Wednesday, July 31, 2019

American Indian Hist

The question of what motivates people more when they act – cultural priorities, such as religion or tradition, or the so-called â€Å"rational† motivations, such as economics and politics – has been one long debated on. This debate has been quite fierce, members of both sides providing valid and powerful arguments to support their claims. One of the focal points for this discussion are the people known under the blanket term â€Å"Native Americans†. Where did their motivations stem from? Was it merely pragmatism, a wish to get the most out of any outsiders? Or was culture and tradition vital to decision making?It is doubtless that both of these factors were present, however, the question is, which was the initial factor of influence, dominating thought and action. Scholars have attempted to prove points both ways. I support the side which claims that culture was the primary factor. I shall first provide counter-arguments to the opposing side, then provide supporting arguments for my own claim. First, however, it must be noted that Native Americans is a very catchall term, which is used for lack of a better one. As the website of the Native American research center states, â€Å"It must be emphasized that no one person speaks for Indian People.There are nearly three hundred distinct American Indian Nations in the present United States. Each has its own language and history, its own sacred places and rituals. Each is rooted in and part of the land out of which it grew. â€Å" There are dozens of tribes, including some that are officially considered extinct now, that had quite different customs. If we say that there were Native Americans and they had one kind of culture and, as a consequence, had the same customs, we may just as well say that there are Europeans and they have one culture, completely losing the obvious distinctions between different nations.The cultures of different tribes of Native Americans are very different  œ to deny this would be to unjustly diminish their cultural value – and yet there are cultural tendencies, and there are exceptions. I will attempt to prove that the tendency is to use tradition as a guideline, and the occasions where â€Å"pragmatical† reasons have been primary are the exceptions verifying the rule. First I shall examine the political argument. It seems very difficult to think that â€Å"politics† in the sense that we understand them now had an influence on the Native Americans.When we think of â€Å"politics† we think of diplomatic traditions, of treaties that are made to be broken, of backstabbing. This, however, was not the dominant case with Native Americans. As Dee Brown wrote in his book â€Å"Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee†, â€Å"So tractable, so peaceable, are these people,’ Columbus wrote to the King and Queen of Spain [referring to the Tainos on the island of San Salvador, so was named by Columbus], ‘that I swear to your Majesties there is not in the world a better nation.They love their neighbors as themselves, and their discourse is ever sweet and gentle, and accompanied with a smile; and though it is true that they are naked, yet their manners are decorous and praiseworthy. † This was verified a number of times by other observations, Columbus’s report being merely the most famous occasion. Time after time, the settlers used the same tactic. While officially recognizing the natives as owners of the land, they used any tactic possible to get them to sell the land, up to getting the chief of the tribe drunk.Then, once the treaty – which usually went along the lines of â€Å"There are white men on your lands now anyway, but give us a part of your land, and we will not go on your land without your permission. † – was signed, in a few years the expansion continued in the same manner, and new treaties were signed. Despite these circumstances, there have b een virtually no instances of the treaties between the Indians and the Europeans being broken by the Indians – however, Europeans were breaking these treaties constantly, in 99% of the cases!One would think that if politics were the defining factor in the Native American’s way of dealing they would have changed their tactic after the first few times these treaties were broken – they were not fools, and hundreds of years of such tactics would have destroyed even the most saintly naivete. So the conclusion must be that there was something more than mere hope that the white men would see reason standing behind these promises that forced the Native Americans to keep them. The next common choice for primary motivation is economics.However, despite the fact that the Indians had private property and were no strangers to trade, this could hardly be the dominating motivation. First of all, the Indians were completely self-supporting. Even if they did require something es sential they could not produce themselves – which was fairly rare – other Native American tribes generally proved much better business partners, generally being more honest than the Europeans. Consequentially, all the Europeans could offer them were luxuries. This, naturally, should not be underestimated as a lure in any way.However, a trade which truly entails only luxuries is always small by necessity. In any case, trade relationships were not nearly so large-scale as in the Old World. They could not have been the driving motivation Also, we have numerous documents that detail the interaction between Native Americans and European settlers. The initial reply to the abovementioned land-selling treaties was nearly always quite similar. For instance, an excerpt from the 1752 Abenaki Conference between Captain Phineas Stevens and the St.Francis Indians shows the Indian’s attitude to these treaties: â€Å"4 – But we will not cede one single inch of the lands we inhabit beyond what has been decided formerly by our fathers. 5 – You have the sea for your share from the place where you reside; you can trade there; but we expressly forbid you to kill a single Beaver, or to take a single stick of timber on the lands we inhabit; if you want timber we'll sell you some, but you shall not take it without our permission. † And there exists a number of other documents revealing a similar attitude.Could this, in truth, only be showing that the Indians merely wanted a better deal? One could naturally gain a leeway in trade by keeping the land and selling its resources. However, it is a basic law of economics that one wishing to trade must meet the demand. Had this trade in itself been a factor of dire importance to the Indians, they would have put forth an effort to convince the Europeans that trading would prove profitable. However, the attitude that prevails in documents is one of indifference. It seems like the Indians did not care f or the presence of Europeans.If the white men wished a trade, then they would get a trade. If they did not, the Indians seemed perfectly content to let them live without making any more contact than absolutely necessary. Trade was not of importance – it influenced the relationship between the natives and settlers when it was present, but it was by no means the most important factor. On the other hand, tradition and culture was of extreme importance, influencing entire tribe’s behaviors – especially such a part of culture as religion. For Native Americans religion was of utmost importance.Even the Canadian Jesuit missionaries remarked that the Native Americans were highly religious – and not in the â€Å"Sunday Christian† sense, either, but with deep roots and a great influence of every aspect of their lives. This is a characteristic feature of most tribal societies, where little distinction is made between the sacral and the mundane. However, for I ndians religion had special relevance, as it was one of the things that allowed them to cling on to their cultural identity, saving them from assimilation. Yet even before this was a relevant factor, religion permeated nearly every aspect of Native American life.Their religion was (and remains) one of pure personal experience, not leaving any room for dogma. The Native American worldview is mythological. For all practical purposes, this means that religious factors such as hunting rituals and their theoretical results are the perceived as being absolutely as physically real as an arrow fired into an animal, having the same kind of cause-and-effect that a physical event might. A deal with a spirit, for instance, is treated as seriously as a treaty with a human. A spirit’s warning was heeded as much as a human’s would, with absolutely the same kind of discretion.And magical means of solving problems were taken as absolutely valid. One of the most well known incidents was in 1876, before the battle at Little-Big-Horn when the famed Sitting Bull performed a three-day shamanic ritual to decide what to do with the white men, staring at the sun and wounding himself until he fell unconscious. After he came to, he announced that the white men were there for the Indians to take, because he saw white men fall into the Indian’s camp headfirst, losing their hats, meaning they would be the killed by the Indians.Also he announced that â€Å"They had no ears†, i. e. they were deaf to reason, giving the Indians a moral right to attack. This is not the only incidence of religion influencing political activity. The Ghost Dance religion can be cited as another famous example, showing how Native American religion changed with the times, how it adapted to the flow of time and adopted alien cultural notions and yet survived without losing all of its cultural value, keeping the spirit, though changing the form.One might say that this lack of dissemination between regular life and religious life simply brings more factors into the political games. Religious leaders are used as figure heads for power play, and spirits are dealt with in the same manner humans are dealt with – if, indeed, the shamans who contact the spirits even believe in them and not use them as a means of their own power and control! This is, however, hardly the case, as there are numerous arguments against this position in the study of tribal societies as a whole.Firstly, their religion was always very personal. Every single Indian had their own religious experience and, as with any religion that requires its neophytes to work out their own niche – clergy being needed only in extreme cases – it is always very strong. The strength of this experience makes it difficult to give anything that is lower than it is a higher priority. The Native Americans did not believe in their gods watching over them – they knew the gods were there as much as t hey knew that their teepee was still standing.And while white men were considered a temporary nuisance, guests or invaders at best, and were treated that way, the gods were almost like family, and treated with necessary respect and given due priority. Second, as the phenomenon of the Ghost Dance shows, the acts done out of religion were not necessarily the wisest politically – such as the sending out of search parties to look for the Messiah said to be an incarnation of Jesus, and this at the time when men were crucial to survival – so faking divine inspiration for political power is ruled out.So, if the leaders genuinely believed in what they saw, the fate of hundreds and thousands rested within religion – more than enough to define it as one of the crucial influencing factors. It can be seen that politics and trade simply not as much of an influence on life, while religious and cultural activity was always extremely important, guiding the life of every Indian to a certain extent. This was the source of much misunderstanding, since for Europeans politics often took the leading role when religion failed to provide the necessary support and guidance.This made both sides misinterpret the others’ actions, resulting in a long and bloody war that spanned generations. The Native Americans also had also led wars between each other in the past; they were no strangers to military tactics. However, their wars had rules – ones that the settlers naturally broke, thus spelling defeat for the natives. This also shows just how big a role does tradition play in Native American society – had they adapted to the way of war which the Europeans brought to them, they would have survived losing less than they did.In conclusion, it can be said that, as we have seen, purely empirical evidence proves that the Native Americans did not use either politics or economics as the prime guideline for building the relationships either among themselves or between them and Europeans. These factors were not considered firsthand in any crisis situation, and even 370 years of war against the Europeans did not put them very high on the list of priorities. However, ethics and religion made quite an impact on the decisions made by the Native American people, and remain influential factors in their thinking to this day.This was the true motivation of most Native Americans, and remains so up to modern times. Works cited. 1. American Indian Culture Research Center: http://www. bluecloud. org/dakota. html 2. Dee Brown, â€Å"Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West†, Henry Holt & Company; Reprint edition (February 1, 1991) 3. Terry L. Anderson, â€Å"Dances with myths – truths about American Indians' environmental ethics†, Reason, February 1997. 4. Ghost Dance Religion: http://www. bgsu. edu/departments/acs/1890s/woundedknee/WKghost. html 5.Cultures of North America: http://www. mnsu. edu/emu seum/cultural/northamerica/index. shtml 6. Cultures of North America: http://www. mnsu. edu/emuseum/cultural/northamerica/index. shtml 7. David Stannard, â€Å"The American Holocaust†, Oxford University Press, 1992. 8. The Massacre at Wounded Knee: http://www. hanksville. org/daniel/lakota/Wounded_Knee. html 9. The Wampum Chronicles: Mohawk Territory on the Internet: http://www. wampumchronicles. com/index. html 10. George E. Tinker, â€Å"Religion†: http://college. hmco. com/history/readerscomp/naind/html/na_032600_religion.htm 11. NativeWeb: http://www. nativeweb. org/ 12. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler: http://digital. library. okstate. edu/kappler/Vol1/HTML_files/toc. html 13. Abenaki Conference with Phineas Stevens. Documents Related to the Colonial History of the State of New York Vol. X. pg. 252-254. Donated by Jeffery Miller – Administrator of Fort #4. http://www. avcnet. org/ne-do-ba/doc_1752. html 14. The M anataka Oath, Creed and Code of Conduct: http://www. manataka. org/page182. html

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Media Review

Al Gore’s environmental campaign is really becoming a very significant endeavor in this modern period. It is not only because of the fact that environmental degradation has really brought forth devastating effects in almost every parts of the world but also because of the idea that people all over the world have started to pay attention to the environmental problems. Global warming has been the focus of Al Gore’s environmental campaign. He showed how such phenomenon could really lead to serious environmental problem such as the intense change in climate, melting of the ice caps of the Polar Regions, health hazards to people due to intense heat, the ozone depletion, and many other environmental issues (Gore). According to Al Gore, that which could only lessen the effects of such global warming, if not really prevent them, is by being aware and having concern about environmental problems. Being aware, as he stressed out, is not enough. But being involved and participating in environmental check-ups and environmental preservation and protection are the most effective ways in solving the problems in the environment (Gore). Though Al Gore is becoming a political figure – which means that his endeavor in making the people realize the importance of caring for the environment can be seen by others as a form of political strategy to get the trust of the public, he becomes very firm on saying that his campaign has nothing to do with politics or something about it. He argues that even if he is not a public official or even if he is not holding any public office, he can still help the American government in treating the problems in the environment. Like what he said, everyone and anyone can do something about the environmental problems that are being experienced in this period. One need not have any political power to do it. Saving the world from the detrimental effects of environmental problems such as global warming can really be solved by having knowledge about and concern for the environment. Work Cited: Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming . Viking Juvenile , 2007. Â  

Monday, July 29, 2019

Global Warming: The Government’s Little White Lie

Devin Good Persuasive Essay Period 7 10-10-12 Global Warming: The Government’s Little White Lie â€Å"Would you bet your paycheck on a weather forecast for tomorrow? If not, then why should this country bet billions on global warming predictions that have even less foundation? † (Thomas Sowell) The truth is that it’s hard to know whether or not our planet is heating or cooling. Global warming happens all the time and it’s not because of carbon dioxide or human interaction and is more of a political issue than reality.Even though temperatures are rising, it happens all the time. Global climate change is nothing new to our planet. According to Edmund Contoski global climate changes have occurred â€Å"63 times in the past 1. 6 million years,† (Contoski. n. p). So since our Earth is always rebounding from one change to another we have no need to worry. There is proof it’s warming but there has been evidence that the planet was once cooling. In t he early 1970s scientist thought the Earth was cooling but there predictions were proven wrong too.As famed writer Michael Crichton points out, â€Å"If scientist can’t accurately predict what next weekend’s weather will be like, how can they predict what the next centuries climate will be like? † (Crichton. n. p. ) Scientist do have proof that in the last few years the earth has warmed minisculely. However when compared to the entire 20th century, the earth’s temperature has only risen by 0. 6 ° C. This is barely a notable change and was wiped out by a drop of 0. 63 ° C in 2007. Scientist are trying to justify their idea of global warming by making many claims that are not scientifically backed up.They are claiming that animal migration patterns are changing as well. They also say that some species are migrating farther and sooner northern. When in reality migration pattern changes happen naturally and change year to year. Another common claim is tha t we are accelerating certain species extinction, but extinction occurs in nature without human interaction due to predation and lack of resources. The polar ice caps are another object that scientist like to grab ahold of to push their idea of global warming. The ice shelf fluctuates from year to year, causing it to appear to be shrinking ne year but the next year it may regain the ice it lost or gain more. The media however only likes to report on the loss of ice caps. Sadly it makes a better story about how polar bears are being killed by corrupt companies than how we regained 3% of the ice caps. Carbon dioxide is not causing global warming. Carbon Dioxide (CO() only makes up 0. 035% of our Earth’s atmosphere and is not even a powerful greenhouse gas. Human production of carbon dioxide has increased in recent years but humans are still not the biggest producers of CO(.Nature is ironically the largest producer, making up for 97% of all the CO( on Earth. Volcano eruptions an d swamps make up a large portion of this. A large part of this blame is just the use of a scapegoat. If an answer can not be easily identified and put to blame then the most infamous one is chosen. Many large and widely known companies choose to go along with this proposed ideas to appeal to the common people who then also choose to believe that the companies know best. An example of this is the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, when many well known companies wasted millions on fruitless research projects.It was originally wrote to reduce fossil fuels consumption but was proven to just be a stunt to gain image as wanting to save the planet. Consumers would much rather buy a drink from the company that claims it saves the planet than buy one from the company that a random scientist says kill baby seals. Global Warming is based on political ideology rather than reality. The media and elite groups control what the public knows and does not know in today’s world. If they want you to believ e in global warming just so they can con you out of $25 a month, they will.When in reality scientist who report to these companies with their findings are corrupt themselves. They will follow the money flow, even if it means lying and destroying evidence. When it was proven that Earth was not cooling and in fact heating, a large sum of carbon dioxide reports were deliberately ignored when filing a report about global warming being caused by CO(. If the paper does not support the present idea then the paper and research must be false. The miss-use of computer programs is common too. Humans program the simulations after all, so they can not be exact.Then with the falsified proof scientist can influence the population to anything they want. Now you have proof that global warming is more political and is not caused by humans or CO(. It is not a global crisis but rather natural phenomenon that the â€Å"man† wants to use to control us. So do you believe what the government wants y ou to believe or will you stand up for truth? Works Cited Bova, Ben. â€Å"Global Warming Is Real. † Global Warming. Ed. Cynthia A. Bily. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from â€Å"Facts Show Global Warming Is Real. † NaplesNews. om. 2008. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. Contoski, Edmund. â€Å"Global Warming Is a Myth. † Global Warming. Ed. Cynthia A. Bily. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from â€Å"Global Warming, Global Myth. † Liberty 22 (Sept. 2008). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. Cooper, M. (2001, January 26). Global warming treaty. CQ Researcher, 41-64. 2 Oct. 2012. Retrieved from http://library. cqpress. com/cqresearcher/ Global Warming 101. National Geographic, 18 May 2007. Youtube. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. .

Business plan about Thai Day Spa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Business plan about Thai Day Spa - Essay Example The customers will be provided with treatment and product menus in accordance with which, they might be able to accomplish their needs. The spa will provide innovative products and traditional massage services in order to meet market demand. The spa in order to excel in its operation in the market segments of London, UK should adopt penetrating pricing policy with the aim of performing operations with better competitiveness. The company in order to make an effective presence in the UK market segments will procure renowned natural products from Harnn. Subsequently, the spa in order to improve awareness amid customers in the market segments will adopt different promotional strategies that include social media, print media and online community among others. In this respect, promotion of products and treatment services will assist in improving customer base. The ensuing business plan is to open a spa business in London, United Kingdom (UK). According to the plan, a Thai Day spa will be opened in London, UK with the objective of providing better refreshment along with relaxation services to the people. The spa will provide contemporary beauty care and massage services to the people in a traditional way. The spa business in the UK will facilitate in performing operations in a profitable along with sustainable manner, as the fast paced city life of the people is filled with work related stress wherein an opportunity to obtain relief and relaxation from the stress without consuming much time can be extremely attractive. In this context, people of the country have an immense demand for spa, relaxation as well as leisure pastimes. Thai Day spa will be set-up in the city owing to the fact that the available spa businesses are mostly based on beauty products. Additionally, the treatment procedures adopted in most of the spas in the city are based on western treatment style. In this regard, Thai Day spa will provide beauty care and

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Statistics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Statistics - Assignment Example However, application of my learnt skills remains my greatest challenge yet. I shall endeavor to apply this knowledge as it is vital for my Masters degree in Nursing. Studying statistics has improved my outlook regarding various everyday issues. I am now able to analyze and interpret data, design and conduct observational and experimental studies, and to find patterns and draw conclusions. I have learnt to approach problems in an analytical way and to formulate theories and apply them to solve problems. Among my helpful resources were the course notes and class discussions. Furthermore You Tube and Live Binder came in handy for my studies. The book Mathematical Statistics with Applications (Seventh Edition) by Freund has been my great companion throughout the six weeks I was taking this course. My perception of statistics has metamorphosed significantly. I feel like an insider in the field I often considered alien. I see statistics as a way of life- for instance every day we compute averages, estimate missing data, seek to determine trend, and wish to make managerial decisions based on facts. Statistics has trained me organizational skills and instilled in me the ability to work methodically and accurately. If presented with a statistics related problem today, I can organize my work in a way that I can achieve the objective of the undertaking. Behind every successful decision, a statistical inference has to be reached. This underlines the essence of our accurately collecting, analyzing, interpreting and applying the results of the analysis

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Explore and discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with Essay

Explore and discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with the PEEP report in terms of paramedic clinical practice - Essay Example Reports later emerged that community paramedics were treating more patients at home, thereby providing primary care out of hour’s services, responding more efficiently and effectively to non-urgent 999 calls and reducing more visits to accidents and emergencies, there was need to advance education and teaching of paramedics to create a workforce that could provide a greater range of mobile urgent care with further suggestions that the education and training should focus on clinical decision making. The Paramedic Evidence-Based Education Project (PEEP) was commissioned in August 2013 to address this issue of delivery of paramedic teaching. It was accepted that paramedics were well known by the general population and equipping them with urgent care skills will be very beneficial to the wider community. This report provided the following recommendations: The paramedic profession has made rapid progression since its inception. The paramedic profession was registered as an occupation in the year 2000 when paramedics were required to register with the Council for Professions, an organization that is known as the Health Professions Council (HPC) (Donaghy, 2008). In the earlier times, horse-drawn carts and carriers were being used to carry and treat the sick and ambulances were later developed and they were used during the First and the Second World Wars (Claggs and Blaber, 2008). In the 1960s the drivers of the ambulances had roles to carry the sick and injured from home to hospital. However, little or no training was provided to these drivers and what was required from them was good driving skills and to be strong. After some time it was evident that basic emergency care like first aid could be provided by ambulance drivers. However, even with this information, equipping ambulance drivers with knowledge remained negligible and they onl y relied on delivery

Friday, July 26, 2019

Finding and Expert and Interviewing Expert Effectively Essay

Finding and Expert and Interviewing Expert Effectively - Essay Example Reviewing the phone book and yellow pages directory can be a good option while searching for experts. Going through the faculty directory can allow the researcher to know about the different expert research studies conducted and therefore can easily find the one most suitable for his or her research. Internet is a vast database of getting out all the available and accessible contacts of the experts. The encyclopedia is another good database for knowing about the relevant organizations and the experts present in them (Ballenger 2009). Once an expert has been found, the researcher or interviewer needs to carefully devise the interview mode so that maximum amount of useful information can be gathered from the experts accordingly and conveniently. The interview mode needs to be decided to find out the best mode of interviewing the expert candidate, the interview modes can be personal interviews, telephonic interviews or email interviews. After deciding upon the interview mode, the interviewer needs to carefully design the questions that will be posed towards the expert for gaining the information. Questions need to be designed systematically and should be made sure that all important aspects are covered for the research. Open ended questions tend to provide more in-depth information and clarification about any certain area. Close ended questions do not provide much detail. Personal experiences of the expert and their reflection are highly important to be incorporated in the research as it gives the study more weight and authenticity. Interview sessions should be regarded as conversations rather than surveys and during these interview conversations the researcher can get maximum detail about his questions. At times informal behavior may be required so as to get maximum details. The researcher needs to make a note of all the information being gathered during the interview session and this can be done

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Theories in Nursing Practice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Theories in Nursing Practice - Assignment Example Her coaching then identifies organization system of the model. The scenario implies that nurses should be empowered to utilize their experience in care management, though in a positive way. Nurses’ training should therefore ensure emotional stability and sensitivity. Jason Short who navigates flooded roads to reach a dying patient in his home is using the Orlando’s nursing process theory. According to the theory, a nurse primary function is to identify a patient’s immediate need and to meet that need. Personal intuition guides identification of a patient’s need that may not necessarily be consistent with the information that the patient is conveying. Jason’s motive of helping bedridden patients identifies a broad approach that identifies a dying patient, then using the patient’s environment to learn the patient’s needs before employing initiatives for helping the patient and is therefore consistent with the theory. Based on the theory, nurses should be trained to identify patient’s underlying needs through psychological empowerment (Black, 2013). The Imogene King’s theory of goal attainment is also applicable to Brian McMillion’s scenario. The theory identifies the role of a nurse’s experience in influencing the nurse’s approach to caring for patient and the scenario identifies the role of his traumatic experience in identifying with military veteran (Fitzpatrick and Kazer, 2011). His traumatic experiences as an ex soldier motivates him to help veterans who could suffering from negative effects of their services. The scenario therefore identifies the need to empower nurses to effective management of their bad experiences for helping patients. Sister Stephen’s approach to care that brings patients comfort through her farm animals applies the Kolba’s theory of comfort. According to the middle range theory, the immediate goal of care is to attain comfort and this

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Management research project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Management research project - Essay Example It will apply those topics to see how it can help a working manager to improve his managerial abilities. The international courier and goods transportation company, DHL Global Forwarding will be used as an example in this study. The definition given in the previous section shows that human behavior is influenced by the nature of the structure or organization he works in as well as the cultural diversity that may occur there. Organized working has been in existence for a very long time even though no formal studies have been known to be conducted with regard to human behavior within such organization. An example of ancient and large organized working could be the building of the great pyramids of Egypt. Formal studies of human behavior in an organization originated only during the late 1800's and early 1900's. One of the pioneers of this science was Frederick Taylor who pioneered the principles of scientific management. But Taylor only focused on improving performance in the workplace and not on the social and emotional needs of workers. He focused on breaking down of a task into smaller observable units so that speed and productivity could be increased. It was to his credit that he took into account better payment, fatigue, shorter working hours etc. in his efforts to increase productivity and employee morale. But in all other respects he equated workers to machines which brought about deep frustration within the working class. "Nevertheless, the industrial engineer with his stop watch and clip-board, standing over you measuring each little part of the job and one's movements became a hated figure and lead to much sabotage and group resistance." (Wertheim). More humanistic thinkers bought the human element into the picture and more importance was given to organizational behavior. It was the Western Electric Study more popularly known as the Hawthorne Experiments that bought about an awareness of group behavior. The study which was originally about work performance and working environment also revealed the sociological and psychological factors that exist in a group as well as the individuals in the group. Another theory by Douglas McGregor called Theory X and Theory Y pointed out the assumptions of managers about worker perceptions and the perceptions of the workers themselves. The former was called Theory X and the latter was called Theory Y and it was pointed out by McGregor that both the theories were contradictory to each other. Manger perceptions of workers include inherent distaste of employees towards work, lack of ambition and creativity, lack of problem solving ability and the need for close supervision. But the most inaccurate assumption was that workers were motivated only by physiological factors and security. Theory Y on the other hand contends that in the right environment, people enjoy work, self-control is more effective than close supervision and that employees are creative. It also says that they are motivated due to affiliation, self-esteem and self-actualization. The development of the systems theories during the 1970's and the contingency theories in the 1980's paved the way for further studies into organizational behavior. Organizational Behavior: Organizational behavior is not a subject by itself, but is in fact a combination of four other social sciences namely psychology, sociology, social psychology and anthropology

Social change Assigment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social change Assigment - Essay Example His idea has proven to be a replicable and long lasting means of delivering health related services and goods to Guatemalan and Ecuadorian villages. Using this process, he has encouraged entrepreneurship thus giving villagers the opportunity to develop economically, physically and socially. This model targets individuals in rural areas especially the women who have no other means of generating additional household income. This is through overpowering the traditional method of giving handouts to rural communities as they find means of fending for themselves, and not necessarily waiting for the next donation. So far Greg Van Kirk’s method has successfully sold water filters, energy-efficient light bulbs, wood burning stoves, eyeglasses and seed -growing techniques, in over one thousand villages in the rural areas at affordable prices; improving their health and economic status. Greg Van Kirk’s development is considered a social entrepreneurship because it is a new invention which has achieved large scale sustainable, and systemic social change. This invention has also first focused on social and ecological value creation while optimizing on financial value creation. Another reason for its classification as a social entrepreneurship is that it created innovation by finding a new product, and service, and a unique approach to a social problem. It also emulates the act of devotion to the poor and the weak and also stays on top in business innovation. Social entrepreneurship shares common traits and so do their organizations. Greg Van Kirk like most social entrepreneurs believes that all people have the capacity to contribute meaningfully to economic and social development. He has a driving passion as can be seen through his innovation. The zeal to monitor and measure impact, there are several articles showing researches done to determine the strategy, benefits and new

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Film Analysis and Breakdown Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Film Analysis and Breakdown - Essay Example The filming is a spectacular mix of close up and panoramic shots that encapsulate life before and after the Hurricane. No shot is wasted during the opening sequence, as the view is taken on a journey through two different time periods. Documentaries are often designed to elicit emotion and to tell a story. This opening sequence certainly accomplishes this aim. While there is nothing spoken, the music tells the story. There are great editing features employed here that cut between the massive flooding that occurred when the levees broke, yet we are then cut back to an earlier time when the area was beautiful and life was good. This editing technique provides a comparison and contrast that make the film effective in communicating its intended message. The music itself appears to be carefully chosen as well. Rather than shifting its message and tone, the jazz played during the opening sequence is a consistent representation and reminder of what the Gulf Region was, and hopes to once again become. Finally, the opening sequence has a cut in action that takes us to the present time to begin telling the story that forms the foundation of the film. Two images truly dissolve into one another as the region of old and the region of today is meshed together to pain a vivid picture in the mind of the viewer. That opening sequence is designed to serve as the introduction to a story. It captivates the viewer and leaves them wanting to know more. That is the essence of a good

Monday, July 22, 2019

Exploring the Issues behind Patient-Assisted Suicide Essay Example for Free

Exploring the Issues behind Patient-Assisted Suicide Essay Death is as much a part of human existence, of human growth and development, like birth. All humans need to undergo all these processes as they journey through life. However, death sets a limit on our time in this world, and life culminates in death. However, when we intervene with some of these natural processes, problems arise because it intrudes in life’s natural processes. This is why, suicide is not just perceived as a medical problem because it also involves legal, ethical, social, personal, and financial considerations. It is not just morally reprehensible for a physician, or any medical practitioner, to assist the patient to conduct this procedure because it negates their responsibility to preserve life, suicide also devalues the life of the patient as its fate is put entirely in the hands of a human being to intrude with the natural process of things. For this reason, the debate over euthanasia (or patient-assisted suicide) involves many professionals, as well as the patients and their families. The arguments now have to do with the dignity of the patients, the quality of their lives, their mental state, and sometimes their usefulness to society. For example, the patient who is in a vegetative state is considered dead by some but not by others, and this case presents substantial ethical and logistical problems. The Oxford Dictionary of English (2005) defines euthanasia as â€Å"the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma†. However, euthanasia means much more than a â€Å"painless death†, or the means of procuring it, or the action of inducing it. The definition specifies only the manner of death, and if this were all that was implied a murderer, careful to drug his victim, could claim that his act was an act of euthanasia. We find this ridiculous because we take it for granted that in euthanasia it is death itself, not just the manner of death. How can someone administer a medical â€Å"procedure† to the one who dies in the end? If a person requests the termination of his or her life, the action is called voluntary euthanasia (and often also assisted suicide). If the person is not mentally competent to make an informed request, the action is called non-voluntary euthanasia. Both forms should be distinguished from involuntary euthanasia, which involves a person capable of making an informed request, but who has not done so. Involuntary euthanasia is universally condemned and plays no role in current moral controversies. A final set of distinctions appeals to the active–passive distinction: passive euthanasia involves letting someone die from a disease or injury, whereas active euthanasia involves taking active steps to end a person’s life. All of these distinctions suffer from borderline cases and various forms of ambiguity. The focus of recent public and philosophical controversy has been over voluntary active euthanasia (VAE), especially physician-assisted suicide. Supporters of VAE argue that there are cases in which relief from suffering supersedes all other consequences and that respect for autonomy obligates society to respect the decisions of those who elect euthanasia. If competent patients have a legal and moral right to refuse treatment that brings about their deaths, there is a similar right to enlist the assistance of physicians or others to help patients cause their deaths by an active means. Usually, supporters of VAE primarily look to circumstances in which (1) a condition has become overwhelmingly burdensome for a patient, (2) pain management for the patient is inadequate, and (3) only a physician seems capable of bringing relief (Dworkin, Frey Bok, 1998). One well-known incident that VAE came into the headlines was when it was provided by the bizarre activities of Dr.  Jack Kevorkian in early 1990s (or â€Å"Dr Death† as the media have dubbed him) in the USA. Dr. Kevorkian, a retired pathologist, assisted over forty people to commit suicide in recent years in circumstances which were somewhat removed from regular medical practice. These people travelled to Kevorkian from all over the USA to seek his assistance in suicide. He assisted them, sometimes by attaching them, in the back of his rusting Volkswagen van, to his suicide machine, which injected them with lethal drugs when they activated it. Despite being prosecuted for assisted suicide on several occasions, Kevorkian escaped conviction and continued his personal campaign for relaxation of the law in his peculiar way. It was only when he moved from assistance in suicide to euthanasia that he was finally convicted. He filmed himself administering a lethal injection, and the film helped secure his conviction for murder (Keown 2002, p. 31). Of course, his actions provoked discussion of the thin line separating passive euthanasia, which is legal in this country, and active euthanasia. Opponents of Kevorkian’s actions state that he is practicing assisted suicide, which is illegal. Proponents of Kevorkian’s actions argue that the patient’s right to control his or her medical treatment is sufficient justification for assisted suicide. Euthanasia is Not Ethical According to Somerville (2006), there are two major reasons why people should not allow euthanasia to be legalized. One is based on principle: it is wrong for one human to intentionally kill another (except in justified self-defense, or in the defense of others). The other reason is utilitarian: the harms and risks of legalizing euthanasia, to individuals in general and to society, far outweigh any benefits. While Mak, Elwyn Finlay (2006) reasoned that â€Å"most studies of euthanasia have been quantitative, focusing primarily on attitudes of healthcare professionals, relatives, and the public†. Pain is usually identified as a major reason for requesting euthanasia; other influences included functional impairment, dependency, burden, social isolation, depression, hopelessness, and issues of control and autonomy. This is why, Mak, Elwyn Finlay (2006) thought that legalizing euthanasia is a â€Å"premature† move when research evidence from the perspectives of those who desire euthanasia is not yet proven to be necessary. They said â€Å"more qualitative patient based studies are needed to broaden our understanding of patients†. What needs to be done, they deemed, should be the â€Å"inclusion of medical humanities, experiential learning, and reflective practice into medical education should help ensure doctors have better communication skills and attitudes†. By examining ways to improve care at all levels, healthcare professionals can eliminate the side effects of poor end of life care, then euthanasia would not be needed anymore. In 1988, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a statement on its take about patient-assisted suicide when a gynecology resident agreed to conduct assisted suicide to a young woman, dying of cancer, whom he has never seen before. Horrified by her severe distress, and proceeding alone without consultation with anyone, the doctor gives her a lethal injection of morphine. The publishing of this gynecology resident’s letter caused media hype and was featured in the previous issue in JAMA, where it was titled as â€Å"It’s Over Debbie† (1988). This is how the JAMA took its position regarding the matter: 1. ) On his own admission, the resident appears to have committed a felony: premeditated murder. Direct intentional homicide is a felony in all American jurisdictions, for which the plea of merciful motive is no excuse. That the homicide was clearly intentional is confirmed by the residents act of unrepentant publication. Law aside, the physician behaved altogether in a scandalously unprofessional and unethical manner. He did not know the patient: he had never seen her before, he did not study her chart, he did not converse with her or her family. He never spoke to her physician. He took as an unambiguous command her only words to him, Lets get this over with: he did not bother finding out what precisely she meant or whether she meant it wholeheartedly. He did not consider alternative ways of bringing her relief or comfort; instead of comfort, he gave her death. This is no humane and thoughtful physician succumbing with fear and trembling to the pressures and well-considered wishes of a patient well known to him, for whom there was truly no other recourse. This is, by his own account, an impulsive yet cold technician, arrogantly masquerading as a knight of compassion and humanity. (Indeed, so cavalier is the report and so cold-blooded the behavior, it strains our credulity to think that the story is true. ) Law and professional manner both aside, the resident violated one of the first and most hallowed canons of the medical ethic: doctors must not kill. Generations of physicians and commentators on medical ethics have underscored and held fast to the distinction between ceasing useless treatments (or allowing to die) and active, willful taking of life; at least since the Oath of Hippocrates, Western medicine has regarded the killing of patients, even on request, as a profound violation of the deepest meaning of the medical vocation. The Judicial Council of the American Medical Association in 1986, in an opinion regarding treatment of dying patients, affirmed the principle that a physician â€Å"should not intentionally cause death. † Neither legal tolerance nor the best bedside manner can ever make medical killing medically ethical (Baird Rosenbaum 1989, p. 26). Indeed, the laws of most nations and the codes of medical and research ethics from the Hippocratic Oath to today’s major professional codes strictly prohibit VAE (and all forms of merciful hastened death), even if a patient has a good reason for wanting to die. Although courts have often defended the rights of patients in cases of passive euthanasia, courts have rarely allowed any form of what they judged to be VAE. Those who defend laws and medical traditions opposed to VAE often appeal to either (1) professional-role obligations that prohibit killing or (2) the social consequences that would result from changing these traditions. The first argument is straightforward: killing patients is inconsistent with the roles of nursing, care-giving, and healing. The second argument is more complex and has been at the center of many discussions. This argument is referred to as the wedge argument or the slippery slope argument, and proceeds roughly as follows: although particular acts of active termination of life are sometimes morally justified, the social consequences of sanctioning such practices of killing would run serious risks of abuse and misuse and, on balance, would cause more harm than benefit. The argument is not that these negative consequences will occur immediately, but that they will grow incrementally over time, with an ever-increasing risk of unjustified termination (Dworkin, Frey Bok, 1998). Refusal of Treatment When a patient refuses treatment, the physician is faced with a great dilemma. Doctors maintain that if the patient does not want treatment, physicians do not have a duty to start it. Once treatment is started, however, physicians have a duty to continue it if discontinuing it would lead to the patients death. They are not required to force a patient to go on a respirator if the patient refuses, but once the patient has gone on the respirator, doctors have a duty to keep him on it, even contrary to the patients wishes, if taking him off would result in his death. Suffice it here to point out one important limit: a doctor is not ethically bound to assist a refusal of treatment which is suicidal, that is, made not because the treatment is futile or excessively burdensome but in order to hasten death (Keown, 2002, p. 253). Actual suicide has been a felony in England in the past but today, suicide has been decriminalized in most part of the world. Attempting to take ones own life, however, remains criminal in some jurisdictions. In these as well as in those states where it is not a crime, the state has intervened in some cases to order life-sustaining treatment in the face of objection by a competent adult. The most widely cited case in which this was done is John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital v. Heston (1971), where a twenty-two-year-old unmarried woman refused a blood transfusion because she was a Jehovah’s Witness. She was forced to have one anyway on the theory that there is no difference between passively submitting to death and actively seeking it. The state regards both as attempts at self-destruction and may prevent them. Since this case, however, the trend of cases has been away from this reasoning and toward subordinating the states interest in the prevention of suicide to the rights of patients to forgo or have withdrawn life-sustaining treatment (Berger 1995, p. 20). However, when the patient is terminal and death is imminent, no treatment is medically indicated, and the competent patient’s rightful refusal of treatment does not conflict with the health provider’s form of beneficence. There may be an emotional problem in admitting defeat, but there should be no ethical problem. It should be noted that, although the patient may not be competent at the end, refusal of treatment may be accomplished through a living will or a surrogate, especially through a surrogate who has durable power of attorney for health matters. In the case when the patient is terminal but death is not imminent, for example when the disease or injury progresses slowly, and granted the consent of the patient or surrogate, it appears ethical to omit treatment on the ground that nothing can be accomplished in thwarting the progress of the disease. But it is not ethical to omit care, since human dignity is to be respected. To solve this dilemma, the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (1996) takes a clear stand on the issue: E-2. 20 Even if the patient is not terminally ill or permanently unconscious, it is not unethical to discontinue all means of life-sustaining medical treatment in accordance with a proper substituted judgment or best interests analysis. The treatments include artificially supplied respiration, nutrition, or hydration. In its recent opposition to physician-assisted suicide, the AMA has strongly endorsed a program to educate physicians to the appropriateness of switching from therapeutic treatment to palliative care. The group has gone from a tentative, negative position (â€Å"not unethical†) to a much stronger positive stand (AMA, 1996). On the other hand, we should also consider the reasoning behind the ethical correctness of not beginning or of stopping treatment in the case of the consenting patient who is terminally ill. First, the health care provider has no obligation to prolong dying merely for the sake of prolonging it. That is, it makes no sense to prolong life when the true result is the prolongation of the dying process. Furthermore, when treatment is only prolonging the agony of the patient, its continuation is unethical as an insult to human dignity (Cahill, 1977). In such cases, the health care provider would be ethically justified in discontinuing treatment, except when the patient insists on treatment. Even in this case, however, there can be exceptions. When there is a severe shortage of medical resources, the physician might be justified in stopping nonindicated treatment even over the protests of the patient. We say â€Å"might be justified,† since justification would depend, among other things, on a new social consensus about the duties of health care professionals and on a reasonable certainty that a shortage exists. There are also problems in discontinuing treatment when the patient’s surrogate(s) objects. It should be noted that cessation of life-sustaining treatment does not always bring about a swift and painless death, even though it may speed up the process of dying. For example, if kidney dialysis is discontinued, the person remains conscious and suffers vomiting, internal hemorrhage, and convulsions. The removal of a respirator does not lead to death immediately, and the patient suffers the pain and panic of suffocation. The obligation to care for the patient demands that every ethical effort be made to alleviate these sufferings with drugs and other methods that will not prolong life. Much recent research suggests that physicians are particularly deficient in their willingness and ability to provide adequate pain palliation for dying patients (SUPPORT, 1995). This could be one of the main concerns that drive the interest in physician-assisted suicide. Beyond this, when such pain relief is not possible for the patient, or when the harm is not the pain, but the insult to dignity, there arises the difficult problem of actively cooperating in the suicide of the patient. Religious Issues Several religions have a negative take on any form of suicide. Those who oppose active euthanasia on religious grounds, the basic concern seems to be the view that our lives are not ours but gifts from God. In this view, humans hold their lives as a trust. If this is true, then we are bound to hold not only the lives of others inviolate but also our own, since to take our life is to destroy what belongs to God. For Christians, in Exodus 34:7 and Daniel 13:53, scriptures taken from the Old Testament, the doctrine of the sanctity of life principle is upheld, except in rare instances of self defense. Judeo-Christian precepts generally condemn active euthanasia in any form, but allow some forms of passive euthanasia. The difference is that of omission and commission: While the Judeo-Christian philosophy might tolerate the allowance of death, acts that permit death, it draws the line in regard to acts that cause death. For Buddhists, they perceive it as an involvement of the intentional taking of life. This is why euthanasia is contrary to basic Buddhist ethical teachings because it violates the first of the Five Precepts. It is also contrary to the more general moral principle of ahimsa. This conclusion applies to both the active and passive forms of the practice, even when accompanied by a compassionate motivation with the end of avoiding suffering. The term ‘euthanasia’ has no direct equivalent in canonical Buddhist languages. Euthanasia as an ethical issue is not explicitly discussed in canonical or commentarial sources, and no clear cases of euthanasia are reported. However, there are canonical cases of suicide and attempted suicide which have a bearing on the issue. One concerns the monastic precept against taking life, the third of the four parajika-dharmas, which was introduced by the Buddha when a group of monks became disenchanted with life and began to kill themselves, some dying by their own hand and others with the aid of an intermediary. The Buddha intervened to prevent this, thus apparently introducing a prohibition on voluntary euthanasia. In other situations where monks in great pain contemplated suicide they are encouraged to turn their thoughts away from this and to use their experience as a means to developing insight into the nature of suffering and impermanence (anitya) (Dictionary of Buddhism, 2003). Nonreligious arguments against active euthanasia usually follow a slippery slope or wedge line of reasoning. In some ways the arguments recall the parable of the camel who pleaded with his owner to be allowed to put his nose into the tent to keep it warm against the cold desert night. Once the nose was allowed, other adjustments were requested, and the owner found himself sleeping with his camel. Is there something so persuasive about putting others to death that, if allowed, would become gross and commonplace? The Nazi â€Å"final solution,† which brought about the death of millions of Jews, gypsies, and other eastern Europeans, could be traced to compulsory euthanasia legislation that, at the time of its enactment, included only mental cases, monstrosities, and incurables who were a burden of the state. Using the Nazi experience as a guide, critics of active euthanasia do see some seductiveness to killing that humans do not seem able to handle. Perhaps Sigmund Freud (1925) was right as he wrote: What no human soul desires there is no need to prohibit; it is automatically excluded. The very emphasis of the commandment â€Å"Thou shalt not kill† makes it certain that we spring from an endless ancestry of murderers, with whom the lust for killing was in the blood, as possibly it is to this day with ourselves. The religious take on euthanasia often focus on the sanctity/inviolability of life. In Western thought, the development of the principle has owed much to the Judaeo-Christian tradition. That tradition’s doctrine of the sanctity of life holds that human life is created in the image of God and is, therefore, possessed of an intrinsic dignity which entitles it to protection from unjust attack. With or without this theological underpinning, the doctrine that human life possesses an intrinsic dignity grounds the principle that one must never intentionally kill an innocent human being. The right to life is essentially a right not to be intentionally killed (Keown, 2002, p. 40).

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Language, Paralanguage and Non-Verbal Communication

Language, Paralanguage and Non-Verbal Communication The Importance of Language, Paralanguage and Non-Verbal Communication in Various forms of Communication – A Practical Study Toby Williamson Access to Psychology Abstract This study examines the role of non-verbal communication, language and paralanguage in conveying information. To this end, the study examines how people use these three forms of communication in the context of sharing ideas, expressing joy and happiness as well as persuasion. The study involves a field work that studied dialogues between 10 pairs of persons. The findings identify that people generally utilize a combination of the three forms of communication, namely non-verbal communication, language and paralanguage in conversations where they need to express their emotions. This includes sharing joy as well as persuasion. However, in cases where persons must express facts and ideas in a factual form, communication can be done through the use of language only and in this case, non-verbal communication and paralanguage might not be very essential in conveying meaning and ideas. Introduction Non-verbal communication (NVC) involves direct communication not exclusively relying on written or spoken words (Berry, 2010; Rimondini, 2012). Non-Verbal Communication (NVC) is a situation where the expression of the inner emotions of people are presented through the use of bodily descriptions and trends that shows the way people feel at a give point in time (Littlejohn Foss, 2010; Wood, 2009). Paralanguage on the other hand involves non-verbal voice qualities, voice modifiers and independent utterances that are produced by various parts of the body to convey various understandable messages (Poyatos, 2012; Wilson, 2011). Therefore, paralanguage involves the modification of voices as a means of presenting various forms of messages to other people. Language is the use of words in a given dialect to transmit information and present data and information to different people in order to convey meaning(Phifer, 2007). Language refers to conventional dialog and speech that is carried out to present information from one person to another in mutually intelligible dialect(Perkins, 2010). These three different approaches to communication are used by communicators to complement each other in order to provide meaningful communication(Zimmerman Uecke, 2012). This is because communication involves the presentation of various ideas and concepts in order to convey meaning. Hence, there is the need for these different approaches to be put together in order to gain the best forms of meaning. Aim The aim of this research is to examine how these different elements and aspects of communication work together to attain good and proper results in communication. In order to attain this end, the following objectives will be reviewed: 1. A critical analysis of the different approaches to communication and how they work together; 2. An identification of circumstances where one might be used solely without the use of other forms of communication; 3. An evaluation of the options and processes that might come together to define good communication Hypotheses A hypothesis is a tentative statement that is made by a researcher at the beginning of the research and it is tested for its truthfulness and falsity throughout the research(Kothari, 2009). This research hypothesizes that the best means and the best form of communication occurs when you combine the three elements of communication: NVC, paralanguage and language. The alternative hypothesis is that each of the three elements of communication is best used alone in most circumstances. Methodology In the study, there is the need to examine and review the way people use the three components of communication: Non-verbal communication Paralanguage Language In order to do this study, a practical fieldwork is employed to analyze and review how people mix these three tools of communication in sharing ideas and information. First of all, there is the need to identify how these three elements of communication work in relation to: 1. Sharing Ideas 2. Expressing Joy/Happiness 3. Suggesting a better view In order to study this, a fieldwork is conducted and a collection of data, analysis of data and drawing conclusion is conducted. Data is collected through the conducting of a dialogue amongst ten pairs of people. In each of the situations, the participants are asked to present information under one of the three themes and from there the importance and significance of the three elements of communication are identified and discussed. Secondly, the dialogues are documented in the form of classification of the various headings and the various pointers in the NVC. The details of the documentation for the collection of information for this study are presented in Appendix 1 below. The findings are to be classified according to the number of times and the respondents chose an option. These options are summed up and they are analyzed and reviewed in order to lay the foundation for critical reviews and analysis. In the analysis the frequency of occurrence or choice of each option is discussed and this adds up in order to provide an overall view of whether a given element of communication is viewed as important or not. This is all critiqued and analyzed in order to draw conclusions on whether the hypothesis is valid or not. Results The field work was conducted over a three-day period. Twenty participants were involved in the process and they were asked to have a dialogue with each other in order to test the three approaches to communication and information sharing. Each of the respondents were monitored by the facilitator to pose as s/he was communicating with another person. And in the process, they went through all the three forms of communication and exchange of information. Afterwards they were asked to identify whether they considered each of the three approaches to communication as important, quite important or very important in each case. The findings were tallied and they were put together to justify and discuss each of the three approaches. This includes the compilation of each of the responses. They are presented in the treatment of results section below. The table below shows how the different respondents presented their views on how communication can be conducted with the different tools and the different elements of communication. This is graded and presented on the scale of very important (A), quite important (B) and not important (C). Treatment of Results The different elements and different aspects of communication are presented in this study and the way this information is presented by the various respondents in the research. These respondents indicated the relative strength and the relative importance of the different approaches to language sharing and information sharing and this shows some degree of variation from the various classifications and the different methods of sharing information and ideas. Sharing Ideas In sharing ideas, it is identified that most people saw non-verbal communication to be unimportant. This showed that over three quarters showed that you could share ideas without having to resort to non-verbal communication. The vast majority of respondents indicated that ideas could be shared without the use of paralanguage and the changing of tones amongst other things. However, it was decided unanimously that the use of language is vital and important in sharing ideas and there could practically be no sharing of ideas if language was absent. Expression of Joy or Happiness Although the vast majority of respondents indicated that sharing expressing joy can be done without the use of non-verbal communication, most of the respondents indicated that laughter is a universal sign of expressing joy and language and the way you speak in such a situation is one in which your happiness reflects in your actions and the tone used by speakers. Hence, although most participants in the experiment wrote that language is the most important tool for expressing joy, happiness and emotions, most respondents conceded that the three elements, non-verbal communication and paralanguage and language all work together to convey emotions and express joy and happiness because that is the natural component and the natural attitude that people express these feelings. However, in the collection of the data, the vast majority of respondents identified that communication in expressing emotions was almost done with language. This is apparent in the fact that about 65% of the respondents stated that non-verbal communication is not important in expressing joy and happiness and 55% of the respondents identified that paralanguage was not important. However, 70% stated that language is important in expressing happiness and joy and another 15% found it to be somewhat important (say 85% of the respondents at this point). This shows that language is still important and vital in helping respondents to express their joy and Suggesting a Better View This section was quite complicated. This is because the respondents were split in discussing whether non-verbal communication was important or not. They showed that almost 50% of the respondents said that non-verbal communication was not important. However, 35% said it is quite important and 20% said it was very important. Although over 50% state that paralanguage is not important in suggesting a better view, 70% stated that language is very important in suggesting a better or improved view. Discussions From the study, it is identified that the respondents showed that language is important and vital in almost all the scenarios and situations at hand. This is because language is the main measure or means through which communication and the exchange of information is done in most situations and contexts. In sharing ideas, it seems to be pervasive that the use of language is universal and pervasive. This is because language is vital and important in sharing such views and in getting people to understand a person’s thoughts and ideas. In this context, the use of non-verbal communication and paralanguage tools are not very important because the individual sharing the ideas is able to express everything in succinct terms and the listener can deduce the idea through language without much modification or additions. However, in expressing joy and happiness, most respondents indicated that language is vital. However, language is not the only means through which these emotions can be expressed. This is because expressing joy and happiness come with a high degree of emotions that can be expressed through bodily actions (non-verbal communication) and intonation (paralanguage) as a means of making the emotions and sentiments more felt by the listener. Hence, it is conclusive that non-verbal communication and paralanguage are important in expressing emotions and feelings in circumstances where a person needs to do so. Finally, suggesting a better view on a matter is a matter that is persuasive in nature. And it is identified that most respondents identify that language is important. However, they concede that some degree of non-verbal communication as well as paralanguage. This shows that in persuasive discussions, there is the need for some degree of communication tools to be employed other than the use of language. Conclusion The research indicates that communication involves a degree of utilization of different approaches and methods of sharing information. This means that in most forms of communication, language, non-verbal communication and paralanguage are used together in order to express views and ideas. The fieldwork does not justify the null hypothesis per se. This is because in some forms of communication, it is identified that language can be used without much reliance on non-verbal communication and paralanguage. This particularly happens in factual contexts where there is the need for people to communicate ideas. However, in other forms of communication like the expression of happiness and persuasion, the hypothesis is honored and justified because they all work well in order to provide a reasonable communication of the sentiments of the speaker to the listener. The alternative hypothesis states that each of the three elements of communication can best be utilized independently. This only stands in the case of factual communication or the sharing of ideas where language is an important and vital method of communication and can stand alone. However, the alternative hypothesis is refuted when it comes to persuasion and the expression fo joy and happiness. Bibliography Berry, D. (2010). Health Communication: Theory and Practice. London: McGrawHill. Kothari, C. R. (2009). Research Methodology. Delhi: New Age Publishing. Littlejohn, S. W., Foss, K. A. (2010). Theories of Human Communication . Mason, OH: Cengage. Perkins, P. S. (2010). The Art and Science of Communication. London: Wiley. Phifer, E. (2007). Boosting the Minds Eye: Visualizing for Social and Emotional Intelligence. New York: Universal Publishing. Poyatos, F. (2012). Textual Translation and Live Translation. New York: John Benjamins Publishing. Rimondini, M. (2012). Communication in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. London: Springer. Wilson, E. O. (2011). Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Boston, MA: Yale University Press. Wood, J. (2009). Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters. Mason, OH: Cengage. Zimmerman, C., Uecke, R. A. (2012). Asserting Yourself At Work. New York: AMACOM. Appendix 1 Dear Respondent, As part of the study on the importance of non-verbal communication, paralanguage and language in communication, this research will seek to involve you in an experiment. In this experiment, you will need a communication partner and you will have to conduct a two-way dialogue. The first should be about sharing ideas, the second should be about expressing joy or happiness and the third will involve suggesting a better view in a debate. The findings must be classified under headings A, B or C and this must be mutually agreed. The end is to examine the importance o these three elements of communication in sharing information. A – Very Important B – Quite Important C – Not Important

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Employee Performance Case Study

Employee Performance Case Study Problems inside the Slough branch and options to improve employee performance There are several key issues that impact the Slough branch. These include poor management, a lack of motivation of employees and ineffective communication between the workforce. The manager is perhaps one of the major problems in this subsidiary because his lack of professional management skills impacts on the employees and their work. As a manager and team leader, one aspect of supporting staff in periods of high demand is to help them manage their time more effectively and thereby help to reduce their stress levels and work pressures. Mr. David Brent, the manager of this branch, fails to do this for his staff. One failure on Brents part is his inability to deal with the impending merger with the Swindon branch. His lack of acknowledgment of the change results in unease amongst the workforce. His attitude in general is poor and he fails to act professionally. It has been suggested that considering training as an investment decision could vastly improve motivation in the workforce[1] but that this should only be done after careful consideration. Looking at the theory of leadership by Burrhus Skinner, an American psychologist, we assume that leadership capabilities are rooted in characteristics possessed by individuals and these skills are not necessarily in every individual[2]. If we consider the theory as true, we can easily conclude that David Brent is not a good leader as he does not have relevant characteristics. Referring to Peter Druckers ideas[3], the leaders job is to prepare people to execute and operate effectively and then give them freedom to do so. David Brent is failing to do this which suggests that specific training would be useful. In this case, introducing training is essential to improve the skills and the attitude of David Brent. With this type of training, the aim should be to change some of David Brents behaviour, par ticularly to his employees. For example, he must change the way he talks to his employees, he does not know how to interact in a professional way with them to the detriment of the managerial relationship. He also does not enforce order; nor does he follow company procedures. If these issues were properly addressed, then there is the possibility that staff motivation may increase knowing that proper leadership is in place. Another issue in this branch is the ineffective communication between all levels and departments of the workforce. This does not allow for improvement in the employees work and it often leads to them being lazy and unproductive and even, on occasions, disrespectful towards their colleagues. The employees, even if they attend some work meetings, are not able to express themselves properly because the manager does not allow them to do so. Instead, he spends much of his time in meetings trying to be friendly and relatable at the expense of communicating issues and tasks with the team. In this case, to improve and increase the communication in this branch, it would be useful to introduce a discussion group once a week[4]. This type of meeting would be with all key employees and the manager to talk about any problems and all situations approaching that week. All staff could be involved in identifying the vital goals and develop procedures and strategies to reach those goals. This session should ideally last about 30 minutes and be on a fixed day each week so that the whole team has a joint focus. Perhaps the biggest factor damaging the employees performance is the impending merger with the Swindon branch; the insecurity of their positions makes them worried. However, due to the poor management, the staff do not feel motivated to work as they are not held accountable for their actions. As they rarely get disciplined for their absence of productivity, they do not feel that they need motivation to work. Also they do not receive any feedback on how they work, meaning they cannot improve their performance or find out if they have done well. All these factors put their jobs at greater risk. One of the ways we could improve motivation in the work force is to consider Lockes theories on motivation and set specific goals for the employees to achieve[5]. Locke set out that it is through working to specific aims set by both manager and employee that a persons work can improve. This could be made possible by introducing one-on-one meetings between the manager and all members of staff. By having regular appraisals employees could track their performance and be motivated to improve as targets appear more achievable. These sessions should be done each week with all employees struggling with meeting their targets. Perhaps if the employees feel more motivated to achieve their targets they could begin to feel more secure in their positions at the company. Overall, I think that we should work very hard to change all the problematic and inappropriate situations because all the lies combined with unprofessional behaviour has deeply damaged the integrity of the Slough branch. Employee Appraisal for Gareth Keenan When deciding what appraisal system to use for Gareth Keenan I looked at many major models to find one which would best show his potential within the company. There are several jobs appraisal systems that could be used, however I have evaluated the strengths of these and concluded that the best system in Keenans case is Wether and Davis Ratings Scale[6]. I first looked at the Checklist method to try to evaluate Gareth Keenans work[7]. This system requires the user to work through a list of the employees capabilities and answer either yes or no. The problem I have found with this system is that it is not very motivational. By answering simply yes or no, the results are stark and it is difficult to motivate Keenan if his appraisal results mainly in no. It could be hard to see if he improved between meetings as this method may not show small improvements he has made. The second appraisal that I looked at is the Forced Choice Method[8]. This method is made in blocks of two or more, and the rater indicates which statement is most or least descriptive compared to the employee. Again, I find this procedure not useful for Gareth Keenan because the many aspects of his job may not be properly framed in this restrictive format. This employee has not got a big personality but he tries, often with bad results, to be a good supervisor and to be appreciated by the manager and the rest of the staff. He needs to see any improvements even if he does not yet do enough to be seen as a good employee and supervisor by them. This will allow him to gain confidence in what he does and set targets for improvement in all aspects of his job, not just ones set out in the Forced Choice Method. Overall I decided to use the Ratings method as it is the most simplistic and it allows for easy personalization relevant to the specific role and shows an easily understandable scale of competency. This table can show the various activities and performances required by the employee inside the workplace and crucially, it provides a scale of performance allowing for easy interpretation of key successes in Keenans work, as well as areas in need of improvement. This kind of appraisal can show every little improvement, or every worsening skill set, that the employee has therefore allowing for a clear sign of progression between ratings. This could be useful for Gareth Keenan because it should motivate him to improve and if the appraisals are held often enough, show his constant growth in areas for development. Also, as comments and suggestions can be attached to this appraisal system it can help him to change his approach to his work and suggest a change to his style of his communication for him to work on. Furthermore, I suggest a personality test[9] for Gareth Keenan, in order to understand which aspects of his personality he could work on more to improve his relationships with his coworkers. Bibliography Dwyer, J. R., Career Development and Advancement Patterns of Aboriginal Executives in the Canadian Federal Public Service, USA, 2000 Skinner, B. F., Science And Human Behavior, USA, 1965 Drucker, P., The Practice of Management, Oxford, 2007 Ledlow G., Coppola N., Leadership for Health Professionals, Burlington, 2011 Cole, G., A., Human Resource And Personnel Management, London, 2004 Aswathappa, K., Human Resource And Personnel Management, New Delhi, 2005 Manna, G., Introduzione alle tecniche per la valutazione della personalità  , Palermo, 2006 [1] Career Development and Advancement Patterns of Aboriginal Executives in the Canadian Federal Public Service, Rocky J. Dwyer, 2000. [2] Science And Human Behavior, B.F Skinner, 1965. [3] The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker, Classic Drucker Collection Edition 2007. [4] Leadership for Health Professionals, Gerald Ledlow and Nicholas Coppola, 2011. [5] Personnel and Human Resource Management, Cole G. A., 2004. [6] Human Resource And Personnel Management, K. Aswathappa, Fourth Edition 2005, p. 243. [7] Ibidem, p. 244. [8] Ibidem, p. 244/245. [9] Introduzione alle tecniche per la valutazione della personalità  , Giovanna Manna edito da Franco Angeli, 2006.

Alcohol: A Growing Problem In The World? Essay examples -- essays rese

Alcoholism, as defined by the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, is â€Å"a chronic disorder characterized by dependence on alcohol, repeated excessive use of alcoholic beverages. The development of withdrawal symptoms on reducing or ceasing intake, morbidity that may include cirrhosis of the liver, and decreased ability to function socially and vocationally.† As you can see my report is on alcohol and alcoholism. The report will show statistics, the different types of alcohol and alcoholics, both the positive and negative health consequences and effects of alcohol, and other interesting facts and details. Here are some questions to ask yourself before you begin to read the rest of my term paper; â€Å" Am I an alcoholic?† â€Å"Do I know an alcoholic?† â€Å"Does my family of a history of alcohol problems?† If you answered yes to any of these you definitely may want to read this research paper. Alcohol dates as far back as the early Stone Age. Alcoholic beverages were first fermented in the year 4200 BC. In 1640 the first distillery in the United States was established in what is now known as New York City. In 1769 the first Canadian distillery was established for the production of rum. In the early 1800’s Rum became the most popular alcoholic beverage. In 1789 the first bourbon was produced in Georgetown, Kentucky. During the mid 1800’s a movement of prohibition began. The prohibition went into a Constitutional Amendment in 1920, but by 1933 repealed it. Today the most popular spirit is whiskey. It has accounted for 38 percent of all spirits consumed. Even so, the sales of beer and wine have greatly increased since the late 1940’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The drinking habits of the European differ from the drinking habits of Americans. Since Europe has many different climates and geographical features it is ideally suited for the wide variety in the production and drinking of alcohol. In Southern Europe the people mainly drink wine. Such countries are Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece. The people of Ireland, England, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Czechoslovakia are known as beer drinkers. The Northern countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Poland are basically spirit drinkers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many different types of alcoholic bevera... ...th among teens is car crashes; drunk drivers cause more than half of these accidents. There are many groups who help people overcome their alcoholism. I will talk about one of the most famous, Alcoholics Anonymous. AA has organizations through out the world consisting of men and women who want to help each other overcome their problem. Some of these people share their success stories with those who need incentive to become sober. Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935. It has 63,000 groups in the Unites States, Canada, and over 110 other countries. Anyone who joins must realize that it isn’t a medical or religious organization. The mailing address is P.O. box 459 Grandcentral Station, New York, New York 10017. To terminate my term paper, I feel alcohol has its ups and downs. While it has certain positives, it also has many negatives. I’d also like to say I enjoyed doing my research paper because I learned many things about alcohol and alcoholism that I didn’t know before I did my research. In the next couple of pages I have a table showing the alcohol involvement for drivers in fatal crashes and a chart of different drugs and the interactions they have when taken with alcohol.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Culture and a Mans Dying Wish :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A man dies. His community's culture deems that he be buried in holy ground lest the community suffer some catastrophe. He, having always been at odds with his community on this point, has left a provision in his will that he be cremated and his ashes scattered into the ocean. The body waits in the hospital while the community debates the issue. What is to be done?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The elders have asked for a moral opinion. What is one to say? If the belief that the man must be buried is one deeply ingrained in the hearts and minds of the community, then a decision to cremate him would cause an uproar. On the other hand, if there are some who sympathize with the man, either decision might cause a schism within the community. The ultimate action would have to depend on much more than the culture's belief about burial. It would have to take into account the culture's beliefs on individual rights, freedom of belief, and the validity of the man's will. It would also have to take into account the moral implications of carrying out a man's dying wish and the repercussions of violating a sacred social institution. This is not a decision to be taken lightly, but by stepping back and weighing the options carefully, one can come to a conclusion which would be the most moral given the situation. I say most moral because there really is no right choice here. Any action taken will most definitely be wrong to at least one group of people. Here no plea can be made to universal morality because neither belief in its specific sense appeals to any pure moral intuition. People on the other side of the world might have neither the belief that the man should be buried, nor the belief that his ashes should be spread. Each person's choice would be too influenced by his own cultural morality, and so nobody would really have a right to judge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Were I to be asked for an opinion on this matter, I feel I would have no authority in my response. It is really the community's choice, and I would be afraid to make a decision which affects people completely strange to me. I doubt they would ask me in the first place, but were I to be asked my opinion I would say that the man should be buried in the special burial ground.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Delivering Lifelong Learning

Delivering Lifelong Learning Enhancing learning through using technology Thinking back to when I delivered in work focused training sessions I found that technology was a huge aid to the learning for the students. I would set them web quests and get them research topics around the subject of day, One in particular that I remember was asking them to look at the human right act I asked them to work in pairs and put together some information about what the act was and why it was so important and how it linked into working in Health and social care.I gave them a set amount of time to do this then asked that they nominated a person to feedback to the group about what they had learnt. Looking back now I see that by encouraging learners to use this technology this was supporting the differentiation off the group it supported all the learners to gain knowledge and understanding even the ones who were not as confident in speaking up as others.I guess the other main way I support learners to u se technology is to encourage them to use the online etrack site to check there progress once I get a learner engaged with this I find that they look forward to checking their progress after each visit it’s a good tool for motivation. And another way would be by getting the learners to access and use the BKSB to support there learning with the maths and English it’s an excellent online tool that will guide them to up skill in the specific areas needed.It can however, as mentioned before highlight too many areas for development and perhaps scare the learner completely so this aid has negatives and positives. Technology can also support learners when writing written assignments they can use Microsoft word and send work over on email for electronic submission or send it to etrack a secure site to make additional progress in between assessments with their assessor. Learners can also use internet for research to support their learning. I also use offline exams that once upl oaded can give instant results, this is good as the learner knows.I have put together a case study of some of the various technology that can be used to support learners and have looked at what the positives and negatives of them are. |Technology available |Positives |Negatives | |Blogs, chat rooms and online discussion |Will help learners to communicate with each other. |Not all learners have | |forums |Accessible and inclusive. Can aid learning from peers. |internet. Connection | | |Is flexible the learner can log on in there own time. problems IT issues, would | | | |not support learners with | | | |low literacy levels. | |Cameras and mobile phones. |Aids communication. Often an instant response. Take |Not always cost effective | | |pictures of evidence |to all learners may create | | | |barriers for some.Bad | | | |signals. Unable to read a | | | |learners body language and | | | |vice versa | |Computer facilities to enable word |Can save work /use spell checker/ word coun t can go back|Not all learners have | |processing assignments and saving |and amend if needed. access to a home | |documents. | |computer/Can not be used | | | |during power cuts? Viruses | | | |could cause work to be | | | |lost. |Digital media for visual/audio recording|Good to play back work/ film to aid recall |Again learners may not have| |and playback | |access to this equipment. | |Electronic portfolios/etrack |Accessible/ sustainable i. e. no need for paper. |Again can create barriers | | |Can access supporting materials. |as not all will have access| | | |at home.Internet | | | |connection problems. | |Email |Electronic submission of work/communication/feedback |See above and also not | | |Can help evidence work set and completed |always an immediate | | | |response.IT issues may | | | |prevent you from receiving. | |Internet access |Accessible and inclusive/ Can access resources |Can lead to plagiarism | |Mobile phones |Aids communication/ Take pictures of evidenc e/ Internet |Not cost effective to all | | |access/Apps |learners/ may create | | | |barriers for some.Poor | | | |signal. Not always an | | | |immediate response. | |Online/offline and on demand tests |sustainable i. e. no need for paper instant results e. g. May highlight lots of work | | |diagnostics exams |required/ may not be a pass| | | |could de motivate | |Online discussion forums |Can be flexible to the learner/ can aid learning from |Again learners may not have| | |peers |access to this equipment. | | |Poor internet connection. | |Presentation software |Visual aid for learners/ can be emailed and used as a |Does not support all | | |reference |learning styles | |Scanners |Can upload documents evidence immediately |Again learners may not have| | | |access to this equipment. |Web cameras and video conferencing |If you cannot be in the same place as your learner and |See above | | |need to observe them | | |VLE |Can access supporting materials |See above | |Specialist equipment such as readers |Can aid learners with visual impairment or limited |See above | |tape recorders, Talking |verbal communication | | |calculators/Computer terminals with | | | |speech output | | | |DVR |Can be played back uploaded for evidence |Some people don’t feel | | | |comfortable being recorded. |Expectations of the minimum core in relation to delivering lifelong learning Firstly I would like to explain the importance of good communication it is imperative to ensure that information is given and received. It is the key to motivation, managing behaviour and promoting good working relationships. It includes verbal non verbal and written and can include various technology email/webinar and forums. I must ensure that I have excellent communication techniques to be able to maintain learner’s attention and to show professionalism when giving feedback. I need to be aware of my tone and facial expressions knowing when to change my tone to say show sympathy an d understanding r to take control of a disruptive group.I need to ensure that if I use jargon that the learner is supported in understanding what that is? ETRACK what is etrack a demonstration needs to be given so that the learner understands. Speaking/ Listening/Reading/Writing are the four skills I must demonstrate when supporting learners in Literacy, language and ICT I have looked at Tuckman’s theory of group work in relation to how people in groups communicate. He came up with a development model that shows the stages of development of how groups will communicate. Forming In the first stages of team building, the forming of the team takes place. The individual's behavior is driven by a desire to be accepted by the others, and avoid controversy or conflict.Serious issues and feelings are avoided, and people focus on being busy with routines, such as team organization, who does what, when to meet, etc. individuals are also gathering information and impressions – abo ut each other, and about the scope of the task and how to approach it. This is a comfortable stage to be in, but the avoidance of conflict and threat means that not much actually gets done. Storming Every group will next enter the storming stage in which different ideas compete for consideration. The team addresses issues such as what problems they are really supposed to solve, how they will function independently and together and what leadership model they will accept.Team members open up to each other and confront each other's ideas and perspectives. In some cases storming can be resolved quickly. In others, the team never leaves this stage. The maturity of some team members usually determines whether the team will ever move out of this stage. Some team members will focus on minutiae to evade real issues. Norming The team manages to have one goal and come to a mutual plan for the team at this stage. Some may have to give up their own ideas and agree with others in order to make th e team function. In this stage, all team members take the responsibility and have the ambition to work for the success of the team's goals. Performing It is possible for some teams to reach the performing stage.These high-performing teams are able to function as a unit as they find ways to get the job done smoothly and effectively without inappropriate conflict or the need for external supervision. By this time, they are motivated and knowledgeable. The team members are now competent, autonomous and able to handle the decision-making process without supervision. Dissent is expected and allowed as long as it is channeled through means acceptable to the team. 1. ^ The Five Stages of Project Team Development, Gina Abudi – Retrieved May 18th 2010 Its not very often I deliver to groups but this research has helped me to look at the importance of it and also the importance of communication not only from myself but between learners.I often teach learners individually however they te nds to be a group within one setting and they will often work together to learn and gain knowledge for the award. So it’s important that I have an understanding the theory and psychological dynamics of group work. Evaluation of own practice in delivering inclusive learning and teaching I feel that I do adapt my teaching to try to suit each individual need. I have some learners for example who need much more support with their functional skills than others and in these cases I have arranged extra visits with and given one to one support. I do feel that since delivering Functional skills my practice has improved.At the start I found it difficult to know where to start with supporting learners and with experience I have gained confidence and knowledge of the support materials available. I have also recently obtained some really helpful handouts to support learners with understanding the requirements of literacy. They are like flash cards and are very easy to understand. Looking back I can think of learners that this resource will have been very helpful. And I wish now that I had sourced them sooner. I am also not entirely confident in speaking in group situations and I know that the only way to prepare for this is to be fully prepared and to ensure that I have researched a subject fully.I have passed my functional skill level 2 in literacy and Math but would like to go on to complete the level 3 as I feel this will enhance my knowledge and confidence and thus can only benefit my learners. I intend to complete a diagnostic on the BKSB to identify what areas I need to improve on. I also need to work on some of my ICT skills in particular spreadsheets as I work in health and social care its not to often I have deliver ICT so I feel I have not focused on this area as much as I should have. I In particular I know I need to work on spreadsheets and I have been working through some workbooks on the BKSB to help with this. I would hate to ever be in a situation wh ere a learner wanted support in this area and I was unable to give it.