Monday, September 30, 2019

Wider Professional Reading

Wider Professional Practice [Part 4] I believe that education should be available for all. I feel particularly strongly that those from disadvantaged backgrounds should have the opportunity to experience learning and thus have the chance to make their own life choices. To work with a learner who realises his / her own worth is, to me, a greater experience than handing them a Maths or English certificate, although this is very rewarding, as well. So, perhaps, the first value that I would put forward would be to support the individual to ‘self’ develop – personally and educationally, giving opportunity for self-awareness and actualisation.This necessitates time, flexibility, encouragement and the ability to motivate [not always easy]; it also needs trust and mutual respect [often a failing cited by learners about teaching staff], which develop as the relationship progresses. Following on from this it is important that all have equal opportunity to succeed. Inclusion and establishing individual needs is important, as is being a good role model and exerting professional behaviour, thus, embedding standards which will support the personal growth of the learner.For some this positive role model will have been ‘by-passed’, but it is also as mentor, coach and counsellor where support should be available, if required. These values can help improve quality of life, develop potential and offer purpose to learners but will also, hopefully, make them productive citizens. Personal development in the student is paralleled in the educator – autonomy an important vision for learner and tutor alike To learn, ourselves, from experiences, reflection, evaluation and self-investigation is the basis for continuing professional development and enhances us as professionals, leading to a better teacher.It is a teacher’s responsibility to keep up to date with educational change and subject specialism, as well as technology advances and basic skills [English and Maths]. This can be attained through training, keeping up to date with news / current affairs and action research on points of interest. Although this is an individual’s responsibility, some institutions collaborate to improve systems – at my organization we have resources weeks, where we work together to improve and increase materials, and at tutor meetings issues are discussed and development undertaken [e. g. tandardization of portfolios]. So, good practice will be reliant on others, be it peer or formal observation, appraisal, sharing of resources, informal feedback or support from colleagues, and offers experiences to improve our skills and abilities. As a more seasoned practitioner it is also important to support others, be they new to teaching or purely in need of assistance, ideas or guidance, encouraging them and offering advice if needed – in a more formal setting as guide or mentor. This disseminates knowledge and if communicated effectively creates further good practice.Communication is another key. Clarity, empathy, listening skills and confidence all play their part in being a successful teacher. This skill is important when teaching learners but is also necessary when liaising with other staff and team members. To build rapport, a main feature of the communication process, enables better learning and will lead to collaboration, itself a highly sought after value within education. As mentioned in my company there is a close relationship between tutors and each will look to team members for support [be it resources, paperwork issues or problems with learners].Standard expectations, and therefore values, would be the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the job responsibility, and would include: planning and preparing for lessons, incorporating areas previously discussed [individual needs, challenges, different styles, methods and tools etc. ]; and learner feedback and assessment – important for learners to be able to chart their progress. It is important to give learners stretching targets, or there is risk of demotivation, but too difficult may likewise be off-putting – being able to judge the right level is a skill that comes with experience.The values of a teacher should mirror the IfL’s code of practice [2008], a document that lays out expected codes of conduct and professionalism. The basic principles are: integrity, respect, care, practice, disclosure and responsibility, and are in place for the benefit of ‘learners, employers, the profession and the wider community. ’ Although perhaps somewhat bombastic in approach and full of self-importance the core elements of the IfL’s mandate are what we, as ‘influencers of the future’, should be striving for – instilling morally sound values and judgements into our learners.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Porter Five Forces Airlines Essay

Threats of Substitutes (Low) Product that able to represent other product function can be defined as substitute product (Wheelen and Hunger, 2002). Currently, there are no perfect substitutes for airline service, as airline service has the best range of destination, time-efficient and convenience. However, the fact that trains and air-transports are substitute is true, but the threat will only be high if it’s applied in domestic travel. Currently, the threat of substitutes for airline industry is low. In regards to the threats, Airline Company should keep innovate their service to prevent a perfect substitute. 2.2.2 Power of Buyer (Moderate-Low) The power of buyer can be defined as the ability of customers to affect an industry. This view has been supported in the work of Coulter (2008). The bargaining power of buyer in airline industry is relatively low because the number of buyers for this service is enormous and keeps increasing (IATA, 2010). Additionally, due to different specialty of countries, customers tend to go overseas for particular purpose that the destination country is good at (i.e. Singapore good at Medication), subsequently, going overseas somehow is becoming part of the lifestyle today. Hence, this can also be seen as the service is essential for particular customers which further down the bargaining power of buyer. Looking at another factor which is internet, it allows customers to easily make a comparison through information and price transparency and switch to other airline service. Overall, the bargaining power of buyer is still moderate to low, so organization can take this opportunity to provide excell ent service and charge premium price. 2.2.3 Power of Supplier (High) According to Collis and Montgomery (1997), power of supplier can be defined as the ability of suppliers to affect an industry. The power of suppliers in airline industry is relatively high, as fuel is one of the important attributes for airline service. This can be seen as the price of jet fuel price has risen 8% from January while the usage of airline keeps increasing (IATA, 2010). In addition, as the availability of substitute for fuel has not been found the bargaining power of supplier is still high. However, the  availability of jatropha-based- fuel will soon be available substituting the jet-fuel-based which will reduce the bargaining power of supplier in the future (Bloomberg Energy Finance, 2012). Moreover, the bargaining power of suppliers in airline industry is also reduced by the availability of internet. By the use of internet, one can purchase their supplies from suppliers around the world without any geographical boundaries. Hence, currently the power of supplier in th is industry is high. In this case, airline firms may want to create good and long term relationship with their suppliers to gain advantages. 2.2.4 Threats of New Entrants (Low) Threats of new entrants are the effect from possible entrants that affects an industry. According to Lynch (2009), potential entrants often come to marketplace when the barrier to entry is low and when profit margins are great. In airline service industry, the barrier is relatively high due to requirements of high capital in entering the industry (i.e. investment on terminal and airplane). Furthermore, as there are already several strong players in the industry, it is hard to enter and established at the market because brand identity in airline service need to be good and clear as it is involved with safety (customers will not use unknown airlines as it would be risky). Therefore, it will force the new entrants to spend extra capital to advertise more to fight the strong existing player. Overall, the threat of new entrants is low. Hence, seeing this barrier, existing firms may want to strengthen their branding to further increase the barrier to enter the industry. 2.2.5 Rivalry among existing Firms (High) Rivalry among existing firms refers to the degree in which firm react to moves from other firms within an industry (Pearce and Robinson, 2007). Due to the evolving technology like internet, it allows customers to switch to other company with no more than a click (i.e. moving to other airlines website), this clearly would make player in the industry to be intense. Moreover, due to needs of high investments (i.e. purchasing aircrafts and investment on the technology), it creates high barrier to exit the industry, as the aircrafts and technology that are expensive will be rendered as no-use for other business. While, for company that hire aircrafts for their  airline service also need to spend a lot of capital and usually involved with long-contract agreement and need long time to achieve break-even point or gain profit. Additionally, by the arrival of budget airlines which offer value for money airline service it affects the competition in airline industry to become more intense. Ove rall, the intensity of rivalry among existing firms is high. Therefore, airline firms may want to keep innovate their service and cope-up with the advancing technology so they will be able to provide advance and better service for better position at market.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Focused observation 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Focused observation 3 - Essay Example Children of this age also question a lot including ‘how’ and ‘why’ and of course they are talkative. Based on this background and since preschoolers are always filled with enthusiasm I decided to teach them few basics by adopting the fun and play method. One must remember that this age requires a strong foundation on which the growing and learning years can develop on. My action plan involved the delivering the messages of determination and lending a helping hand. I decided to perform a puppet show that narrated the ‘incy-wincy spider’ rhyme. On hearing this all the children became interested to know more and looked on in anticipation as I kept the suspense brewing. The first step was to make a spider and by involving all the children I began teaching them about insects and spiders. My aim was through the process of creating, sticking and coloring the spider the general fear that most children possess about insects, hopefully will be erased. During this process the children began asking various questions about insects such as, how do insects fly? What do insects eat? And the interesting part was the creation of the spider’s legs wherein most children were curious to know why they have two legs and a spider has eight legs. Once the spider was ready next on the agenda was to manufacture rain. Interestingly another opportunity to teach the children about the conservation of water and to protect what God had made i.e. the environment. Therefore after the lecture about rain and how they could save water in their own little ways, the next step involved the developing of rain. Instead of utilizing water as rain I developed a plan wherein with the help of beans I involved the children in painting and the portrayal of raindrops on a chart. The children enjoyed themselves dipping the beans in blue paint and dabbing the same on the chart paper. And I took

Friday, September 27, 2019

MANAGEMENT & ORGANIS BEHAVIOUR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MANAGEMENT & ORGANIS BEHAVIOUR - Essay Example a) Structure: The Company is faced with an issue of conflict management and there is a lack of good team work. Alpha has several excellent leaders like Mr. Ian Davidson. Captain Chubb, Mr. Ang, however due to the behavior of Mr. Ang and his hasty decisions the company has been faced with a very poor performance. The company also lacks a clear organizational structure and there is a confused organizational structure that is being followed within the company. This causes the performance to be reduced to a great extent and leads the overall team work to be overlooked. b) Leadership: Although Alpha has a strong set of leaders and a great management team all together the company still does not perform well. This is simply due to lack of qualities to lead the team as well as the time management issue by most leaders. The company also lacks a strong leader who can perform as per the needs of the company and in line with the needs of the employees as well. c) Strategies, Culture and Motivation: Alpha utilizes a very centralized approach of management within the organization currently. This also causes high levels of stress and leads to lowered motivation among the employees. The main cause of the stress that is being present in the company is due to the lack of a strong company structure. Also the lack of strong and well structured leadership leads to high levels of politics and confusions among the employees. There is also a clear cognitive dissonance among the leaders of the teams which in turn leads to the employees not being sure of the work they need to do and also causing a very stressful and uncooperative behavior among all the members of the teams. d) Rewards System and Job Satisfaction: The level of job satisfaction is relatively low and the reward systems that are in place at the current time require a great deal of change and improvements. The employees need to have a better reward system to help improve the motivation and also to focus on a

Thursday, September 26, 2019

A critique of tourism policy and planning in Croatia Essay

A critique of tourism policy and planning in Croatia - Essay Example 2. Definition of term 5 3. Statement of the problem 6 4. Tourism vision and policies 6 5. Issues facing developments of tourism in Croatia 7 6. Tourism strategies 8 7. Analysis 10 8. Conclusion 12 Annex 14 Bibliography 15 Executive Summary This study is about tourism planning and management. As tourism has been significant source of revenue and development in the Republic of Croatia, its tourism planning and policies are inspected and analyzed. A critique is forwarded to point out the deficiencies between the policies and the actual performance. The study is subdivided in several sections that discusses following issues: a) key features of the existing tourism patterns, its significance to economy and employment; b) Issues or problems facing tourism in Crotia; c) Institutions working for its development; d) official strategy of the country and, e) finally, an analysis whether the strategies spelled out are realistic and achievable. The Study used available sources of information from the Ministry of Tourism, World Economic Review, and other published information to arrive at an analytical position. Study found out insufficienes on structural development of Croatia leads to its low competitiveness that does not go with its proclaimed tourism policy. A Critique on the Tourism Planning and Policy in Croatia 1. Introduction Tourism has been a significant part of any country’s economic development.... As tourism is a multi-faceted function, its policy, Mato, Bartuloci (2010a, p.255), a professor in Business and Economics in Croatia, said should be determined by the combined economic policy of agriculture, hotel industry, transportation, commerce and municipal services. In Croatia, tourism policy is developed by several organizations. At the top level, there is the Ministry of Tourism. The Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), the Croation Chamber of Economy, and at the regional level, it comprises of the tourists board, public sector representatives, travel agencies, enterprises and companies, residents, and others who are interested. The CNTCB is founded with a â€Å"view to promoting and creating the identity, and to enhance the reputation of Croatian tourism. The mission also includes the planning and implementation of a common strategy and the conception of its promotion, proposal and the performance of promotional activities of mutual interest for all subjects in tourism i n the country and abroad, as well as raising the overall quality of the whole range of tourist services on offer in the Republic of Croatia.† (CNTCB n.d.) 1.2 Key features of existing tourism patterns, significance to the economy and employment The importance of tourism in Croatia is fully expressed in this country since it depends much from tourism to boost its economy. Tourism in Croatia created 135,000 jobs in 2011, (12.3% of total employment). Economic indicators of the World Travel & Tourism Council (2012) showed a positive outlook and brighter promise for tourism in Croatia . Figure 1 below shows a picture of tourists’ arrival that records to 9,334.8 (thousand) in 2009 and a international tourism receipts of (US$ millions)8,889.4 for the same year.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Regulatory Responses to the Current Financial Crisis (US, UK, China, Research Paper

Regulatory Responses to the Current Financial Crisis (US, UK, China, Canada, India) - Research Paper Example The current global crisis began in 2007 and spread in 2008. It had varying impacts on the financial systems of various countries depending on the initial stability of the system and its exposure to the credit derivatives that accelerated the crisis. The effects were severe in the developed countries like US as compared to the developing nations like India. In this regard, different countries reacted to the crisis identifying the opportunities and the associated challenges. The countries in the OECD advocated for a joint effort to have international standardization of regulatory policies. The main concerns are stimulation of demand in a given economy, improving liquidity, preventing foreclosures of mortgages and improving access to financing by for the SMEs and giant investors. There is a focus in risk reduction through investment in insurance. Financial crisis refers to a wide category of situations in which the large financial institutions or assets lose large proportion of their va lue. The current global crisis began in 2007, in some countries, and deepened in 2008 (OECD, 2009). Some of the factors that may contribute to financial crisis include application of similar operational strategies by players in the market, changes in the banking business, excessive leverage, changes in regulations and corporate governance, and failure of government policies on the financial sector (Blundell-Wignall, Atkinson, and Lee, 2008). Government policies regulate the financial sector within in a country and the operations with a global business partner. The failures in some of these policies could have contributed greatly to the current situation. To fix the situation and mitigate for future crises, various governments have enacted some monetary and fiscal policies. The current global financial crisis had other related problems like food crisis especially to the developing countries as was, and continues to be, witnessed in the horn of Africa (Canuto, 2011). The financial ref orms to manage the crisis must then focus on the other financial instruments controlling the economy of the country. The problem that has been encountered in the management if the crisis is that economists and the policymakers do not have a proper understanding of the relationship of various components of economic policy and regulation (Tamirisa, 2011). It is important to understand the interaction between monetary and macro-prudential policies in enabling financial stability. Designing a successful macro-prudential policy requires the government to understand the risks of the new financial instruments it is putting in place (Tamirisa, 2011). Focusing on the monetary policy is insufficient in the management and mitigation of financial crises. This paper focuses on the regulatory responses that have been given by five different countries in relation to the current global

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management - Assignment Example Managing performance is an ongoing activity that involves identification of performance measures, implementation of the performance management system, evaluation of performance outcomes and provision of feedback for improvement purposes (Kammerer, 2009). Importance of measures of organizational and managerial performance of Mid Staffordshire Hospital Trust Organisational performance measures assess how well the organisation contributes to the attainment of its vision, mission and strategic goals. Managerial performance measures focus on how well the management plans, organises and allocates limited resources in an efficient and effective manner towards the attainment of organisational goals (Kammerer, 2009). Measures of organisational and managerial performance are importance since they enable the organization to meet the demands of external accountability and foster strong sense of internal accountability. Measures of performance provide the basis of implementing organisational stra tegies through identifying the expected performance goals. The measures allow for collaboration through integrating the objectives of the organisation with the key performance indicators (Kammerer, 2009). ... The measures will enable Mid Staffordshire NHS hospital to improve communication with external stakeholders such as suppliers of medical equipment and government regulatory agencies. The measures of performance justify expenditure and costs in the organisation through ensuring cost-effectiveness and identifying the value for money committed towards improvement of organisational processes (Niven, 2005). Advantages and disadvantages of using balanced scorecard approach to organizational and managerial performance Balanced scorecard was developed by Robert Kaplan in early 1990s, but has certain advantages and disadvantages as a measure of both organizational and managerial performance. Balanced scorecard translates the mission and business strategy in to a comprehensive set of performance measures that cater for the overall organization. In addition, the performance measurement tool acts as a communication tool since it outlines the employee expectations and aims at ensuring periodic ev aluation of the performance standards (Christensen, 2008). According to Daft (2010), the tool integrates both short-term and long-term measures of performance and forms the basis of employee compensation. Ideally, balanced scorecard offers an advantage as performance management system since it breaks down strategic measures to the bottom level units such as department, clinical units, and individual staff within the organization. Balanced scorecard enhances creativity and innovation in the organisation through continuous learning and growth opportunities for the staff and improvement of the processes (Ginter, Duncan & Swayne, 2013). Lastly, the performance management tool leads to unique competitive advantage through improved decision-making and improved processes in the entire

Monday, September 23, 2019

Rewrite Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rewrite - Essay Example If projects are mismanaged, they may result in high rates of turnover, ineffectiveness, poor productivity and low morale. A project is a process with different phases that are collectively referred to as the project life cycle. Different from business activities such as maintenance and operations, projects involve uncertainty and risk because of their unique nature, their complexity, cost and time constraints, as well as limited resources. This paper seeks to discuss the various phases of project management and its importance for organizations. Phases of Project Life Cycle The project life cycle can be defined as a logical sequence of events meant to achieve the goals and objectives of the project. Despite the complexity or scope of any project, it goes via a series of phases in its lifetime. The first phase is known as the initiation phase, followed by the planning phase, then the execution phase, and finally the closure phase. 1. Initiation Phase In this phase, the project’s phase is defined, as well as the approach that will be taken in order to deliver on the desired output (Keller & Field, 2012). The project manager is elected in this phase, after which he selects other team members taking into consideration their experience and skill. In this phase, the most common methodologies used are project charter, project framework, business plan, justification of the business case, and review of the milestones. The needs and objectives of the project are identified in this phase, and an appropriate response to this is documented with recommended options as solutions in the business case (Keller & Field, 2012). A feasibility study is carried out in order to investigate if every option addresses the objectives of the project, with a final solution being recommended. Issues of justification and feasibility are addressed in this phase. On approval of the recommended solution, the project is initiated in order to deliver on the solutions that have been approved. The major deliverables, as well as the participating work teams, are identified. At this stage, the team begins to shape up, and the project manager then seeks approval to start on the planning phase. 2. Planning Phase Project management’s second phase is also the planning phase where the solution for the project is developed further while focusing on detail. The necessary steps needed to complete the objective set out by the project are then set out (Keller & Field, 2012). During this step, the team members identify all the activities, which should be executed. There is also identification of tasks within the project and the strategy to be used in their fulfillment. This process is synonymously known as scope management. A plan for the project is drawn up including the timeframes, dependencies, tasks and activities. A project manager is tasked with coordinating the budget via the provision of cost estimates for materials and labor. The budget that is drawn up is used contro l and monitor cost expenditures during the execution phase. On identifying the work, preparing the schedule and making an estimate of the cost, then the fundamental components of this phase are complete. This phase acts as the excellent time for identification and dealing with threats to

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Biodiversity Essay Example for Free

Biodiversity Essay Biodiversity presents occurrence of variety of species and their natural community in which they live. By the definition it is â€Å"The degree of variation of life forms within a given species, ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. It is a measure of the health of ecosystems and is in part a function of climate.† (Rutherford) Ecosystem is on the other hand, â€Å" community and its abiotic environment†( Rutherford). Biodiversity exists in every ecosystem, weather it is big one, or just ecosystem of one garden, it has the same importance because without it nature loses its ability to perform major functions needed for life on Earth, as it is oxygen production. Trough this investigation, two different ecosystems will be explored and the level of their biodiversity on certain area. Research question â€Å"To what extend is one ecosystem more diverse than other one?† Hypothesis If ecosystem has more number of species and organisms within those species, it will have higher biodiversity. Justification of hypothesis According to formula for Simpson`s diversity index, D = N (N-1) / ÃŽ £ n (n-1), where N is total number of organisms, while n is sum of individuals within a specie, we can see that sum of all individuals and total number of organisms of particular species affect the biodiversity index. Variables Dependent variable Biodiversity of ecosystem. Dependent variable is key of the study and it will be tested on independent and controllable ones. It will be derived from sufficient collection of data and using Simpson`s index. Finally it is going to be presented as number of species in two different ecosystems. Independent variable Size of area of ecosystem tested, which is going to be presented in m2. This variable does not depend on other ones, and I decided to calculate biodiversity on 3 m2 in both ecosystems, making sure that conditions are same for both. Controllable variables: Time, weather conditions. These variables control the biodiversity index which is going to be derived and will be controlled as I will decide at which time am I going to measure number of species in ecosystem. In my case, it will be beginning of June. As well as I am going to make sure that I measure it on optimal temperature, without rain or strong sun. PROCEDURE Material: * Meter * Paper * Pen * Calculator * Thermometer Procedure Plan is the key point of each procedure. As I already found material needed for beginning of my investigation, I have to decide on two different location for measuring. It is going to be meadow and garden around family house. In both locations, area of measurement is going to be 3 m2 and I am going to make sure that during the measurement in both locations, conditions of temperature are approximately the same. As I labeled the area of 3 m2 in meadow, I will count the number of different species living there. In addition, I will count number of organisms of each specie. While doing that, I will see the temperature on the thermometer. The same procedure is going to be repeated in garden. After collecting all the raw data, it is going to be presented through value of biodiversity index.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

A new life Bully Essay Example for Free

A new life Bully Essay A new life. An new school. A new bully. Thats what Darrell Mercer faces when he and his mother move from Philadelphia to California. After spending months living in fear, Darrell is faced with a big decision: He can keep running from this bully, or find a way to fight back. AuthorBorn in Philadelphia, Paul Langan spent his early childhood in the city before moving with his single mother to southern New Jersey. There he attended public school and worked a variety of jobs—including salesperson at a shoe store, attendant at a horse ranch, landscaper at a mental hospital, and a night-shift stockperson in a warehouse store near Atlantic City. â€Å"Each job,† he says today, â€Å"could be the topic of several juicy novels.† STORYThe story was about a boy name darell Mercer he live in Philadelphia, he had a friend named Mark which fought all of his fights because Darrell was a small and skinny punk. But then his mom found a better job in California and when they moved Darrel was scared of school because he had no friends. So he thought people will bully him and then he went to the supermarket and he saw a girl that was going to the same school as him which was Bluford high school. So then they talk and they where both freshmen’s.Then Darrel went to his first day of school and there was a boy who started bulling him and his name was Tyran .Darrel was scared of him and then he started paying him $10 every Friday. Then the same girl that he met at the supermarket he found out she liked him but Tyray the one that was bulling him he liked her so he was scared to ask her out. Darrel even tried out for the wrestling team and he made it and he had got good at it but he lost the first match by two points and the second he won eight- two .But he went to a dance which she went but Tyray went to and Darrel danced with the her and her name is Amberlynn and then Tyray came and humiliated Darrel and then Darrel went home. Then it was Christmas brake and for new years Darrel said he did not want to be scared of Tyray and will not pay him again. So then he went to school it was a Friday and he did not go to the supermarket to pay Tyray but he went straight to school. So then Tyray went and he asked him were was his money but the teacher came in and Tyray was scared. So then at lunch Tyray and Darrel started fighting and Darrel toke him down using the tricks he learned in wrestling and Tyray was crying that he broke his wrist and they were both sent to the principals office and Darrel told the principal what happened since the begging of the school year and Tyray got suspended but not Darrel he got out with a warning.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Geographic Impacts on Health | Reflection

Geographic Impacts on Health | Reflection Have you ever heard the phrase by Margaret Mead, â€Å"You are unique just like everyone else?† I believe everybody is unique but similar in their own way. It is because of this that I consider our perception of health, regardless if it is in the planning, implementation, and evaluation stage, varies tremendously yet remains the same in many ways. Our notion of health strongly depends on so many factors such as demography, ethnicity, religion, tradition, and values. Demographic distribution of populations has a very big impact on health with regards to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of health interventions because the bigger the population in a certain area, the bigger the intervention. For example, a town of 1,000 people will require less planning, executing the plan will be drastically easier, and evaluating the success of the intervention can be done smoothly compared to a city of 100,000 people. Also, certain areas tend to have a higher prevalence of certain diseases. By studying this, health interventions can be tailored to target certain health concerns or illnesses from certain areas. Political values of a certain country can affect the different stages of health intervention because most health related projects, these days, needs the approval of the government. Depending on the government, some proposed health projects can take years to fruition while others might not take that long. Furthermore, if the politics of a country is shady, the chances of a proposed health project to be approved or implemented is slim to none. Religion can be one of the hardest things to deal with when it comes to the stages of healthcare intervention. As a nurse, I have experienced first-hand the impact of religion has on certain medical treatment. There are some religious beliefs that are not too hard to handle but there some religious beliefs that can take it to the extremes. One of the hardest things I have ever been through was when my beliefs and values contradicts a patient’s religious beliefs especially when it involves life and death. Ethnicity also plays an important role in determining the proper intervention. It is a known fact that there are certain illnesses that affect certain ethnic groups. For example, â€Å"the rate of dementia on admission to nursing homes is higher among black residents than among white residents.[1] Weintraub D, et al. (2000).† Even though dementia does not have a cure, people can tailor their healthcare interventions to fit the needs of different ethnic groups. But this is only the tip of an iceberg. There are many diseases and illnesses associated with ethnicity. By knowing such data, people can go out of their way to limit a certain disease or illness thereby, hopefully, preventing the disease or illness from ever happening. Having been lucky to travel to different countries, I can say that human values really does have an impact on health interventions. One very big example is how Filipinos value the elderly. I am not insinuating that other countries do not value their elderly or Filipinos are better at valuing their elderly. I am just implying that we have a different way of taking care of our elderly. Filipinos seem to get a sense of fulfilment when taking care of their parents. I believe in taking care of my parents when they get old because they took care of me when I was young. I will send them to a rest home not because there are not any rest homes in the Philippines, but because I want to keep them close and connected – they are and will always be a part of the family. Since my beliefs and values have been instilled in me and because I have seen how my parents took care of their parents, it has now become sort of a tradition in which I and my fellow Filipinos take pride of. This is one way on how tradition impacts healthcare intervention. But there are also other ways. In many countries, especially in remote areas, traditional medicine is still being practiced and people in these areas believe this is the only form of medicine out there. A strong push for knowledge would be the proper intervention here. Having mentioned all these, it is safe to say that determinants either have a direct or indirect impact on health interventions. Also, some determinants can either be a deterrent or an opportunity. By deterrent, I mean those rare ones where health interventions can’t be implemented because certain beliefs will not permit such mediation. However, determinants can also be an opportunity to come up with a better plan, a more effective implementation, and a more efficient evaluation system of a healthcare intervention. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Attitude is the way you think about someone or something. Since we are all unique in our own way, it is safe to say that we also have different attitudes towards someone or something. You may like the Miami Heat while I like the San Antonio Spurs. Having this in mind, it would not be a long shot to conclude that our individual attitude towards health can have a great impact, directly or indirectly, towards planning, implementation, and evaluation of healthcare interventions. The public’s concept of health and illness is different no matter where you go. The World Health Organization defines health as â€Å"physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.†[2] These days, we are more united in trusting medicine and research than resorting to traditional medicine. But, that does not mean traditional medicine did not have the same attitude towards health and illness. â€Å"Traditional medicine practice (TMP) within Aboriginal Australia encompasses a holistic worldview which reflects that of the World Health Organizations’ definition of health†[3] Oliver, Stefanie. (2013). However, the practice of traditional medicine is slowly becoming a lost trade primarily due to colonisation, medical advancement, research enhancement, and technological improvement. Nowadays, most of us rely on science rather than traditional medicine. Have you ever wondered what brought about the advent of medical advancement? Funny as this may sound, most drugs today are of herbal descent and it is very important to recognize the value traditional medicine had on today’s medicine. There are still places where traditional medicine is still accepted and is still being practiced. Even in a small country like the Philippines, indigenous areas still believe that illness is caused by â€Å"voodoo magic† and that a â€Å"witch doctor† and his/her methods serve as the cure for such illness. In Korea, roots of certain plants are mixed in a drink and is believed to improve and restore homeostasis. Acupuncture is a method of needle insertion at various points of the skin to stimulate circulation and improve overall balance. This is believed to originate from China. How health is accepted and practiced in an area will depend on how the public values the importance of health. With all the different diseases out there, I believe that most countries consider health as a big priority and it is very evident from all the research being done to find a cure for certain diseases such as cancer, diabetes, HIV, and many more. It is not only through research that indicates how much importance the public considers health. Diet programs, exercise programs, and even healthier TV shows are being shared and broadcasted in hopes to help gain and inspire a healthier wellbeing. The public’s attitude towards health and medical professionals is essential to healthcare interventions because if people were not concerned about their own health, they would not seek the aid of doctors, traditional healers, or medical professionals. If they do not need help from medical professionals then there would not be a need for any planning, implementation, and evaluation. However, most people value their lives. They, generally, value their own health and fear what could happen if they do not take care of themselves. That is why people are slowly learning to consult dieticians to help them eat healthier. People are seeking the aid from trainers to get them into shape. People are even considering the use of traditional medicine and traditional methods (e.g. acupuncture) to do whatever it takes to be healthier. In my own opinion, especially here in New Zealand, the public is very concern about their health and also their environment. They are starting to open up to a more â€Å"organic† way of being healthy. These days, people are slowly â€Å"going green† and this is why they are exploring different alternatives to common medicine all for the sake of being healthy. I believe the media plays a vital role for the immergence of the â€Å"going green† lifestyle that people all over the world are slowly following suit. The public’s attitude towards health, illness, and medical professionals is very important. Without the public’s support, nothing will get done. The first thing that comes to mind when people mention New Zealand is the natural beauty this country possesses. New Zealand is surrounded by beautiful coastlines waiting to be discovered and crystal clear pristine waters to be explored. Aside from the coastline, New Zealand boasts of majestic snow-capped peaks and breath-taking waterfalls. We all got to see a glimpse of its immense beauty through the Lord of the Rings movie series and the Hobbit movie series. But the beauty of New Zealand is not only evident looking form the outside-in but also from the inside-out. Here, beauty runs skin deep. New Zealand is a melting pot of multiple cultures ranging from Maori, European, Pacific Island and Asian descent – all of which are very proud of their ancestry. With all these different cultures, it is hard to imagine how people get along. However, people just make it work here. They respect each other’s variances. This, for me, is what makes New Zealand unique and special. This kind of respect towards one another is generated from New Zealand’s founding document – The Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty simply implies that Maori people have the same rights as British people. This attitude and way of thinking has been instilled on every resident that it has robbed off on other settlers. So people accept each other equally. More so, people are learning to adapt to each’s culture. This is even evident when it comes to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of healthcare interventions. For example, the Maori’s cultural influence has been socially accepted that the whole nation is working together to maintain and preserve such a culture. It is a fact that Maoris generally have an obesity problem, which is a potential for diabetes, so the whole community is working hand in hand to provide means to aid the Maoris in tackling this problem. Health leaders are assisting whanau to come up with ways to address such an issues through proper education, training, and other means. But the community is not only helping the Maoris because the Maoris are also helping the community by educating them on their ways of traditional medicine. Since New Zealand is a very diverse country, all cultures are being treated the same way. More and more acupuncture facilities are popping up all over major cities. People are learning different herbal remedies from Asia to treat numerous ailments. Yoga, which originated from India, is just as popular here. People are learning how to eat healthier and exercise regularly like most Asian countries do. The influence is great and the impact is clear. It is up to us to absorb all these new cultural insights and choose a healthier lifestyle. [1] Weintraub D, Raskin A, Ruskin PE, Gruber-Baldini AL, Zimmerman SI, Hebel JR, et al. Racial differences in the prevalence of dementia among patients admitted to nursing homes.Psychiatric Services.2000;51:1259–1264. [2] World Health Organization:Declaration of Alma-Ata. Alma-Ata: USSR; 1978. [Proceedings of the International Conference on Primary Health Care] 6–12 September [3] Oliver, Stefanie. (2013). The role of traditional medicine practice in primary health care within Aboriginal Australia: a review of the literature. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2013, 9:46. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-9-46

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich :: Descriptive Writing Examples

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich    Are you tired of slaving over a hot stove? Are you tired of wasting countless hours waiting for some rotten meat to cook? Are you run down or restless worrying weather your kids will like whatever meal you cook? Well, if so, then this sandwich is for you! It is easy to make and we will guarantee at a cheap price, you can't go wrong. It is nutritious and with the large amount of calcium it is even a healthy snack that is great for a growing child! You won't need to waste stove work for this! All you need is a knife, peanut butter, and jelly! With all of the work you have you don't need another burden! Just make a quick and easy sandwich! Try it! It is YUM YUM good!    One can find a loaf of bread at any local super market in the bakery Isle or they could find it is a local bread store. There are many different types of breads so one may choose which is sufficient to ones needs. After one purchases the bread, take it back to where one will be making the sandwich and set it on a flat surface. One will see that the loaf has two ends on it. One is clued shut very snuggly and the other side a white twist tie is holding the two ends together. (If one does not know what a twist tie is go to the last page of this essay.) Grab the two ends of the twist tie and turn each end every way until you can see that it is coming undone. Once the twist tie is fully unattached to the loaf of bread, you can now work your way into the loaf by pulling the ends that were connected to the twist tie. Pull out two pieces of bread out of the bag and setting them on the flat surface that you chose. Set them slightly close together so when one goes to coat the bread with peanut butter and jelly.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One can find peanut butter in any local supermarket. There are many different Varieties, and after one has purchased the peanut butter, take it back to where

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Fat Americans Essay examples -- Overweight Health Obesity Food Essays

Fat Americans There is a growing trend of overweight people living in America. This is nothing new however, overseas Americans are known for being â€Å"fat† and â€Å"lazy†, and for the most part it is hard to argue otherwise. American’s being overweight has become such a common trend, that when I walk down the street, and happen to see an overweight person, I don’t even consider them as being overweight anymore, because it has become commonplace, and obese American’s may get a look here and there but for the most part they are just passed by the same as everyone else. Americans are living in a society where people worship food and supermarkets have become the new cathedrals in this country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a multitude of reasons why American’s are overweight. You could argue that the main reason is that we just don’t get enough exercise, and sit in front of the television or computer all day. Our lack of exercise is one of the main reasons that we are overweight, but it seems to me at least that our diet is the bigger of the two problems. Our culture is so immersed in food, that everywhere we look there is someone or something trying to convince us to eat at their restaurant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In New York City, there seems to be at least 3 different choices for places to eat at on every block. What is most freighting about this is that, in my opinion, even with so many restaurants on each block, there are still waiting lists to get into some of these restaurants and there are still lines of people waiting outside in the freezing weather so they can go inside and eat until they are stuffed to the gills. People in America have fallen in love with food, they are willing to pay $20 for a light lunch at a restaurant, just so long as it includes a appetizer and dessert.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eating has also become more of a routine now then anything else. Allot of people I have asked about this subject came to the realization that they don’t eat because they are hungry anymore, they eat because its time to eat, and once they are eating they don’t stop till they are full, the only way they are stopping is when what is on their plate is completely clean. We have been raised to finish everything on our plate, and that there are starving kids in India who would do almost anything for the food that we didn’t like, so that we didn’t eat. This mentality combined with the ridiculously cheap and ... ...more surprising is that more heavy adults could be on the way, because more than 25 percent of today's children are overweight or obese, which has risen 40% in the last 16 years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It seems odd to me because all over television you see ad’s for the bow flex, and other machines that are supposed to keep you in shape. There are about a million different diets to choose from, yet American’s keep getting fatter and fatter. I really can’t figure it out. Is anyone buying into these exercise machines, and eat healthy diets? Or is it the already healthy conscious minority of American’s who are buying into these things just to reaffirm their health in this society obsessed with food. We need to begin to look overseas, and try to mimic their diets and their way of life, we need to eliminate our love affair with food and soda. However, I am a pessimist and I truly believe that once we see what the Europeans eat, and how they live their healthy lives, if we try to mimic it we would be so turned off at the lack of variety and taste that there diet offers that in a couple days we will be back waiting at the drive threw line at McDonalds, getting the biggie size for only 49 cents extra.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

How Social and Professional Relationships Affect the Learning Process Essay

Explain how social organisations and relationships affect the learning process. When children start school they are will go through short simple assessments to enable them to be put in a group of which an activity or task they are asked to complete is appropriate for their stage and level of learning. The learning process can be affected by many different things in a positive or less positive way. For example When a child has built a relationship with another child whom is more confident at answering questions whether they are correct or not it can work either way in which it can give the child less confidence to answer at all as the more confident child may make fun of them if they knew the right answer or this can be a positive affect where the less confident child will learn from the confident child and give answering questions a go. If we as adults build positive relationships with each other and show our willingness to learn and enthusiasm to learn the positive relationships built with children will then show that the learning process is fun this is giving relationships a positive affect on the learning process. If a child has fallen out with a friend or been hurt by someone in the class this may cause them to become withdrawn and distracted from activities they are wanted to participate in. When teaching children you need to be aware of all the available support so that the child can reach their full potential, if any other organizations are involved you will need to have regular updates on how the child is doing so that if more support is needed this can be given or if they seem to be progressing further then other steps can be taken. It is very important to evaluating learning activities as this will enable the child to reach their full potential, it can be most important when planning activities as it can then give the child and the adult a chance to think about the learning that has taken place. When evaluating the learning activities it can be important as you can then see what works and what doesn’t, you may also find that some things need adapting for the different level of children. When evaluating the learning activities you can also see where you can improve on the way you delivered the activity and what worked best. Some children are easily distracted by others or certain environments that you wish to carry the task or activity out in it is in the child’s best interest to think of where to situate the activity or task in order for the  child to reach their full potential because then they can often be brought back round to focus and have the motivation to carry out what is asked of them i f the child has many distraction this can lead to the child not paying any interest in the adult and wandering off due to distractions. For example there is a particular child in the class i am in who always wants to go outside and play and often finds anything he can to fiddle with one day i carried out a short activity with this child and a couple of children which was just by the door to outside and there was a few odd bits on the floor for him to fiddle with as soon as we got to this area and through out the activity he ran to the door several times and would pick the various things up from the floor and throw them towards other children and i realised that being in this area doesn’t work with this child not only did it affect their learning but it also affect the other children in the groups learning process as bringing this child back to focus it stopped me from carrying out the task properly so next time i was working with this child i chose a different area away from the door and free from any objects that could distract the child when the activity was finished i saw a difference the child stayed focus ed and motivated on the task and the other children also could complete the task without any interruptions. When evaluating the learning activities it can help with planning future learning activities by looking at the learning objective to measure what the child has learnt, if the learning objective is not thought about carefully at the planning stage it can be almost to tell or evaluate whether the child has achieved the objective. When looking at the knowledge, understanding and skills i have in Literacy, Numeracy and ICT and how they can impact on practise I have a little knowledge, understanding and skills in all these areas that i can use and support the children. Whilst attending sure start i achieved a level 2 in English and have always been good at spelling completing crosswords and writing stories when i was younger. After having my children i went to college in the evening to complete a level 1 in maths although maths isn’t my strong point i feel confident in supporting the children. When my youngest child was at nursery i completed an open technology course which was from January 2009 till December 2009 i achieved entry level 1 and 2 in ict open systems and office applications. When supporting children through these areas you need to work confidently and understand the subject with  more experience the more impact it will have on the children’s learning. The knowledge and understanding in these areas have also been helped by having children of my own who have gone through the whole learning process from the beginning and helping them to complete work sent home gives me that little bit more confidence. There are many ways these areas have an impact on practice and the more input and experience i do and get can mean the more confidence i can gain in these subject areas. There are still many ways that i can improve my knowledge, understanding and skills in these areas and i recently had a discussion with the class teacher on what i felt i did well and what i felt and would like to have more support or knowledge below is a plan that me and the teacher have come up with. Literacy improvement plans | With literacy i am new to sounds and pronouncing them the correct way i have already photocopied all of the formations and the actions used in order to sound these right but to reinforce this and gain knowledge of the terminology used the teacher has said about a letters and sounds book which is the principles and practise of high quality phonics. | Numeracy improvement plans| The other day i worked with a group of children who find it hard to concentrate and i know that with children in year r the best way to teach them is through games and play but i’m not confident with creativity of games or leading the games the correct way so the teacher is going to give me some website addresses and a book which has ideas. The teacher has also said she may give a few choices of games to play that are appropriate to what the current learning objective is and allow me to take the lead in what works best for me and the small group of children.| ICT improvement plans | I have lots of ICT knowledge with programs and adult use but to support children to use the computers i am a little nervous about. The teacher and i discussed working on the computers with a few children playing through the games on computers and picking up skills through experiencing them first hand or some extra time to run through them by myself. The school also uses a smart board which is linked to a laptop i haven’t had much chance to work on this so the teacher has set up a few group activities for me to carry out using the smart board these have been numeracy games so far so interlinking the numeracy and ICT development plans that i wish to achieve.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Mouth And Tooth Health Situation Health And Social Care Essay

Background & A ; purposes: Being healthy depends on consideration and planning in all its influencing factors. Bing one of the PHC parts, Mouth and Tooth Health has been recognized as one of the 11 twenty-first century mottos. DMFT is a simple, fast- stretch and dependable index in finding Mouth and Tooth Health state of affairs. Third -grade simple school pupils ‘ age is a period between deciduous and lasting dentitions being during which assorted dentitions can be seen and DMFT finding is possible. This survey was done to happen pupils ‘ tooth and oral cavity wellness state of affairs by utilizing DMFT index in Persian Gonabad metropolis in 2008. Methodology: All 3rd class simple school pupils ( N=529 ) life in Gonabad were examined and interviewed under the supervising of tooth doctors in this descriptive, cross-sectional survey to happen their Tooth and Mouth Health state of affairs. Assorted informations garnering techniques were used in the survey such as DMFT index checklist, questionnaire, disposable mirror and particular catather. The informations were analyzed by SPSS package utilizing T-Test, correlativity coefficient and ANOVA. Consequences: The findings showed that 51.2 per centum of pupils were male childs and 48.8 per centum were misss. 77.3 per centum and merely 77.3 per centum of them used tooth brush and dental floss, severally. Their dmft was 3.86A ±1.11 and DMFT 1.04A ±0.22 demoing important differences between two sexes. Furthermore, 8.3 per centum of pupils did non hold any rotten tooth. One-way ANOVA showed a important relation between brushing times and the related index. It was besides found that parents ‘ educational degree and household size had important relation with DMFT. Decision: The consequences showed that Third category simple school pupils populating in Gonabad followed countrywide forms and their oral cavity and tooth wellness state of affairs was instead suited. CF did non hold any important relation with countrywide scope. But this is at the mean degree in conformity with WHO ends. It seems necessary to carry on planned steps to advance KAP and fix indispensable resources and besides reexamine the disposal method and cost -effectiveness of some measurings such as Fluoride therapy. Cardinal Wordss: Tooth and Mouth Health, Students, DMFT Index, CF Index.IntroductionTooth decay is the bacterial disease of tooth calcificated tissues identified by demineralisation of different non-organic parts and laying waste of tooth organic stuff. Tooth-decaying factors can be classified like those of other infective diseases: these include host-related factors ( salivary combination, tooth sleight ) environmental factors ( nutrition, Fluoride ) and micro beings ( 1 ) . Research shows that tooth decay as a multi-factor disease is affected badly by legion factors such as parents ‘ instruction, economical position of the household, household size and oral cavity & A ; tooth wellness ( 2 ) . This is the most widespread disease among people ; 99 % of the universe population catch it and few individuals are non affected by it during their lives ( 3 ) . Tooth-related decay is still one of the chief jobs in dental medicine and particular attending must be paid to it in current redresss. Both mending processs and preventative steps will hold to be planned so that tooth disintegrate might be decreased. The most of import index to show tooth decay rate in people is DMFT norm. The figure of rotten, filled and extracted dentitions of all people in the society should be counted and their norms be calculated in order to happen the community DMFT. DMFT Average is a simple, easily-reachable and mensurable index in dental medicine which has been used for some decennaries. If one wishes to exemplify milk teeth state of affairs, the index is represented by â€Å" dmft † although calculated in the same manner as mentioned above. Other important indices consist of DMFS, OHI, and the per centum of people without any decay ( particularly for kids ) ( CF ) ( 5 ) . Tooth and oral cavity are considered so of import in carry throughing and publicity of wellness that it has been one of the outstanding mottos in 21th century. ( 6 ) On the other manus, complete acknowledgment of teeth state of affairs and therapeutical demands of different age groups is one of the most considerable affairs in health-theraputical planning. The necessity to hold right informations on the footing of international criterions comparable to other 1s has been taken into consideration by researches and contrivers ( 7 ) . In other words, finding assorted indices related to oral cavities and tooth wellness state of affairs in different age and societal groups and at some clip periods is so indispensable that a instead perfect position of the present status must be developed to build the foundation of comparing the planned purposes of World Dental Federation ( FDI ) until the twelvemonth 2010 ( 8 ) . Knowing DMFT ( dmft ) and other indices allows the communities to develop their plans to better bar and intervention. For case, school plans advancing non-decayed tooth index in kids focus on Fluoride ingestion in Greece. The same undertaking is carried out in Sweden ( 9 ) . WHO research commission was organized in 1992 in Geneva to supervise oral cavity and tooth wellness which emphasizes Fluoride ingestion. This organisation besides stresses commanding on a regular basis the tooth and oral cavity wellness every five old ages in all states ( 10 ) . Measuring DMFT index is conducted by Persian Mouth and Tooth Health Office every four to five old ages in Iran along with Iranian Health & A ; Treatment Ministry and WHO policies from 1998 in 3, 6, 9, 12 year-old age groups ( 1 ) . Lebanon has the highest DMFT degree ( 5.7 ) , Pakistan owns the lowest 1 ( 0.9 ) and Iran gets the mean degree among states of EMRO part ( 12 ) . The consequences of countrywide surveies showed that dmft mean degree in Persian 9 year-old kids is 3.35 and DMFT is 0.97 most of which is related to tooth decay index ( 11 ) . In conformity with WHO report, in the twelvemonth 2000 the mean of dmft & A ; DMFT in Iran was approximately mean so that they were in the lowest degree in Bushehr and Yazd metropoliss and at the highest in Zanjan and Sahrekord metropoliss ( 1 ) . Since kids are the most susceptible groups against tooth decay and have the highest rate of incidence, finding dmft and its influencing factors is one of the foremost purposes of assorted researches in different states. The same surveies have been done in Iran. Unfortunately few of dmft surveies have dealt with 9-year old kids, whereas the rate of DMFT surveies on 12-year old kids has been reported to be higher. Therefore, this survey was carried out to find oral cavity & A ; tooth wellness status particularly dmft and DMFT indices of 9 year-old kids populating in Gonabad metropolis in the twelvemonth 2008.Methodology:This was a descriptive and cross-sectional survey which was carried out on third-grade simple school pupils populating in Go nabad metropolis. All of the pupils at this degree ( 529 1s ) were selected. The ground to take this degree was that 9 year-old age period is the last period of milk dentitions being and is a suited clip to measure decay badness of lasting dentitions and besides monitor oral cavity and tooth wellness status after carry oning interventional steps for pupils. In Iran Mouth and Tooth wellness state of affairs monitoring for kids is done in 3, 6, 9 and 12 year-old age groups. DMFT and dmft indices must be measured in 9 year-old kids due to assorted tooth period ( DMFT and dmft ) . DMFT and dmft include D ( vitamin D ) stand foring decayed dentitions whose colour is changed or particular catather inserted into them and caught. M ( m ) represents missed dentitions which are extracted due to being decayed. F ( degree Fahrenheit ) represents filled dentitions which are repaired because of decay. The data-gathering method included observation ( scrutiny ) , interview, enrollment of informations and besides DMFT index checklist. The research workers referred to schools after holding mandate from the governments. Then the pupils were informed of the purposes of the research and their dentitions were examined by tooth doctors in a suited topographic point ; questionnaire were filled in and collected through organized interviews.Various tools were used in this survey including: absolang, disposable mirror, torch, and particular catather.The informations were so an alyzed by SPSS package utilizing cardinal statistical indices, Independent T-test, correlativity coefficient and Analysis of Variance.Consequences:Of the 529 participants in this survey, 48.8 per centum were misss and 51.2 were male childs. 77.3 per centum of these pupils brushed their dentitions while 22.7 per centum did non. Merely 8.32 per centum of pupils used dental floss as a utile technique to maintain their tooth healthy. The per centum of brushing dentitions by the pupils ‘ parents were as follows: 11.53 % male parents, 30.81 % female parents and 13.99 both parents brushed their dentitions on a regular footing. On the other manus, 43.67 per centum of the parents did non brush their dentitions at all. The consequences showed that the norm of dmft and DMFT were3.86A ±1.11 and 1.04A ±0.22, severally which are shown in table two. There was non any important difference between DMFT and dmft norm with their countrywide norm. The consequences showed that index per centum of kids without any decay ( Caries Free ) was 8.3.T- trial did non illustrated any important relation between two sexes ( Table no.3 ) . The consequences of the survey showed that dmft index decreased significantly as parents education degree increased ( p=0.04 ) so that it was 4.3 in kids whose parents ‘ educational degree was at simple degree and reached 2.2 for kids whose parents had high educational degree. On the other manus, dmft index increased as household size increased ( p=0.031 ) . In add-on, correlativity coefficient showed a important relation between dmft and DMFT indices in kids ‘ group ( Table No.4 ) . On the footing of conducted scrutiny, 28.92 per centum of kids need to hold their decayed dentition extracted, 66.35 per centum of them should hold them filled. Furthermore 7.6 per centum had unhealthy gums.Discussion:The present survey showed that dmft index norm among the participants of this survey is 3.86A ±1.11. This class does non demo any important difference in comparing with countrywide dmft norm which is 3.35A ±0.01. ( P=0.08 ) DMFT norm ( 1.04A ±0.22 ) does non exemplify important difference with countrywide DMFT norm ( 0.97A ±0.05 ) every bit good ( P= 0.071 ) . DMFT and dmft norms in this survey were the same as those achieved in H. Samadzadeh ( 14 ) , D. Safavi ( 15 ) and H. Nurelahian ( 16 ) . On the other manus, the Independent T-Test did non demo any important difference in dmft and DMFT indices in two sexes so that dmft and DMFT norms in male childs were 3.74 and 1.02, severally and in misss were 3.99 and 1.07, severally. These consequences are the same as those found in L. Basir ( 17 ) , M. G. Motlagh ( 18 ) , Memar ( 19 ) , S.S.Ashrafizadeh ( 20 ) and L.Tumarian. DMFT and dmft agencies in the misss were a small higher than those of male childs in this survey and the above-named 1s, but this difference was non important. 22.7 per centum of kids did non brush at all.17.5 of kids in. M.M.Fanis ‘ survey did non brush either ( 22 ) .In their surveies, S.S Ashrafzadeh and L. Tumarin study this figure to be 21 and 32.7, severally ( 20, 21 ) . Harmonizing to N. Memar, if the quality and method of right brushing had been considered, thi s figure might hold exceeded the present one ( 19 ) . The consequence of One-Way Analysis of Variance showed that there was a important relation between dmft & A ; DMFT rates and brushing times so that when brushing times increased, the rates of these indices decreased excessively. These consequences are in line with N. Memar ‘ consequences ( 19 ) . Despite a lessening in DMFT rate, there was non any important relation between this index and an addition in brushing times in M. Motlagh survey ( 23 ) . The per centum of kids without any rotten tooth ( CF ) was 8.3. In this survey, there was non any important difference between this index and countrywide one ( 11/5 % ) . ( P=0.21 ) CF index was 10.7 in L.Tumarian ‘ survey ( 21 ) . Boys and misss ‘ CF index were 8/1and 8/5, severally which did non demo any important difference between two sexes despite its being higher in the misss. ( P=0.12 ) The same consequences in this index were verified in B.Ajami ( 24 ) and H. Nurelahian ( 16 ) . CF index in 9 year-old kids is really low due to assorted dental period because both milk and lasting dentition may be decayed taking to CF lessening in 9 year-old kids. In malice of instead acceptable indices of utilizing coppice, the per centum of dental floss use was well low in this survey ( 8.32 % ) .These consequences are the same as those in S.Ashrafizadeh ( 7.5 % ) and L. Tumarian ( 11 % ) . It seems that utilizing dental floss is non widespread among Persian households and that countrywide preparation should be conducted to advance this utile technique and that members of the society should hold entree to it in order to better their oral cavity and tooth wellness. The present research shows that dmft of pupils whose parents ‘ educational degree is higher ( 2/2 ) is well lower than pupils whose parents ‘ educational degree is simple ( 21.3 ) ( P=0.04 ) . This consequence was similar to those of N.Memar ( 19 ) , A. Davari ( 25 ) , K.Salem ( 26 ) in that DMFT and dmft rates decreased as parents ‘ educational degree went up. It seems that this variable affects dmft from two facets, in which increasing parents ‘ cognition degree is the more of import of the two. This fact is besides proved in Downer ( 27 ) , Seow and Amaratungo ( 28 ) , Aajabi and Hamdan ( 29 ) and Afshar & A ; Shafizadeh ( 30 ) which have been conducted in Poland, Australia, Jordan and Iran, severally. The other influence of parents ‘ educational degree in Iran is that households with higher instruction normally enjoy suited economical state of affairs which in bend leads to the publicity of their kids ‘s ‘ tooth and oral cavity wellness state of affairs. Furthermore, it has been proved that there is a important relation between mentioning to dentistry and parents ‘ educational degree in other similar surveies. In contrast, an addition in household size leads to a lessening in cognition which makes the economical state of affairs even worse with the effect that less attending is paid to taking attention of kids. In the present survey, like those of M.Gh.Motlegh ( 18 ) and M.M.Fani ( 22 ) , dmft increased as household size increased, demoing a important difference between the two variables ( P=0.031 ) Pierson correlativity coefficient demonstrated that dmft & A ; DMFT addition at the same time ( direct important relation ) .Therefore, it is of paramount importance to see the issue that taking attention of milk dentitions leads to the betterment of the wellness of lasting dentitions, which is against the public sentiment that milk dentitions wellness does non merit much attending due to their lasting nature. Based on the findings of this survey, oral cavity and teeth wellness state of affairs among 9 year-old kids in Gonabad metropolis is instead acceptable in comparing with countrywide state of affairs, but it lies in the mean degree with respect to WHO standards. Therefore, it is necessary to see cardinal options and rapid planning to forestall tooth and oral cavity diseases due to the high population of pupils in Iran. It is, hence, hoped that cardinal steps be conducted in future through the attempts of Persian high ranking functionaries in Health & A ; Treatment sector, and de dicated and experts and researches. In decision, it is suggested that remedial wellness classs be held in simple schools for both pupils and wellness trainers and instructors. Sing the society, it is suggested that Mouth and Tooth Health Education be done for the households while stressing fissur sealant intervention, proper distribution of wellness and preventative devices like coppice, toothpaste, dental floss and so on. It is besides considered critical to non overlook cost-effectiveness of activities sing Mouth and Tooth Health.Recognition:The writers wish to thank all functionaries of Education Office, principals and instructors of simple schools in Gonabad for their sort aid and cooperation throughout this survey.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Presidents’ Stand on Environmental Issues Essay

The environmental issue has dominated most of the United States presidential candidate debates and is definitely a major concern for everyone. The major concerns that need a faster response action are the greenhouse gases that are increasingly causing global warming. Global warming refers to increased temperatures of the earth’s atmosphere with progress in time. Research has shown that the increased amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are due to the human activities especially industrialization that is increasingly releasing carbon monoxide fumes in the atmosphere. The results of the greenhouse effects are causing an increase in atmospheric temperature and disrupted climatic conditions world wide. Being a serious problem worldwide, the issue has been on the U. S presidential campaign platforms and policy making by the presidents of the United States, both former and current president. The campaigns to reduce global warming have seen calls for investment in green issues and encouraging use of bio-fuel by former presidential candidates like Al Gore (also a former Vice president under Clinton administration) who is considered to be a staunch environmentalist working against global warming. Former presidents `The issues about global warming date back to industrialization as in it’s the time that saw increased use of fossil fuel though its effects were to be noticed after some time. Many of the United States presidents have been under criticism on the type of policies they applied for environmental conservation issues during their administration. The Regan – Bush era was critical in addressing the global warming debate with Al Gore, the then Senator and Environmental conservation lobbyist criticized the policies of Bush administration (Inc Mead Data Central 1998). Clinton is considered the only president who understood that green pays as he supported green investment and fought against global warming. President Clinton’s Stance on Environment President Bill Clinton faced so much criticism on environmental issues since he relied so much on his Vice president who was an environmentalist. Most of the Democrat supporters even threatened to ditch Clinton and Support Richard A. Gephardt who was a House Minority. This move seems to be a tricky one since Al Gore was an environmentalist and conservative that most people admired and supported and he was one of the campaign planks used in the presidential campaigns. President Bill Clinton did not gain popularity because of the environmental record but on his attacks on the congress (Peterson 2004). The president managed to stop extravagant spending on the Environmental Protection Agency plus he managed to stop the most egregious efforts to adjust regulations were taking care of the species in danger of extinction and water quality standards (Inc Mead Data Central 1998). The Clinton administration came under criticism because of two critical concerns; 1. The Local air quality control standards 2. The global warming, greenhouse emissions Local air quality control: The quality control of air was not addressed and the Clinton administration did not meet the tough requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while at the same time rejected republican proposals for adjusting some of the EPA requirements to reduce standards for certain areas. The Greenhouse effect: Clinton administration cannot claim to have taken a centrism position. During President Bush (Bush senior) governance, Al Gore (Clinton’s Vice President) was a senator and a tough environmentalist, he criticized Bush’s and on global warming and even advocated for tough laws by the Global standards. Al Gore wanted a strong American leadership and proposed a Marshall plan for funding other regime’s program to decrease greenhouse effects (Peterson 2004). Though the government signed the deal, coming in of Clinton administration failed to commit to the plan of reducing US own greenhouse gas emissions, rather the Clinton Administration went as far as stating that other governments’ objectives were too ambitious. Most of the people are less concerned about the air pollution in urban areas and greenhouse fumes. All what people seem to care about is the federal laws governing government lands. The bodies taking care of such property include bureau of land Management (BLM), United States Forest service and bureau of Reclamation among others. These agencies have faced criticism since Regan to Bush’s administration. Large state owned farms have been used by private developers to ranch their animals. Private landowners had considerably increased their fees for land, while federal administration had not, ensuing in federal subvention to few individuals. Clinton proposed an increase in the fees of the ranching to federal owned land to raise market level, a move that was not to be welcomed by the congress and he gave up before more issues arose. Clinton’s policy on logging federal lands was not a smart one and received so much disapproval. The Clinton administration was selling trees from federal lands to private companies at smaller fraction, lower than that of the market value. This is actually an abuse of office by those in charge, at to add insults to the injury, the government under the Name U. S Forest Services spent billions of Tax payer’s money constructing roads to enable logger’s access the trees with ease. The forest service being part of the Agriculture department, it does not allocate public money to land reclamation instead, they encourage logging. Initially Clinton’s policy on logging in federal lands an aggressive one as he made calls to manage forest department scientifically, he called a timber summit that approved the idea of ecosystem management. He even hired a wildlife biologist to execute the new policy. Sadly, the policy was not supported by the white house and it therefore did not work. It’s estimated that the federal government lost close to $ 1 billion selling its own forest resources between 1992 and 1994. In 1995, President Bill Clinton signed a bill (a bill proposed by Charles Taylor) that supported selling of logs and dead trees, a deal he could have vetoed. The sell included any trees that were considered to die soon! , that meant that if there was one dead tree in the forest, a number of fine trees would be cut as well since it would not be of used to sell one tree. This is what Al Gore termed as the Worst mistake made by Bill Clinton as a president. Clinton’s environmental record has never been a good one, Al Gore in his renown book â€Å"Earth in the Balance† he demanded that all political leaders had to take a stand on their view of environmental conservation issues. The Clinton stance on environment did not show what representing democracy actually was. Bush’s Policy on Environment Global warming is the major feature that is addressed when talking about environmental conservation since it affects the whole world and needs a joint solution. Climate scientist have found out that it’s usually initiated by the green house effect, a phenomenon in which some of the gases in the atmosphere, trap and reflect back the heat on the surface of the earth. President Bush came in to office in 2001 to and declined to support the Kyoto Protocol (Goodell 2007). This was a United Nations Convention changes to climate policies that intended to cut down the amount of greenhouse fumes that were being released in to the environment. The United Nations (UN) recognizes carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide as the major greenhouse gases that are released in to the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burnt. President Bush argued that there was no strong evidence to show that human activities were the major cause of global warming. Bush said that the uncertainty of scientists concerning the extent to which man’s actions were the problems in the treaty and did not agree on the impact the treaty would have on the United States economy as well as industrialization. President Bush also argued that since other big nations like India and China had not agreed, then he was not going to, either. The Bush government agreed that the climate changes that had been observed in the previous years were greatly due to human activities in their Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issue, though it was affirmed that that could not rule out the fact that the environmental changes could be due natural environmental variation. The fact that climate scientist have proved that global warming was a direct consequence of human activities over years could not be the reason as to why there was need to reduce greenhouse effect, according to president Bush. He reaffirmed his stand on the Kyoto protocol despite the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) issue that accepted the United Nations claims. President Bush termed the EPA as bureaucratic measure by his critics. President Bush has been accused of downplaying the acknowledgment that relate human activities and global warming, and at one time it was alleged that Philip Cooney, an official from the white House and former oil industry advocate had adjusted explanations of environmental changes investigation that had already been endorsed by government scientists, an allegation that the white house denied. Papers from the State department showed that Bush administration had thanked Exxon managerial for their active role and the assistance they gave to help decide climate change policy, especially the United States’ position on the Kyoto Protocol. The global climate coalition lobby was also a feature in the downplay of Kyoto by the government. Throughout his presidency, President Bush maintained a controversial stand on the environmental issues and has kept on questioning the consensus of climate scientists. This has lead to criticism of Bush administration. One significant was James Hansen, in 2004; he was the director of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA). He came out openly and insensitively and criticized the government for misleading the general; public by suppressing scientific proof of the dangers of the greenhouse fumes (Goodell 2007). He claimed the Bush administration only accepted information that fit predetermined conclusions and unbendable stance they had taken so as to make the dangers of global warming appear lesser than they actually are. This is a direct opposition to elemental precept of science. President Bush insists that he understand the effects of global warming and maintains that the debate is whether it’s man-made of from a natural cause. And in spite of the cause, his administration would work hard to solve the problem of dependence on foreign oil for economic and national security grounds (Goodell 2007). This was to reaffirm citizens that the government was encouraging use of bio-fuel as an alternative to fossil fuels that were linked to global warming. The Bush administration has made a gradual shift accepting that the greenhouse effect was a serious problem and needed argent solution. The government encourages the use of technological breakthrough to help Americans live oil independent lives that promoted environment conservation hence reducing global climate disruptions. Under President Bush, the U. S has signed the Asia Pacific Partnership that is calling for a clean development and Climate, an agreement that allows participating countries to set objectives unconditionally for cutting down emission of gases that are presumed to be causing the greenhouse effect. Some of the republicans have proposed the adoption of some of the recommendations made in the Kyoto Protocol in this agreement. President Bush has also pushed for 2004 Methane to Markets proposal through lobbying it to the congress. It is estimated that Methane would reduce a great deal of greenhouse gas released to the atmosphere, though some critics dispute Bush‘s Methane Proposal as more intoxicating contributor to greenhouse effect than the carbon dioxide emissions in the Kyoto protocol (Philander 2008). They claim that the Methane treaty would just reduce as much as what was proposed in the Kyoto protocol and that this Methane plan by Bush was not any better. The future Presidents The US government has to reformulate its policies on the conservation of environment at large and more so to reduce greenhouse effect. One of the changes would include investing in technology that supports green issues. There is very little that can be achieved in attempting to reduce the time for changing the global warming since, development of technology takes several years. Future leaders therefore need to reduce fossil oil usage by cutting down energy demands. The President Elect: Barrack Obama  The president elect Barrack Obama seems to draw much of his policies from former president Bill Clinton, as during the campaigns, Clinton gave his insights and he said that climate change needed to be taken as the major concern of the next administration. The outgoing president has not accomplished most of the environmental issues that have been pending under debates, however there is hope that the next President would do batter. In the 2008 United States presidential campaigns, both candidates seemed to understand the need to regulate the release of greenhouse gases to the environment. Barrack Obama is expected to improve o the Bush’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gases by 50% in 40 years to target an 80% cut by the year 2050. This is the target even advocated for by climate scientist though they seem not to agree on the time limit (Urevick 2007). The world wealthiest nations have all joined campaigns to cut down the amount of fumes they release to the environment while the emerging economic powers like China and India have declined to support the move. President Elect, Obama has proposed a ‘good’ energy policy that is very clear i. e. Americans need to cut dependence on fossil fuel from the Middle East and that the U. S also has to cut down greenhouse gas release to the environment (Licher & Rothman1999). With the two objectives in mind, the future presidents can develop reasonable policies that can greatly reduce greenhouse effect as well invest in bio-fuel to cut down dependence on fossil fuel. Obama has proposed residential tax credits to encourage energy conservation; this is a great deal since even large firms have realized the benefits (cost savings) that come with saving energy The current ethanol policy is very unreliable plan to be included in the energy policy as it’s not sustainable; the US would be better positioned by importing sug3er based ethanol from Latin America. President elect Obama has proposed to invest about $ 150 billion in clean energy in the subsequent ten years, as this would promote alternative energy sources and encourage change of the fuel being used to the one that that is lower in carbon (bio-fuel) (Urevick 2007). Obama is also campaigning against offshore drilling plans that were being referred to as energy panacea by the republican candidate John McCain. Presidential elect Obama has plans to establish a leading role in world in terms of policies formulation and energy conservation efficiency. He intends to hold discussions with like minded nations such as the group of eight (G-8 i. e. France, Italy, Japan, Britain, Germany, Russia and the U. S) and G8 plus 5 to jumpstart the use of energy efficient standardized appliances (Philander 2008). Obama encourages the use of hybrid vehicles. Having an excellent energy policy translates to a good environmental policy since the two issues go hand in hand and that climate change resulting from poor energy policy is the major global environmental risk. Due to this Mr. Obama has intensions of cutting down current carbon gas emissions by a rate of eighty percent by the year 2050. Generally the future look bright for the Americans and the whole world at large as President elect has promised to cut up the current Bush environmental policies and establish a key climate change bill. This would help to take back the U. S to an international fold. Conclusion Conservation of environment has a serious impact on the whole world if left unmanaged and most those likely to suffer are innocent populations who have no idea of the global warming issues. Environmental policies that are set by politicians and especially the presidents of America have to be multi-front operation, and include ethical education on the need to protect the environment. The governments should invest in systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as support individuals to make these changes. The efforts need to go beyond borders hence demanding global cooperation since the effects of the environmental mismanagement bring universal crisis.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Disruptive Behaviors

Research/Literature Review Disruptive and Violent Behaviors in the Classroom: Where do we begin to solve the problem? According to Random House Dictionary (1992), discipline is defined as â€Å"behavior in accord with rules of conduct. † It is an essential part of classroom management. Discipline in the classroom enables a teacher to focus on the task at hand, which is education our children. It also keeps a classroom or school in order and created a safer environment in which to learn. Disruptive behaviors in the classroom affect not only the student involved but also the teacher and other students. For example, if a student exhibits disruptive behavior as a means of gaining attention by throwing paper or talking during class, he or she takes the teacher off task to address his or her behavior. This also causes the other students to become off task. The disruptive student becomes satisfied because the attention rewards his/her negative behavior. These kinds of minor incidents, if rewarded, could lead to other forms of disruptions, which, if not controlled, could become aggressive and or violent situations. Take for instance the six-year old boy who shot and killed another six-year old classmate after a playground dispute in Mount Morris Township, MI on February 9, 2000 (Bonilla, 2000). If elementary school educators think the problem of crime, violence and aggression in youth will not affect them, then they must reconsider. This example has proven that the perpetrator is likely to be of any age, even as young as six-years old. As a teacher, one of my concerns is classroom management. In particular, I want to be well informed on the disruptive behavior of children, recognizing its causes and implementing a form of discipline that will not only stop the disruption and keep the students on task but also prevent it from occurring regularly. I believe being knowledgeable of the causes will enable us as educators to develop strategies to control and prevent these behaviors from occurring in the future, thus, keeping our students on task, as well as, making our schools a safer place to learn. This paper is organized in a three-fold manner, including research on the following focus areas: (1) overview of aggressive and disruptive behaviors and violence in schools; (2) possible causes and consequences for aggressive and disruptive behaviors; (3) strategies for assessment, intervention and prevention. Definitions/Overview of Concepts How do we begin to derive a solution to the problem of violence in our schools? It only seems appropriate to first define aggression and violence. Jan Jewett (1992), the author of Aggression and Cooperation: Helping Young Children Develop Constructive Strategies, defines aggression as â€Å"any intentional behavior that results in physical or mental injury to any person or animal, or in damage to or destruction of property. According to researcher Lorraine Wallach (1996), violence and aggression are often confused and are used interchangeably to mean the same thing. In fact, she states that aggression is inborn while violence is learned. Aggression provides the force that can cause violent behavior to erupt if it is not handled properly. Wallach’s definition of violence is very similar to Jewett’s definition of aggression. Wallach (1996) states, â€Å"violence means using force to hurt, violate or abuse persons or destroy property. † In their study, Kamps, Kravits, Stolze and Swaggart (1999) define aggression as, â€Å"purposeful physical contact intended to harm a peer or that could be harmful with force†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Basically this definition is synonymous with that of Jewett and Wallach. For the purpose of this paper, aggression is defined by using a variation of the above mentioned definitions as the force that causes disruptive and sometimes violent behaviors to flare. Violent behaviors are defined as intentional behaviors meant to hurt, violate or cause damage to any person or property as a result of aggression. Violence in Schools Rossman and Morley (1996) found that violence and crime in schools have been around for decades but the nature of the behaviors has changed. They found that forty years ago teachers were reporting the most common classroom problems to be tardiness, talkative students and gum chewing. The present-day grievances have changed dramatically. They include the presence of drugs, gangs, weapons, as well as concerns about verbal assaults, bullying, physical attack, robbery and rape (Rossman & Morley, 1996). In their synthesis of research, Rossman & Morley (1996) presented a 1993 Nationwide school-based survey by the Centers for Disease Control which reported the following results: 1. 4. 4% of 9th &12th graders missed at least one day of school because they felt unsafe on school grounds 2. 11. 8% reported carrying a weapon to school 3. 7. 3% of these students reported having been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property 4. 6. 2% reported having been involved in at least one physical fight at school 5. 32. 7% reported having property deliberately damaged or stolen while at school Much of the research presented in Rossman & Morley’s article was conducted on adolescents and teenagers. Elementary educators should be aware of this research because they encounter these children before they become â€Å"problem children†. Elementary teachers have a great impact on the behavior of their students, especially as they become adolescents. For this reason, it is important for teachers to monitor the current research in order to prevent possible violent outbreaks among these children. A survey on the opinions of teachers, reported by the National Center for Education Statistics, revealed that teacher’s opinions on the safety of public schools are not good. This survey, conducted from 1987-88 to 1993-94, noted that elementary school teachers are reporting â€Å"physical conflicts as a moderate to serious problems† (Rossi & Daugherty, 1996). Possible Causes and Consequences of Disruptive/Aggressive Behaviors According to child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Baer Max Ackerman (1998), there is no single pre-determining factor that causes aggressive behavior in children. Nature and Nurture interact to make up a child’s personality. This section of this paper will focus on both, internal and external factors that may cause aggressive and violent behaviors in children. Internal Factors Rossman and Morley (1996) give several internal and external causes for crime and violence in children. The biological factors or stressors include fetal alcohol syndrome, or crack babies. The factors impair the individuals’ abilities to exercise cognitive controls or engage in stable social relationships. This idea is also supported by Lorraine Wallach (1996), she states, â€Å"†¦brain research links early deprivation and abuse with physiological changes†¦which can be neurological or chemical may make the afflicted individuals susceptible to violent and addictive behavior†. Other research (Massey, 1998) indicates the consequences of violence in the early years include shaken baby syndrome which can cause, â€Å"†¦brain damage, blindness, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, spinal cord injury, seizures, learning disabilities and even death† (Massey, 1998). External Factors A study conducted by Stormshak and Bierman (2000) was designed to determine whether five distinct parenting practices could be related to various profiles of disruptive behavior problems in their children. The study included 631 kindergartners and their parents; they were from four areas of the United States, Durham, NC; Nashville, TN; Seattle, WA; and Central PA. The researchers (Stormshak and Bierman, 2000) collected their data through parenting interviews on reports of child behavior problems. A factor analysis was then conducted. The results of this study indicated that there is an association between parental physical aggression and aggressive child behavior. This finding suggests that spanking, physical aggression and violent forms of parenting are related to â€Å"active, aggressive, externalizing behaviors† (Stormshak & Bierman, 2000). A limitation in research, according to the researchers, was their reliance solely on parent reports for the child’s behavior problems, as well as of parenting practices. The responses of the parents may have reflected what they believed to be acceptable parenting styles. Other researchers Nelson, Martella & Galand, (1998) have found that parents that are unskilled in their use of punishment for their children’s disruptive behavior, and this only make things worse. Research (Aidman, 2000) done over the past forty years concludes that violence on television programs has negative effects on young viewers. Children learn to use the aggressive behavior they witness to benefit themselves. The learning of aggressive behavior has been forecasted to increase when the violence witnessed is justified, graphic, extensive or realistic, when the perpetrator is attractive, conventional weapons are present and when the violence is rewarded or presented in a humorous fashion. Aidman (2000) also suggests in her article that when children are repeatedly exposed to aggressive acts and violence, they become desensitized to its harmful and realistic consequences. The long-term effects of desensitization of violence have been of special concern for parents and educators of young children. Consequences of violence on children who witness violence include low self-esteem, withdrawal, nightmares, self-blame and aggression/violence towards peers and family members (Massey, 1998). Bullock, Fitzsimons, and Gable (1996) note, Factors that contribute to an increased likelihood of aggressive behavior include not only the child’s temperament and parent’s child-rearing and discipline practices, but also exposure to medial and real life violence- such as, spousal abuse/victimization, severe parental depression, chronic economic hardship, unemployment and family criminality. The external factors associated with crime and violence in children offered by Rossman and Morley (1996) are as follow: 1. Unsatisfactory family environment/relationships: poor parenting skills and child rearing conditions, insufficient nurturing and pro-social bonding, lack of parental supervision, ineffective or harsh discipline or repeated abuse 2. Limited opportunity routes attributed to social inequalities: these minimize youths’ exposure to pro-social role models and diminish youths’ ability to envision productive, secure futures 3. School factors that are conducive to disorder, crime and violence: –Overcrowding -High student/teacher ratio –Insufficient curricular/course relevance –Low student academic achievement and apathy Another study suggest the aggression in children emerges from being rejected by peers (Mounts, 1997). It is important for young children to have good peer relationships. Friendships and good peer relationships provide the following, according to Dr. Mounts: (1) companionship and support in stressful times such as divorce; (2) a source of fun and recreational activities; (3) loyal allies during tough interactions; (4) confidants and holders of secrets. This may allow a child to release tension and aggressive energy by talking to someone his or her own age. Peer relationships provide critical opportunities and outlets for children to learn to manage conflicts in their lives. According to research by Dr. Mounts (1997), children of single-parent homes, or homes where both parents work spend greater amounts of time in the company of peers. The following characteristics of peer-rejected children were cited in her research: (1) display high levels of verbally and physically aggressive behavior towards peers; (2) are disruptive; (3) frequently are off task in the classroom. These characteristics represent children who cause disruption and are a source of discipline problems in the classroom. Dr. Mounts (1997) found that 1/3 of all peer-rejected children were seen as highly aggressive. Forty-eight percent of rejected 6th graders were interested in receiving help in improving their peer relationships. Other research presented by Kamps, Kravits, Stolze and Swaggart (1999) supports this relationship; they report that early trends of antisocial behavior are later predicted to result in aggressive behavior. A study by Edmondson and Bullock (1998) was conducted using the method of focus group. It involved five elementary-school-aged boys, 3 Hispanic, 1 Asian American and 1 African-American students from grades 4 and 5 of an inner-city elementary alternative center. The study focus was on determining these students’ thoughts, feelings and perceptions on the topic of aggression and violence in schools. The researchers believed that students from this kind of setting could, â€Å"†¦provide educators with valuable information regarding youth who display aggressive and violent behavior† (p. 35). Results of this study (Edmondson & Bullock, 1998) suggest that the behavior and thought patterns of young people are affected by their social skills. These subjects appeared hopeful about resolving aggressive and violent behaviors in schools (Edmondson and Bullock, 1998). This article identifies possible causes of aggression in youth to be linked to societal influences. Violence and aggression can also have adverse effects on learning, according to Massey (1998). She states, â€Å"academic achievement enhances the development of positive self-esteem and self-efficacy†¦which are necessary for children to experience emotional well-being and to achieve success† (p. 3). Strategies for Assessment, Intervention & Prevention There is a wealth of information regarding intervention and prevention of aggression and violence in students. While conducting the research for this topic, I came across several articles and studies. Unfortunately, only a fraction of what is available to educators, parents and the interested public will be presented in this paper. Assessment Strategies Three elementary-aged boys in regular education classrooms, identified with extremely disruptive in-school behavior were included in a study by Ellis and Magee (1999) to assess activities of the Behavioral Assessment and Technology Support Systems (BATSS). The BATSS conducts functional analysis of very disruptive behavior in children labeled severely emotionally and behaviorally disordered. The subjects included a 10 year-old with ADHD, another 10 year-old with Pervasive Developmental Disorder and a 6 year-old with mild autism from two suburban school districts. The researchers (Ellis and Magee, 1999) gathered data from observation conducted by the observation team for 10 days during regular classrooms, special area classes, recess and lunch. According to Ellis and Magee (1999), †¦The goal of functional analysis is not to find the one true approach but to find the most appropriate strategy that will provide the most information and that will ultimately result in an effective intervention that can be implemented by the relevant personnel in a particular setting. (p. 6). Functional analysis assessment was used in the beginning on maladaptive behaviors, such as STB (self-injurious behavior), occurring with persons living in housing for those with developmental disabilities (Ellis and Magee, 1999). When this method of assessment was moved into natural settings, research was primarily conducted on persons with mental retardation. Functional analysis were rarely conducted in school settings. â€Å"Replicating the functional analysis in regular education class after analyzing the behavior†¦helps explain how the circumstances of a classroom routines modulate the effects of a procedure†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 93). In this replication of a BATSS study, †¦results suggest that validating each functional analysis outcome in the student’s classroom, with the teacher conducting the analysis, provides direct opportunity for the classroom teacher to observe the effects of directly applied behavioral contingencies on the students targeted behavior. (p. 1 8) This study provides evidence that when the results of a functional analysis produces changes in disruptive or inappropriate behavior, functional analysis can become institutionalized (Ellis and Magee, 1999). Another study by Scott, DeSimone, Fowler and Webb (2000) consisted of three male elementary-aged students whose behavior interfered with the quantity and quality of their classroom instruction. The researchers evaluated functional behavior assessment to develop interventions for disruptive behaviors. They state that in the past, teachers relied upon disapproval, punishment and exclusion as a means of eliminating disruptive classroom behavior. According to research (Scott et al. , 2000), these types of interventions are ineffective. Functional behavior assessment can be applied as a validated procedure for intervention with disruptive students. This involves â€Å"†¦identifying the purpose or function of student behavior followed by teaching and reinforcing more desirable replacement behaviors that are selected to serve the same function for the student. † Information obtained from the assessment can be used to define appropriate replacement behaviors, as well as, develop intervention strategies. Findings from this study show the importance of having a pre-planned intervention (Scott et al. , 2000). Prevention/Intervention Strategies Kamps, Kravits, Stolze and Swaggart (1999) cited several studies in which the researchers found that without intervention, antisocial behaviors beginning at an early age are predicted to develop into learning difficulties. Kamps et al. (1999) conducted a study on a total of 52 (28-target group and 24-control group) elementary and middle school students at risk for EBD (emotional and behavioral disorders) from urban schools. The researchers’ goal in this study was to investigate a â€Å"universal intervention† prevention program. The intervention consisted of behavioral management programs, social skills instruction and peer tutoring in reading. The researchers (Kamps et al. , 1999) found that student performance across several key behaviors in the target group improved the prevention program. This group also showed a decrease in aggression. They state, â€Å"†¦early interventions, such as programs for elementary-age students, may prevent further deterioration of behaviors and stop a negative trajectory toward academic and social failure. Overall, this study contributed to support the use of preventative programs for at-risk students and students with EBD in elementary schools (Kamp et al. , 1999). The results from this study may be applied to all students. Lorraine Wallach (1996) offers alternative suggestions to preventing aggression and violence among children. Her ideas are formed around the schools and centers that educate and care for young children. These include: 1. Schools should provide teache rs who exhibit warmth and kindness and are willing to make an investment in the children they educate 2. Teachers must show respect to children and their efforts to be independent 3. Schools should provide for young children an environment that is easily managed and orderly 4. Programs that are interesting, challenging and fun should be provided by the schools; these types of programs â€Å"provide an outlet for the aggressive energy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  as well as build self-confidence and self-esteem 5. Schools should offer many opportunities for self-expression; this gives children a chance to reveal their feelings,