Observation Toddler

The name of the child that is being observed is Rachael. She is a female toddler who weighs 26 pounds and is 32 ? inches tall. According to biosocial development most children, by 24 months, weigh almost 30 pounds and are between 32 and 36 inches tall. According to the data of the United States, Rachael weight of 28 pounds lands between the 10th and the 50th girls percentiles, which are 22 ? pounds and 26 ? pounds. Her height of 32 ? is in the 10th girls percentiles. Her skin tone is dark and her hair long curly brown she is Spanish and causasion mix. Rachael and her eight year old sister were sitting on at the kitchen table when I came in. They both were having lunch, sandwich with turkey and cheese, raw carrot, chips and juice. Rachael’s mother told the girls after wash their hands; they can go out in the backyard to play. Rachael was excited and told her, â€Å"Play mommy†. As I watched Rachael wash her little had it looked like she loved the warm water and soap on her hands. She looked at me and smiled, and I winked at her with approval. Smiling is an emotional development which falls in biosocial and psychosocial development. Rachael dried her hands and rushed outside to play in the backyard. The first thing she did was get on her electric Barbie truck. Using her fine motor skills, she was able to manver it without any help, as her was grinded one hand on the wheel she waved to her mother. Hi mommy! Her older sister saw playing with a ball and started to bounce it. Rachel, stop her truck and jumped out and ran to her said and told her, no that’s mine and had gripped the ball and walked away. She then started to use her gross motor skills, she had bounced the ball as her sister did and then was hitting it with her hand. She then walked up to her sister and said, â€Å"Here ball† the emotional was a smile. Her social interaction is of her beginning to acknowledge sharing with others. She then went to pick up a toy and throw it and her Mother told her in a claim voice Rachael please does not throw the toy. She just looked at her Mom and just started running around chasing her sister. She was laughing and at one point started to crawl on the ground and rolling in the grass again using her gross motor skills. There was a little play structure and she climb the latter another motor skill in the biosocial development and in which context and culture are crucial for acquisition of this skill. Rachael used her sensor motor skills and memory skills today. Her social interaction I observed was positive which I saw in her playing and communication. In receptive vs. expressive language skills, she seemed to receive when spoken. Though at this age, language is a leading cognitive accomplishment. By doing this observation, I had learned that it’s much easier to understand children and their development by observing their unique ways.

Miranda Complex in Julia Alvarez’s How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Essay

The article of Jennifer Bess who is an assistant professor of Peace Studies at Coucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, starts with a quotation from Alice Walker’ s book The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart: A diary like this, with so many blank pages, seems to reflect a life permeated with gaps, an existence full of holes. But perhaps that is what happens when one’s experience is so intensely different from anything dreamed of as a child that there seems literally to be no words for it. This quotation is a kind of foreshadowing of what Bess puts forward in her article. The article starts with the background of the Miranda complex which is stated in the article’s title. It is mentioned that there is a girl named Miranda in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. She has all the privileges of her father’s administration over an island; however she states that â€Å" I have suffered/ with there that I saw suffer! â€Å" because of his father’s authoritarianism. From the gender point of view, she carries the burden of oppression and powerlessness of Caribbean people and also the burden of oppression â€Å"the benefits and protection offered by colonizing father and husband. † She is a victim and an inheritor of the forces of colonialism at the same time. According to the article, Julia Alvarez studies this complex inheritance in her autobiographically based novel How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Alvarez’s characters tell many truths about their history and shared identity through Garcia girls. At the beginning of the novel, Alvarez goes back to the history of Garcia family to the time of Miranda . There were conquerors â€Å"encircling her own wrists† and she passes on these conquistadors to the Garcia sisters in the novel. The novel then emphasizes the themes of loss and violation; on the one hand there is a comfort and strength when the Garcia girls experience the female alliance and the richness of their shared Dominican experience; on the other hand however, they feel the pain of oppression. Because the privileged women of color tell only some parts of the story, her novel involves the mixed voices of silent people and the history’s loses along with Garcia family’s role in violence and victimization. According to the article, Alvarez’s characters come across wit the absence of memories so she must dig into the collective memory in order to uncover what remains of â€Å"common experience broken in time. Just like Miranda, the character Yolanda sympathizes with the others who suffer, however; she cannot identify herself with them completely because of her privilege, just as she cannot identify completely with Americans and even with her own extended family on the island. Her identity is fractured, unlike Miranda who depends on her father to fill in the gaps of her past, Yolanda takes the responsibility and writes her own past; in short she â€Å"recaptures the self† through her self creation. Alvarez’s characters cannot recover the loses of the past but with the exploration of Miranda’s complex, they transform â€Å"mandate of silence† into a revolution of truth telling and self-invention. For the Bess, the novel’s missing words and missing stories forms its theme; however the theme is not only one of loss ; it is also one in which Miranda faces the price of her family’s privilege. In other words, Alvarez uses absences and silence to expose the complexity of her characters’ inheritance, an inheritance shared by all â€Å"who have been shaped by the legacies of western expansion. Bess uses a quotation from Almanac of the Dead referring the alienation that the Garcia girls experienced; In Almanac of the Dead, Leslie Marmon Silko explains through a storyteller that the theory of the Big Bang was â€Å"consistent with everything else that he had seen: from their flimsy attachments to one another and their children to their abandonme nt of the land where they had been born,† westerners and those who have inherited their culture all share the same fate of alienation as do Adam and Eve, â€Å"wandering aimlessly because the insane God who had sired them had abandoned† and expelled them (1991, 258). She continues with another quotation stating that Silko calls the European as the orphaned children and thinks that the girls suffer after their exile: As Silko continues, â€Å"the Europeans had not been able to sleep soundly on the American continents, not even with a full military guard. They,† Like their heirs in Carlos and Yolanda, â€Å"suffered from nightmares and frequently claimed to see devils and ghosts† Their past, divided by the â€Å"river of bodies† left by the Haitian massacre and by the massacre of the natives hundreds of years before, will forever keep the Garcias orphaned spiritually.

Is the Chinese Renminbi Undervalued Essay

Since July 2005, first time being revalued after 11 years of fixing at 8.27, Chinese Yuan has been heading towards only one direction – all the way from 8.27 to 6.27. Although Yuan is a highly regulated currency by government, Chinese officials could no longer peg the Yuan as it used to be in a closed economy because WTO had opened up doors for Chinese manufacturers in 2001 to export cheap goods and services to developed countries. With trillions of foreign capital flooding into the country, Yuan has appreciated over 30% over seven years. However, this one-way money flow cannot be sustained. Though it is not sure whether Yuan is at the absolute equilibrium, it is currently neither significantly undervalued nor overvalued. This essay is going to explain why Yuan is modestly priced with analysis in both the fundamentals and money flows. Needs for appreciation in past In theory, two open economies should have equivalent purchasing power – that is, if 10 units of foreign currency can buy something that is valued at 1 unit of domestic currency, the implied equilibrium exchange rate should also be 10(domestic as based money). Otherwise, there is an arbitrage opportunity. We call this Purchase Power Parity. In reality, despite some limitations about this theory, it explains most of the valuation problem in China. Take a look at China’s Balance of Payments over 2003-2010 and it is obvious to observe huge surplus annually in both current and capital & financial account, accumulating to a foreign reserve of $3.3 trillion. Reach equilibrium? At the government level, on one hand, it had to increase money base to maintain exchange rate against USD at a gradual appreciation pace. On the other hand, it needs to hold huge foreign assets, primarily in USD, to back up its currency from deprecation in the event of capital outflows. Amid the money inflow, Chinese central bank faced mounting pressure of inflation on local assets. The private sectors are impacted in two ways. Firstly, Chinese residents and companies feel much richer now because higher RMB increases their purchase power of foreign assets. This means more imports and capital account outflows. Secondly, inflation and appreciation means that Chinese products and services are more expensive. And this would lead to less exports. Pew Survey showed that 70% of Chinese people feel financially better off than five years ago, which among the best in the world. In the last a few years, the fact of continues Yuan appreciation, associated with stories about how China is cash rich and how Chinese investors are buying everything they can in the world, raises interesting discussion if Yuan had appreciated enough. There is also a trend that more goods are manufactured in new WTO members such as Nepal and Vietnam that have price advantage over China. Moreover, in the currency forward market, investors have priced in modest depreciation for Yuan in the next 12 months and spot market is no longer moving towards one direction. Data shows†¦ All those various observations reveal the same process that drives RMB exchange rate to an equilibrium level. Recent data also suggests that at current FX level, the rise in trade surplus and capital & finance account surplus slowed (see chart below). So does foreign reserve. What does it means? If we apply a popular formula: Capital out flow = Foreign Reserve – FDI – Trade surplus Numbers imply that 62.4 – 128.5 – 145.8 = 211.9 billions has flown out of China in the first three quarters of 2012. Although this estimation still lacks of actual evidence, the scale of growth slowing down in foreign reserve in 2012 is worth attention since it is so large that it is hard to be justified by seasonal adjustment or calculation period discrepancy. This might signal the start of reverse capital flows of Yuan, which means Yuan is no longer undervalued. Ultimately†¦ The answer to Yuan’s valuation problem is complex especially given that it is still mostly controlled by government and there are so many dynamic factors to consider. So far there are some money flows and data support the conclusion that Yuan is no longer significantly undervalued. In the long run, as expectation of Chinese government to allow a fully conversion Yuan is built on, maybe the real answer can only be found out by then.

Organization of a Healthcare Facility Assignment

Organization of a Healthcare Facility - Assignment Example In addition, the health facility aims at providing affordable health care to its client. Delver Health Care will be a clinic working under the supervision of qualified physicians who have academically specialised in seven health related issues; dermatology, gynaecology, heart diseases, respiratory disease, surgery and gastroenterology. Mission Delver Health Care exists to ensure that patients suffering from various health conditions are treated by qualified medical practitioners. As such, patients in and around New York are guaranteed of quality medical attention at an affordable rate from the facility. Equally, as a health facility, we are aware that health is the first priority in the life of individuals, thus specialisation is key to our services. Vision â€Å"Delver Health Care will distinguish itself as a leader in specialized health care delivery and will be and together with other willing partners, there will be provision of quality services to patients in the community.† The Impact of Merger and Acquisition According to Sherman 2011, mergers and acquisition is a program that offers the acquirers benefits of great potential and value especially when the objective has been selected carefully,. Never the less, the program is also capable of bringing about risks that are inevitable. To begin with, the program should focus on the integrated efforts that are supposed to influence the expected benefits. As such, the business should focus on working to accomplish its objective. Delver Health Care as For-Profit Business Apparently, for profit organization, it entails professionals who volunteer as consultants, facilitators to various institutions in exchange for payment of services. In light of this, the Doctors Board of America should come up with Delver Health Care as a for -Profit business as a result of a problem they believe they could address. As such, they should come together and decided to offer their services in order to benefit their people or community. Of importance to note is that there must be a good service, a market for the service, which in this case is patients who are in dire need of the services (Heller, 2009). Consequently, the possibility of having Delver Health Care as for profit business denotes that the Doctors Board of America is at liberty to decide what they want to do with the net earning or profit that will be generated by the health care facility. According to a feasibility study conducted through the mandate of the Doctors Board of America, it was found out that over 43 % of the population in New York were individuals who suffered from chronic illnesses particularly heart diseases, but did not find facilities that offered specialised treatment around the city (Stevens, 1998). In relation to this, the Doctors Board of America through a consultant concluded that health care business would only operate as for profit business. Moreover, the feasibility study explains the three main issues revolving the i nception of the health care business; market issues, technical and organizational requirements, and the financial overview. Wolper, 2004 argues that in terms of market issues, it was evident that most people in the region required specialised treatment meaning that, the opening of the health centre would automatically ease

If I were the president of the United States Assignment

If I were the president of the United States - Assignment Example Additionally, by working together with the volunteers, the veterans will be understood and be better appreciated in the society by eradicating negativity associated with the veterans. Education has become very expensive especially higher education which is vital in the success of manpower development . The development of policies targeting the less privileged in the society which changes the society and improves the accessibility of education. However, challenges will exist in the funding process because of the increasing demand for educational support. Healthcare department is almost very expensive with the main challenge being at the cost and accessibility. However, the success of the affordable healthcare policy can be achieved by equipping the hospitals and the health care centers. I will address several issues of cost by offering better medical services by improving accessibility in the process. In addition, the cost of of drugs and support services can be improved and be made accessible by opening new centers and developing medical database. The development of the computerized data storage for the patient will improve accuracy in

Organizational Culture in Multinational Corporations Research Paper - 1

Organizational Culture in Multinational Corporations - Research Paper Example The culture in general and broad-spectrum comprises of assumptions, beliefs, values, norms, customs, artifacts, and several other components, likewise organization also have its norms, values, principles and policies that makes up a characteristics of the organization. In the view of many experts and theorists, culture can come under illustration and distinguish itself on three levels (Schneider, 1988). Behavior and artifacts are considerably the most obvious and manifest level as it encompasses the behavioral structure of the populace of a particular culture. Values or the principles are the subsequent level that motivate, inspire, and figure out the actions of the people. Assumptions, hypothesis, values and attitude are the distant and rooted level and considerably the most vital and imperative level to apprehend (Schneider, 1988). In order to understand the effective functioning of the organization, it is pivotal to identify with the culture first as it is a complete experience of the happenings and circumstances that encircles the entire population of the world (Alvesson, 2002). With the emergence of the multinational corporations that managed their operations in a number of countries apart from the parent country, a new concept also came under development that came under the explanation as organizational culture. Organizational culture is one of the foremost and primitive facets that are cumulative endeavors of the workforce of the enterprise and their actions and conduct (Alvesson, 2002). Although organizational culture has come under analysis and study from a wide variety of aspects, yet it does not have a solitary and distinct definition as it is complicated and tricky to articulate in a noticeable or apparent manner. Some schools of thought even refer the organizational culture as a system where the key in elements are the response and opinion from various

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Education - Essay Example After the final work, you will find the areas in your work I edited. The ideas I added are typed in RED to make you spot the new additions. I have also attached one more article that I used. If your teacher requests for it, you may provide it to him. Thank you and hoping we work again in the nearest future since my field is Education. Isaac #72032 TUI UNIVERSITY Grear Dale III MAE 515 MOD 3 SLP Dr. Xiaoying Wu February 21, 2011 Texas Public School System Education is an important aspect of society. In the view of Goer (2007), education has an enormous impact on the human society. It trains the human mind to think and take the right decision. To this effect, human is regarded as a rational being and distinguished from other animals when he is educated to take control of himself and over the environment around him. Education therefore equips humankind with the knowledge to take charge over his immediate environment and make it suitable for his existence. It is for the reason of this im mense impact of education that States all over the world adapt educational systems that will be most suitable to the needs of its citizens and help solve the immediate problems of its people. To ensure that the adapted educational system meets the expectation of society, there are systems put in place to check for success and progress of the entire educational system. Checking for success of the educational system includes checking whether the curriculum answers the most immediate perturbing issues of society and whether stakeholders in the educational system; including students and teachers are living up to the standards of the educational system. The system that is used for checking whether the educational system is up to standard is commonly referred to as assessment. In the State of Texas, the public school system is one of the most esteemed forms of education. Texas’ public school system continues to use a variety of assessments in which to evaluate curriculum and teache rs/instructors. Assessments are conducted by students in determining where their school ranks within districts throughout the state. The rankings are not always used in a positive manner. Some assessments are in an attempt to solicit student enrollment into certain school districts. The State of Texas’ overall intent for its ranking procedure and policies is also used to promote schools as Magnet schools, which is a positive step to improve student outcomes. Magnet schools throughout the state of Texas receive much more funding regular schools. It focuses on special funding for special programs and compensation to teachers/instructors who deliver their curriculum to a certain standard. It is noticeable that the typical standard school receives far less funding and therefore students are less likely to receive the same standard of education. The intent of this analysis is to compare certification programs and evaluation requirements for teachers as well as students within the state of Texas school districts. What is a Magnet School? The article â€Å"Public School Review,† suggest that the difference between a Magnet and regular public schools â€Å"is that they usually have something special to offer over a regular school, which makes attending Magnet schools an attractive choice to many students, thereby increasing the diversity of the student population within them.† (Chen, 2007) Students who are privileged to enroll in Magnet schools

Letter and Memo Paper Pre-Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Letter and Memo Paper Pre-Assignment - Essay Example nvironment had remained relatively pristine due to the vigilance of the people against the development and use of energy sources that are polluting to the environment and contributory to climate change. I have been in the energy industry for most of my professional life and surprised to see how Americans are becoming more and more dependent on fossil fuels when â€Å"Peak Oil† had been upon us long ago. Instead, the state government of Colorado should pursue clean energy alternatives like wind and solar power. The Colorado Green Wind Farm (at Lamar, Prowers, Colorado) is a good example to reduce reliance on costly imported oil (Makhijani 31). Colorado is among the top 20 states with high potential for wind energy (at no. 11 with 481 billion kw-hours annually), an enough supply to meet all the states electricity requirements were it not for factors like intermittency and geographic location considerations. However, we need not wait for flooding like what happened in some countries (like the Philippines mentioned above) to wake us up that the effects of global warming are upon us like what Al Gore cited in his â€Å"Inconvenient Truth† movie. However, what is markedly absent from the energy debate is environmental optimism (Easterbrook, Sept. 2006) and Mike Keefes cartoon clichà © update (Denver Post, September 29, 2009) could become reality soon. The readers of the Denver Post are not only the people of Colorado but include those of some neighboring states like Nebraska, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah and Oklahoma. There are even some readers from as far away as Texas, Kansas, the two Dakotas and Idaho. With a mean elevation of 6,800 feet (2,073 meters), the state of Colorado seems to be so far away from concerns like massive flooding generated by climate change from global warming effects. Furthermore, the people of this region in the United States take pride in their pristine environment and they mostly want to preserve it that way for generations to come. A way to do

Journal about Religion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Journal about Religion - Assignment Example These religions contribute to creation and maintenance of peace among people. They also help to instil and shape the moral aspects of human beings by teaching people how to behave in the society. People can identify what is bad and good or wrong and right through religious teachings. For instance, through religious teachings, a child grows up knowing that stealing is wrong and helping others is right. Therefore, the religion helps to shape up the behaviors of people by promoting morality and righteousness in life (Haight 123). Most of the religions in the world support peace. However, wars and violence historically and presently seem to transpire in the name of religion. Most armed conflicts and wars are undertaken for religious reasons. Religious components contribute either directly or indirectly to armed as well as inter-ethnic conflicts. For instance, Muslims and Christians have lived their life-fighting due to religious differences. Some Muslims fanatics, particularly in the country of Somalia, execute Christians unnecessarily (Williams

N Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

N - Assignment Example For instance the employees offer labor in order to have a good pay, good work conditions, and security. Through their labour, the organization operates to meet its financial and operational objectives (Post, 2002). Shareholders or business owners contribute their investments to the organization even as creditors offer financial or non-financial support in case the organization experiences a shortfall in resoures. This way, investors and creditors ensure that the organization has the resources neessary for its successful operation. Managers and directors contribute to the organization by overseeing its activities and performance and in formulating policies and strategies asnoted by Edward and Reed (2005). Suppliers provide the organization with the resources such as raw materials that it needs to produce its products. Without certain supplies, in spite of the organization rich endowment, no production can be effected. Yet again, without customers, the organization’s activities would be in vain. Customers pay for the goods and services that the company produces thereby contributing to the profitability of the organization. The government and trade unions somehow regulate the activities of the organization. While they may contribute to the organization’s operational and financial success, the two may also negatively impact on its profitability as a result of suh factors as taxes and higher pay demands (Post, 2002). In conclusion, achievement of the organization is assessed in small parts, by reports of financial success and conformity, and partly by meeting the prospects of its stakeholders. Therefore, the stakeholders give the organization the challenge of working extra hard in order to meet their expectations as well as those of the organization An organization’s success is important to its stakeholders hence the

Community safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Community safety - Essay Example Home security to low income communities is a service which is been provided by American Corps under Safe Neighbourhood AmeriCorps Partnership (SNAP). They provide free demonstration security assessments and hardware instalments and provide instruments on demand. This helps them in saving their money on training and resident feel secure. Probability of failure is negligible as only one among all accessed house has faced this problem (SNAP, 2000). Fire Safety is a process by which measures are taken for preventing and reducing fire disasters. It can be implemented during and after construction of building. Its education is also required to individuals for their premises safety. Workplace fire safety is a non - domestic area safety. In England, it is done under supervision of Communities and Local Government (CLG) and in Scotland and Wales under Scottish Government and Wales Assembly Government. HSE (Health and Safety Executive) looks after cases responsible for fire safety. Good Neighbourhood Watch Schemes is a strategy which helps in reducing crime in local areas by motivating individuals to accept their responsibilities towards self safety and community safety. CCTV and Radio link are been used for reducing crime taking place in retail shops and streets. Education and promotions of diversionary related to youth are implemented for reducing rate of crime and offences related to young people. It also helps in overcoming hatred and prejudice. For this protection schemes are also been formulated and implemented. Agencies are established and many schemes and policies are adopted for stopping distribution of drugs and alcohols among young generation. Online services and many agencies and policies are been adopted for stopping domestic violence and sexual assault. Stay Safe Stay Secure Scheme is been adopted for helping older people. It helps them to feel safe in their home (BCSP, 2008). There are many issues faced by fire safety departments. They can be

Internet Security Essay Example for Free

Internet Security Essay The key techniques to the most affordable website security would be the casual features of the website for the purpose of safeguarding the website content and the transactions that are to be made for fulfilling the ecommerce objectives of the website. The following can be credited to the diverse ways to secure the website and customer information for the â€Å"Grandmas Treats† website: Web content security: It forms the greater part of the security as they are aimed at non-representation or illegal presentation of false content that a user is not expected to see. The term cross site scripting (or XSS) is often used in conjunction with the web content and links that are to be secured for a website. Acunetix (2007) own product Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner is easily downloadable and comes free. Using that one could scan their website for any such flaws. Directory traversal attacks: The directory traversal attacks are quite common where the links are traversed to a very different path where the information flows to the hackers. It is due to the malfunction of the codes at the client and server sides. The code efficiency and link path requires to be checked periodically so that one is able to redesign and test the system for any malfunction. SQL injection: It is another method where intruders are capable to draw information from one website using SQL languages to illegally fetch customer’s data for obtaining their financial information or to manipulate information for wrong use. The website must be checked periodically for such incidents and must also make sure that customer records are encrypted using 128 bit security layers at the database side. The database security must be checked for getting sure that no such activity is evident. The customer’s financial information would be encrypted to hide it from easy access from hackers. E-commerce transactions security: The use of SSL 3. 0 makes sure that all vulnerabilities regarding the tapping of information so that ones purchases are safe in all respects. The use of this protocol makes sure that a secured channel is followed for communication between the client communicating clients. The use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) is important and can be enabled for any website for securing the communication to the communicating clients. IETF (2007) explains that TLS composes of point to point authentication techniques and communications privacy over the internet strengthening the encryption. 1. Web server checks and database security checks: The periodic checks are done to put a check on performance of the website and database usage. All the relevant links and database security is checked for overall assurance. 2. Database backup: The database backup plans must be devised accordingly for keeping the records safe to protect against unforeseen disasters (Navathe, 2002). These simple tips would be helpful for the website to take care of the affordable needs for security and customer data protection so that one is able to safely carry out transactions over the internet. References Acunetix (2007). Web Site Security Center: Check Implement Web Site Security. Retrieved 16, December 2007 from http://www.acunetix.com/websitesecurity/

Journalism: News Access And Source Power

Journalism: News Access And Source Power In the study of mass communication, there has been a continuous debate about the more or less powerful effects of the media on the public. This power is not restricted to the influence of the media on their audiences, but also involves the role of the media within the broader framework of the social, cultural, political or economic power structures of society. Ideally, a media system suitable for a democracy ought to provide its readers with some coherent sense of the broader social forces that affect the conditions of everyday life. However, it is difficult to find anyone who even remotely approaches this ideal (Gamson et al, 1992). The overwhelming conclusion is that the media generally operate in ways that promote apathy, cynicism and quiescence, rather than active citizenship and participation. This essay will explore the evidence that is offered that suggests why the nature of source/media relations matters in environmental issues and non-governmental organisations. It will also look at why communications and media researchers continue to investigate the topic and why source/media relations are important. Media discourse analysis has traditionally focused on the news product. These studies have not only yielded important insights into the structure (Bell 1991, 1998), function (Jaworski, Fitzgerald and Morris, 2003; Khalil, 2006) and effect (Fairclough, 1995; van Dijk, 1998) of media language, but have also described micro level aspects such as the mechanics of turn-taking, repair and pause length in news interviews (Clayman and Heritage, 2002). Recently, however, the scope of media discourse analysis has started to broaden to include the complex discursive practices that lie at the heart of the news production process. Additionally, with the advent of new technologies, crucial ingredients of the news production process are now being opened up to researchers, with corporate websites parading massive press release archives and internet based news agencies and e-mail distribution services spreading breaking news in real time to whoever is interested in it (Geert, 1999). News access and news selection are the yin and yang of news production studies (Geert, 1999). Cottle (2000b) distinguishes the sociological and a culturalist paradigm in theories of news access. While the former investigates news access in terms of strategic and definitional power, examining patterns of news access, routines of news production and processes of source intervention the latter theorises news access in terms of cultural and ritual power, [sensitive], to the symbolic role of news actors and how they perform/enact within the conventions and textual structures of news representation ritual, story, narrative (pp. 28-9). News sociology has a long standing tradition. Early, seminal studies of deviance (Becker, 1963), newsworthiness (Galtung and Ruge, 1973), news management (Schudson, 1978), hegemony (Hall et al, 1978) paved the way for political economy views of corporate control (Herman and Chomsky, 1988) and mediatisation (Thompson, 1995) on the one hand, and social constructionist approaches to news production (Gitlin, 1980) on the other. The classic newsroom ethnographies of the 1970s and 1980s (Tunstall, 1971; Tuchman, 1972, 1978; Gans, 1979; Golding and Elliot, 1979; Fishman, 1980; Erickson, Baranek and Chan, 1987) crystallised a radical moment in the historical development of news study. Taken together these studies forced attention to the structural and institutional forces at play in newsrooms, focusing on how news is an organisational and bureaucratic accomplishment of routine (Cottle, 2000a, p. 21). For example, Tuchman (1972) sees source dependence as a strategic ritual, borne out of a pro fessional ideology allowing journalists to frame their work as objective accounts of news events. According to Geert (1999), while this early generation of social scientists drove home the importance of professional routines, norms and settings of news production, other scholars have pointed to theoretical blind spots. With new technologies being introduced in newsrooms (Pavlik, 2000), come new concepts of journalistic practice (Carlson, 2007), leading to questions of continued theoretical validity and calls for updating newsroom ethnography (Cottle, 2000a; Zelizer, 2004). Schudson (2005) has warned against the dangers of a reductionist or determinist approach to the media in which the news production process is seen as the direct result of underlying economic and political forces. Such an approach does not account for the agency of journalists as social actors, which, given in todays changing news ecology, is especially pressing. Indeed, it could be argued that, from an analytical point of view, media sociology has largely disregarded journalistic agency in favour of organisatio nal and institutional levels of analysis. Recently, however, some scholars have pointed their attention to alternative theories of cultural production, most prominently, Bourdieus field theory (Couldry, 2003; Benson, 2006; Hesmondhalgh, 2006; Neveu, 2007). In contradistinction of grand sociological debates, cultural and anthropological studies of news production such as Peterson (2001) and Stà ¥hlberg (2002) apply notions of social mediation, cultural production and reflexivity in analysing the situated practices of media production and consumption. This burgeoning field which has come to be identified as media anthropology (Askew and Wilk, 2002; Ginsburg, Abulughod and Larkin, 2002; Peterson, 2003; Rothenbuhler and Coman, 2005; Boyer and Hannerz, 2006) theorises the ethnography of media production as an emergent effort, to talk about the agency of media producers within a cultural system while still recognising their embeddedness in larger structures of power, (Peterson, 2003, p. 164). van Dijk (1990) notes that a brief conceptual analysis is needed in order to specify what notions of power are involved in such an approach to the role of the news media. Social power as van Dijk explains is summarily defined as a social relation between groups or institutions, involving the control by a (more) powerful group or institution (and its members) of the actions and the minds of (the members) a less powerful group. Such power generally presupposes privileged access to socially valued resources, such as force, wealth, income, knowledge or status. van Dijk goes on to explain that media power is generally symbolic and persuasive, the sense that the media primarily have the potential to control to some extent the minds of readers or viewers, but not directly their actions. Except in cases of physical, coercive force, the control of action, which is usually the ultimate aim of the exercise of power, is generally indirect, whereas the control of intentions, plans, knowledge, bel iefs or opinions that is mental representations that monitor overt activities is presupposed. Also, van Dijk (1990) notes that given the presence of other sources of information, and because the media usually lack access to the sanctions that other such as legal or bureaucratic-institutions may apply in cases on noncompliance, mind control by the media can never be complete. On the contrary, psychological and sociological evidence suggests that despite the pervasive symbolic power of the media, the audience will generally retain a minimum of autonomy and independence and engage more or less actively, instead of purely passively, in the use of the means of mass communication. In other words, whatever the symbolic power of the news media, at least some media users will generally be able to resist such persuasion. Another notion in the analysis of media power is that of access. According to van Dijk (1990), it has been shown that power is generally based on special access to valued social resources. Thus, controlling the means of mass communication is one of the crucial conditions of social power in contemporary information societies. Indeed, besides economic or other social conditions of power, social groups may be attributed social power by their active or passive access to various forms of public, other influential or consequential discourse, such as those of the mass media, scholarship or political and corporate decision making (p. 12). Although ordinary people may make use of the news media, they generally have no direct influence on news content, nor are they usually the major news actors of news reports (van Dijk, 1990). Elite groups or institutions, on the other hand, may be defined by their broader range and scope of patterns of access to public or other important discourses and communicative events. Leading politicians, managers, scholars or other professionals have more or less controlled access to many different forms of text and talk, such as meetings, reports, press conferences or press releases. This is especially true for their access to media discourse. Journalist will seek to interview them, ask their opinion, and thus introduce them as major news actors or speakers in news reports. If such elites are able to control these patterns of media access, they are by definition more powerful than the media. On the other hand, those media that are able to control access to elite discourse, in such a way that elites become dependent on them in order to exercise their own power, may in turn play their own role in the power structure. In other words, major news media may themselves be institutions of power and dominance, with respect not only to the public at large, but also to other elite institutions. (van Dijk, 1990, p. 12). For some areas like risk and the environment as well as issues like trade unions which are non-governmental organisations, media discourse is to a significant extent, a discourse dependent upon the voices of official experts. Environmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, industry, scientists, and government offer their own particular competing accounts of the reality of the situation. Issues concerning differential access to the news media are crucial when considering who comes to define the event. Accordingly, the following examines news/source media relations as it relates to 1) environmental issues and 2) non-governmental and the various news sources involved in influencing the symbolic representation of public issues. News/Source Media Relations and Environmental Issues Over recent decades a growing environmental promotion industry has emerged, alongside an increasing emphasis upon environmental advocacy. A number of information crises (eg. The Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989) have forced sections of industry to take a more proactive approach to environmental communications as potent imagery has directed contradicted assurances that environment protection is not compromised by their activities (Anderson, 1991). At the same time, the public exhibit a growing sense of distrust of scientists (Beck, 1992). The sense of distrust has partly emerged from news media formats that favour confrontational dialogue among experts and offer the public little means of evaluating opposing viewpoints. There has been a tendency to display the debates in dramatic, sensational headlines rather than a considered approach that furthers public understanding of the issues (Anderson, 1991). The sheer complexity of many environmental issues acts as a major constraint, particula rly considering that relatively few journalists reporting on these matters possess a scientific background (Anderson, 1997; Nelkin, 1995; Peters, 1995). The news media possess a great responsibility in relaying scientific issues to the public, since they contribute a major source of information about science within our society (Adam, 1991). Through their mediation, interpretation and translation of otherwise in accessible knowledge into a publicly accessible form, news workers are not only prime sources of public information but also the principal social; theorists of contemporary industrial societies. As such, they carry a heavy burden, a responsibility they are poorly equipped to provide and that does not sit comfortably with their own self-perception. That is their understanding of themselves as harbingers of news, disseminators of matter of human interest and providers of a critical perspective on the more shady aspects of socio-political and socio-economic life (p. 125). Routine news media reporting of environmental issues is often mediated through the expert as the voice of authority. However, it is important to note the ways in which the news media present certain expert voices as being self-evidently authoritative whilst competing views are frequently portrayed as non-credible, irrational and partisan. This can have the effect of discouraging critical thinking and the brushing aside of lay views. However, as Beck (1992) observes there are some grounds for optimism since the media also potentially play a part of opening up the critique of science and exposing conflicts of opinion and ideological standpoints. At the same time research suggests that while official news sources may not automatically enjoy the most statistically prominent level of news coverage, they are far more likely to appear in news formats where they enjoy a larger degree of editorial control. Also they tend to provide analytical knowledge as opposed to subjective/experiential kn owledge (Cottle, 1999). It has been frequently observed that the news media representation of environmental issues is pre-occupied with bad news. Much environmental coverage is centred on events rather than issues (Hansen, 1990, 1999; Molotch and Lester, 1975; Singer and Endreny, 1987). This partly reflects the fact that much news coverage is based on a 24 hour cycle and especially applies to television news (Anderson, 1997). This orientation towards events may encourage audience members to place blame upon particular companies or individuals within a company, rather than see this in terms of broader structural problems. One such example is the Exxon Valdez disaster with event-centred coverage. Coverage of the oil spill tended to be framed around the allegation that it was caused by the drunken state of the Captain, Joseph Hazelwood. This played down other possible angles concerning cutbacks in maritime safety standards or the oil industrys poor capacity to clean up large oil spills in areas such as the Pri nce William Sound (Dyer et al, 1991; Hannigan, 1995). News media representations of the environment are also influenced by socio-political and cultural factors. Particular issues or events that capture attention tend to be mediagenic and can be easily situated within the established institutional framework. Often these resonate with deeply held cultural beliefs and values that operate at a powerful symbolic level. Another key aspect of news discourse, which particularly applies to television, is the reliance upon strong visual images to capture the audiences interest. In many cases the availability and quality of pictures becomes a central factor affecting broadcasters judgements about the news worthiness of a given environmental issue and is especially salient for short news bulletins. Political agendas and the perceived importance that politicians place upon particular issues also influence news values. Routine reporting on environmental issues is to a significant extent based around the voices of official experts, particularly indivi duals within government departments who are more likely to gain extended news actor entry through, for example, appearing in live interviews (Cottle, 1999). Since the late 1970s environmental pressure groups in countries such as Britain and the United States (US) have become increasingly in their approaches to the news media. Particularly, they have become more adept at packaging their material in media friendly ways. Some groups have enjoyed some notable successes in manipulating news values to their own ends, but this has imposed significant constraints in terms of how they have been able to frame issues (Gramson and Modigliani, 1989). Issue sponsors, such as environmental pressure groups, play a key role in communicating environmental affairs. These competing sources have differing levels of information subsidies in terms of resources such as cost and time, which affects how far the media rely upon them on as routine basis. Ericson et al (1989) note: News is a product of transactions between journalists and their sources. The primary source of reality for news is not what is displayed or what happens in the real world. The reality of news is embedded in the nature and type of social and cultural relations that develop between journalists and their sources (p. 189). Many studies of environmental reporting have found a tendency for official sources to gain the most privileged access to the media (Anderson, 1997). Molotch and Lesters (1975) seminal study of the press coverage of the Santa Barbara Oil Spill found that federal officials and industry spokespersons gained more access to the media, compared with local officials or conservationists. However, they note that initially an accident may bypass the usual routine bias towards official frames due to its unexpected nature. This suggests that non-routine environmental reporting may, in some instances, open up new channels to groups who may often be marginalised within the media. This was found to be the case in the United Kingdom (UK) national press coverage of the seal plague a virus, which killed a large number of common seals of the Norfolk coast in the UK during the summer of 1988 (Anderson, 1991, 1997). The way in which the seal plague came to serve as an icon for an environment in crisis s hares some striking similarities to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The seal plague, with its emotive, visual appeal came to mark an issue threshold for environmental issues in the late 1980s. This was strongly linked to the cultural and political climate at the time. It generated much media coverage and one national mid market newspaper The Daily Mail launched a sustained campaign Save our Seals, which ran over several months. As such it can be seen that the reporting of environmental issues within the news media cannot be divorced from socio-political values regarding the environment. News/Source Media Relations and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) Just like environmental issues seek the piece of the pie when it comes to the media, NGOs also seek to have their stories told in the media. However, in discussing news/source media relations, it must be noted that over generalising when discussing NGOs must be avoided. As Deacon (2001) notes the relative importance of profile, resource and motives in the communications strategies of different NGOs is to some extent dictated by the specific context of their operations. Additionally, there are also structural variations, reflecting the different political and economic roles of various NGO sectors. Deacon address source/media relations as it relates to three types of NGOs namely, trade unions, the voluntary sector and quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations (quangos). He points out the first broad acceptance that these disparate groups, organisations and movements have proliferated in many political systems over recent decades, and in doing so have assumed greater social and po litical significance (Deacon, 2001, p. 8). However, where there is disagreement is whether these represent positive developments. Some commentators construe them as revitalising pluralist democracy, or challenging centuries of elite control. Others see this change as more of a mixed blessing. In Berrys assessment interest groups are no less a threat than they are an expression of freedom (1984, p. 2). The second point of consensus relates to the reasons for the proliferation of these organisations. Various commentators point to, on the one hand, the widening of educational opportunities and concomitant rise of sophisticated citizenry (Mazzolena and Schultz, 1999), and on the other, emergent environmental, material, social and ideological conflicts both within, and between, advanced capitalist nation states (Blumler and Gurevitch, 1996, p. 126-7) These have produced a shift away from party-based politics, towards other forms of political engagements and the rise of issue politics. Th irdly, theorists from all perspectives acknowledge variation in these processes across different political systems, due to historical, cultural, structural and political factors (Eyerman and Jamison, 1991, p. 36). Additionally most accept that the influence of specific types of interest groups/pressure groups/social movements/ or NGOs tend to fluctuate over time (Deacon, 2001). The final point of agreement is that public communications are now integral to the operations of these political sources, and that the media have particular significance. Blumler (1989) labels this as the emergence of a media-centric model of pressure group activity. Deacon (1991) explains as the social and political roles of many NGOs expand so do the pressure and expectations upon them which in turn create a range of specific communications imperatives to do with establishing a political presence and attracting resources among others. For some NGOs, increased investment in strategic communication represents a defensive response to harsh political realities, in which they can no longer assume their views will have political resonance. Additionally, as a consequence of broader political, social and fiscal uncertainties, a diverse range of private and public institutions are becoming ever more concerned with image maintenance and achieving a prominent and positive public presence. In this new and competitive promotional environment (Wernik, 1991), media engagement has become a significant prerequisite for effective political engagement, particularly for those without direct access to the levers of political and economic power (McNair, 1998, p. 156 ). In what Blumler and Gurevitch label a communication dependent society certain organisations and institutions enjoy distinct competitive advantages in promoting their views and values. In particular, those with the greatest material resources at their disposal most notably state and big business can launch and sustain the most expensive and extensive paid media access. However, free media access can disrupt this market logic, providing opportunities for the resource-poor agencies to achieve levels of national and international exposure that even the best resource could not fund directly. Additionally there are also other considerations such as profile, resource and issue to be taken into account. However, as Deacon (2001) points out these various communications considerations will not apply uniformly across NGOs. For example, the precise blend of resource, profile and issue motives will vary depending on a range of factors, some of which will be highly context specific. The relative importance of profile, resource and issue motives in the communications strategies of different NGOs is to some extent dictated by the specific context of their operations. However, there are also structural variations, reflecting the different political and economic roles of various NGO sectors. For example, Deacon highlights that most quangos receive direct statutory funding, they will tend to place less emphasis on financial resourcing motives than voluntary organisations, where dependency on public and corporate giving is high, and their financial state is generally more parlous. On another level, trade unions will tend to be more comfortable with open issue campaigning than voluntary organisa tions and quangos, partly because of their primary political function, but also because they are not bound by conventions and regulations governing neutral public management and non-party-political charitable activity. Davis (1995) suggests that the salience of communications media strategies can also depend upon the nature and political context of the matter at hand. They are most crucial in policy struggles that are highly ideological and involve (at least for one participant) non-material, non-distributive goods: Policy battles that range over intangible goals and values, such as the abortion issue, tend to evolve into virulently zero sum affairs. Such zero-sum politics, because of the heated struggle for competitive advantage that often marks it, relies heavily on pre-decisional, communication oriented efforts to frame or construct issues (p. 28). Another significant factor can be the relationship between an organisation and the dominant institutions of state. In an influential categorisation, Grant suggests that pressure groups can be placed along a continuum that reflects their relationship to government. However as Deacon (1991), warns if media prominence can deliver advantages to NGOs, there are associated risks. The most obvious of which is receiving negative and hostile treatment, which can compromise an organisations reputation. In this respect some NGOs are more valuable than others. A trade union for instance, that can depend on the complete solidarity of its members has less immediate grounds for fearing the spate of media opprobrium than a charity that is entirely dependent upon public donations. On a less obvious level, there is the possibility that courting media attention, and playing the media game, can have an effect upon organisations core values. Miller (1997) suggests that this can be particularly threatening for radical organisations, there The suspicion within the organisation that newly visible spokespersons might become infatuated with their own celebrity and have sold out is never far from the surface. But this observation about the potentially corrupting influence of media logic also applies to organisations operating in the political mainstream. Blumler (1989) terms the risk of spurious amplification, a process by which inflammatory rhetoric and extravagant demands to make stories more arresting, distort what groups stand for, (p. 352). Until recently, evaluations of media coverage of trade union sector in the UK tended to fall into two camps the critical research position which enjoyed considerable theoretical dominance during the 1970s and the revisionist critique which emerged during the 1980s (Manning, 1998). More recently a third position has started to form which conforms to what Curran (1997) labels a radical pluralist perspective. The latter negotiates a position between the extremes of critical outrage and revisionist sanguinity (Manning, 1998; Davies, 1999; Negrine 1996). Although these studies also analyse the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of news coverage of industrial disputes, their main contribution has been to go beyond the texts to investigate the dynamics of news production directly by examining the links between journalistic practices and trade unions communications strategies. Such insights have been largely absent from most critical and revisionist accounts (Cottle, 1993). The value of this new perspective is illustrated by Davies (1999) case study of media reporting of the British governments proposal in 1992 for privatising the postal service. These plans were strongly opposed by the Union of Communication Workers (UCW), who instituted a carefully orchestrated public relations (PR) campaign against the privatisation programme. Davies content analysis revealed that although UCW sources came to be treated more positively or neutrally that either government or management sources as the dispute unfolded, the union received considerably less coverage than their political opponents. These results suggest that the recruitment of mainstream, media support to the anti-privatisation cause was due to elite divisions within the party of government and the vehemence of public antipathy. The union benefitted from wider political developments, it did not instigate them. However, by linking analysis of media reporting to an analysis of the unions communication strat egy, Davies shows the error of this interpretation. The unions PR strategy played a key role in galvanising public, party political, professional and expert opinion against the privatisation proposals, which in turn had significant effect on media framing. In particular, by commissioning polls and lobbying influential opinion leaders, the union bypassed the need for institutional legitimacy and direct access. Instead they gained a voice by using the legitimacy and access possessed by other sources: the public, economic experts, politicians and assorted neutral user groups, (p. 182). Mannings research also provides an overview of contemporary trends in media relations and identifies two ideals of union structure. On the one hand, there are unions where press and publicity functions are marginalised and rigidly trapped within a civil society service style hierarchy , and on the other, organisations that permit a higher degree of integration for their media and PR operations with their organisational leadership. These differences can in part be explained by the dilemma of incorporation unions have had to confront in their response to the harsh political realities they face. In this period of his research, Manning found a stubborn residue of suspicion within certain unions towards the media that readily characterised journalists as inevitable class enemies, working at the behest of state and capitalist interests. Thus, the embrace of promotionalism in this context is not an act of assertion, but of defence: attempting to avoid marginalisation in a changing political and economic context (Deacon, 2001). It is also clear from Mannings work that journalists perceptions of the political role and characteristics of trade unions frames their utilisation as news sources, and helps account for the predominant emphasis on their collective rather than constructive roles. A distinction developed by Peter Golding and Deacon (1994), identifies trade unions as advocates by jour nalists. As news discourse is inherently conflictive this can enhance their news value in political disputes. However, this clear perception of unions political role prevents their deployment as arbiters in news coverage. Therefore, to influence the terms of media debate at this level, Davies demonstrates in his case study, that trade unions often have to recruit the support of external experts to validate their arguments. Additionally, for such a strategy to work, it is often necessary to maintain a degree of public dissociation between the union and the expert, for fear that any links may erode the perceived authoritativeness of the latters proclamations. This trend contrasts with common strategies deployed within the voluntary sector, where publicists strive to encourage a situation of association between the work of a voluntary organisation and the views of significant public figures. The main studies thus far into reporting of the voluntary sector suggests that there is limited but indulgent treatment, based on an antiquated impression of the sector. As Brindle (1999) notes It is as if the media do not want the sector to grow up. Coverage remains very much stuck in the 1950s charity time warp of good cause fundraising, lifeboats, guide dogs and helping sick children. Even on the broadsheet national newspapers, there is a clear antipathy to stories that treat the leading charities as the big businesses they have become, (p. 44). Looking at trends in media reporting towards communications and media strategies in the sector, Deacon notes an increasing emphasis on public communication similar to that noted in the union sector is eviden t. However, the embrace of promotionalism appears more uneven. As Davies suggests, it is tempting to simply conclude that in free media just as in paid media, financial resources deliver insurmountable competitive advantages to those who hath. The fact that the media

Effect of Technology on Social Interaction

Effect of Technology on Social Interaction INTRODUCTION: Since the presence of technology, humans have ignored themselves and each other. Technology, organized with commerce, which has slowly raided humans and their natural abilities and removed their capabilities. Today, many of us bargain with ourselves in depressed, alienated, drug addicts, stressed out, exhausted, poor health, isolated, alcoholics, and overweight and overworked. We are spending a lesser amount of time together in active face-to-face interaction and conversation with our families, neighbors, colleagues and friends, and more time at working, driving cars, drinking, eating, being online on the computer, sending text messages and emails consuming, eating, watching TV. We have endorsed this situation to change and have not been capable, to find the strength to repel. We have given up so much in conversation for the magnificence and never-ending progress of science, commerce and technology. But we have slight or no time for an insufficient kind statement with a friend or a n eighbor or simply another human being whose conduit we cross throughout our busy days. This condition is in extensive need of our genuine wisdom and attention in order to find elucidations for more congruence, health for human beings everywhere and wellness, and also to establish a balance among our habit of technology and the time we employ in social interaction and conversation with others. CURRENT SITUATION: It is an undeniable fact that the contemporary technologies, particularly the invention of the internet, has transfigured the way people live, work,, entertain and, communicate. To twitch with, the online messages and communication tools such as emails, MSN messenger and teleconference software have enabled the contacts of mutually the loved ones in distant place and associates working in another region. However, it is not unusual to see that news reporting constantly reports on the disadvantageous effect of these fluctuations in telecommunication. Firstly, misusing internet and ignoring the real communication can lead to social separation and segregation. Researches disclose that people, who spend their too much time at the computer cafes, tend to have complications when communicating and interacting with people in the actual world. Furthermore, many family actions which normally help fortify the family bonds cannot be merely replaced by online conversation. Generally, I personally believe that scientific and technological development has transformed our mode of communication in an optimistic and encouraging way, in terms of the expediency, time-efficiency and convenient. However, taken all the above stated negative inspirations into contemplation, we do need to keep poise between the period we employ on line and in actual and real world. DECLINE OF FACE TO FACE CONVERSATION: We are now in the middle of another daunting revolution, which is the Technological Revolution, having a very prodigious effect on the oral word and on societies and their relatives with each other. Only 50 years ago, the computer seemed on the scene. Its arrival and development is instigating the Technological Revolution to interchange ahead at supersonic speed and rapidity as we move profounder into the 21st century. We are forfeiting a very high value to have all these machineries and technologies at our disposal. It is crucial that we evaluate and analyze this situation. Multi-tasking is instigating us to be easily abstracted and diverted. Despite all the machines and technologies for easy interaction and communication with each other, we often sense socially isolated and lonely because most of our acquaintances and contacts are by machines and technology, not close sincere living human acquaintances. SOLUTION TO THIS HORRIBLE SITUATION: In order for us to move forward to the future, it is necessary and essential to go back to the past and history, because we have elapsed, left behind, and unrestricted an essential component that we want so that we can aware about our lives more effusively and with more sympathy. That component is our humanity. We need to get up and observe first what has transpired to us and then to guise deep into past to see what ensued to our ancestors, who, over the millenniums, had to undergo the slow procedure of losing their capabilities and of seeing the deterioration of living face-to-face social interactions and conversation as technology has developed, appeared and developed. All of us have been detached of many of our inherited abilities and of other capabilities that we have assimilated during our lives. The television, media and particularly advertising have influenced us that electronic or written communication is someway better and more precise than our own living spoken statement. W e have been persuaded that somehow inspecting life on a screen is more exciting and interesting than incarnate our own lives. We have become observers, immobile, consumers and seated, who always observers of what we need somewhat separate from ourselves. We have vanished confidence in our institutions, feelings, and abilities, and in our amusing inner resources that we barely know to find or how to exist. It is untainted that we need to re-become contestants in life and not just spectators and observers. By concerning with each other, we could be able to comprehend this goal. There are elucidations to ease up this condition, which we need to contemplate seriously. Many observers and philosophers of life have given us significant messages as to how to achieve this assignment. Communicating with each other can mean bartering concepts about positive and creative action we can take in mandate to resist this modern imperative that is determining us into spectators, users of machines, consumers and non-stop workers. Today, many of us devote a marvelous amount of our time placed in front of a TV or Computer screen or sending messages and emails to each other. It is unblemished that we need to be in touch with everyone, but most of the period our acquaintances are by machine and technologies not by actual life living face-to-face interaction. Before all the technology and machines evolved, people certainly used to employ more time together and as a consequence they were happier and social relations were flatter and more harmonious. IMPORTANCE OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: Today, we come into interaction regularly with other people not only from our own society and country but from all over the sphere and of all eternities and from altered walks of life, political, and religious opinions. This condition requires great sympathy, tolerance, sensitivity and understanding. Intercultural communication assistances can help us to communicate more harmoniously and smoothly with people on a face-to-face root with ease and without arguments or misunderstanding. We need to seek a profounder and more sympathetic understanding of the human knowledge of living a life on this earth and in our world. It can be very obliging to cultivate more familiarity of the many cultures and societies of our world, their past and histories, their characteristics and geographies, and their current states. ENCOURAGING HOSPITALITY INSTEAD OF HOSTALITY: People will communicate with others if they pass smiles and have a friendly expression and appearance. A cold, inimical facial appearance does not offer conversation communication or social interface. Therefore another elucidation to keeping face-to-face conversation and sociability thriving is to encourage and however friendly, pleasant and gracious relations, understanding, kindness, politeness, tolerance, and respect between human beings, irrespective of their age, race, nationality, social backgrounds, and the way of life, the language they express, their facial appearances, religious beliefs and dogmas, or other points of view. If we exercise this mode of behavior, others will follow. In normal conditions, friendly association should find between and among human. After all, we have a great transaction in common with everyone. For instance, we all have two arms, two legs, a head, and a body, and we all breathe, sleep, eat, and have a heart that is continuously beating. We all share the knowledge and information that we are not on this world forever and that we will consent here with nonentity in our hands. So it would seem impeccably reasonable for us to contemplate talking, conversing, communicating and interacting with our corresponding human beings more often and in a friendly and warm manner whenever the occasion presents itself while spending, at work, at shopping, at school, in a bus or road, at the airport, anywhere and everywhere, we often we ignore and avoid each other. So many chances to meet motivating people are conceded by. CONCLUSION: Since, thanks to the growth of e-commerce, people can accomplish a variety of actions, such as booking flights and accommodations, purchasing material ranging from cars to clothing, or even dating a foreigner, without treading out own house. Most prominently, the social links such as the Facebook has even fabricated an entire cybernetic world for us.

The Underground Railroad Essay -- History Historical Slavery Essays

The Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was one of the most remarkable protests against slavery in United States history. It was a fight for personal survival, which many slaves lost in trying to attain their freedom. Slaves fought for their own existence in trying to keep with the traditions of their homeland, their homes in which they were so brutally taken away from. In all of this turmoil however they managed to preserve the customs and traditions of their native land. These slaves fought for their existence and for their cultural heritage with the help of many people and places along the path we now call the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a secret operation that began during the 19th century, and reached its peak during the time of 1830 – 1865. The story of the Underground Railroad was one of individual sacrifice and great courage in the efforts of the African American people to reach freedom, with the help of many interconnected â€Å"stations† (Introduction to the Underground Railroad?). The number of sites connected with the Underground Railroad was immense. The Underground Railroad was any direction slaves traveled to freedom. It was a huge scheme of paths through marshes, over mountains, along rivers, and by sea. No real trains existed on the Underground Railroad, but guides were called conductors. Runaways escaped to the North along a series of routes that stretched through the southern Border States (â€Å"History and Geography†). Slaves who escaped into the western territories, Mexico and the Caribbean, then tried to blend in with the free African American communities, which lived in these areas (Slavery’s Past). There were many conductors in many different states, all of which were important to the Underground Railroad. The most notable of these was Harriet Tubman. Harriet made nineteen trips back to Slave States to help members of her family and other slaves to escape to freedom. She was a woman who could not read or write, but she helped over three hundred slaves to their freedom. She had many encounters with slave traders and others, who tried to capture her, but she never got caught, and she never lost a single slave (Harriet Tubman). Another important figure in the Underground Railroad was Stephen Myers. Stephen Myers helped the Underground Railroad from 1830 to 1850. In this time he helped thousands o... ...ic linking the people of Africa and America. It is a story of places, North and South. It is a story of secrets involving routes and language, codes and music. In the end it is a story of jubilation and freedom, bought at a great price by individuals. Works Cited African Genesis. History and Geography of the Underground Railroad. Nov. 7, 2000 Appleseed Recording. Free at Last.1998 Cairnes, John E. Slavery’s Past. Lilly W. The Underground Railroad. June 16, 1999 Maryland’s African American Heritage. Harriet Tubman. Siebert, Wilbur. The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom. New York: Arno Press and the New York Times 1968 U.C. Davis Division of Education. The Freedom Sympathizers and Fighters. May 1996 U.C. Davis Division of Education. What was The Underground Railroad?. May 1996. Underground Railroad Workshop. Able Brown. 2000 Underground Railroad Workshop. Stephen Myers. 2000 Underground Railroad Workshop. The role of the Quaker Community. 2000 United States. National Park Service. Introduction to the Underground Railroad. United States. National Park Service & History Association. In Search of Freedom. August 1996

Related Change :: essays research papers

I have chosen to link the text Saving Private Ryan with The Door by Miroslav Holub, and The Murder Of Ackroyd with Burnt Offerings by Flacco, from the stimulus booklet. I linked these texts as Saving Private Ryan is similar to that of The Door, because both dwell on the changing of worlds, perspective and self. Saving Private Ryan deals with the actual changing, the effects it causes and the regrets of change, Whereas The Door deals with resisting the change, the benefits of the change and the regrets of not changing. Saving Private Ryan presents the soldiers entering into the New World, arriving at Omaha beach, and the pains/obstacles of the change, the death of comrades and ultimately staying alive. Like said earlier in Part Two, the characters discuss their situation and regret ever coming to the war. The Door incorporates the idea of new and exciting things, with the line â€Å"Maybe outside there’s a †¦ or a magic garden†, and regret for not doing so, as showed in the line â€Å"even if there’s only the hollow wind †¦ at least there will be a draft†. I linked the other two texts, The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd and Burnt Offerings, because they both deal with the consequences of changes in circumstances. In The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd the circumstances change and James Sheppard has to change in order to keep the circumstances as same as possible, whereas in Burnt Offerings the activist has to change the circumstances so as to stay the same as possible, i.e. in one piece. In The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Sheppard tries to keep his life the same as before Mrs. Ferrars commits suicide. But to do so he has to change himself, he has to become a killer and abuse the trust of all those around him, and ends up becoming someone completely different in trying to remain the same. To a lesser extent, you can see how in Burnt Offerings the activist tries to do the exact opposite, he tries to change the circumstances of the trees in the forest and ends up with some very physical changes. My understanding of the concept of â€Å"change† has been altered, or shaped, by the reading of my chosen texts. The original idea I had of â€Å"change† was physical and personal/environmental change. I used to think that changes could only be what is written or put obviously forward by the text, the idea of changing circumstances or values having any impact on the â€Å"change† of a text was beyond me.

Principles of Leadership in American Military History Essay -- essays

What is the description of a leader? Honor, respect, dignity, self-confidence, kindness, etc.? Moreover, what is the portrait of a leader? Is it the man who is able to stand in front of a crowd of thousands? Or the man who sits in his office, addressing the public through a TV screen? Is it the man who struggles for the rights he was born with, that people refuse to hand to him? Or is it the man who goes to jail after fighting for liberty and justice? These are all fine examples of leaders. It does not matter what their claim is. They all eventually die with honor, gain respect, and had the self-confidence to go public and go the extremes in order to obtain righteousness. There is nothing wrong with a leader failing, but future leaders should learn to not repeat the past, for better and for worst. There are â€Å"crossroads of our history† that are very similar to the recent news we are presented with, which defies not making the past’s mistakes. Whether they succeed fail, or fall back into the same hole the past has fallen into, these men display different qualities of a leader, positive or negatively. Both Patrick Henry and Barack Obama gave powerful speeches and shined a new light among many in their crowds with one major leadership skill: unity. In his speech at the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry’s most persuasive qualities lay in his rhetorical questions. Beginning with â€Å"They tell us, sir, that we are weak—unable to cope with so formidable an adversary,† Henry jumps straight into his repetition of questions, hitting his audience with his words so continuously, they seem ultimately unanswerable. Following when the country will be stronger, he asks â€Å"Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall b... ... minds, our opinions, our words, our strength and our will belong to the individual, and that is the most powerful weapon. There is no sign of an end to war, only the destruction of humanity. The timeline of history is repeating. Is our government looking at the errors of the past? Comparing our current crisis to Kennedy’s situation, is today’s enemy willing to compromise? Understandably, the precautions we have taken and the steps put forth these passed few years is due to the unpredictable behavior of our adversary. Perhaps we have really fallen into the same hole as our ancestors many years before, and our options really are limited and aiming in the same eventual fate. Maybe soon, every American, and others across the globe, will hold the same belief President Bush claims to own when he once said, â€Å"Out of this long political darkness, a brighter day will come.†

Cognitive Competence

Tomorrow’s Leader Term paper Topic: Cognitive Competence Wai (Synergy) Content Part 1 1. Definition cognitive competenceP. 3-4 2. Theory of cognitive competenceP. 5-8 3. Factors affecting cognitive competenceP. 9-10 4. Importance of cognitive competence in leadershipP. 11-12 5. Ways to enhance the level of cognitive competenceP. 13-14 Part 2 Self evaluationP. 15-17 Part 3 ReferenceP. 18-19 Part 1 Definition of cognitive competence 1. Cognitive competence is defined as the ability to perform adequately those cognitively complex tasks considered essential for living on one's own in this society. Willis SL. (1996). Everyday cognitive competence in elderly persons: conceptual issues and empirical findings, Oct;36(5):595-601) 2. The ability to develop and apply the cognitive skills of self-talk, the reading and interpretation of social cues, using steps for problem-solving and decision making, understanding the perspective of others, understanding behavioral norms, a positive attit ude towards life, and self –awareness. (The W. T. Grant Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1992: 136)) 3. Academic and intellectual achievement. include the ability to use logic, analytic thinking, and abstract reasoning) (Catalano, R. F. , Berglund, M. L. , Ryan, J. A. M. , Lonczak, H. S. , ; Hawkins, J. D. (2002). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prevention and Treatment, 5 (15), 1-106. ) This three definitions are little bit different. The third one is too narrow as it just mentioned academic and intellectual achievement. The second one, on the other hand, is not specific enough. In my understanding, I think cognitive competence is best defined using the first two definitions. Cognitive competence is defined as the ability to perform adequately those cognitively complex tasks considered essential for living on one's own in this society. It also includes unde rstanding the perspective of others, understanding behavioral norms, and self –awareness. † Theory Hui & Sun’s model (2007) This model divides cognitive competence into three types of thinking: 1. Creative thinking, a way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first). 2. Critical thinking, which includes reasoning, making references, self-reflection, and coordination of multiple views. Critical thinking has been described as â€Å"the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment, which uses reasoned consideration to evidence, context, conceptualizations, methods, and criteria. † (Facione, Peter A. Critical Thinking: What It is and Why It Counts, Insightassessment. com) 3. Rational thinking refers to logical or reasoning being involved in the thought process. It refers to providing reasons or rational behind thoughts or ideas. It adds an element of calculation and planning to a steam of thoughts rather than basing them on emotion or personal opinion. It is a kind of objective process of thinking and an analytic approach to any problem. Rational thinking is based on reasons or facts and is hence much more calculating and realistic. Geiwitz’s model This model divides cognitive competence into three steps of thinking: 1. Know what, to know what is the problem 2. Know how, to know how the problem can be solved 3. Know why, to know why choose particular method to solve the problem, or to evaluate the method currently used. What How Why In Hui and Sun’s model, creative thinking is the innovative way of thinking. It allows people to invent new things or idea. Critical thinking is used when commenting on something, e. g. in writing editorials. As for rational thinking, it is used when analyzing. In my opinion, the second model is easier to understand. And it shows progressive levels of cognitive competence, whereas the first model only divides our thinking into three different ways. Therefore, I would further explain cognitive competence using the second model for reference. Take the example of inventors of the world’s first airplane – the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur. This is an good example to illustrate the concept of cognitive competence and the Geiwitz’s model. Applying the Geiwitz’s model, the Wright brothers’ aim was to create a â€Å"flying machine†, this is the â€Å"know what† level of cognitive competence. They then started to think and design this machine, and this is the â€Å"know how† level of cognitive competence. Finally they evaluated the products (what’s good and not good about it) and thought how to improve further. The â€Å"know how† and â€Å"know why† steps repeated. And finally an mature airplane was invented. Start Know what: to invent a flying machine Know how: How to built a better flying machine Know why: Why this model is good/not good enough Repeat A satisfatory model is invented Another example to illustrate is the development in high jump styles. The styles used in high-jumping has changed from initially scissors style, to straddle style, and finally the Fosbury style which is still using nowadays. Start Know what: to jump high Know how: What jumping style Know why: Why this style is good/not good enough Repeat A satisfatory syle is invented Factors affecting cognitive competence I think the factors affecting the development of one’s cognitive competence can be divided into intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are those confine to yourself, while extrinsic factors are those influenced by the environment. For intrinsic factors, I think there are: intelligence, personalities, knowledge and past experience. For intelligent, I think it is not difficult to imagine that it is important for high cognitive competence. Intelligence is particularly important for the â€Å"know how† and â€Å"know why† stage. Only if you are wise enough can you think of a new way to solve problem that no one has ever think of or find out what is the problem of existing method being used by other people. Moreover, intelligence is kind of inborn; therefore, cognitive competence is also inborn to a certain extent. As for personality, I think people with different personality may affect his/her performance in problem solving and the presentation of his cognitive competence. For example, if a person lacks confidence and likes to deal with problem in a low risk aspect, he/she may not abandon the existing widely used method to tackle the problem and use new methods even though he is clever enough to think of many other new potential methods. They may only attempt the new ways when they are 100% more effective and safer than the existing ones. Knowledge and past experience are very similar. They both can be regarded as memory. They are very important factors that affect cognitive competence. When tackling problems, memory always acts as your â€Å"reference†, it gives you basic information and background about the problem. And help you to figure out the solution in relation to this â€Å"reference†. Like the case of the Wright brothers, when they tried to invent a flying machine, their knowledge in engineering gives them basic information of how to build it. It is interesting to notice that sometimes past experience may hinder our cognitive performance. For example, when you are dealing with a project you are very familiar with, you might too much into your experience and knowledge and think that it is impossible to explore new methods. For extrinsic factors, there are: Environment (e. g. family background, situation of the problem) and the nature of problem Environment is the major extrinsic factor affecting one’s cognitive competence. It determines many of intrinsic factors including past experience, knowledge and even personality. Environment can also affects ones attitude to deal with the problem, thus performance of cognitive competence. For example, the due date of your proposal is tomorrow morning and now is already three o’clock in the morning and you haven’t even started yet. I am sure you may feel desperate and will not spend much time to think of the new ideas. Moreover, family socialization also affects cognitive competence and intelligence of people. (Grundmann, M. ; Teo, Thomas; Socialization, intelligence, and cognitive competence (1997)) Another one is the nature of the problem. It determines one’s past experience and knowledge are useful or not. It is because the past experience and knowledge can not apply to all situation. Importance of cognitive competence in leadership Cognitive competence is important in leadership. A research points out that cognitive skills were found to be directly correlate with high-level of leadership performance in a MLE (Military Leadership Exercises) research. (Marshall-Mies et al. , 2000) Often included intelligence, general skills, crystallized skills (e. g. oral and written expression and comprehension), and creative or divergent thinking capacities are cognitive capabilities that should influence leadership performance. (Connelly, Gilbert, Zaccaro, Threlfall, Marks & Mumford, 2000). I also agree that cognitive competence is important in leadership. First of all, leader with higher level of cognitive competence can deal with different kinds of problems with his own way of thinking. That means they can find out his own most effective way to tackle the problem without copying others method. This gives the leader independency that he does not need to rely on others too much. It also gives them maturity that they can have their own way of thinking. Independency and maturity surely are the important factors of a leader. This makes people happy and feeling safe to follow you. Secondly, leader with high level of cognitive competence can have great contribution to the team. They can give out a lot of useful ideas that no one has thought of before. This already makes them the strongest ones or the most unique ones in the team. People would love to follow leaders which are stronger than them. Again, this makes them feel safe. Finally, leaders with high level of cognitive competence can have a clear mind and know what is wrong in the team. They know what the team should do (goal). And they evaluate the performance of the team, and find out what should be improved. That means they are not only using cognitive skills in problem solving, but also in team management. It is because â€Å"team management† itself is already a task. People with higher cognitive competence usually have higher IQ and are conflicts encountering (Heydenberk R. A. and Heydenberk W. R. , Increasing Meta-Cognitive Competence through Conflict Resolution(2005)) Ways to enhance the level of cognitive competence Before discussing how to enhance the level of cognitive competence, I think we should first identify what cannot be changed or be improved. They are called constrains. Through understanding what are the constrains, we can focus on what can and what should be improved. The constrains include family background, intelligence and personality. These factors are sort of fixed, or can only have little change. So, to raise the level of cognitive competence, I think it is effective that we try to learn as much as possible. This is to enhance our knowledge and enrich our experience. As mentioned, knowledge and past experience are two important factors affecting one’s cognitive ability. This is because they are our own sources of information about the problem being coped. We can make use of this information to find a way to solve the problem. We may not figure out any new method, at least we know how people deal with it previously. In Janet E, Et Al, The Role of metacognition in Problem Solving, four steps of thinking is also mentioned to guide people to solve problems. They are: 1. Identifying and defining the problem 2. Mentally representing the problem 3. Planning how to proceed 4. Evaluating what you know about your performance This way of thinking can help people to organized their thoughts, so that they can deal with the problem step by step. I think it is a quite useful way to improve cognitive performance because it makes people organized and focus on one job at a time. This prevents them from being interrupted from different sources. Furthermore, it helps people to think logically. Part 2 Self-reflection Hong Kong students are known to be a copycat. We are blamed to have low level of creativity and afraid to try new things. People always say that we just copy things from others or textbooks without digesting them. But I think it is not totally my case. I am not a stupid student. I used to be very creative in primary school. Others describe me as naughty. It is because all my creativity is used in inventing new ways to play tricks on my classmates. I remember one time I played a game in an activity class. My teacher ask my group to use a deck of playing cards to build a tower as high as we can. Then we started. Other groups are using the traditional method (see left). Obviously it requires high technique. Therefore they can only built towers with few floors high. But I figured out another method. I folded up two cards, turned them sideway to make two â€Å"L† shape walls, put them facing each other to make a square wall, on top of it I placed a flat card. And I repeated to do this. Of course, my team built the highest tower. But guess what happened next. My teacher told us that was against the rules. Playing cards are not supposed to be folded (She didn’t tell us before the game). We lose that competition at the end. I think, after this event, my creativity started to slowly bury in my heart deeply. When I recall this event, I discover one important thing. That is our creativity is often being restricted by our teachers, and our education system. Teachers set all the projects, homework with rules and restrictions, trying to make them easier to mark and compare. But this made our assignments all looking the same. Examination questions have all the model answers, this made our student the same person who can only memorize answers without digesting the questions and answer them in their own way. Not that I don’t have critical thinking and creativity. It is just because they have to be thrown away to survive in HK’s education system. Take the example of A-level exams, the curriculum is very tight that teachers even cannot have time to teach us all the topics included. How would I have time to individually explore all the topics taught? Instead, in order to get high grades in this exam, I spent most of the time on memorizing past paper’s model answers. I know it would not help my cognitive development, but getting into a good university is more important to me. I believe this is also the problem of many students. Now, when I am given a problem to solve, I still try my best to explore the alternatives. May be this is due to my personality. I just don’t like to be the same with others. I like to be unique. But I think I am not creative as I was small anymore. Apart from the reason about the restrictions set by teachers just discussed, another possible reason may be due to my own knowledge and experience. As I mentioned in part 1 of this report, knowledge and experience, although can help to solve your problem, they sometimes hinder your cognitive performance. Sometimes this happens to me. I just rely too much on the knowledge and experience, and cannot think out of the box. But the major reason is still because of the education system in HK. But in the university, a place to train student’s critical thinking and creativity, I think that this problem would become less severe. To improve my cognitive abilities, I think the best way is to train to have independent critical thinking. Don’t rely too much on knowledge from any sources and my own or others’ past experience. Always try my best to look for other possible alternatives. Although this might spend a lot more time and at the end there may not come up any new things. But I think the process can also help me to develop my cognitive skills. Although it might hinder my cognitive performance, I think it is still important to enrich my knowledge and broaden my horizon. This is because learning more can let me compare different theories and thus train my independent critical thinking. They are also my valuable first encountered source when any problem comes to me. Part 3 Reference Willis SL. (1996). Everyday cognitive competence in elderly persons: conceptual issues and empirical findings, Oct;36(5):595-601 The W. T. Grant Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1992: 136) Catalano, R. F. , Berglund, M. L. , Ryan, J. A. M. , Lonczak, H. S. , & Hawkins, J. D. (2002). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prevention and Treatment, 5 (15), 1-106. Grundmann, M. ; Teo, Thomas; Socialization, intelligence, and cognitive competence (1997) Marshall-Mies et al. , 2000 Connelly, Gilbert, Zaccaro, Threlfall, Marks & Mumford, 2000 Heydenberk R. A. and Heydenberk W. R. , Increasing Meta-Cognitive Competence through Conflict Resolution(2005)