The Old Man And The Sea Essays (898 words) - Ichthyology, Fisheries

The Old Man and the Sea The Old Man and the Sea The Nobelprize winning book: The old man and the sea, has been written by Ernest Hemingway and was published in 1982, though the original American print had been published in 1952. The title is exactly what the book is about. It is a short story. The story is written in one continuous whole and is written from the view of the writer, it is very realistic. The description of the setting are the dominating factor in this book. The author spends a lot of time, for describing the sea, and what takes place. There are a lot of dialogues in the book. Example: "Who gave this to you" "Martin. The owner" "I must thank him" "I thanked him already," the boy said. "You don't need to thank him." "I'll give him the belly meat of a big fish," the old man said. "Has he done this for us more than once?" "I think so" "I must give him something more than the belly meat then. He is very thoughtful for us." The next fragment I find really representative for the whole book, because it is a fragment in which the old man is talking to himself, like he does all the time, and he is saying how great the fish is, which he does quite a few times too. "He is a great fish and I must convince him, he thought. I must never let him learn his strength nor what he could do if he made his run. If I were him I would put in everything now and go until something broke. But, thank God, they are not as intelligent as who kill them; although they are more noble and more able." The book is about an old man, who goes out fishing (his profession, not as a sport) one day. He decides to go really far out, before the sun comes up. Then one of his lines goes under, and he hooks the fish. But the fish is so strong, that he can't pull him up. The old man thinks that if he lets the fish pull his boat, a sailing-boat the size of a rowing-boat, the fish will go out of strength and die soon. But it's a very very strong fish and he keeps pulling for a day and a half. Then the fish gets out of strength and starts circling around the boat, a sign of tiredness. But when the fish is close to the boat the old man sees how big he really is, he thinks he is about 1500 pounds. But the old man stays cool and kills the fish with his harpoon. He ties the fish to his boat and puts out his sail, for his journey back home. As he travells back, many sharks eat from the dead fish, but the old man kills them as soon as possible. The old man kills the first sharks with his harpoon, but after he killed three sharks, the fourth shark takes his harpoon. Then he attaches his knife to an oar. He kills a couple of sharks with that construction, but after that, it doesn't last. The knife disappears in the sea. Then he only has one single oar to defend the big dead fish against the sharks. He managed to scare a few off by hitting them with the oar. But then it is too much for the old man. The sharks eat the whole fish, and when the old man came back in the harbor after two days at sea, he only has a carcas at his side. Almost the whole story takes place at the sea near Cuba. Just the beginning and the end the story takes place in a small poor fishermentown at the cost of Cuba. The people are very simple, there is a small caf near the harbor, but that's about it. The main character in the book is the old man. His name is really Santiago, but he is called "The old man". He spends his days with fishing and daydreaming about what he did in his life. He fished for all his life, and has seen many things. When he dreams, he always dreams about the lions he has seen on the African beaches. He is still strong for his age, and is very resistend. He has respect for the sea and the fish which live in it. Though he is simple, he is a wise man. He is a nice man, and I like him, because he respects the sea and the

How to Unblock Your Tear Ducts

How to Unblock Your Tear Ducts If you are suffering from eye strain, dry eyes, or allergies, knowing how to unblock a tear duct at home may offer relief. Even if your tear ducts are not blocked, keeping your eyes properly lubricated helps stave off many minor eye ailments.   Nasolacrimal ducts, the medical term for tear ducts, are part of the bodys system for draining tears from the eyes. When tear ducts become blocked, it causes a backup of fluid in the lacrimal sac, which is highly prone to infection.   Symptoms   There are a few indications that you may be suffering from a blocked tear duct. If you have excessive tearing or there is a mucus or pus discharge from the eye, if the white part of your eye is red and swollen, or if your vision is blurred, a blocked tear duct may be the culprit. Recurring infections such as conjunctivitis  are also signs of tear duct problems.   While most blocked tear ducts do not require much more than the following simple home treatment, if you have these symptoms for a week or longer or if they continue to occur, consult your  medical professional. In some cases, a blocked tear duct is a symptom of a larger, more serious problem.   Who Is at Risk? Certain factors increase your risk of developing a blocked tear duct.  If you have chronic eye inflammation, especially from conjunctivitis or other infections, it is likely to affect your tear ducts. Older women tend to be at greater risk, as are those who have had eye or sinus surgeries. Some glaucoma medications can lead to blocked tear ducts as well.   How They Get Blocked Blocked tear ducts can result from a number of conditions. Some babies are born with tear duct abnormalities, most of which resolve themselves as they get older.   An injury to the eye or nose can disrupt the tear ducts function, and even something as small as dust stuck in the tear duct can cause problems. In rare cases, blocked tear ducts are caused by a tumor. Tear duct blockage also can be a side effect of chemotherapy treatments for cancer.   Unblocking Tear Ducts   To unblock your tear ducts at home, youll need some warm water and a clean washcloth or tea towel.   Pinch and rub your nose underneath the bridge.Place a warm, wet cloth over your eyes for 10 minutes.Repeat every 4 to 6 hours, if needed. If this treatment does not work and you are still having problems, it is a good idea to consult a medical professional. There are other ways to treat more serious cases of blocked tear ducts. Sometimes antibiotic drops or ointment may be sufficient, but if the problem persists, it may be necessary to irrigate the lacrimal sac, which can be done as an outpatient procedure in a doctors office. In cases where the blockage is severe and does not respond to other treatments, a surgery called dacryocystorhinostomy may be required to create a new tear drain between your nose and your eyes.

B-17 Flying Fortress in World War II

B-17 Flying Fortress in World War II B-17G Flying Fortress Specifications General Length: 74 ft. 4 in.Wingspan: 103 ft. 9 in.Height: 19 ft. 1 in.Wing Area: 1,420 sq. ft.Empty Weight: 36,135 lbs.Loaded Weight: 54,000 lbs.Crew: 10 Performance Power Plant: 4 Ãâ€" Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone turbo-supercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp eachRange: 2,000 milesMax Speed: 287 mphCeiling: 35,600 ft. Armament Guns: 13 Ãâ€" .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gunsBombs: 4,500-8,000 lbs. depending on range B-17 Flying Fortress- Design Development: Seeking an effective heavy bomber to replace the Martin B-10, the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) issued a call for proposals on August 8, 1934. Requirements for the new aircraft included the ability to cruise at 200 mph at 10,000 ft. for ten hours with a useful bomb load. While the USAAC desired a range of 2,000 miles and top speed of 250 mph, these were not required. Eager to enter the competition, Boeing assembled a team of engineers to develop a prototype. Led by E. Gifford Emery and Edward Curtis Wells, the team began drawing inspiration from other company designs such as the Boeing 247 transport and XB-15 bomber. Constructed at the companys expense, the team developed the Model 299, which was powered by four Pratt Whitney R-1690 engines and was capable of lifting a 4,800 lb. bomb load. For defense, the aircraft had five mounted machine guns. This imposing look led Seattle Times reporter Richard Williams to dub the aircraft the Flying Fortress. Seeing the advantage to the name, Boeing quickly trademarked it and applied to the new bomber. On July 28, 1935, the prototype first flew with Boeing test pilot Leslie Tower at the controls. With the initial flight a success, the Model 299 was flown to Wright Field, Ohio for trials. At Wright Field, the Boeing Model 299 competed against the twin-engined Douglas DB-1 and Martin Model 146 for the USAAC contract. Competing in the fly-off, the Boeing entry displayed superior performance to the competition and impressed Major General Frank M. Andrews with the range that a four-engine aircraft offered. This opinion was shared by the procurement officers and Boeing was awarded a contract for 65 aircraft. With this in hand, development of the aircraft continued through the fall until an accident on October 30 destroyed the prototype and halted the program. B-17 Flying Fortress- Rebirth As a result of the crash, Chief of Staff General Malin Craig cancelled the contract and purchased aircraft from Douglas instead. Still interested in the Model 299, now dubbed YB-17, the USAAC utilized a loophole to purchase 13 aircraft from Boeing in January 1936. While 12 were assigned to the 2nd Bombardment Group for developing bombing tactics, the last aircraft was given to the Material Division at Wright Field for flight testing. A fourteenth aircraft was also built and upgraded with turbochargers that increased speed and ceiling. Delivered in January 1939, it was dubbed B-17A and became the first operational type. B-17 Flying Fortress- An Evolving Aircraft Only one B-17A was built as Boeing engineers worked tirelessly to improve the aircraft as it moved into production. Including a larger rudder and flaps, 39 B-17Bs were built before switching to the B-17C, which possessed an altered gun arrangement. The first model to see large-scale production, the B-17E (512 aircraft) had the fuselage extended by ten feet as well as the addition of more powerful engines, a larger rudder, a tail gunner position, and an improved nose. This was further refined to the B-17F (3,405) which appeared in 1942. The definitive variant, the B-17G (8,680) featured 13 guns and a crew of ten. B-17 Flying Fortress- Operational History The first combat use of the B-17 came not with the USAAC (U.S. Army Air Forces after 1941), but with the Royal Air Force. Lacking a true heavy bomber at the start of World War II, the RAF purchased 20 B-17Cs. Designating the aircraft Fortress Mk I, the aircraft performed poorly during high-altitude raids in the summer of 1941. After eight aircraft were lost, the RAF transferred the remaining aircraft to Coastal Command for long-range maritime patrols. Later in the war, additional B-17s were purchased for use with Coastal Command and the aircraft was credited with sinking 11 u-boats. B-17 Flying Fortress- Backbone of the USAAF With the United States entrance into the conflict after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the USAAF began deploying B-17s to England as part of the Eighth Air Force. On August 17, 1942, American B-17s flew their first raid over occupied Europe when they struck railroad yards at Rouen-Sotteville, France. As American strength grew, the USAAF took over daylight bombing from the British who had switched to night attacks due to heavy losses. In the wake of the January 1943 Casablanca Conference, American and British bombing efforts were directed into Operation Pointblank, which sought to establish air superiority over Europe. Key to the success of Pointblank were attacks against the German aircraft industry and Luftwaffe airfields. While some initially believed that the B-17s heavy defensive armament would protect it against enemy fighter attacks, missions over Germany quickly disproved this notion. As the Allies lacked a fighter with sufficient range to protect bomber formations to and from targets in Germany, B-17 losses quickly mounted during 1943. Bearing the brunt of the USAAFs strategic bombing workload along with the B-24 Liberator, B-17 formations took shocking casualties during missions such as the Schweinfurt-Regensburg raids. Following Black Thursday in October 1943, which resulted in the loss of 77 B-17s, daylight operations were suspended pending the arrival of a suitable escort fighter. These arrived in early 1944 in the form of the North American P-51 Mustang and drop tank-equipped Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. Renewing the Combined Bomber Offensive, B-17s incurred much lighter losses as their little friends dealt with the German fighters. Though German fighter production was not damaged by Pointblank raids (production actually increased), B-17s aided in winning the war for air superiority in Europe by forcing the Luftwaffe into battles in which its operational forces were destroyed. In the months after D-Day, B-17 raids continued to strike German targets. Strongly escorted, losses were minimal and largely due to flak. The final large B-17 raid in Europe occurred on April 25, 1945. During the fighting in Europe, the B-17 developed a reputation as an extremely rugged aircraft capable of sustaining heavy damage and remaining aloft. B-17 Flying Fortress- In the Pacific The first B-17s to see action in the Pacific was a flight of 12 aircraft that arrived during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Their expected arrival contributed to the American confusion just prior to the attack. In December 1941, B-17s were also in service with the Far East Air Force in the Philippines. With the beginning of the conflict, they were quickly lost to enemy action as the Japanese overran the area. B-17s also took part in the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway in May and June 1942. Bombing from high altitude, they proved unable to hit targets at sea, but were also safe from Japanese A6M Zero fighters. B-17s had more success in March 1943 during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Bombing from medium altitude rather than high, they sank three Japanese ships. Despite this victory, the B-17 was not as effective in the Pacific and the USAAF transitioned aircrews to other types by mid-1943. During the course of World War II, the USAAF lost around 4,750 B-17s in combat, nearly a third of all built. USAAF B-17 inventory peaked in August 1944 at 4,574 aircraft. In the war over Europe, B-17s dropped 640,036 tons of bombs on enemy targets. B-17 Flying Fortress- Final Years: With the end of the war, the USAAF declared the B-17 obsolete and the majority of the surviving aircraft were returned to the United States and scrapped. Some aircraft were retained for search and rescue operations as well as photo reconnaissance platforms into the early 1950s. Other aircraft were transferred to the U.S. Navy and redesignated PB-1. Several PB-1s were fitted with the APS-20 search radar and used as antisubmarine warfare and early warning aircraft with designation PB-1W. These aircraft were phased out in 1955. The U.S. Coast Guard also utilized the B-17 after the war for iceberg patrols and search and rescue missions. Other retired B-17s saw later service in civilian uses such as aerial spraying and fire fighting. During its career, the B-17 saw active duty with numerous nations including the Soviet Union, Brazil, France, Israel, Portugal, and Colombia. Selected Sources Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress.†Ã‚  National Museum of the USAF, 14 Apr. 2015The Life and Times of Antoine De Saint-Exupry, www.aviation-history.com/boeing/b17.html.

Deciding what is wrong and Right Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Deciding what is wrong and Right - Essay Example The moral sense pertains individual particular emotional act. An act is right if the agent during the moment of action feels emotional approval towards an action. In this sense, one tends to perform an act that he or she approves. One abstains from an action that the person disapproves. Some emotions are called approval and others disapproval. In most instances, there must be some level of truth in the choice one take. Another judgment of approval may or may not be right. Scholars like Aristotle, Plato, Kant, and Mill touches on the right or the wrong act as understood in ethics. Aristotle, Plato, Kant and Mill in their works talk at different levels of making the right decision. Aristotle represents virtue ethics. Kant talks about duty ethics. Mill discusses utilitarianism. The four writers dwell on morality in their search for the right actions or highest good. Aristotle’s view is in self-sufficiency in the fulfillment of the ultimate desire. He emphasizes the conformity with the personal virtues. He regards happiness as an activity of the soul in accord with the perfect virtue. To him, people have to behave right to achieve happiness. As Plato’s student, he loved to categorized things. Aristotle argues that for our actions to be moral or immoral, right or wrong, we must have a certain level of health and wealth. He adopted a scientific and empirical approach to the problems resulted from ethics. Happiness to Aristotle is achieved by acting moderately. What is good for one person may not be right for another person. The use of reason alone may not define what is best for him. Plato, Aristotle’s teacher, states that the good or right is of the knowledge, and the evil or wrong is from the lack of knowledge. Therefore, a question of a good act is purely intellectual. He argues that there is only one right course of action.

Employee Engagement and Intrinsic Motivation Thesis

Employee Engagement and Intrinsic Motivation - Thesis Example In 2006, the Conference Board published ‘Employee Engagement, A Review of Current Research and Its Implications’. Going by this report we see that twelve extensive studies have been published over the course of four years mainly by research firms such as Gallup, Towers Perrin, Blessing White, and the Corporate Leadership Council among others (Soldati, 2007). The Conference Board as a result took and combined all the results in order to come up with a blended definition that incorporated all the themes in it. They define employee engagement as â€Å"a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work†. According to at least four of the studies agree upon eight of the key drivers: 1. Trust and integrity – how efficiently do managers commune and do what they preach? 2. Nature of the job –Is it psychologically inspiring every day? 3. The line between company performance and employee performance – Does the employer have an idea of how their performance will affect the company as a whole? 4. Opportunities for career growth – Will there be opportunities to grow in the future? 5. Pride about the company – Does the employee feel proud to be associated by the organization? 6. Coworkers/team members – Teamwork will greatly improve the employee motivation 7. Development of the employees – Does the organization make an effort to improve the employee’s skills and abilities? 8. Relationship with the manager – Does the employee treasure his or her relations with the boss? The other vital findings of the study included the fact that in comparison to the smaller companies, the larger companies tend to involve the workers more in the workplace. Employee age also creates a big difference in the vitality of the various drivers. As an example we can quote that employees who fall over t he age of 44 will place more importance on ‘recognition and reward for their contribution’, in comparison to their younger counterparts who place a higher value on ‘challenging environment/career growth opportunities’. However, one things that came across as the most important factor among all studies was the factor of one’s relationship with one’s manager. It was seen that it highly influenced the motivation levels of the employees in almost every case. Also according to the report, employee engagement is plays a very important part in the workplace. There is obvious and rising proof that high levels of employee engagement eagerly associates to individual, group as well as corporate performance in a number of crucial areas such as loyalty, retention, productivity, customer service and turnover. It is also seen that this difference is not just by small margins but big ones. Even though the results varied from study to study, the employees who were highly engaged usually outperformed their counterparts by a whopping 20-28%. This is a clear image of how employee engagement influences their workplace decisions as well as paves a way towards further organizational success by effectively instilling into the workers a desire to work efficiently. Finally, there is some verification that companies are reacting to this concept of employee engagement challenge mostly by creating flatter chains of command and also providing training for first-line managers to improve the communication at all levels (Flemund &

Warnie orr methodology and its disadvantages Essay Example for Free

Warnie orr methodology and its disadvantages Essay Is a bottom up methodology used to model data and procedures where you identify the output and the processes used to generate them and their inter-relations. Its emphasis is on the output. It is analyzed thoroughly. The logic of the program is built around the structure of its data. That structure is obtained by analysis the output and going backwards to find out what the input could have been. The analysis of the output includes: †¢ Output Oriented Comment The output is the core of this system development methodology. We spend all our energy to capture the true picture of the output requirement. This is done even before we think of the physical design. We use rigorous methods to define the data output through a well designed form known as LOS. We capture details of: †¢ Output definition forms †¢ Output frequencies †¢ Data Elements It is assumed the expert can define these requirements with the help of system users who help him fill the mandatory details of these forms. The system users know what they want, but they have little knowledge of computers and computer terms. The software expert knows little about the area to be computerized and can easily misunderstand some concepts. For example computational requirements, the frequency of data use, frequency of data change. Besides when we collect the data from an existing system which is inefficient, the data is inconsistent and unacceptable. The system owners are unhappy with the output generated and that is why they want to change it in the first place †¢ We must obtain the logical output structure first before we think of its physical outlook. The physical problems of the data remain the headache of and hidden by the implementer. Ours is to give the general guidelines on the data and process requirements. This is easy said than done. We cannot claim to be general when we spend all our time worried about our output and its properties. At that level it is difficult to talk about generalities as well. We have to generate dictionaries with specific data structures. Software compatibility with these structures is mandatory. †¢ The approach is data centered, that is the processes are looked at last Take a critical look at the output before any programming activities are undertaken. We break the program into three parts †¢ The middle mapping. also known as the logical output mapping. It deals with how we produce the output and give details of how calculations are done. It assumes the physical mapping will give it the perfect data and in the correct order it is wanted. †¢ Physical output mapping: Formats the data and sends it to the output device. It is the duty of the physical output to know the details of the data format and how to obtain it from the output device. These details should be hidden from the logical mapping. The physical aspect depends on the operating system platform being used. Which tasks are taken by the operating system and which ones are not and that must be a headache of the programmer †¢ Physical input mapping which knows where and how the data is actually stored. If the data gets reorganized or changed in any way the physical input mapping is updated. When changes occur to any part, it is independent of the other parts and carries no ripple effect. Reusable code modules and design elements can be employed. Generic code can be supported to be used by many programs. Having given a summary of the method let us analyze possible problems with this type of method: Obtaining a complete System design before the physical Design This has always remained elusive in most system development methodologies. System design process continues even after implementation because new facts are discovered during actual implementation. Even when prototypes are used, still more facts and faults come into surface. Separating the logical, physical input, physical output mapping Again we need to combine data and processes together, the reason we call them objects, in objects in object oriented systems. How do obtain inheritance, aggregation and software reuse if we separate them. References 1) Ian Sommerville, Software Engineering 2) Aron, J. D. The Program Development Process 3) Booch G. , Rumbaugh J. : The Unified Modeling

Enhancing Positive Thinking Essay -- Social Work

This research will include a pilot intervention program called Think Positive-Live Positive (TPLP), for young teens alongside with parental involvement, which will use cognitive behavioral techniques to teach children to identify the negative aspects of various situations and adjust successfully. The aim will be to help children modify their thoughts, focus on the positive perspectives of each event, and cope with negativity using positive and adaptable solutions. In addition, the intervention program will teach parents how to interact better with their children, and aims to make them good and understanding coaches. To measure children’s positivity, and negativity, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) will be used ahead of the intervention and at the end to compare results. The theoretical and CBT activities that this intervention program will use are from a research based self-help book â€Å"What to Do When You Grumble Too Much - A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Neg ativity† by Huebner (PhD). Additional CBT exercises will be used for more results input and for children to gain a better understanding of the learned skills. The purpose of this intervention is to investigate whether the children and parents participating will enjoy, meaningfully discuss amongst them, and understand how to use these skills to help them. In this pilot intervention, three children (11-13 year-old) and one or both parents of each child will voluntary participate in a 6 hourly TPLP intervention sessions, 2 times per week, over a period of 4 weeks. The sessions will include PowerPoint presentations with audio and vivid illustrations, interactive and guided exercises, discussions and practice using the learned skills. Considering today's fast moving li... ...nal of Excellence, 7, 54-66. Gillham, J.E, & Reivich, K.J. (2007). The Penn Resiliency Program Curriculum. University of Pennsylvania. Huebner, D. (2007). What to Do When You Grumble Too Much - A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Negativity. Washington, DC: Magnitation press. Orlick, T. (2001). Nurturing positive-living skills for children: Feeding the heart and soul of humanity. Journal of Excellence. Partridge & Orlick (2008). Positive Living Skills for Teenagers: A Youth Intervention. Journal of Performance Education. Steinberg, L. (2001). We know some things: Parent-adolescent relations in retrospect and prospect. Journal of Research in Adolescence, 11(1), 1-19. Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988b). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1063–1070.

Every Child Matters Act and the No Child Left Behind Act

Jamondria Robinson 3rd hour Flanders A barrier for ensuring that all children in our community receive a high quality education would be the Every Child Matters Act and the No Child Left Behind Act. Ed. Gov states, â€Å"President Bush made a commitment to ensure that all children receive a high quality education so that no child is left behind. In just one year after the president first took office, the No Child Lefty behind Act (NCLB) passed overwhelmingly. No Child Left Behind has led to higher standards and greater accountability throughout the nation’s school systems.No Child Left Behind provides the schools with more funding, gives states and school districts more control and more flexibility to use resources where they are needed most, holds schools and school districts accountable for results, and may provide your child with free tutoring and extra help with school work. When it comes to improving education in our state I believe our priority is to improve teaching, m ake better finical investments in our education systems, and coming up with better way to get students more involved and excited to learn.I believe we need to look at how much we’ve already spent and what were using the money for and evaluate what we are receiving in return. Opening college doors to more high school students who don’t have the funds to pay for it themselves is also another way in improving education in our state, allowing more students to have the opportunity to receive a decent education. Offering more and specific work related classes that interest the student and offering high more challenging courses for the students as well.But its not just about what the state and community can do, but its also up to the parents. Parents and Guardians play a big part in helping improve our education systems. The role of parent and parental involvement in improving education in our state is being involved. Regardless of the family income or background students wit h involved parents are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores attend school regular basis. Students with involved parents tend to have better social skills, improved behavior, and graduate on time and attend college.Children who have parents who aren’t there to push and motivate them don’t make it quit far. Parental support is always needed and a big part of parental involvement. If your parent doesn’t care about your education or is involved regarding you education you’re going to feel as if it’s not so important. Parents can become more involved by talking to their child and the child’s teachers, making sure they know who is giving their child the education and to be sure the child is working to their best of their ability.Physical environment affect school climate and student achievement by depending on what goes on inside or outside of school of the school will the feelings expressed by students, teachers, staff and parents ab out school. If the child is placed into a negative environment outside of school there’s a big guarantee that it will be brought back into school by that child. There’s also a chance that other students may pick up vibes from another student rather its negative or positive.When the child is placed into a good positive environment outside of school more than likely he or she will feel more better about themselves and bring that attitude back into the school as well. A well disciplined environment, learning environment, social environment, and school-community relations all affect the schools climate and the achievements of the students who attend. When students have to travel outside their neighborhood to attend a great school their family looses time, money, and energy.To put your child in a school that is better than their neighborhood schools probably cost more and is a bit embarrassing to the community or area you reside in. You’re using more gas to provide y our child transportation to attend this school. It also takes up more time to take and pick your child up from a school that’s more than 20 minutes away from where you live. Now with a lot of students coming from poorly educated schools to attend the good schools they are making the â€Å"good† public schools in that particular area look bad. Most Africa-American communities don’t care about attending school or getting a good education.Everyone wants to make it out on their own but it seems as if the younger generations don’t want to make the first step in receiving a good education. They don’t take getting a education as serious as they should. But not all African Americans in a community feel that way. I believe the African-American communities stand beside other communities in America with the problems in the system. I believe the African Americans stand beside other communities because most of them don’t care. From the looks of things I believe most African-Americans have the wrong mentality about school and life.

A Reflection in Learning Essay

Introduction I am a registered nurse of twenty years of experience. After graduated from my three-year training in a nursing school, I had been worked in an intensive care unit (ICU) and a pulmonary unit of a public hospital. Now I am working in a non-government organization serving the mentally disabled. No matter which specialty I am working in or how senior I am, I found learning being crucial for professional competence, job satisfaction and personal growth. In this paper, I would like to reflect critically on my experience of learning in nursing with reference to relevant learning theories. Learning in workplace At the time when I started to work as a registered nurse in a new workplace after graduation from nursing school there was no structured orientation program like nowadays. As an enthusiastic beginner with an imminent need, my motivation to learn was very high. I clutched every opportunity to observe how other colleagues perform, to ask questions proactively and to study references from ward manuals and books by myself. In addition, the colleagues were willing to teach and finally I was able to meet the requirement of my new role quickly and smoothly. Formal learning With about a year of experience, I started attending formal in-service training courses. I was assigned to attend trainings of the specialty I was working with and some core management skills. Nevertheless, I got little satisfaction but I did not know the reasons at that time until I was studying my bachelor’s degree program and was promoted to Nursing Officer later on. As a new Nursing Officer I had to deal with a lot of problems which I had not come across before but some issues were the topics that I was studying at that time. I then tried to apply the knowledge and theories into practice. Not only could the knowledge solve my problems, but also the application of theories had enhanced my learning. I realized that putting theories into practice make the learning and working effective and interesting and vice versa. I felt the sense of satisfaction of learning by then. Advanced academic learning I started to pursue a master’s degree program last September. My motivation for advanced academic learning is both extrinsic and intrinsic. The academic requirement for professional nurse is increasing now and I need to upgrade myself so as to be synchronized with the pace of professional development. Academic study has made me more knowledgeable, more critical and more assertive. Moreover, the qualification enhanced my self-confidence directly. The program is actually imposing great pressure on me that I need to struggle for a balanced life between work, family and study. In order to up keep my motivation in learning, I tried hard to make the study more interesting and pragmatic by integrating theories into practice, sharing and discussing with colleagues as much as possible. Social learning My learning experience in the workplace when I was newly qualified was a kind of social learning which Atkinson, Atkinson, Smith, Bern, and Hilgard (1990) described as learning by watching the behaviors and the consequences of others. Social learning is a human instinct and we learn by it consciously or unconsciously. When I was a newly qualified nurse, the need to learn was immediate. I consciously went into the learning process of attention, retention, reproduction, and also motivation. If the displayed behavior was perceived favorable to me, my motivation was particularly high. It was because of my active participation and my self-directed learning, I had a good learning outcome at that stage. Quinn (2001) believed that the quality of the model influence the result of learning. I am always aware of my behavior when I become a senior nurse, need to act as a preceptor or a mentor and especially when I have become the ward-in-charge which Fretwell and Melia (as cited in Hand, 2006) f ound to have an exceptional strong influence on colleagues in their studies. The reinforcement of the displayed behaviors has influence on individual’s motivation to reproduce the behavior. To ensure a favorable learning outcome, I intentionally give positive reinforcement for favorable behavior and negative reinforcement for unfavorable behavior. I value social learning because it is much safer than trial and error in clinical practice and it is a natural way to learn. Reflection and critical reflection From time to time, malpractices happen in every workplace. It is important for persistent reflections to improve nursing qualities. Reflection being described by Raelin (2002) is the practice of standing back to examine the meanings of things happen around us. Reflection helps to identify malpractice and makes improvement accordingly. By reflection, nurses identify areas for improvement and improve their â€Å"quality† as models. Besides, reflection makes us more receptive to the alternatives of reasoning and behaving (Raelin,2001). There is critical reflection which is a deeper and broader type of reflection and is a collective action to enhance organizational learning and change (Gray, 2007). Furthermore, it encourages learning at a more profound and transformative level (Mezirow, 1990). Now I have established the habit of periodical reflection and I am striving to achieve appropriate critical reflection. Critical reflection involves questioning long-established believes and attitudes but may lead to resentment of the staffs. It has to be carried out skillfully at appropriate time. I discovered that the practice of critical reflection would be more receptive if it is done immediately after a critical incidence. Andragogy A part of my learning journey had contradicted to andragogy. Knowles (1990) recognized that adults learn best when they are self-directed and assume responsibility for their learning. He also expounded the following six assumptions of andragogy: 1. Adults need to know the reason to learn. 2. Adults have a self-concept of being responsible for their own decisions and need to have a self-directed learning. 3. Adults come to learn with rich experiences which are the foundation and resources for learning. 4. Adults are more ready to learn if there is a need to learn. 5. Adults’ orientation to learn is problem-centered. 6. Adults are responsive to external motivators and respond better to internal motivators. When going to formal professional trainings, I was assigned to attend some management workshops and lectures when I had only two or three years of experience. At that stage my job duty and responsibility did not include management and I was not interested in it either. So I did not know why I had to learn management. The knowledge I had learnt could not be applied into practice. Actually I was not ready to learn management at that time. It was not self-directed. I am sure that these learning would have been more fruitful if they were arranged when I needed to assist in ward management or if I had at that time a long term perspective of seeing the need to take up a management role one day. Then when I attended the ICU courses, many of the course contents could not be practiced in my hospital which was a rehabilitation hospital that the ICU was small and did not provide care as â€Å"intensive† as other large acute hospitals. A point I had to admit is that my attitude of learning at that time was passive and dependent. After attending a course or a lecture, I could actually discuss with the ward in-charge and give new ideas but I had not done so. My learning at that stage had several points contradicted to andragogy and was the reason why I did not feel satisfied with all that learning. Having got such experience, now when I do training and development plan for my staffs, I usually discuss with them about their needs and preferences. If they need to take some mandatory sessions as required by the hospital, I must make sure they know the reasons. When I coach or mentor new staffs or clinical placement students in my workplace, I would emphasis why they need to learn those things I showed to them. After my colleagues attending a course or a lecture, I usually ask them what they have learnt and encourage them to put theory into practice. Learning style Honey and Mumford (as cited in Penger and Tekavcic, 2009) categorized learning styles into four types as pragmatist, activist, reflector and theorist. My learning style can be described as pragmatist or activist. I enjoy trying new ways and test their practicability in work. I appreciate knowledge and theories that can be put into practice and solve problems. I understand that the characteristics of a reflector being favorable to listen, think and evaluate thoroughly and the characteristics of a theorist loves to see things globally are as valuable as other styles. Now I am trying to further develop my learning style because as remarked by Astin, Closs and Hughes (2006), no one learning style is regarded as the best and it is beneficial to use all four learning styles. From my point of view, different learning style is advantageous to different focus or context of learning. If the focus of learning is to acquire a hands-on skill, activist and pragmatist are more advantageous. If the focus of learning is to understand a phenomenon or a theory, reflector and theorist are more advantageous. Therefore, developing learning styles beyond our dominant types can strengthen our ability to learn. Conclusions This article reviews my learning experience in nursing. Starting with informal learning in workplace, then proceeding to formal in-service education and academic learning, I was being highly pragmatic and my orientation to learn can be explained by andragogy. I value social learning, reflection and critical reflection. My experience has impacted on my style of mentoring and coaching in clinical practice. I am striving to further develop myself to think more proactively and globally which is essential for on-going learning. References Astin, F., Closs, S.J. & Hughes, N. (2006). The self-reported learning style preferences of female Macmillan clinical nurse specialists. Nurse Education Today, 26, 475-483. Atkinson, R., Atkinson, C., Smith E., Bern D., & Hilgard, E. (1990). Introduction to psychology (10th ed.). San Diego, California: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Gray, D. E. (2007). Facilitating management learning: Developing critical reflection through reflective tools. Management Learning, 38 (5), 495-517. Hand, H. (2006). Promoting effective teaching and learning in the clinical setting. Nursing Standard, 20 (39), 55-63. Knowles, M.S. (1990). The adult learner: A neglected species (4th ed.). Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing. Mezirow, J.(1990). How critical reflection triggers transformative learning. In J. Mezirow (Ed.), Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: A guide to transformative and emancipatory learning (pp.1-20). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass. Penger, S. & Tekavcic, M. (2009). Testing Dunn & Dunn’s and Honey & Mumford’s learning style: The case of the Slovenian higher education system. Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 4 (2), 1-20. Quinn, F.M. (2001). Principles and practice of nurse education (4th ed.). Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Raelin, J.A. (2001). Public reflection as the basis of learning. Management Learning, 32 (1): 11-30. Raelin, J.A. (2002). â€Å"I don’t have time to think† versus the art of reflective practice. Reflections, 4 (1): 66-75.

Take the Dread out of Finding a Job

Take the Dread out of Finding a Job Over at Careerealism, Ilona Vanderwoude has advice for those of you who hate job searching so much you wind up self-sabotaging with procrastination or moping from one networking activity to the next. She compares her job search with exercising–it’s a productive pastime, it’s essential to her well being, but when she forces herself to work out by going to the gym, she hates it! Very relatable–particularly for those of us who hate making cold calls, talking to strangers, talking about ourselves, or undertaking any of the thousand and one small and large tasks that make up a modern job seeker’s day. Vanderwoude’s solution to her workout problem was taking Zumba classes–something she likes, dancing, mixed with something she wants, a boost of cardio! She has some suggestions to help you convert what drags you down into what builds you up, and hopes it helps you find your dream job along the way.1. Find Something You Like About Your Job Sear chWhether you like research, proofreading, imagining yourself in a totally new field, or schmoozing at happy hour, find ways to incorporate the fun stuff into the job hunting process.2. Start Your Job Transition With This Activity You EnjoyIn Vanderwoude’s words, â€Å"Forget saving the best for last†! Figure out what the â€Å"dessert† part of your job search is and do that first, every day you spend looking. Treat yourself to an editing session on your resume and cover letters before making those excruciating phone calls. Schedule an informational interview over lunch so you have fresh intel at your fingertips before you start making those networking calls.3. Cherry Pick What Works For YouDon’t feel like there’s only one way to search for your next job. Online networking is great, but if you’re not up for LinkedIn, visit Meetup.com, or your alma mater’s career resource center. Spread the message that you’re looking among frie nds and family and let word of mouth do some of the work.4. Lighten Up! Network With The People You LikeIn a tough job climate it’s easy to believe beggars can’t be choosers, but that doesn’t mean you have to subject yourself to unpleasant or uncomfortable contacts just to land a job, any job. If you let yourself gravitate to the people you like personally, you’ll put your best foot forward and make a dynamite first impression (instead of one that says an â€Å"I’m just here for the free cheese please don’t talk to me†).5. Outsource Or Get Help With The Stuff You HateWe talk a lot about running buddies at Real Match, but this is where they are crucial. If you hate proofreading but your best friend hates researching open positions on job sites, trade roles! Give her your resume to look through, and in exchange type in her keywords for her! Consider also looking into professional job coaches or head hunters.Remember to break insurmounta ble tasks into smaller, more doable versions. Each baby step gets you closer to the job you want–and without making you dread every moment.

Definition and Examples of Periphrastic Constructions

Definition and Examples of Periphrastic Constructions In English  grammar, a periphrastic construction  is one in which an independent word or multi-word expression has the same role as an inflection, such as the use of the auxiliary will with another verb to form the future tense. Periphrasis in the grammatical sense is a back-formation from the adjective periphrastic. For the rhetorical and stylistic sense of the term, see periphrasis (rhetoric). Examples and Observations A tense is inflectional if it is realized as an affix on a head (in English, a verb), periphrastic if it is realized as an independent word. Thus the English past is inflectional, but the future is periphrastic, co-opting the modal will.​  (Jeremy Butterfield, The Arguments of Time. Oxford University Press, 2006)The roots of the periphrastic forms for the future, perfect, and pluperfect can be found as early as Old English. These were established in Middle English, although the simple present and preterite forms were still possible in some contexts in which Present-Day English would use periphrastic constructions.  (Matti Rissanen, Syntax, Cambridge History of the English Language, Vol. 3, ed. by Roger Lass. Cambridge University Press, 2000) Comparison of Adjectives: Inflected and Periphrastic Patterns There are two patterns of comparison of adjectives, the inflected and the periphrastic. The inflected pattern adds -er to the positive degree: small becomes smaller, happy becomes happier. To form the superlative degree, it adds -est: smallest, happiest. The periphrastic pattern uses the adverbial intensifiers more and most: the comparatives of beautiful and ostentatious are more beautiful and more ostentatious; the superlatives are most beautiful and most ostentatious. The generalizations that seem to account for whether we choose the inflected pattern or the periphrastic are these: (1) most one- and two-syllable adjectives use the inflected pattern; (2) adjectives of three and more syllables almost always use the periphrastic; (3) the higher the frequency of two-syllable adjectives, the more likely they are to inflect for comparison; (4) the periphrastic more and most may on occasion be used with any one-syllable or high-frequency two-syllable adjective, e.g., more dear, most happy .​  (Kenneth G. Wilson, The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Columbia University Press, 1993) The Periphrastic Possessive To attribute possessiveness to inanimate objects we generally use the periphrastic possessive, that is a prepositional phrase (beginning with a preposition and followed by a noun). For the inanimate examples, we might expect the following:  (Bernard ODwyer, Modern English Structures: Form, Function, and Position. Broadview, 2006) The expense of getting wool down to the side of the ship would eat up the farmers profits.The director of the clinic made no bones about the underlying problem.After spending some months in a rather depressing Convalescent Home, I was given sick leave for a month. The Evolution of Periphrastic be going to We will describe a recent English change, the rise of periphrastic be going to ... In the periphrasis stage, a periphrastic construction is employed for a particular function. In the case of the English future, a combination of a motion verb (go) and a purpose clause (to infinitive) is employed for a future function. This stage is motivated most likely to avoid misunderstanding, although expressiveness is also sometimes invoked. . . . The construction be going to probably spread from the closely related meaning of a motion event undertaken with an intended future outcome (the purpose clause). In the fusion stage, the periphrastic construction becomes a fixed, distinct, independent construction employed specifically for the function in question. . . . This stage has clearly occurred with future be going to: it is fixed in the use of the specific verb go and the present progressive form. Finally, erosion occurs: as the construction becomes entrenched, it is phonologically and morpholo gically reduced . . .. The future be going to has commonly be reduced to the contracted form of be plus the reduced unit gonna.​  (William Croft, Evolutionary Models and Functional-Typological Theories. The Handbook of the History of English, ed. by Ans van Kemenade and Bettelou Los. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) Pronunciation: per-eh-FRAS-tik

Factors leading to the collapse of Northern Rock and their current Dissertation

Factors leading to the collapse of Northern Rock and their current position - Dissertation Example After that it started to adapt aggressive steps in order to move high. The slowdown in the housing price inflation and an increase in the interest rate, Northern Rock issued warning regarding the profit of the bank. Soon the liquidity of the bank started to dry up and eventually pushed it towards collapse. The study tries to find out the factors that are responsible for the collapse of such a huge bank that was showing good business. At the same time it also focuses on the present condition of the bank. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Chapter 1: Introduction 4 Chapter 2: Collapse of Northern Rock 5 Before Collapse 5 Reasons behind its collapse 7 Current Position 11 Chapter 3: Conclusion 12 REFERENCES 14 Chapter 1: Introduction The subprime mortgage financial crisis caused a steep rise in the subprime mortgage market of United States that started in the fall of year 2006 and became the cause of global financial crisis on July 2007. The newly-popular adjustable rate mo rtgages suffered an increase in the monthly payment due to the rising interest rates. Moreover the demise of the housing bubble caused the value of the property to suffer major decline leaving the house owners unable to meet their financial commitment and the leaders without any means of their losses. This financial crisis resulted into severe credit crunch, intimidating the solvency of many marginal banks and other financial institutions (Jansen, Beulig and Linsmann, 2010). Northern Rock was one of such banks that were severely hit by the waves of financial crisis. Among the entire spill over effects of the subprime crisis in US, the collapse of Northern Rock was the first in UK and was considered to be the most visible and perturbing for the authority of UK. This collapse exposed the tension that the central banks need to take some more stringent steps in order to enhance the liquidity support facilities. It also highlighted on the inherent difficulties that lay with the tripartite arrangements made to deal with the banking crisis, the deficiencies in the banking supervision and regulation in UK and the flaws evident in the deposit protection arrangement of UK (Hall, 2008). It also revealed the fragility of the banking system of UK, by shaking the complacency of the regulators, politicians and bankers, undermining the confidence of the general public on the banking system of UK and creating a calamitous effect on the economy of UK. All these reasons make it important to understand the situation that led to the collapse of Northern Rock. Hence the study highlights on the causes of collapse of Northern Rock and its current position. Chapter 2: Collapse of Northern Rock Before Collapse Northern Rock was the eighth largest bank of United Kingdom (UK). At the beginning of the year 2007 it was riding high and in June 2007, the share prices of the bank were seen to touch 1,000p and at the same time it announced that it has sold mortgage worth ?10.7bn, which was 47% higher than the figures of 2006. After it was demutualised in the year 1997, Northern Rock started growing rapidly in order to become the fifth largest mortgage lender of UK. The aggressive expansion of Northern Rock was funded by heavy reliance on unsecured and secured borrowings. About 50% of the funding came from securitization through a special purpose vehicle called Granite. The funds and retail deposits were seen to fall from 62.7% in