ESL classroom modification Essay Example for Free

ESL classroom modification Essay English as a second language students need modification and accommodation in the mainstream in order to be successful, because they pose problems to the teacher as most of them are not up to the academic level of other students. Research has shown that many teachers have not had training on how to successfully teach these students in the classroom. This article synthesizes what we as educators believe are the most important principles that teachers should support English as second language student to perform better in their academic field Modifications are individualized strategies posed on student for their success. They are appropriate when a student have learning difficulties in classroom. Implementing modifications that are parts of the student’s education plan are required by law. Modifications are necessary to any student that is not being successful with the regular method of instruction. They are important since not all students learn alike this help students be successful in their academic field. Research shows that social language is developed by students known as Basic inter personal communication skills (BICS) through informal and formal interaction with peers. The skills acquired are distinctive since they are not used in academic field. Academic language termed as Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) can take up to five to eight year to master (Cummins, 1984), Cummins notes in his classic work that (BICS) is typically acquired over a period of one to two years. Student who are yet to develop (CALP) in English, teachers need to be careful in choosing task that provide relevant information of cognitive complexity and contextual support. For student to complete activities that are cognitively complex they need to posses CALP to complete them. English language learners may lack the language skills to comprehend explanations of complex concepts and to express their thoughts yet they may have cognitive capacity to grasp material in such situation teachers may make comprehension of instruction through the use of contextual support such as gestures, hands-on learning, visuals, and other non-verbal accompaniment of instruction. The more instruction is contextualized, the better chance the English language learner has to develop understanding of complex concepts and the language used to explain them (Cummins, 1984). How can a teacher ensure that ESL students experience the same level of comprehension as the native English speaking students? The answer involves most of the teachers time but result are well worth it. Since the first aspect of language is aural or listening, read aloud session held after school could help for the beginning ESL students. The teacher can employ more students involvement and leadership by supervising a reading group in which the more advanced ESL student read to the beginning student. This method helps the beginner to feel more comfortable with the text as well as encourage advanced students to work on oral communication skills. However, one does not want to segregate students; the teacher should therefore stress the basic the basic learning strategies of making prediction, taking notes, inferring word meaning, and asking questions as they read. The simple strategies provide focus for reading and engage the learner in active reading (spangenberg-Urbschat 95). Fair assessment is one of the biggest questions concerning incorporation of ESL students in to regular English class. Should ESL student be held to the same grading standard as the native English speakers? Solution is yes, but methods of assessment should be different. With modification ESL students should demonstrate understanding of text, grammar skills and vocabulary. Standardized tastes do not show how well ESL students have comprehended the information and also overwhelm them. Assessment of all choice of student should be portfolio assessment as it tracks students improvement through sample quizzes, projects, reading log and journals. Providing equal education for the ESL student did not always mean those students were getting fair education. The courts found that Chine students involved in the suit were being excluded from educational opportunities since even though they were provided with the same instructional and materials as the native English student, they could not take the advantages since they lack adequate English language skills. Since ESL learners cannot take equal advantage of those opportunities, it is therefore not fair nor equal to them to use the same instructional strategies as the native English student. A model portfolio that has implications features for the ESL classroom can be used as a systematic tool in instructional planning and student evaluation. The potential for determining the depth and breadth of a students capabilities can be seen through analysis and comprehensive data collection. A comprehensive, focuses on both the processes and products of learning; uses both formal and informal assessment; seeks to understand student language development in the affective domains, cognitive, metacognitive, and linguistic; stress both formal and academic language development. Contains teacher, student, and objective input. The teacher should take some strategies on how to handle newcomers and emergent student. For the newcomers create climate of acceptance, use manipulative visuals, realia, props and games, use cooperative learning group, display print to support oral language , the teacher should also set model activities for the students to boost their understanding. Use of bilingual students as peer helpers is necessary he/she should adjust his rate of speech to enhance comprehension. In addition, he should ask yes/no questions to test if they can recall what they have been taught, ask them to draw/show/point various parts that have been taught during the lesson. He should test the new comers more on area dealing with vocabulary and terminologies. The teacher should simplify the language and not the content, moreover, the teacher should design the lesson in such a way as to motivate student to talk. As the teacher watch student improve, he should start asking them questions that require one or two words response for example who? What? When? Which one? How many. His lessons should expand on the vocabulary. Sensitizing mainstream students to the newcomer challenges is one of the suggestion for supporting ESL newcomers. The teacher should prepare native English students for the arrival of the newcomers. The teacher should brainstorm them on how they would feel if their parent took them to another country to study. student may demonstrate physical ailment or display a wide variety of unusual behavior such as aggression, depression, tantrums, tendency to withdraw, crying and sleeplessness. The teacher should therefore be aware of the culture shock and know how to handle such situations. The teacher should create frequent opportunities for their success in the classroom, give a lot of encouragement and praise on what the student can do and be careful not to call on them to perform what is above their level of competence. In this way the teacher create a nurturing environment for the student the teacher should establish a regular routine for the newcomers by giving them help in organizing space, time and material. he can achieve this by giving the a copy of daily schedule have them keep it at the front of their ESL notebook or tape it to their desk. From the beginning engage newcomers in language learning. the teacher can achieve this for example rote learning whereby students learn sight words, chants, poems, songs, list and spelling words through rote learning. Include them in class authority so that they can also see they are important members in the group, areas of expertise include math, computers, origami or art work. At first, student may not talk at all therefore the teacher needs to recruit volunteers to work with newcomers. It is critical to provide student with aural input in plenty in order to familiarize themselves with the English language. Students using headphones should be isolated from the rest of the class; this is a word of caution about the use of tapes and tape recorders. Appropriate reading materials for the ESL learners should at least include the following; story plots that are action based little text on each page, text that contains repetitive and predictable phrases, high-frequency vocabulary and useful words, text that employ simple sentenced structure, and numerous illustration that help clarify the text. when the teacher is reading to the ESL beginners he should make sure language is comprehensible therefore he should use reading strategies to increase students’ comprehension for example using expressive tone, reading sentence at a slow-to-normal pace. Literate and preliterate newcomers who speak a language that does not use Roman alphabet need direct instruction in letter recognition and formation as well as the phonetic beginners. The teacher teach phonetics in context the teacher can introduce and reinforce letter recognition beginning and ending sounds, rhyming words, blending silent words, homonyms etc through the use of authentic literature . since phonetic worksheets present new vocabulary out of context, they are generally useful to the newcomers. There are ten things the mainstream teacher can do to improve instruction for the ESL students. To begin with, the teacher should add gestures, point directly to objects, or draw pictures when appropriate, enunciate clearly, but do not raise his voice. Secondly, write legibly, clear, and in print . thirdly, he should try to avoid slang words and idioms; in addition, he should present new information in the context of known information and present information in a variety of ways. He should announce the lesson’s activities and objective, and list instructions step-by-step. Moreover, he should always emphasize key vocabulary words and provide frequent summations of the salient points of a lesson. The teacher should also recognize student success frequently and overtly, individual praises in some cultures are considered inappropriate and therefore embarrassing or confusing to the student. The teacher should use clear and consistent signals for classroom e should therefore develop and maintain routine. Finally If a student does not understand information you are delivering to them, try rephrasing or paraphrasing in shorter sentences and simpler syntax have students demonstrate their learning in order to show comprehension instead of asking them Do you understand? in this manner the teacher will check their understanding through repeating information and reviewing it frequently. The teachers need to know various teaching strategies when dealing with ESL student. Cooperative is one of the strategies. Robert E. Slavin (1995) has shown cooperative learning can be effective for students at all academic levels and learning styles. This method give all student frequent opportunities to speak this boost spirit of cooperation and friendship amongst students, student benefit from observing learning strategies used by their peers through shared learning activities. Language experience approach also known as Dictated stories is another strategy. Student’s words are used to create a text that will be used as a material for reading lesson. In this method students learn how their language is encoded as they watch it written down. It help student bring their personal experience in to classroom most important to culturally diverse student. Total physical response (TPR) is another strategy it. in reading comprehension the teacher should reduce the quantity of student reading at a time to be able to attend to individual level he should also modify materials to student’s decoding level, in addition, he should have students paraphrase verbally what has been read in the lesson . He should also eliminate visual distraction on page this is to enhance concentration span of students use of personal experience is important since it enhance understanding for example the teacher can encourage student to give their own experience after giving the his own to give them clue on what is meant in the lesson Conclusion Teachers are now responsible for education of student that they were not originally trained on the old adage of ‘good teaching will work for everyone is too simplistic to address the very real challenges that these teachers face. Teachers should take heart and work fully on their profession. Remember that when we are deliberate and informed about the learning that is taking place teaching becomes most powerful. This is usually true when we are teaching a student a completely different language their growth t are validated in the effort they put forth in your class and in life. ESL student can bring a wealth of information resources and culture with them yet they need our help in order to contribute to our classroom and society. By understanding some of the basic concepts that English as a second language specialists have known for years, content area teachers can tap into the resources that LEP students bring with them, making the transition to the mainstream classroom not only easier for the ESL student but also the content area teacher as well. Reference 1. Cummins, J. (1984).Bilingualism and special education: Issues in assessment and pedagogy. San Diego, CA: College-Hill. 2. Classroom modification http://www. spavinawok. net/CLASSROOM%20MODIFICATIONS. pdf. 3. Krashen, S. Terrell, T. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 4. Short, D. J. (1993). Assessing integrated language and content instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 27, (4), 627-656. 5. Teacher Discussion Forums: forums. eslcafe. com/teacher/viewtopic. php? t=448 44k Cached Similar pages

Muscular Dystrophy Disease

Muscular Dystrophy Disease Muscular Dystrophy Muscular dystrophy is when you have thin and weak muscles. You usually fall frequently and you run very strange. You have difficulty getting up and you cant sit up straight. It usually affects boys (rarely girls). â€Å"People with Muscular Dystrophy have incorrect or missing information in their genes.† The symptoms of muscular dystrophy are when you have poor balance and you cant walk straight. Sometimes you can have a curve on your spine; kind of like scoliosis. You tend to walk on your toes because you cant put your feet flat. You cant even climb stairs. If the Childs heart and breathing muscles get weak, they could die before reaching the age 20 from heart failure or pneumonia. In 1830 Sir Charles Bells discovered that Muscular Dystrophy is an x-linked genetic disorder that causes children to have progressive muscle weakness; most boys inherit this mutation from their mothers. People are born with this problem. Its not contagious and you cant catch it from someone else who has it. Some people develop this disease when they are adults. But usually, the signs of a child having muscular dystrophy appear around the ages three to five. There are many different type of muscular dystrophies. Such as, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Becker dystrophy, Emery- Dreifuss Muscular dystrophy, Myotonic muscular dystrophy, Limb- Gridle dystrophy, Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, Congenital dystrophy, Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy and Distal muscular dystrophy. Duchenne Dystrophy occurs 2 out of every 10,000 young men. It is the most severe disease out of all of the muscular dystrophies. It occurs mostly in young boys that affects children today. The signs and symptoms of muscular dystrophy may include sudden falls, Large calf muscles, difficulty getting up when lying or sitting down, difficulty running or jumping, weak leg muscles, and â€Å" Mild mental retardation, in some cases â€Å". Becker muscular dystrophy is milder than Duchene. It affects older boys and young men, but it progresses slower than others. The signs and the symptoms of Becker dystrophy are similar to Duchenne except that Becker usually appears between the ages 12 to 16. But the latest it can appear is around the ages 25 to 30. This disease can also cause severe heart problems. Emery-Dreifuss dystrophy can appear in your early childhood or teenage years and it can only affect males. â€Å"It causes muscle weakness and wasting in the shoulders, upper arms, and lower legs.† There can also be life threatening heart problems to the carriers. Such as the mothers, the sisters and the daughters. â€Å"Muscle shortening (contractures) occur early in this disease.† It can weaken your chest and pelvic muscles; that means that when you breathe, it is hard to inhale oxygen because your muscles dont let you move your chest. This progresses slowly, but it causes less muscle weakness than other muscular dystrophies. Myotonic muscular dystrophy is the most common in adults. â€Å"It affects both men and women and it can appear from any time from early childhood to adulthood. In some rare cases it can appear in newborns.† This symptom can get worse in cold temperatures. It not only affects your whole body but it affects your nervous system (the brain). Which means it is going to affect your hormones and how you do simple things. Because your brain is like the command center, a normal person can go through puberty and do simple things like picking up a phone. But when you have these diseases, you cant grow and you cant do certain things because your brain has a dysfunction. Limb-gridle can appear in the early teens and early adulthood and it can affect males and females. â€Å"Limb-girdle causes progressive weakness that begins in the hips and moves to the shoulders, arms, and legs.† In 20 years, walking can be almost impossible. Sufferers are able to live there late adulthood. Facioscapulohumeral affects the face, shoulder blade, and the upper arm bone. â€Å"This form of muscular dystrophy appears in the teens to early adulthood and affects males and females.† You can have short periods and rapid deterioration. The percentage is very mild for you to be completely disabled. About 50% of the people that suffer from this disease can walk their whole lives; they can usually live a normal life span. People with Congenital muscular dystrophy are born with problem and it can affect either male or female. The doctors can figure out if the baby has muscular dystrophy in the first few months of the Childs life or at birth. â€Å"Along with severe and early contractures.† You can often have seizures when you get older. Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy can appear in men and women in there 40s, 50s and 60s. It causes weakness in the eye and face muscles, which may lead to difficulty swallowing and sometimes choking. â€Å"Weakness in pelvic and shoulder muscles may occur later. Distal dystrophy is one of the rare forms of muscular dystrophy that affects both men and women. It causes muscle weakness in the forearm, hands, lower legs, and feet. Generally, distal dystrophy is less severe and it progresses very slowly than others. Muscular dystrophy is dominant trait. And the expectancy of muscular dystrophy ranges from 2-40 years old. â€Å"The overall frequency of all LGMD (limb-gridle) syndromes has been estimated to be 5-70 per 1 million populations in several countries.† But muscular dystrophy is most common in Brazil. There is no cure for muscular dystrophy but doctors and scientists are working hard to find one. â€Å"Some are even trying to fix the defective genes that lead to muscular dystrophy so they will make the right proteins. Others are trying to make chemicals that will act like these proteins in the body.† Things that will help Muscular Dystrophy Certain exercises such as physical therapy can help them with stiffening muscles near the joints. Some times teens use special braces to â€Å"ensure flexible joints and tendons.† Surgery is some times used to reduce pain. Medication can help sometimes. People with heart problems are very important that heart specialists monitor their heart.

Examining Qualitative and Quantitative studies with CASP

Examining Qualitative and Quantitative studies with CASP Critical Appraisal Skills Programme/CASP (Public Health Resource Unit, 2007) a reader should equip with in order to make sense of scientific research. The CASP is to help a reader develops critical skills so as to be sensitive of scientific research and, therefore, to think reasonably about any research encountered (Public Health Resource Unit, 2007). Both quantitative and qualitative researches can be appraised by using the CASP. Each of the CASP guidelines has ten questions in which validity, relevance and results of appraised research have been covered. This assignment has been divided into two parts. The first part quantitative paper written by Ho et al, (2006) will be appraised. The second part qualitative paper written by Liu and Liehr (2009) will then be appraised. All findings will be summarized finally. 1. Did the study ask a clearly focused question? PICOT is used for answering the question 1 and it is a framework that healthcare professionals can use to formulate effective clinical questions in a step-by-step manner (Melnyk Fineout-Overholt, 2010). The population of the study was all the subjects should have one tattoo at least. 120 Chinese subjects with 144 tattoos were recruited for the study. The intervention of the study was half of the subjects were applied Contractubex gel while others were applied nothing. The purpose to do so was to check the efficacy of the gel. The comparison of the study was study and control groups are used for comparison as a result of finding out the efficacy of Contractubex gel. The outcome of the study was the gel should be effective in preventing scarring after the subjects receiving laser removal of tattoos. The research has shown that the number of subjects in Contractubex group with scarring were significantly lower than in control group. The time of the study was the treated areas were asse ssed 3 months after the last treatments. In short, the research has asked a clearly focused question- Use of onion extract, heparin, allantoin gel in prevention of scarring in Chinese patients having laser removal of tattoos: a prospective randomized controlled trial. So the answer is Yes. 2. Was this a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and was it appropriately so? A type of scientific experiment most commonly used in validating the effectiveness of health issue, say, pharmaceuticals (e.g. gel), can be regarded as RCT (Gallin Ognibene, 2007). It involves the random allocation of different interventions to the subjects. Furthermore, as long as the numbers of subjects are adequate, randomization is an effective method to produce a random and unpredictable sequence of allocations. Regarding to the Ho et al (2006) research, they must adopt RCT. Two evidences can be shown to support my stance. First, it was testing the efficacy of Contractubex gel intervention (health issue) provided by doctors to subjects with tattoo. Second, the 120 subjects were randomly assigned to either Contractubex or Control group at equal probabilities. In suitability, it was the right research approach for the researched question because it was going to compare result after receiving Contractubex gel with a control group. In short, RCT is the appropriate method and correc t approach to conduct this research, as there were two groups that were allocated randomly, the study group received intervention and the control group did not receive intervention and the answer is Yes. 3. Were participants appropriately allocated to intervention and control groups? The answer is Yes. Answer of question 2 has mentioned that the 120 subjects were allocated into the two groups randomly. In research term, complete randomization has been adopted. Complete randomization means each tattooed subject was randomly assigned to either of the groups. It is simple and optimal in the sense of validity to prevent accidental bias (Gallin Ognibene, 2007). In randomization procedure, the researchers adopted fifty-fifty basis allocation (60 subjects in Contractubex group and 60 subjects in Control group). In this research stratification can be observed. Stratification means developing strata for sampling (Gallin Ognibene, 2007). 60 subjects in control group and 60 subjects in study group is a typical example of stratification. The purpose to do so is that since most statistical tests, say, the paired students t test are most reliable when the groups being compared have equal subjects (Gallin Ognibene, 2007), it is desirable for the randomization procedure to ge nerate similarly-sized groups. In short, as all participants were assigned to Contractubex and Control groups appropriately. 4. Were participants, staff and study personnel blind to participants study group? The above parties understood the details of the research. Ho et al (2006) paper mentioned that informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Informed consent is a process of communication between a subject and doctor that results in the subjects authorization or agreement to undergo a specific medical intervention (Berg et al, 2001). On the one hand, blinded research can avoid bias. However, it is impossible for some treatments. For example, treatments where active participation of the subjects are necessary (e.g. regularly receiving laser therapy with the application of the gel). In research personnel, certainly they understood the details of the research, for instance, employing Q-switched laser systems as well as its spot size and repeat rate and pulse duration. They were unable to perform the research successfully otherwise. Nonetheless, whether the control group received placebo gel and the assessor of the scars knew the research details or not did not mention. In brief, open trial (the above parties understood the details of the treatment) instead of blind trial was employed and the answer seems No. 5. Were all of the participants who entered the trial accounted for at its conclusion? Originally, there were 60 subjects in the control group and 60 subjects in the study group. However, there were 8 out of 60 subjects in the study group quitted the research. 5 out of 8 simply defaulted follow-up and 3 out of 8 stopped using the gel due to adverse effect. In the control group, there were 5 out of 60 subjects quitted the research. 4 out of 8 simply did not follow-up and 1 out of 8 stopped using the gel due to have a baby. Although, there were a few subjects quitting from the research due to personal affairs, the groups size still remained similar (52 in Contractubex and 55 in Control groups) and the researchers have already reported such discrepancy. In other words, intention to treat was used as it is a strategy for the analysis of RCT that compares subjects in the groups to which they were originally randomly assigned (Gallin Ognibene, 2007) and the answer is Yes. 6. Were the participants in all groups followed up and data collected in the same way? In the former, the subjects were followed up from 13 to 20 months with a mean of 15.5 + 2.6 months. The importance of the follow up was to review the probability of scar formation after applying the gel. Likely, the research personnel followed up the subjects after the last laser treatment. However, the same amount of attention to the subjects from the research personnel becomes questionable because the researchers did not describe how to review the subjects. More elaborately, how much time the researchers spend on each subject for review? In addition, performance bias may occur. For instance, if research personnel know which group subjects are in, they may treat subjects differently (Gallin Ognibene, 2007). In this aspect, cant tell seems appropriate. In the latter, Yes in terms of data collection in the same way, the researchers should collect the data during clinical observation. Clinical observation is the research personnel directly observe any changes during the study period a nd then record the changes. Data analysis can be done by using statistical software (e.g. SAS). In short, the answers were Yes in the way of data collection only. The amount of attention to the subjects needs the research personnel further clarification otherwise performance bias may be suspected. 7. Did the study have enough participants to minimize the play of chance? The meaning of the play of chance can be explained by the following example, taking a comparison of the Contractubex group with the control group in which 4 subjects scar formation with the Contractubex group and 6 subjects scar formation with the control group. It would be incorrect to conclude that the Contractubex group was better than the Control group. It is because if the comparison was repeated, the numbers of subjects who formed scar might be same (5 against 5). However, 7 subjects scar formation with the gel and 16 subjects without the gel, chance becomes a less likely explanation for the difference. In Ho et al (2006) study, numbers of subjects were enough to lessen the play of chance. Sample size can be determined by a formula by inputting population size and confidence level as well as margin of error and response distribution. On the one hand, significant difference between the two groups was observed. Power calculation can facilitate the research personnel determines ho w large of a sample the research personnel needs to make precise statistical conclusions (Gallin Ognibene, 2007). Therefore, statistical significance was the robust evidence to prove the play of chance impossible. 8. How are the results presented and what is the main result and 9. How precise are these results? Comparison of the intervention and control groups using the p-value has been presented. The main finding was that the application of the gel was useful to prevent scar formation after laser removal of tattoos. In accuracy of the results, p-value 10. Were all important outcomes considered so the results can be applied? The research proved that the gel was effective, safe, and easy to apply in the prevention of scarring in Chinese subjects having laser removal of tattoos. Nonetheless, 100% scar removal is not guaranteed after using the gel. The results revealed that there were a few subjects who still have scarring. In addition, permanent hypopigmentation and transient hyperpigmentation can be noted. On the other hand, you may argue that the results may be affected by a political factor, that is a pressure from the pharmaceutical company, Ho et al (2006) have indicated that no significant interest with commercial supporters at the beginning of the research. In short, the research provides a reliable reference to healthcare professionals that the gel is recommended to be used in dark skin patients receiving laser treatments of tattoos. Ten questions have been answered to help me make sense of quantitative research. Also, ten questions are used to help me make sense of qualitative research. Qualitative research is a generic term for investigative methodologies described as ethnographic, naturalistic, field, or participant observer research. It underscores the importance of looking at variables in the natural setting in which they are found (Sliverman, 2004). 1. Was there a clear statement of the aims of the research? Qualitative PICOT is a framework that healthcare professionals can use to formulate effective clinical questions in a step-by-step manner (Melnyk Fineout-Overholt, 2010).The population of the study was the six nurses who had experiences in taking care of SARS patients. The issue of the study was identifying instructive messages to guide nursing practice in future epidemics by in-depth interview of the six Chinese nurses who cared for SARS patients. The context of the study was where the study takes place. The research mainly takes place in Beijing. The outcome of the study was the research gave specific direction to enhance potential for a well-prepared nursing workforce in future epidemics. The time of the study was the SARS outbreaks between 11/2002-5/2004 and data were collected in 2003 within the three months following the nurses quarantine necessitated by caring for SARS patients.. In brief, the answer is Yes. 2. Is a qualitative methodology appropriate? Qualitative research is to study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. It is intended to penetrate to the deeper significance that the subject of the research ascribes to the topic being researched (Denzin, 2005). Interviews, observations and case studies are commonly used for data collection and then analyse the data. Samples are usually small and are often selected purposively. Qualitative research uses detailed descriptions from the participants as ways of examining specific issues under study. The research method employed by the researchers was appropriate because the following criteria were matched- detailed description instead of statistical software were used and number of participants was quite small- only six. In addition, the researchers adopted phenomenology. The phenomenological approach is to describe accurately a persons lived experience in relation to what is being studie d (i.e. the six Chinese nurses caring for SARS patients) (Denzin Lincoln, 2005). In short, the answer is Yes. 3. Was the research design appropriate to address the aims of the research? Appropriate method (i.e. in-depth interview) for conducting the research was used. In-depth interview is a kind of qualitative research technique that involves conducting intensive individual interviews (i.e. the six nurses) with a small number of respondents to explore their views on a particular idea (i.e. sharing in caring SARS patients). In the study, the researchers asked participants about their experiences and insights regarding to the caring for SARS patients, the thoughts they have concerning nursing care, challenge, and outcomes as well as about any changes the participants perceive in themselves as a result of their involvement in the study (Denzin Lincoln, 2005). In addition, rich contextual information can be obtained and the research personnel can ask the six nurses to elaborate their sharing in details through the in-depth interview. So the answer is Yes 4. Was the recruitment strategy appropriate to the aims of the research? Six nurses were invited to share their experiences in caring for SARS patients. The six nurses were no objections and voluntary to share their encounter after enquired by research personnel. In other words, a reader should not suspect their willingness of participation. The recruitment strategy was appropriate, because if reward-based (e.g. bonus to interviewees) and compulsory-based recruitment were offered to potential interviewees, the accuracy and reliability of data should be suspected. To achieve the aims of the research, nurses were voluntary to share their stories and they provided detailed descriptions with little prompting were important to the aims of the research. In other words, it starts with a purpose in mind and the sample is selected to include interested party (i.e. nurses with experience in caring of SARS patients) and exclude those who do not suit the purpose and purposive sampling was used (Denzin Lincoln, 2005). So the answer is Yes. 5. Were the data collected in a way that addressed the research issue? To collect data, a storypath approach was used. Research personnel recorded what the six nurses presented by a tape recorder. Seven inquiry phases were associated with storypath approach, including gathering the story, reconstructing the story, connecting it to the literature, naming the complicating challenge, describing the story plot, identifying movement toward resolving, and gathering additional stories (Denzin Lincoln, 2005). In application, specific questions were asked by the research personnel, for instance, challenge the nurses were facing during caring for SARS victims, how the experience influence your hopes and dreams in the coming future. The data collection methods must observe the ethical principles of research. In short, the answer is Yes. 6. Has the relationship between researcher and participants been adequately considered? This research paper mentioned that the stories of the six nurses were collected by two Chinese investigators, It was hard to say that any potential bias and influence occurred because the research personnel simply mentioned that they were responsible for gathering the stories from the participants and supporting activities, say, properly use of tape recording. Apparently, the relationship between the research personnel and participants were nothing, but participants may be influenced by the research team or in professional term- reflexivity. Reflexivity requires an awareness of the researchers contribution to the construction of meanings throughout the research process, and an acknowledgment of the impossibility of remaining outside of the six nurses while conducting research. In short, the answer of this question is Yes. 7. Have ethical issues been taken into consideration? Oral consent is a kind of ethical issue. Kozier et al, 2004 define the consent is an essential part of the research process, and as such entails more than obtaining a signature on a form (Kozier et al, 2004). Research personnel must educate potential subjects to ensure that they can reach a real informed choice about whether or not to participate in the research. Consent must be given freely and with no coercion as well as based on a clear understanding of what participation involves. On the one hand, the above study has been approved by the Universitys ethics committee. The committee is responsible for reviewing, on request, ethical or moral questions that may come up during the study. In brief, the answer is Yes. 8. Was the data analysis sufficiently rigorous? In-depth description of the analysis process was shown in Liu Liehr (2009) paper. The authors described every phase elaborately and in step-by-step pattern. There were total 5 phases of the content analysis for the nurses caring for SARS patients. The content shared by the six nurses was similar because of geographical reason and the consistent format of the interview. Such arrangement provided convincing analysis to a reader. In fact, thematic analysis was employed by the researchers. It means focuses on identifiable themes (i.e. sharing of nursing care of SARS patients) and data is analysed by theme. This type of analysis is highly inductive, that is, the themes emerge from the data and are not imposed upon it by the research personnel (Denzin Lincoln, 2005). In short, the answer is Yes. 9. Is there a clear statement of findings? It is crystal clear that there were three core qualities (personal challenge, essence of care and self-growth) the researchers found. Each quality was described in-details with concrete example of the original words from the six nurses. In addition, instructive messages for guidance during future epidemics were also provided. The findings were highly related to the research question. In brief, a clear statement of the findings was clear and evidences were provided to support each quality the answer is Yes. 10. How valuable is the research? The researchers discovered three core qualities and instructive messages regarding to SARS patients caring. Such discovery greatly increases preparedness by attending the messages including structured support, disease/protection-related information systems and the power of military spirit. Maybe the above components can be further researched so as to obtain greater improvements. In addition to enhance preparedness and identify new areas where researches are necessary, the findings are universal applicable. Healthcare frontline staff may face the problems when caring for SARS patients, say, lack of resources. Clinical leader may find the importance of structured support and collaborative spirit to relieve the staff pressure. In short, the value of this research is valuable. Conclusion To sum up, the CASP guidelines can appraise both quantitative and qualitative researches. The guidelines include ten questions in which provide comprehensive evaluation of the above studies. The guidelines are particular useful in appraising health and social researches. Furthermore, the CASP guidelines aim to enable readers to develop the skills to find out and make sense of research evidence, helping them to put knowledge into practice. (Word count: 3212)

Nicole Jumper Essay -- Weight Loss Diet Nutrition Papers

Nicole Jumper The desire to change one’s body image is very prevalent in today’s society; and in most cases what people want to change is their weight. Companies who market diet programs and miracle diet drugs are very much aware of this commonality among consumers and take advantage of the susceptible nature of those who want to lose the weight and lose it fast. Among the multitude of pills, programs and promises that are offered as cures to the unhappiness of being fat, one new concept has emerged that stretches the boundaries of logic: the catabolic diet. WHAT IS THE CATABOLIC DIET? The catabolic diet is based on the concept that a person can eat â€Å"catabolic† foods that actually have a negative calorie effect. These are foods that supposedly take a person more calories to digest them than the food itself actually contains. Simply put, they are foods that burn fat instead of creating it. (http://www.rarebooks.net/beck/cataboli.htm) INFORMATION FOUND ON THE NET The creators of the catabolic diet have used the Internet as their primary marketing tool; therefore, there are many sites about the diet. Some are blatant advertisements and others pose as being informative and factual. The bottom line: all the sites found on the catabolic diet are looking to make a profit and want the browser to buy into a program. One site, http://www.blackbeard.com/newlook/, claims that the catabolic diet is so effective that, â€Å"[It] works three times faster than starvation.† Yet, after making this statement the site also says that the â€Å"Catabolic Diet is a medically created diet. . .† Needless to say there is no medical doctor’s endorsement found a... ... REFERENCES Astrup, Arne. â€Å"Dietary Approaches to Reducing Body Weight.† Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Ed. Jeff P. Holly. New York: AMA 1999. 109-120. Berstein RS; Thornton JC; Yang MU; Wang J; Redmond AM; Pierson RN Jr; Pi-Sunyer FX; Van Itallie TB. (1983a). Prediction of the Resting Metabolic Rate in obese patients. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1983 Apr, 37(4): 595-602. Brannon, Linda and Jess Feist. Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behavior and Health. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2000. Westerterp-Plantega MS; Rolland V; Wilson SA; Westerterp KR. (1999a). Satiety related to 24 h diet-induced thermogenesis during high protein/carbohydrate vs high fat diets measured in a respiration chamber. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1999 June; 53(6): 495-503.

Conflict between Hindus and Muslims :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  India is the center of a very serious problem in the world today. It’s a very diverse place with people from many different religious backgrounds, who speak many different languages and come from many different regions. They are also separated economically. Two of the country’s religious sects, Muslims and Hindus, have been in conflict for hundreds of years. Their feelings of mistrust and hatred for each other are embedded in all those years and will not leave easily. What’s most disturbing is that there seems to be no plan for reconciliation available. There are numerous reasons for this conflict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Power struggles amongst the two groups are ever present and each group thinks the other is out to get them. Hindus comprise the majority of the population of India at eighty percent while Muslims are a minority, making up only fourteen percent, which is a problem in itself. The feeling of being dominated by the majority comes from being a part of the minority. To complicate things even more is the controversy that surrounds Ayodhya, a holy place in Gujarat claimed by both groups. The Babri Masjid, a Muslim temple in Ayodhya was burned to the ground by Hindu extremists in 1992 and caused a wave of violence that resulted in the loss of over two thousand lives. These Hindu extremists believe the temple rests on the birthplace of Ram, one of the Hinduism’s most revered deities. They want a temple built on the site to commemorate Ram’s birth. Muslims in turn want the Babri Masjid rebuilt in the same spot. Neither side wants to give in and are currently fi ghting on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most threatening conflict between Hindus and Muslims is the province of Kashmir. This is where the decision to divide India into India and Pakistan seems to have been a terrible mistake. Kashmir, which is the only Muslim majority city in India, lies between the divided India and Pakistan. After India’s independence in the 1940’s, Kashmir had to choose to either unite with India or Pakistan. The Prince of Kashmir chose India but Pakistan invaded the province soon after and have occupied part of Kashmir since then. Controversy still surrounds the province today because naturally, Muslims want to control it. While many Muslims relocated to Pakistan and the Hindus to India, half of the Muslim population was left in India and their relations did not improve after being partially separated.

All the Pretty Horses Essay

The book All the Pretty Horses is a western drama about teenage cowboys as they transition from adolescence into manhood. The author, Cormac McCarthy, structures the book using echo words and parallel structure that links dialogue exchanges and makes the scenes flow smoothly. McCarthy is a master of this sort of repetition and uses this structure throughout the entire book. There are many examples of this used throughout the book, but the author primarily focuses on the interpersonal relationships, diversity, and change. There are many different types of relationships based on a very vast scale. John Grady Cole has many complicated and some not-so-complicated relationships with his friends and family members. In book 1, McCarthy informs the audience that John Grady’s parents are divorced and in book 4, John Grady’s wife, Alejandra, leaves him. When John Grady flees Texas in book 1, he has the expectations that any sixteen year old cowboy might have. It is ironic that he ends up experiencing events and overcoming obstacles he never thought would occur, including falling in love and then getting his heart broken by his wife. John Grady Cole’s relationships with the leading women in the novel are also peculiar in the way that the women discipline him. In book 1 it was his mother and the servants in the house, and in book 4 Duena Alfonsa definitely gets her way with him. Alfonsa warns John Grady when he is about to cross the line with Alejandra, and then later in the book when she bails him out of jail. In a way, John Grady has to rely on the women which is comforting since he is on a journey of growing up, yet he still falls back on others to guide him. Another parallel relationship occurs in book 1 when John Grady meets with his father who tells him to forgive his mother. In book 4, John Grady seeks the judge for advice and to confess a crime he committed; the judge tells him he should forgive himself. John Grady has a good heart, tries to do the right thing, and reassures himself by going to others for advice. John Grady’s choice in his friendships and choices effect who he has strong relationships with throughout the book and he maintains his strategy through both book 1 and book 4. Another key parallel theme in the book revolves around diversity between John Grady’s homeland-the United States- and his new home in Mexico. On page 25 of book 1 it says, â€Å"The last thing his father said was that the country would never be the same† which relates to book 4 in many ways. One relation occurs on page 299 which states, â€Å"I don’t know, said John Grady†¦I don’t know what happens to a county. In this scene he is reflecting on how things have changed and how there are many differences between events on his homeland in Texas and the events that occur in Mexico. A more direct relation is in book 1 when the boys (John Grady, Rawlins, and Blevins) cross the Rio Grande naked and then in book 4 when John Grady crosses Rio Grande naked-heading back to Texas. The sense of home and the countries boarder really affects John Grady and how he makes decisions based on where he is. The last key theme in the book concerns how John Grady changes during the course of the novel. In book 1 John Grady is ignorant to reality and is just looking for an adventure. On page 5 of book 1 it states, â€Å"He stood like a man come to the end of something. † This quote is ironic because it saying that John Grady is posing as a man at the end of something which is silly since it’s just the beginning of the story. The parallel event that corresponds to this occurs on page 254 of book 4 which states, he â€Å"saw clearly how his life led to this moment. This simple phrase shows that John Grady really observed and reflected on how he accomplished the transition into manhood, and by doing this, changed emotionally and spiritually into a more well-rounded human being. McCarthy really is an outstanding author by being able to use parallel events and echoed sentences between book 1 and book 4. He really accomplished his themes and getting his audience to understand the importance of parallel events that have to do with relationships, diversity, and change.

Evaluating GE’s Organizational Culture Essay

Introduction Every business has its own set of values and beliefs that make up an organizational culture that is unique to each specific business. â€Å"_Organizational Culture_ is a complex set of basic underlying assumptions and deeply held beliefs shared by all members of the group that operate at a preconscious level and drive in important ways the behavior of individuals in the organizational context† (Strategy Glossary, 2006). GE’s organizational culture is considered one of high ethical standard in the corporate world. According to The Age of Ethics (2007) â€Å"_GE now has one of the best ethics compliance programs in existence_, says Larry Ponemon, national director of Business Ethics Services at KPMG†. The purpose of this research paper is to identify and evaluate GE’s organizational cultureal appeal, shared values, customer base and customer service standards, characteristics of organizational culture, and to determine if GE’s organizational culture is ethical, customer-responsive, or spiritual. Organizational Cultural Appeal When looking at an organization’s cultural appeal, one must first realize what he or she looking for in a company. What appeals to me may or not appeal to someone else. Therefore, the following categories will show what it is about GE’s organizational culture that appeals to me personally. These categories include but are not limited to: Leadership: It is important for me to be with a company that allows leaders to have the freedom and flexibility to contribute their knowledge and expertise in both their daily job and at company levels. â€Å"At the top, we don’t [sic] run GE like a big company. We run it like a big partnership, where every leader can make a contribution not just to their job, but to the entire Company† (Immelt, J., 2005). Opportunity for Advancement: It is important for me to work for a company that offers employees an opportunity for advancement. â€Å"GE has six strong businesses aligned to grow with the market trends of today and tomorrow† Our Business, 2007). Work Environment: It is important for me to work for a company that provides a pleasant and vitalizing work environment that is easy to balance with my personal life. â€Å"GE is an invigorating place to work. Ours is a high-performance culture that emphasizes high-integrity business practices as well as work/life [sic] balance† (Our Culture, 2007). Training and Education Programs: It is important for me to work for a company that provides additional training and educational benefits that will enhance employee leadership capabilities. â€Å"We invest nearly $1 billion a year in career development for our employees at every level of professional growth.† (Leadership Programs, 2007). Shared Values When looking at an organization’s appealing values, one must first realize what he or she values. Categories in my value system may or may not be the same as someone else’s. Therefore, the following categories will show the values that I share with GE’s value system. These categories include but are not limited to: Ethics and Integrity: I believe that it is important for an organization and its employees alike to operate with strong ethics and integrity. â€Å"At GE, it isn’t [sic] enough to think big. Imagination must be practiced within boundaries of ethics, compliance and integrity† (Our Company, 2007). Community Volunteer Work: I believe it is important for every person and organization’s alike to come together and address community needs i.e. health and welfare for disadvantaged community members. â€Å"Each year, GE volunteers come together as one GE to participate in Global Community Days,  working together to improve our many communities† (Worldwide Activities, 2007). Environmental Health and Employee Safety: I believe it is important for a company to focus on environmentally safe production plants and employee safety. â€Å"Operational excellence shapes the tools and measurements that help keep employees safe while reducing our impact on the environment† (Our Business, 2007) Customer Base GE has built a strong and loyal customer base by continually meeting the needs of the customer. Robbins, S. (2005) describes six variables that are routinely evident in customer-responsive cultures like GE. Type of Employees: â€Å"outgoing and friendly† Low Formalization: â€Å"freedom to meet changing customer-service requirements† Extension of Low Formalization: widespread use of empowerment i.e. decision discretion to do what is necessary to please the customer. Good Listening Skills: â€Å"listen to and understand messages sent by the customer† Role Clarity: â€Å"Service employees act as _boundary spanners_ between the organization and its customers† Organizational Citizenship Behavior: employees are conscience of customers needs and go above and beyond the call of duty to satisfy a customer’s needs GE has been able to build such a strong and loyal customer base by meeting each of the six variables described by Robbins. Variable one, type of employee, is met through GE’s efforts to provide a diverse work environment. In fact, GE was named among the top 40 best companies for diversity by Black  Enterprise Magazine (Employees, 2007). Variables two and three, low formalization and extension of low formalization, is met through GE’s efforts to provide employees the freedom to become closer to their customers while finding new operational efficiencies and ways to work toward customer service (Leadership, 2007). Variable four, good listening skills, is provided by GE’s customer support centers through 1-800 numbers or e-mail correspondence that provide support for all customers, civil and military, with a variety of innovative support solutions tailored to individual customer needs (Customer Support, 2007). Variable five, role clarity, is met through GE’s effective use of influential employees (_boundary spanners_) who help shape the goals and parameters of inter-organizational cooperation with international markets such as: Algeria, Brazil, Columbia, Egypt, France, Germany et cetera (Worldwide, 2007). Variable six, organizational citizenship, is met through GE’s continued commitment to citizenship issues worldwide including human rights, philanthropy, public policy and environment, health and safety (Citizenship, 2007). Customer Service Standards GE’s customer service standard demonstrates their commitment to excellence and customer standards. In an effort to ensure top quality service standards in today’s competitive market, GE has implemented Six Sigma Quality standards. According to Making Customers Feel Six Sigma Quality (2007) â€Å"Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process that helps us focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services.† The goal behind training employees through Six Sigma and implementing this system is for GE to be able to evaluate defects and come as close to _zero errors_ as possible. Six Sigma standards have raised the bar and implemented the highest quality of customer service standards for GE since the 1980’s. According to Making Customers Feel Six Sigma Quality (2007) â€Å"Sigma †¦ is embedding quality thinking – process thinking – across every level and in every operation of our Company around the globe.† According to Key Elements of Quality (2007)†¦ the three key elements of Six Sigma quality are: Customer: customer satisfaction i.e. product quality, dependability, competitive pricing, quality service and so on takes precedence so clients will not find another service provider. Process: _outside-in thinking_ i.e. observing the company from the customer’s viewpoint and identifying areas that could use improvement to ensure customer satisfaction. Employee: _leadership commitment_ i.e. providing training, opportunities and incentives for employees to excel and focus their talents on customer satisfaction. Six Sigma centers on reducing process deviations and improving process capabilities. This process is dependant on six key concepts. According to The Six Sigma Strategy (2007) these concepts that GE focus on include: Critical to quality: customers most important attributes Defect: customer satisfaction failure Process Capability: deliverability of the process Variation: the customers perceptions Stable Operations: guaranteeing a constant and predictable process that meets with customer perceptions Design for Six Sigma: designing to meet customer requirements and process capabilities Characteristics of Organizational Culture There are seven primary characteristics of organizational culture: (1) innovation and risk taking, (2) attention to detail, (3) outcome orientation, (4) people orientation, (5) team orientation, (6)  Aggressiveness, and (7) Stability. Research indicates that GE embodies five of the seven primary characteristics of organizational culture. Innovation and Risk Taking: GE employees focus on innovation as their basis for taking calculated risks for change in the areas of transforming health care, cleaner power generation, exploring nanotechnology, aviation technology, greenhouse gas reduction, global research facilities and so forth (Innovation, 2007). Attention to Detail: GE employees focus on attention to detail in such areas as customer service, quality and assembly of products, meeting performance targets, enhanced decision-making through training and education and so on. People Orientation: GE considers their more than 300,000 employees to be their greatest asset, and they are â€Å"passionate about making life better with new ideas and technologies† (Our People, 2007). Team Orientation: A significant part of GE’s culture as a global company involves nurturing diverse and cross-cultural teams in such areas as public relations, automotives, global research, nanotechnologies, marketing and so on (Employees, 2007). Aggressiveness: Though GE does provide the tools necessary for employees to be aggressive and competitive, the degree to which people are aggressive and competitive is truly up to the individual employee. Conclusion Research indicates that GE’s organizational culture is both ethical and customer-responsive. In the area of organizational culture appeal, it was found that GE appealed to me in four categories: (1) leadership, (2) opportunity for advancement, (3) work environment, and (4) training and education programs. One should keep in mind that these categories may vary depending on the needs of each individual. In the area of shared values, it was found GE had three values that I identified with: (1) ethics and  integrity, (2) community volunteer work, and (3) environmental health and employee safety. Again, one should keep in mind that these categories may vary depending on the perception of values of each individual. In the area of customer base, it was found that GE has been able to build and sustain a strong and loyal customer base through adherence to the six variables as described by Robbins. In the area of customer service standards, it was found that GE has demonstrated their commitment to excellence and high customer standards through the training and implementation of The Six Sigma Strategy. In the area of characteristics of organizational culture, it was found that GE does embody five of the seven primary characteristics of organizational culture: (1) innovation and risk, (2) attention to detail, (3) people orientation, (4) team orientation, and (5) aggressiveness. Based on the above findings, my evaluation of GE’s organizational culture is that they do provide a strong framework for positive attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values that would be appealing to almost anyone looking for job satisfaction and advancement within an organization. References: Citizenship (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/company/citizenship/index.html Customer Support (2007). _GE Aviation_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.geaviationsystems.com/Systems—/Customer-Support/index.asp Employees (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/company/citizenship/2007_citizenship/highlights.html Immelt, J. (2005). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/company/leadership/index.html Innovation (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/innovation/index.html Key Elements of Quality (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/sixsigma/keyelements.html Leadership & Learning (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/company/culture/leadership_learning.html Leadership Programs (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.gecareers.com/GECAREERS/html/us/ourPeople/leadership.html Making Customers Feel Six Sigma Quality (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/sixsigma/makingcustomers.html Our Business (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/company/businesses/index.html Our Company (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/company/index.html Our Culture (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/company/culture/index.html Our People (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/company/culture/people.html Robbins, S. (2005). _Organizational behavior_ (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Strategy Glossary (2006). Ampol Partners. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ampolbiz.com/consulting/resources/strategy_glossary.htm The Six Sigma Strategy (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/sixsigma/sixsigstrategy.html Worldwide (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/worldwide/index.html Worldwide Activities (2007). _GE Imagination at work_. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ge.com/company/worldwide_activities/index.html