Developmental Reading Essay

What makes reading different from the other macro skills of communication? How does it relate to the other skills needed for communication? â€Å"Reading† is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning from them. When we read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols (letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and we use our brain to convert them into words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate something to us. Reading can be silent (in our head) or aloud (so that other people can hear). Reading is a receptive skill – through it, we receive information. But the complex process of reading also requires the skill of speaking, so that we can pronounce the words that we read. In this sense, reading is also a productive skill in that we are both receiving information and transmitting it (even if only to ourselves). Reading is the third of the four language skills, which are: Listening Speaking Reading Writing In our own language, reading is usually the third language skill that we learn. Do we need to read in order to speak English? The short answer is no. Some native speakers cannot read or write but they speak English fluently. Read more:  How to write a reflective essay. On the other hand, reading is something that you can do on your own and that greatly broadens your vocabulary, thus helping you in speaking (and in listening and writing). Reading is therefore a highly valuable skill and activity, and it is recommended that English learners try to read as much as possible in English. A. The Psychology of Reading The last 20 years have witnessed a revolution in reading research. Cognitive psychologists, using high-speed computers to aid in the collection and analysis of data, have developed tools that have begun to answer questions that were previously thought unanswerable. These tools allow for a â€Å"chronometric,† or moment-to-moment, analysis of the reading process. Foremost among them is the use of the record of eye movements to help reveal the underlying perceptual and cognitive processes of reading. Reading is a highly complex skill that is a prerequisite to success in our society. In a society such as ours, where so much information is communicated in written form, it is important to investigate this essential behaviour. In the past 15 years, a great deal has been learned about the reading process from research by cognitive psychologists. Reading as a complex skill is pretty much taken for granted by those who can do it. While those who can do it fluently take it for granted, its complexity is more apparent to those who are having trouble reading. Reading is sometimes difficult for children to learn and illiterate adults find learning to read agonizingly frustrating. The roots of cognitive psychology, the branch of psychology which examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory and language can be traced to the experiment of Wundt’s laboratory in Leipzig in 1879. As a part of the larger field of cognitive science, this branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy and linguistics. The core focus of cognitive psychology is on how people acquire, process and store information. There are numerous practical applications for cognitive research, such as improving memory, increasing decision-making accuracy and structuring educational curricula to enhance learning. Until the 1950s, behaviourism was the dominant school of thought in psychology. Between 1950 and 1970, the tide began to shift against behavioral psychology to focus on topics such as attention, memory and problem-solving. Often referred to as the cognitive revolution, this period generated considerable research on topics including processing models, cognitive research methods and the first use of the term â€Å"cognitive psychology. † The term â€Å"cognitive psychology† was first used in 1967 by American psychologist Ulric Neisser in his book Cognitive Psychology. According to Neisser, cognition involves â€Å"all processes by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used. It is concerned with these processes even when they operate in the absence of relevant stimulation, as in images and hallucinations†¦ Given such a sweeping definition, it is apparent that cognition is involved in everything a human being might possibly do; that every psychological phenomenon is a cognitive phenomenon. † Today, we find many psychologists interested in reading. Why has the change taken place? The primary reason appears to have been the failure of behaviourism to account for language processing in many reasonable ways. The promise of behaviourism was always that if psychologists could understand the laws of learning and behaviour is simple tasks, those laws could be generalized to more complex tasks like language processing. Some cognitive psychologists who study the product of reading would also want to argue with the bias towards understanding the process of reading. To their way of thinking, what people remember from what they read maybe more important than how they go about the chore of reading. However, the response to such a point is that understanding the process by which some mental structure is created almost logically entails understanding that structure. In contrast, understanding what gets stored in memory may not reveal much about the processes that created the structure. Thus, understanding what is in memory as a result of reading discourse may not be unique to reading; essentially the same structures may be created when people listen to discourse. It is not saying that understanding the product of reading and how remarkable skill must be understood- quite apart from issues like general comprehension skills and intelligence. B. The Meaning of Developmental Reading C. The Teaching of Reading Traditionally, the purpose of learning to read in a language has been to have access to the literature written in that language. In language instruction, reading materials have traditionally been chosen from literary texts that represent â€Å"higher† forms of culture. This approach assumes that students learn to read a language by studying its vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure, not by actually reading it. In this approach, lower level learners read only sentences and paragraphs generated by textbook writers and instructors. The reading of authentic materials is limited to the works of great authors and reserved for upper level students who have developed the language skills needed to read them. The communicative approach to language teaching has given instructors a different understanding of the role of reading in the language classroom and the types of texts that can be used in instruction. When the goal of instruction is communicative competence, everyday materials such as train schedules, newspaper articles, and travel and tourism Web sites become appropriate classroom materials, because reading them is one way communicative competence is developed. Instruction in reading and reading practice thus become essential parts of language teaching at every level. What is reading? Reading about understands written texts. It is a complex activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists of two related processes: word recognition and comprehension. Word recognition refers to the process of perceiving how written symbols correspond to one’s spoken language. Comprehension is the process of making sense of words, sentences and connected text. Readers typically make use of background knowledge, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, experience with text and other strategies to help them understand written text. Much of what we know about reading is based on studies conducted in English and other alphabetic languages. The principles we list in this booklet are derived from them, but most also apply to non-alphabetic languages. They will have to be modified to account for the specific language. Learning to read is an important educational goal. For both children and adults, the ability to read opens up new worlds and opportunities. It enables us to gain new knowledge, enjoy literature, and do everyday things that are part and parcel of modern life, such as, reading the newspapers, job listings, instruction manuals, maps and so on. Most people learn to read in their native language without difficulty. Many, but not all, learn to read as children. Some children and adults need additional help. Yet others learn to read a second, third or additional language, with or without having learned to read in their first language. Reading instruction needs to take into account different types of learners and their needs. Research has shown that there is a great deal of transfer from learning to read in one language to learning to read in a second language. The principles outlined below are based on studies of children and adults, native speakers as well as those learning to read in a second or foreign language. They deal with different aspects of reading that are important in the planning and design of instruction and materials. The practical applications are based on general learning principles, as well as on research. Briefly stated, these learning principles start with the learner in mind. The type of learner will affect the type of methods and materials to be used. The context of learning is also important. For instance, children and adults who are learning to read in a language different from their native language will also need to learn about the culture of the second or foreign language. Because texts are written with a specific audience in mind, cultural knowledge is present in texts and it is assumed that the reader is familiar with such knowledge. Both research and classroom practices support the use of a balanced approach in instruction. Because reading depends on efficient word recognition and comprehension, instruction should develop reading skills and strategies, as well as build on learners’ knowledge through the use of authentic texts. 1. Theories of Reading Just like teaching methodology, reading theories have had their shifts and transitions. Starting from the traditional view which focused on the printed form of a text and moving to the cognitive view that enhanced the role of background knowledge in addition to what appeared on the printed page; they ultimately culminated in the metacognitive view which is now in vogue. It is based on the control and manipulation that a reader can have on the act of comprehending a text. a. The Traditional View According to Dole et al. (1991), in the traditional view of reading, novice readers acquire a set of hierarchically ordered sub-skills that sequentially build toward comprehension ability. Having mastered these skills, readers are viewed as experts who comprehend what they read. †¢ Readers are passive recipients of information in the text. Meaning resides in the text and the reader has to reproduce meaning. †¢ According to Nunan (1991), reading in this view is basically a matter of decoding a series of written symbols into their aural equivalents in the quest for making sense of the text. He referred to this process as the ‘bottom-up’ view of reading. †¢ McCarthy (1999) has called this view ‘outside-in’processing, referring to the idea that meaning exists in the printed page and is interpreted by the reader then taken in. †¢ This model of reading has almost always been underattack as being insufficient and defective for the main reason that it relies on the formal features of the language, mainly words and structure. Although it is possible to accept this rejection for the fact that there is over-reliance on structure in this view, it must be confessed that knowledge of linguistic features is also necessary for comprehension to take place. To counteract over-reliance on form in the traditional view of reading, the cognitive view was introduced. b. The Cognitive View. The ‘top-down’ model is in direct opposition to the ‘bottom-up’ model. According to Nunan (1991) and Dubin and Bycina (1991), the psycholinguistic model of reading and the top-down model are in exact concordance. †¢ Goodman (1967; cited in Paran, 1996) presented reading as a psycholinguistic guessing game, a process in which readers sample the text, make hypotheses, confirm or reject them, make new hypotheses, and so forth. Here, the reader rather than the text is at the heart of the reading process. †¢ The schema theory of reading also fits within the cognitively based view of reading. Rumelhart (1977) has described schemata as â€Å"building blocks of cognition† which are used in the process of interpreting sensory data, in retrieving information from memory, in organising goals and subgoals, in allocating resources, and in guiding the flow of the processing system. †¢ Rumelhart (1977) has also stated that if our schemata are incomplete and do not provide an understanding of the incoming data from the text we will have problems processing and understanding the text. Cognitively based views of reading comprehension emphasize the interactive nature of reading and the constructive nature of comprehension. Dole et al. (1991) have stated that, besides knowledge brought to bear on the reading process, a set of flexible, adaptable strategies are used to make sense of a text and to monitor ongoing understanding. c. The Metacognitive View According to Block (1992), there is now no more debate on â€Å"whether reading is a bottom-up, language-based process or a top-down, knowledge-based process. † It is also no more problematic to accept the influence of background knowledge on both L1 and L2 readers. Research has gone even further to define the control readers execute on their ability to understand a text. This control, Block (1992) has referred to as metacognition. Metacognition involves thinking about what one is doing while reading. Klein et al. (1991) stated that strategic readers attempt the following while reading: Identifying the purpose of the reading before reading Identifying the form or type of the text before reading Thinking about the general character and features of the form or type of the text. For instance, they try to locate a topic sentence and follow supporting details toward a conclusion Projecting the author’s purpose for writing the text (while reading it), Choosing, scanning, or reading in detail Making continuous predictions about what will occur next, based on information obtained earlier, prior knowledge, and conclusions obtained within the previous stages. Moreover, they attempt to form a summary of what was read. Carrying out the previous steps requires the reader to be able to classify sequence, establish whole-part relationships, compare and contrast, determine cause-effect, summarise, hypothesise and predict, infer, and conclude. Tips and Guidelines for implementing a theory of reading which will help to develop the learner’s abilities Text characteristics. Pre-reading tips During-reading tips After-reading tips These tips can be viewed in three consecutive stages: before reading, during reading, and after reading. For instance, before starting to read a text it is natural to think of the purpose of reading the text. As an example of the during-reading techniques, re-reading for better comprehension can be mentioned. And filling out forms and charts can be referred to as an after-reading activity. These tasks and ideas can be used to enhance reading comprehension. Text characteristics. Good readers expect to understand what they are reading. Therefore, texts should contain words and grammatical structures familiar to the learners (Van Duzer, 1999). In texts where vocabulary is not familiar, teachers can introduce key vocabulary in pre-reading activities that focus on language awareness, such as finding synonyms, antonyms, derivatives, or associated words (Hood et al. , 1996; cited in Van Duzer, 1999). The topics of texts chosen should be in accordance with the age range, interests, sex, and background culture of the students for whom they are intended. Pre-reading activities that introduce the text should encourage learners to use their background knowledge (Eskey, 1997; cited in Van Duzer, 1999). Class members can brainstorm ideas about the meaning of a title or an illustration and discuss what they know. Pre-reading tips Before the actual act of reading a text begins, some points should be regarded in order to make the process of reading more comprehensible. It is necessary to provide the necessary background information to the reader to facilitate comprehension. In addition, as stated by Lebauer (1998), pre-reading activities can lighten students’ cognitive burden while reading because prior discussions will have been incorporated. Teacher-directed pre-reading (Estes, 1999) Some key vocabulary and ideas in the text are explained. In this approach the teacher directly explains the information the students will need, including key concepts, important vocabulary, and appropriate conceptual framework. Interactive approach (Estes, 1999). In this method, the teacher leads a discussion in which he/she draws out the information students already have and interjects additional information deemed necessary to an understanding of the text to be read. Moreover, the teacher can make explicit links between prior knowledge and important information in the text. Purpose of reading It is also necessary for students to become aware of the purpose and goal for reading a certain piece of written material. At the beginning stages this can be done by the teacher, but as the reader becomes more mature this purpose, i. e.awareness-raising strategy, can be left to the readers. For instance, the students may be guided to ask themselves, â€Å"Why am I reading this text? What do I want to know or do after reading? † One of the most obvious, but unnoticed, points related to reading purpose is the consideration of the different types of reading skills. Skimming: Reading rapidly for the main points Scanning: Reading rapidly to find a specific piece of information Extensive reading: Reading a longer text, often for pleasure with emphasis on overall meaning Intensive reading: Reading a short text for detailed information. The most frequently encountered reason as to why the four skills are all subsumed into one – intensive reading – is that students studying a foreign language feel the urge to look up every word they don’t understand and to pinpoint on every structural point they see unfamiliar. To make students aware of the different types of reading, ask them about the types of reading they do in their first language. The type of text – The reader must become familiar with the fact that texts may take on different forms and hold certain pieces of information in different places. Thus, it is necessary to understand the layout of the material being read in order to focus more deeply on the parts that are more densely compacted with information. Even paying attention to the year of publication of a text, if applicable, may aid the reader in presuppositions about the text as can glancing at the name of the author. Steinhofer (1996) stated that the tips mentioned in pre-reading will not take a very long time to carry out. The purpose is to overcome the common urge to start reading a text closely right away from the beginning. During-reading tips What follows are tips that encourage active reading. They consist of summarizing, reacting, questioning, arguing, evaluating, and placing a text within one’s own experience. These processes may be the most complex to develop in a classroom setting, the reason being that in English reading classes most attention is often paid to dictionaries, the text, and the teacher. Interrupting this routine and encouraging students to dialogue with what they are reading without coming between them and the text presents a challenge to the EFL teacher. Duke and Pearson (2001) have stated that good readers are active readers. According to Ur (1996), Vaezi (2001), and Fitzgerald (1995), they use the following strategies. Making predictions: The readers should be taught to be on the watch to predict what is going to happen next in the text to be able to integrate and combine what has come with what is to come. Making selections: Readers who are more proficient read selectively, continually making decisions about their reading. Integrating prior knowledge: The schemata that have been activated in the pre-reading section should be called upon to facilitate comprehension. Skipping insignificant parts: A good reader will concentrate on significant pieces of information while skipping insignificant pieces. Re-reading: Readers should be encouraged to become sensitive to the effect of reading on their comprehension. Making use of context or guessing: Readers should not be encouraged to define and understand every single unknown word in a text. Instead they should learn to make use of context to guess the meaning of unknown words. Breaking words into their component parts: To keep the process of comprehension ongoing, efficient readers break words into their affixes or bases. These parts can help readers guess the meaning of a word. Reading in chunks: To ensure reading speed, readers should get used to reading groups of words together. This act will also enhance comprehension by focusing on groups of meaning-conveying symbols simultaneously. Pausing: Good readers will pause at certain places while reading a text to absorb and internalize the material being read and sort out information. Paraphrasing: While reading texts it may be necessary to paraphrase and interpret texts subvocally in order to verify what was comprehended. Monitoring: Good readers monitor their understanding to evaluate whether the text, or the reading of it, is meeting their goals. After-reading tips It is necessary to state that post-reading activities almost always depend on the purpose of reading and the type of information extracted from the text. Barnett (1988) has stated that post-reading exercises first check students’ comprehension and then lead students to a deeper analysis of the text. In the real world the purpose of reading is not to memorize an author’s point of view or to summarize text content, but rather to see into another mind, or to mesh new information into what one already knows. Group discussion will help students focus on information they did not comprehend, or did comprehend correctly. Accordingly, attention will be focused on processes that lead to comprehension or miscomprehension. Generally speaking, post-reading can take the form of various activities as presented below: Discussing the text: Written/Oral Summarizing: Written/Oral Making questions: Written/Oral. Answering questions: Written/Oral Filling in forms and charts Writing reading logs Completing a text Listening to or reading other related materials Role-playing 2. The Reading Purpose Reading is an activity with a purpose. A person may read in order to gain information or verify existing knowledge, or in order to critique a writer’s ideas or writing style. A person may also read for enjoyment, or to enhance knowledge of the language being read. The purpose(s) for reading guide the reader’s selection of texts. The purpose for reading also determines the appropriate approach to reading comprehension. A person who needs to know whether she can afford to eat at a particular restaurant needs to comprehend the pricing information provided on the menu, but does not need to recognize the name of every appetizer listed. A person reading poetry for enjoyment needs to recognize the words the poet uses and the ways they are put together, but does not need to identify main idea and supporting details. However, a person using a scientific article to support an opinion needs to know the vocabulary that is used, understand the facts and cause-effect sequences that are presented, and recognize ideas that are presented as hypotheses and givens. Reading research shows that good readers Read extensively Integrate information in the text with existing knowledge Have a flexible reading style, depending on what they are reading Are motivated Rely on different skills interacting: perceptual processing, phonemic processing, recall Read for a purpose; reading serves a function Reading as a Process Reading is an interactive process that goes on between the reader and the text, resulting in comprehension. The text presents letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs that encode meaning. The reader uses knowledge, skills, and strategies to determine what that meaning is. Reader knowledge, skills, and strategies include Linguistic competence: the ability to recognize the elements of the writing system; knowledge of vocabulary; knowledge of how words are structured into sentences Discourse competence: knowledge of discourse markers and how they connect parts of the text to one another Sociolinguistic competence: knowledge about different types of texts and their usual structure and content Strategic competence: the ability to use top-down strategies, as well as knowledge of the language (a bottom-up strategy). The purpose(s) for reading and the type of text determine the specific knowledge, skills, and strategies that readers need to apply to achieve comprehension. Reading comprehension is thus much more than decoding. Reading comprehension results when the reader knows which skills and strategies are appropriate for the type of text, and understands how to apply them to accomplish the reading purpose. Developmentally Appropriate Materials for Preschool and Kindergarten Children (Ages 3-6). Materials for preschoolers and kindergarteners should support their developing social skills and interest in adult roles, growing imaginations, increasing motor skills, and rapidly expanding vocabularies. Refer to the table below for examples of developmentally appropriate materials for preschool and kindergarten children. Type of Material Appropriate Materials Examples Skill/concept Books/records Picture books, simple and repetitive stories and rhymes, animal stories, pop-up books, simple information books, wide variety of musical recordings. Games Socially interactive games with adults, such as What If; matching and lotto games based on colors and pictures, such as picture bingo or dominoes; games of chance with a few pieces that require no reading, such as Chutes and Ladders; flannel board with pictures, letters, and storybook characters Gross motor Active play Push and pull toys; ride-on toys; balls of all kinds; indoor slide and climber; rocking boat Outdoor Climbers, rope ladders, balls of all sizes; old tires, sand and water materials Manipulative Fine motor. Dressing frames; toys to put together and take apart; cookie cutters, stamp and printing materials, finger paint, modeling dough, small objects to sort and classify; bead stringing with long, thin string; pegs and small pegs; colored cubes, table blocks, magnetic board/letters/numbers and shapes; perception boards and mosaics Puzzles and form boards Fit-in or framed puzzles (for 3-year-olds: from 4-20 pieces, for 4-year-olds: from 15-30 pieces, for 5-year-olds: from 15-50 pieces); large, simple jigsaws; number/letter/clock puzzles Investigative. Toys, globe flashlight, magnets, lock boxes, weather forecasting equipment, scales, balances, stethoscopes Construction Building sets Small and large unit blocks; large hollow blocks; from age 4, interlocking plastic blocks with pieces of all sizes Carpentry Workbench, hammer, preschool nails, saw, sandpaper, pounding benches, safety goggles Self-expressive Dolls and soft toys Realistic dolls and accessories; play settings and play people (e. g. , farm, hospital) Dramatic play Dress-up clothes, realistic tools, toy camera, telephone, household furniture. Sensory Tactile boxes; auditory and musical materials such as smelling and sound boxes; cooking experiences Art/music All rhythm instruments, music boxes; large crayons, paint, paste, glue, chalkboard and chalk, sewing kits, collage materials, markers, modeling dough, blunt scissors Natural and everyday Sand and water Sandbox tools, bubbles, water toys Old clocks, radios, cameras, telephones; telephone books; mirrors; doctor kits; typewriter; magazines; fabric scraps; computer; cash register and receipts; measuring cups and muffin tins 3. Basic Reading Skills  a. Skimming – is used to quickly gather the most important information, or ‘gist’. Run your eyes over the text, noting important information. Use skimming to quickly get up to speed on a current business situation. It’s not essential to understand each word when skimming. Examples of Skimming: The Newspaper (quickly to get the general news of the day) Magazines (quickly to discover which articles you would like to read in more detail) Business and Travel Brochures (quickly to get informed) b. Scanning- is used to find a particular piece of information. Run your eyes over the text looking for the specific piece of information you need. Use scanning on schedules, meeting plans, etc. in order to find the specific details you require. If you see words or phrases that you don’t understand, don’t worry when scanning. Examples of Scanning The â€Å"What’s on TV† section of your newspaper. A train / airplane schedule A conference guide c. Extensive reading- is used to obtain a general understanding of a subject and includes reading longer texts for pleasure, as well as business books. Use extensive reading skills to improve your general knowledge of business procedures. Do not worry if you understand each word. Examples of Extensive Reading The latest marketing strategy book A novel you read before going to bed Magazine articles that interest you d. Intensive reading – is used on shorter texts in order to extract specific information. It includes very close accurate reading for detail. Use intensive reading skills to grasp the details of a specific situation. In this case, it is important that you understand each word, number or fact. Examples of Intensive Reading A bookkeeping report An insurance claim A contract Essential Components of Reading Reading is an astoundingly complex cognitive process. While we often think of reading as one singular act, our brains are actually engaging in a number of tasks simultaneously each time we sit down with a book. There are five aspects to the process of reading: phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, reading comprehension and fluency. These five aspects work together to create the reading experience. As children learn to read they must develop skills in all five of these areas in order to become successful readers. 1. Phonics Phonics is the connection between sounds and letter symbols. It is also the combination of these sound-symbol connections to create words. Without phonics, words are simply a bunch of squiggles and lines on a page. If you think about it, letters are arbitrary. There is nothing innately bed-like about the written word â€Å"bed†. It is simply the collection of letters and corresponding sounds that we agree constitute the word â€Å"bed†. Learning to make that connection between the individual sounds that each letter represents and then putting those together is essential to understanding what that funny squiggle means. There are a number of ways that phonics can be taught because there is a variety of ways to apply this aspect when reading. Each approach allows the reader to use phonics to read and learn new words in a different way. Synthetic phonics builds words from the ground up. In this approach readers are taught to first connect letters to their corresponding phonemes (sound units) and then to blend those together to create a word. Analytic phonics, on the other hand, approaches words from the top down. A word is identified as a whole unit and then its letter-sound connections are parsed out. Analogy phonics uses familiar parts of words to discover new words. Finally, phonics through spelling focuses on connecting sounds with letters in writing. All of these approaches can be taught and used independently or in combination to help young readers learn to identify new words. 2. Phonemic Awareness Phonemic awareness is closely related to phonics because both involve the connection between sounds and words.

Give Me Liberty

A Response to Issue 1 Following the Civil War there was a rapid progression of the role of African Americans in the United States. Reconstruction had given African Americans their freedom along with their rights to vote, own land, and even hold positions in office. Many historians would soon report about the great success Reconstruction made in the United States for the African American race in obtaining their ‘civil rights’. Even though America had created a society where all men were equal in the eyes of the law, great racism still lingered within many whites.The lack of protection against racial crimes upon the African American race became very apparent as white supremacy began to rise. Massacres took place, slaying dozens of black men for peacefully doing what the U. S. government clearly permitted them to do. I believe Reconstruction did fail, due not to racism of the country as a whole, but to racism in some white citizens who were reluctant to allow change in the social standing of the black man. African Americans began to gain equal standing in politics and were holding positions in office all over the United States.As this happened, many white men started to rally against the â€Å"Negro Rule†, forming white supremacy clans that would soon rise up against all African Americans alike. The largest of these clans was known as the â€Å"Old Time Ku Klux Klan† which began to revolt against the Radical Reconstruction of the United States. In many cases the ‘KKK’ killed law abiding black land owners. In one case an African American man was even reportedly â€Å"peacefully building a fence around his land when the men shot him dead. The clansmen were known to then make haven in the African American’s homes, exhaust all supplies of food and resources and then ride on to their next destination. In the town of Colfax, Louisiana the Grant Parish courthouse became the site of the largest racial massacre in United Stat es history. Here a group of men decided to make a stand against the clan. After much anticipation the Ku Klux Klan surrounded the courthouse in battle-like formations, and shortly after, the battle began. The group in defense of the courthouse were outnumbered and out armed.The clan reportedly scattered the defense with cannon fire, at which time many of them retreated into the courthouse. One African American that was captured during his attempt to flee was held at gunpoint and forced to light flame to the roof of the courthouse in which his fellow defensemen had bunkered in retreat. Some captured African Americans were hung while others forced to retrieve men from the burning courthouse. All of the men that were captured were eventually killed, and some reported various cruel acts to the dead men’s bodies and family members.To this day, no greater racial killing has ever taken place. This account is a prime, even though somewhat extreme, example of the great amount of racis m that persisted throughout the United States during Reconstruction. Even though the law allowed African Americans to have equal civil rights as white men it did not protect them from the racism that was directed towards them. Due to this many white men sought out to strip the black man of their unalienable rights, many of which succeeded.

Joint Venture Essay

Joint ventures are business ventures formed by two or more companies to achieve aspecific, but limited, objective. An example would be the development of an offshore oil field, where a group of companies combines to build and operate a drilling platform and related pipeline. The project is owned equally by the affiliated enterprises and its management could be controlled either by one of the partners or by a separate management could be controlled either by one of the partners or by a separate management organisation established just for the project. The venture may be organised as a partnership ,a corporation ,a joint-stock company or some other legal form, and it can contunieindefinetly.The rational for a joint venture is usually to diversify risk among the members and or to combine expertise and assets that none of the participants provide alone. : Roy L.Crum,Eugene F.Brigham& joel.F.Houston.(2005)Fundamentals of international finance.1st edn. THE ADVANTAGES OF JOINT VENTURES: * Access to expertise and contacts in local markets, each partner agrees to ajoint venture to gain access to the other partner’s skills and resources. Typically the international partner contributes financial resources, technology or products. The local partner provides the skills and knowledge required for managing a business in its country. * Reduced market and political risks * Economies of scale by pooling skills and resources(resulting in e.g. lower marketing costs) * May avoid local tariffs and non-tariffs barriers * Shared risk of failure * Possibly better relations with national governments through having a local partner. THE DISDVANTAGE OF JOINT VENTURES: * Objectives of the respective partners may be incompatible ,resulting in conflicts * Contributions to joint ventures can become disproportionate * Los of control over foreign operations * Completion might overburden a company’s staff * Partners may become locked into long term investments from which it is difficult to withdraw * Cultural differences may result in possible differences in management culture among participating firms * Problems of management structures and dual parent staffing of joint ventures. * Transfer pricing problems as good pass between partners Sven hollensen.(2004)global marketing(adecision-oriented approach).3rd edn.

The value of higher education in today's society Research Paper

The value of higher education in today's society - Research Paper Example Some people believe that higher education is expensive but it has to be noted that it is worth every penny that a person spends on it. This can be attributed to the fact education gives a student an opportunity to be employed in the best sector of the economy. Colleges have undergone tremendous changes over the years as they try to offer the best skills to their students (Byrne, 2005). Education is the key to the success of any given individual because it brings out the best in a person. Education cannot be ignored because of the fact that skills and other techniques, which are very important in life, are attained in school. Education comes at a cost, which means that every stakeholder in the industry has to play his or her part in order to ensure that all willing students have access to quality education. The governments of all various countries have to ensure that education is available and affordable to every person in the society irrespective of social status, race, gender, or ethnicity. This cannot be achieved if not all the people in the society value the benefits that come with good and quality education (Fa, 2007). American higher education system strengthens the economic and social sectors in the country. This can be attributed to the fact that individuals’ dreams and those of the society are met through a good and quality education. Although many people view education as a source of good livelihood to an individual, it has to be understood that the society benefits when its members are learned. The long-term benefits associated with a college degree are associated with what a person achieves in the future. Many students in college ask themselves whether they will be able to get a good job after spending all the money associated with higher education. The answer is yes because a college degree is a lifetime achievement that does not expire. College graduates are in a better position to make

Lactating female Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lactating female - Essay Example While that the generation of milk depends on hormones, the quality of link depends on the diet a lactating mother should follow. The diet of lactating female should be wholesome, because she has to restore her forces and health. The day regimen is very important as it is desirable to have breakfast, dinner and supper at the same time every day. If a woman breast-feeds during several months, she produces a huge amount of milk every day- approximately 1 litre. This needs at least 10g of protein, 70g of lactose, 40g of fats, 800 kilocalories a day. In order to continue to generate milk the losses should be recompensed by proper nutrition. Thus, it is necessary to eat and to drink more than usually (Wosje & Kalkwarf, 2004). Food should be tasty and multifarious. The diet should include the products of all groups: milk, meet, porridge, fruits, vegetables, sweets. It is necessary to consume fiber: cracked wheat bread, prune, vegetables. Fiber is very useful, because it helps to evacuate bowels. It is also necessary to take vitamins during lactation. However, the reaction of a child should be carefully supervised. There are special vitamins for pregnant and lactating females (McNeilly, 1997). Lactating mother faces many problems with nutrition as a child may have an allergy to some food, moreover the relatives can give various advices. The most widespread advice is to eat as much as it is possible. Really, the amount of food during lactation should be increased, but the question is what food it should be and what regimen lactating female should follow. It is not very easy to define what to consume and what not to consume. There are many restrictions for lactating mothers, but inspire of them it is possible to have an adequate diet and not to refuse to eat anything tasty. The ideal nutrition for lactating women is to eat often and

Discussion 14 702 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion 14 702 - Assignment Example This leads to inefficiency and ineffectiveness and identifies significance of the program in facilitating development and application of contemporary nursing knowledge. The program has also informed me of the contemporary knowledge (Sieloff & Frey, 2007) and its diversity and applicability (Fawcett & DeSanto-Madeya, 2012). I am therefore prepared to assume an active role in development and use of contemporary nursing knowledge and in advocacy for mass transition to reliance on the knowledge for practice. I envision myself as a leader and an advocate of evidence based practice, and I shall pursue the vision through a number of strategies. I shall conduct and publish empirical based studies on effectiveness of evidence-based study in solving healthcare issues and use the results to advocate for the practice. I shall also rely on evidence-based practice in my clinical practice and seek diligence with the aim of demonstrating advantages of the practice. In addition, I shall motivate individuals, teams, and the entire organization through setting examples and through empowering nurses into evidence based practice. I shall rely on my organization’s top management to develop policies for application of evidence-based practice and to avail resources for the same. Resistance is expected at different levels of the organization due to financial implications and required change but I plan to use situational leadership style, with focus on charismatic and transformational styles, in ensur ing change towards use of evidence based practice (Kelly & Tazbir,

Corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Corporate governance - Essay Example The role of independent directors and non executive directors become significant as they are intended to serve as deterrent in the misuse and abuse of power by the vested interests, especially the senior management of the company. The paper would be broadly rationalizing the role of independent non executive directors within the broader parameter of corporate governance. Corporate governance is based on publicly acceptable values and code of behaviour for the higher echelons of corporate bodies (Haller & Shore, 2005). It can primarily be described as a set of well defined policies, rules and regulations and customs that effectively control the various internal and external processes of the business enterprises. They are, thus intended to create an environment that improves productivity, economic efficiency and protects the interests of various stakeholders through ethically delivered goals (Solomon, 2007; Mueller, 1996). Since the good corporate governance is dependent on effective p olicies and laws, the role of CEO and board of directors becomes crucial ingredient for their efficient implementation. In the various modalities and process that are incorporated within good corporate governance, the role of independent non executive directors in the company’s board has increasingly become key component of the success of the company. The recent cases of abuse of shareholders’ rights in the various countries have brought the role of corporate governance into the prominence. The increased risks to the interests of the various stakeholders have necessitated stringent code of conduct for the higher hierarchy of management. Chief Executive of the firm and board of directors, therefore become intrinsic part of corporate governance. They are endowed with the primarily responsibility for good codes of corporate governance and best practices within the organization that promote accountability. Boritz, (1990) has defined risks as possible loss due to uncertaint y and exposure of the firm from inappropriate investment decision or a commitment. Thus, risks and need for more effective transparency within the system become vital postulates of CG whose implementation is overseen and guided under the strict vigilance of independent non executive directors. Independent non executive directors in the board provide the firm with independent, objective and creative inputs on the various processes and modalities of business operations. As they are basically from outside the organization, they are observed to be equipped with unbiased approach to the issues and factors that could have long lasting impact on the performance outcome of the company. Cadbury report (1992, p33) explicitly states that they bring in ‘independent judgment’ within the board. Their presence on board therefore is designed to discourage the vested interests against financial malpractices and fraud. This is one of the most important criteria that reiterated the import ance of inclusion of independent non executive directors on the boards of the companies. UK has been a leader in setting up a Combined Code of Corporate Governance. UK boasts of a highly developed business environment with a vast shareholders’ base. The various financial institutions, big corporate houses, institutional investors and individuals with

Sustainable Information and Corporate Governance Essay

Sustainable Information and Corporate Governance - Essay Example The report will therefore try to uncover the risks and ethical issues associated with social networking. Based on the findings a conclusion will be drawn and recommendation for the governance strategy will be also provided. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 University of Bolton: A Synopsis 5 Social Networking: A Brief Overview 5 Advantages of Social Networks 6 Discussion: Sustainable Governance in Development and Evaluation of Information Strategies 8 Social Network: Sustainable Information Impact 9 Social Network: Corporate Governance impact 9 Social Network: Risk Associated 11 Social Network: Ethical Issues 12 Social Network: Compliance Issues 13 Conclusion 14 Recommendations for Governance Strategy 15 References 18 Introduction Alongside liberalization of business and broad distribution of communication & information technology, the economic activities have expanded beyond the national boundaries. This has led us to the concept of globalization, which facilitate d delivery of products from different parts of the world. Although, the economy of the world has been highly benefitted by globalization, but the environment has been impacted to a large extent due to increased manufacturing activities. However with the passage of time, human being understood the importance of preserving environment (Bleischwitz, 2007, p.8). Also the need of management or supervision was felt, in order to foster sustainability. This had in turn led to the concept of sustainable governance. With increasing awareness of green environment, the importance of sustainability nowadays does not remain curtailed only to the business venture. Universities and schools around the world are now focusing on the issue of sustainability. Hence through this project, evaluation of sustainable information and corporate governance impact on a university of UK will be done. In addition, this report also proposes to develop an information governance strategy in order to encourage growth and implementation of technology within the product and service portfolio of the organization. Now for the purpose of this study, the establishment chosen is University of Bolton and the technology chosen for implementation is social networks. A brief introduction of both university and technology is provided below. University of Bolton: A Synopsis The history of university of Bolton dates back to 1982, when it used to be known as Bolton Institute of Higher Education. In the year 2004 it was granted the university status and from then onwards the name changed to University of Bolton. Presently, the university has it’s headquarter at Greater Manchester, England. As of 2012, the university has 14,000 enrolments among all the discipline offered by the university. It embraces around 700 staff (including admin and professional staff). Apart from its presence in the markets of UK, the company also operates in some other parts of the world. For example the university has establishme nts in the United Arab Emirates (Bolton, n.d.). Also university of Bolton has tie ups with the overseas academic foundations in countries such as Singapore, China, Malaysia, Greece and Germany among others. The university believes in having diversity within the students. This is the reason why we find around 13 % of the students belongs to ethnic group and 8

Article that illustrates supply and demand Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

That illustrates supply and demand - Article Example Additionally, apart from the global shift in the oil pricing, the US economy is rebounded from the eight months low profitability index in that period. Fluctuations in oil pricing have a prominent effect on the nation’s economic activities, which directly related to the economic growth. In this context, every respective activities of the nation are identified to be depended on the oil prices due to globalization and liberalization, which led to high reliance over the import and export operations. The changes in the prices of the oil will have transformed the real pricing of goods and/or services. Moreover, prices are one of the key variables in the economic term, which highly affects the demand along with supply of the same. In this regard, it can be stated that the major determinant of the oil prices includes the demand as well as supply and the market sentiment. Moreover, different nations are also identified to have high contribution towards oil consumption, which correspon dingly affects the pricing policies. While, assessment of the article it can be recognized that rise in the oil price will decelerates economic growth of the US in much higher extent. The country is not much dependent to the import of oils because of the dependence of other countries on the goods as well as services offered by the US have developed better competitive advantage globally. The article significantly notified that with the fall in oil pricing in the global market, the US and global benchmarked oil pricing has been narrowed down. Moreover, relatively cheap oil pricing in the US have encouraged various refineries to process more crude at a higher rates and with this significant reason the demand of the US crude oil has raised apart from the variation in the global oil prices (Friedman,

Kite Runner Film Adaption Essay Example for Free

Kite Runner Film Adaption Essay â€Å"The Kite Runner† is a movie that has been adapted from the novel written by Khaled Hosseini. According to the past, certain characters and events of the films that had been based on the novels have been left out. Unexpectedly, there are merits in this film that should be acknowledged. The movie follows the story quite closely through those points, and telling the story adequately. They are the additions to the screenplay, the sensory experience and the narration respectively. The changes made in the movie had a significant effect on the overall message of the story. One of the parts in the film that differs from the novel is the birthday gift for Hassan. When Hassan’s birthday takes place in the novel, he gets paid a surgery by Baba to get rid of his harelip. But in the film, when Hassan celebrates his birthday, he receives a kite from Baba. Apparently, the kite is more suitable in the context, because it completely relates to the title, but also a symbol of friendship. The film helps the audience to have a thoroughly understanding of the culture of Afghan. It attempts to present the cultural sights and sounds of Afghan life. By transferring the story to screen, it has taken advantage of visual elements, showing sensory experience of the kite combat and the appearance of bazaar. Moreover, Afghan’s music is added in the movie to increase the mood and realistic. The replacement of the first person narration plays an essential part in the movie. The novel is written from Admir’s point of view where his own thoughts and opinions are also included. The personal narrative of the book is what makes the story poignant. Therefore, the third person point of view in the movie would be completely different. It is more objective and immediate, and more details are included. The deletion from the novel, sensory experience, and the replacing of the narration has made a slightly difference form the novel. But still, they are essential to the movements of the story and play an important role in the film.

Clinical Patient Management System Information Technology Essay

Clinical Patient Management System Information Technology Essay Clinical Patient management is introduced to optimize clinics operation. Because of huge changes in management nowadays, management for clinic is important due to the widely spread of technology. This system is proposed for those clinics which are still using paper-based to record down patient record, disease history and etc. This system is to manage the clinics operation efficiently. The area consists of the user in clinic which is doctor and clinic assistant. Basically there are no such systems in the clinic. The traditional paper-based management method has caused a lot of problems to the user. This system will help out the user in the clinic in managing the work. 1.2 Problem Statement and Motivation Clinical Patient management system is enhanced from the traditional paper-based management system that has been using in the clinic. Based on the previous system, the patient who comes to the clinic for the first time is registered via the system. The assistant assist the patient by write down the personal detail in a form. The patient gets the treatment and information about the treatment is record in a file. The system manages the activities in the clinic but the previous system has cause problems to the user. Problems of using paper to record down the records of patient: Only one copy, emergent consult problem Waste time to search the record Easy to lost record or duplicate record Waste money on purchase paper Waste space for store record These problem are so important is because they will affect the operation of clinic cause decrease of patients visits, inefficiency and increase of cost. Clinical Patient management is developed to overcome the problems. The system has few modules such as patient registration, inventory module, medical certificate, disease history, patient record search, appointment, billing and reporting. Objectives The project aims to overcome the problem exists in the previous system. In order to overcome the problem exists in the previous system, we must determine the problems existing in previous system, find out the reason cause the problems in previous existing system and create a solution to solve the problems. Investigate on system/user request and define new requirements. To achieve this objective need to determine who the user is, understanding the user request, verify the request can be achieve or not. Make user easy to maintain record Determine what record is requiring in the system. All the records will be kept in database. Ensure the system useful to user as it help in daily activity in the clinic. Determine how will the system work/operate and understand daily activity in the clinic. Project scope There are nine modules in the system: Patient Registration Patient must register first. Patients IC number, name, address, age, gender, phone number, specified relative IC. Disease History This module manages data about patients treatment history and register for various type of disease. It allows doctor to add, edit and update the disease history. Medical certificate This module allow doctor to create the medical certificate to patients. Allow user to add, edit, delete. Inventory module This module manages all the medicine stock in the clinic. It allow user to add, edit and delete the medicine information. It will show current quantity of medicine in the clinic. It includes the record search. Backup Backup the system setting and database. 1.5 Project significance Clinical Patient Management System is used by the doctor and clinic assistant. The user will feel the system is useful because it has benefits to manage the clinics operation efficiently. The web-based Clinical Patient Management gives profit to user as the user can retrieve information regard to themselves through the internet. They can access the clinic system throughout the internet and those who have difficulties to go the clinic will find it practical. The system makes record keeping more efficient and secure from an unauthorized people. Only authorized user has the right to retrieve their own information. This will secure the patients information. This system has also overcome the problems in paper-based management system. Besides that, the system is easy for the management to maintain record about the patient and inventory. The time for retrieving the information needed will be less compare to the manual. This will help the clinic assistant in doing the job. The system also helps in minimize the loss of data. The clinic assistant can view and generate report for the specified data. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Web-based clinical patient management Medical services computerize is an irresistible general trend, this web site will provide medical information for the client, the user can find out a message they care. CMS provide on line appointment feature, which allow patients to make the appointment through Internet. Furthermore, doctors can manage the clinic daily work by using CMS. (Andrew Ho 2002, Louis Leong 2002, Onofre da Costa 2002). In journal article Clinics Management System (CMS) based on Patient Centered Process Ontology (Vissers J. M. H. 1998), conducted study and found one of the important trends in business managements is the focus on processes to create value added services for their ultimate customers. This is to get rid of unwanted, time consuming, unnecessarily repeated business activities of the processes and to monitor how value for customer is as efficiently as possible In the journal entitled, Best practice Clinic: The making of a good quality management system written by Dwyer, G. (2004), he said that to be manageable and effective, a quality management system should be easy to manage and involve minimal or no allocation of additional staff, and work in tandem with existing initiatives, systems and structures. In the case study of Lance Technologies LLC The web-based system kept track of all patient schedule information. Thus, patients could visit the web service at any later date and cancel or re-schedule their appointment based on Agho Clinic policies. A web-based administrative system provided password-protected access to patient scheduling data to Agho Clinic staff, allowing them to see schedules and patient contact information. The staff also used the same system to manage in-office scheduling as well. All provider schedules and office hours were also database-driven. (Lance Technologies LLC (2006). In Web Based Patient Scheduling with IVR Backend. Retrieved March 13, 2012) From article state in above they appears in nowadays all clinics are necessary to automate its daily functions. Furthermore, regardless of the type clinic, owning and operating it can be a lot of work. Web-based system is a technology important to clinic domain because it can help them face the problem of increasing diversity and differentiation by improve their competitiveness, efficiency and provide better convenient to patient. 2.2 Fact Finding In a personal interview with a clinic assistant, the clinic assistant had explained in detail about the clinic daily operation. Through the information provided by the clinic assistant, the following function has been listed out. 2.2.1 Functions of the System Patient Function Allow patients to view the doctors schedule. In order to supply a direct appointment way on web. The system require to show out the doctors schedule of working day. Making appointment is several simple steps. The patients can log in by using the User ID and Password. For the first time to log in, the patients can register on the web site and set their own ID and Password. Doctors can check and review the Medical history of a patient through patient ID. The Patients can check their own Medical history through the web browser, which include the patient info, such as Name, address, age, sex, record of diagnose, any allergic reaction. Doctor Clinic Assistant Function The system must provides the calendar for the doctors, to check the calendar and appointment on the day. The calendar allows the staff to apply different kind of leave. For instance, annual leave or non-paid leave, etc. By using the system, the medicine records can be checked. They can view the information of the medicines such as Medicines name, Expired date, Prices, Supplier info (Address and contact number) and Description. During the consultation, the doctor can store the patient treatment into the database, such as patient diagnosis, medicines, drug allergy, chronic disease. After the checking, the doctor will add the information and status in the system. Finally the system will calculate the total amount and print out the receipts. Through the functions state in above, a list of system module had been arranged out and already writes down in project scope, you can refer it on page 3. 2.3 Critical Remarks of previous works BioAXS Adastra Proposed system Patient registration Finger print verification Make appointment Scheduling Disease history Medical certificate management Billing Inventory management Reporting Backup Web-Based Figure 2.3 Existing system compare with proposed system From figure 2.3 above we can found that both of the existing system BioAXS and Adastra they dont have include most of the feature in proposed system. Many patients need to get medical certificate to rest at home, so the proposed system include the feature of medical certificate management to manage the record. Most of the clinic requires billing management feature in the management system to help them manage and record daily expense and revenue. The inventory in proposed system can help clinic manage the medicine stock, so the clinic assistant can always monitor on the quantity of various medicine. The backup feature in proposed system allow user to backup their data, this can prevent loss of data. If the system accidently down, user can through restore backup file to recover the data. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Prototyping The methodology I choose for develop the system is prototyping. Prototyping include 5 phases planning, analysis, design, implementation, delivery. A prototyping-based methodology performs the analysis, design and implementation phases concurrently, and all three phrases are performed repeatedly to build the first version, with user feedback, repeat these three phases a cycle until system complete. In figure 3.1 it shown how prototyping works. C:UsersKelvin GiottoDesktopprototype.png Figure 3.1 Prototyping 3.1.1 Planning The project planning starts in this phase. First, the information is gathered from the clinic staff. Then, the scope, objectives and the goals for the proposed system are set up. The tentative schedule consists of project work plan and Gantt chart is developed. 3.1.2 Analysis In this phase, we have to understand previous system problems and find out analysis existing system find out their pros and cons. We also have to realise clinic daily operation process to investigate and define new requirements. The problem statement of the system can be defined throughout the observation. It will become the objective for the system. The scope can be extracted from the objective to develop the system. 3.1.3 Design Database design, where a design for the database is form. It can support the Clinical Patient Management System operational and objective, as Microsoft Access is choose for the database management. The minimum requirement for the installation need to be confirmed first in order for the DBMS in the server to run smoothly. Moreover, the Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD), and data dictionary is create where it will explain the main basic workflow of the system. All relationship between the tables, define the storage structures and the access paths will be known. For interface design, we will regard to user request and make it more user-friendly. 3.1.4 Implementation In implementation phase is start working on programming, after complete the first version of prototype, we will delivery it to user to testing the prototype, test for performance, integrity, and concurrent access and security constraints. Other than that, testing and evaluate the system parallel with application programming is done. This phase involve all the users in Clinic Management system that will use this system. In this stage it can be define that the users meets their requirement. Once the data insert into the database, the processes such as tests and fine-tunes will be carried out for purposes of performance, integrity, and concurrent access and security constraints. The testing and evaluation phase occurs in parallel with applications programming. If the database implementation fails to meet the users requirement, several options will be consider in order enhancing the system. Implementation Issues and Challenges Many issues and challenges will be face In develop clinical patient management system. Develop this system can be say like start from zero, require to learning new programming language, new development software and make it operate on server. Unfamiliar Programming language C# The system is develop through Microsoft Sharepoint 2013, and it require using C# programming language to develop. Unfamiliar system area The web-based Clinical Patient Management system is a medical area system, this will cause negligence on the development of software features. Unfamiliar development tools Microsoft Sharepoint 2013 is a new development tools, many useful feature for developer, so require to take some time to learning how to use it. Blur on User Interface design Due to the user of the system are doctor and clinic assistant, difficult to design a user-friendly that is suitable for them. Timeline 3.3.1 Current Semester Figure 3.3.1 Current Semester In figure 3.3.1, meeting to discuss the process of the final year project is a recurring task, the task is execute on everyweek Wednesday. Took totally 12 days on choose project title. Totally 17 days use for create preliminary report, start from 16 Feb 2012 to 9 March 2012. For develop the comb-bound project proposal, this task totally used 21 days start from 12 Mar 2012 to 9 Apr 2012. 3.3.2 Next Semester Figure 3.3.2 Next Semester In figure 3.3.2, planning phase start from 28 May 2012, take 6 days to complete it. Due to using the prototyping methodology to develop the system, so Analysis, Design and Implementation should be recurring task and start from 13 Apr 2012 to 17 Aug 2012. The system should be delivery on 20 Aug 2012. Requirement Specification User Requirement Functional Patient Registration Disease History Medical certificate Inventory Inventory Backup Non-Functional User authentication Fast response time Maintainability Integrity 3.4.2 System Performance Definition Software Requirement Development tool Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2013 Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Operating System Windows Server 2012 Database system Microsoft SQL Hardware Requirement Minimum Hardware Requirements Processor 64-bit, quad-core processor, 3 GHz RAM 8 GB for single server and multiple server farm installation for production use. Hard disk 80 GB Programming language C# C#, as part of the .NET framework, is compiled to Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL), which is a language similar to Javas bytecode. MSIL allows C# to be platform independent and runs using just in time compiling. Therefore programs running under .NET gain speed with repeated use. Furthermore, because the other languages that make up the .NET platform (including VB and Cobol) compile to MSIL, it is possible for classes to be inherited across languages. The MSIL, like bytecode, is what allows C# to be platform independent. Microsoft SharePoint 2013 In-alignment with SharePoints approach of doing more with no additional resources, investments like the integration with Visual Studio 2012 will enable our customers to rely on existing pools of programming expertise to enrich the SharePoint platform and increase the quality and ROI on their investments. Can be used to build any kind of web solution, including Internet publishing sites share contents, applications, and data to improve collaboration and provide a unique user experience CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSION Briefly this chapter describes on literature review and project methodology. Information for literature review is gathered from journals in library, online journal, magazines and article. All the information is useful to support the statement from the approaches that has been made. In project methodology, it described about methodology that will be develop for the system. It consists of 5 phases which has been explained in this section. Furthermore, in project requirements, it tell about the software and hardware that been choose to develop the project. Gantt chart attached is to help to manage project schedule so that this project will be finished on time. Managing time is the way to assuring the project can be finish according to the plan.

Tuckmans Team Building Model Management Essay

Tuckmans Team Building Model Management Essay To achieve stated goals and objectives people in organizations work in teams. These teams go through various stages. The extent to which project leadership success or failure, relates to the stages of teams formation, in the pursuance of these goals and objectives are not clear cut as past researches have given divided opinion and bringing other factors in contention. This assignment will introduce the concept of team formation and project leadership and critically discuss the extent to which the stages of team formation relate to the success or failure of project leadership. To critically evaluate how the stages of team formation relate to the success or failure of project leadership, Tuckmans team building model which explain the five forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning stages of the team formation (please see appendix 1) and Blanchards situational leadership model which explain the four leadership styles that a leader should adopt during the team development situations will be evaluated as the team behaviour and leadership style can be clearly seen in these two models. Tuckmans model emphasis that as the team develops, the leader changes leadership style. At the forming stage a successful leader follow a directing style which is similar to telling phase described in situational leadership model, at the storming stage leader coaches their team to come out from the conflict which is similar to the selling phase of the situational leadership style model, at the norming stage the leader facilitates its team to develop standards which is s imilar to the participating phase of the situational leadership model, at the performing stage leader delegate task to the members and almost detached which is similar to the delegating stage of the situational leadership model. At this stage the team initially formed, the team members meet each other; identify the purpose of the team, terms of reference and its composition. Team members endeavor to test each other, establish their personal identity and create an impression within the group with most consideration given to structure of the team, code of conduct, objectives, individual roles and responsibilities. If the team is more diverse, it is more difficult for the team to maneuver through as this stage takes longer. Therefore, in the formation of multicultural teams it is a particularly sensitive stage as it is characterized by commonality, courtesy, caution and confusion. To take the team to the performing stage leadership is crucial. Team members will not be comfortable if there is lack of clarity. If a leader could not direct the team members effectively, team would not able to reach the next stages of the team formation; therefore this stage does impact the success or failure of the project leadership. When team members truly consider that they are the part of a team, generally this stage is complete. Table 1: Members and Leadership competencies in Forming stage of a team. Member competencies needed: Leadership competencies needed: Asking open-ended questions Maintaining equity and being fair Listening without making assumptions and judgments Helping the group to articulate its purpose and overriding goal Observing group patterns of communication Facilitating discussions Using inclusive communication patterns Intervening to include all Disclosing ones needs appropriately Stage 2 Storming: This phase of team development is typically marked by conflict between team members, criticism and tension. Conflict arises due to the competing approaches to obtain the groups goals, disagreements over responsibilities and appropriate task related behavior. Team members might disagree about who should be leading the team and how much power the team leader should have and can result in redefining of the teams overall goals and specific tasks. Team members are likely to individually decide their level of commitment to the group tasks and extent, to which they like the team tasks, therefore may resist the control imposed by the team. At storming stage the team members may begin to withdraw, therefore this stage relates to the success or failure of the project leadership. If leaders coach their teams effectively, teams can proceed to the next stage. Therefore this stage is a critical stage for the group survival and effectiveness as the conflict harms the team progress and negatively affects some interpersonal relationship. When teams control is no longer resisted by the team members and everyone in the team agree about who will lead the team, this storming stage is completed. Table 2: Members and Leadership competencies in Storming stage of a team. Member competencies needed: Leadership competencies needed: Using inclusive language and behaviors Establishing an agreed-upon work plan Managing emotional expression Using mediation skills Giving and receiving feedback appropriately Using diverse methods of feedback and conflict transformation Stage 3 Norming: At this stage norms and expectations about what different members are responsible for doing are realize and develop as the team delineates task standards, develop intra group cohesiveness and establish standards, rules and regulations. Team members really start to feel their belongings to the team and the development of close ties with other team members. Therefore this phase of team development is characterized by: commitment, collaboration, cooperation and cohesion as team members attempts to mutually agree upon objectives and goals, accept different opinion and try to open exchange of information. Feeling of belongings and friendship to team, help to work towards team goals. At the norming stage the leader facilitates and enables their team to establish the standards and reach to the performing stage. By the end of this stage, standards to guide behavior in the group are agreed by the team members. This stage is similar to the participating stage of the situational leadership model. If the leader does not participate to establish standards, the team may develop their own standards and norms which may me contrary to the project overall objectives and lead to the project leadership failure. At this stage the major decisions are normally made by the team members jointly and the minor decisions may be delegate to the individuals. Table 3: Members and Leadership competencies in Norming stage of a team. Member competencies needed: Leadership competencies needed: Demonstrating support on task and in relationships Reinforcing high standards for task Recognizing individual and cultural differences in how appreciation is shown Coaching where needed Stage 4 Performing: This is the stage at which real work is done, team members know their role and duties and performing their work according to the expectations. Team members concentrate on the achievement of common goals and objectives. Sometime it can take long to reach to the performing stage, in most cases when they are self-managed work teams. Team members make progress towards common goals and feel comfortable working within their roles. This phase is marked by consideration among members, creativity challenge and group consciousness. At this stage the team morale is high and team has a good ability to focus on the task as relationship issues have been resolved. At the performing stage the team may produce another successor leader. At this stage the team members does not need assistance and instructions, but they need delegated tasks from the leader. Therefore at this stage leader delegates, observes and almost detach, this stage is similar to the delegating stage of the situational leadership model. This is the main stage where actual work will take place; delegation of wrong tasks to wrong person may lead to project leadership failure. Table 4: Members and Leadership competencies in Performing stage of a team. Member competencies needed: Leadership competencies needed: Adapting and changing Establishing a process for incorporating change and renewal Including new members Sharing leadership Stage 5 Reforming or Adjourning: At this stage a task force teams disbands after the fulfillment of its goals or due to poor performance. But some teams are permanent (ongoing work teams), therefore may not reach to the adjourning stage and often remain to the performing stage. This final stage can be characterized by communication, closure, compromise and consensus. The adjourning phase is not the main task of developing a team, but this stage is very relevant to the team members. Table 5: Leadership Activities at Different Group Formation Stages Stage Leadership Activity Forming Direct the team and establish objectives clearly by negotiating ground rules. Storming Establish process and structure, and work to smooth conflict and build good relationships between team members. Generally provide support, especially to those team members who are less secure. Remain positive and firm in the face of challenges. Explain forming, storming, norming and performing idea for people to understand why conflicts occurring, and that things will get better in the future. Teaching assertiveness and conflict resolution skills. Norming Help the team take responsibility for progress towards the goal by arranging a social, or a team-building event. Performing Delegate as far as possible. Once the team has achieved high performance, the aim now is to have as light a touch as possible by focusing on other goals and areas of work. Adjourning When successfully achieved the objectives time should be taken to celebrate the achievements. The above table clearly depict the relation between the stages of team formation and successful project leadership, the reverse will mean failure. 4. Conclusion Teams are formed because they can achieve far more than their individual members can on their own, and while being part of a high-performing team can be fun, it can take patience and professionalism to get to that stage. Effective team leaders can accelerate that process and reduce the difficulties that team members experience by understanding what they need to do as their team moves through the stages from forming to storming, norming and, finally, performing. Successful project leadership should realize that not all teams and situations will behave in the way depicted by Tuckman. However, in using this approach, the leader should not attempt to force situations to fit it but make sure that people dont use knowledge of the storming stage as a license for boorish behavior. There are some drawback with Tuckmans team formation modal as it does not talk about the time teams do spend and should spend in different project and external environment does not take into account. 1. Abstract People in organizations work in teams in achieving stated goals and objectives. The extent to which project success relates to the management of task, the individuals and the teams formation in the pursuance of these goals and objectives are not of equal proportion and need to be well judged and balanced by the leader. This assignment will use John Adairs Action Centre Leadership model to related the dynamic between task, individuals and team; critically discussing the extent to which these three needs are related to the management of a successful project. Introduction One person cannot handle whole project, he/she need other individuals an effective team to successfully complete the project. An effective team is a team who has high commitment, is highly appreciated by upper management, is always ready (adaptive) to change open to new ideas and always achieves its goals. Bailey and Cohen (1997: 4) considers a team as a collection of individuals who are interdependent in their tasks, share responsibility for outcomes, see themselves and are seen by others as an intact social entity, embedded in one or more larger social systems and who manage their relationships across organizational boundaries. Adairs Action Centred Action (ACT) model will be used to find the dynamic between task, team and individual as relate to managing projects successfully, as this model identifies three core interrelated functions, which explain the management and leaders core management responsibility. These three core function consist task: achieving the teams goal. team: developing and building your team, so that its ever more effective. individual: helping individuals develop their full potential in the workplace. Discussion Davis (2001) identified three factors, which can determine whether the team is effective or not, such as: The people (individual) within the team: Effective team determining factor for individual aspect include personal job satisfaction, low or no conflict and power struggles, having job security, appreciation by management and mutual trust of colleagues. The organizations rules and culture: includes the people do thinks and believes of the individuals. The tasks to be completed: including appropriate leadership, team involvement in decisions, appropriately skilled team members, challenging work, goals and objectives. According to Davis (2001) it is easy to appreciate the impact of organizational rules and job tasks on each other and on people (individual), but it is much more difficult to understand the impact of individual-related factors on other factors of successful teams of a successful project. Individual related factor such as trust is a major component in forming an effective working team that achieves results. Leaders/ managers are primarily responsible for creating trust. Adair (1997) describe the best leaders is who balance the task, team maintenance, and individual needs. Balancing task, team and individual Adair found that effective leaders pay attention to three areas of need for members of the team: those relating to the task, to the team itself and to individual team members with emphasis on variation with all three interdependent variables. Teams can be more effective for making decisions effectively and quickly than the traditional hierarchical structure according to the large body of research (Thompson 2008). As group members come and go, due to turnover, promotions, hiring and other reasons; therefore resulted over time change in teams, goals, group tasks etc (George et al. 2008). Teams can be classified on the basis of size, organizational level, composition, potential contribution to organizational performance, objectives, permanent versus temporary. According to Colloquia et al., there are 5 general types of teams such as work teams, management teams, parallel teams, project teams and virtual teams. Leadership is the ability to affect human behaviour to accomplish a mission, the act of influencing people to set and achieve goals (McGraw, 2009). Great leaders are visionary people who are able to achieve results using people. They exhibits authority in themselves and exhume confidence in their team members. Some leaders are democratic, allowing team members to express their opinions. Some are dictatorial, explaining what they want from their teams to the team members to execute. All styles have opportunity and challenges and may be used in certain circumstances. Team leaders must also realise that there are different types of human traits that can be exhibited among team members. These traits rarely have advantage over others as they are complementary. It is the duty of an effective team leader to identify the trait in individual members of his or her team and know how to use the qualities to advantage. All these traits have the qualities which effective team leaders can exploit and none is better than the other. Tasks are those activities that need to done in order to achieve the desired goals and outcome. Leader can help to facilitate these tasks by planning the work, allocating the resources, checking performance and reviewing progress. Team maintenance relates to maintaining good relation and building team spirit, training the group, maintaining discipline. Individual needs can be satisfied by attending to personal problems, training the individual, giving them status and praise, meeting their needs and reconciling conflicts between group needs. To achieve the task, management should make it clear who is going to do what, proper delegation of responsibilities, everyone is clear about the objectives, is adequate authority delegating to the team, are working conditions right for the group, have the time planned affectively, who will cover the absent person, is there adequate resources to complete the tasks. In building and maintaining the team, management should make it clear is the size of the team is correct, are the right people working together, are the rules seen to be reasonable, is the team motivated to achieve the tasks, is the conflict dealt properly, does the team accept the objectives do the team knows about the expected standards of performance. In developing the individual, management should make it clear that have the targets been agreed and quantified, does the individual know about their contribution to work, overall result, does the individual got sufficient authority to achieve the task delegate to them and has adequate provisions been made for retaining and training team members. According to the Hackman (1987), there are 3 primary definitions of team success, and these relate to the task, social relations, and individuals. A successful team completes its task. While completing the task, team members develop social relations that help them work together and maintain the team. Teamwork should help to improve an individuals social and interpersonal skills. Mullins (2010:369) suggests that the action taken by the leader in any one of these area of need will affect one or both of the other areas of need with the ideal position been the complete integration towards the achievement of all three. However, building the team and satisfying individual needs are considered to be part of leadership whilst achieving the common task involves the process of management. According to Robbins (1998) Individual behavior have key variables, which make up individual difference. Every individual has their own attitudes, personality, values, talent, ability to learn, motivation factors, perceptions. Different nature of these variables (attributes) make individual different. Attitude is the judgment an individual make about events and people. This judgement can be positive or negative. Basic values influenced attitude and attitude affect the individual behaviour. Sometime attitudes can change, while values are unlikely to change. Values: Values are the general belief about what is good and bad. Values affect the individual behavior and attitude and difficult to change. Personality: Individual act and behave in a particular way, which called personality. Personality can be learned and inherited. Talent: Talent means the intelligence and ability of the individual. Level of persons talent will depend on how those people perform their job. Ability to learn: This is related to the change in behavior based on experience and getting new ideas. Motivation: Motivation means willing to do something with inspiration, not by force. Different individual have different motivating factors, such as money, name and fame etc. According to Bowditch et al the motivation of team members of joining a team, strongly influence cohesiveness of the team and the members productivity. Perception: Different people give different meaning to what they see around them; therefore people perceive things in different ways. By Knowing about individual differences leaders can understand why individual respond differently. Leaders should appreciate that it is difficult to change values, therefore they may be try to change attitude. As attitude affect behavior, which affect job performance and motivation. The key learning point from these different factors is that if leader want to get best from their team he should appreciate that individuals need to be treated differently. There is also Myer-Briggs model (1956) which effective team leaders have to contend with. This model is about personality types. Myer-Briggs identified four ways people differ from each other. These are: the way they think; the way they view; the way they feel/perceive and the way they see things. Team diversity include language difference, cultural difference, background difference, qualification difference, class, age, sex and experience also have effects in a team which the leader must manage. Mckenna and Maister draw attention on the importance of group leader establishing trust among the group by helping them understand the behaviours that build trust (Cited in Mullins, 2010). Successful project management will require the following list of common tasks for each of the three management responsibilities so that leaders will balance their resources appropriately. Task Team Individual Establish deadlines for project tasks, and explain the quality standards expected. Ensure that everyone in the team has the skills and training to accomplish the final goal Help define each individuals role within the team and agree the tasks they are responsible for. Clearly state the final goal of the team. Monitor team relationships, and resolve conflicts where necessary. Appropriately praise and reward individual team members for their contribution to the team. Ensure everyone understands the resources, people, and processes that they should be using If team will be working in smaller teams, appoint a leader for each team, and ensure that he/she is effective and properly trained. Ensure that one on one time is spent with each member: identify their strengths and weaknesses, their needs, and any special skills they can bring to the team. Create a detailed plan for how the group is going to reach their final goal. Work on keeping the team motivated with high morale. If any team members seem to be lagging behind, coach them until they are back on track. Identify the purpose of the team and communicate team members. Identify the style the team will be working in (very formal, relaxed, etc.) Ensure each team member has the skills to perform his or her role successfully. Give regular feedback on the teams performance. 4. Conclusion Leaders have many responsibilities when it comes to managing their teams. And, its easy to get so focused on one area that the others slip by the wayside, leading to an unbalanced, poorly-functioning group. ACL model states that leaders must balance the actions they take across all three key areas if they want their project to succeed. The areas are interdependent; if a leader focuses too much on one area and neglects the other two, then the group will experience problems. The leaders do not necessarily have to divide their efforts equally across these but balance according to the situation and over time. Using a tool like Action Centered Leadership can help any leader stay on top of the most important responsibilities, and keep the group working efficiently, happily, and productively. John Adairs simple Action-Centered Leadership model provides a great blueprint for leadership and the management of any team, group or organisation. Good managers and leaders should have full command of the three main areas of the ACL model, and should be able to use each of the elements according to the situation. Leaders who are able to achieve the task; building the team and develop keeping the right balance, gets results, builds morale, improves quality, develops teams and productivity, and is the mark of a success.

Sports Psychology Essay example -- essays research papers

The five main things that I learned in sports psychology from is Goal Setting, Awareness, Leadership, Reboundability, and Routines. These all help me not only in the sport world but also in life. It is important to study these things and practice them as much as possible to achieve the greatest benefits from them   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Until recently I have never really thought about my goals. I have had them, but have never planned them out or evaluated outcomes. When we had a guest speaker named Mark Henry spoke to use about goal setting. Before I wouldn’t put dates or plans with my goals. It helps a lot when you have a date to start the goal and a date when you want to achieve the goal. One thing Mark Henry taught me was that a lot of smaller goals can lead up to one a larger. One of the goals I set this year was to get better grades. To do this I had to make a plan on how each day I could work on doing this. I made a plan for each day on how to raise my grades and keep track of how they are doing. Keeping the goal organized helps a lot. It helps when you have it all written down on paper for a reference. With this smaller goal it is helping me also with my larger goal of getting accepted in to a college of my choice. Within a few weeks I noticed a huge difference in my grades. I had r aised all of them about one grade letter. Once I accomplished this goal, my self esteem went up a lot and I then made more goals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another thing that helped me a lot in this class is learning about awareness. Mr. Hunter gave us the stop light as an example on how this works. When I used to play rugby I would easily go from the green to the yellow. When that happened my mind would get filled with thoughts that would distract me from the game at hand and I would get frustrated. When I was in the yellow it was hard for me to go back to the green and easier to go to the red. When I was in the red I would make a mistake almost every time I got the ball. Learning how to prevent yourself from going from yellow to red is a very beneficial trait. Mr. Hunter taught me to think of a word or action that would help me return to yellow. I tell myself I will clinch my fists and that when I release them then it is back to the task at hand. Now when something upsets me or throws me off course in day to day life I will just clinch my fists and then relax ... ...acks make me stronger in the end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Last but not least leadership. I have never really been a leader before. After sports psychology I learned that being a leader is a very important position. I tried it out in some of my classes that put me in groups. When nobody wanted to step up and get the task moving I would usually just sit and go along with it. During the first trimester though I would try to take the leadership role. I might not have been that good of a leader but for me just taking the role made me feel a lot better. In life people who can take these important roles of leadership benefit. Rather it is at school, work or home; everyone looks up to the person who can give them guidance in the right direction. The pressure it gives you to lead the people in the right direction is good pressure that will also help out the leader. Goal Setting, Awareness, Leadership, Reboundability, and Routines are things I have begun to concentrate on and try to incorporate into my every day life. Since I have began to do this it seems life is a lot easier and organized. Learning traits like these is one of the most important things to learn in sports and in life.

Essay --

Introduction Cancer is a wide-ranging group of diseases caused by uncontrolled cell growth that more than 200 different types have been identified. In this disease, the cells divide and grow intensity, forming malignant tumors, and invading nearby parts of the body(1). Cancer has been in the whole of human history. The oldest written record dates back to about 1600 years BC in Egypt described breast cancer(2). The cause of cancer is complex and partly unknown. Although only 5-10% of cancers are due to inherited gene defects, tobacco, poor diet, certain infections, treated with radiation, lack of physical activity, obesity and pollution can directly damage genes and ultimately lead to carcinogenic mutations (3). Rendering to recent statistics, cancer is responsible for 23% of all deaths in USA and is the second most common cause of death after heart disease (4). It is expected that by 2020 the world population reaches 7.5 billion that 15 million new cases diagnosed and 12 million patients will lose their lives (5). Based on figures provided in 2013 by the American Cancer Society, the most common cancer in women is breast cancer (29%) and in men is prostate cancer (28%) (6). Surgery as a primary method in treatment of solid cancers involved in pain relief and patients survival. In surgery the tumor was completely removed along with the lymph nodes in the area. This method is the only way to eliminate some cases of cancer (7). Other intrusive processes that commonly used are radiation and chemotherapy with the aim of killing the cancerous cells. Because they grow and divide faster than healthy cells so they are sensitive to chemotherapeutic and radiation agents(8). Regarding that the efficiency of a method directly depends on its ab... ...sed to form silica xerogels loaded with drugs, so a changing production conditions(as the ratio of reagents, temperature and concentration of catalyst may alter the properties of xerogels(14). In comparison, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) form into homogenous structure with higher surface area that is favorable for adsorption of therapeutic drugs(41). MSN particles possess the ability to load large and small molecules, adsorption of DNA and gene transfering(14). A variety of drugs including antibiotics(42), anticancer drugs(41) and heart disease drugs(43) are loaded into mesoporous silica nanoparticles by chemichal or physical adsorption mechanism(41). Through the work of various research groups, it has been shown that silica particles are biocompatible and have a great potential for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic applications, but recent studied