You’re Fired

Two words that people will go to extreme measures to never ever hear, pray, suck up to their boss and even†¦work hard. As frightening as these two words are, they play an essential role in the genius programme that is the Apprentice and honestly, those two words are the provider of my weekly supplement of entertainment. Have you realised just how downgraded television programmes have become? I have. The takeover of reality TV has completely lived up to new and changing consumer tastes but that doesn’t stop the show bosses of ITV from taking it too far. TV now is all about the fake tan, the drama of break ups and arguments. The Only Way is Essex, otherwise known as TOWIE (yes that’s the show that your children keep talking about) has officially taken over the meaning of television. The hair-tearing, teeth-wrenching-ly ridiculous programme means that I cannot turn on the TV without hearing â€Å"Well, jel.† Sorry, what? Thankfully, I have the Apprentice to keep me sane and just about alive. I’ve always found it most amusing to watch as the contestants introduce themselves â€Å"I’m better than unique; I’m naturally gifted in business,† claimed last year’s contestant Michael Copp who proved that he wasn’t so gifted in business after all when he was given the finger only 3 weeks into the arduous competition. The finger that I’m talking about, â€Å"the finger of dreaded doom† I think it should be called, is in fact Lord Sugar’s reputable gesture that does enough to send cold chills down my spine and leave contestants spluttering a combination of their tears and a part of their imperishable pride. Watching as they transform from the top dogs of the new business generation into helpless puppies that resort to pleading and begging in the hope that Lord Sugar will give them a second chance is simply hilarious; that is what I call pure entertai nment. The Apprentice is simply one of the best shows on TV at the moment which has managed to do the impossible in maintaining the qualities of good television; something which seems to have completely departed from our 40 inch television screens that now seem to lack purpose with the sheer amount of abhorrent and atrocious programmes that seem to occupy them. The Apprentice is the only programme around that is innovative and fresh; its concept is unique and actually meaningful – amazing, right? Unlike any of the other reality TV shows, the programme lives up to its purpose in showing us the truth and harsh reality behind business. It is just a touch of pure originality and excellence. It is becoming increasingly clear to see the importance that businesses have in modern society with successful businessmen having a tremendously important role in the world. The brilliance of this show is that is captures the truth about how business works in the real world and how you will really need more than just a dream to become successful. There aren’t many business gurus out there like Lord Sugar who will be willing to give people the opportunity to learn such essential skills in such an important sector of society. For the contestants to complete such gruelling tasks, gives them to chance to learn valuable skills that they will be able to manipulate in order to succeed. It’s not even just for the contestants; it’s an opportunity for people, especially young people sitting at home to learn about it too. I look forward to Season 9 and the next time that Lord Sugar sits down in the boarding room to announce â€Å"You’re fired†. Let the entertainment commence.

Blood Promise Chapter Twenty-Four

Avery was a spirit user. â€Å"Oh shit.† I sat back down on the bed, my mind reeling. I'd never seen it coming. Hell, no one had. Avery had made a good show of being an air user. Each Moroi had a very low level of control in each element. She'd just barely done enough with air to make it seem like that was her specialization. No one had questioned her further because honestly, who would have ever expected another spirit user around? And since she was out of school, she had no reason to be tested anymore or forced to demonstrate her ability. No one was there to call her on it. The more I thought about it, the more the little signs were there. The charming personality, the way she could talk people into anything. How many of her interactions were spirit controlled? And was it possible†¦ was it possible that Adrian's attraction had been compulsion on her part? I had no reason to feel happy about that, but†¦ well, I did. More to the point, what did Avery want with Lissa? Avery compelling Adrian into liking her wasn't too out there. He was good-looking and came from an important family. He was the queen's great-nephew, and although family members of the current monarch could never inherit the throne immediately afterward, he'd have a good future, one that would always keep him in the highest circles of society. But Lissa? What was Avery's game there? What did she have to gain? Lissa's behavior all made sense now-the uncharacteristic partying, weird moods, jealousy, fights with Christian†¦ Avery was pushing Lissa over the edge, causing her to make horrible choices. Avery was using some sort of compulsion to spin Lissa out of control, alienating her and putting her life in danger. Why? What did Avery want? It didn't matter. The why wasn't important. The how was, as in how I was going to get out of here and back to my best friend. I looked down at myself, at the delicate silk dress I wore. Suddenly, I hated it. It was a sign of how I'd been, weak and useless. I hastily took it off and ransacked my closet. They'd taken away my jeans and T-shirt, but I'd at least been allowed to keep my hoodie. I put on the green sweater dress, seeing as it was the sturdiest thing I had, feeling moderately more capable. I slipped the hoodie on over it. It hardly made me feel like a badass warrior, but I did feel more competent. Sufficiently dressed for action, I returned to the living room and started that pacing that tended to help me think better-not that I had any reason to believe I was going to come up with new ideas. I'd been trying to for days and days with no luck. Nothing was going to change. â€Å"Damn it!† I yelled, feeling better with the outburst. Angry, I flounced into the desk chair, amazed that I hadn't simply thrown it against the wall in my frustration. The chair wobbled, ever so slightly. Frowning, I stood up and looked at it. Everything else in this place was state-of-the-art. Odd that I'd have a faulty chair. I knelt down and examined it more closely. There, on one of the legs, was a crack near where the leg joined with the seat. I stared. All of the furniture here was industrial strength, with no obvious joints. I should know, seeing how long I'd beat this chair against the wall when I first arrived. I hadn't even dented it. Where had this crack come from? Slamming it over and over had done nothing. But I hadn't been the only one to hit it. That very first day, I'd fought with Dimitri and come after him with the chair. He'd taken it from me and thrown it against the wall. I'd never paid attention to it again, having given up on breaking it. When I'd later tried cracking the window, I'd used an end table because it was heavier. My strength hadn't been able to damage the chair-but his had. I picked up the chair and immediately slammed it into that diamond-hard window, half-hoping I might kill two birds with one stone. Nope. Both remained intact. So I did it again. And again. I lost track of how many times I slammed that chair into the glass. My hands hurt, and I knew despite my recovery, I still wasn't at full strength. It was infuriating. Finally, on what felt like my gazillionth try, I looked at the chair and saw the crack had grown bigger. The progress renewed my will and strength. I hit and hit, ignoring the pain as the wood bit into my hands. At long last, I heard a crack, and the leg broke off. I picked it up and stared in amazement. The break hadn't been clean. It was splintered and sharp. Sharp enough to be a stake? I wasn't sure. But I knew for a fact that wood was hard, and if I used enough force, I might be able to hit a Strigoi's heart. It wouldn't kill one, but the blow would stun. I didn't know if it'd be enough to get me out of here, but it was all I had now. And it was a hell of a lot more than I'd had one hour ago. I sat back on the bed, recovering from my battle with the chair and tossing the makeshift stake back and forth. Okay. I had a weapon now. But what could I do with it? Dimitri's face flashed in my mind's eye. Damn it. There was no question about it. He was the obvious target, the one I'd have to deal with first. The door suddenly clicked open, and I looked up with alarm. Quickly, I shoved the chair into a dark corner as panic raced through me. No, no. I wasn't ready. I hadn't fully convinced myself to stake him. It was Inna. She carried a tray but didn't wear her usual subservient expression. The brief look she gave me was filled with hate. I didn't know what she had to be pissed off about. It wasn't like I'd caused her any damage. Yet. I strode over like I was going to examine the tray. Lifting the lid, I saw a ham sandwich and french fries. It looked good-I hadn't eaten in a while -but the adrenaline running through me had shoved any appetite I might have to the background. I glanced back up at her, smiling sweetly. She shot me daggers. Don't hesitate, Dimitri had always said. I didn't. I jumped at Inna, throwing her so hard against the floor that her head slammed back. She looked dazed, but quickly recovered and tried to fight back. I wasn't drugged up this time-well, not much-and my years of training and natural strength finally showed themselves again. I pressed my body against her, keeping her firmly in place. Then, I produced the stake I'd had concealed and pressed those sharp points against her neck. It was like being back in the days of pinning Strigoi in alleys. She couldn't see that my weapon was a chair leg, but the sharp points got her attention as I dug them into her throat. â€Å"The code,† I said. â€Å"What is the code?† Her only response was a string of obscenities in Russian. Okay, not a surprise, considering she probably didn't understand me. I flipped through the meager Russian-English dictionary in my head. I'd been in the country long enough to pick up some vocabulary. Admittedly, it was equivalent to a two-year-old's, but even they could communicate. â€Å"Numbers,† I said in Russian. â€Å"Door.† At least, that's what I hoped I said. She said more impolite things to me, her expression defiant. It really was the Strigoi interrogation all over. My stake bit harder, drawing blood, and I forcibly restrained myself. I might question whether I had the strength to pierce a Strigoi heart with this, but severing a human's vein? Cake. She faltered a little, apparently realizing the same thing. Again, I attempted my broken Russian. â€Å"Kill you. No Nathan. Never†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What was the word? The church service came back to me, and I hoped I had it right. â€Å"Never eternal life.† It got her attention. Nathan and eternal life. The things most important to her. She bit her lip, still angry, but her tirade had stopped. â€Å"Numbers. Door,† I repeated. I pushed the stake in harder, and she cried out in pain. At last she spoke, rattling off a series of digits. Russian numbers were something I had memorized pretty solidly, at least. They were essential for addresses and phone numbers. She cited seven numbers. â€Å"Again,† I said. I made her say it three times and hoped I had it. But there was more. I was pretty sure the outer door had a different code. â€Å"Numbers. Door. Two.† I felt like a caveman. Inna stared, not quite getting it. â€Å"Door. Two.† Understanding glinted in her eyes, and she looked mad. I think she'd hoped I wouldn't realize the other door had its own code. More cutting with the stake made her scream seven more numbers. Again, I made her repeat them, realizing I had no way to know if she was telling me the truth at least until I tried the numbers. For that reason, I decided to keep her around. I felt guilty about what I did next, but these were desperate times. In guardian training, I'd been taught both to kill and to incapacitate. I did the latter this time, slamming her head back against the floor and rendering her unconscious. Her expression went slack, her eyelids drooping. Damn. I was reduced to hurting teenage humans. Standing up, I moved to the door and punched in the first set of numbers, hoping I had them right. To my complete and utter astonishment, I did. The electronic lock clicked, but before I could open the door, I just barely made out another click. Someone had unlocked the outer door. â€Å"Shit,† I muttered. I pulled away from the door immediately, picked up Inna's unconscious body, and hurried to the bathroom. I set her in the tub as gently as possible and had just shut the bathroom door when I heard the main door open. I felt the telltale nausea that signaled a Strigoi was nearby. I knew one of the Strigoi could smell a human, and I hoped shutting her away would be enough to mute Inna's scent. I emerged from the hall and found Dimitri in the living room. I grinned at him and ran into his arms. â€Å"You're back,† I said happily. He held me briefly and then stepped back. â€Å"Yes.† He seemed slightly pleased at the greeting, but soon his face was all business. â€Å"Have you made your decision?† No hello. No how are you feeling? My heart sank. This wasn't Dimitri. â€Å"I have more questions.† I went over to the bed and lay down in a casual way, just like we always did. He followed a few moments later and sat on the edge, looking down at me. â€Å"How long will it take?† I asked. â€Å"When you awaken me? Is it instantaneous?† Once more, I launched into an interrogation session. Honestly, I was running out of questions, and at this point, I didn't really want to know the intricacies of becoming Strigoi. I was becoming more and more agitated with each passing moment. I had to act. I had to make use of my fleeting opportunity here. And yet†¦ before I could act, I had to reassure myself that this really wasn't Dimitri. It was stupid. I should know by now. I could see the physical changes. I'd seen his coldness, the brutality. I'd seen him come fresh from a kill. This wasn't the man I'd loved. And yet†¦ for that one fleeting moment earlier†¦ With a sigh, Dimitri stretched out beside me. â€Å"Rose,† he interrupted, â€Å"if I didn't know better, I'd say you were stalling for time.† Yeah, even as a Strigoi, Dimitri knew how I thought and schemed. I realized if I was going to be convincing, I had to stop playing dumb and remember to be Rose Hathaway. I put on a look of outrage. â€Å"Of course I am! This is a big deal. I came here to kill you, and now you're asking me to join you. You think this is easy for me to do?† â€Å"Do you think it's been easy for me to wait this long?† he asked. â€Å"The only ones who get choices are Moroi who willingly kill, like the Ozeras. No one else gets a choice. I didn't get a choice.† â€Å"And don't you regret that?† â€Å"No, not now. Now that I'm who I was meant to be.† He frowned. â€Å"The only thing hurt is my pride-that Nathan forced me and that he acts as though I'm indebted to him. Which is why I'm being kind enough to give you the choice now, for the sake of your pride.† Kind, huh? I looked at him and felt my heart breaking all over again. It was like hearing the news of his death once more. I suddenly grew afraid I might cry. No. No tears. Dimitri always talked about prey and predators. I had to be the predator. â€Å"You're sweating,† he said suddenly. â€Å"Why?† Damn, damn, damn. Of course I was sweating. I was contemplating staking the man I loved-or thought I'd loved. And along with sweat, I was sure I was giving off pheromones of my agitation. Strigoi could smell all of those things, too. â€Å"Because I'm scared,† I whispered. I propped myself up and stroked the edge of his face, trying to memorize all of his features. The eyes. The hair. The shape of his cheekbones. In my imagination, I overlaid the things I remembered. Dark eyes. Tanned skin. Sweet smile. â€Å"I†¦ I think I'm ready, but it's†¦ I don't know. It's such a big thing.† â€Å"It'll be the best decision of your life, Roza.† My breathing was growing rapid, and I prayed he'd think it was because of my fear of being turned. â€Å"Tell me again. One more time. Why do you want to awaken me so badly?† A slightly weary look crossed his face. â€Å"Because I want you. I've always wanted you.† And that's when I knew. I finally realized the problem. He'd given that same answer over and over, and each time, something about it had bothered me. I'd never been able to pinpoint it, though. Now I could. He wanted me. Wanted me in the way people wanted possessions or collectibles. The Dimitri I'd known†¦ the one I'd fallen for and slept with†¦ that Dimitri would have said he wanted us to be together because he loved me. There was no love here. I smiled at him. Leaning down, I kissed him gently. He probably thought I was doing it for the reasons I always did, out of attraction and desire. In truth, it was a goodbye kiss. His mouth answered mine, his lips warm and eager. I held out the kiss a little longer, both to fight back the tears leaking out of my eyes and to lull him into an unsuspecting state. My hand closed around the chair leg, which I'd hidden in my hoodie pocket. I would never forget Dimitri, not for the rest of my life. And this time, I wouldn't forget his lessons. With a speed he wasn't ready for, I struck out and plunged the stake through his chest. My strength was there-sliding the stake past the ribs and straight into his heart. And as I did it, it was like piercing my own heart at the same time.

Personal and Professional Development Essay

1-Abstract In essence, this report will comprise three parts: first we shall be making an evaluation of current approaches to self- managed learning, second we shall be detailing in which ways lifelong learning both personal and professional might be promoted and encouraged and finally we shall be making an evaluation of the potential benefits of self-managed learning to organisations and their members but for this case with specific reference to Teagasc. 2- Introduction Every single person had one day some experience about self-managed learning in their life, or many people are having this experience at the moment in somewhere learning something by themselves. Stop for a moment and back to the past and try to remember if you have learned something that you had initiative by yourself. Did you remember something? I am sure you did, do you know why? It`s because there`s so many reasons which push ourselves to learn something and that`s why the term self-managed learning is more popular when compared with the traditional way to learn, for example going to the school every day. 3-Approaches to self managed learning Individual could learn through the research which they will be doing that could be either been issued by the university or college even at work place, people could learn different techniques used in doing the research. Formal education and schooling remain highly valued in most societies, and many educators, employers, policy-makers, and average citizens find it difficult to place high value on what is learned on your own or outside the formal system. However, some adult educators have shown how non-traditional programs, distance education, and self-directed learning efforts can meet many challenges associated with keeping current on constantly changing knowledge. Several things are known about self-managed learning and also others terms as S-DL (Self-direct learning), S-PL, LS-D, S-RL, Autonomy, learning projects, open learning etc. However there are some differences between these terms: * Knowles, (1975) describe Self- directed learning- is a process in which individuals take the initiatives, with or without the help of others * Autonomous learning – autonomy often is associated with independence of thought, individualized decision-making, and critical intelligence. Gibbs (1979) * Self-planned learning and learning projects – Tough’s (1979) research on people engaged in learning projects involved obtaining information on â€Å"a series of related episodes, adding up to at least seven hours† where â€Å"more than half of the person’s total motivation is to gain and retain certain fairly clear knowledge and skill, or to produce some other lasting change† . * Open learning – individualized study often is associated with external degree, open learning, or non traditional programs where most learning takes place outside formal classrooms- Ruvinsky (1986) * Self-regulated learning is a process that assists students in manag ing their thoughts, behaviours, and emotions in order to successfully navigate their learning experiences (Pintrich & Zusho, 2002) * Learner self-direction- is taking primary responsibility for personal learning (Brockett & Hiemstra, 1991) . But in general all this terms are related to Self-managed learning what is a way which people or individual find different ways in learning things, which could be in the society where they are living or at work that is a diversified environment, Candy(1991). In other words is about individual managing their own learning. This included people taking responsibility for decisions about: * What they learn * How they learn * When they learn * Where they lean * Why they learn (the most fundamentally ) Self-managed learning also is about setting out the goals for the learning by evaluating the purpose for learning and ways to achieve such goals -Brookfield (1981).People learn new things for example the culture of different people, behaviour, personality, perceptions etc. 4-Advantages and disadvantages of Self- managed learning Some advantages and disadvantages of self-managed learning: 4.1-Advantages: * Improved the attitudes toward learning * The learners become more confident * Also they are taking greater responsibility for their own learning than during more traditional classroom activities * Create a repertoire of skills * Learn to tolerate ambiguity in expectation of themselves * Development of higher order thinking, problem solving, collaborating skills * Exploring a variety of learning styles or approaches to learning 4.2-Disadvantages: * The learner my find difficult to evaluate one`s own progress * The learner may not identify the learning needs according to his/her academic level * Some learners may not find appropriate resources for learning * Unable to get peer feedback 5-Ways in which lifelong learning in both personal and professional contexts could be encouraged The idea of lifelong education was first fully articulated in this century by Basil Yeaxlee (1929). He along with Eduard Lindeman (1926) provided an intellectual basis for a comprehensive understanding of education as a continuing aspect of everyday life. However to encourage lifelong learning is necessary Motivation, determination, managing time which is extremely important to self-managed learning. Lifelong learning is all about continuous learning personally that could contribute to the professional context. Individual could have personal assessment as means of lifelong learning by evaluating their strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats. For example, in the workplace employees with busy schedules can learn necessary skills at their own convenience through self-study. Some technical staff in organizations who must constantly upgrade their knowledge can access new information through an individualized resource centre. For example learning by Self-reflective learning could help employees learn new skills at work place also developing their personal skills through having work task and responsibility assigned to them. While self-reflective learning reviews things, continuing professional development, combines approaches, ideas and techniques that help to develop the personal learning. Self-reflective learning is about trying to review some opinions, judgements, personal understanding and actions that you are willing to take in a proper way and be honest about it. another example for a organization to encourage the employee taking initiative of learning something new could be giving to them a opportunity for a presentation skills where the individuals learn how to make a presentation which gives the chance to express the knowledge of what they have learnt from particular topic also give them confidence to talk in front of others, which become an advantage to the organisation when been given a task to do that need to be presented to the manager and other directors from the same company of different company. 6- Evaluation the benefits of self-managed learning to the organizations and their members In a world where there is growing pressure for increased results from fewer people, Organisations have no option but to invest heavily in learning and development. The problem is that there is not always a correlation between expenditure on training and development and pay-off for individuals and Organisations. Also individual learning may not integrate with organisational needs. Yet it is essential that individual should be helped to take on greater responsibility for their own development and growth. The key requirement, then, seems to be to create a situation where learning: * Is owned by the individual * Is properly supported And at the same time * Is closely integrated with organisations needs This what self- managed learning provides Knowles, (1975) Self-managed learning is about people taking their own initiatives in managing their learning, but the benefits of self-managing learning to the individual as well as the organisation are positive. For Teagasc and their members will be extremely important the benefits of self-managed learning. The employees will approach their learning in a way that is most compatible with their own learning style and strategy. In approaching pre-designed, structured training modules, employees can seek out those most congruent with their learning styles. Where the employee designs his/her own learning experience, they would opt for those with which they are most comfortable. There others several distinct benefits of SDL for the organization and their members: * SDL can help identify an â€Å"Organization`s â€Å"A† players- SDL requires initiative. Individuals who show initiative in undertaking their own SDL program are motivated, confident self-starters. Certainly they would evidence motivation, interest and behaviours in their jobs similar to â€Å"A† players. * SDL can be implemented with minimal expense – Many learning projects will cost nothing. Relatively speaking, project costs will be minimal. * SDL minimizes the issue of transfer of learning. 7- Conclusion After done this research in self-managed learning I could say that people are taking more responsibility when they are learning by their own initiative. Self-managed learning is not something easy, though some people tend to passive that managing their own learning through self-managing learning is an old fashion way of learning. The fact is that it’s not true, the basic requirement needed to set out the goals and meeting them is hard approach to learning. Individuals need to understand the stages for the professional development plan for the purpose of having a clear objective of what they would like to achieve from self-managing learning.

Acute Respiratory Distress Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Acute Respiratory Distress Case Study - Essay Example area and that usually HPS occurs in a shed or cabin closed for some time but which is improperly cleaned (â€Å"Facts about Hantaviruses,† 2011; â€Å"Hantavirus,† 2011). This enclosed area usually contains rodent excreta, which when inhaled by a human would cause HPS (Siegel, 2011). The virus, specifically known as Sin Nombre Virus or SNV, has a rodent host – which is usually the deer mouse, the white-footed mouse, the cotton rat and the rice rat (Siegel, 2011; â€Å"Facts about Hantaviruses,† CDC, 2011). It is the excreta from these rodents, usually in the form of urine, saliva or feces, that contains the virus (Siegel, 2011). When the charge nurse said, â€Å"I knew there was a good reason not to clean my house,† she was referring to the improper way of cleaning the cabin where the young male patient most likely acquired HPS. It was partly the fault of the girlfriend, who considered herself a â€Å"neat freak† and who was â€Å"constantly cleaning and disinfecting.† Little did she know that there was probably rat excreta in the cabin which was inhaled by her boyfriend right after she cleaned it improperly. According to Siegel (2011), â€Å"peridomestic activities associated with HPS were cleaning food storage areas or outbuildings† and this was probably what the girlfriend always did. However, since the proper way of cleaning up rodent excreta is by NOT sweeping or vacuuming and since the girlfriend probably did exactly this, then it caused the virus-infested excreta particles to go into the air and reach the boyfriend’s lungs by inhalation (â€Å"Facts about Hantaviru ses, CDC, 2011). However, the question remains on whether the disease is found only in the Southwest or what factors exactly determine the places where the SNV might be present. Based on past data, the disease has actually spread to the neighboring states like South Dakota and North Dakota. In fact, only after two months from the attack in the Southwest in May 1993, there were cases found in Nevada,

Enterprise Architecture Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Enterprise Architecture Principles - Essay Example EA principles can be employed to precisely meet the needs of propagating enterprise transformation because they decrease the risk of being trapped in over-specification. Since EA principles offer guidance relating to efforts in architecture, their application ought to reflect a degree of consensus across the enterprise while at the same time embodying EA thinking. Therefore, application of EA principles needs to focus on not only the architecture-level issues but also restate and embody a set of business principles. Hence, application of these EA principles supports business principles, goals and strategic drivers since architects have to ensure the current definition of business principles and clarify areas of ambiguity.General principles like business continuity together with information principles such as treating information as asset seem to be essential principles in any company. Moreover, application principles like easy-to-use applications as well as technological principles t hat ensure changes are made based on requirements are critical to my company. All these principles embody every aspect of enterprise architecture since they consider crucial aspects in EA like business, application and technological principles. To a colleague, EA principles form the basic reference for all IT projects and initiatives since they propel governance of EA. Illustration of the usefulness of the EA principles relies on fact that principles form the foundation of EA because they embody rules and guidelines for the EA.

Features of power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Features of power - Essay Example " or ""Everyone will be just as it was," drawing on to the themes of Modern ennui or the famous Eliot line ""In the room the women come and go/ Talking of Michelangelo". The boredom is with a wasted life where the Victorian or Aristocratic order becomes a sham. The powerful imposition of an abeyance of organic cycles full of decadent spectral traditions in Chekhov, and the "ghost" of the Victorian order posing acute psychological and intellectual repercussions in Nora's marks themood of Ibsen's play. The context of power in Ibsen's play is more imminent since it outright satirizes the Victorian marital set-up and the kind of power-relation is shared between a husband and his wife. It did subvert the idea of the 'angel in the house'. The play satirises the helplessness of Victorian women, financially and legally dependent their husbands and were considered legal property of her husband. Her property or wealth too belonged to her husband. There was very little financial independence she was not expected to earn for her own living. This patriarchal imposition was masked behind an idea of good-will. The cold rationality of Torvald Helmer and his patronozing attitude towards Nora is extremely apt in giving the account of the kind of power and hierarchy he engages to help Nora content with an illusion about her home and life. Her eating macaroons and lying about them are just shallow exchanges that have greater ideological practices at play behind them. Torvald is the shaping power wh o must teach, guide, rescue and advice Nora under the excuse of romantic love which has no basis in anything apart for in creating and restoring a hierarchy where he must appear to represent greater experience, knowledge, intellect and above all benevolence. His appearance masks a deep selfishness (for his own integrity) when he refuses to oblige his beloved Nora by refusing to let in Krogstad. There is a great urge working within Torvald to control appearances within his household and with his relationship. The epiphany about her real self emerges only when Torvald falls short of his role as a protector. Krogstad's blackmail reveals the other side of Nora. It shows her acumen for business, and the desperation to maintain the status quo of her substandard life. She realises that his continuous playful tone with her, disciplining attitude signify Torvald's actual expectations out of her. She is never his equal, sharing his intellectual comanionship. She is another decoration in the " Doll's" house, with a stunted mental life. Nora questions the possession of authority and intellectual power granted to her even for raising her children. She was thus not indispensable in her substance. Nora has lived a derogatory life only to conform to an ideal that does not even exist and says: "I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald". Nora becomes a person with a greater purpose. Her ideals about motherhood take a backseat when she realizes that she is estranged by the religion and the law and fits nowhere. Torvald's desperate plea to make Nora accept her "roles" was a pathetic attempt to appease her reveals his hypocrisy. Choosing integrity over love becomes a crucial question when Nora chooses the prior thus establishing that Torvald's selfishness to maintain his own integrity even at the expense of their marriage

CHARITY PUBLIC RELATIONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CHARITY PUBLIC RELATIONS - Essay Example Notably also, public relations is aimed at communicating to donors how resources have been spent and to attract further donations (Gregory, 2004). There is another outlook on public relations where persons tasked with this have to analyse trends, predict their consequences and counsel organizations on the best course of action along with how this will be implemented. This outlook provides credibility on the practice of public relations as it introduces a social science aspect where in the critics have dismissed public relations as being unsubstantial and flawed fundamentally (Butterick, 2011). Being difficult to define, public relations is a practice that is difficult to underpin its origins as well. One of the American pioneers of public relations, Ivy Lee, looked into policy management citing that good policy translates to good public relations. He went on to extend this definition by stating that public relations deals with everything entailed in expressing the policy or idea of an organization, incorporating the idea or policy expressed as well. For charitable organizations, their main concern is maintaining fruitful relationships between them and donors and this raises the issue of fund raising management. The policy or idea expressed by these organizations is philanthropic in nature that is not for the direct benefit of the organization rather for a societal issue such as public health. Philanthropy, in essence, is a relationship between donor and recipients where this relationship is mediated by cultivating an image of public good. Lee also looked into the ethics o f public relations at a time many were against the idea of press releases; he was of the opinion that organizations that sent out press releases to newspapers with the hope of influencing their content were not in the wrong so long as the sources of such releases could be identified. He felt that

Interpreter of Maladies, Symbols of Love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Interpreter of Maladies, Symbols of Love - Essay Example The house triggers memories of the life they had together. It is a story of remembered and lost love. Shukumar and Shoba have taken to living separate lives in their own home. â€Å"He and Shoba had become experts at avoiding each other in their three bedroom house.† (Lahiri 1999, p7) This thought makes Shukumar remember how it was before. He used to look forward to the weekends, when they simply spent time together. They would look into each other’s eyes and reach for each other, before they went to sleep. Their home started as a place where the couple spent time together and loved each other. They were expecting to start a family there. As Shukumar is preparing the evening meal he remembers the time Shoba would take care of the cooking. â€Å"The pantry was always stocked with extra bottles of olive and corn oil.† (Lahiri 1999, p9) He thought about how Shoba would always go to the market to make sure they had enough food in their home. Boxes and jars of food filled the room to the point they thought grandchildren would enjoy the treats waiting there. When friends would come by she would cook grand meals that seemed like she was cooking the entire day. Now Shukumar did the cooking. He used recipes that Shoba had, with hand written notes stating the date the couple shared the meal. Shoba, at one time, nurtured her home with food and friends. She made sure that there was more than enough. During this time the neighborhood is experiencing scheduled blackouts. The dynamic of their relationship changes as they share secrets in the dark. â€Å"Something happened when the house was dark.† (Lahiri 1999, p23) They started to talk, after months of virtual silence. They open themselves up to each other, eventually confessing their biggest secrets. Shoba plans to move into her own apartment. Shukumar confesses that he held their son, something she didn’t get to do. He promised that he would never tell her because of his love for her, but the last few days show that he

American women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American women - Essay Example Women without a college degree were not considered for any form of employment and so any women who wanted a career of any description had no choice but to attain a college degree. It was at this time that women started to introduce themselves into banking and accountancy but women diplomats, barristers and judges were non existent. In the years following World War 11 the number of students wanting to attend college exploded with soldiers returning from war and children from the baby boomerçâ€" ´ era attaining school age. As a result, the number of educational facilities increased and co-education became prevalent.During the 1960s and 1970s , Due to Social And Legislative Changes, Several Institutions Of Higher Education That Had Been Previously All-Male Opened Their Doors To Women(Harwarth, Maline & DeBra, archived). The situation, of course, is vastly different now with all students, regardless of gender or racial status having the same opportunities in higher education. The prime example is that we now have an African American President. Woman, now, participate in previously male dominated occupations such as mathematics and computer and physical sciences. Studies of four year term female colleges have shown that,ä ¹Æ'hey Have Conferred Upon Women Equal or Larger Portions of Bachelor Degrees in Male Dominated Fields Than The Norm.(Harwart, Maline & DeBra, archived). Harwarth, Irene, Maline, Mindi. DeBra, Elizabeth.(archived information).åŸÅ"omens Colleges In The United States:History,Issues and ChallengesThe Womens College Coalition. Retrieved from

USSR, Poland, Hungary Essay Example for Free

USSR, Poland, Hungary Essay The beginning of the 1990s marked profound economic and social stagnation of the former Communist states. That stagnation was the result of the deep and anticipated economic transformations following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. The administrative command system and its economic and social inconsistence has become the major driver of the economic stagnation in Europe: the system of centralized planning and administration was not really an economic system at all (Hall Elliott, 1999). The soviet-oriented economy did not maximize wealth, but rather maximized the utility function of the then political elites (Hall Elliott, 1999). The goal of the communist economy was not to improve the product, to increase customer satisfaction, or to increase profit margins; on the contrary, the centralized decisions were taken to further maximize the military power of the eastern European states, and to enhance the responsiveness of economy to centralized control (Maital, 2003). The low intrinsic value of money, excess demand, and centralized control over natural resources have led to the situation when national population was socially dissatisfied, politicized, and subject to central decision-making models. Those economic conflicts and social dissatisfaction have ultimately caused to the general collapse of communism across Europe. In their post-communist economic development, Poland, Russia, and Hungary followed similar economic patterns, although Poland remains the brightest example of the post-soviet economic and social success. At the beginning of the 1990s, Polish GDP was declining faster than that in Russia and Hungary, but Poland was able to regain its economic positions faster than its European counterparts: Poland experienced smooth transition from centrist to liberal political coalition that implemented mature economic reforms (Maital, 2003). Russia greatly suffered the worsening demographic indices and life expectancy, but was able to quickly restore after the 1998 crisis for the account of the constantly growing oil prices (Algieri, 2007). In Hungary, the recycling of parties could potentially undermine all efforts to transform Hungarian command economy, but economic plans in Hungary remained quite liberal in content and consequences (Swaan Lissowska, 2006). Poland, Russia and Hungary have already accomplished much to merge with the rest of the European states. Evidently, the coming decade will mark further â€Å"economic reconciliation† between post-communist and developed European economies, in which Russia, Poland, and Hungary will have more decision-making powers. â€Å"As the reforms proceed, the individuals, organizations and regions that are successfully adapting and becoming better off economically are an emerging constituency for the continuing reforms. This emerging constituency will be associated with the creation of new firms rather than with the transformation of existing firms. † (Algieri, 2007) That means that further democratization and liberalization will help post-communist countries find their place in the international economy and market. References Algieri, B. (2007). Trade specialization dynamics in Russia. Comparative Economic Studies, 49: 74-76. Maital, S. (2003). Russia and Poland: the anatomy of transition. Challenge, 36 (2): 80-85. Swaan, W. Lissowska, M. (2006). Capabilities, routines, and East European economic reform: Hungary and Poland before and after the 1989 revolutions. Journal of Economic Issues, 40 (4): 8-22. Hall, T. Elliott, J. E. (1999). Poland and Russia: One decade after shock therapy. Journal of Economic Issues, 33 (2): 182-197.

The Rule of Law and the Separation of Powers

The Rule of Law and the Separation of Powers The rule of law and the separation of powers have a particularly important role to play within the UK’s unwritten constitution. They allocate and restrain power so as to ensure that the constitutional system remains accountable and limited. It is a common observation that the UK does not have a written constitution. However, it is the existence of mechanisms such as respect for the rule of law and the operation of a (more or less) rigorous separation of powers together with devices such as constitutional conventions that allows this jurisdiction to lay claim to the existence of a constitution albeit one which is not formally recorded in a written document. Bradley and Ewing[1] analyse the rule of law by focussing upon three aspects of its operation in contemporary society: the simple maintenance of law and order; the requirement that government be conducted according to the law; the broader concept of the rule of law as a broad political doctrine which goes beyond an analysis of the operation of particular laws and encompasses the values of a free and democratic society. The â€Å"law and order† model which holds that order is better than anarchy. The difficulty with this approach is that it is possible thereunder to characterise a military dictatorship as functioning according to the rule of law since a form of order is maintained and courts may even continue to function to resolve private disputes between citizens. However, the authors make the point[2] that â€Å"†¦constitutionalism and the rule of law will not thrive unless legal restraints apply to the government.† A better approach is to examine the manner in which the courts have the ability to challenge the acts of the Executive and other public authorities. The use of judicial review to scrutinise the actions of Ministers and Government Departments is familiar. Further, in M v Home Office[3] it was even held that a Minister of the Crown could be guilty of contempt of (one of Her Majesty’s) Courts. The argument that the courts had no such powers against ministers met with a stinging rebuttal: â€Å"[This argument] would, if upheld, establish the proposition that the executive obey the law as a matter of grace and not as a matter of necessity, a proposition which would reverse the result of the Civil War.†(!) The principle has been further reinforced by the adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights which now provides a mechanism by which the very laws of this jurisdiction can be examined to ascertain their â€Å"lawfulness†. The concept of the rule of law as a broad political doctrine has generated much debate. One the one hand, it is possible to argue that the law comprises a set of absolute values distilled from centuries of legal experience; on the other it may be argued that the rule of law is a flexible concept which has to be adjusted in accordance with the prevailing social and political circumstances of the time. Professor Joseph Raz[4] argues that the rule of law is a â€Å"political ideal which a legal system may possess to a greater or lesser degree† and that it is â€Å"just one of the virtues that a legal system may possess and by which it is to be judged†. Raz therefore does not invest the rule of law with any inherent moral authority stating expressly that it â€Å"is not to be confused with democracy, justice, equality (before the law or otherwise) human rights of any kind†¦Ã¢â‚¬  While this approach may be highly respected from a jurisprudential perspective, it is of little value in understanding the operation of the rule of law in the UK constitution. A far more preferable and workmanlike analysis is that of Friedrich von Hayek in the seminal work The Road to Serfdom[5]. He propounds the thesis that the function of the rule of law is to ensure that the government is bound in all its actions by rules fixed and announced beforehand. Such a state of affairs makes it possible to predict how the government will employ its coercive powers in a given situation and to plan one’s individual affairs on this basis. Thus the rule of law in the UK constitution is founded upon certainty: laws are democratically debated and publicly promulgated and, as a general rule, do not operate retrospectively. The UK citizen is therefore protected from the â€Å"whim of the tyrant† approach to lawmaking and has the added shield of the power of the courts (domestic and European) to review government action and the validity of the laws themselves. In order for such a system to be maintained, especially in the absence of a written constitution to which recourse may be had in the event of alleged injustice (as in the USA), it is essential that there be a clear separation of powers between the three branches of government: Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. This separation is clear cut in the USA – the President forms the Executive, Congress is the Legislature and the same personnel cannot serve in both (save that the Vice-President chairs the Senate). Government action can be reviewed by the Supreme Court. In the UK, as might be expected given the historical evolution of the constitution as opposed to its imposition by a written document, there are certain anomalies and overlaps. By constitutional convention, the Prime Minister is the leader of the party with the majority in the House of Commons. Ministers of State are recruited for the most part from members of the Commons with a smaller number from the Lords. The sys tem of party political â€Å"whipping† has the result that (save in the case of occasional highly-publicised rebellions) the actions of the Legislature reflect the will of the Government of the day. The Judiciary is more demonstrably independent and some would argue that this is now the more so as a result of the steps to relocate the functions of the highest appellate court in the UK from the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords to an entirely distinguishable Supreme Court. This process has generated much political and constitutional heat. It was strenuously argued that the presence of the Law Lords in the legislative assembly of the House of Lords was offensive to the concept of separation of powers. However, defenders of the status quo pointed to the fact that their Lordships by convention scrupulously refrained from debate upon issues which were likely to come before them in their judicial function. However, Lord Bingham[6] is sceptical as to the purity of the functio n of the judiciary: â€Å"The essential function of the court is then to interpret the law which it infers that parliament intended to make or would have made if it had addressed the point at all. This is not as legislative role, nor is it a purely interpretive role, since the court may have to do a good deal more than elicit the meaning of what parliament has enacted.† The most glaring anomaly in relation to separation of powers in the UK has been the figure of Lord Chancellor. He has served as a member of the Executive by sitting in Cabinet, as a member of the Legislature by acting as Speaker of the House of Lords and as head of the Judiciary. It has been observed[7] that successive Lord Chancellors have relied upon the â€Å"characteristically English argument† that eminent public figures can by definition be trusted so that a formal separation of powers is not required. This argument was propelled to new depths of disingenuousness by Lord Irvine in 1999[8] when he suggested that the presence of the Lord Chancellor straddling all three branches of government actually safeguarded separation of powers by supplying a voice in the Executive and the Legislature that was able to speak out on behalf of judicial independence. As with the rule of law, the European influence may be argued to strengthen rather than diminish separation of powers. Lord Irvine[9] argues that: â€Å"Incorporation [of the European Convention on Human Rights] will enhance the judges’ power to protect the individual against the abuse of power by the state. We have a high quality of judicial review in this country. It has often rightly held the executive to account and improved the quality of administrative decision-making. So the concept of judges protecting the citizen and holding the executive to account is nothing new. What is new is that the judges will be given a framework by parliament within which to interpret the law.† Thus it may be concluded that, notwithstanding the lack of a written constitution, the UK citizen is protected from capricious and unlawful acts of government by respect for the rule of law. This should not be regarded as an abstract philosophical concept: the principle operates within this jurisdiction to ensure that acts of government are transparent and predictable. When they fall short of these standards, the fact that there is a demonstrable independence of Judiciary and Executive (as has been seen the independence of the Legislature from the Executive is more questionable) means that the actions of government can be challenged and, if necessary, overturned. These various constantly evolving mechanisms ensure that the exercise of power within the UK constitution is accountable and limited. Bibliography Alder, J., General Principles of Constitutional and Administrative Law, (4th Ed., 2002) Allen, M. Thompson, B., Cases and Materials on Constitutional and Administrative Law, (7th Ed., 2003) Barnett, H., Constitutional and Administrative Law, (5th Ed., 2004) Bradley, A. Ewing, K., Constitutional and Administrative Law, (13th Ed., 2003) 1 Footnotes [1] Constitutional and Administrative Law, (13th Ed., 2003), Chapter 6 [2] Op. Cit., p.96 [3] [1994] 1 AC 377 [4] Quoted in Barnett, Constitutional and Administrative Law, (5th Ed., 2004) at p.77 [5] See Barnett, Op. Cit., p.79 et seq [6] (1996/97) 7 King’s College Law Journal 15-16 [7] Alder, General Principles of Constitutional and Administrative Law, (4th Ed., 2002) at p.114 [8] Speech to the Third Worldwide Common Law Judiciary Conference, Edinburgh, 5 July 1999 [9] Constitutional Reform and a Bill of Rights, [1997] European Human Rights Law Review 483

Primary methods of maintaining organizational culture

Primary methods of maintaining organizational culture An organizations culture is made up of comparatively stable characteristics. It grows over many years and is rooted in intensely held values to which employees are forcefully committed. In addition, there are number of forces are successfully operating to maintain a given culture. These include written allegations about the organization mission and philosophy, the design of physical spaces and buildings, the dominant leadership style, hiring criteria, past promotion practices, entrenched rituals, popular stories about key people and events, the organizations historic performance evaluation criteria, and the organizations formal structure. Significantly, the organizational culture includes values, assumptions, goals and Industry demands. So the culture has been maintained through Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA), Employee on-boarding (socialization), Leadership (Top management) , and organizational Reward systems. It determines what types of people are hired by an organization and what types of people are left out. Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) : First, employees are attracted to organizations where they will suit in. According to Judge statement, the employees with distinctive personality traits find different cultures attractive.[1]For example, out of their individual traits, employees who illustrate neurotic personalities were less likely to be attracted to inventive cultures, whereas those who had openness to experience were more likely to be. By ASA process, While selection, candidates and corporations both are looking for people who will fit into their current corporate culture.[2] Considering southwest airlines and Google are the best example for that. Attrition refers to the instinctive process, where the candidates who do not fit in will go away from the company. Research indicates that person-organization incompatibility is one of the important reasons for employee turnover.[3] New Employee On-boarding : On-boarding pertains to the process through which new employees learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to function effectively within an organization.[4] When the organizational employees socializing the new people, inviting as a part of their family, they will feel accepted by their peers and confident regarding their ability to perform, and also they can share the assumptions, norms, and values that are the part of the organizations culture. This understanding and confidence is making the new employees to perform their ability and traits in a excellent way. As well as it gives higher job fulfillment, Effective organizational commitment, and long period of time experience within the company for them. Organizations can also engage in different activities to facilitate on-boarding, such as implementing orientation programs or matching new employees with mentors. These processes are expanded by the nature of the company.[5] (refer Exhibit 1-1) Leadership : Leaderships are significantly helpful in creating and modifying the organizations culture. There is a direct agreement between the leaders style and an organizations culture. For example, when leaders motivate and praise the employees in the firm by their knowledge , skills, initiatives, the corporate culture tends to be more supportive and people- oriented. Consequently, the leaders are providing rewards, contingent on performance, again it tends to be more performance-oriented and competitive also to them.[6] Likewise, the leaders will influence directly to the cultures of their organizations. Apart from the leaders influence, the role model is another tool (Charismatic). Research have suggested that leader behavior, attitudes, and decision-making, the consistency between union policy, leader actions and role modeling determine the degree to which the organizations culture emphasizes ethics [7]. The leaders own behaviors will influence each individuals to understand what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable. In an organization, in which high-level leaders make the effort to involve others in decision making and seek opinions of others, team diversity is more likely to evolve. By acting as role models (charismatic), leaders send signals to the organization about the norms and values that are expected to guide the actions of its members. Leaders also proves their success from reactions to the actions of others in the organizational culture. Through their day-to-day actions improvements, leaders shape and maintain the organizations culture Effectively. Reward Systems : The Organizational reward system offering pliability and motivation for maximum effectiveness from the employees rather than being hard and rude. Usually, the company culture is formed by the type of reward systems and based on the kinds of behaviors and outcomes it chooses to reward and punish. One relevant element of the reward system is whether the organizational rewards either behaviors or outcomes. In some companies, the employees rewards system highlights intangible elements of performance also its looking like easily accessible metrics. In these companies, supervisors and peers may evaluate the workers performance by seeing the persons behaviors as well as the results. In such companies, we may expect a culture that is comparatively both either people-oriented or team-oriented, so the employees can act as part of a family [8]. However, in companies in which goal attainment is the sole criterion for reward, there is a focus on measuring only the results without much regard to the process. In these companies, we might supervise result-oriented and competitive cultures. A company culture evolves to determine which behaviors are deserved, which ones are penalized, and which are ignored by them. A reward system is a major tool managers can exert when undertaking the controlling function. In order for a reward system to be effective, the rewards must hold some importance for the employees. Reward systems should focus on positive reinforcement. It is the most effective tool for encouraging desired behavior because it stimulates people to take actions because they want to, because they get something of value (internally or externally) for doing it. An effectively designed and managed reward program can drive an organizations change process by positively reinforcing desired behaviors. According to (Thomas,1994) author presents criteria for building effective reward systems that he calls the SMART criteria. These criteria should be used when designing and evaluating programs. The programs should be: Specific. A line of sight should be maintained between rewards and actions. Meaningful. The achievements rewarded should provide an important return on investment to both the performer and the organization. Achievable. The employees or groups goals should be within the reach of the performers. Reliable. The program should operate according to its principles and purpose. Timely. The recognition/rewards should be provided frequently enough to make performers feel valued for their efforts. CREATING AN ETHICAL CULTURE : Ethical managerial leaders and their people take the right and good path when they come to the ethical choice points. An organizational culture most likely to shape high ethical standards is one thats high in risk tolerance, low to moderate in aggressiveness, and focuses on means as well as outcomes. Although, the managers in the organization, innovate and take risk to avoid the unbridled competition, and will pay attention to How and What goals are achieved.[9] Considering the Johnson Johnson employees culture, have become to know how their strong organizational culture it is. If the culture is strong and supports high ethical standards, definitely it should have a very powerful and positive influence on employee behavior. Even though, sometimes a strong culture can make an unethical behavior because of aggressive culture between the employees. Research suggesting that, some of the practices that management can undertake, Being a visible role model, Communicating ethical expectations, providing ethical training, Visibly rewarding ethical acts and punishing unethical ones, and finally providing protective mechanism can help the employees to be more active into the organizational culture. According to Turknett research, process that can help to ensure that the organization has an ethical culture and that has the leaders who lead with character. Investing in a process that seeks to infuse an ethical culture is especially important in the case where there is an ethical infringement. And by his three Cs, merely developing a cultural character into the people. Code, Character and Conversation providing a good framework for thinking about infusing ethics into organization culture. By using his model called Growing Leadership Character can also use to cascade these concepts deep into the organizational ranks. Moreover, his theory expressing the three basic character into the human. thus, providing an ethical behavior. When someone has character, usually it also mean that they are the people who work hard, get results, and are the people always Responsible. They also, however, ground all action in a solid base of Integrity, and they treat people with respect and Equity.[10] Nevertheless, Dr. Charles D. Kerns illustrates in his various research, how the values are influencing ethical behavior into the human. It could say clearly that VABEs (Values, Assumptions, behaviors, Emotions) seems to be a subset of virtuous values that align with ethical behavior.[11] Values > Attitudes > Ethical Behavior In Martin Seligmans, Authentic Happiness, has reviewed these core virtuous values that influence ethical behavior and appear to have universal appeal. Wisdom and Knowledge, Self Control, Justice and Fair Guidance, Transcendence, Love and Kindness and Courage and Integrity are giving personal values accordingly.However, there are some USA Based Indian companies are providing an ethical training into the employees, Significantly could illustrate as an example, Sierra Atlantic (California-Based software company) Hyderabad, trains its Indian employees in various aspects of U.S culture. As a result, they won a bid with an American firm over an Indian competitor because the Sierra employees were viewed as a better cultural fit. Such successes make it likely that companies with foreign clients will either adopt or continue to use cultural training.[12] Mary-Jo Kranacher is recommending some more values, to build an ethical culture into the organization, effectively. Developing ethics policies, Implementing controls, Establishing penalties and rewards, Communicating policies and procedures to others from top management to bottom, Enforcing policies consistently are included in his major suggestions.[13] As a result, the purpose of an ethics policy is to support a culture of openness, trust, and integrity in a companys management and business practices.

Recommendation For Recycling Water In Florida Essays -- Recycling Water

Recommendation For Recycling Water in Florida Contents Abstract................................................2 Executive Summary.......................................3 Introduction............................................4 Methods.................................................4 Results.................................................5 Basic background information on water reuse in Florid...5 Reclaiming Waste Water in Florida Uses for reclaimed or reused water......................7 Conclusions.............................................7 Recommendations.........................................7 References..............................................7 Abstract "Recommendation for Recycling Water in a Florida Pilot Plant" The water shortage problem has affected all of us in one way or another. Either through the mandatory restrictions or the increased price of water, or even the ever increasing occurrence of sinkholes, the evidence of a water shortage is everywhere. Since we need water to survive, and there are no alternatives to support life on this planet, we must find a way to keep up with our ever increasing water demand. This report presents the water shortage problem that is occurring in Florida. This report will familiarize you with the problem and explain the other uses currently being employed in Florida. This report also explains the procedure, as well as a recommendation including the site and costs involved, along with a short background on the proposed procedure. I recommend that the recycled project be funded and allow the pilot plant to meet the ever increasing demand for water in Florida. Executive Summary The water shortage problem effects us all in one way or another. Either through the mandatory restrictions or the increased price of water, or even the ever increasing occurrence of sinkholes, the evidence of a water shortage is everywhere. Since we need water to survive, and there are no alternatives to support life on this planet, we must find a way to keep up with our expanding water demand. I feel that the only viable option is to recycle the water we are using. By recycling the water, we will be able to drop ... ...und choice therefore is to reuse the water readily available to us. We have the technology accessible to use to make this a viable option and I feel we should pursue this option. This would almost completely alleviate any water shortage we have, since all the water we use would be recycled back into drinking water, thus relieving the demand to pump more and more water from an already over used aquifer. Recommendation I recommend that the funds be made available for the pilot plant to be put into effect, and allow us to take the next step in water reuse in Florida. The new plant will drastically reduce the amount of water now being pumped from the ground, thus reduce the sinkholes and alleviate the water shortage problem. I feel the small investment is more than worthwhile and will be recouped in a year's time. I would like to start this project and bring this new technology to light and begin a new generation of water treatment. References Young, Harley and David York (1996, November). "Reclaimed Water Reuse in Florida and the South Gulf Coast." Florida Water Resource Journal, pp. 32-35.

Atwood :: Character Analysis, Kat, Disintegration

Atwood uses symbolism to convey how a person’s personality can disintegrate by living in a repressive society. In the beginning of the story, Kat goes through a surgery to remove a large ovarian cyst which she keeps and names â€Å"Hairball†. This large cyst is in fact, a symbol that represents Kat’s personality disintegration. Most cyst that develop in the human body are dysfunctional, and Kat can be seen as a dysfunctional woman when she decides to keep this cyst. â€Å"The cyst turned out to be a benign tumor. Kat liked that use if ‘benign,‘ as if the thing had a soul and wished her well† (304). This specific passage shows the readers how Kat is slowly loosing her mind by thinking that her cyst has a soul of its own. In addition, she humanizes her cyst by naming it â€Å"Hairball† and by giving it human characteristics: â€Å"Hairball’s baby teeth glint in the light; it looks as if it’s about to speak† (312). More over, Hairball is described as having baby teeth which can represent how it is like a baby who still developing. This developing cyst can also symbolize how Kat is trying to develop her own personality. However, this becomes a challenge for her because she lives in a society where male domination is present. She works as a photographer for an avant-garde magazine, and tries to express her ideas, but the men whom she works with don’t let her do so. Kat trying to develop her personality within her society leads her to become lost, and back to becoming dysfunctional just like a cyst trying to be a tumor. The author uses Hairball as a symbol to highlight how Kat’s personality disintegrates by living in a society where gender inequality is supported. Characterization plays an important role when conveying how one’s personality can disintegrate by living in a restrictive society. Although Kat is slowly loosing her mind, in the story, she is portrayed as a confident woman who tries to strive for excellence. This can be seen when she wants to name the magazine â€Å"All the Rage†. She claims that â€Å"it’s a forties sounds† and that â€Å"forties is back† (311). However the board of directors, who were all men, did not approve. They actually â€Å"though it was too feminist, of all things† (311). This passage not only shows how gender opportunities is apparent in the society Kat lives in, but also shows the readers why Kat starts to loose her mind.

Characterization of Hamlet, Gertrude and Ophelia Essay

Hamlet is a character of extraordinary complexity and depth. No simple formula can serve to solve his mystery. A different Hamlet might have killed his uncle Claudius on the strength of the Ghost’s accusation, ascended the throne, married Ophelia and lived happily ever after . But such a typical hero was not likely to be of interest to Shakespeare. We can also say that in Hamlet Shakespeare presents a murderer and revenger who is both ruthless and reluctant and his death is the ultimate result of his being charged by the Ghost to carry out instructions which were offensive to his moral principles. Like other tragic heroes of Shakespeare he is also endowed with exceptional qualities like royal birth, graceful and charming personality among his own countrymen. He has a high intellectual quality as Ophelia observes: O what a noble mind is here overthrown! / The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s eye, tongue, sword, / Th’ expectancy and rose of the fair state ,/ The glass of fashion , and the mould of form ,/ Th’ observed of all observers. [Act III, Scene I] In spite of possessing all these high qualities which rank him above the other characters the flaw in his character leads to his downfall and makes him a tragic hero. The tragic flaw in the character of Hamlet is that he thinks too much and feels too much. He is often disturbed by his own nature of ‘self analyses’. What is required of Hamlet is prompt action, whereas he broods over the moral idealism which leads to his delay in action. When he gets an opportunity to kill Claudius, he puts aside the thought because he cannot strike an enemy while he is at prayer. Several causes account for his inaction . By nature he is prone to think rather than to act. He is a man of morals and his moral idealism receives a shock when his mother remarries Claudius after his father’s death. Chance too plays an important part in shaping his character. Chance places him in such a position in which he is incapable of doing anything. He becomes inconsistent and is no longer a person who reaches a conclusion only by reasoning. Like other tragic heroes Hamlet too has to face conflict, both internal and external. The internal conflict is between his moral scruples and the act of revenge which he is called upon to perform. Love of his father, the dishonor of his mother and the villainy of his uncle prompt him to take revenge while his nobility, his moral idealism, his principles and his religion revolt against such a brutal act. The result is that, torn within himself, he suffers mental torture. Hamlets wants to take revenge against Claudius, the murderer of his father, the usurper of his rights to the throne and the seducer of his mother . In Hamlet Shakespeare presents a revenger who is both ruthless and reluctant . As a revenger he must act, on behalf of outraged virtue, to restore a violated order, set right what is ‘out of joint’. But the act he is impelled to do, involves him in evil of the kind which he would punish. As the ruthless revenger he exemplifies in his own person the evil which is inseparable from the good in human nature; as the reluctant revenger he can symbolize the good’s abhorrence of it. As compared to Fortinbras and Laertes, Hamlet is slow in taking revenge because of his habit of thinking long and deep. Bradley clearly describes this condition and says he suffered from melancholia, a pathological state which may well develop into lunacy. (p. 121) There is an another aspect of Hamlet’s characterization i.  e. his madness. T. S Eliot argues that ‘the madness of Hamlet lay in Shakespeare’s hand; in the earlier play a simple ruse, and to the end, we may presume, understood as a rule by the audience. For Shakespeare it is less than madness and more than feigned. ’ (p. 102) By pretending to be mad, Hamlet kept open the safety valve and could speak order to relieve the pressure on his mind. This is what T. S Eliot means when he uses the words â€Å"more than feigned. † Samuel Johnson (1765) also considers his madness as fabricated even in his (Hamlet’s) treatment of Ophelia. Johnson says in this regard, ‘He plays the madman most, when he treats Ophelia with so much rudeness, which seems to be useless and wanton cruelty. ’ (Johnson, 1765) Shakespeare’s characterization of Gertrude and Ophelia in Hamlet is paradoxical as it challenges as well as complements the contemporary social traditions and norms. Gertrude is the best example of this paradox that is manifested through her extraordinary supremacy over all the major characters of Hamlet, her influence in the court matters and state affairs and her blind obedience to Claudius. Ophelia is also active in her domestic domain but her interest are restricted to amorous and matrimonial maters only and they are further directed by his father Polonius and brother Laertes. She is an epitome of traditional feminist expressions of the age that require chastity, compliance and acceptance of male dominancy from women. Ophelia remains passive in the domestic and emotional domain. Ophelia has no identity of her own and all her domestic and amorous matters are directed by her father. Polonius endeavors to fashion the life and attitude of Ophelia according to his own wishes. He considers his desires as her desires and tries to tailor her approach by various means. Ophelia is further guarded by his brother against any potential threat to her chastity and virginity. At Ophelia’s entry into Hamlet, her brother, Laertes escorts Ophelia advising her on her relationship with Hamlet. So right from the very start, Ophelia is under the sway of Laertes and Polonius. So her character is in complete conformity with the traditional values of that time. Polonius always responds from a position of authority over Ophelia, emphasizing his power as the decision-maker for her. Both her father and brother have a self assigned task of directing Ophelia how to act properly in every domain of her life. Although Shakespeare has characterized Ophelia as inferior to male characters, but characterization of Gertrude has dual characteristic. Sometime it challenges the traditions of the conformist society and sometime it itself become conforms to the values of the society by acting passively.

Classroom Management Considerations to Promote Inclusion Essay

In order for a classroom to be truly inclusive classroom management considerations have to be addressed. Will the classroom atmosphere be conducive to learning for all students and how will the climate be modified or adapted to meet these needs? How will classroom goals and rules be established and are they visible and clearly stated in the classroom? Are academic standards clearly stated and visible in the classroom? Does the teacher effectively utilize differentiated instructional strategies for all students? Is the classroom arranged in a manner to accentuate student learning, for example: how are the desks arranged, is there a student seating plan in place, are bulletin or display boards cluttered and distracting, are there technology resources available to the students in the classroom? Are the teachers utilizing flexible co-teaching models in the classroom and is planning time scheduled to create effective lesson planning? These are questions one must ask his or herself in order to create a truly inclusive classroom. Language and discourse in the classroom also plays a role in creating an inclusive atmosphere, the relationship between the teacher and student, the student and his or her peers is part of the social climate of the classroom and must be positively modeled by the teacher. The teacher must find a way to assess and re-assess instructional strategies so that instruction is real-world based and encourages various extensive and engaging learning opportunities for the students. The teacher also has to teach and model positive coping strategies for stress and should remain non-judgmental in their classroom and behavior management approaches. The following is a short list of some modifications or adaptations that can be made in the classroom: †¢ Preferred seating †¢ Pre-printed notes for the class †¢ Visual aids such as graphic organizers like a KWL chart †¢ Choice of assignments †¢ Extended time to complete tests †¢ Fewer questions for classwork or homework †¢ Modified grading utilizing a rubric †¢ Reduce distractions †¢ Teach study skills and coping strategies †¢ Use flashcards †¢ Use of technology to facilitate instruction such as reading and math software to reinforce and teach pre-requisite skills †¢ Visual schedules †¢ Use of manipulatives †¢ Visual communication aids

Dangerous Knowledge

Mary Shelley demonstrates how dangerous it is to pursue knowledge through Victor's health with his growing obsession with his scientific goals, the death of his younger brother William due to his neglect of his own creation, and finally his loss of rationality and mental stability when the creature retaliates against its maker. As a young child Frankincense had an uncommon craving for knowledge. As an adolescent Victor was more intense than most and could apply himself more acutely. Reading outdated books as child victor became interested in the fields of natural philosophy and chemistry.Becoming an above average tuned Victor pursued higher education at a university level. This curiosity lead him to his research to discover the hidden laws of nature. Laws of nature that no human was ever meant to know. Spending multiple years dedicated to this discovery, abandoning his moral code victor tries to play God by trying to create life where there is none. The potential rewards of this atte mpt causes Victor to miss all caution when considering the consequences of his actions, which allows the experiment to progress till completion.It is only after completion that victor realizes the dangers of knowing too much, not legalizing the dangers of this knowledge Victor ignores not only his personal wellbeing but his loved ones as well. Spending many years in seclusion, Victor ignores his person health and falls into a state of illness. Because of his growing obsession victor further disregards his health and almost dies. Victor fails to realize is that the knowledge that he has pursued almost killed him, and will continue to hinder him to live a peaceful and happy life.In a condition of illness and isolation victor discovers Cleaver his boyhood friend has come to visit him in his time of weakness. With the presence of Henry victors spirits arise to levels of normality, although for a time which is yet to be determined. Unprepared for the consequences of his creation victor r ealizes his worst fears. On receiving a letter from his father telling him that Victor's youngest brother, William, has been murdered. Victor travels back to Geneva to find that is was his creation that murders his brother.Victor realizes that it was he who responsible for the death of his younger brother. Later in the novel victor sees that it was his neglect for the power hat he held and the power in which he wanted to obtain were the reasoning for his catastrophes. â€Å"By my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier the man is who believes his native town is the world, than he who aspires to become greater his nature will allow. † Cheap.This quote is when victor is telling his story to Walton, telling him the dangers of obtaining knowledge. Because of his lack of attention to the power that he held victor now sees that it was he himself that altered not only his fate but his loved his loved ones as well. Further in the novel the reader s ees he accumulation of distress placed on victor because of his accretion of dangerous knowledge. The final phase in Victor's realization that it was his acquisition of dangerous knowledge that lead to the death of his beloved Elizabeth and father.He believes that it is him who the creature is after only to find that it is his loved ones. Once the creature murders Elizabeth Victor falls into a state of severe illness yet again from his own doing. Recovering from his sickness Victor's mental state is disarray having nothing left to live for he is determined to take life from that in which he gave and eventually dads to his own death. Victors near death experience is in direct relation to his lack of understanding of dangerous knowledge.The entirety of his adult life Victors life was dictated by his disregard for the acquirement of dangerous knowledge and lead to the death of everyone close to him and eventually his passing Frankincense, is a warning about the dangers of knowledge and the consequences that result because of the reckless pursuit of information. The novel shows that sometimes actions do not get the chosen outcome. As was the case with Dry. Frankincense. Victor becomes obsessed in his pursuit to gain knowledge and create life.

Dtlls †Enabling Learning and Assessment Essay

Coursework 1 – Reflective Account of Peer Assessment Activity Within this piece of work I will be reflecting on an assessment activity used by a peer whilst I was observing their lesson for A-level psychology. The learners were all aged 17-19 and the lesson was on theories of depression and was a revision session for learners before their exams the following month. The assessment activity was an informal formative assessment where the students were placed into groups of two or three learners and were then given an area of the subject matter, the learners then had to create revision notes as a group on a piece of flipchart paper using their own notes and text books. The learners were then given 15 minutes to revise these notes, once this time was up the tutor then asked the learners to all find a new partner and then teach their revised notes to their peer. The ‘tutor’ peer would try to give all their key notes without looking at the flipchart, but some learners we re allowed when they got stuck on certain points. The ‘student’ peer would have to take written notes to aid with their revision. The learners would then swap in their pairs and the roles would be reversed, after both learners had shared their revision notes they would then swap again to find a new learner to pair with, this process continued until all learners had a full set of revision notes for the subject. Brown et al on the subject of assessment ‘validity’ state ‘It is often described as the match between what is intended to be measured and what is measured.’ (Brown et al., 1997, p.239). I believe this activity was very valid as it allowed the tutor to assess the notes the learners would be revising from for a summative exam in the future. The aims of this assessment were explained in full detail and the learners understood what was expected of them from this activity. The point of the activity was for peer learning to take place to aid revision in the subject of theories of depression; this was definitely achieved by the end of the lesson as every learner had a full set of revision notes on each aspect of the subject confirming the validity of the assessment. The students were in charge of creating their own notes in each group and then passing these notes onto their peers, this does cause some reliability issues as with all learners some students may have put more effort into their revision notes than others. Therefore you may get a learner who has put as much information into his or hers notes as possible giving a vast amount of knowledge on a certain area of the subject and they may then  receive from a peer basic knowledge of another area of the subject. Reece and Walker talk of ‘reliability’ as ‘the ability of a test to consistently measure what it is supposed to measure.’ (Reece and Walker, 2007, p.348), I believe this method of assessment does not consistently measure but the tutor did circulate the classroom at all times aiding learners if they were finding it hard to put key points down on paper. This method does however aid differentiation as less able learners were given the chance to gain knowledge of the subject from more able learners. The more able learners also had the chance to practice and develop their subject knowledge aiding revision in the class. Word Count: 520 References Brown, G., Bull, J. and Pendlebury, M. (1997) Assessing Students Learning in Higher Education. Oxon, p.239. Reece, I. and Walker, S. (2007) Teaching, Training and Learning: A Practical Guide. 6th ed. Sunderland: Business Education Publishers Ltd, p.321. Coursework 2 – Assessment Information within own Organisation Assessment information within my own organisation is recorded from the beginning of a learner joining the college. Every potential student as part of the interview stage takes part in a minimum core assessment; this is a basic screening test to assess the student’s literacy and numeracy skills. This initial assessment allows us to correctly place the learner on the right level of course. These results are placed in the college database, following the enrolment of each learner the minimum core results form a group differentiation profile for each class; put together by the course leader. This profile is used by the tutor so they can differentiate learning tasks and understand individual learner’s needs from the very beginning. Once the course commences formative assessments are created by the tutor and used in each lesson. Each learner receives feedback from these assessments and if needed, targets can be set so the learner is clear on what is expected of them. Validity and reliability of assessments used during a course are checked at regular standardisation meetings within curriculum teams, these take place to sample marking of formative and summative theory assessments. Allowing tutors to internally verify samples of learners work so all tutors  in the department are consistent in their marking. Reece and Walker explain ‘validity’ as ‘how well the test measures what it is supposed to measure† (Reece and Walker, 2007, p.321). Within these meetings the team will also evaluate and create formative and summative assessments for future use; a chance to share good practice. The meetings are also used to discuss practical assessments as different tutors can have differing views on as sessment criteria; this aids the reliability of the assessments. Summative assessments are entered on a standardised tracking document which every tutor in the department can access. Updating this tracking document then enables each tutor or the head of department to see the progress of every learner helping to identify any ‘at risk’ students who may need more attention or end up not completing the course. This document is shared with the learners; they can see what still needs to be achieved to gain their qualification and how far they have come in terms of progression, this aids motivation in the classroom and also a sense of achievement to see how much they have already completed. The learners have logbooks provided by the awarding body VTCT, this is where tutors record all practical summative assessment and sign off to say they have met the criteria set by VTCT. The logbook is used by the learner to build a portfolio of consultations forms and photographs from practical’s, written assignments and any online tests the learner has to complete during the course. The college also uses Pro-Monitor a computerised package which tutors can record individual learner progress and set targets for learners to achieve by a certain time. Learners can access Pro-Monitor and input individual targets they wish to achieve, it can also show them graphs and visual aids on how much of their qualification they have achieved, this is brilliant for more visual learners who may find written feedback harder to understand. These different ways of recording assessment information are vital in enabling tutors to identify when students are falling behind and planning for future development, a side effect of not using these implements could be learners nearing the end of their course without completing assessments that are mandatory. References Reece, I. and Walker, S. (2007) Teaching, Training and Learning- a Practical Guide. 6th ed. Sunderland: Business Edition Publishers, p.321. Coursework 3 – Evaluation of Assessment Activities Assessment is defined by Gravells and Simpson as ‘a measure of learning, at a given point in time. Relevant skills, knowledge and/or attitudes can be measured towards a subject or qualification.’ (Gravells and Simpson, 2008). There are three main types of assessment; initial, formative and summative; these types of assessment can then be informal in the way of crosswords, gapped hand-outs, quizzes, discussions and journals or they can be formal in the way of exams, assignments, tests and observations. Formative assessment, used properly, is such an integral part of the teaching and learning process that it could be argued that it shouldn’t even be called assessment. When we consider teaching and learning methods, many of them – questioning, case studies, and projects – are also assessment methods used as learning checks. Scales states ‘Assessment for learning is based on the belief that everyone can learn and formative assessment is a key strat egy to help learners improve and develop’ (Scales, 2010) With this in mind the first assessment activity to be evaluated is a crossword used as an informal summative assessment. Crosswords are a simple and easy way of assessing learner’s knowledge during a unit. Crosswords can be uploaded to the college interactive website ‘cloud’, learners can then download the activity as a form of homework or as an extension task during directed studies. These can then be handed in to the tutor for marking. A more effective method is to use a crossword as learning check during a lesson; once the learners have completed the crossword they can then discuss as a group the answers. The tutor can also use extended questioning, asking more able learners to explain in more depth an answer to help aid differentiation. Feedback from learners suggests that crosswords are a challenging way of testing knowledge and encourages the learners to look at subject matter in different ways without having to sit tests all the time, which can be very daunting for certain learners. Something gained from feedback from a group of level 1’s, is that because a majority of the learners have learning needs which affects their literacy; they find the crossword in itself challenging to complete. To overcome this it has been noted that providing learners with a word bank of key words for each unit has helped in completing such tasks as  crosswords, as the learner still needs to know which word they are looking for but aids in developing their spelling for the future. Feedback is the most important part of formative assessment; research suggests that immediate oral feedback is the most effective, whether this is done by one on ones or as a group discussion. The feedback provided should be developmental and make the learners extend their thinking and learning to a higher level and should also focus on positive points first before moving onto more ‘developmental’ area’s for the learner to consider. By conducting formative assessment it can ensure that the teacher gains a full understanding of the learners existing capabilities so that realistic goals can then be set and additional support if needed can be organised. With this feedback individual targets can then be created for each learner and placed on the college Pro-Monitor system where the learners can access their targets as and when needed to see how they are developing in the course. Learners are also encouraged to create their own personal targets on Pro-Monitor, using feedback from formative assessments it allows learners to realise key strengths and weaknesses to help in creating these targets. The use of this feedback is very much like the idea of ‘scaffolding’, Bruner (Wood et al., 1976) coined this term in the 1950’s and believed using a more knowledgeable other to challenge the learner to achieve more by providing ‘scaffolding’ to help them climb to higher levels. Learners in dialogue with teachers can see where they want to reach but initially may need help in the form of questions, prompts and pointers to get there. Summative assessment is the assessment of learning and it leads to the gaining of qualifications and grades. Weeden suggests ‘Summative assessment is a snapshot judgement that records what a learner can do at a particular time.’ (Weeden et al., 2002, p.19) This process of qualification is important for learners and it is good to keep in mind the emotional aspects and design of assessment in relation to validity and reliability. With this in mind the second assessment activity to be evaluated is a practical observation used as a formal summative assessment. Practical observations are used throughout all 3 NVQ levels in beauty therapy as the subject is extremely vocationally based. Beauty therapy NVQ’s are broken down into units, for each unit there will be practical assessments that have to be completed at the end of the unit, where the learner is observed and assessed by the teacher. VTCT are  the awarding body for the beauty therapy NVQ’s and they set out the practical assessment criteria for each unit, this criteria is printed in the learners logbooks which is where each assessment is signed off if a pass has been achieved. To aid the reliability of the practical assessments all beauty lecturers at the college come together at standardisation meetings where the criteria is discussed in detail and a learner marking sheet is created which includes each of the areas the learner has to meet to gain a pass in the assessment. If this was not done each teacher could interpret the assessment criteria in different ways therefore learners would not be assessed fairly and reliably. Petty states ‘the same examiner should give the same mark if they unknowingly mark a script twice on different days’ (Petty, 2009), using standardisation this means that even with practical based assessments the results should always be the same. To help learners during practical assessments learning outcomes are written on the whiteboard to highlight key points they will need to show competency in or do to achieve a pass in the assessment. During the observation the teacher will also ask questions to the learners to help achieve the unit criteria, this is also where differentiation of the learners can take place as more able learners will be asked more open-ended and higher order questions then less able learners who will be asked standard criteria questions. The use of cameras in practical assessments is something that is still fairly new and is being experimented with but does seem to show some success. As part of the observation learners have to keep their working area clean and tidy and show due regard for health and safety, the teacher can now take pictures of each learners working area before the assessment takes place and then at the commencement of the assessment. With regards to practical assessments like nail art, make-up and face painting the finished article can also be documented by a photo that the learner can then be used in their own portfolio to be sent to the awarding body. From these pictures the teacher can then feedback to the learner at the end of the assessment any positive points of the practical and also any areas that the learner would need to further develop, the learner can then have these pictures as a visual aid to understand how they can improve for the next assessment and also works as a good revision aid for the future. Another approach to embrace ICT in assessments is to video learners assessments so they can themselves evaluate  and feedback on client care and professionalism during their observation. It has been noted that using cameras in practical observations has been received well by the learners, they have commented that it brings a new dimension to receiving feedback and allows them to visualise areas they need to focus on improving and reinforces the assessment criteria for them too. Feedback from practical observation is given individually immediately after the learners assessment, feedback is given verbally with key points both positive and ones for development are written on the bottom of the consultation form the learner completed during the assessment (these consultation forms also go into the learners portfolio). Practical assessments can leave a lot to interpretation by the teacher so it is important the practical marking sheet is filled in during the observations and a pass or fail is determined by how many of the boxes the learner showed competence in, depending on which level the learner is currently studying determines the number of criteria they need to meet. Learners can feel very nervous and daunted by practical assessments at the beginning of the year as it the proverbial ‘unknown’, formative practical assessments do help to calm learners worries as they are a ‘trial run’ of the summative assessment, also setting out some time to explain and discuss the unit assessment criteria and what will be expected of them from this. During the practical observations themselves the use of cameras also seems to help learners forget the formalness of the observation and relax into the assessment. In conclusion all assessment methods should be a positive contribution to learning and good assessment activities are important to aiding teaching. However assessments are only worthwhile if they assist the learner and teacher to move through the learning outcomes of the unit, otherwise it is irrelevant. Designing assessment activities which stretch the learner’s abilities and promotes their development is a skill that comes with experience and understanding of the current learners on your course and it is definitely something that will always be tweaked and changed throughout your career. Word Count: 1,594 References Gravells, A. and Simpson, S. (2008) Planning and enabling Learning in the Lifelonf Learning Sector. Exeter: Learning matters, p.50. Petty, G. (2009) Teaching Today – A practical guide. 4th ed. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Scales, P. (2010) Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education, p.180. Weeden, P., Winter, J. and Broadfoot, P. (2002) Assessment: What’s in it for schools?. London: Routledge Falmer, p.19. Wood, D., Bruner, J. and Ross, G. (1976) The role of tutoring in problem solving. In: Journal of child psychology and psychiatry., pp.89-100.