Journal critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Journal critique - Essay Example And this study was carried out to understand the factors that affect the international students so that in the future, programs can be designed so as to make their stay comfortable, easy and enjoyable rather than a stressful experience. Although the study started with a good intention, while reading the article, it becomes evident that the research was not well planned and many things were missed out. First of all, depression and anxiety are two different things. ‘Depression’ can be defined as a condition of emotional dejection and sadness which can go on for weeks, months and also for years ( Depression â€Å"n.d.†). While ‘anxiety’ is a mental ‘state’ or a feeling of apprehension characterized by stress ( Anxiety â€Å"n.d.†). The major difference is that depression can be for months together while anxiety is temporary state of mind which occurs in response to certain event in life . The study of the depression and anxiety should be carried out separately and not together. While answering the questions, the participants might not be able to clearly point out if what they are feeling is a something temporary or permanent in nature. The second most important thing about the study is the method that was used to conduct the study. The article says that the e-mail of request to participate in a study was sent to 3000 students and only 440 actually participated. This narrowed down the scope of the study and so, some of the conclusions could not be considered permanent. For e.g. It was found that the students from Latino ethnicity had higher level of depression than the students from Asian ethnicity. However, as the sample which was studied had very small number of

The Situation of Horace and Wynona Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Situation of Horace and Wynona - Essay Example Further, the parking lease of Nicola is for ten years and according to the section for where a lease for more than seven years is granted, it is compulsory for the title to be registered. Since Horace had failed to do so the title had, in fact, become defective. Also as the title has not been registered Simon would not be obligated to pay any rent to either his parents or to Pavel, Simon would also be able to claim that he has an ownership interest in the property as he is Horace and Wynona’s heir. Wynona is also entitled to take Horace to the court of law over questions regarding his ownership rights, as the title is unregistered and there is no single owner of the property, and since she has also made payments towards to the purchase of the property she is the real owner of the property and hence entitled to an equal share in the income generated from the sale. Under such big circumstances, where the property, which has been transferred, is in dispute any transfers so made a re not considered legal. Horace has also neglected to inform Pavel of any material defect in the contract, and by not doing so has failed to uphold his duties and obligations as a seller. Under such circumstances, Pavel may hold the sale to be void. It has also been established that the sale of the property by Horace to Pavel is a fraudulent one, therefore Pavel may either hold the sale as void or may sue Horace for damages. On his part, Pavel failed to exercise due care and did not inquire about the title.

Reflected Best Self Exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflected Best Self Exercise - Essay Example I have the ability to adapt to any situation when carrying out any responsibility given to me. In this case, I can work in an environment filled with pressure and be able to deliver without compromising the required standards. Therefore, I am able to remain calm and work situations out while levelheaded instead of becoming a hothead and failing to deliver. This effectively means that I am patient and ready to face the situation despite any inauspicious existing circumstances, which may affect my performance of certain roles and activities. One of my friends supports this view and pointed to me that I â€Å"try to maintain calmness and ask your colleagues to exercise patient regardless of the prevailing situation.† I like understanding other people well, and one of the things that I try to do is to show people compassion. Hence, I like putting myself in another individual’s shoes in order for me to experience their emotions. This way, I will be able to help them since I have ensured that I experienced their emotions, and there is the connection between us, which is the bond that sets the foundation for cooperation. In addition, understanding people well by showing compassion ensures that I am able to influence the choices and decisions that they made. In one situation, my cousin remembers how I influenced her decision to study law by making sure that I listened to her, understood her emotions, and influenced her to making the right decision. In creating relationships with other people, I try to get the sense of the people during our first interaction. In this case, I try to be as candid and open as I can in order to create a feeling of trust, honesty, and good-natured between my acquaintances and me. This way, I am able to cultivate a relationship based on trust, openness, and honesty. In view of this fact, a colleague whom I have developed a deep relationship with while in school, told me that he regarded me as an open and

The Psychological impacts of stalking on the victim and their families Dissertation

The Psychological impacts of stalking on the victim and their families - Dissertation Example It includes behaviour like following the person, waiting and watching the person’s home, workplace or other places, unwanted direct or indirect communication with the person. Other than this, being stared by another person or messages left on social networking sites can also build the feeling of being stalked (NSW Police Force, 2008). Stalking causes the victims to fear their own safety or the safety of those people who are close to them. Stalking can be targeted towards a single person, their friends, family or even their co-workers as well. Some of the stalking crimes include other crimes such as assault, criminal damage, criminal trespass, attempt to murder etc. In this paper, the statistics and the psychological impact of the stalking is discussed on the victims and their families. Statistics It is found that in Germany that almost 12% of the respondents have been stalked. This rate has shown a significant rise amongst women (17 %), than men (4 %). If we see the ratio of v ictims, 87% of the stalking victims were women while 86 % of the men were stalkers (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010). The general trend of the study shows that all the female victims, 91%, were stalked by a man. However, in case of the male victims, the proportion of male and female stalkers was equal (44 %). These results indicate that in male, same–gender stalking is a significant problem. In women only 14 % of such cases have come to notice (Pathe & Mullen, 1997) As a psychological impact, the victims also experience changes in lifestyle. As a psychological symptom, 56 % of the victims have reported agitation. The percentage of experiencing anxiety is 44%; while around 41% of the victims experience sleep disturbance. Whereas 35% feels nausea and 28% encounter depression (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010). Another study conducted in Australia shows that stalking shows adverse effect on the victim. 83 % of the victim suffered from anxiety, 74 % has experienced sleep ing disorder and the percentage of fatigue is 53 %. The people who have suffered from appetite disturbance and suicidal thoughts were 45 % and 24 % respectively. Moreover, 40 % people have also suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and 18 % experience actual or threatened physical harm. Other than this, many of the victim has complained about the headaches, indigestion, and nausea however the percentage is not significant (Pathe, 1997). Psychological impact Among the known way of intimidation, the most common method is loitering nearby and unwanted telephone calls. It is also noted that the victims also ran a risk of being physically injured. Few of the cases experience assaults involving physical restraint, or hitting or beating with objects. Other than this, the victims of stalkers experience sexual assaults as well (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010). Living with stalking can be extremely frightening and can have a profound impact on the lives of the family. In case, the mal e member of the family is stalked, the effects on women’s life get adverse. For men, the reason behind stalking women is to have or maintain control and power over the women, or maybe her friends, family or children (End Stalking in America, 2011). The wife of the stalker may feel isolated or alone. In case the stalker is

What are the effects of Globalization on Poverty and Inequality Research Paper

What are the effects of Globalization on Poverty and Inequality worldwide - Research Paper Example In addition , since it brings with it more fast domestic fiscal transformation, globalization can be troublemaking and can create losers and at the same time winners. It there are no additional causes than these, globalization remains the subject matter which there is a lot of debate. There seems to be an extensive conformity that global inequality broadened for much of the past two to three centuries, and the total number of populace living in excessive poverty augmented although the percentage in extensive poverty reduced over this period. Since 1980, however, there is a little proof that these tendencies have not continued, and may in reality have kept back. There have been two significant tendencies from 1980. Foremost of this has been an increase of rate in growth in a lot of the most populous nations in the globe, predominantly the Asian nations for instance, India and China. These nations which were amongst the poorest in the globe as in recent times as 1980, have all developed rapidly as compared to the developed nations, in terms of per capita. Fundamentally, as a result of this improved fiscal performance in the populous nations, the most meagre one fifth of nations in 1980 had a populace weighted yearly per capita rate of growth of 4 percent for close to seventeen years since 1980, contrasted with 1.8 percent for the wealthiest fifth of nations over the same time frame, as David Dollar indicates. The experience of the most rapid growth taking place in the most meagre nations is a novel one, in any case in modern times, with the rates of growth for this particular group of nations in the previous twenty years that is 1960-1980 bei ng 1.9 percent for the meagre faction and 3.2 percent for the wealthy faction. ... experience of the most rapid growth taking place in the most meagre nations is a novel one, in any case in modern times, with the rates of growth for this particular group of nations in the previous twenty years that is 1960-1980 being 1.9 percent for the meagre faction and 3.2 percent for the wealthy faction. The second and a lot more challenging tendency have been the constant poor fiscal performance of a lot of nations in Africa, with a number of nations experiencing turn downs in average standards of living, not only comparative to the wealthy nations, however, in complete terms. These two contrasting tendencies have had significant repercussions for poverty and inequality globally over the years. Global economic incorporation has been continuing for an extraordinarily long time. As a matter of fact, globalization is not anything new. What is new in the current wave of globalization is the manner in which countries that are developing are incorporating with wealthy nations (Basu, 2008). As in prior waves of incorporation, this transformation is influenced partially by intentional policy decisions. A number of the debates regarding globalization concerns it impact on meager nations and poor individuals. The most significant aspect is that the reduction of poverty in nations with low incomes is extremely closely connected to the GDP growth rate. The speeded up development of low income nations has brought about exceptional reduction in poverty. By poverty, it refers to existing below a number of total thresholds. A lot of poverty evaluations are performed with a nations’ individual line of poverty, which are set in nation context and logically are at variance. A lot of exceedingly poor persons globally are peasants, and they exist to a broad extent on their

Hospitality industry Essay Example for Free

Hospitality industry Essay I HAD the good fortune of being able to attend the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events/Exhibitions Conference, or MICECON 2011, sponsored by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and by many hotels and resorts in The Queen City, Cebu just recently. I just found out that the next one will not be until 2013 since the Philippines is hosting PATA next year. Green and technology were the main themes of the conference which brought international speakers like Hitesh Mehta, a sustainable architect; Noor Ahmad Hamid of the ICCA ;Corbin Ball; Max Hitchins, the Hospitality Doctor; John Peacock of Associations Forum, Australia; Susan Cardenas of Inkaterra fame, among many others who talked about green, sustainability and the use of technology to make for more efficient MICE operations. It was a welcome sign of improvement in our local hospitality industry to see the following changes, albeit for the better: †¢ The conference did not use any Styrofoam. Water was served in reusable glasses; coffee was served in paper cups and you could use a permanent marker to write your name on the cup, so you could reuse it throughout the day. Radisson Blu gave out reusable water bottles in their trademark blue color. †¢ The conference served snacks on banana leaves on â€Å"nito† trays and during one Coffee Break, Bluewater resorts even used a nipa box lined with banana leaves that many speakers took home. †¢ The Shangri-La Mactan gave away Citronella candles in cute woven containers, as their theme was GLAMPING or Glam Camping and citronella candles sure come in handy to ward off insects in camp. †¢ The MICECON organizers led by Stanie Soriano gave away flash disks or usb sticks so you could download the presentations, rather than bringing home tons of paper or handouts. This was appropriate because of being both techie and green. †¢ The governor of Cebu gave away little banig bags with a souvenir â€Å"puso† keychain and a mini ukelele that Cebu is famous for. †¢ The Marco Polo gave away little baskets of dried fruit or mango tarts, rather than Swiss chocolates. †¢ I could feel the locavore fever running through everyone’s minds, when this event was planned. Even the speakers’ send off gifts were local Tablea Chocolates wrapped in a reusable buri box courtesy of ECHOstore (shameless plug). So, it can be done. Show the best of the country and the province, rather than buy something cheap from China or pick the usual corporate or conference giveaways. The presents were tastefully done and the meals well-prepared. The conference was very inspiring, to say the least. It gave me hope that we can plan events with a meager budget but come up with something original, environment-friendly and promote locavorism. As soon as our panel discussion on greening the industry was over, a lady approached me to seek help â€Å"to remove all plastic from her hotel.† I told her we would help find suppliers for her needs. Some attendees approached me to say they were now ready to â€Å"buy local and use local.† Our locavorism will differentiate us from other more modern Asian countries. If we use more local ingredients, use more local food and drink, we surely will stand out because we have our own unique flavors. In architecture, we also can now promote our â€Å"bahay kubo† (nipa hut) than compete with the latest glass and steel structure of Thailand or Singapore. Like the old saying goes: â€Å"If you don’t have the height, maybe you have the speed!† So let us not be disappointed or discouraged when we are compared with our Asian neighbors. Nature is in. Eco-friendly is in demand. Eco lodges are the newest craze in the hospitality industry. Even Bill Gates now  stays in a â€Å"natural† resort in China, as mentioned by our speaker Hitesh Mehta. Who knows? Maybe we can claim the unique selling proposition that we have the best eco-friendly lodges and sustainable food and drink. After all, we do have banana leaves in abundance, we have organic rice and other organic foods because we cannot afford fertilizers and growth enhancers. Let us promote our being natural, eco-friendly and sustainable. Just like MICECON 2011 did. Kudos to The Tourism Promotion Board for a job well done. Chit Juan is an owner and co-founder of ECHOstore sustainable lifestyle at the Serendra and Podium malls. She also heads the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines (www.wbcp.ph) and the Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (www.philcoffeeboard.com). She often speaks to the youth and corporate groups on Social Entrepreneurship, Women’s Empowerment through business and Sustainability. You can email her at [emailprotected] or follow her on twitter.com/chitjuan.

Problems with the US Education System

Problems with the US Education System One of the biggest problems with public school today is that academic performance is declining, particularly in urban areas and among disadvantaged populations. It is well known that education in the US has fallen behind many other countries internationally. We are behind most other countries in both science and math education. The Ayn Rand Institute puts it best, saying, American education is in ruins. In addition to the educational problems, the decline of the family involvement has been such that one now sees public service announcements reminding parents that they need to be the main influence in their kids lives. Although this problem bears disproportionately on the economically disadvantaged, who have no parents at home because all available adults must work to make ends meat. There seems to be a positive correlation between family income and educational achievement. The U. S. Census Bureau states that in 1996 23.7% of white high school graduates went on to complete at least four years of college education, compared to 13.5% for blacks and only 9.3% for Hispanics. So, the percentage of white high school graduates that go on to complete four or more years of college is more than twice the figure for the combined percentage for blacks and Hispanics (11.4%)! With statistics like these, its no wonder why the rich seem to get richer and the poor remain stuck in the gutter generation after generation. The effects of poverty are detrimental to students achievement and life prospects. For example, children and youth from low-income families are often older than others in their grade level, move more slowly through the educational system, are more likely to drop out, and are less likely to find work. Children in poverty are also more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems and are less likely than others to be highly engaged in school. These detrimental effects of living in poverty are further compounded for families that also are raising children with a disability. Furthermore, parents in low-income families are less likely to help their children complete homework assignments (Morrison, 2007). Historically, Americans have viewed education as an answer to many social ills; but a national poll found that 47 percent of Americans would give the nations public schools a grade of C for the quality of their work, and 19 percent would grade the schools as D or F. When asked about the schools in their own community, slightly less than half graded the schools as A or B, 35 percent gave a grade of C, and 11 percent assigned grades of D or F (Polling Report, 2007). (Lauer, 2007). Families are in a continual state of change as a result of social issues and changing times. Even the definition of what a family is varies as society changes. Families now include arrangements other than that of the traditional nuclear family: Single-parent families, headed by mothers or fathers Stepfamilies, including individuals related by either marriage or adoption Heterosexual, gay, or lesbian partners living together with children Extended families, which may include grandparents, uncles, aunts, other relatives, and individuals not related by kinship. As families change, so do the roles of parents, family members, and others. More parents work and have less time for their children and family affairs, working parents combine the roles of parents and employees, the number of hats that parents wear increases as families change (Morrison, 2007). The effects of poverty are detrimental to students achievement and life prospects. For example, children and youth from low-income families are often older than others in their grade level, move more slowly through the educational system, are more likely to drop out, and are less likely to find work. Children in poverty are also more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems and are less likely than others to be highly engaged in school. These detrimental effects of living in poverty are further compounded for families that also are raising children with a disability. Furthermore, parents in low-income families are less likely to help their children complete homework assignments (Morrison, 2007). Historically, Americans have viewed education as an answer to many social ills; but a national poll found that 47 percent of Americans would give the nations public schools a grade of C for the quality of their work, and 19 percent would grade the schools as D or F. When asked about the schools in their own community, slightly less than half graded the schools as A or B, 35 percent gave a grade of C, and 11 percent assigned grades of D or F (Polling Report, 2007). (Lauer, 2007). The crisis in American schools takes three major forms. First, student academic performance is declining, particularly in urban areas and among traditionally disadvantaged student populations. Second, discipline and moral behavior is quickly becoming non-existent. Third, the per-student expenditure is inflated beyond what is necessary. The first problem with public school today is that academic performance is declining, particularly in urban areas and among disadvantaged populations. In the 1980s, Americas education crisis received widespread publicity. Several reports were done on the impact of this education crisis on the workforce. These reports, especially those by the Hudson Institute and David Kearns, indicated massive shortcomings in education that left high-school graduates unable to effectively function in an increasingly technological and service-oriented economy (Tyson 1990). Beyond the area of skills-based education, public schools are sadly lacking in liberal arts education. It is well known that education in the US has fallen behind many other countries internationally. We are behind most other countries in both science and math education (Morrone 2000, U.S. EPA 1996). More specifically, the US ranks 18th out of 21 countries in math as a result of the dominance of progressive education techniques replacing traditional learning (Bernstein 2000). Even here in college, where the students represented are among the top in the nation, problems with object ive math prevail. The Ayn Rand Institute (2000) puts it best, saying, American education is in ruins. Students cannot read, write, add or think?. Parents who can afford to, send their children to private schools, in the desperate hope of finding sane teaching? More than ever, employers are left to pick up the pieces, training school graduates in the basic skills necessary for working life. These problems are exacerbated for African-Americans. According to the Economist (2003), Blacks who are disproportionately concentrated in inner-city areas) are getting a lousy deal from the public-school system. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, Americas equivalent of a national report card, reveals that the average black 17-year-old is four years behind his white counterpart in math and reading and five years behind in science. Black students are three times more likely than whites to be shunted off into dead-end special educational classes. In addition to educational problems, the much-heralded social engineers that seek to impose Progressive norms on Americas students have unfortunately succeeded. The rising self-esteem movement that seeks to avoid blame has clearly left its mark on our public education system. The retrogression toward anarchy occurred on the watch of Progressive education, which seeks to socialize students above actually providing knowledge. It is no wonder that an educational philosophy centered around never finding fault with another and seeking consensus before reason would lead to both educational failure of massive proportion and an increase in violent behavior due to the inability of students to reason together (Woiceshyn, 2000). We can hardly claim we werent warned. John Locke, the most influential philosopher in the minds of our founders, indicated he could easily do without public education. Lockes fears regarding civic education about have been borne out in contemporary America, as young peo ple are increasingly left to shift for themselves. The decline of the family has been such that one now sees public service announcements reminding parents that they need to be the main influence in their kids lives (Schaub, 2002).? Again, this problem bears disproportionately on the economically disadvantaged, who have no parents at home because all available adults must work to make ends meet. Predictably, black males are the most disadvantaged of all, as indicated by their higher rates of incarceration (Mauer, 1990) and suspension from school. Conclusion One thing we can say with certainty about the educational landscape today is that parents, families, and communities are as much a part of the educational process as are children, teachers, and staff. At no other time in U.S. educational history has support for family and community involvement in schools and programs been so high. All concerned view the involvement of families and communities as critical for individual student success, as well as for the success of the American dream of providing all children with an education that will meet their needs and enable them to be productive members of society (Morrison, 2007) Teachers are born, not made and with training and practice teachers are transformed from strong ones into gifted ones. I personally do not believe there is a single formula for classroom success. In order to be an effective teacher one needs to employ structural strategies to address the range of students learning needs. I also believe that, part of being successful in todays classroom is having relationships with the students that are based on maintaining appropriate roles, which suggests clarity in behavioral expectation and consistency in response to disciplinary situations. Communication and classroom management are vital to the success of teaching, having a sense of humor; knowledge and caring are also needed for todays teachers. In general teachers success=student success. School tracking is the process of separating students into leveled course selections according to academic ability. But the matching of students to different tracks tends to bring with it racial, ethnic and social-class overtones from the very beginning. Jeannie Oakes found that race more than ability determined which students were placed in which tracks, and that the lower tracked students had fewer learning opportunities and teachers expected little from them and offered fewer constructive comments. The first public school in America was established by Puritan settlers in 1635. The school was publicly funded and the first classes were held in the home of the schools master. What is so fascinating is that 5 of the 56 signers of the US Constitution attended Boston Latin: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Treat Paine, and William Hooper. The basis to create a public school system was initially formed by. Jefferson. In the 1600s, the dominant belief on educating the children was due to religious reasons. However, with the arrival of people from many countries and belonging to different faiths led to a weakening of the concept. People rejected the English only school and opposed the clergy imposing their religious views through public education. By the middle of the eighteenth century, private schooling had become the norm. Jefferson believed that education should be under the control of the government, free from religious biases, and available to all people irrespective of their status in society. Until the 1840s the education system was highly localized and available only to wealthy people. Reformers like Horace Mann and Henry Barnard who wanted all children to gain the benefits of education opposed this. As a result of their efforts, free public education at the elementary level was available for all American children by the end of the 19th century. Education has not always been free and available to everyone. Many people had to die in order to provide minorities as well as the poor the opportunity to attend equal schools. The first blacks arrived as slaves in the colonies in 1619 and were initially taught by the missionaries to convert them to Christianity. In spite of individual efforts, the education of blacks remained very low until Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The literacy rate that was around 5% in the 1860s rose to 40% in 1890 and by 1910 it was at 70%. During the 1950s segregation by race in public and private schools was still common in the United States. In 1954 the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional and by 1980 the federal courts succeeded in eliminating the system of legalized segregation in southern schools. Is the education system better off today? We all know that the advancement in technology and learning methods has brought about a lot of change for the better in the public education. However, Schools are facing other social problems such violence, drugs, alcohol, smoking, and sex-related issues. Low tracks suffered from more classroom management problems, and focused more on social rather than academic matters. Tracking does not result in the equal and equitable distribution of effective schooling among all students. Instead, it allocates the most valuable school experiences to students who already have the greatest academic, economic, and social advantages. I tend to lean toward the conservative and traditional way teaching, therefore, I fine the Teacher-Centered Philosophy approach is more in-line with my thinking. For the Perennialist, reality is a world of reason and would favor a curriculum of subjects and doctrine, taught through highly disciplined drill and behavior control. Kids come to school with lots of knowledge and lots of interests. However, the job of the school is to teach them what they do not know and teach these things in a systematic and organized way. The students are there to learn what they do not know, thus, the environment should be task oriented and disciplined. It is not to fill their minds with isolated fragments of information but to fill them with systematic knowledge. They need to learn, and as they get older, they need human insights and skills that come from the disciplines. Najlaa Reference: Sadker, David M.. Teachers Schools and Society: A Brief Introduction to Education, 2nd Edition. McGraw-Hill/Course As a teacher, you will be called to follow your ethical compass to protect the physical and emotional well-being of your students and to guide students own ethical development (Sadker 2008, pg. 271). Teachers must take a position on moral issues and help students understand right from wrong. But they also have to be aware of their first impressions and be sure they have all the relevant facts. If one does not have them, get them. In the classroom teachers may not use racist or sexist humor or exchange grades for money or sexual favors. They need to think before acting, respect and be sensitive to cultural differences. For example, think twice before telling a joke (any joke!) that might offend other races or cultures. Teachers have always been considered role models for their students and whatever they say and do will have a great impact on them.