy further reaches out to creative expression, the ability to navigate the social world and survive, and conceptual problem solving. This definition further affirms the social roots and origins of literacy as human beings are social beings. As individuals they have to make meaning and interpret communication. As social beings, we need to be part and contribute to the welfare of society.As literacy is integral to culture and society, it is also a lifelong process of learning for human society is never static. The Significance of this definition This definition can prove to be very significant in the conduct of literacy efforts all over the world. While literacy efforts may stress on cognitive skills at the beginning, they should also emphasize on self actualization and social transformation as a direction. Literacy is also seen not as an end in itself but a lifelong process directed at creative self expression, psychological empowerment and self actualization, critical engagement, and social transformation.Literacy efforts should also look at the applicability and practicability of literacy programs on the actual life situation and culture of the people. There is no generic formula for literacy and the point of literacy programs is t o make human communities a better place to live in. While however accepting such diversity, we also have to take note that the mass media through the information high way is literally changing the communication landscape of the world.Thus we need to be open to learning how to navigate through fast developments while being critical of dominating discourses that flood the media.III. Conclusion:Education for Freedom During the last 300 years when the industrial revolution began, dramatic advances had made it a requirement for people in the modern world to have formal education in the schools. Before that, the transmission of learning and skills happened via oral tradition and the socialization of the young. Today, educational institutions are a must and acquiring formal education is already a necessity among the young.With the study of the different perspectives on literacy, we now know that literacy does not only mean skill but also competency. However, competency is not enough if one is to reach his highest potential. One needs critical self reflection to examine the deepest roots of our society and social life in order to change it. Thus literacy means gaining knowledge to understand the world and analyze society. Yet again the process never stops. For in the end, knowledge is useless if it has no goal and direction. The only worthwhile direction of human knowledge is none other than Freedom.This is what it really means when we say that reason has finally triumphed; where the world lives on free discourses and what matter is what’s right and not who’s right. This is where literacy brings not only development but also freedom and a better world guided by wisdom and reason. As information society increases global communication and makes the world smaller, so must the free exchange of culture and knowledge proceed without discrimination but with respect so there would be a diversity which is a unity in itself guided by the highest kind of literacy w e can ever imagine.

“A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne”

The book entitled â€Å"Framework for Understanding Poverty† is a famous book of a former school teacher Ruby K. Payne. I learnt that Ruby Payne is an expert of poverty. She also talks about her understanding of mentality of middle class and wealth.he book has become a text book for poverty workers, teachers and managers of schools to know about the three categories of poverty; generational (for two or more generations) poverty, situational poverty (because of a sad event like disease, death of earning member of family or divorce).The definitions of three poverty types that Ruby Payne gives make sense. The reason of split behaviors, ethics, individuality of three poverty types is stated in financial aspects, she explains   as clearly visible among poverty stricken and is she also covered this identification among wealthy. This approach, that it is not money alone but a lot of other factors have an influence over people, is quite holistic.The book on Poverty written by Ruby P ayne advises that every one in education field from teachers to administrators at all levels of education ‘must read’ the Payne book, which is a boisterous advise. An author of a finance and poverty book can not be so demanding and dogmatic.It could be useful for some having congruent ideas with Ruby Payne but not all will think in her way. It is very useful to understanding the point of view of Dr. Ruby Payne on socio economic reasons and characteristics of poverty.  The good part of her scientific discussion is her suggesting the details of support systems. She suggests focusing on coping techniques, knowing about the various emotional and financial factors that put limitations, and complexities of relationships they hold with similar background social fraternity and then she suggests that the procedural communication and habit of positive talk should be taught to the poverty background students, and how it would help the poor students learn and perform better than their present performance.The Theme of the BookThe book makes us realize the poverty in vivid detail and its entire backdrop of why the cycle of poverty is difficult to break. She emphasizes that poverty is not merely a situation of having less money than they need, but it is struggling in a domain of definite rules, separate feelings, and poor information that prevails over the methods of making   relations and creating a life among poor. The book gives us a useful quiz about survival on its page fifty seventh, which helps understanding contours of poverty.The objective of the book that runs through all chapters of the book is demystifying the myths of poverty with an intension to make us know how to break the poverty cycle.The aim of Ruby Payne appears to be educating all the stakeholders in School education system and education establishments, to make them focus on poor child that they learn in a better way after knowing their social and cultural background and most importantly their emotional mind makeup. This truly helps the teacher and administrators to do a better job in becoming mentors and role models for poor students who emulate them.The process of poverty should be tackled scientifically by training the students certain needed soft skills that poor parents could not teach to their children.The examples given in the book are fantastic such as, for poor, how they learn to look for safety of your clothes at Laundromat, how they engage and entertain their friends and close people by telling stories, and for a middle class person, the knowledge of use of a credit card or library card, earning loyalty from a household employee and creating a veil of seclusion and reserve around for the wealthy.

Fraud: Ultro and Enormo

The implication of this illegal act committed by Ultras management is committing fraud, so they are ultimately responsible for what happened. They sold automobiles that were fully depreciated on Ultras books to employees to generate an additional $50,000 in foreign currency which is illegal all with in itself.They also knew the Caribbean country in which they were operating out of has strict laws governing the ranchers of funds to other countries, but an employee still went out of his/her way to smuggle $50,000 of foreign currency out of the Caribbean country so it could be deposited in one of Enormous bank accounts. Management did nothing to stop this employee from smuggling the money out of the country and most likely sanction the action. Enormous and Ultras management does not seem to care about these illegal actions and does not want to take any measures to resolve these Issues In the future, even though they are fully responsible.B. ) If the CPA firm suspects that Enormous manag ement is Involved In noncompliance (which they are), they should communicate the matter to the next level of authority in the organization. If Enormous next level authority is not cooperating, the firm should obtain their own legal advice from outside of Enormous legal team. Since they have already committed fraud once with this illegal action, the CPA firm should take a deeper look Into Enormous financial records to see If these types of Illegal transactions eave happened In years past.C. ) I personally would report the Illegal act because It would be unethical not to even though It Is a small amount of money. Not only Is my reputation at stake, but so Is the reputation of my entire CPA firm. If I were to Ill about one companies financial records, I would be Jeopardizing any future business with other clients If I were to get caught. It Is always better to report everything you find In an audit so nothing comes back to negatively Impact you and your firm.

Explain How Christian Charities and Communities Essay

May put these Ideas into Practice Christian charities and communities put these ideas into action by devoting time to those who are less fortunate than themselves. They may work abroad as a doctor or nurse, or as an aid worker in a refugee camp. They may also provide help from their own homes by not being wasteful and donating old clothes and books and other objects that could be of use. There are certain organisations set up for Christians to help those less fortunate. These include organisations such as Voluntary Service Overseas which offers service to people with the will to help and it helps set them up with some work to do abroad. Other people will make donations to charities or even set aside some of their monthly income to make sure that they give something each month to help thise less fortunate than themselves. Christians are obligated to work towards helping those less fortunate than themselves. Charities such as Oxfam, Save the Children Fund and Comic Relief are all based to eliminate world poverty. However, they are not based on any religious beliefs. Christian charities include the Salvation Army, Christian Aid, Tear Fund and CAFOD. Christian Aid was organised just after the Second World War as many people had lost all their possesions and loved ones, including their home and family. Many people were left with nothing. That is when ‘Christian Reconstruction in Europe’ was set up, which raised a massive one million pounds! This helped people start to build up their lives again. Once the citizens in Europe started to become more settled, the attention was drawn to other countries where there was still a huge problem with poverty and injustice, such as Africa. The name of the organisation was then changed to ‘Christian Aid’ and has been known as that ever since. Christian Aid has helped those in natural disasters (such as the war in Lebanon, the famine in Sudan and East Pakistan and others), by sending over money, doctors and medicines, clothes and food. The money sent over is used to build hospitals, education centres and wells for clean water. Most recently Christian Aid has campaigned for fair trade and for an end to Third World dept. Christian Aid works in more than 70 countries, and on more than 700 local projects. There are four main areas to Christian Aid, the first of which is fund-raising. Christian Aid Week started in 1957 and is a major nationwide event. Churches are given a number of towns to manage between them, of which all houses in them have an envelope posted through. In this envelope are the aims of Christian Aid, along with the explaination of the work and asks for a donation. In 1995 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8,600,000 was raised. Christian Aid provides emergency aid to deal with natural disasters and refugees- this takes priority over long-term projects due to the extreme nature of the situations. This type of aid involves sending food and medicine as well as providing shelter for those affected. About 10-15% of its funds are spent on emergency aid each year. Long-term projects such as in Bangladesh where a basic drugs factory has been funded have the aim to continue helping the country in the future. This is the main area of Christian Aid’s work, which encourages people in LEDC’s to work themselves out of poverty, so that they will not need aid in the future. The final area of Christian Aid’s work is education (in the UK mainly), where 5% of the budget is spent. ‘Christian Aid News’, a quarterly newspaper gives information on their developments as well as explaining the need for world development and ways in which Christians can help those in LEDC’s. Christianity tries to make people in the west aware of the conditions in the Third World. They do this by running advertising campaigns and educatory packs for schools. They believe that increased awareness will mean that Christians and others will be more prepared to give to Third World charities. The Salvation Army began in 1865 when William Booth, and his wife Catherine, realised that the poor were not being treated equally to the richer and they were not even allowed into churches. He believed the ‘church needed to go to the people, rather than the people coming to the church, to be touched by the Christian message.’ By 1900 the Army had spread around the world to 36 countries.The aim of The Salvation Army is ‘the advancement of the Christian religion†¦of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole.’ The Salvation Army are also aiming to reach out to others, in order to encourage them to do the same. The ‘community outreach team’ aims at doing just that, making people aware of the hundreds of people who are homeless in London alone! Caritas is a world-wide Roman Catholic organisation which believes that it is not enough to give people in need material help. It believes in ‘providing the solidarity needed to nourish that hope which alone will enable our less fortunate brothers and sisters to take personal charge of their own lives and destiny and thus achieving that liberty which is their inalienable right as children of God.’ In England and Wales, Caritas is represented by CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development). CAFOD is considered one of the United Kingdom’s leading development and relief organisations, and funds over a thousand projects in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. Not only does CAFOD help those less fortunate but they also work within parishes, schools and community organisations to help teach others about poverty and it’s causes. They also run many fund raising projects through schools and otherwise, such as sponsored sports events to raise money. CAFOD aims to get rid of poverty in the Developing World, and aims to bring about justice and fair shares for everyone. CAFOD also does a lot of emergency work when it is needed. When there is a natural disaster incident, such as a flood, hurricane, or earthquake they provide food and then help with rebuilding. Some Christians donate one tenth of their earnings as their duty towards helping the poor. Christian’s faith teaches that the wealth is by no means bad but they must learn the right purposes for earning it and using it, and would argue that they should give money to charity rather than spending it all on luxuries. This is illustarating the Eye of the Needle; â€Å"it is easier for a camel to go through a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God† as in the story of The Rich Man †¦ If the world were like it should be according to Christian teaching then the world would probably be a better place. The problem is that God gave men and women free will. If all of the world’s wealth was divided up equally between each person then not before very long the rich would be rich once again and the poor would be back where they were.

High speed stereo imaging techniques for flame studies Research Proposal

High speed stereo imaging techniques for flame studies - Research Proposal Example Researchers have invented several laser sources currently in use for several purposes. According to Blaum (2003), these first laser sources are expensive though efficient; hence the need to improve them in terms of reducing the cost while maintaining efficiency. Caspani (2013) says examples of novel laser sources include optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) and diode-pumped Nd lasers. These laser sources have certain properties and behavior as explained in the following paragraphs. Optical parametric oscillators involve optical cavities that resonate at comb frequencies. They have ultra-small volume due to their optical cavities with dimensions in microns. The ultra-small volume results in increased sensitivity to heat induced by a pump laser; hence shifting the cavity resonance. Chang (2010) says this needs continuous manipulation of the pump wavelength in order to track the thermal drift. When pumped by an appropriate external laser, the micro cavities generate multiple, equally spaced new frequencies through nonlinear optical processes. Diode-pumped Nd lasers include Nd: YVO4, Nd: GdVO4, Nd: FAP, Nd: SFAP, and Nd: SVAP and are all crystals in nature. According to Liu (2014), the crystals belong to two different types of structures. Both Nd: YVO4 and Nd: GdVO4 have the zircon (vanadate) structure which is tetragonal with a space group of141/amd while Nd: FAP, Nd: SFAP and Nd: SVAP have the apatite structure which is hexagonal with space group of P63/m. They all have high emission-section lifetime product, which means they should have a low threshold. According to Wirsig (2010), the temperature dependence (dn/dT) is positive for the vanadates while negative for the apatites meaning the vanadates have higher thermal sensing than the apatites. According to Patterson (1989), the thermal conductivity of the vanadates goes up to 2.5 times than the apatites;

Cost Report for the Average Physical Education teachers Salary Essay

Cost Report for the Average Physical Education teachers Salary - Essay Example Teacher salary follows a strict clustering system, which ensures that every teacher receives a pay commensurate to his or her duties. The cost of an average teacher in the state of Georgia is $ 74,985.07; this is the sum of a basic teacher salary and a number of other benefits, which make the career more attractive. The American government has a set minimum wage for every employee in the country, a feature that protects every citizen from exploitation by employers. The minimum wage in the state of Georgia is $ 20,000 implying that teacher salary is above the minimum wage and therefore conscious of the economic factors in the country. Among the common benefits that teachers enjoy are health insurance, medical insurance, social security, and workman’s compensation insurance. These benefits also vary depending on the nature of a teacher’s responsibilities in the school. The United States of America is a developed country and the government strives to provide the basic life support features in every region thereby dispelling the need for hardship allowances. The table below breaks down the teacher salaries in the state of Georgia: Average teacher cost Pay schedule $ 52,852.32 Local supplement $ 4,447.68 Health insurance $ 10,619.98 FICA $ 830.85 TRS $ 5,890.44 Total teacher salary $ 74,985.07 The additional costs such as the health insurance and the social security contribution all apply in form of uniform percentages of the scheduled pay. This implies that a teacher with a higher basic salary receives larger additional benefits thus validating the salary disparities among the teachers. The salary tabulation above refers to that of an average teacher in the state of Georgia and is therefore applicable to the physical education teacher at Alcovy High School, which is in the Newton county school management system. This therefore exempts Alcovy High School from paying its teachers the social security’s benefits. This way, after paying the teacher their basic remuneration of $52,852.23, the school will further pay the teachers an additional $17,685.07 in benefits thus resulting in a total of $74,985.07, which therefore becomes the cost of an average physical education’s teacher at the facility. There are different sources for this money, teachers are civil servants and therefore paid by the government. However, the school and its other related school systems and state departments also have a prerogative for paying teachers owing to their roles in the subsequent positions. Teachers have their entitlement depending on the nature of their assignments at the facility. The school for example must consider its teacher student ration to ensure that it does not overwork its teachers. The state for example pays every teacher $47,957.59 out of the total $74,985.07, which is the actual cost of every teacher. This implies that the rest of the funding comes for the subsequent systems and departments. In this context, the state send s this money to the Newton county school system. The system and the department thus pay every teacher the additional $27,093.01 to make the figure complete. However, teachers just as the rest of civil servants remit their taxes to the government. This therefore reduces the cost of hiring a teacher, since it is the same government paying the teachers and accepting their tax remittance.

Personal Statement - Why Do You Want To Study Business Adminstration

- Why Do You Want To Study Business Adminstration and why carnegie mellon - Personal Statement Example As a child, I used to tell my father that I could wish to own a large business organization when I grew up, but he thought I was joking. My Interest in business and the desire to live a high-class life, and be independent was discovered when I helped my father in his business shop during holidays. I used to market his products through Facebook, twitter and other social networks, which I found hard to convince my father to join. As I was working with my father in his business, I realized I could not directly face people because I was shy. Moreover, to further my skills and knowledge in business, I worked in several business entities as an internee. During this time, I learnt many business related skills like marketing, balancing the cashbooks, attending leadership trainings and workshops. All these skills and knowledge plus excelling well in my class work business related courses increased my interest in the need to do business administration. In the current world everything has changed due to advanced technology; this has also increased my interests in pursuing a business course. This is because, as a business administrator; I can sell my products through the social networks, process clients requests and even prepare data without necessarily going to the office, shop or meeting clients face- to – face. Carnegie Mellon University is my number one preferred university because of the quality and professional studies it offers especially in the school of Business studies. In addition, another reason is that most people owning high technology companies studied in Carnegie Mellon University. It also offers entrepreneurship inspirational business courses, which make interested students, come out successful once completing their studies from the university. In addition, as a student who wants to pursue in Business Administration, I believe Carnegie Mellon University is the perfect place for me. Professionally, Carnegie Mellon University in general

Sustainability Indicators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sustainability Indicators - Essay Example There are several different types of indicators used in different fields, and the indicators of sustainability differ from other typical indicators employed for measuring social, economic and environmental progress (Sustainable Measures, 2010). Traditional indicators like stockholder profits, water quality etc. are not holistic in nature since they focus on a particular segment of the community; they do measure the progress of one component as if it was independent from other components of the community. On the other hand, sustainability indicators are resourceful in measuring the interactions of three different aspects of the community i.e. the environment, the economy and the society (Sustainable Measures, 2010). Sustainability indicators (Sis) are those indicators which provide information regarding the feasibility of future goals depending on their social aspects such as material welfare, environmental quality and natural environment (Zhen, 2006). In other words, SIs is a means o f finding how efficiently the community is satisfying the needs of its current and future members. Sustainability indicators and indices have been used popularly for measuring progress and improvement in the sustainability of different ventures. Index is referred to as a composite number which develops from adding together more than one indicator. There may be different types of indicators and many of them are linked to each other, such that one indicator has an influence on the other (Morse, 2010). There are many differences between sustainability and traditional urban indicators. Dividing the traditional urban indicators into three types i.e. economic, environmental and social indicators, a comparison can be drawn up between sustainability and other urban indicators. When considering environmental indicators, a traditional indicator would measure the ambient levels of pollution in air and water. On the other hand, a sustainability indicator would seek to measure the usage and prod uction of toxic substances, as well as the miles traversed by vehicles. The focus of the environmental SI would be on the measurement of activities that lead to pollution. A typical social indicator might include an analysis of the SAT and other standardized test scores. Contrary to that, a SI would entail the measurement of the total number of students who are given training for jobs available in the community and the number of students who study in college and then return to serve the community. The comparison between the two approaches used by the indicators is that SI focuses more on matching the job proficiency and training of people to the requirements of the community (Sustainable Indicators, 2010). 2. Introduce the sustainability indicator program. The sustainability indicator program that this paper will be focusing on is the Arizona State University (ASU) sustainability program. The Global Institute of Sustainability is the centre of sustainability initiatives at the ASU. The Institute specializes in the promotion of research, education and business practices for bolstering sustainability in the contemporary urbanizing world. The Institute is focused on coming up with solutions to economical, environmental and social sustainability challenges the world faces today. The Institute, opened in 2007, was the first of its kind in the entire country. The goals of the Institute is to recognize the major sustainability ch