Book Review 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Book Review 2 - Essay Example Other factors that led to its growth were the visionary leadership of Jerry Heffernan. The text locates the mentor of Heffernan, Frank Howard and how his effect was carried onto Howard’s son! Led by Forward, the empire started to expand after completing a couple of years from operating on a profitable basis. This phase saw the group acquire a second electric furnace along with a new rolling mill capable of rolling mid-sized structural up to 18 inches. The text then records how the company overcame a short time cash crisis and began generating cash flow from 1984. During the entire 80’s the company followed a period of continuos growth. In 1984, it was recognised as one of the best-managed plants in the United States. Throughout the period experiments and improvements were carried on and a lot of things were attained like the concept of casting beam blanks as opposed to billets. Interestingly, the text records that the improvements were not made on massive investments and capital but by innovative planning and implementation of those novel ideas. The text makes it clear that although Chapperal’s gloats over its technological prowess, the underlying human resources practices and resulting culture are the main reasons for its success. It illustrates upon the credo of pushing decision making policy of the management and the policy of ensuring self empowerment of the different sections of the company and how it has worked wonders for them. The blend of trust, responsibility, knowledge, expertise, competence and authority has been pointed out as the main factors for the astounding success of the company. The text also points out the challenges that lie ahead for the company, especially its dream of recycling 100% of automobiles. The text shows that the important lesson that is to be learnt from the Chaparral Company is the manner in which it has been able to convert its potential to

Uses of statistical information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Uses of statistical information - Essay Example Statistics is widely used in most of the companies. In workplaces, statistics plays a major role in helping the organization to manage data. San Francisco General Hospital is one of the famous hospitals in the city.The hospital provides world class facilities and includes state of the art medical equipments. The daily reports and patient report information is stored in a unique manner. Information collection, storage and retrieval are considered as one of the important aspects of hospital maintenance. Apart from all this, information representation and data representation is also equally important. Data representation is generally carried out with the help of statistics. Statistical methods are used to represent the given data in the specified format. Hospital is one of the few places where continuous monitoring is required. Due to this reason, statistics is used in a wide manner. Statistics is used in hospitals to analyze and describe the number of patients who are treated in a part icular year. This enables the management to represent the patients according to the type of treatment. This helps them to decide on the type of treatment and also to improve their services. The statistical data enables the hospital authorities to educate people on the severance of a particular health problem or a disease, so that people implement the preventive measures. Statistical classifiers help them to analyze the patient’s information. The statistical information is often used to get an idea about the treatments provided by the hospital. (Metcalfe, 2003). The number of patients who underwent a particular treatment is represented using the statistical methods. As this seems to be an easy option, hospitals tend to follow these methods. Our hospital includes separate treatment units for inpatients and outpatients. Based on the numbers of patients who get admitted in the hospital, a statistical measure is selected. With the use of this measure, the data pertaining to the de partment is collected, calculated and represented. Categories of Statistics The major categories of statistics include descriptive and inferential statistics. Among the other types, descriptive and inferential statistics are widely used in our hospital. Descriptive statistics is used to ascertain the basis of particular information. While conducting a statistical analysis, the samples are generally summarized using any of the statistical methods. The major use of descriptive statistics is to describe the collected information in a brief manner. (Wilcox, 2010). The patient’s information is collected and the description of the samples is produced. Out of the various methods like mean, median and mode, our hospital uses the mode method. Mode is used to represent the number of patients who are affected by a particular disease. It is also used to represent the patients who frequently visit the hospital. The details about the patients are collected and represented using the mode me thod. The next statistical method is inferential statistics and it is used to derive a conclusion out of the given statistical data. The samples pertaining to a particular concept or a disease is collected and using these samples an inference is obtained. The inference is not obtained only with the available sample, instead these samples are considered as an example of the original result. The main aim of inferential statistics is to arrive at a conclusion based on the similar samples that are collected using the statistical method. Though our hospital follows the descriptive statistical method, inferential statistics is also implemented to represent the data. Random selection method is used to analyze the number of people affected by a particular disease. Based on the limited data, the hospital decides on the type of treatment, so that the patients can be treated immediately. Levels of Measurement Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics are used in our hospi

Evolution Of The Contemporary World System Politics Essay

Evolution Of The Contemporary World System Politics Essay Together, all international actors and their interactions with one another form an international system (Papp, 2002). Ironically, international system itself is also a very important body that greatly influences the behaviors and interactions of its creators, especially the states. There is no single global system that dominates the history of mankind. This system always evolves as the realm of power shifts together with the changing in the way that power is demonstrated. Remarkably, the 20th and the early 21st centuries have been a very dynamic period when there were frequent fundamental changes in world politics and international system. The beginning of the 20th century, when states were still the solely crucial players, global affairs were under the Balance of Power System. This system came to an end together with the breakout of the World War I when the perception of balance of power was absent in the mind of state actors. Central power, namely German and Austria-Hungry, attacked the Allied countries consisting of France, Belgium, Serbia and others (Keylor, 2008). After the war, a new but short-lived system emerged, international collective security. Again this ineffective system ended in global conflict, the World War II (Papp, 2002). It was the failure of the League of Nations when Britain and France ignored the German invasion of Poland. Following the horrifying and destructive war, Bipolar System made its appearance in world politics. The new system in which two super powers competed and dominated the international arena. By this time the world has already experienced the terror of nuclear weapon as two bombs were tested and demonstrated in Japan to conclude the war. Some arguments believe that this weapon of mass destruction also did contribute significantly in preventing direct war between the U.S. and USSR, the war that could inevitably end the world as we know today. However, the effect of cold war between the two giants on smaller countries around the world still can be seen as bloody as the wars that came before it. Civil wars and proxy wars in Cambodia, Vietnam, Angola, Afghanistan, Korea peninsular and many other conflicts erupted with the two dominant ideologies acting behind the scene. This bipolar system was the main characteristic of the international affairs until the demise of Soviet Union at the end of 1991 that marked the official conclusion of bipolar world. From then, according to Charles Krauthammer, the United States is now the unchallenged power supported by its Western allies (Krauthammer, 2002). Therefore, the international system now becomes unipolar. Political an d economic powers are the two most important variables in determining the strength of one state. With nuclear warhead and other advanced military technology, naturally, the United States gained significant amount of political power in international arena. More importantly, the U.S. is the world largest single economy thanks to its annum GDP worth of over 10 trillion dollars , more than one-sixth of world GDP (World development indicators, 2010). However, this claim did not address a number of fundamental changes happened even before the bipolar system ended. From the second half of the 20th century, there have been many remarkably and extremely important trends in global politics as well as the international structure. The emergence of nonalignment movement creates the single and stronger voice for the weak and poor states to bargain with the rich and powerful states, especially in the UN General Assembly. It was seen as the North-South conflict. The rise of China, India, and Brazil in their economic and political power is questioning the dominant power and unilateralism of the U.S. in international affairs. For instance, the Chinese economic miracle from the 1970s has put the concrete role of China in global political arena again. China has been busy in advancing its military capability and inserting power and influence globally. The presence of Chinese investment in African sub-continent is the clear manifestation of Sino- expansion going global. From economic perspective, China is building up its economic empire, the process that requires a lot of resources from Africa; nevertheless, looking from political perspective, Africa holds about one-fourth of the UN General Assembly seats. Using power capital in Africa and other area, China can easily control the voting result at the UN. In addition, there are also other emergence of former powers as well such as Japan and Germany. Despite both countries still have limited military capacity in international arena, but as the third largest economy, Japan, and world biggest exporter, Germany, the two giant economic powers are also trying to increase their influences in world politics. As we can see that they have maintain the seat in the United Nation Security Council by using economic power such as bilateral aid. New international actors such as Intergovernmental Organizations like the UN and NATO, regional grouping, the EU and ASEAN, and other International Nongovernmental Organizations like the ILO are also increasing their role in changing the world stage. States cooperate through those INGOs. For instance, through ASEAN, the countries in Southeast Asia are trying to limit the influences of great powers in their region. Even though it has not become powerful enough to achieve all it goal and objective, it surely has change the way in which international relations operate especially for the U.S. when it deals with the countries in Southeast Asia. More importantly, the increasing power of Multinational Corporations and private power capital make the international affairs even more complex because those actors even have great influence in many domestic political affairs of many countries especially the developing countries, but their intention and goal are sole profit, which are so different from the state actor. Advancement of technology, communication, and transportation has helped the transnational social movement possible. From the woman rights groups to environmental advocators, they actively involve in world politics. All of these changes and new actors have made the international system even more complex and complicated with so many level and facets. Understanding this contemporary state of affairs is extremely important for all actors to achieve their survival, goal, and objective. It is even more extremely significant for an actor like a weak state since it is the most vulnerable and sensitive to the decisions made in global affairs and world politics. Cambodia was small and vulnerable country. During French colonial period, Cambodia was isolated from international politics for most of the time; however, at independence, this country faced its most critical challenge that was to survive and prosper in the arena of international political system. Unfortunately, the world politics at that time was not really a peaceful period especially for a newly independent country that has not established strong and stable political system not to mention other wide range of internal problems like economic underdevelopment, unemployment and poverty. Stuck in the middle of cold war between two super powers, the U.S. and USSR, Cambodia understood very clearly that it has no choice but to play its part in the political game of bipolar system. Cambodia started to develop good relation with U.S. and received a lot of aids for its economic development. It also tried not to confront directly with the increasing-power communism. However, things changed ra pidly when the Vietnam War started to spill over Cambodia. Prince Sihanouk cut off relations with the U.S. in 1965 in regard with U.S. bombing in the kingdom and the increase influence of American in Cambodia armed forces (Lum, 2007). This move has put Prince Sihanouk in critical position for the U.S. Despite relation was restored in 1969, the coup led by Lon Nol and backed by the U.S. put a new government in Phnom Penh (Sophat, 2010). This marked the point of deep internal breach between Cambodians who supported Lon Nols regime and those who love the former one. The 30-year civil war began. New government officially declared war against communist Vietnam to please the U.S. However, Lon Nol not only fought the North Vietnam but he also has to deal with Pol Pot, a rapidly increasing Cambodian guerrilla forces supported by communist Vietnam. Then in 1975, the Phnom Penh government collapsed and replaced by Khmer Rouge. Despite the killing in the country, this regime lasted until 1979 when the Vietnam launched full-scaled military attack against Pol Pots regime. After the regime was forced out of power, Cambodia was still struggling in civil war having three fractions backed by different foreign actors fighting along the north and western borders. Khmer Rouge supported by China, and the free Khmer groups gained the support from the U.S. Inside the country, new government has aligned itself with the East block, which was Soviet Union, and maintained a very close relation with Vietnam. The situation more or less remained hostile for another decade. The dark age of Cambodia on ly came into an end in 1993, the election led by the UN has helped unified the country again once again in a very long time. Khmer Rouge was still fighting, but without any support from outside powers, its role was not significant anymore. The history gives one invaluable lesson for Cambodia: to deal with foreign power carefully and be friend with all of them. Cambodia After the 1993 UN-backed election, as small and developing country, Cambodia turned around its foreign policy and welcomed the world for friendship, diplomatic relations, and cooperation. Cambodia has been perusing a very friendly foreign policy with its neighbors, other ASEAN states as well as world great and super powers. Close ties with the West were also soon established. In 1995 and 1995, the United States and Japan agreed to increase foreign aid and investment in Cambodia. Then in 1997, the military conflict between the two ruling political parties resulted in the prolonging of Cambodia admission into ASEAN and the termination of Western aid and investment. Cambodia again turned to Chinese both economic and political support. Having only China as friend is not the best option, Cambodia needed to make as many friends as possible including the West. So the new democratic election was organized in 1998 to please the Western states. The situation started to recover after the formation of coalition government in 1998. Relations with the West resumed. The European Union and Japan announced the reestablishment of economic link with the Kingdom again. In May 1999, finally, Cambodia was officially accepted as the latest member of ASEAN. This has opened way and opportunity for Cambodia to fully engage in regional economic and political conferences. The same year in June, there was a visit by Vietnamese Communist Party officials, and the two countries agreed to end border disputes. However, the tension between Cambodia and Thailand continued. Though the relation was still remain calm until an incident when rioters burned the Thai embassy and several Thai companies operating in Phnom Penh on 29th June, 2003 (Cambodia Foreign policy, 2003). Later the situation was controlled, and after the compensation was paid to Thailand side, the relations between the two countries were normalized. Until 2008, a new conflict erupted over the Preah Vihear Temple and border dispute. As a weaker and smaller country, Cambodia sought multilateral negotiation to settle the problem. Trying to send the case to the UN and ASEAN, the efforts were unsuccessful because Thailand is the close ally with the U.S., which is a member of the UN Security Council and holds veto power. Even worse, Thailand was in its term as the chairman of ASEAN. Cambodias relations with southern neighbor, Vietnam, have been complex but have gradually improved since the 1993 UN-sponsored election. Though, it is a very sensitive over the border issues between the tow countries. In late 2005 both sides ratified the Supplementary Treaty to the 1985 Treaty on the Delimitation of the State Border between Cambodia and Vietnam (Cambodia Foreign Relations, 2009). The planting of border markers began 2006 and are expected to be concluded by late 2008 On economic area, Cambodia experienced rapid growth of over a decade. Cambodia has liberalized its market. It welcomes foreign investment and promotes trade regionally and globally. In 2004, Cambodia also became the member of the WTO. Recognizing the importance of non-state actors, Cambodia also welcomes many of them in building the country. Cambodia is a member the International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Labor Organization (ILO), the World Health Organization (WTO) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Civil society has growth rapidly inside the country like Trade Union. The presence of MNC like KFC and other companies is the manifestation of fast growing economy and cultural and social integration to the outside world. Comparing to the past, the current international system is surely better and much more peaceful for Cambodia. To some extent, Cambodia can make a lot of decisions that benefit itself. Almost half a century and before 20 years ago, Cambodia was stuck in the middle of the Cold War, much of its decision was determined by the condition of that time international system. The game played by great powers now seems much more peaceful for Cambodia. Even China, as cited by Chinese official, see that Cambodian enjoy peace process is the example of the benefits of increased cooperation between the US and China (Cambodia slammed in the latest Wikileak Cables, 2010). Being friend with the major powers is the hard lesson Cambodia learn from the past when the country was divided into many fragments fighting internally. Each fraction was supported by different external players. Not only state actor, Cambodia also sees a lot of opportunity with the non-state actors. While listening to the INGOs and NGOs and gaining aids and support form them, the country seems very sensitive to any critics raised by those actors. Cambodia also seems to be more focus on economic policy for the countries development as a whole. Enjoying the peace with the remarkable economic growth for the last decade or so, the future of the Kingdom looks very promising. However, the dynamic of international arena is very certain. The rise of China power in global politics as well in region, even without apparent concern, Cambodia surely comprehends. Despite Cambodia seems to be enjoying internal sovereignty, Cambodia external action is still very limited by the fact that it is a small size with little population, and the governments budget is still rely on external loan and aid. While internal political landscape is changing, what Cambodia can do for now may just try to strengthen its intern al capability and hope that the current situation will last a bit longer.

Explain :: English Literature

Explain Explain what is happening in each of the following poems and compare and contrast the different ways in which they deal with the theme of sorrow. The first poem ‘Remember’ by Christina Rossetti is a late romantic, early Victorian sonnet, which is about someone who has passed away. ‘The chimney sweeper’ by William Blake, is written in 1740’s and is about a young child chimney sweep and his plight. ‘Remember’ is written in the narrative voice so that it seems as if the person who passed away is speaking. The poem talks about how the deceased person has gone to a calmer, more peaceful place and how you will no longer be able to touch or feel them again. ‘Gone far away†¦ hand.’ The first part of the poem is dark and mournful but because it is a sonnet it allows for a more optimistic and comforting turn after line eight. It tells people that there is a time for grief and a time to move on but that they should not feel any guilt. Christina Rossetti has written the poem so that it flows and sounds rather like a song. The mood of the poem is sombre and she repeats the word ‘remember’ throughout the sonnet. This reminds the reader what the focus of the poem is and gives it structure throughout it. It also emphasises the meaning of the poem. The poem deals with the theme of sorrow in the form of death. However it is not a dark poem and makes death not seem that bad. She uses the sonnet form so that in line 9 there is a shift. This creates a break in the poem. Up to line 9 the poem is about grief and sadness but then it shifts and becomes more philosophical. Christina Rossetti uses euphemistic language such as ‘darkness’ and ‘corruption’ to represent death. This creates depth and makes you think about the poem. She also uses metaphors in her euphemistic language such as ‘silent-land’, which represents Heaven. This poem would be used at funerals because it is written in a way that suggests the deceased person is talking. ‘The chimney sweeper’ is about a young boy who is sold as a chimney sweep. The poem tells of his sad story. William Blake uses narrative voice of a child so that it engages the reader. The rhyming in the poem makes it sound like a child is talking. Blake is trying to show the children as victims by showing how vulnerable and pathetic their cries are. ‘Cry weep, weep, weep’ He uses couplets and verses to

Hardware and Software Selection Essay

Accounting Cycle Description Paper An organization’s accounting information system includes collecting information then dividing the information into cycles. This paper will identify the five accounting cycles and specifically how Riordan Manufacturing uses the expenditure cycle. The strengths and weaknesses of the internal controls related to the expenditure cycle will be examined. This paper will explain how to integrate the expenditure cycle into an enterprise-wide accounting information system. The various types of information systems necessary to achieve this integration will be illustrated. Lastly, this paper will demonstrate the flow of accounting information through Riordan Manufacturing. Accounting Cycles The five accounting cycles are the revenue, expenditure, financing, fixed-asset, and conversion cycles. Each has its specific function within the accounting system. Almost every company uses the first four accounting cycles, not all will use the conversion cycle. As a company grows, it is important for management and employees to understand the reasons for each accounting cycle and ways the information needs to flow. The accounting cycles build upon each other. Without the revenue cycle, none of the other cycles would come into play. Once a company has revenue producing activities, the expenditure cycle is necessary to pay the bills incurred in producng the goods required for the revenue cycle. The financing cycle is necessary to give the company availability to purchase the necessary buildings and machinery for production along with making sure there are funds for the shareholders. The fixed-asset cycle records depreciation on the buildings and machinery along with the disposal of said items. The conversion cycle is important to manufacturing companies who use cost accounting to determine production costs. Table 1 (UOP, 2009),  explains each phase of the accounting cycle and what documents and ledger accounts are affected by that cycle. Source: University of Phoenix Week 1 â€Å"Read Me First† Riordan Manufacturing uses the expenditure cycle by generating purchase orders and receiving reports to track their purchases. Riordan then uses these documents to request payment for the purchases. Riordan uses HRIS to keep track of employee hours, pay rates, vacation and holiday time then uses this information to generate payroll checks. The company also has sales personnel who submit expense reports for reimbursement of expenses incurred during sales calls. Riordan Manufacturing uses purchasing and payroll records to determine the amount of taxes necessary to pay for sales tax, FICA, FUTA, SUTA and any other taxes due. Internal Controls In order to meet goals and objectives, organizations such as Riordan Manufacturing, establish internal controls. Internal control is the plan of organization and methods a business uses to safeguard assets, provide accurate and reliable information, promote and improve operational efficiency, and encourage adherence to prescribed managerial policies, laws, and regulations (UOP, 2009). In looking specifically at the expenditure cycle, Riordan Manufacturing has both strong and weak internal controls. Strengths include internal controls in operations and quality control. To ensure consistency of operations and quality control, Riordan Manufacturing manages receipts of raw materials, tracks product, and accounts for finished goods inventories. Internal controls include the sales department  completing the sales orders and entering them into customer shipping and billing system. Shipping then loads the sales orders and inventory clerk updates the inventory system based on those shipping documents. Another example is the production reports. They include a project name, document history including the revision date, approvals, and distribution. Project history data is archived in an approved location. However, weaknesses in Riordan Manufacturing’s human resource department are abundant. Employee files are kept by individual managers instead of by human resources in a central employee file area under lock and key. Changes to personal information such as name, marital status, and exemptions are submitted by employee managers which should be requested by employees not their managers. A third-party provider keeps its own records of employees on workers’ compensation but Riordan does not. Excel spreadsheets which include training and development records, applicant information, and individual compensation decisions are kept in unsecure areas and accessible to anyone . Enterprise-wide In order to integrate the expenditure cycle into an enterprise-wide accounting information system, Riordan management should examine the human resource department method of handling employee records. For instance, in an enterprise-wide system, the accounting information system should focus on four objectives including strategic, operations, reporting, and compliance. In order for a business process management system to be implemented, the managers of the company need to evaluate certain criteria of the human resource department which can affect the expenditure cycle. First, management needs to identify the objectives of the human resource department in regards to employee records. This has a direct impact on the strategic objective of the enterprise-wide system. Secondly, the input function needs to be reevaluated. For instance, since the company has four different branches, all input data should be on one method of input. This analysis and pending action would increase the operations function. Thirdly, output time would radically increase for all four branches. The types of output Riordan should consider are the compliance and reporting objectives of the enterprise-wide system. Furthermore, to have the expenditure cycle  implemented, this would decrease the amount of time that Riordan is taking to report expenses. Necessary Information Systems for Integration The various types of information systems necessary to achieve this integration would include analyzing the following: hardware, software, data, people, and procedures (Bagranoff, Simkin, and Strand, 2008.) Three types of controls necessary to keep in mind include preventive, detective, and corrective. The company has already established computer hardware for each of the four branches. In order to determine a software accounting program, the company needs to establish policies and procedures in regards to source documents. This has a direct impact on the data that is accumulated for the company. In order for payroll processing to take effect, personal action forms and employee payroll deduction authorization forms should be established. Riordan should consider a SOX Assurance and Compliance Application. Additionally, only managers should have access to company records. All records, electronic or hard copy should be kept in one central location, thus the use of privacy management information software. Furthermore, policies and procedures for all departments should be retained with a records management system. Flow of Accounting Information The flow of accounting information regarding inventory begins with a log of raw materials and shipping documents which are supervisor approved and taken to an inventory clerk who enters the information into the inventory system. Once entered into the inventory system, accounting personnel can pay supplier invoices. An inventory usage form is provided by the manufacturing staff to the inventory clerk to be entered into the inventory system which tracks raw materials and subassemblies. Manufacturing also provides the inventory clerk with an inventory form accounting for subassemblies and final products when added into the inventory system. In the final product shipping process, sales orders are created and entered into the customer shipping and billing system. Shipping prepares the loads according the sales order information generated and ships accordingly. Then accounting can prepare the invoice after matching the sales order with the inventory system which illustrates the goods shipp ed. Each of the three operating entities of Riordan Manufacturing has their own accounting system. Therefore the systems are not compatible which makes the consolidation of information at the corporate office difficult and labor intensive. Much information is conveyed via email and spreadsheets. Employee personal information changes are requested through a written form and are entered into the system by the payroll clerk. Conclusion The five accounting cycles in an organization’s accounting information system and specifically how Riordan Manufacturing incorporates the expenditure cycle into its system was explained. Strengths and weaknesses of Riordan’s internal controls related to the expenditure cycle were commented on. This paper explained how the expenditure cycle could be integrated into an enterprise-wide accounting information system. The various types of information systems necessary to achieve this integration were illustrated. Finally, the flow of accounting information through Riordan Manufacturing was demonstrated. References Apollo Group, Inc. (2006). Riordan Manufacturing. Accounting Information System 1 – overview. Retrieved March 11, 2009. ACC340-Accounting Information Systems Processing. https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan/RioMfgHome002.htm Bagranoff, N., & Simkin, M., & Strand, C., (2008). Core Concepts of Accounting Information Systems (10th ed.) [University of Phoenix Custom Edition E-text]. New York, NY: Wiley. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, ACC/340 Accounting Information System 1 Web site. University of Phoenix (2009). Week five overview. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from University of Phoenix, Week Five, rEsource. ACC340-Accounting Information Systems 1 Course Web site. University of Phoenix (2009). Week one overview. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from University of Phoenix, Week One, rEsource. ACC340-Accounting Information Systems 1 Course Web site.

Percy Julian Biography

WHENEVER PERCY JULIAN TOLD his friends about his life, and how he had overcome all the obstacles from his beginning as the grandson of a slave, born â€Å"at the corner of Jeff Davis Avenue and South Oak Street in Montgomery, Alabama, the Capital in the cradle of the confederacy,†1 to scientist, inventor, business leader, humanist, protagonist of human rights, he liked to illustrate this long arduous climb by Donald Adams' The Seventh Fold:My dear friends, who daily climb uncertain hills in the countries of their minds, hills that have to do with the future of our country and of our children, may I humbly submit to you, the only thing that has enabled me to keep doing the creative work, was the constant determination: Take heart! Go farther on! 2 This imperative, go on! , characterizes not only his life but his research, where each answer created at least two new questions and led to the exponential growth of science as Percy experienced it in his lifetime. With this growth, h e later realized the concomitant responsibility and questions of ethics.Percy Julian was born on April 11, 1899, the oldest of six children of James Sumner Julian, a railway mail clerk, and his wife, Elizabeth Lena Adams. Since 1976 his birthday has been a holiday for the Village of Oak Park, a fashionable suburb of Chicago where the Julian family has resided since 1950, initially under precarious conditions (the Julian home, the first in the neighborhood to be owned by a black family, was the victim of arsonists on Thanksgiving Day, 1950, and the target of a dynamite bomb on June 12, 1951), and where other famous people, such as Ernest Hemingway and Frank Lloyd Wright, had their residences.Because Percy's father was a federal employee, the family held a higher status than most blacks of that day. This advantage, and the fact that his well-read father had a great love for mathematics and philosophy, helped him on the way to a formal education. Clearly, his must have been â€Å"a mi nd forever voyaging through strange seas of thought† (Wordsworth), or â€Å"a restless curiosity about things which he cannot understand† (Pascal), but the cultural and, above all, religious tradition in his family provided not only a epository of substantive values, but also a coding device for new ideas and achievements. That â€Å"the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all practical wisdom† was taught him, and not in Latin, by his revered paternal great-grandfather. My children and my friends all know him as Grandpa Cabe because they've heard me speak about him so many times. My great-grandfather, with the rest of us that day, was singing in the cotton field, where we children, particularly Dr.James Julian, my next brother, and I were sent to my grandfather's farm to work during the summer. We were singing on that day a beautiful spiritual, â€Å"There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul. † â€Å"Grandpa Cabe,† I asked, â€Å"what's a balm in Gilead? † â€Å"Well, Sonny, you see, Gilead was a famous town in Israel for the manufacture of salves to heal wounds and sores,† he told me. â€Å"And they called these salves balms.Now one day Jeremiah was having a hard time trying to lead his people the right way. Everything was going wrong for Jeremiah, and he cried out in anguish, ‘Is there no balm in Gilead? ‘ You see, what he was saying was, ‘Ain't there no way out? ‘ I want you to know that, Sonny, because I believe there is always a way out. † It was then that I made my vow–that I would forever fight to keep hope alive because there is always a way out . . . . His optimism was one of the most pertinent lessons I learned as a youngster. Next t

38814718 Wk8 Laura Martin REPORT Essay

38814718 Wk8 Laura Martin REPORT Essay 38814718 Wk8 Laura Martin REPORT Essay FINS3625 APPLIED CORPORATE FINANCE Case Study Written Report Week 8 Valuation: Laura Martin Name Student Number % Contribution Signature Karen Chan z3242429 20 Yifeng Chen (Nino) z3283995 20 Tony Richardson z3253113 20 Weitao Wu (Tony) z3284666 20 Wendy (Wenyu) Yan z3241580 20 Multiples versus DCF analysis Multiples analysis is simple to understand and apply. The inputs for the multiple are publicly available, though are vulnerable to accounting manipulation. Also, it is difficult to obtain a truly comparable large sample of firms. Multiples analysis is backward-looking, reliant on historical/current data to obtain multiples. It reflects relative value rather than the intrinsic value which DCF valuation produces. DCF analysis generates an intrinsic value as it relies on data specific to the firm. DCF analysis factors in time value of money, and thus is a forward-looking measure. However, there is uncertainty in forecasting future revenues, especially for private firms and those firms that produce little or no cash flows. Assumptions of multiples analysis General assumptions of multiples analysis are that the other firms in the industry are comparable to the firm being valued. The market, on average, prices these firms correctly, but makes errors on the pricing of individual stocks. Exhibit 2 shows a selection of comparable firms, assuming that these firms have the same growth, risk and return as Cox Communications. There is also the assumption that financial fundamentals such as EBITDA are defined identically in all firms, with the same accounting methods and reporting periods. Exhibit 5 assumes a positive linear relationship between ROIC and the multiple Adjusted Enterprise Value/Average Invested Capital. Regression analysis and traditional multiples analysis – similarities and differences The two analyses both predict the underlying value of the firm. Also, both regression and multiples analyses reflect the past. The future value of the firm is obtained using historical inputs. Both analyses assume that firms in the same industry are comparable. Traditional multiples analysis is more arithmetic in its approach. It is based on finding the average multiple among comparable firms, and then applying it to the firm’s fundamentals. How accurate the valuation is depends on the degree of comparability of the firms in the industry. Regression analysis produces a statistical regression line of each comparable firm’s multiple against the fundamentals that affect the value of the multiple. The R-squared of the regression indicates how well that multiple works in the sector. After running the regression and establishing the multiple, then it is applied to fundamentals in order to arrive at a firm valuation price. Interpretation of regression results Martin’s regression results produced a higher share price of $50 (see A1), indicating that shares were currently undervalued and so Cox Communications does have growth potential. Martin’s heavy reliance on the projection of the ROIC value is troubling. The 0.8% seems to be an arbitrary numerical projection. Any inaccuracy in this projection would result in a misleading outcome. R-squared is 70%. The percentage variation in ROIC cannot be totally explained by the variation in Adj. EV/Ave. Invested Capital. However, it does tell us that ROICs are a substantive prediction of value. The linear relationship between ROIC and the multiple in the regression shows there is a strong relationship. Martin’s DCF analysis Martin’s weighted cost of equity is 10.5%. We have calculated the cost of equity to be 13.61% (see A2) using a levered beta and a risk premium calculated over a longer historical period. Using the synthetic rating method, after-tax cost of debt is 4.51% (see A3), which is close to Martin’s estimate. Thus, with a WACC of 12.53% the stock price becomes a more conservative $41.70 (see A4). Martin’s projected EBITDA growth of 16% seems high since her

Frank Fountain and Paula Banks; acquiring corporate power and influence.

Frank Fountain and Paula Banks; acquiring corporate power and influence. Free Online Research Papers Frank Fountain was born in 1944 in Brewton, Alabama. He grew up on a sharecropper farm in the segregated South and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Bengal, India, prior to attending business school. In 1973, after receiving his MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business, he joined the Chrysler Corporation as an investment analyst. After 20 years in the finance trenches, he accepted an assignment with the company’s Washington, D.C., government affairs office. He is now senior vice president of government affairs and president of the Chrysler Foundation. He is also a former president of the Executive Leadership Foundation and serves on the boards of Detroit’s Museum of African-American History, the United Way, and his alma maters. (Cobbs, Turnock 2007). As we observe others rise to higher levels of leadership, we ask ourselves How do they do it? (Glaser 2006) During his early years at Chrysler, Fountain noticed and asked about a relatively young man who had been appointed as CEO. Everyone he asked alluded to the young man’s close relationship with an important company executive. Fountain realized that he would probably never gain that level of personal support from such a high level executive so he developed a simple but very effective plan for building his own supportive peer relationships. I got together six or seven of us, all basically on the same level but in different finance departments. I had gotten to know them through work assignments, and I had confidence in them. I was the only black one. I thought by getting together and communicating, developing a tight-knit group of pretty smart people-I thought they were smart-we could leverage each other in a very informal but deft way.† (Cobbs, Turnock 2007). According to Fountain, the key was having people who you felt had potential and were ambitious but whose egos would allow them to be a part of and contribute to a team. Fountain developed relationships with these types of people during previous assignments of his own. Having the ability to share information and push each other raised the performance level of everyone in the group. As the old saying goes, It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. (Anonymous) Fountain realized this very early on and began networking as early as high school. â€Å"I viewed everybody the same, and my relationships were genuine with all of the people. I wasnt identified with the elite group or the regular folks. I was me, not that the elite would ever have considered me one of theirs. I wrote my own speeches, I didnt have the teachers help me the way some of my opponents did. I was the junior and senior class president and then student council president. (Cobbs, Turnock 2007) Paula A. Banks was born 1950 in Chicago, Illinois. She began her career with Sears, Roebuck and Co. in 1972 as a management trainee and rapidly rose through the store-management hierarchy. In 1975, she accepted a special human resources assignment and discovered her talent for sensitive people issues. In 1989, she was named president of the Sears Foundation. After 24 years, she left to join Amoco as the president of its Foundation. When Amoco merged with BP two years later, she parlayed her expertise into a demanding new position. Now based in London, she is senior vice president, Social Strategy and Policy, and president of The BP Foundation. She works to advance the integration of business objectives with social issues on a global scale, partnering with more than 155 BP business unit leaders operating in over 100 countries on six continents. (Cobbs, Turnock 2007) Banks began as a management trainee at Sears and did well early on in her management roles. Eventually she accepted several extremely delicate labor relations assignments relying on promises that she would be able to return to line management. One day she got a call and was asked if she would like to become a part of the employee and labor relations team. She was the only person of color and just the second woman to ever fill this job in the company. Banks found out about six months into the job that all the males on the staff begged the boss to get rid of her. â€Å"Instead-and I give this guy lots of credit-he gave me the responsibility for those states where we had the biggest contracts to negotiate. I had Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the largest automotive service centers. And I was only twenty-seven years old. (Cobbs, Turnock 2007). Acquiring power and becoming a successful executive requires the use of all your skills and resources. You are unlikely to receive key assignments unless you have worked hard and proven yourself capable and efficient. â€Å"The distinction between the leader and others is not a gender distinction. Women can rise to leadership positions, as long as they understand how.† (Glaser 2006) When BP and Amoco merged, Paula Banks received an assignment she didnt want, the BP Amoco Foundation. According to Banks, she had to accept it because they offered it to her in a public forum with other people around. She immediately went to her boss and voiced her dissatisfaction with the decision. Her boss told her that the only other available option was an assignment that would require a move to London which he didn’t think she would want. Banks, intent on making her own decisions, accepted the latter assignment and moved to London. Both men and women face similar challenges every day in the pursuit of corporate power and influence. How do we bring our ideas to the forefront without stepping all over our peers? Showcasing our talents in a corporate America that overflows with talented executives is a challenge that does not discriminate based on gender. Fountain and Banks both exhibit the We-Centric behavior and mindset and built mutually beneficial relationships with other like-minded executives within their industries. References: Price M. Cobbs , Judith L. Turnock; Cracking the Corporate Code The Revealing Success Stories of 32 African-American Executives Anonymous (n.d.). Putting Power to Work. Retrieved January 30, 2008 at: csupomona.edu/~msharifzadeh/chapter8.html Judith E Glaser (2006, March). Power and Influence. Leadership Excellence, 23(3), 16. Retrieved February 3, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1013751031). Research Papers on Frank Fountain and Paula Banks; acquiring corporate power and influence.Hip-Hop is ArtStandardized TestingNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceTwilight of the UAWResearch Process Part OneOpen Architechture a white paperThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug Use19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraBringing Democracy to AfricaEffects of Television Violence on Children

Academic Achievement Of Children And Young People Education Essay

Academic Achievement Of Children And Young People Education Essay For my dissertation topic, I decided to focus on the area of ‘academic achievement of children and young people in care’, and try to discover if looked-after children and young people are being failed by the system. I became interested in this area as I have came across many different reports from various agencies and also from the media that education of young people in public care is a cause for concern. For me to do my literature review I will carry-out research from different academic articles which is relevant to my dissertation title, I will describe and analyse the knowledge which exists within these articles which will help me identify the scope and key issues surrounding my title. With reference to Jackson and Simon 2005, ‘Children who grow up in local authority care, ‘looked-after’ under the Children Act 1989, are 4 times more likely than others to require the help of mental health services; 9 times more likely to have special needs requirin g assessment, support or therapy; 7 times more likely to misuse alcohol or drugs; 50 times more likely to wind up in prison; 60 times more likely to become homeless, and 66 times more likely to have children needing public care’. These are all huge issues which do affect individuals in the public care sector. One way to overcome many of these problems is ‘education’, if these individuals were getting the right educational outcomes and qualifications it would provide them with a better quality of adult life. ‘Each step up the educational ladder is associated with improvements in health, both mental and physical; employment, income, housing, family life, absence of additional problems and lower risk of involvement with the criminal justice system’, (Jackson and Simon, 2005). Jackson and Mc Parlin 2006, ‘argue that the poor outcomes for individuals who have spent time in care as children can be confidently linked to educational failure, and that t he care and education systems must bear a heavy responsibility for this’. Pre-care experiences can play a massive part in depressing attainment, but also the outcome of certain experiences when children get removed from their families can cause a huge impact in their lives. ‘Teachers often know nothing or very little of the child’s history and the training they receive do not equip them to understand the care system or to manage the behaviour of looked-after children, (Comfort, 2004). Pithouse et al 2002, accept that ‘carers urgently need more training and support, including advice from psychologists, but point out that the overused term ‘challenging behaviour’ obscures a wide variety of problems arising from the children’s previous experience of life in chaotic and neglectful households and the uncertainties and disappointments associated with being in care’. Many children entering care, do so over the age of 10, and may only be spending a short time in care. ‘Consequently, a child’s pre-care experience is one of the most important influences on their journey through care’ Hannon et al 2010. No matter what background a child in care has, they must be giving the same chance as any other child to make the most of their talents and potential. For this to be achieved schools can help by boosting a child’s health and well-being, by mounting self confidence and self esteem, as educational outcomes are powerfully influenced by a child’s emotional, mental and physical health.

STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT - Essay Example This paper will discuss the human resource management within the Coca-Cola Company. It will analyze in detail their recruitment and selection procedures, and their training and development program. Coca-Cola is an international beverage manufacturer that was started in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton (The Coca-Cola Company, 2015, retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/history/ ). It manufacturers more than 500 brands and has managed to expand into about 200 countries and serves 1.6 billion people daily (The Coca-Cola Company, 2015, retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/history/ ). The company’s success has occurred due to their devoted employees. Their human resource management department is very effective in terms of ensuring that the employees work to the standards set by the company. Coca-Cola’s success is grounded in the policies and cultures that have been developed by their HRM (Bell, 2004, p.176). Recruitment refers to any activity that an organization carries out in an aim to identify and attract potential employees (Still, 2006, p. 12). The main aim of the recruitment exercise is to attract qualified applicants to an available vacancy. Selection is the process of choosing the best applicant and offering them the job. It involves different forms of interviews, exercises, presentations and can also include a psychometric test. This paper will source information on recruitment and selection from the Coca-Cola’s website, written literature and interviews with employees working for the company. Coca-Cola values this role of the organization since it creates the first contact between them and their employee. For them to attract the best employees, the company advertises any vacancies on newspapers, their website, and other employer-employee platforms. The company website being the major and first-hand vacancy advertiser has an easy to use portal where interested people

Migration and the Children of Haiti Dissertation

Migration and the Children of Haiti - Dissertation Example In the current setting, migration has been occurring due to a variety of reasons, some of these being personal life choices, and other reasons based on economic necessity. Regardless of reasons however, its impact on the migrants has always been considered significant, bringing forth both negative and the positive impacts on these migrants. Among children, such impact has even been more significant because of their vulnerabilities and adjustment requirements. This paper shall discuss the impact of migration on the children of Haiti, including the social, economic, psychological, and educational burdens and benefits which migration has brought to these children. Body Throughout the years, millions of Haitians have migrated to other countries, mostly in North America, including the Dominican Republic, United States, Cuba, Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas, France, Turkey, Jamaica, Venezuela, Brazil, and Puerto Rico. There are about 1.2 million Haitians in the US, about 200,000 in Canada, and one million in the Dominican Republic (Wassem, 2003, p. 1). Some of these Haitians have left their children in Haiti while they have left their home country to seek better fortunes. Their reasons for migrating have mostly revolved around political oppression, economic difficulties, limited opportunities, and similar socio-economic issues. Last year’s January 7.0 magnitude earthquake which devastated the country sent even more Haitians out of their homeland. In the US, the Department of Homeland Security was prompted to extend the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians arriving in the US prior to the earthquake (Zissis, 2010). After this declaration, the DHS also declared humanitarian parole to Haitian orphans, allowing them to enter the US under emergency conditions for the administration of medical care (Zissis, 2010). About 500 of these orphans were granted refuge in the US because of this parole; those with appropriate papers issued by the Haitian government were all owed to be put up for adoption. The disaster in Haiti has caused the widespread migration of many Haitians including their children. Such migration has impacted in various ways on these children. The impact of migration on children is seen in a variety of ways. It is seen in Haitian children migrating to another country or region, and it is also seen in children left behind. This paper shall consider both types of children. Among Haitian children migrating to other countries, most of the effects of migration is seen in terms of psychosocial issues, including education, health, birth registration, and risk for child labor and child trafficking (Bakker, Elings-Pels and Reis, 2009, p. 10). In relation to psychosocial issues, there is a risk for migrant Haitian children to feel alienated from other children, including adult children due to their migrant status. Moreover, the risk of insecurity and depression is also significant among these children. Social workers in Haiti express how t he children migrants often feel psychological distress due to their status as migrants in other countries (Bakker, et.al., 2009, p. 10). Their comparative conditions in relation to their deplorable economic conditions impact negatively on their overall wellbeing as children. Haitian children represent â€Å"a significant vulnerable group, in fact 8% of Haitian immigrants are under the age of 14 and 21% between 15 and 24† (Bakker, et.al., 2009, p. 10). In effect, they are in the age where they have not fully developed adequate means of independent living; as such, they are prompted to endure even more deplorable economic conditions. In relation to education, migrant children in Haiti are often made to face hardships due to language barriers, stigmatization, and ridicule among other native children, leading to

Attack Prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Attack Prevention - Essay Example he information in the computer is not secure, this is because it is susceptible to people who hack the software’s and access the information .The ones responsible for hacking the computer today, are believed to have bad intentions of manipulating other peoples information stored in the computer. The core reason for the article is to inform home users on how criminals are on rise to involve them in fraud and data theft with an aim of getting wealth through their criminal activities of hacking other peoples software’s. The article refers from an article that is online from Cyber Media India Online Ltd, that claims that home users are always at high risk due to poor security measures in place and thus become victims at all times. It also suggests on the use of malicious code as a way of attacking desktop software’s and web browsers. The article also offers some techniques on how the home users can put home security measures to curb malicious networks and application dealings (Chou, 2014). The page was written by an organization and the author is unclearly identified and I think the identification of the author to miss is purposeful. The author of the article is affiliated to the organization because he/she has written on the topic related to the aim of the organization which is to inform the public about the criminal acts by the hackers of software’s. The page where the article is written does not give a link that is blank for one to comment or ask questions regarding the article (Chou, 2014) This is a scholarly site and the author is writing towards achieving the goals of the site but not to sell the information. The article tries to inform about various mechanism that can be used as prevention measures to avoid fraud and theft of data. It is very easy to identify a specific point of view in this article. The site targets the scholars and at the same time, the general public. The main objective of the site is to inform and educate both the general public

Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Law - Assignment Example Thus the issues of racial profiling and discrimination are intimidating although Joe was arrested for â€Å"interfering with official police conduct†. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution challenges racial profiling and guarantees the safety of U.S. citizens from unreasonable search and seizure without probable cause (Weitzer and Tuch). Those in the enforcement community opposed to racial profiling term the practice unfortunate if ethnic and racial profiling is considered effective and necessary. Although the supporters of this practice content that due to socio-economic and demographic factors crime is reported highly in some communities that feel as a minority, and therefore the profiling cannot be avoided, lest the crime persist. Fundamentally, the case United States v. City of Los Angeles, the United States alleged that the Board of Police Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Police Department (â€Å"LAPD†) engaged in the practice of depriving individuals of constitutional rights by using excessive force, false arrests, improper searches and seizures, all in violation of 14141 42 U.S.C. 14141. From the support of the some officers and a number of community groups and individuals, especially being people of color that attested to have suffered the injustices, formed the basis of the suit against the City defendants. The court on the basis of permissive intervention held that the community interveners had a right of a proposed government decree. Furthermore, it required that the City defendants shall seek declaratory relief from the district court to resolve the issue. Despite Joe’s harassment and eventual arrest for â€Å"interfering with official police conduct†, the police department overlooks the practice terming Officer Jones’s actions as well with official duties. Instead of the authorities being objective about the case, their support for the racial –profiling is unethical; and furthermore

Music and Soundscapes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Music and Soundscapes - Research Paper Example That simply illustrates the power of the musical score, or the music that is played in the background of a scene as action takes place (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). The clip from the film â€Å"The Mask,† benefitted most from the power of sound effects. In general, rompy comedy clips do use a lot of exaggerated sound effects to enhance the humor in the scene and basically, to cue the laughter from the audience. The sound effects from the clip no doubt exaggerated the aspects of the scene but in a good way. The last category of sound is dialogue. This is simply the conversation that goes on among, and sometimes within, the characters (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). In my opinion, this is also the part that turns off most men from â€Å"chick flicks,† with the clip from â€Å"When Harry Met Sally† to stress my point (Ladies, we get enough of that from you at home so imagine what two hours of that will do to

Attack Prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Attack Prevention - Essay Example he information in the computer is not secure, this is because it is susceptible to people who hack the software’s and access the information .The ones responsible for hacking the computer today, are believed to have bad intentions of manipulating other peoples information stored in the computer. The core reason for the article is to inform home users on how criminals are on rise to involve them in fraud and data theft with an aim of getting wealth through their criminal activities of hacking other peoples software’s. The article refers from an article that is online from Cyber Media India Online Ltd, that claims that home users are always at high risk due to poor security measures in place and thus become victims at all times. It also suggests on the use of malicious code as a way of attacking desktop software’s and web browsers. The article also offers some techniques on how the home users can put home security measures to curb malicious networks and application dealings (Chou, 2014). The page was written by an organization and the author is unclearly identified and I think the identification of the author to miss is purposeful. The author of the article is affiliated to the organization because he/she has written on the topic related to the aim of the organization which is to inform the public about the criminal acts by the hackers of software’s. The page where the article is written does not give a link that is blank for one to comment or ask questions regarding the article (Chou, 2014) This is a scholarly site and the author is writing towards achieving the goals of the site but not to sell the information. The article tries to inform about various mechanism that can be used as prevention measures to avoid fraud and theft of data. It is very easy to identify a specific point of view in this article. The site targets the scholars and at the same time, the general public. The main objective of the site is to inform and educate both the general public

Music and Soundscapes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Music and Soundscapes - Research Paper Example That simply illustrates the power of the musical score, or the music that is played in the background of a scene as action takes place (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). The clip from the film â€Å"The Mask,† benefitted most from the power of sound effects. In general, rompy comedy clips do use a lot of exaggerated sound effects to enhance the humor in the scene and basically, to cue the laughter from the audience. The sound effects from the clip no doubt exaggerated the aspects of the scene but in a good way. The last category of sound is dialogue. This is simply the conversation that goes on among, and sometimes within, the characters (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). In my opinion, this is also the part that turns off most men from â€Å"chick flicks,† with the clip from â€Å"When Harry Met Sally† to stress my point (Ladies, we get enough of that from you at home so imagine what two hours of that will do to

Drug Addiction Essay Example for Free

Drug Addiction Essay This essay will outline the main points for an addict and will serve as a guide for an addict or family of an addict. Addictions are very dangerous for a person, emotionally, psychologically, and physically. There three main points to an addiction, the actual addiction and the symptoms, the addiction cycle (downhill spiral), and how to treat or where to treat an addiction. This essay will hopefully outline the main points for an addict and will hopefully serve as a guide for an addict or family of an addict. Addiction Addiction is defined as an overuse of any substance that changes the natural chemical balance of the brain. Most addiction specialists agree that addiction includes biological, psychological, and behavioral factors. There are many opinions as to what causes an individual to become susceptible to drug addiction. Many believe there are underlying physical and mental issues that contribute to developing an addiction. There are many different causes of addiction. Regardless of how or why an addiction began, there is a definite cycle of addiction that many individuals get trapped in. This addiction cycle is often referred to as the downward spiral. Breaking the addiction cycle can be a long and difficult process, depending on the nature of the addiction. There are many different types of addiction. An addiction can be developed by anyone; it is not reserved for certain personality types, social standing, or career fields. The best defense and recovery tool against addiction is education. Individuals caught up in the addiction cycle often try to hide or disguise their addictive behavior. They even try to hide the addiction from themselves. There are certain types of behavior that can assist a loved one or family member in identifying drug addiction. Once the drug addiction is identified, it is important that someone confront or intervene with the individual suffering from the addiction. Drug Addiction Cycle A cycle, simply put, means something that goes around and around like the wheels on a bike, or a brightly painted carnival carousel. Cycles can be a positive thing such as the annual review and raise that one might receive at work, or they can be negative. When is a cycle a negative or dangerous pursuit? When it threatens to destroy a quality life. If the Earth does not have snow and rain in the winter season, it dehydrates and is parched in the summer. It starves and so do we. If the wheels on the bike stop moving, the bike and rider fall over. If an addict cannot break free from the destructive and life threatening patterns of drug and alcohol addiction, they and/or others may suffer and die needlessly and harshly. The cycle of drug addiction never has a positive outcome and all efforts should be made to achieve a healthy, productive and long-term recovery from this dark and sinister downward spiral. To recreate a new pattern of living from a torn path will be the greatest and most empowering inner expedition an addict will ever encounter. The first step is to truly want it†¦so sincerely that a person can think of little else other than getting clean. It may be for oneself, a loved one or better yet a combination of both. Unfortunately, the reality of the addiction cycle and breaking free from its grip, is not that uncomplicated. Breaking free can be a very difficult process with occasional periods of personal let down, but this fact cannot in any way be allowed to discourage those seeking freedom from drug addictions. A person’s body, in almost every aspect of its being, is addicted when one is a mild to chronic user and abuser. The nervous system, brain, and muscle tissue are all living in anticipation of the next high. So, for the addict, it is crucial that the cycle of behavior, is broken. The addict needs to pull up the anchor that keeps them from moving forward. This means changing environments, patterns and even sometimes friends and social associates. Once an addict has made the personal commitment to change old habits, the next step is to establish new, safe and positive influences in their life. These can be found in quality support groups, hospital substance abuse centers and drug rehab centers. No matter what the setting, it is important to be around strangers. Being in proximity to familiar places and people may promote the tendency to fall back into old thoughts and behaviors. Of the aforementioned options, private drug rehabilitation retreats seem to be gaining popularity, in part, due to the impressive success rate they boast. What parents should know about drug addiction Drug and substance abuse among children, especially teens, is substantial. According to the most recent statistics available, (http://www. nationalyouth. com) 1. million of our youth age 12 to 17 meet the diagnostic criteria for dependence on drugs and approximately 1 million of our American youth (http://www. drugabusestatistics. samhsa. gov/) are being treated for alcohol dependency. Although these statistics may be surprising, there are many things that parents can/should know about the prevention of drug addiction including how to recognize the signs/symptoms of drug/alcohol addiction and what they can do to help their child once a problem has been recognized. Studies have shown that parents are often the first line of defense in the prevention of drug addiction. Numerous public service commercial announcements advertise parents as â€Å"the anti-drug. † Parents need to understand that ignorance is not bliss. Parents need to be well armed with the facts on prevention and treatment. Parents need to spend quality time with their children and be open to discussions on drugs and alcohol. Parents need to know who their child’s friends are, where they are going, what they are doing, etc. Parents need to make their expectations very clear and establish that they will not tolerate drug use of any kind. If all of these factors are utilized, children will be less likely to use drugs. It is also important that parents educate themselves about the types of drugs currently available. Although some of the standard drugs (drugs that may have been popular while the parent was a youth) are still around (marijuana, LSD, etc) there are also a number of new drugs that are very popular with today’s youth such as the inhalants (huffing). Conduct research on the Internet or attend a local community meeting regarding substance abuse. There are three categories of substance abuse: Use: The occasional use of drugs without developing tolerance of withdrawal symptoms when not in use. Abuse: The continued used of drugs even while knowing that the continued use is creating problems socially, physically or psychologically. Dependence: Where three of the following factors must be present: the substance is taken in large amounts over longer periods of time; their child has an everlasting desire for the substance and has been unable to control their use; child may suffer from repeated periods of intoxication or detoxification; child continues to use even though the substance is causing problems; and the child takes more of the substance in order to relieve any withdrawal symptoms they may be experiencing. It is important for parents to note that different substances lend themselves to different groups of drug addiction symptoms. In all cases however, the most visible symptom is a radical change in behavior. If a parent suspects that their child is abusing drugs, consult with a personal physician or pediatrician, an educational consultant whose expertise is this area, an addiction therapist or a drug counselor. These professionals will help the parents assess the situation and seek the proper addiction treatment. How to Find a Drug Rehab Center The first step is to contact a Doctor or a health professional. They will be able to point a person in the direction of a good drug rehab center. It is important that they be consulted with since they know the person and a bit about their history. They also might know and understand the addiction, and therefore be able to direct the addict to a drug rehab center that can cater to specific needs. If this option does not work, try to talk to local authorities that deal with drug addiction treatment. Most places that deal in mental health or in health practices will know exactly where to find good drug rehab centers. Free clinics and walk-in addiction counseling services, will have a lot of information regarding drug rehab centers. Another place to look for drug addiction treatment is the Yellow Pages. Researching on the internet might get you more information about the drug rehab centers a person is thinking about going to. There are also many online drug rehab referral services that can assist a people in making a decision. No matter how a person goes about finding a drug rehab center, there are important things that have to be kept in mind while doing so. Does the rehab center deal with this particular drug addiction? What are the costs and are they affordable? Is this particular facility covered by insurance? Is it covered by Medicaid? In addition, keep in mind that there are many state and government drug rehab centers that are available at no cost. These might be a big help as the cost of recovery is expensive. Another very important thing to keep in mind, are the services that the drug rehab center provides. Do they have in patient services as well as out patient services? Do they have counseling sessions that one can attend after the in-patient treatment is completed? Do they have information that they can give the patient/ family to read, and do they have any services for the addict’s family and loved ones? Make sure to find out about the staff to patient ratio, and how much time is going to spent at the drug rehab center. Most importantly, one should seek a drug rehab center where one can feel safe and comfortable. An addict is going to make the most progress in a place where they feel at ease and can be themselves. Recovery is a long and hard road, and if it is done in an environment where a person can feel the most comfortable, and just be themselves, they are going to be the most successful. Getting help for an addiction is something that is not easy, but a drug rehab center is a place where it might all seem to be a little bit less difficult.

Analysis of VP28 Gene in White Spot Syndrome Virus Infection

Analysis of VP28 Gene in White Spot Syndrome Virus Infection Temporal analysis of VP28 gene in White spot syndrome virus infected fresh water crabs Chiin Nei Chinga, Mansi Parihara, R. Sudhakaranb* aSchool of Bioscience and Technology, VIT University, Vellore – 632 014, Tamil Nadu, India. *bAssistant professor, SBST, VIT University, Vellore – 632 014, Tamil Nadu, India. ABSTRACT Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Disease emergence is a concern in wild fisheries due to environmental pressures, the direct impact of human activities and the risk of pathogens spread from aquaculture. Common viruses are Taura syndrome virus (TSV), white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), and the necrotizing hepato pancreatitis bacterium (NHP-B). The White Spot Syndrome Virus is the most economically devastating viral pathogen to global shrimp aquaculture production and has been proposed to be capable of infecting all decapod crustaceans. WSSV is an enveloped ellipsoid virus, which belongs to the genus Whispovirus of the family Nimaviridae. VP28 is one of its major envelope proteins, and plays a crucial role in viral infection. In this study, the proteins of the infected crab were purified using SDS page and then Western Blotting was performed to extract that particular protein. The VP28 protein will appear as specific bands in the blot. Keywords:Â  Aquaculture, White spot syndrome virus, VP28, SDS-Page, Western blotting. 1. INTRODUCTION White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is one of the major shrimp pathogen that causes a high mortality rate of 90-100% within 3-10 days of infection (Lightner, 1996). Natural WSSV infections have been found in captured and cultured specimens of the mud crab. WSSV is an enveloped ellipsoid virus, which belongs to the genus Whispovirus of the family Nimaviridae. In addition, WSSV can also infect a wide range of hosts including both decapod and non-decapod animals with more than hundred species described to date. So far, the genome from three different WSSV isolates has been sequenced. Sequence analysis showed that WSSV contains approximately 500 putative open reading frames (ORFs), most of which have no homology with any known genes or proteins in public databases. Till now, more than 50 structural and non-structural proteins were identified. Tools such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nested PCR, originally developed by Lo etal., have been widely used and recommended by the Office of International Epizootics (OIE) to be used as standard diagnostic methods for the detection of WSSV. Despite their excellence in specificity and sensitivity, these methods were not suited in some circumstances due to their complications, the requirement of thermal cycler, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. Moreover, the classical agarose gel electrophoresis with ethidium bromide staining, following the visualization under the ultraviolet (UV) transilluminator required to analyze the result of PCR products. Western blotting identifies with specific antibodies proteins that have been separated from one another according to their size by gel electrophoresis. The blot is a membrane of nitrocellulose or PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride). The gel is placed next to the membrane and application of an electrical current induces the proteins in the gel to move to the membrane where they adhere. The membrane is then a replica of the gel’s protein pattern, and is subsequently stained with an antibody. Therefore, these features could be limited their applications, particularly in the resource-limited areas and non-laboratory environments such as at the pond or station sites. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1. Tissue homogenate preparation: Gills, muscle, hepato pancreas and Head soft tissue from the crab infected with WSSV were homogenized in 1:10 suspension with NTE Buffer. It was then freeze and thaw for three times then centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 5min. The supernatant were collected separately in a tube and stored at -20Â °C. This supernatant was used for protein analysis. 2.2. Protein estimation: Lowry’s method was performed for the estimation of protein in order to know its concentrations (Lowry et al., 1951). 2% sodium carbonate in 0.1N sodium hydroxide (Reagent A) 0.5% copper sulphate in 1% potassium sodium tartrate (Reagent B) Alkaline copper solution: Mixed 50 ml of solution A and 1 ml of B prior to use (reagent C) Folin Ciocalteau reagent (Reagent D) Protein standard stock: 50 mg of bovine serum albumin (fraction V) was weighed and dissolved in distilled water and made up to 50 ml (1 mg/ml) Working standard- diluted 1ml of stock solution to 5 ml with distilled water. (200 Â µg of protein/ml). 2.3. SDS-PAGE: SDS-PAGE is currently used to determine the molecular masses, and also to investigate the subunit composition and the domain structure of proteins. TAE Buffer (1X) was poured in tank which maintain the temperature and pH of the gel. Gel was prepared and protein sample is mixed with bromophenol blue which act as a tracking dye. Then it was loaded into the well and electric current of 50V is applied into the tank which is later on increase to 100V when the dye contacts the resolving gel. When the dye reach the end of the resolving gel it was taken out and stain with the help of Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 (methanol-50 ml, distilled water 40 ml, glacial acetic acid 10 ml) for 1 hour and de-stain the gel by immersing in the de-staining solution (65 ml of distilled water, methanol 10 ml and 25 ml of glacial acetic acid). 2.4. Western blotting: Transferring of the protein into a membrane The membrane can be either nitrocellulose or PVDF. PVDF requires activation with methanol for one minute and is then rinsed with transfer buffer before preparing the stack. After stacking, the electro transfer is carried out for 90 minutes at a constant current of 150 mA set by maintaining the voltage at maximum. Transfer to the membrane and checked using Ponceau Red staining before the blocking step. (PVDF cannot be stained). After ponceau staining, wash the nitrocellulose membrane with TBST for 1 min at room temperature. Blocking and Antibody incubation Block the membrane for 1 hour at room temperature in blocking buffer (10 % milk in TBST). After blocking, incubate the membrane in primary antibody (1:1000 dilutions) in 2.5% milk in TBST overnight at 4Â °C. Wash the membrane for three washes using TBST for 5 minutes each. Incubate the membrane with secondary antibody (1:2000 dilutions) in 2.5% milk in TBST at room temperature for 1 hour. Wash the membrane in three washes of TBST, 5 minutes each. Add ECL reagent (Solution A and B in 1:1 ratio) on to the membrane and spread it thoroughly on to it using a pipette. Remove the excess reagent and place the membrane on to the x-ray cassette and expose to x ray film in the dark room. An initial 10 sec exposure should indicate the proper exposure time because due to the kinetics of the detection reaction, signal is most intense immediately following incubation and declines over the following 2 hrs. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1. SDS-PAGE: Fig.1 SDS-PAGE which shows different bands under white light. Lane 1- Gill; Lane 2- HST; Lane 3- Muscle; Lane 4-Hepatopancreas. The polypeptides of purified virus were resolved by SDS-PAGE using discontinuous buffer system. In 12.5% acrylamide gel, the purified virus yielded different polypeptides base on their molecular mass in which lower molecular weight will elute faster as compared to those having higher molecular weight, which were Visualized on Coomassie brilliant blue R 250 staining. 3.2. Western blotting: Fig 2. Western blotting Viral polypeptides separated by SDS-PAGE were electrophoretically transferred to nitrocellulose membrane (0.22 ÃŽ ¼m) in transfer buffer (192 mM glycine, 25 mM Tris and 20% methanol, pH 8.3), at 0.8 mA/cm2for 1 h. it was later on view by using film to visualize the relative abundance of proteins Discussion By performing SDS-PAGE, (fig.1) we can determined the different molecular weight of polypeptide. The difference in the number of the polypeptide may be attributing due to the difference in concentration of the resolving and other physical conditions. The western blot analysis of proteins of semi-purified white spot syndrome virus separated on 12.5% gel (fig.2) showed different number of immunogenic proteins based on its molecular weight. Out of these, those proteins, which stained more intensely, were considered as major immunogenic proteins. However, further studies are needed to establish its immunogenic nature and feasibility for its use as vaccine. Because electrophoretic separation of proteins is always carried out under denaturing conditions, the problem of solublization, aggregation and co-precipitation of target proteins with adventitious proteins are eliminated. REFERENCES [1] Lowry, O. H., N. J. Rosebrough, A. L. Farr and R. J. Randall (1951): Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J. Biol. Chem., 193(1), 265-275. [2] van Hulten, M. C., J. Witteveldt, S. Peters, N. Kloosterboer, R. Tarchini, M. Fiers, H. Sandbrink, R. K. Lankhorst and J. M. Vlak (2001): The white spot syndrome virus DNA genome sequence. Virology, 286(1), 7-22. [3] Seetang-Nun Y, Jaroenram W, Sriurairatana S, Suebsing R, Kiatpathomchai W (2013)Â ­: Visual detection of white spot syndrome virus using DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles as probes combined with loop-mediated isothermal amplification. Mol Cell Probes, 27(2):71-9. [4] Maurice Pagano (1999): Application of electrophoresis and related methods, such as western blotting and zymography to the study of some proteins and enzymes. Analytica Chimica Acta, 83(1–2): 119–125. [4] Lightner, D. V. (1996): A Handbook of Shrimp Pathology and Diagnostic Procedures for Diseases of Cultured Penaeid Shrimp. World Aquaculture Society.

John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums Essay -- John Steinbeck The Chrysa

John Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums The Chrysanthemums is a story that takes place in the Salinas Valley of California. The story's main character is Elisa Allen. Elisa is thirty-five years old. She is a character that goes through development and many changes in the story. Throughout the story Elisa Allen goes through both physical and mental changes." In the beginning of the story Elisa is strong and eager"). She is working in her garden. Her husband Henry comes over to see her and asks her if she would like to go to town for dinner and a movie. Elisa becomes all happy when Henry asks her to do this. Elisa tells Henry that she would like to go to town. "She said she would like to go to town with him like she really didn't get to spend much time with him". Elisa's mental attitude changes once again when the man tells her that he wants to give the chrysanthemum seeds to a lady that he sees during his trip. When Elisa heard what the man wanted to do " she ran excitedly along the geranium bordered path to the back of the house" . She was running to get a flower pot to put the chrysanthemum seeds in. The man left with the flower pot and Elisa was very happy. Elisa was really happy when she left with her husband to go to town. This didn't last very long. Her whole attitude changed when she saw what the man had done with the chrysanthemum seeds. They had all been thrown on the side of the road. The man just left with the flower pot. Elisa had felt really hurt when s...

To Kill a Mocking Bird Newspaper Project -- To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

Today in Maycomb County, there was a trail against a local African American man named â€Å"Tom Robinson.† He was accused for raping and beating up a white girl named â€Å"Mayella.† His lawyer is â€Å"Atticus Finch† is facing off against â€Å"Mr. Gilmer† the district attorney. Judge Taylor, appears to be sleeping through out the trial, yet pays attention and tends to chew his cigar. The supposed crime occurred in Mayella’s home, when Tom Robinson went to fix something and then he raped her. Atticus calls up his first witness, â€Å"Bob Ewell.† He asked questions like â€Å"Would you ever beat your daughter?† and â€Å"Where you on the night of the crime?† Bob Ewell answered that he never has beaten his daughter and was somewhere else at the time of the crime. After that, he asked Bob to write his name, and Atticus not...

Developing, Using Organising Resources Within the lifelong Learning Sector Essay

1. Understand the purpose and use of resources 1.1 Explain the purpose of resources in teaching and learning Different types of resources are used in lifelong learning process so that the knowledge of the learners can be practiced and their learning can be progressed. The learners’ level of understanding and the areas they find difficult can be assessed and identified by providing them with the resources. Moreover, the learners with learning difficulties can be provided with differentiated tasks and additional support by providing resources. The additional explanations that are not explained by me during the class can be provided to students in detail by giving them resources. Also, a vital role is played by the resources in avoiding bias and in increasing focus in the process of learning. The main advantage of utilizing resources in the learning process is that it will make the learners actively engaged in the learning activity as the tasks provided by the resources are planned interactively. Utilising the resources in the process of learning enables learners to develop their learni ng skills and achievements. Expertise knowledge of the tutors can also be developed as preparing materials for resources provide them training as well as the understanding of effective resource materials that can be used in teaching activity. 1.2 Review the effectiveness of specific resources in meeting individual learning needs in learning and teaching contexts Strengths and individual needs of all learners have to be identified by tutors as a part of their  responsibility and the needs of the learners have to be satisfied accordingly. Learners have to be motivated and encouraged by me so that they can reach their maximum potential in their learning activity and feel inclusive in the learning environment. The weaknesses of each learner have to be identified and I have to help them strengthen their weaknesses by working together with them and support them in their learning progression. Varieties of resources are used in my learning environment in order to make sure that the needs of the learners are met and satisfied. Resources such as interactive whiteboards, PowerPoint presentations, worksheets, textbooks and hand-outs are used in my learning environment so that each learner can get the benefits out of those resources. Using interactive whiteboards and its different features make my learners stay focused and engaged in their learning activity. It draws the attention of all the learners. Certain topics can be understood by reading various textbooks that are provided to my learners. The PowerPoint presentations again draw the attention of my learners and help them understand what they are going to learn in the class every day. The worksheets given to students are a way of assessing whether learners understood the topics and the teaching methods used by me are effective. The learners and peers are always encouraged to provide feedback on my teaching methods and resources so that the effectiveness of my methods and resources can be analysed and developed. Feedback forms are often provided to my learners so that they can express how useful did they find my teaching methods and resources provided. Regularly scheduled standardised meeting are attended in order to cope up with the standards as feedbacks will be provided in these meeting on the effectiveness of the resources I use by internal verifiers and my peers. External sources such as external examiners and verifiers also who come to assess the works of my learners also provide me with their feedbacks and comments which help me to improve my skills. 2. Be able to develop and use inclusive resources 2.1 Review sources which inform resource development A teacher has to also play the role of a resource developer. A resource developer can be referred to a person who is in charge of preparing and developing resources that can satisfy the needs of learners and help them achieve their full potential in their learning activity. The duties and roles that have to be carried out by a resource developer are explained by the figure above. Individual needs of every student have to be identified and plans have to be developed in order to satisfy the learning needs of all learners. The next step is to design the resources according to the individual needs that are identified and deliver those resources to the learners. Once the task in completed by the learners the resource developer then can assess their performance which will automatically enable the resource developed to identify the effectiveness of his resources. According to the information given by Turkish online journal of education technology (2009), two student groups are surveyed where one group of students provided with the lower level of teaching resources while second group of students are provided with the higher level of teaching resources. The surveys identified that the students who are provided with higher level of teaching resources have got muc h more positive outcome comparing to the other group of students. ‘We have found that when technologies are thoughtfully integrated with a sound pedagogical vision, students’ views of teaching and approaches to learning can be positively affected.’ The LeTUS report series (2003) also shows how important it is for the teachers to understand their educational capacities and utilise and organise educational resources in their teaching environment in order to develop an organised teaching environment. It recommends that the teachers should develop and plan resources that help learners to improve their knowledge and skills in various methods rather than developing a ‘one size fits all’ types of resources. Developing resources in such a way helps the teachers to enhance their utility and professional development which will then help them to create a deeper connection with their learners to make them feel inclusive in their learning environment. The advantages of providing personalised resources either via technology or textbooks are shown and proved by many research studies and articles where all of them stress the importance of providing learners with personalised resource documents in order to help them reach their maximum potential. Downloadable resources such as PowerPoint slides, eBooks, worksheets, Podcasts and word documents that can bring many benefits in the learning environment. All these resources have their own advantages and disadvantages. Online downloadable E-journals and article are available instantly and available for free most of the times. Knowledgeable and portable information are provided by the online journals and articles. However, the information provided in these resources will not be reliable if they are not updated regularly. Another resource that can be easily used and accessed is PowerPoint which is portable as well. But, as the information given are in a point based format and brief some students might find it difficult to understand. Especially learners with learning difficulties may not find it useful. E-books are another type of resources that are portable and useful as it is has a feature of audio speaker especially when it is accessed through Kindle. However, the limitations of E-books can be its limited battery life and expensive. There is a chance that the learners might get visual issues when it is used for a long period of time. Worksheets can be downloaded online so that the time spend in preparing new worksheets can be saved and it can be easily adapted. But by easily downloading worksheets online can make the tutors very lazy and the tutors will be demotivated. The worksheets available online might not suite the requirements of learners with learning difficulties. Another problem with downloading worksheets online, it can be time consuming if the tutor has got no proper searching skills in the internet. 2.2 Explain ways in which resources can be adapted to enable an inclusive approach It is important for me as a tutor to analyse and understand the strengths and weaknesses of  each learner and identify their learning needs in order to work together with them and help them overcome their learning difficulties and weaknesses. Learners have to be constantly motivated and encouraged by me in order to make them inclusive in the learning environment and enable them reach their full potential. There were many situations where the learning resources had to be adapted according to the learning needs and requirements of each learner in my class. The resources had to be adapted and differentiated for the learners with hearing impairments, visual impairments and dyslexic students according to their personal needs. The size of the fonts has to be changed to a bigger size, the colour of font can be changed to black and relevant pictures can be used in order to meet the needs of visually impaired students so they can easily follow the slideshows. In order to make my hearing impaired students inclusive in the learning environment the Podcasts can be downloaded for them so they will be able to understand the learning outcomes and lesson plans. Local care coordinators or specially trained and qualified staffs will be carried out some assessments according to the personal circumstances of these kind of students with hearing and visual difficulties (NHS and Community Care Act 1990). Learners with weak written skills will be provided with the voice recorder so their answers can be recorded verbally. A mentor can also be arranged for them to write their work. Specially trained and qualified staff members can also be arranged in order to help them with their learning activities. Another challenge that can be faced in my teaching environment is dyslexic students. First the level of their dyslexic has to be identified and then referred to qualified specialists in order to guide them properly. The resources and their contexts also have to be personalised and modified in order to suite their learning requirements. The resources have to be simple and easy so that they will be able to understand and achieve their learning achievements. 2.3 Design resources, including resources which involve new and emerging technologies, to engage and meet the individual needs of learners in own specialist area Please refer to attached Worksheet and PowerPoint Slides. 2.4 Justify the effectiveness of own design and use of resources to engage and meet the individual needs of learners in own specialist area In order to satisfy the learning needs of my visually impaired, auditoria and kinaesthetic learners, the personalised resources are prepared and designed. Slides are prepared and provided to my learners so that they will be able to effectively follow the lesson and attain their learning targets by the end of the session. Learners who have hearing difficulties and visual impairments can be benefited by the PowerPoint presentations I provide. Lessons can be delivered to the visually impaired learners effectively by the clear and big fronts used in the slides so a clear perspective of lessons can be provided to them. Objectives of the learning sessions can be elaborated and explained effectively by presenting them in PowerPoint slides which will be beneficial to the hearing impaired and audio learners as well. In order to encourage team working skills I provide my learners with pair and group activities which will encourage them to share their knowledge and skills with each other. Group activities also motivate and encourage learners to progress in their learning targets. Personalised and different worksheets are provided to my learners with different learning needs so that I can examine their knowledge and test the effectiveness of my teaching methods. I always keep my students occupied by providing them various activities and tasks. Knowledge and level of understanding of students can be tested and examined by the adapted worksheets provided at the class which will also help them apply what they have learned. 2.5 Employ resources to engage and meet the individual needs of learners in own specialist area Please see set (SOW, Lesson plan, Self-evaluation & assessment observation) and session feedback form 3 Understand how to organise and enable access to resources 3.1 Explain ways in which resources can be classified and stored Learning resources are available in many forms in different sources and formats. There are various ways such as scanning and photocopying available  to reproduce learning resources. According to the different learning requirements of each learner resources will be amended. After amending the resources, tutors can reproduce and save those in the format of PDF or save the audio files in the format of mp3. In order to store these resources carefully a hard drive with a proper password can be used so others will not be able to access it. Ownerships of resources can be owned, reproduced and stored by an individual in different ways which is mentioned clearly in the Copyright Law 1976. Data are stored in variety of formats by different programs. Certain formats of files can only be supported by only certain programs and applications. Usually formats of file can be appeared in 3 letter format such as jpg, pdf, psd, tif, gif, ppt and doc which illustrates the different formats of files. Fi les can be stored in Adobe illustrator in different formats as follows: .ai — Adobe Illustrator, its â€Å"native† format .ait — Adobe Illustrator Template .pdf — Adobe Portable Document Format Although there are variety of file formats available to store resources, PDF can be considered as the most suitable and appropriate file format. PDF refers to Portabe Document Format which can also be called as ‘Paperless Office’. Documents can be developed and transferred without printing each files. In order to create PDF file Adobe Acrobat Reader have to be downloaded which is available for free download in the internet. Both bitmap and vector graphics formats can be represented by PDF file. Any applications can be converted into PDF formats, but unless other users have Adobe Acrobat it is impossible to edit the file. Additional it provides the option to merge files with other formats of applications and it can easily be transferred to the printing machine. Another format that is commonly used is Vector-Graphics. Files can be easily created, saved, transferred, printed and archived in the native format of the illustrator which is .ai. It has to be converted into the f ormat of EPS or TIFF file in order to transfer it to a PostScript Printer or to be able to use in a page layout program. The format that is most appropriate to save images is JPEG which has got best compression ability. Blackboard and Moodle are well-known resources that are widely used in learning environments to redevelop access and upload learning materials. Moodle platforms have got many educational aspects which stress the importance of interactive learning and inclusive learning environment. It is a useful platform for learners to access learning materials that can help in achieving their learning goals. Friendly and supportive user groups are available in the Moodle platform which can help learners to get support in their learning activities lively. Moodle platform is available to view in three different ways which are weekly view, topic view and social view. Combinations of various file formats and scheduling is available in Moodle. Different features such as chat, assignment, dialogue, choice, journals, glossary, forums, workshop, wiki and lesson are available on Moodle for the access of learners. However, it has got some disadvantages as well. The privacy of these platforms is questionable and these are very transparent. Initiative is required in terms of gathering support and it is timely. 3.2 Identify ways of sharing resources with other learning professionals Teaching resources can be considered as crucial tool in the process in teaching and learning. Formation of resources can consume more time and money when trying to connect them and present them with the use of technology. But it is not possible to carry out a teaching process without the use of teaching resources and materials. The learning needs and requirements of all learners are observed and the resources will be prepared and utilised to the maximum in order to achieve the learning targets. In order to reduce the financial burden, the financial costs of all resources can be shared among various teaching institutions. It is very common to share teaching resources between educational organisations, teaching organisations, subject fields, publishers and libraries as it provides benefits to learners and tutors. Mostly teaching resources are shared between various institutions to utilise varieties of resources available. Resources can be shared among professionals using different tech niques such as LAN (Local Area Network), VLE (Virtual Learning Environment), File Sharing and Published Journals. LAN can also be referred as Intranet which is a well-known technique of sharing resources inside the organisations. In  order to share these resources via Intranet, it is not necessary to have internet within the area and it will always have access within the organisation. Computers and systems that are connected in the LAN network will be connected with the same hard drive so that the resources can be accessed easily even without internet. File Sharing is a similar method of sharing resources thus the teachers within the institution can get access to all learning resources regardless whether it is created online or not. As different varieties of resources are available in File Sharing and LAN everyone in the organisations can be benefited by using these platforms. The individuals with learning difficulties will find it very useful as varieties of personalised resources by different resource developers and available instantly. Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) also another technique used to share resources online. It is very easy and convenient to share resources using VLE because all the learning materials and resources will be uploaded in the online portal and learners will be given the access to it which enables them to access the resources anywhere and anytime they want. But it is necessary to have an internet connection to get access to VLE. Another effective technique of sharing resources is through Published Journals. Published resources can be found in many copies whether on a newspaper, blog, textbook or magazine. For some published journal resources only a controlled access is allowed by the publishers. Valuable resources are published and shared in a large amount of numbers where the protection of the sources has not been given the importance it requires. However, this can be considered as very a valuable and useful study aid. 4 Understand legal requirements and responsibilities relating to the development and use of resources 4.1 Summarise legal requirements and responsibilities relating to the development and use of resources Development and use of educational resources need to meet several legal requirements and responsibilities. The current copyright law available in UK is Copyright Act 1998 – The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The owners of the materials will be given the rights to decide in which ways their resources can be used and controlled by other users. Areas such as  public performance, broadcast, adapting, photocopying, renting copies to public and issuing are covered by this act. The owner will be given the right to call himself as Author. When a work is created by an individual and it can be considered as original and a degree of skills will be exhibited then the person will get the rights to acquire copyrights to his work. For example, the creator of a book cannot get the rights to protect the book itself, but the content of the book will be protected by the Copyrights. Another individual will be given the rights to get some idea of some particular book to create his own work, but the content of the book cannot be directly copied or adapted. However, if an individual creates a work as a part of his job, then the copyright cannot be acquired by him, thus the company or employer who hired will have the rights to hold the copyrights of that work. An individual still can have the copyrights for his work when it is created under a commissioned or freelance work, if there is no agreement exists between the individual and the company. Regarding any infringement the proceeding can only be brought by the owner of the work or his exclusive license. Intangible assets such as literary can be obtained with certain rights using Intellectual Property Act. The areas such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, some trade secrets and industrial design rights are included in the Intellectual Property Rights which can be used by individuals and companies in order to protect their work. Majority of the countries put this law in commonplace in the late 20th century although the principles of Intellectual Property Act have been in existence over hundreds of years. Rights of processing the data on public will be determined by the Data Protection Act 1998 which is created by the UK Act of Parliament who makes most of the law in the country. Although the term privacy is not mentioned in the Act, it determines the privacy every individual has to be given with respect to processing the personal data. In simple words, an individual can have the rights to decide to which extent his personal data can be used and processed. Thus, individuals and companies have to comply with this law and keep the personal information confidential when required. Disabled people are protected by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 against discrimination against them related to employment, provision and disposal of good and services and management of premises. This act will decide provision about disables people’s employment and it will also help to  form a National Disability Council. All the above regulations have to be followed when creating and publishing the resources for educational purposes. Regardless of the learning difficulties faced by learners, the resources have to be created in a fair manner. 4.2 Review the implications of intellectual property rights and copyright for the development and use of resources It is both teachers’ and learners’ responsibility to enforce Copyrights Act 1998 and Intellectual Property Rights in the learning and teaching environment. The original authors of each resource have to be mentioned and cited in my work when using information from research materials, books, e-books, articles and journals in order to support my thoughts. The source of the information has to be mentioned briefly in my work and my learners’ work so other users will be able to refer that information when needed. The companies and organisations also have to comply with these laws. Some educational institutions will have the copyrights on their materials and work where their employees created the work and they must comply with existing law. If someone else’s work is claimed as an individual’s own work that will be called as Plagiarism and this is totally not accepted. Various books, journals, e-books and articles are used when creating resources for my tea ching. I always make sure that I have mentioned proper in-text and full referencing for the resources I used in my work. I always stress my learners on the importance of mentioning originality of the resource by citing proper referencing. My own work will be indicated with my name and my organisation’s name when needed in order to show that this resource is created by me or on behalf of my company. The original source of the information must be mentioned even though there are some adaptions made in relation to the learning needs of my students. Furthermore, it is not accepted to share the work with others when it is prohibited. When reading through materials and article to use them in my work it is important to make sure that it is acceptable to use them in my work as some books and resources do not give the permission to use them in others’ work. The permission from the owner of the work has to be obtained before using their resources. 5 Understand how to evaluate own practice in relation to  development and use of resources 5.1 Review the effectiveness of own practice in relation to development and use of resources In my teaching and learning environment resources are considered as valuable tool. Learners can be kept engaged in various class tasks and activities and they can have a clear progression in their learning with the use of appropriate resources. The resources such as worksheets, PowerPoint slides and Interactive whiteboards and used in my teaching environment. I use PowerPoint slide to give my students a view of the lesson objectives and what is going to be taught in class. The slides will be in simple and brief format. Font sizes of my slides are usually kept between 14 to 16. My learners and I find this resource very effective as it is pretty straight forward and convenient. It can be considered as an effective technique of guiding the lesson and explaining the lesson objectives. The knowledge and understanding of my learners can be examined and tested using the worksheets provided at the end of the session. The effectiveness of my teaching methods and techniques also can be assesse d using the worksheets and changes can be made to the way I teach if needed. Most of the students complete the worksheets I provide which indicates that they understand what they are being taught in my class and achieve their learning goals. 5.2 Identify own strengths and areas for improvement in relation to development and use of resources 5.3 Plan opportunities to improve own skills in development and use of resources Action Plan: development of resources (5.2 and 5.3) Strengths Areas to improve: Resources Objectives Methods used to improve By when My learners are always kept engaged by giving them varieties of challenging  activities and tasks Worksheets: For the different level of students in my class room two variety of worksheets have to be prepared for both higher ability learners and lower ability learners Develop the ability to create two varieties of worksheets for higher level of ability students and lower level of ability students. More worksheets can be obtained online and permission can be obtained from owners to adapt those materials in my class which will enable me to differentiate tasks depends on the learners’ needs 10st April 2014 At least one learner task will be included in my teaching session using the interactive white board resource Interactive whiteboard: Group activities have to be planned that can be practiced using the interactive whiteboards rather than providing activities based on whiteboards. To provide the opportunity to work with team so they can interact to share ideas for their own presentations and assignments. Online research can be done on effective ways of using interactive whiteboards to engage my learners in the learning activity and training can also be attended. 30th April 2014 My learners will be always guided properly with the learning outcomes, objectives and summary of the lesson PowerPoint: Lesson objectives have to be broken down to the different tasks that are going to be provided in the class Develop the ability to create tasks effectively for both individual and group activities so they will be aware of what they are learning More time can be spent in creating more slides in my PowerPoint presentations to make sure that all the learning outcomes and objectives are explained to my students 30 March 2014 BIBLIOGRAPHY Reece, I. and S. Walker (2007). Teaching , Training and Learning: A practical guide, Business Education Publishers, Limited Gravells A (2012) Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector London Learning Matters Gravells A & Simpson S (2012) Equality and Diversity in the Lifelong Learning Sector London Learning Matters A Contextual Guide to Support Success in LLN Provision: Embedded Learning. DfES (QIA 2008) Websites http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/50/introduction http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ875780.pdf http://www.inquirium.net/people/matt/teaching_as_design-Final.pdf http://laeremiddel.dk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Quality_principles