What is critical theory, its purpose and Robert Cox quotations, Essay

What is critical theory, its purpose and Robert Cox quotations, purpose and who is it for - Essay Example king of a problem-solving theory under the process of normatively and factually criticizing the original framework of international relations and beliefs thereof (Marilli). It would involve realization of a whole new historical configuration for the world that used to be known and established in the light of societies that have become accustomed to Marxist principles or the type in which central powers are normally attributed to a capitalist nation as in the U.S (Moolakkattu). Cox occurs to reserve the position that, since the world has undergone mechanisms of change apart from the ordinary cycle in several aspects, critical theory ought to be employed in seeking to study how the mutating political economy may be dealt with on a level that requires mutual global adjustment. Apparently, the purpose herein is to gauge the readiness of America, especially, in acknowledging a tremendous shift in economic and socio-political framework of a world order where its pursuit for world dominance is at stake. In an interview via ‘Theory Talks’, Cox claims â€Å"I think the biggest challenge is the relative decline of the U.S. in relation to the rest of the world and whether and how America will adjust to a world in which it can no longer presume to lead.† Through the critical theory, Eurasia is analyzed to bear the capacity of perceiving America’s encirclement of influence as triggered by the ‘war on terror’ which the Bush regim e initiated and the administration of Obama acquires the pressure of keeping with. Robert W. Cox and Critical Theory of International Relations. 2013.  Robert W. Cox and Critical Theory of International Relations  . [ONLINE] Available at: . [Accessed 01 January 2013]. Theory Talks: Theory Talk #37: Robert Cox. 2013.  Theory Talks: Theory Talk #37: Robert Cox. [ONLINE] Available at:  . [Accessed 02 January

In Defense of Food Essay Example for Free

In Defense of Food Essay After learning so much from Pollan’s exposition in the first two parts, one can only imagine how damaging it is to human health and well – being if people were to continue adapting the Western lifestyle. First of all, to the food industry that clogs Western society with thousands of food products, we are but a link to their chain of processed foods that (and not ‘who’) consume in volumes than quality. Naturally, we lose our persona of that of a contributor to the food chain. Rather we are just end – users, frolicking from one set of information to another – and of course, from a bunch of food products to another – as we try to figure out the way to good health. Yet no one seems to notice and address this concern for real. I had also been wondering what to eat and how and this book achieved what it purported to answer. But coming from Western society that consumes their publication pages with updates from research or studies conducted here and there, these same questions are interesting. However, there are no readily available and truthful answers to be found in health claims and food labels. A great deal of time and explanation are needed before arriving at one sweeping answer. Pollan’s book highlighted a mine of curious discoveries in answer to this. Including that some studies that could flag the food industry are stashed in corners of libraries not getting widespread media attention. These are hidden the same way farmers’ produce are stashed aside – waiting for an extensively questioning person to find and spread its results around. This is probably because there are no economic incentives involved in heralding the valid issues and concerns presented in such studies. Consider the findings that polyunsaturated fats and other substances in processed foods do not actually make a difference in the prevention of chronic diseases. This information is clogged and buried at the bottom of the heap of the food industry’s multi – billion dollar advertised claims. However, Pollan successfully searched and provided thorough answers to these questions and even recommends what and how to eat in the third part. I particularly liked the part about healthy eating enhanced by social relations. It gives me more reason to value the tradition, cuisine and culture I grew up in and not adapt the Western lifestyle: eating food products or buying from supermarkets instead of the farmer’s market. Where I am from (Turkey), every meal is prepared from scratch and these are mostly whole foods or organic produce. Before it is laid on the table, there go the activities essential to relations: preparing food together, learning dishes from our mother, aunts, uncles or grandparents – even from elder siblings. And that is just one part of the cycle. Thus, in a social sense, I certainly agree that there is ‘synergy’ in the finishing end of the cycle of food preparation: from soil to table. And such is concocted from growing or planting it in the soil up until it is finally eaten. May it well be that the contribution of every individual involved in the natural food chain adds up to the final food that is ‘more than the sum of its parts’? For instance, there are associations that come to mind when we think of food or eating. One of them would be celebration. Be it a celebration of life, innocence, joy, or transitions, failures, pain or the whole spectrum of feelings that come with it. Even faith and the belief that there is some power stronger and bigger than we are that made all such foods available for us to savor and enjoy. And memories seem to make the food taste even better and signal to our bodily systems, increasing satiety. For me, food not only speaks for what it is made of or the nutrients it is composed of. It speaks so much about who we are as persons, what we value and how we pay respects to other parts in the eco – system in which we thrive. Therefore with every meal we enjoy come cherished memories of various points in our lives, shared with extended family or the community. And at every turn, we give due respect and thanks to one vital part of each celebration: generous nature that breathes life into every produce that make up each meal. Many people across different cultures and in fact even within the same culture or society have differing allusions or associations to food. In some populations, commonly in the West, it may extremely be a negative symbol that precedes revulsion or a compulsively positive one as ‘comfort foods’. Thus eating becomes an act of a functional necessity, an interruption of a ‘seeming’ life lived in the fast lane. Being a consumer society that thrives on convenience, they might not have the time or energy to invest in food preparation from scratch like finding pure unadulterated natural produce and savor the scent, color and distinct tang that come with every dish prepared from it. But however different cultures may view food and eating, it remains apparent that the Western lifestyle brings in a lot of diseases into its population or other societies that choose this way to live. It obviously is not a healthy way to conduct our lives, as was stressed out in various points of the book. It becomes a wise and healthy choice therefore, to eat healthy by patronizing fresh produce from farms as opposed to food products, and savor meals within the context of relations to get the most out of every dish.

Theories of Patient Satisfaction

Theories of Patient Satisfaction Patients satisfaction Formulation of Patient satisfaction Pascoe (1983) defined patient satisfaction as â€Å"†¦the health care recipient’s  reaction to salient aspects of the context, process, and result of their service  experiences†¦ (pp. 189)†. It consists of a â€Å"†¦cognitively based evaluation or  grading of directly-received services including structure, process, and outcome  of services†¦ and an affectively based response to the structure, process, and  outcome of services†¦(pp. 189)†. In terms of the formulation of patient  satisfaction, Pascoe described the Discrepancy Theory and Fulfillment Theory. The two theories were originated from job satisfaction research, the Fulfillment  Theory assumed the magnitude of the outcomes received under particular  circumstance determine satisfaction and neglected any psychological evaluation  of the outcomes. Discrepancy Theory has taken psychological evaluation of  outcomes into consideration in satisfaction formulation and claimed that  dissatisfaction results if the actual outcomes were deviated from the subject’s  initial expectation. It was understood that the Discrepancy approaches that view  patients prior expectations as determinants of satisfaction have be frequently  applied in many patient satisfaction researches, but what determines patient  expectations at the first place? Fox and Storms (1981) present two sets of intervening variables in satisfaction  formulation, including Orientations Towards Care and Conditions of Care,  mediated by patients’ social and cultural characteristics. Orientations Towards  Care refer to patients’ difference in their wants and expectation in a medical  encounter, as people would have different beliefs in the causes of illness and in  the socially-patterned responses to illness. Conditions of Care refer to the  different Theoretical approaches to care, Situation of care and Outcomes of care  delivered by the care providers. Patient satisfaction results if the Orientations  Towards Care was congruent with the Conditions of Care. If the individual’s  Orientations Towards Care, including the perception and interpretation of care,  can be affected by their broader social and cultural contexts, peoples with shared  characteristics may presented a socially-patterned responses in their s atisfaction  formulation accordingly. Suchman Edward Allen proposed that â€Å"†¦ certain  socio-cultural background factors will predispose the individual toward  accepting or rejecting the approach of professional medicine and, hence,  increase or decrease the possibility of conflict between patient and  physician†¦(pp.558) [19]†which basically correlated patient’s socio-demographic  factors with satisfaction. Patient satisfaction and Social identity theory Linder-Pelz (1982) assumed a value-expectancy model in satisfaction  formulation and defined â€Å"patient satisfaction as a positive attitude†¦ a positive  evaluations of distinct dimension of health care, such as a single clinical visit,  the whole treatment process, particular health care setting or plan or the health  care system in general (pp.578)†. Attitude was defined by Fishbein and Azjen  (1975) as the â€Å"general evaluation or feeling of favorableness toward the object  in question†. Built on the view of the Social identity theory that â€Å"attitudes are  moderated by environmental, individual, physical, psychological or sociological  variables (pp. 72)†, Jessie L. Tucker (2000) claimed that patient satisfaction shall  be â€Å"moderated by socio-demographic attributes such as environmental,  individual, physical, psychological and sociological characteristics (pp. 72)†. In  her later study, Jessie L .Tucker (2002) provided empirical support to patient  satisfaction and social identity theory. Patient satisfaction theory considered  patient satisfaction as an attitude, and her results confirmed that patient’s  evaluation of access, communication, outcomes and quality were significant  predictors of satisfaction. Social identity theory argued that attitudes were altered  and affected by demographic, situational, environmental, and psychological  factors, and her research findings indicated that patient’s specific characteristics  significantly explain their satisfaction. Haslam et al. (1993) study of in-group favoritism and social identity models of  stereotype formation suggested that â€Å"manifestations of favoritism are sensitive to  comparative and normative features of social context (pp. 97)†. The result  revealed that a person’s judgments will be impinged by his/her boarder  macro-social context and background knowledge, and the stereotype formulation  were not automatics but instead accustomed by the social context where meaning  and attitudes towards different aspects were constructed. Social identity theory was outlined by Sociologists Henri Tajfel and John Turner  (1979) and was defined as â€Å"the individual’s knowledge that he/she belongs to  certain social groups together with some emotional and value significance to  him/her of the group membership (pp.2) [17]†. The theory believed that  individual’s process a repertoire of self identities with individuating  characteristic at the personal extreme and social categorical characteristics at the  social extreme. Depending on the social context, the personal identity may  prominent and individuals would perceive themselves as members of a social  group and adopt shared attitudes towards a particular aspect, and possibly  satisfaction towards care, or vice versa. To construct a social identity, the theory  proposed that individuals will â€Å"firstly categorize and define themselves as  members of a social category or assign themselves a social identity; second, they  form or learn the stereotypic norms of they category; and third, they assign these  norms to themselves and thus their behavior becomes more normative as their  category membership (pp.15) [42]†. The categories under which individuals  assign themselves at the first place will depends on a person’s social contexts  such as life experience, backgrounds, culture and situation etc. Social identity theory was closely related to the â€Å"Self-categorization theory†,  which was defined by Hogg and McGarty as the theoretical concept of Social  Identify itself and â€Å"concerns the ways collection of individuals comes to define  and feel themselves to be a social group and how does shared group membership  influence their behavior†. Lorenzi-Cioldi and Doise claimed that  Self-categorization theory led to accentuation of between-group differences and  within-group similarities by the fact that â€Å"different levels of categorization are  simultaneously used by group members to encode information pertaining to their  own group and to the other group (pp. 74) [20]†, and the role constraints of  members of inter-group give rise to a consistent mode of responding. Based on  the theoretical framework, it was assumed that patients with shared  socio-demographic characteristics would categorize information they perceived  (inc luding experiences from a medical encounter) for subsequent satisfaction  rating in a particular level and therefore presented a more or less homogenous  rating with the care received.

Acid Rain Essays -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Normal rainfall is slightly acidic because carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves in the raindrops to produce hydrogen ions. Yet, normal rainfall is not considered acid rain. Acid rain is a form of air pollution in which airborne acids produced by electric utility plants and other sources fall to Earth in distant regions. The corrosive nature of acid rain causes widespread damage to the environment. The problem begins with the production of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas, and oil, and from certain kinds of manufacturing. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water and other chemicals in the air to form sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and other pollutants. These acid pollutants reach high into the atmosphere, travel with the wind for hundreds of miles, and eventually return to the ground by way of rain, snow, or fog, and as invisible â€Å"dry† forms. Damage from acid rain has been wide spread in eastern North America and throughout Europe, and in Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. Acid rain leaches nutrients from soils, slows the growth of trees, and makes lakes uninhabitable for fish and other wildlife. In cities, acid pollutants corrode almost everything they touch, accelerating natural wear and tear on structures such as buildings and statues. Acids combine with other chemicals to form urban smog, which attacks the lungs, causing illness and premature deaths. The process that leads to acid rain begins with the burning of fossil fuels. Burning, or combustion, is a chemical reaction in which oxygen from the air combines with carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and other elements in the substance being burned. The new compounds formed are gases called oxides. When sulfur and nitrogen are present in the fuel, their reaction that occurs with oxygen yields sulfur dioxide and various nitrogen oxide compounds. In the United States, 70 percent of sulfur dioxide pollution comes from power plants, especially those that burn coal. In Canada, industrial activities, including oil refining and metal smelting, account for 61 percent of sulfur dioxide pollution. Nitrogen oxides enter the atmosphere from many sources, with motor vehicles emitting the largest share—43 percent in the United States and 60 percent in Canada. Once in the atmosphere, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides undergo c... ...ts. The targets established in laws and treaties are being met, usually ahead of schedule. Sulfur emissions in Europe decreased by 40 percent from 1980 to 1994. In Norway sulfur dioxide emissions fell by 75 percent during the same period. Since 1980 annual sulfur dioxide emissions in the United States have dropped from 26 million tons to 18.3 million tons. Canada reports sulfur dioxide emissions have been reduced to 2.6 million tons, 18 percent below the proposed limit of 3.2 million tons. Monitoring stations in several nations report that precipitation is actually becoming less acidic. In Europe, lakes and streams are now growing less acid. However, this does not seem to be the case in the United States and Canada. The reasons are not completely understood, but apparently, controls reducing nitrogen oxide emissions only began recently and their effects have yet to make a mark. In addition, soils in some areas have absorbed so much acid that they contain no more neutralizing alka line chemicals. The weathering of rock will gradually replace the missing alkaline chemicals, but scientists fear that improvement will be very slow unless pollution controls are made even stricter.

Canada, America, and the Post Industrial Society Essay

The United States of America is one of the global powers. On the other hand, Canada, which is close to America, is also a large country that has a big economy. There are similarities and differences between the two countries. Some of the similarities are language spoken, religion, literacy, GDP growth per decade, and land area. Major languages spoken in both countries are mainly English, Spanish, and French. Major religions in both countries are Protestant and Catholic. Both countries also have the same literacy rate of 99% and the same gross domestic product or GDP growth rate per decade of 10%. Also, the land area of the two countries does not differ that much. Nevertheless, in terms of total area, Canada is bigger than the U. S. Canada has a total area of 9,984,670 square kilometers or 3,855,103 square miles while America has a total area of 9,826,630 square kilometers or 3,794,083 square miles. Canada is bigger than America by 1. 6% of its total area or about 158,040 square kilometers or 61,020 square miles (United North America). On the other hand, some of these differences include total area, population, GDP, unemployment rate, and life expectancy. With a population of 301,139,947 which is 9 times the population of Canada, America has a great advantage over Canada with a population of only 33,390,141. Another difference between both countries is GDP. The GDP of America is relatively higher than that of Canada. The GDP of America is US$ 13. 458 trillion, which is 11 times the GDP of Canada, compared to US$ 1. 287 trillion GDP of Canada. There is also a disparity in the unemployment rate of both countries. The unemployment rate in America is 5. 1%, which is lower compared to 6. 8% of Canada. Life expectancy in the U. S. is also lower compared to Canada. Americans can live up to 78 years while Canadians can live up to 80 years (United North America). The Features of Post Industrial Society Knowledge is a very important factor in our society today. In a post industrial society, everyone relies on information. Hence, exchange of information is highly regarded in a post industrial society. Information is gathered with the use of various data processors, record keeping, market research, etc. As to its economic sectors, the post industrial society is dominated by the tertiary sector, otherwise known as the services sector. Thus, the job opportunities mostly include jobs that offer services. Examples of these jobs are train services and computer services, among others. In a post industrial society, productivity can be seen through the primary sector and the secondary sector because of the contributions of the tertiary sector due to the transition from goods production to provision of services, one of this society’s most important features (Gershuny 1-10). Another significant feature of the post industrial era is that the importance of â€Å"blue collar† comes to dominate the economic world.Knowledge as said earlier is also an important aspect of this society. especially theoretical knowledge (Ritzer 9). Works Cited Gershuny, J. â€Å"What do we do in Post-industrial Society? † University of California, Los Angeles. April 2004. 04 November 2008 . Ritzer, G. The Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists. Maldem, Mass. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003. United North America. Similarities & Differences Between Canada & United States. 1 January 2007. 04 November 2008

Mental Health Service Users In Higher Education Social Work Essays

Mental Health Service Users In Higher Education Social Work Essays Mental Health Service Users In Higher Education Social Work Essay Mental Health Service Users In Higher Education Social Work Essay Following legion policy directives from the Department of Health, the inclusion of service users in the preparation of wellness professionals has become compulsory. Service user groups are peculiarly active in mental wellness preparation and there are several enterprises that have been implemented within the UK to ease their engagement in higher instruction bringing. This paper undertakes a critical reappraisal of the placement of mental wellness service users in developing programmes within a diverse scope of subjects, and categorises them into three countries: understanding the new linguistic communication, barriers and benefits, and the positions and readying of service users for functions within higher instruction. While there are promoting developments within this country, there is besides a demand to develop consistence in readying and development of these enterprises to counter the barriers that may authors rise. In 1999 the National Service model for Mental Health ( Department of Health, 1999 ) established that service users ( SU ) and carers must go involved in all facets of the preparation for wellness attention professionals. Since so, farther paperss such as the Health and Social Care Act ( 2001 ) ; Commissioning a Service User Led NHS ( Department of Health, ) and the White Paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say ( Department of Health, 2005b ) , every bit good as enterprises lead by The Health Care Commission ( 2005 ) have contributed to locate service users engagement in higher instruction ( HE ) as a precedence on the docket of mental wellness policies. Such enterprises straight challenge traditional theoretical accounts of attention where professionals were seen as the experts in mental wellness jobs while service users were a passive receiver of attention ( Foucault, 1980 ) . Mental wellness is today conceptualised as -a continuum, on which all mental wellness provinces are featured. To ease the execution of authorities policies workforce alliances and educational establishments have developed farther guidelines for the engagement of service users and carers in higher instruction. For illustration, the National Institute for Mental Health ( NIMHE ) adapted degrees of engagement developed by several writers ( Forrest, Risk, Masters, A ; Brown, 2000 ; Goss A ; Miller, 1995 ) to assist Workforce Development Confederations to scrutinize user and carer engagement in higher instruction. Additionally, Tew, Gell and Foster ( 2004 ) developed an appraisal model to be used for higher instruction establishments. The ladder of engagement considers that mental wellness service users could take part at different degrees runing from degree one ( no engagement ) to level five ( engagement in complete partnership ) . Professional and regulative organic structures have shown conformity with policies taking to new criterions of attention. For illustration, the Royal College of Psychiatrists made mandatary for trainees in psychopathology to have preparation from SUs ( Fadden, Shooter, A ; Holsgrove, 2005 ) ; the Chief Nursing Officer s Review of Mental Health Nursing ( Department of Health, 2006 ) established new nucleus competencies that have to be achieved through incorporating SUs within the nursing educational procedure and service users, and carers form portion of the revised standards for the Accreditation of Postgraduate Training Programs in Clinical Psychology ( BPS 2008 ) . Since the launch of all those policies, a overplus of illustrations and articles has emerged demoing how service users and carers have contributed to mental wellness and societal attention instruction at a scope of degrees and through the UK geographics. For illustration, in nursing ( Frisby, 2001 ; Langdon, Barnes, Haslehurst, Rimmer, A ; Turton, 2003 ) ; societal work ( Branfield, 2009 ; Levin, 2004 ) ; clinical psychological science ( Cooke A ; Hayward, 2010 ; Harper, Goodbody, A ; Steen, 2005 ) and medical preparation ( Fadden et al. , 2005 ; Wykurz A ; Kelly, 2002 ) . Such grounds surely highlights the development of user-involvement in HE, and illustrations of good pattern have been disseminated. However there is small effort to synthesize this literature peculiarly with mention to HE bringing. Taking all the above into history, a critical reappraisal of the literature was felt necessary at this phase. The chief purpose was to place emergent subjects and concerns shared by writers when using constabularies of users involvement in higher instruction into pattern and to place countries of farther work in pattern and research. The literature reappraisal: hunt scheme The hunt standards were refined to literature published since 1999 in line with the National Service Framework for mental wellness. Several on-line databases were searched: AMED, BNI, CINAHL, EMBASE, Health Business Elite, MEDLINE, PsychArticles, PsycInfo, ScienceDirect, and Web of Knowledge. Using a synonym finder and free text hunts, hunt footings were expanded to include mental wellness, service user, engagement, engagement, higher instruction, college, university, instruction, and pupil. In entire, over two 100 articles were retrieved and their mention lists hand- searched through to place farther relevant literature that may non hold appeared in the original database hunt. To spread out the hunt, writers of the most relevant articles were contacted, as were conference talkers and website decision makers in an attempt to supply inside informations of any current research they may be involved in. To set up relevance and to bring forth a literature reappraisal that was both extended but besides specific to our subject of involvement, we needed to specify the exact parametric quantities that we were seeking for. This led us to set up some exclusion standards. One such exclusion was articles that addressed mental wellness service users engagement in research undertakings. Many articles documented how service users were being recruited as participants in university research undertakings. However, these illustrations of SU engagement were non direct instruction and were non specifically aligned to education bringing. Our focal point was on how HE establishments involved service users in categories, talks, and as established members of staff in their instruction programmes. We besides chose to exclude any mention to service users being involved in instruction unless it was specifically higher instruction. Much of the stuff addressed how service users could take part in the prepara tion of health care professionals, but within independently organised workshops. We felt that that utilizing these exclusion standards would non merely supply a streamlined hunt scheme relevant to our research subject, but would besides let us to detect how establishments were following with the aforesaid authorities statute law to include service users in the bringing of higher instruction. Searching the literature in this manner was conducted on the footing of seeking to reply several inquiries. The first indispensable question lies in finding the current state of affairs of engagement of mental wellness SUs in HE. A demand besides exists to set up the chief issues that emerge with seeking to use current policies on mental wellness SUs and developing wellness professionals. Finally the cardinal question demands what we can larn from the grounds and what future developments are possible. Consequences: general observations Maping the literature resulted in a principal of surveies that spanned several subjects. From the articles that met our inclusion criteria the following capable countries from which they emerged were identified: Nursing = 53 articles Social Work = 26 Inter-professional = 22 Medical = 16 Psychiatry = 7A Psychology = 2 In measuring the attack of these surveies, we identified the undermentioned dislocation: Involvement suggestions = 17 ( e.g. appraisal ) Involvement ratings = 22 Case study = 40 Contemplations = 15 ( e.g. interviews, SU experiences ) Literature reappraisal = 8 Quantitative study = 5 Other = 19 ( e.g. Conference proceedings, web site, workshop ) Three systematic reappraisals were identified. Repper A ; Breeze ( Repper A ; Breeze, 2004 ) reviewed the literature on user and carer engagement in the preparation and instruction of mental wellness attention workers. They found that the bulk of documents selected for their reappraisal provided descriptions of consumer engagement undertakings with accent on the procedure of affecting users and callings instead than looking at the consequence that this engagement produced in pupils. Merely seven documents reported the result of consumer engagement in training/education and none examined the consequence of such instruction on pattern. Traveling more specifically in to mental wellness pattern for nursing pupils, Gray et Al. ( 2010 ) found that several writers ( e.g. Branfield, 2009 ; Speers, 2008 ) recommended the development of protocols to supply construction when affecting users in these activities. Wykurtz and Kelly ( 2002 ) completed a systematic reappraisal of publications from 1970 to 2001 discoursing the function of patients as active instructors in medical instruction. They identified 23 articles being merely one of these articles related to mental wellness, and the lone one co-authored by a health professional or patient ( Butterworth A ; Livingston, 1999 ) . They contributed to the grounds of positive benefits in users engagement in HE. Such reappraisals provide a utile penetration into bing work. Upon farther examination, we besides identified emergent subjects that the retrieved articles demonstrated. These will each be discussed and are: Understanding the new linguistic communication: issues originating from the usage of the new vocabulary, definition of specific footings, such as users and carers Barriers and Benefits: researching the single and institutional concerns built-in in the constitution and care of SU engagement. Service users readying and positions of engagement in HE bringing: turn toing the nature of preparation and designation of larning demands for SUs and carers. Understanding the new linguistic communication The inter-changeability and fluctuation of the nomenclature used in the articles was a most outstanding observation. In footings of specifying higher instruction, the information retrieved covered a scope of wellness professionals and subjects: medicine/psychiatry, nursing, occupational therapy, societal work, psychological science, graduate mental wellness workers, other professionals/programs ( e.g. certification in mental wellness work ) . Equally varied was the terminology applied to SUs and carers. Mental wellness SUs and carers are both different by definition and demands. However sometimes these footings appear in the literature as one sole entity and used inclusively. Traditionally, wellness professionals have given different names to the population they attend following the assorted theoretical theoretical accounts used as model. Doctors and nurses refer to the people they see for appraisal and intervention as patients while professionals from societal work A ; psychology specify them as clients and the footings users and/or, consumers are normally used from a managerial position. The term service user was adapted from societal policy by societal work in the early 1990s and it has become widely used across the UK by wellness and societal attention professions ( Anghel A ; Ramon, 2009 ) . Peoples widely accept these differences in vocabulary ( McGuire-Snieckus, McCabe, A ; Priebe, 2003 ) and suit to them. Service user administrations are besides lending to the field giving their ain definitions. They advocated that a service user should ever be self-identifying and seen as a individual foremost ( Determining our Lifes, 2003 ) and they have suggested to utilize the term citizen stakeholders ( Advocacy in Action, 2006 ) or to use footings such as resistant and survivors ( Distress Awareness Training Agency Website, 2010 ) All these incompatibilities sing the more appropriate nomenclature to be used were reflected in the literature and had been highlighted by writers ( Gray et al. , 2010 ; Rees, Knight, A ; Wilkinson, 2007 ; Simpson, Barkham, Gilbody, A ; House, 2003 ) . Some of them have adopted the definition proposed by Cooper A ; Spencer-Dawe ( 2006 ) in that that a service user is a individual who is ( or has been ) having any type of wellness or societal attention service. This definition has been seen a impersonal one ( Simpson et al. 2003 ) . Others ( Anghel A ; Ramon, 2009 ; Middleton, Stanton, A ; Renouf, 2004 ) proposed footings such as consultant , consumer adviser and/ or mental wellness consumer adviser to designate mental wellness service users as this would be more in harmony with the function they presently play. Others disagreed with this new nomenclature ( Moss, Boath, Buckley, A ; Colgan, 2009 ) as they have found in their surveies that participants would prefer the term s ervice user while others found that this may be inappropriate and considered violative ( Humphreys, 2005 ; Tyler, 2006 ) . Furthermore, understanding the new linguistic communication applies in the other way, this being service users going accustomed to the linguistic communication within academe. Many writers assert that the nature of academic argument and attach toing slang can efficaciously except service users and carers, and hence consequence in them experiencing intimidated and frustrated ( Basset, Campbell, A ; Anderson, 2006 ; Essen et al. , 2009 ; Scots Voices, 2008 ; Tew et al. , 2004 ) . Such sentiments lead suitably to the wider consideration of barriers to serve user integrating in higher instruction. Barriers and benefits Many articles approached the barriers to and benefits of SU engagement in both single and institutional contexts. On institutional degrees, several writers raised the high spot that the hierarchal civilization and constructions present within the HE establishments do non ease effectual coaction between faculty members and SUs. More specifically there was an inexplicit political orientation held that HE itself was a beginning of subjugation and exclusion that maintains bing inequalities in power dealingss and hierarchies ( Boxall, Carson, A ; Docherty, 2004 ; Hanley, 2005 ) . Other articles asserted that some faculty members used their cognition and expertness to project a sense of high quality over service users and carers and hence devaluate their engagement and sentiments ( Basset et al. , 2006 ; Branfield, Beresford, A ; Levin, 2007 ; Dogra, Anderson, Edwards, A ; Cavendish, 2008 ; Forbat, 2006 ; Tait A ; Lester, 2005 ) . Rees et Al. ( 2007 ) province that frequently service users and carers are non seen as holding a legitimate portion to play in instruction and preparation. In peculiar with regard to appraisal, the Social Care Institute for Excellence ( 2009 ) make the point that some faculty members believe that the appraisal of pupils is the exclusive state of them and disregard any added value that could be gained from the engagement of service users or carers. Such positions convey a damning indictment upon the purposes to make meaningful engagement, and are so barriers of an abstract and cloudy nature. However, on a more single degree, there are some practical and logistical concerns that besides serve to impede instead than advance engagement. Concerns such as payment of disbursals and concerns held by SUs that this may impact benefits, ( Basset et al. , 2006 ; Branfield et al. , 2007 ; Brown A ; Young, 2008 ) . Entree to installations, and a perceived tokenistic usage of SUs besides contrib ute to the structural and hierarchal hindrances outlined earlier. Felton and Stickley ( 2004 ) interviewed five mental wellness lectors to determine their positions of affecting service users in learning the undergraduate mental wellness nursing programme. Whilst four out of the five lectors by and large considered user engagement to be a good thing their subsequent parts suggested ambiguities. Although demoing consciousness of possible disadvantages of user engagement in higher instruction, respondents were non ever clear about the advantages. Furthermore, lectors did non desire the service users to go professionalised ; they wanted their function as patients maintained as this was perceived as more utile for engagement in the programme. Another sensed disadvantage for the users going professionalised was an eroding of their ain functions into that of glorified markers . In add-on to practical concerns that can straight impact persons, such issues arise in organizational factors. Other barriers raised in the literature concern the deficiency of substructure within SU administrations to get by with demand. The literature asserts that the engagement of service users and carers in the educational procedure equates to clip and resource ingestion when these trade goods are already committed ( Basset et al. , 2006 ; Edwards, 2003 ) . While HE administrations may non keep such disadvantages, it is argued that an built-in bias towards service users still abounds every bit, such as being disablement, undependability, being unpredictable or even unsafe ( Felton A ; Stickley 2004 ; Basset et Al. 2006 ; Branfield et Al. 2007 ; ( Haffling A ; Hakansson, 2008 ) ( Happell A ; Roper, 2009 ) ) . In malice of the aforesaid barriers identified in the literature, some articles besides featured the benefits of SU engagement in HE bringing. For pupils of classs in which Sessionss were delivered by SUs, the chance to reflect upon thought arousing feedback from SUs increased their assurance, motive and encouragement to farther heighten their pattern ( Bideau, Guerne, Bianchi, A ; Huber, 2006 ; Duxbury A ; Ramsdale, 2007 ) . Indeed, the wider issue of larning through brooding feedback is strongly supported whether the feedback was positive or negative. Evidence showed that positive and constructive feedback from service users and carers welcomed it and believed it was an of import portion of pupils acquisition procedures, while less than positive feedback sparked de-motivation ( Bailey, 2005 ) . Bailey besides reported that all service users found themselves sympathizing with the individual who was the focal point of the pupils appraisal and commented that they had felt empowere d and as a consequence of working with other service users had made new societal contacts. Other surveies reported that both pupils and user/carer participants found the experience positive. The pupils felt that listening to the user and carer position had facilitated a greater apprehension. The pupils felt privileged to hear the carer s narrative, happening the experience traveling, enlightening and informative ( Turner et al. , 2000 ) . Wood and Wilson-Barnett ( 1999 ) evaluated the consequence of user engagement on pupil larning utilizing a comparing research design. The findings showed pronounced differences between pupils who were and were non exposed to users. Students who had earlier exposure to user engagement showed more empathy and used less professional slang and a more individualized attack. They conclude that affecting service users earlier instead than subsequently in a programme may be more effectual in footings of act uponing larning If having negative feedback, pupils unsurprisingly became doubting about the whole procedure which impinged on their perceptual experience of the value of affecting service users and carers in their appraisal ( Rees et al. , 2007 ; Speers, 2008 ; Stickley et al. , 2010 ) besides made the observation that some of the pupils in their survey believed that the feedback from SUs was excessively glowing and lacked constructive unfavorable judgment. In seeking farther positions of SUs, many surveies shared the determination that they valued most extremely the humanistic accomplishments of pupils and led to increased power sharing , but this was limited within the university environment. These surveies besides highlighted that maintaining the impulse traveling for user engagement in professional instruction requires changeless high degrees of energy and committedness ( Masters et al. , 2002 ) which can be translated as added value ( Barnes, Carpenter, A ; Bailey, 2000 ) . Barnes et al. us ed a instance survey methodological analysis to measure a post-graduate programme of inter-professional instruction in community mental wellness. This paper besides described the development of a questionnaire to measure added value for SUs which could be attributed to the programme. The results that SUs prioritised were: pupils showing apprehension, and non merely seeking to work out jobs or push people into services ; handling service users with regard, non as labels ; professionals developing their capacity to be human ; pupils holding cognition about services, including protagonism services and service user groups ; and being able to supply information about how to affect service users in measuring their demands. Overall, this survey found that, whilst users parts were valued, they were non given the same acceptance by the programme participants as parts from senior faculty members from the field of psychopathology and psychological science. Masters et Al. ( 2002 ) focused on the rating of a scheme papers and its execution, from the position of all the stakeholders. Data was collected by two questionnaires, compiled for the intent. The service users found benefits in the acquisition of new accomplishments, increased assurance and a echt feeling of authorization. The issue of group rank besides straddles barriers and benefits of SU engagement in HE bringing. While there are clear benefits to pupils in footings of larning experience and great chances for common regard and partnerships between the HE and SU communities, there are besides troubles associated with keeping the positive differentiations between these groups to achieve meaningful engagement and pedagogical equilibrium. Indeed, several commentaries make the point that as service users and carers become used to the educational environment and learn to get by with the civilization so they are no longer genuinely representative of the service carer group ( Ahuja A ; Williams, 2005 ; Felton A ; Stickley, 2004 ; McGarry A ; Thom, 2004 ; Tait A ; Lester, 2005 ) . Such issues are per se held within the readying and preparation that SUs receive and besides deliver, which leads to the tierce of our subjects. Service users: readying and positions Few documents specified whether, or how, user or carer participants had been prepared for their educational function, nor how support was organised despite this being identified as of import by lectors ( Masters A ; Forrest, 2010 ; Turner et al. , 2000 ) and service users ( Curran, 1997 ) . Preparation tended to be informal such as a short telephone call ( Turner et al. , 2000 ) or a briefing before a instruction session to explicate the function of the participant ( Costello A ; Horne, 2001 ) . However, this limited or deficiency of information can ensue in user and carer participants experiencing unsure about their engagement, non understanding the intent, and experiencing that they lack expertness ( Spencer et al. , 2000 ) ; Turner et Al 2000 ; Masters et 2002 ) . Hanson and Mitchell ( 2001 ) follow a structured attack and maintain the focal point on the readying of mental wellness service users for engagement in instruction with the purpose to learn in the pre-registration of a mental wellness nursing class. A standard for engagement was users motive. The readying for mental wellness users, nevertheless, was more concerned with the techniques for the learning itself and a instruction and measuring faculty for nurses. One manner to guarantee, or at least assist equal readying is the formation of mention groups for the specific intent of SU engagement in higher instruction, for illustration by agencies of patient consultative groups through targeted audience ( Greenfield et al. , 2001 ) . Two documents discuss the procedure of organizing mention groups from bing consumer groups. Ingham ( 2001 ) describes the puting up of a mention group for the specific intent of supplying the user position to inform a new pre-registration class. Recruitment for the group was coordinated through the local wellness authorization and members were drawn from a broad spectrum of patient and voluntary service groups the mention group addressed the procedure of engagement, but in this instance, it identified land regulations for patient engagement with deductions for both the involved consumer and the educational administration. Sawley ( 2002 ) describes a series of meetings set up with consumers to specifically inform t he course of study content of kids s nursing classs. Recruitment for the group was made via a assortment of paths: a list of charities provided by the local community wellness council ; notices put up on kids s wards ; personal invitations sent to parents who nurses idea might be interested ; and by assorted media mercantile establishments. This enterprise did non merely act upon educational classs, but led to pattern development within Trusts and more effectual networking. The development of such groups to fix SUs for a function in HE bringing is surely a measure in the right way, but however can still fall quarry to the one-way street of faculty members urging and organizing these groups and puting their ain dockets. While this may sometimes be a starting point, a demand besides exists to guarantee that a bipartisan way leting SUs to put dockets excessively. This lies non merely in lending to content and bringing of instruction, but besides keeping facilitation of SUs and carers placing their ain acquisition demands and preparation development, as per recommendations by Advocacy in Action ( 2006b ) . Surveies identified from our hunts displayed grounds of such designation taking topographic point in footings of class results for wellness professionals. Two surveies reported consumers positions about what healthcare workers should be taught. All focused on service users positions about the preparation demands of mental wellness nurses ( Forrest et al. , 2000 ; Rudman, 1996 ) and the common determination was service users accent upon the humanistic qualities of lovingness and regard, and the importance of interpersonal accomplishments. Rudman ( 1996 ) collected informations from two mental wellness user groups ( 20 service users in entire ) by agencies of semi-structured group interviews. The users felt the indispensable qualities of mental wellness nursing to be: lovingness: maintaining caring despite socialization ; accessibility, immediateness and presence ; professional demeanor. Forrest et Al ( 2000 ) besides aimed to arouse user positions about the cognition, accomplishmen ts and attributes they considered that mental wellness nurses should possess but in add-on their survey explored schemes for user engagement in the on-going course of study design and bringing. Once once more, the SUs valued human qualities above professional accomplishments. A good nurse was described as person with common sense , heat and sensitiveness, as being nice and person who can be a friend. Many users in the survey felt that bing nursing classs are counterproductive with regard to the qualities they value due to the accent upon the professional qualities and the medical theoretical account. Decisions It is clear that SU engagement in HE bringing has generated many benefits for SUs, carers, pupils and faculty members likewise. Equally reviewing are the increased Numberss of surveies that seem to hold moved on from merely sing the benefits of SU engagement and are at the following degree of sing its impact, on many different degrees. There are besides, nevertheless, incompatibilities. These arise from rudimentss of nomenclature, through to the very execution of enterprises countrywide, which are at best described as patchy and unevenaˆY ( Branfield, 2009 ; Speers, 2008 ) . One of the issues that is non ever evident in the literature and hence hard to thematise is extent of engagement of service users within different countries. Recommendations of pattern such as ladders of engagement ( Gutteridge A ; Dobbins, 2009 ; Tew et al. , 2004 ) are proposed, and some bear direct relevancy to HE bringing in footings of factoring learning activities, payment for talk rates and being involved in course of study determinations ( Forrest et al. , 2000 ) . These definitions of engagement are utile to define the extent to which SUs carers might be included, but this information could farther be augmented by the development of a clear cosmopolitan model for all parties. This is particularly relevant as the barriers identified in the literature continue to tilt towards residuary concerns of wage, tokenism, representation, enlisting and power instabilities, in add-on to the possibilities of the genuineness of a SU group being diminished as members become farther ens conced in HE procedures. Many policies have been introduced to regulate the way of a more service user/patient-led wellness service. However, in malice of the increased figure of those theoretical accounts of good pattern, the engagement of users and carers in higher instruction of wellness professionals still suggests a more ad hoc and local activity than one that follows national planning. It gives the feeling of organic structures being embarked in a helter-skelter endurance contest with the purpose to turn out conformity with authorities recommendations, flagging their undertaking as the most valued 1s, alternatively of following a brooding and organized mode of interpreting those policies into pattern. Furthermore, the Numberss of those illustrations are still a few in comparing with the extended figure of policies developed to that terminal. Service users engagement is non merely the modern focal point of the NHS it is a societal motion that deserves particular contemplation and considerations ( Crossl ey, 2002 ) . Repper and Breeze ( 2004 ) observed that accent was placed on interpersonal accomplishments of nurses with the deduction that other wellness fortes were conspicuous by their absence. It besides is still evident that a larger figure of surveies so far has emerged for the nursing literature in footings of SU inclusion within mental wellness nursing programmes. Other subjects need to increase their capacity to affect SUs. There is small uncertainty that research needs to go on into this country, with peculiar accent in SU and carers positions once they have established length of service of their associations with HE establishments.

Career in Comedy - All Possible Ways to Start

Career in Comedy - All Possible Ways to Start A Guide for College Students: How to Start Your Career in Comedy If you dreamt of becoming a comedy star as a child, if you have seen all films with Jim Carreys, and if you have been wondering how to start a careerin comedy, this article is just for you. You should know that right now there are a lot of students who share your goal, and if you want to succeed, think of them as both your competitors and a support team. In this article, we have gathered best pieces of advice from successful comedians. If you are still wondering how to build your career, check them out. 1. Its Never Too Late to Make Your Dream Come True Take, for example, Daniel Gurewitch. Before writing for Last Week Tonight, he used to grab every opportunity to make a joke. He confesses that he even added jokes into history papers. When starting his education at Syracuse University, he already knew that he wanted to become a comedian. As a college student, he polished his standup skills and chose screenwrite as his major. With all efforts he made, it was no surprise he got a job at CollegeHumor. Another comedy star Shannon ONeill, on the other hand, had a less straightforward career path. She even studied to become a teacher. Only after some time did she understand that the future profession was not her cup of tea. She admits that although she was fond of comedy she never thought of it as a career at first. 2. Extracurriculars Can Be Helpful Schneider insists on the importance of extracurricular activity, claiming that everything he learned about his current career comes from the things he and his friends did in a sketch group called The Lilting Banshees. A similar advice comes from another renowned comedian Pierson. He encourages everyone to join any activity somehow connected to sketch because it helps to improve a persons standup skills, however (un)successful they are. He also adds that college sketch is an awesome way to spend time and meet new people. In fact, many popular comedians confess owing their current career to college extracurriculars. Gurewitch, too, encourages aspiring comedians to start their career paths from there. He says that college sketches are worth it just because: you will love it this is how you can improve. And, of course, this enables you to meet people who share your interests, which brings us to the next advice. 3. Collaborate Youll be paying some $50,000 every year not only to receive knowledge but to get access to an old basement where people like you are rehearsing to put on an awesome show. Gurewitch says that, first of all, these people will help you challenge yourself and see how your skills can be improved. Apart from that, you can build up a network, which will help you find an actual job in the future. Starting is always difficult, so dont waste your opportunities and take first steps today to build a fantastic career tomorrow.

If Sentences for ESL Learners

If Sentences for ESL Learners English learners should learn if sentences, also known as conditional forms, in order to discuss various possibilities that are either realistic or imaginary. Follow the introduction below, you will find a grammar overview and explanation for each tense. Once you are familiar with these forms, use the referenced materials to practice and further your understanding of these forms. Teachers can print out the comprehension materials related to the materials, as well as the suggested lesson plans with point-by-point instructions on how to teach the conditional  forms in class. The Basics: What Are If Sentences? If sentences are used to discuss things that happen based on the condition that something else happens. There are three main types of if sentences. Use an if sentence in the first conditional to consider real, possible events in the present or future: If it rains, Ill take an umbrella. Use an if sentences in the second conditional to speculate about unreal, improbable events in the present moment or future: If I had a million dollars, Id buy a big house. An if sentence in the third conditional concerns imaginary (unreal) outcomes of past events: If he had spent more time studying, he would have passed the exam. If Sentence Forms Overview: If Sentence # 1 First Conditional If S present simple objects, S will verb objects- If the boys finish their homework early, they will play baseball. If Sentence # 2 Second Conditional If S past simple objects, S would verb objects- If he bought a new car, he would buy a Ford. If Sentence # 3 Third Conditional If S past perfect objects, S would have past participle objects- If she had seen him, she would have discussed the issues with him. Study If Sentences In Depth: Here is a detailed guide to all conditional forms with examples, important exceptions to the rules and a structured guide. The alternate guide provides options for advanced level learners. Finally, this guide to choosing between the first or second conditional provides further help on deciding whether to use the real or unreal conditional. Test Your Understanding of If Sentences: Once youve studied the rules - or if you already know the rules - test your knowledge: Conditional Forms Quiz For advanced level learners here is a reading dialogue comprehension exercise that focuses on using the third conditional. Teach a Lesson about If Sentences: This first and second conditional forms lesson employs reading comprehension about emergencies to help students discover and review the forms. Once students are comfortable with the form, they discuss other difficult or unusual situations using the first and second conditional This conditionals tic-tac-toe is a great game to help students review all three if sentence forms. Finally, here is a printable conditional form quiz to use in class. If Sentence Activities: Practice if sentences with grammar chants. Using chants, you and your classes can practice the structure so that it becomes natural and easy to remember.

An Unforgettable Accidental Lesson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

An Unforgettable Accidental Lesson - Essay Example The sun was shining brightly during the first week of May 2012. Lazily, I got up from my bed, not intending to go anywhere after the grueling two days of various activities with my friends. Unhurriedly, I prepared my breakfast and ate quietly in front of the TV. Having no commitments during the day, I stayed in my room the rest of the day reading some interesting books. Late in the afternoon, my eyes felt tired and my body ached for the outside world. I thought of calling my friends but I supposed they might be busy with other appointments or they might be tired from our recent meetings. Therefore, I hopped into my car and started heading to Verrazano Bridge to get some fresh air. While I was nearing the end of the said bridge, a friend called, informing that another of our close friends invited us for a gathering which is to happen in an hour. Excitedly, I started back home. My thoughts were on my friends and the enjoyment we were going to have together. Thoughtlessly, I accelerated my car while I planned in my head what I was going to do. Suddenly, I lost control of the car. I panicked and tried to stop the car but it was already too late. I bumped on the side of the car in front of me as I tried to maneuver my car. The impact on the other car was probably what caused my car to turn over and skid a few meters, upside down. I do not remember much of the accident. I lost consciousness for some time and I really cannot see what was happening outside the car when I tried to get out of the car. I tried to move but I cannot quite stand the pain all over my body. I felt like I have been hit by a huge stone. It was only later that I found out my car turned over and the doctor thought that in my panic, I might have tried to get out of the car.  Ã‚  

McDonaldization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

McDonaldization - Essay Example One of the fundamental concepts of McDonaldization is spatial expansion, otherwise known as globalization. From its beginnings as a fairly limited phenomenon, McDonaldization has begun to pervade every aspect of our existence, and even though it does not fit the model of globalization outlined by theorists, it is most definitely a global process. McDonalds restaurants themselves can be found all over the world, and many other countries have introduced their own variants of the fast food restaurant, including France, India, and Lebanon. More importantly, the qualities of the McDonalds brand as outlined above are being adopted by institutions and systems throughout the world that are unrelated to the fast food industry. The globalization of these concepts can be attributed to a number of factors, the most obvious being the profit motive. The growing world-wide fascination with American culture, together with changes occurring in American society, and the lack of an alternative to McDonaldization, are also important factors. There is little to stand in the way of the globalization of either the McDonalds franchise or the McDonalds culture. One of the biggest impediments is that many developing countries either have little to offer McDonaldized systems, or simply lack the funds needed to implement such changes. Local culture is also an important factor, in that McDonaldization is unlikely to be capable of changing an entire culture, and also that McDonaldized systems will likely have to adapt somewhat to the customs of local cultures. In addition to cultural factors, there are environmental concerns. McDonaldized systems often have associated health or environmental risks and many groups of people are opposed to such systems on these grounds. Safety on the Sidewalks Jane Jacobs' essay entitled The Uses of Sidewalks: Safety discusses how a community of people in any given area contributes to the safety of that area by activities they may or may not carry out on the streets. Jacobs argues that a street or area is not intrinsically safe or dangerous because its location, but because of the attitudes and habits of the people who live there. According to Jacobs, the public peace of city streets is kept not by police or other authorities, but by "an intricatenetwork of voluntary controls and standards among the people themselves, and enforced by the people themselves". In places where such a network does not exist, the keeping of order is left to the police, and such places are not safe because citizens are not policing themselves. Jacobs cites three main qualities a street must have in order to be safe. First, there should be a "clear demarcation between what is public space and what is private space" This means, for example, that private business between individuals is not carried out on the street or in stores, and that private homes are not left open for the public to enter. Second, there should be "eyes upon the street", that is, the buildings of the street must be oriented so that their windows face the street. Lastly, the sidewalks should be continuously inhabited, both to increase the number of people on the street watching the

Exploring the Role of National Culture on Attitudes towards Education Research Proposal

Exploring the Role of National Culture on Attitudes towards Education - Research Proposal Example As the report declares education is the only way to ensure the survival of the civilization, mainly by passing existing knowledge to the younger generations and giving them the capacity to seek further knowledge. However, in the face of globalization, the old methods of transmitting knowledge have become out-dated, especially since the world has become more competitive with the need for people to keep up with changing conditions. These days the world is information-driven and no one can afford to have out-dated information. The United Kingdom emphasises on historical happenings and preservation of cultural values. In the current world, people must be ready to learn from experiences but not to keep looking back at them. All citizens must be involved in the development agenda despite their age, race or gender. This study aims at identifying the cultural values underlying perceptions on education, and making recommendations that would enable stakeholders to work seamlessly for the betterment of the country. The sample will consist of between 120 and 160 secondary schools, only including schools that have data on their student composition, performance, and are willing to give out the data freely. If more schools are willing to provide their data such that it overwhelms the researcher, then random sampling will be employed but taking into consideration the representation of schools and students. This will be the sample for the qualitative part of the study, which will be all about identifying extent, correlations and statistical significance of the interactions of various phenomena under study. The qualitative part of the study will use a cluster sample, and the importance of this sample will be to identify for trends, and look for other

Changes in House prices in UK over the Last Three Years Essay

Changes in House prices in UK over the Last Three Years - Essay Example This was a very big challenge for citizens to purchase houses. It happens in that; the demand for houses has gone up from Q1 to Q2, but the quantity supplied has not changed and remains stable at Q1. This means the number of houses available in the market is minimal than the number of houses the buyers are willing and able to buy. This created a shortage for the houses, which is the difference between Q2 and Q1. According to supply and demand theory, when demand is high and supply is low, the sellers tend to increase the price of a commodity from P1 to P2. In the short run, supply in the house market is inelastic. Therefore, the increased demand translates to an increase in the prices of houses. The increase in prices results from the fact that the supply (Q1) of houses is not equal to the demand (Q2) of houses and this causes disequilibrium in the market (Higson, 2011: 81). However, the prices of houses in the long run have gone down. Several factors cause the decrease of the house prices. One of the factors leading to decrease in prices is that the government has ensured that interest’s rates of getting a loan are very low. This has encouraged investors to obtain mortgage loans at relatively low interest rate. This implies that they are able to refund the money with very little amounts of interest. Therefore, supply of houses has gone up within the period. When supply increases, the price of the houses go down since the supply exceeds demand. On the other hand, deposit rates of a mortgage have been high, and this leads to a decreased demand. As a result, there has been excess supply in the house market. Another factor that has led to the decreased demand of houses f or the last three years is that the rate of unemployment has gone up. Reduced interest rates have resulted to losses in the financial institutions. These institutions have to lay off some of their employees. Therefore, many people end up losing their jobs and this increase the rate of unemployment. This increases the number of people without the ability to pay the high mortgage deposits (Vermeulen, 2003:37). This means that the number of capable buyers of houses has reduced. As a result, the demand for houses decreased yet the supply of houses increased form Q1 to Q2, yet the able buyers remain Q1 who are less as compared to the supply. Therefore, because of an increase in the unemployment rates, this is a cause of low demand in the house market. According to the demand and supply theory, when the supply increases and demand decreases, the price of a commodity falls from P1 to P2. Another factor that has led to falling of the house prices in UK is issuing of residues to investors in the house market. This has encouraged investors to build more houses hence increasing the supply of the houses. Increase in supply is subject to a reduced demand and a decrease in the house prices (Geyer, 2009:138). This increases the loss made by financial institutions because residues discourage investors from borrowing from the lending institutions. Finally, lenders continue making more losses. This leads to a high rate of unemployment when the companies continue making losses. All these discussed factors leading to the reduced prices are crucial and have relatively led to a decreased demand (Geyer, 2009:139). In the coming years, the prices of houses will continue going down. The reasons for the low prices are that people will continue losing their jobs, and this will reduce demand for houses in UK. However, though the mortgage finances availability

Change Work Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Change Work Diversity - Essay Example An organization could be structured to make sure that each department runs autonomously, but also collaborates with others to achieve its objectives. The structural breakdown in an organization is essential in ensuring accountability of each department so that the areas of weakness could be detected and corrected early. This is important for the growth and development of the organization. Sometimes, various departments may initiate competition aimed at increasing the overall productivity in the organization. In such scenario, none of the departments would lag behind in adopting progressive approaches to develop the respective section (Bartlett & Beamish 2011, p.74). One could understand the kind of interdepartmental relationships that the organization has. For instance, the human resource, finance and production departments are very critical to the organization and have to work closely to make sure that the company achieves its objectives. Moreover, they have to relate to other depar tments so that the production system does not halt. The procurement department also works closely with the production and export counterparts to harmonize the production system. On the other hand, the IT department also works closely with that of training, research and development to increase innovation and improve efficiency. Finally, all the departments have to coordinate with security docket to ensure that the operation is not threatened from external aggression and internal conflict. Implementing a Resource Accountability Matrix (RAM/RACI) In project management, resource accountability matrix is a way of ensuring transparency in implementing the project. Accountability reduces the amount of resources being wastage because the managers would utilize the available materials prudently. It shows commitment of the managers as they implement the project and it outlines the materials to be used (Hochschild 1983, p.64). This makes such information available for the people affected by th e project. The matrix includes a number of variables, which have to be applied in project management. For instance, the performance data during the project’s implantation is crucial when analyzing and presenting the achievements and steps made by the implementers. Similarly, project allocations are equally important when evaluating resource accountability so that the financiers might consider extending the aid or intervention. In order to ensure accountability, awarded amounts for each program from resource acquisition to its completion must be documented. This includes the cost of labor, procurement of materials and transportation cost. The contract period should be clear to facilitate planning and accountability for the available resources. This is significant because it facilitates the distribution of available fund equally during the project. Mostly, projects depend on the available funds to finance its projections, depending on the period it will last. Moreover, projects that cover large area are difficult to manage if the implementers are not conversant with the program units. Each unit must be accounted for, including its budget, accessibility and the kind of activity to be carried out there. Resource accountability matrix encompasses the management of the project materials and funds to ensure its successful completion (Bateman & Snell 2010, p.112). Analysis of the British Airways Change Management Plan In making sure that the British Airways achieves its change management plans, it has to consider the

Social, Cultural and Ethical Dimensions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social, Cultural and Ethical Dimensions - Essay Example The sum of these shared philosophies, assumptions, values, expectations, attitudes, and norms bind the organization together. Truly, organizational culture may be perceived as the manner in which an organization solves problems to achieve its specific goals and to maintain itself over time, it is holistic, historically determined, socially constructed and difficult to change (Hofstede, 1980). Organizational culture has a pivotal role in many companies as they developed new strategies in organizational management. It is a central aspect to many theories and prescriptions of management. However, despite frequent prescriptions to manage culture in diverse national contexts, little empirical evidence has been forwarded in contexts other than the UK and the US (Harris & Metallinos, 2002). Hofstede (1980) emphasized the strong impact of national culture in terms of the regional differences, and the following broad categories are suggested for European organizational models, like Germanic, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon and Latin. The members of the organization bring their own individual experiences, beliefs and values. Individuals are allowed in work-groups within the organization have their own behavioral quirks and interactions which, to an extent, affects the whole system. In addition, a In addition, a task culture can be devised; for instance, a computer technician will have expertise, language and behaviors gained independently of the organization that set them apart from their colleagues, but their mere presence can influence the culture of the organization. With all this, the senior management may determine the corporate culture that they may wish to impose corporate values and standards of behavior that specifically reflect the objectives of the organization. Hofstede identified five characteristics of culture in his study of national influences: Power distance - The degree to which a society expects there to be differences in the levels of power. A high score suggests that there is an expectation that some individuals wield larger amounts of power than others. A low score reflects the view that all people should have equal rights. Uncertainty avoidance reflects the extent to which a society accepts uncertainty and risk. individualism vs. collectivism - individualism is contrasted with collectivism, and refers to the extent to which people are expected to stand up for themselves, or alternatively act predominantly as a member of the group or organization. Masculinity vs. femininity - refers to the value placed on traditionally male or female values. Male values for example include competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions. Long vs. short term orientation On the other hand, corporate organizations in the 1980's have been adopting and installing programs of organizational restructuring and re-engineering. Most of the programs are based on the principles and practices of a widely popular management strategy often called Total Quality Management, participative management or "the learning organization," or some other vernacular title for a program of organizational structural and cultural change (Casey, 1999). These changes were then had been aptly devised in different corporate

Changes in House prices in UK over the Last Three Years Essay

Changes in House prices in UK over the Last Three Years - Essay Example This was a very big challenge for citizens to purchase houses. It happens in that; the demand for houses has gone up from Q1 to Q2, but the quantity supplied has not changed and remains stable at Q1. This means the number of houses available in the market is minimal than the number of houses the buyers are willing and able to buy. This created a shortage for the houses, which is the difference between Q2 and Q1. According to supply and demand theory, when demand is high and supply is low, the sellers tend to increase the price of a commodity from P1 to P2. In the short run, supply in the house market is inelastic. Therefore, the increased demand translates to an increase in the prices of houses. The increase in prices results from the fact that the supply (Q1) of houses is not equal to the demand (Q2) of houses and this causes disequilibrium in the market (Higson, 2011: 81). However, the prices of houses in the long run have gone down. Several factors cause the decrease of the house prices. One of the factors leading to decrease in prices is that the government has ensured that interest’s rates of getting a loan are very low. This has encouraged investors to obtain mortgage loans at relatively low interest rate. This implies that they are able to refund the money with very little amounts of interest. Therefore, supply of houses has gone up within the period. When supply increases, the price of the houses go down since the supply exceeds demand. On the other hand, deposit rates of a mortgage have been high, and this leads to a decreased demand. As a result, there has been excess supply in the house market. Another factor that has led to the decreased demand of houses f or the last three years is that the rate of unemployment has gone up. Reduced interest rates have resulted to losses in the financial institutions. These institutions have to lay off some of their employees. Therefore, many people end up losing their jobs and this increase the rate of unemployment. This increases the number of people without the ability to pay the high mortgage deposits (Vermeulen, 2003:37). This means that the number of capable buyers of houses has reduced. As a result, the demand for houses decreased yet the supply of houses increased form Q1 to Q2, yet the able buyers remain Q1 who are less as compared to the supply. Therefore, because of an increase in the unemployment rates, this is a cause of low demand in the house market. According to the demand and supply theory, when the supply increases and demand decreases, the price of a commodity falls from P1 to P2. Another factor that has led to falling of the house prices in UK is issuing of residues to investors in the house market. This has encouraged investors to build more houses hence increasing the supply of the houses. Increase in supply is subject to a reduced demand and a decrease in the house prices (Geyer, 2009:138). This increases the loss made by financial institutions because residues discourage investors from borrowing from the lending institutions. Finally, lenders continue making more losses. This leads to a high rate of unemployment when the companies continue making losses. All these discussed factors leading to the reduced prices are crucial and have relatively led to a decreased demand (Geyer, 2009:139). In the coming years, the prices of houses will continue going down. The reasons for the low prices are that people will continue losing their jobs, and this will reduce demand for houses in UK. However, though the mortgage finances availability

Social, Cultural and Ethical Dimensions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social, Cultural and Ethical Dimensions - Essay Example The sum of these shared philosophies, assumptions, values, expectations, attitudes, and norms bind the organization together. Truly, organizational culture may be perceived as the manner in which an organization solves problems to achieve its specific goals and to maintain itself over time, it is holistic, historically determined, socially constructed and difficult to change (Hofstede, 1980). Organizational culture has a pivotal role in many companies as they developed new strategies in organizational management. It is a central aspect to many theories and prescriptions of management. However, despite frequent prescriptions to manage culture in diverse national contexts, little empirical evidence has been forwarded in contexts other than the UK and the US (Harris & Metallinos, 2002). Hofstede (1980) emphasized the strong impact of national culture in terms of the regional differences, and the following broad categories are suggested for European organizational models, like Germanic, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon and Latin. The members of the organization bring their own individual experiences, beliefs and values. Individuals are allowed in work-groups within the organization have their own behavioral quirks and interactions which, to an extent, affects the whole system. In addition, a In addition, a task culture can be devised; for instance, a computer technician will have expertise, language and behaviors gained independently of the organization that set them apart from their colleagues, but their mere presence can influence the culture of the organization. With all this, the senior management may determine the corporate culture that they may wish to impose corporate values and standards of behavior that specifically reflect the objectives of the organization. Hofstede identified five characteristics of culture in his study of national influences: Power distance - The degree to which a society expects there to be differences in the levels of power. A high score suggests that there is an expectation that some individuals wield larger amounts of power than others. A low score reflects the view that all people should have equal rights. Uncertainty avoidance reflects the extent to which a society accepts uncertainty and risk. individualism vs. collectivism - individualism is contrasted with collectivism, and refers to the extent to which people are expected to stand up for themselves, or alternatively act predominantly as a member of the group or organization. Masculinity vs. femininity - refers to the value placed on traditionally male or female values. Male values for example include competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions. Long vs. short term orientation On the other hand, corporate organizations in the 1980's have been adopting and installing programs of organizational restructuring and re-engineering. Most of the programs are based on the principles and practices of a widely popular management strategy often called Total Quality Management, participative management or "the learning organization," or some other vernacular title for a program of organizational structural and cultural change (Casey, 1999). These changes were then had been aptly devised in different corporate

Implementing Change Essay Example for Free

Implementing Change Essay Implementing change among all organizations is necessary to achieve success; within the health care industry change is constant and it is the role of management teams to assess, plan, implement and evaluate change to ensure satisfaction. Considering this among the other aspects of running a successful organization it is essential to ensure that there is minimal resistance and familiarity to change. Demands of the consumers and staff as well as regulations are continuously changing. The responsibility of managers is to successfully lead these inevitable changes. As managers it is a priority to identify issues and potential opportunities. â€Å"Change is often planned to close a discrepancy between the desired and actual state of affairs. Discrepancies may arise because of problems in reaching performance goals or because new goals have been created. Opportunities demand change as much as (or more than) problems do, but they are often overlooked. Be it a problem or an opportunity, it must be identified clearly† (Sullivan, E.J. Decker, P.J., 2009). A manager should continually strive to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their staff and incorporate these observations into recommended improvements associated with change within the organization. This process could eliminate a great deal of staff resistance by commending their qualities to benefit them as employees and the organization as a whole. Within the health care industry there is constant change. It takes a tremendous amount of awareness, education, and planning from management teams to build and maintain an effective program that is sufficient. A good team will have the ability to recognize potential change in all aspects relating to an organization; medical professionals, patients, structural strength and regulation, and an ongoing list of other aspects. A quality management team can then take these observations and construct a plan to begin the implementation process. Stemming from the planning process comes the implementation phase. It should be considered that there is always room for improvement and take a team of motivated and persistent members to execute a continuous effort to better the quality of health care. A goal that is to be pursued is to always exceed the standard and expectations and always improve the quality of an organization. Strategies such as the power-coercive strategy, normative–reeducative strategies, or the empirical-rational model can assist managers in the implementation process. Also, a continuous quality improvement plan should include a link to key elements of the organization’s strategic plan, quality council made up of the institution’s top leadership, training programs for personnel, mechanisms for selecting improvement opportunities, formation of process improvement teams, staff support for process analysis and redesign, personnel policies that motivate and support staff participation in process improvement, and the most current and rigorous techniques of the scientific method and statistical process control (Sollecito, W. A., Johnson, J. K., 2013). Once change has been implemented management must then observe and evaluate the benefits and strains the staff and the organization are facing in order to ensure the success of the implemented change. Identifying any resistance or struggles with the implemented change should always be a priority of management to ensure continued success. â€Å"Resistance prevents the unexpected. It forces the change agent to clarify information, keep interest level high, and establish why change is necessary. It draws attention to potential problems and encourages ideas to solve them. Resistance is a stimulant as much as it is a force to be overcome. It may even motivate the group to do better what it is doing now, so that it does not have to change† (Sullivan, E.J. Decker, P.J., 2009). Initially change can be successful, but in many cases staff could lose motivation or overlook small glitches in the implemented changes. Through things such as incident reporting, generic occurrence screening, consumer and staff complaints and satisfaction surveys, and formal and informal discussion between managers and staff can evaluate and identify final changes to best benefit staff, management, and the organization as a whole. As a management team it is suggested to always be aware of not only individual organization but also occurring changes in organizations across the nation. By staying informed, the organizations and managers can always promise that there is a constant awareness of potential improvement found in all forms of health care across the nation, ensuring that a problem faced or benefit gained at another facility will never be overlooked. Quality can be greatly affected internally within an organization. Considering that internal factors can be monitored and controlled mainly from within, it is considerably easier to manage, though these factors have a much more direct and immediate effect on the organization where the management responsibility lies. Internal contributors that factor into quality outcomes include leadership styles, administrative policies, and organizational culture. These factors, if not performed to standard or with minimal empathy can cause stress among staff indirectly affecting the consumers. An unpleasant environment may lead to a low morale and dissatisfaction throughout the organization. (Suchman, A., 2001) Above all, management and staff must always have an open mind and an open heart concerning the consumers and the overall benefit of the organizations. Providing services and actually caring for staff are what sets apart the common from the exceptional manager and management team. By implementing these change processes will do just that. The constant change in the healthcare industry defines the role of management teams to assess, plan, implement and evaluate change to ensure satisfaction. Considering this among the other aspects of running a successful organization it is essential to ensure that there is minimal resistance and familiarity to change. â€Å"The capacities to do the redesign work, and to accept the results of the redesign, are perhaps the most important capability an organization can have and value† (Lagace, Martha, 2009). Demands of the consumers and staff as well as regulations are continuously changing. As successful managers it is essential to confidently lead the staff through inevitable change to ensure organizational success. Reference: Lagace, Martha (2009). Management’s Role in Reforming Healthcare. Retrieved from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6202.html Sollecito, W. A., Johnson, J. K. (2013). McLaughlin and Kaluznys Continuous Quality Improvement in Health Care (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Suchman, A. (2001). National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071231/ Sullivan, E.J. Decker, P.J. (2009). Effective leadership and management in nursing. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Additional Comments: The paper—including tables and graphs, headings, title page, and reference page—is consistent with APA formatting guidelines and meets course-level requirements. Intellectual property is recognized with in-text citations and a reference page. Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed; spelling is correct. The paper does not make effective use of section headings. Total Available Total Earned 20 13.8

Christmas and Chinese New Year Festival | Comparison

Christmas and Chinese New Year Festival | Comparison After researching both Christmas and the Chinese New Year Festival, interesting similarities between the two unique celebrations came into fruition. For instance, both contain traditional meals, presents, feasts, decorations, songs, poems, God(s), folk lore, and are family oriented occasions. When discovering similarities, there were also perceptible differences between the two, such as the time of year, and the significance of the occasion within their respective cultures. This paper will be showcasing both Christmas, and the Chinese New Year Festival in terms of their origins, as well as the similarities and differences they both share. Christmas is a religious celebratory holiday, which embraces the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas Eve takes place on December 24th, the day before Jesus Christ is born. This is the day where family members gather for a festive meal, which in North America, usually consists of a large turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, gravy and wine. It is significant to know that different cultures may eat different meals. According to Wikipedia.org, â€Å"In Poland, traditional Christmas Eve meals include one or more of the following foods: Golabki filled with Kasza, Pierogi, Borscht, fish soup, carp, and pickled Herring. Krupnik is sometimes drunk after dinner,†[1] and â€Å"In the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria, a coin is concealed in a bread loaf and the host breaks a piece of the loaf at the dinner table for each member of the household: it is believed that the one who gets the piece of bread with the coin will be fortunate in the forthcoming year. The dinner is accordin g to the rules of fasting: fish, baked beans, sauerkraut, walnuts and red wine are common. The dessert may consist of apples and dried fruits: plums, dates, figs. The table is usually not cleared after the dinner and until the next morning, to leave some food for the holly spirits a custom which probably comes from pagan pre-Christian times.†[2] Also, there are many families whom may attend mass or choose to â€Å"divine fast†[3]on this day, as a means to celebrate on the night before Jesus birth. It is important to know that non-religious individuals may also celebrate Christmas as well, whom primarily focus on the family, feasting, and gift giving aspect of Christmas. Some may view Santa Claus, a mythological figure, to be more important than Jesus Christ. Santa Claus is known for travelling across the world on December 24th, from the North Pole, delivering presents to the â€Å"nice† children, while the â€Å"naughty† children receive a lump of coal. H ence, Santas list for delivering gifts to children is called the â€Å"naughty or nice list.† Santa Clause originates from â€Å"St. Nicholas, whom tried to help others while inspiring his virtues. Legends of his unselfish giving spread all over Northern Europe, and accounts of his heroic deeds blended with regional folklore. Eventually, the image of the stately saint was transformed onto an almost mystical being, one known for rewarding the good and punishing the bad.†[4] How Santa Clauss name came to be in North America was due to Dutch immigrants whom â€Å"presented Sinterklaas (meaning St. Nicholas) to the colonies. In their excitement, many English-speaking children uttered the name so quickly that Sinterklaas sounded like Santy Claus. After years of mispronunciation, the name evolved into Santa Claus.†[5] December 25th is the day where Jesus Christ, known to many Christians as their savior, is born. This is the day where a few individuals will put up nume rous decorations, although many will decorate in advance. Examples of decorations used for Christmas are; miniature size nativity scene figures, stockings, wreaths, ornaments, candles, mistletoes, garlands, poinsettias, Christmas lights and most importantly, the Christmas tree. â€Å"The origin of the tree is credited to Saint Boniface (circa 722) who stopped a child from becoming a human sacrifice to a pagan god by striking down the oak tree destined for use as the stake. A fir tree sprang up in its place and he declared it a holy tree and instructed the faithful to carry one to their homes and surround it with love and gifts.†[6] Ultimately, the blending of numerous cultures is how Santa Claus, as well as the numerous traditions on Christmas Eve and Day, came to be. The Chinese New Year Festival is a major holiday, which has been celebrated in mainland China for many centuries, taking place on â€Å"the second New Moon after the winter solstice.†[7] It is significant to know that this festival is also celebrated in other countries by its Chinese inhabitants, while various foreigners have been known to participate in the festivities as well. During this coming year, 2010, the Chinese will be celebrating the year of the tiger, the first day being on February 14th. â€Å"According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nien (Chinese: ?;pinyin: nià ¡n). Nien would come on the first day of New Year to devour livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year.†[8] The Chinese not only used food as a means to protect themselves from Nian, but they al so released firecrackers, and wore red attire. Hence, the color red is strongly used throughout the festival, such as clothing, decorations, envelopes, sweets, gifts, etc. When families come together, they will feast on meat, noodles, rice, dumplings, mandarin oranges, sweets, and so forth. Before the feast, which takes place on the Eve of Chinese New Year, red envelopes with money inside and gifts should have already been distributed amongst family members, and children. The Chinese New Year consists of fifteen days, with the majority of the days each signifying different customs and actions. For instance, â€Å"The first day of the Lunar New Year is â€Å"the welcoming of the gods of the heavens and earth.† Many people abstain from meat on the first day of the new year because it is believed that this will ensure long and happy lives for them,†[9] â€Å"The fifth day is called Po Woo. On that day people stay home to welcome the God of Wealth. No one visits families and friends on the fifth day because it will bring both parties bad luck,†[10] â€Å"the seventh day of the New Year is the day for farmers to display their produce. These farmers make a drink from seven types of vegetables to celebrate the occasion. The seventh day is also considered the birthday of human beings. Noodles are eaten to promote longevity and raw fish for success,†[11] and on â€Å"the 10th through the 12th are days that friends and relatives should be invited for dinner. After so much rich food, on the 13th day you should have simple rice congee and mustard greens (choi sum) to cleanse the system.†[12] These are just a few of the customs that the Chinese celebrate throughout their New Year Festival. â€Å"It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of â €Å"happiness†, â€Å"wealth†, and â€Å"longevity†.†[13] Decorations are usually red, consisting of pictures, greetings, and Chinese idioms. On the fifteenth and final day of the Chinese New Year Festival, the Lantern Festival takes place. During this period, numerous individuals decorate the streets with Lanterns they have lit, which are primarily red. Some people may add their own unique individuality to a lantern, by adding a song or a poem to it. The Chinese New Year Festival is a high-spirited, content time where family and friends come together in order to celebrate years of tradition, such as feasts, decorations, gifts, envelopes, mythology, fortune gods, national pride, etc. It is also an influential festival that has spread across the world, blending in with copious cultures. It is fascinating to learn that Christmas and the Chinese New Year have actual similarities, with slight variations to them. For instance, the use of flowers is strongly used in both celebrations, although the Chinese convention for flowers has a more significant meaning within their culture. A certain flower can symbolize different connotations, for instance, longevity, luck, prosperity, tranquility, health, etc. The Chinese are known for using many different flowers for the Chinese New Year Festival, such as pussy willows, plum blossoms, water lilies, bamboo, and so forth. For example, the reason for using pussy willows for the Chinese New Year is â€Å"In Cantonese, â€Å"Yin Liu† sounds like â€Å"Yin Lou† which is similar to â€Å"Yin Liang† (money). Therefore, having this plant around during Chinese New Year would represent the invitation of abundant luck and prosperity into homes.†[14] As for western cultures, when celebrating Christmas, individuals use flowers mostly as decorations. It is principal to know, that there is an origin story of how the poinsettia became the official flower for Christmas. â€Å"The poinsettia is a shrub that features green leaves combined with red, white, or pink leaves surrounding tiny yellow flowers. Used by the Aztecs as a dye and medicine, it is native to Mexico and Central America where it is known as â€Å"Flores de Noche Buena† (Flower of the Holy Night) and was used in these areas by Franciscan friars in Nativity processions as early as the 17th century.†[15] In terms of sweets and baked goods, sticky cake and Christmas cake closely resemble one another. Sticky cake, also known as Neen Gow, is a fruitcake that can be either steamed or baked. This particular cake is made in appreciation for the kitchen god. The Christmas cake started out as porridge from the English, evolving over the past couple of centuries into a fruit cake. The ingredients usually consist of eggs, flour, su gar, butter, marzipan, spices, dried fruit, spices, and whisky. â€Å"All Christmas cakes are made in advance. Many make them in November, keeping the cake upside down in an airtight container. A small amount of brandy, sherry or whisky is poured into holes in the cake every week until Christmas. This process is called â€Å"feeding† the cake.†[16]Both celebrations are also known for the process of giving and receiving gifts to friends and/or relatives. For instance, during the Chinese New Year, individuals will give gifts, which â€Å"are usually brought when visiting friends or relatives at their homes. Common gifts include fruits (typically oranges, and never pears), cakes, biscuits, chocolates, candies, or some other small gift.†[17] Christmas gifts are also distributed, and some gifts can be similar to those that are given on the Chinese New Year, but Christmas gifts usually consist from a large variety of options. For example, food, alcohol, jewelry, elect ronics, toys, household appliances, automobiles, etc. Christmas and the Chinese New Year are both important celebratory occasions, which can bring joy and anticipation amongst those whom celebrate these events. These are times when family, friends and even complete strangers, can come together in harmonious enthusiasm. Both events contain similarities, such as, folk lore, feasts, decorations, gifts, traditions, songs, poems, flowers, God(s), games, etc. Christmas, a westernized occasion, may contain different significance and symbolic meanings to those whom celebrate it rather than those whom celebrate the Chinese New Year. But, the most important thing about these two occasions, even with their differences, is they bring people together, and are both accepting towards all cultures and beliefs. Works Cited Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.wikipedia.org/chinesesnewyear Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/taboos.html Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.ci.lenoir.nc.us/index.asp?Type=B_EVSEC=%7BF083A2AC-A24E-4B3B-8944-F912226F078D%7DDE=%7B817E6FA1-42C1-4B01-8A28-F0EF2477494F%7D Retrieved November 27, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Eve Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/chinese_new_year.htm (December.2, 2001)The Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything. Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A665949 (February.8, 2007) Popular Chinese New Year Plants. Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.nparks.gov.sg/blogs/garden_voices/index.php/2007/02/08/popular-chinese-new-year-plants/ Davis, John K. (November.10, 2009)The Origins of Traditional Holiday Plants. Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://botany.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_origins_of_traditional_christmas_plants Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.nparks.gov.sg/blogs/garden_voices/index.php/2007/02/08/popular-chinese-new-year-plants/ Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://botany.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_origins_of_traditional_christmas_plants Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.northpolesantaclaus.com/santahistory.htm Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A665949 Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.chinapage.com/newyear.html Retrieved November 27, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Eve References Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.wikipedia.org/chinesesnewyear Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/taboos.html Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.ci.lenoir.nc.us/index.asp?Type=B_EVSEC=%7BF083A2AC-A24E-4B3B-8944-F912226F078D%7DDE=%7B817E6FA1-42C1-4B01-8A28-F0EF2477494F%7D Retrieved November 27, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Eve Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/chinese_new_year.htm (December.2, 2001)The Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything. Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A665949 (February.8, 2007) Popular Chinese New Year Plants. Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.nparks.gov.sg/blogs/garden_voices/index.php/2007/02/08/popular-chinese-new-year-plants/ Davis, John K. (November.10, 2009)The Origins of Traditional Holiday Plants. Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://botany.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_origins_of_traditional_christmas_plants Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.nparks.gov.sg/blogs/garden_voices/index.php/2007/02/08/popular-chinese-new-year-plants/ Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://botany.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_origins_of_traditional_christmas_plants Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.northpolesantaclaus.com/santahistory.htm Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A665949 Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.chinapage.com/newyear.html Retrieved November 27, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Eve Retrieved November 27,2009 from http://www.calendar-updates.com/info/holidays/us/christmaseve.aspx Retrieved November 27, 2009 from http://www.ornamentshop.com/history_story/part1.asp Retrieved November 27, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Eve Retrieved November 27, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Eve Retrieved November 27, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Eve Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.northpolesantaclaus.com/santahistory.htm Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.northpolesantaclaus.com/santahistory.htm (December.2, 2001)The Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything. Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A665949 Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.chinapage.com/newyear.html Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.wikipedia.org/chinesesnewyear Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/taboos.html Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/taboos.html Retrieved November.28 2009 from http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/taboos.html Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/taboos.html Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.ci.lenoir.nc.us/index.asp?Type=B_EVSEC=%7BF083A2AC-A24E-4B3B-8944-F912226F078D%7DDE=%7B817E6FA1-42C1-4B01-8A28-F0EF2477494F%7D (February.8, 2007) Popular Chinese New Year Plants. Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.nparks.gov.sg/blogs/garden_voices/index.php/2007/02/08/popular-chinese-new-year-plants/ Davis, John K. (November.10, 2009)The Origins of Traditional Holiday Plants. Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://botany.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_origins_of_traditional_christmas_plants Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/chinese_new_year.htm Retrieved November.28, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year Gulf of Tonkin Incident: Military Investigation Gulf of Tonkin Incident: Military Investigation Military Intelligence Organizations Military Intelligence is a division of military the purpose of which is to exploit the number of information collected and analysis techniques in order to provide guidance and directions to commanders in support of the crucial decisions made by them. They do it by performing an analysis and assessment of the available data which they gathers from wide range of sources, guiding and directing the commanders to make decisions or respond to focused questions as part of their operational campaign. The collected information is first identified and then incorporated into the process of intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination. Military Intelligence Organizations have played their role in resolving conflicts in any nation. Discusses here is the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and the role of U.S. Military Intelligence Organizations to resolve it. The incident took place on August 2 4 1964 (Kim, 1999). This was the incident that helped the America’s involvement in Vietnam War. Gulf of Tonkin Incident Overview When President Lyndon b. took over charge of the country after the death of President John F. Kennedy, he became worried about the South Vietnam’s ability to keep away the Communist Viet Cong guerillas that were actively operating at that time in the country. In order to follow the established policy of containment, the Secretary of Defense at that time Robert McNamara started to increase the military aid to South Vietnam (Trueman, 2000). Many Norwegian built fast patrol boats (PTFs) were purchased and sent to South Vietnam. These PTFs helped in conducting a series of attacks on coastal areas of South Vietnam as part of Operation 34A. 34A was originally began by Central Intelligence Agency in 1961, it was a extremely classified program of the covert operations against North Vietnam. Due to several early failed attacks, in 1964 it was transferred to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group, and the focus of it was shifted towards maritime operations. In due course of time, U.S. Navy was also instructed to conduct Desoto patrols off the North Vietnam. The Desoto Patrols consisted of the American warships cruising in international waters in order to conduct electronic surveillance operations (Shane, 2001). As a result of 34A and the Desoto Patrols, the ships offshore were made able to collect important information about the North Vietnamese Military capabilities. The First Attack On July 31, 1964 the destroyer USS Maddox conducted the Desoto Patrol off North Vietnam (Paterson, 2008). Under the operational command of Captain John J. Herrick, it steamed through the Gulf of Tonkin collecting intelligence information. This mission was accompanied by several 34A attacks including many big attacks on two islands of North Vietnam. The Government of North Vietnam decided to strike the USS Maddox and on August 2, three Soviet built P-4 Motor torpedo boats were dispatched to attack the destroyer. About twenty-eight miles cruising in international waters, the torpedo caught the USS Maddox. In the meanwhile, Herrick requested for air support from the U.S. Air Force. The request was granted and the four F-8 Crusaders were sent towards the Maddox position. Herrick also ordered to fire the three warning shots if the torpedo reaches a range of 10,000 yards of ship. These warning shots were fired and the P-4s launched their first torpedo attack. The Maddox scored fire on P-4s and was just being hit by one 14.5 millimeter machine gun bullet. Soon after fifteen minutes, the F- crusades arrived to rescue the Maddox and started hitting the targeted fires on North Vietnamese boats, damaging the two and leaving the third one dead in the waters. The attack was retreated and the Maddox returned to join its friends but the Desoto mission was continued as per orders of the commander in the Pacific. The Second Attack On August 4, the American radars, sonar and radio signals were received of another North Vietnam attacks. Taking evasive action, the U.S. Maddox fired on numerous radar signals targets. After this incident (Parados, 2004), Herrick was not sure that his ship was attacked by the North Vietnam. Reporting at 1:27 AM Washington times that due to freak weather, the radar and sonar signals did report some of the enemy ships but nothing has been visualized by the Maddox. After suggesting the complete evaluation of the affair conducted by the U.S military intelligence, Herrick radioed a request asking for a complete reconnaissance in daylight by the aircrafts. But the American aircrafts flying over the area failed to find out any North Vietnam ship. Although there were doubts about the second attack, those present on Maddox were convinced that the attack did happen. This along with the flawed signals intelligence from the National Security Agency led the forces to attack retaliatory airstrikes against North Vietnam. On August 5, the Operation Pierce Arrow saw aircrafts from USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation strike and attack about thirty North Vietnam vessels. Although the subsequent research and records prove that the second attack didn’t happen. This was also reinforced by the statements from the retired Vietnamese Defense Minister who admitted the August 2 attack but denied the second attack. After ordering the airstrikes, soon Johnson went on to address the nation on television regarding the incident. He in his address requested the passage of a resolution, which expresses the unity and determination of the United States in support of their freedom and in the hope to protect peace in the Southeast Asia (Cohen Solomon, 1994). He also argued that he didn’t want a wider war, and said that United States would continue to protect its national interests. As approved on August 6, 1964, the Southeast Asia (Gulf of Tonkin) Resolution, gave Johnson the power to use military intelligence and force in the region without requiring a declaration of war. Later on over the next few years, Johnson used this resolution to rapidly escalate the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Intelligence has fulfilled the wider ranging and very important functions in different section including security, diplomacy and statecraft (Augustin, 2009). However in past few years, the role of military intelligence in resolution of conflicts has expanded and broadened its range and now it forms the core element of conflict management policies and procedures. Ancient Greece is the first democracy in the world. It has established several institutions that served as intelligence services. Proxenia were the upper class citizens of Greece who served as top class agents. They used to collect information and even executed the assassinations if required. The Heralds collected the public and private information. Both were protected by the Law of Greece and only the Heralds used to get the rewards of bringing good news back to the nation. Greece impressive political and military achievements really lacked the true intelligence system like today. Although they didn’t have the proper intelligence system like today but still they had the intelligence cycle existed in their military endeavors. The two major requirements of intelligence services are democratic control and the effectiveness of the actions and activities (Augustin, 2009). African countries always had difficulties in managing and creating the solid intelligence systems. The territory of the Sahara Dessert is always problematic so the military intelligence related to that area is restricted. In 1997, the African countries created a security sector reform whose purpose was to try and narrow the challenges and constraints of developing a proper military intelligence system in the area. The main challenges that African countries are facing these days include the legacy of the African socialism and colonialism, autocratic military and security services and the unknown and informal activities of the military intelligence services. Gambia established the National Intelligence Agency in order to protect the regime. The unsuccessful attempts of Eisenhower and Kennedy to remove Castro from the power are considered as the failed military intelligence actions (Augustin, 2009). According to them the biggest threat to democracy is the communism. In Cuba, the America supported the Batista leading anti-communist government. After Castro being elected to power, he started quickly eliminating his enemies. And started to nationalize the economy and created knots with the USSR. His actions made it clear by 1960 that he was following the communism path for the Cuba. Eisenhower tried to remove the Castro from power by training Anti-Castro forces and sneaking them into Cuba. They began to target the Cuban sugar fields and the CIA developed an assassination program to eliminate Castro. Although such attempts were failed again and again, Kennedy tried to invade the Cuba by the Bay of Pigs operation but that was again a failure. This was all due to the strong military intelligence of Castro which saved him from all the American attacks. The Shah of Iran has a weak legitimacy and had lot of enemies (Augustin, 2009), ], so to overcome them in 1957, he formed the SAVAK, a national intelligence and security organization. The SAVAK served a tool to torture and eliminated anyone who could prove as a threat to the Shah and his dynasty. No open opposition was allowed against the institution in Iran during Shah Regime, but with the passage of time the resistance of people became worst. Khomeini got exiled to Iraq and then to France because of his increasing popularity and threat to his life. In 1977, censorship law was introduced in Iran in order to retain the Shah’s power but due to his detachment from the public, the public dismissed him and Khomeini came to power after the over throw of the Shah of Iran .In 1980 under the rule of Reagan (Augustin, 2009), The U.S. Intelligence Community realized a need for more intense intervention in Central America in order to stop the communist expansion. El Salvador’s mil itary government was the only potential barrier against the communism in the Central America. The DIA also tried to help the government of El Salvador to assist them fight against the leftist group called as FMLN. The DIA worked and operated with the direct military intelligence information sharing and between 1987 to 1989 a guerilla attack was made by the FMLN which surprised the El Salvador and the American armies. This also showed that how little the U.S support helped. Over all the defense of the El Salvador is considered as the failure in the history of the U.S. military intelligence. Intelligence is basically the sociological phenomenon that is used for the information gathering and to ensure the prevention of hostility (Augustin, 2009). It is important to differentiate between the intelligence that has been existed in any nation and the intelligence that is established as a result of state concept. Intelligence cycle, covert actions and counter intelligence are all the components necessary for decision making process. Intelligence focuses on the hostility both in democracies and non-democracies tenures. Intelligence in democratic system must have strong relations with the citizens and must work under a legal framework. The functions and scope of working of intelligence agencies must be clarified and their methods of working and sources of information must be protected. However intelligence in the non-democratic system concentrates more on internal opposition rather than external threats. So the intelligence is outside of the scope of legal framework in non-democ ratic system while intelligence in democracies should only be used to measure level of democracy in the country. In 1960, the Egyptian forces entered in Sinai which was a big surprise to Israel (Augustin, 2009). The IDF couldn’t respond in time and it lead to the result that intelligence was needed for an earlier warning of possible Egyptian attack. The methods or tools for an earlier warning were HUMINT, the SIGINT and the VISINT. The 1960 rotten affair and the 1973 Vom Kippur war failure show failure of the intelligence system and a need for strong intelligence system. References [1] Sankt Augustin (2009), Intelligence and Democracies in Conflict and Peace, retrieved from,  http://www.kas.de/israel/en/publications/18450/ [2] Tom Kim (1999), The Gulf of Tonkin Incident 1964, retrieved from,  http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/usa/GulfTonkin.html [3] Chris Trueman (2000), Gulf of Tonkin 1964, retrieved from  http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/gulf_tonkin_1964.htm [4] Scot Shane (2001), The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, retrieved from  http://911review.com/precedent/century/tonkin.html [5] Lieutenant Commander Pat Paterson, U.S. Navy (2008), The Truth about Tonkin, retrieved from  http://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2008-02/truth-about-tonkin [6]  John Parados (2004), The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 40 Years later, retrieved from  http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB132/ [7] Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon (1994), 30-Years anniversary, Tonkin Gulf Lie Launched Vietnam War, retrieved from  http://fair.org/media-beat-column/30-year-anniversary-tonkin-gulf-lie-launched-vietnam-war/