Stages of Sleep, Language Acquisition and Development Essay

A. Describe the stages of sleep. Identify the major sleep disorders. Using an electroencephalogram, researchers noted four distinct stages of NREM sleep and one stage of REM sleep. As we sleep, we cycle through these stages like a circuit at the gym; spending more time on some machines and less time on others. We spend as much as ninety minutes in NREM stages and as little as ten minutes in REM per circuit. The stages of NREM sleep can be identified by their characteristic wavelengths, based on brain activity, as seen on the EEG. We use the cycles per second (cps) to categorize the stages. In stage 1, the lightest of sleep stages, we see a wave of 3-7 cps, which is down from the drowsy measurement of 8-12 cps. As we fall deeper into†¦show more content†¦Somnambulism, or sleepwalking, can be dangerous due to the fact that the person is wandering about without any conscious awareness. B. Describe the way language is acquired. To describe the way language is acquired, were going to talk about how we perceive words and speech, how we learn the meaning of different words, and how we learn to use grammar properly. As children, we immediately start our life by hearing the world around us and its up to our brain to figure out what all the sound means. Research suggests that we are biologically ready to separate sound contrasts that are important for the language spoken around us. We also get help from those around us in the form of infant-directed speech, commonly called baby-talk. We get our information via speech that has been slowed and simplified, and often in a higher pitch, that helps us grasp these new words. We, as children, are amazing new word learners. Like little sponges, absorbing every new word even if we dont immediately get the proper meaning. We hear a new word and guess what that word might mean based on our surroundings. For example, everything in yo ur living room has a name. Now, imagine that someone you trusted very much came in and commented on how lovely your inglenook was. You would have trouble immediately knowing what this person was talking about, but you would make a hypothesis. You would look at whereShow MoreRelatedThe Science of Sleeping950 Words   |  4 PagesSleep timing is controlled by the circadian cycle, working as a inner timekeeping, temperature controlling device, and the part of the body that act as a transmitter associated with wakefulness. Sleep duration is also controlled by circadian rhythms; that is, the time one goes to sleep influences sleep duration. (Zimbardo, and Richard 143). A consistent pattern of cyclical body activities, this cycle constantly working on restoration and conservation of our bodies take place. About a third ofRead MoreThe Stages Of First Language Acquisition1381 Words   |  6 PagesFirst language acquisition means the development of children language in natural environment. First language acquisition could be bilingual or monolingual. Bilingual first language acquisition means children from birth acquire two languages at the same time such as child who has parents from different nationality (Houwer,2009). In contract, monolingual means the development of single language. However, several studies have documented the development of first language acquisition into stages whichRead MoreWhy I Been Learning English1651 Words   |  7 Pagesbeen learning English in school if I grew up speaking it? It s a question that crops up in most English language arts classes at some point. What s your answer? Here are a few typical ones you might hear. You need to speak, read, and write correct English in order to be successful in society. People will think you re uneducated if you don t know how to use English properly. Using language effectively is an important part of using the gifts God has given you. No doubt these answers get at importantRead MoreSmart Emotion Based Music Player With Sleep Alert System1718 Words   |  7 Pages ||shree|| Abstract:- In this paper we propose a smart emotion based music player with sleep alert system. The objective of this paper is to introduce needs and applications of facial expression recognition. The proposed system has a camera to capture the user’s facial expression. By analyzing the expressions, the system will get idea about user’s emotion. After gettingRead MoreNaps During The Day Facilitate Learning Essay756 Words   |  4 Pageslearning, specifically verb generalization. This topic interests me because as a father life got a whole lot easier once I was able to figure out what my child wanted; for example, being able to differentiate between his hungry versus tired cry. Language acquisition is important to me because the sooner he can verbalize his wants and needs, the easier and more effectively I will be able to meet them, in addition to helping him learn about the world around him. Moreover, sometimes a child’s schedule andRead MoreThe Parent Education Clas s : A Voluntary Program For The Parents853 Words   |  4 Pagescare, childcare, education, and other expenses. The educator will then explain what to expect while being pregnant. The three characteristics of prenatal development will be discussed: shortest stage in the life span of the child, most rapid growth and development in the life span of the child, and that it is the most critical in the development of the child. Another issue to address in the pregnancy section of the class is exercise. Physical exercise is important for expecting mothers and shouldRead MoreLanguage Acquisition7926 Words   |  32 PagesÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…......Â…Â…..Â… 3 Main body 1. Language acquisition Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â….Â….Â….......Â… 4 2. The stages of language acquisition Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…....Â…......Â….. 5 2.1. The prelinguistic stage Â…Â…Â….Â….........Â…...........Â… 7 2.2. Babbling Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…........Â…...........Â…Â… 7 2.3. One-word utterances Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…..Â…....Â…...........Â… 9 2.4. Two-word utterances Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…..............Â…..Â….... 10 2.5. Telegraphic speech Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…........Â…...Â…Â… 13 2.6. Language learning during the pre-school period Â….. 16 Read MorePiagets Theory of Infant Development1499 Words   |  6 PagesPiagets Theory of Infant Development Author: Elizabeth Purling Renton Technical College Developmental Psychology Instructor: Leta Berkshire May 30, 2007 Piagets Theory of Infant Development At almost 32 weeks gestation, my little one constantly brings about questions and ideas about what my life will be like when I become a parent. What will she look like? Will she be a loud baby or a quiet one? How long before she sleeps through the night? What cognitive abilities doesRead MoreCommunication Is An Integral Part Of Our Society Essay1945 Words   |  8 Pagescommunication within human society is language (Fellowes Oakley, 2014b). This essay will discuss language, what it is, as well as how children are affected by language throughout different stages of their childhood and beyond. Language is a symbolic system (Piaget, as referenced in Fellowes Oakley, 2014a) which incorporates more than words alone, but includes the use of; words, tone, ‘body language’, register and facial expression. With this being said there are languages which exist containing no wordsRead MoreErik Erikson s Development Theory1408 Words   |  6 Pages Erik Erikson’s Development theory Erik Erikson’s was born June 15, 1902, in southern Germany, His Jewish mother Karla Abrahamsen and to biological father, who was on unnamed Darnish man. Erikson’s biological abandoned him before he was born. Erikson was brought up by his mother and stepfather, Theodor Homberger, who was Erikson’s pediatrician. He never knew the true identity of his biological father. He always was in search of his identity; Erikson’s search for identity took him through some

Business Envirmonet Free Essays

It’s very common in large business to expand abroad; however there are a lot of factors that have to be considered before planning to start business in another country depending on which policies they have or what their background is as well as their stability or whether your product or business will sell over there. In this assignment I’m going to compare the challenges to business activities in two different environments, my two chosen environments are the UK and the Republic of China. I have chosen China and the UK as my two contrasting countries and my chosen business is KFC which is large global fast food chain, china is the most populated country in the world and is also has the largest economy. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Envirmonet or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Republic of China is an Asian country which is situated in east of Asia and it comes within the 3rd largest country in the world as well as the second largest economy in the works it also has a population of 1. 35 billion people. The capital city of China is Beijing however the most populated city and a global financial center is Shanghai. My chosen business is KFC (Kentucky fried chicken it’s an American based business which is centered all over the world and it’s now moving to China, I will look into the problems they may face in China . The two economic environments that I am going to be describing are recession and growth on the business activities of KFC. Growth occurs when more goods are being produced and bought. During growth people tend spend more money on goods and services because they have more money to spend on products and services and also businesses will invest more and hire more staff as because there is an increase in demand for them. Recession however occurs when people running the business become more cautious with their spending so they cut their spending and orders as well laying of some of their more disposable employees thus making them redundant. It is said n the news that Chinas GDP growth rate has averaged out at 3. 1% In the most recent years, Chinese business has become more efficient and Chinas is now the 1st largest Asian economy, this means that if KFC wanted to expand in china they would al lot of competitions from other successful business who offer similar products. KFC is a one of the world’s leading fast food chain and their products are food and beverages where as Chinas is one of the world’s top producers of rice and wheat as well a livestock . This mean that if KFC wanted to expand into China and start operating there, it might face challenges where the retailers and costumers refuse to buy food from KFC because they’ve got other Chinese based fast food stores whom are just as good or they’d rather go to another major fast food chain e. g. McDonalds. However Chinas media industry is very big and there TV networks have more that billon subscribers or which is nearly triple the size of the UK, this gives KFC a huge advantage because they can advertise their company through the media, this gives KFC a major opportunity to advertise as well as sell their beverages online. If KFC do decide to expand their business into operating in China, they will be provided with many opportunities , however there also some issues that their business be challenges with these issues are; Import taxes high import taxes are a barrier to many business, especially business like KFC because they have import some of their products, this cost them allot of money, this is one the reason why it’s not responsible for KFC to expand in China, however they could negotiate with China on exchanging goods for a lower import tax but that’s is a high risk to take. Lack of skills its much cheaper for KFC to hire and local labour, it might not be as effective because the workers may lack appropriate skills such as language skills or education. So KFC has to first consider this before they begin to operate in China, because lack of skills will and can affect KFC in a negative way e. g. their profits and sales will decrease or get affected because having good employees is essential for a business it creates less problems and make the business work more efficient . Growth affects the business activities for KFC because just as economy can change for a business so can the demand for products and both could be associated with each other. During growth you can expect to see a high demand for KFC’s good quality products so customers as well as potential customers would buy more during this time because customers are freer and relaxed over money spending compared to when it’s in a period of recession. Mostly you could see KFC looking into recruiting more workers as since product demand can increase a lot during the growth environment they’ll need more workers to spread out the job load for their employees because if they didn’t hire more staff To ease the job load and they just overloaded an employee with workload it could de-motivate them as well as make them fee undervalued. I will be looking into these factors which KFC may face when opening up a branch in China Inflation Recession is when economy slows down, and the level of sales and production orders start to decline Inflation is the prices different of goods or service may vary they can either increase or decrease over time in the economy. Most businesses in the UK and China, by looking closely at the inflation rate as it could have a big effect on the business and because if the inflation rate increases there could be less sales as the prices of the goods will be high and the customers will spend less on goods and services as the prices will increase. Looking at the current inflation rate in China the rate has reached to 3. 1%. â€Å"Prices rose 3. 1% during the month, from a year earlier, up from 2. 6% in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The bureau said that food prices rose 6. 1% from a year ago due to the impact of national holidays, as well as droughts and floods in some regions.† Resulting in many Chinese banks such as â€Å"the bank of China† to raise their interest rates this will have an effect on as inflation rate goes high this will result on the customers spending less on fast food stores such as KFC and this would mean that the business will not be making enough money or breaking even on their monthly bases to afford many employees and also pay the bills and taxes so they need to lay down staff or close up their business and open up in either a different countries. In conclusion to this assignment I, in my point of few I don’t this its reasonable for KFC to expand I idea because there are al lot of challenges they may face and it’s not worth the risk. How to cite Business Envirmonet, Papers

Networked Media Production for Visual Design- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theNetworked Media Production for Visual Design. Answer: Introduction Visual design deals with the look feel and generally the aesthetics of a site. A good visual design implements different elements, such as images, videos, fonts, and colors to enhance the sites interface( Tselentis, 2012). Visual design is as important as the content itself. For example, in this case, a microblogging site such as Tumblr must take crucial attention to the visual design of the site as it complements the content provided. Before designing the interface of the site, there are several factors to be considered. Firstly, and the most important, is the nature of the content to be displayed. For example, for a site such as Tumblr, the background color and theme should be of a fairly low contrast so that it can bring out an optimal focus of images and videos when they are played. A dull blue color with a contrast of about 40% should be good for the site. The font should be of a higher contrast but not with a large margin difference. Optimally, the foreground should have a con trast of about 65%. This ensures that the content is not swallowed by the background( Tselentis, 2012). Secondly, the target audience plays a very big role in determining the choice and style of the visual design(Krause, 2014). For a micro-blogging site, the target audience focusses on the age bracket 16-45. This age bracket consists of young people to a slightly older generation. Within this generation, sharing of information is of high importance to them. Their joy is to be able to share ideas and thoughts in a comfortable environment that they can easily be attracted to. Designing an interface with no target audience in mind means that the design is done under broad guidelines that might not be cohesive with the clients language. This may result in mismatched priorities and confusion that may end up leading the target audience elsewhere(Vecchio, 2016). Lastly, the visual design is highly dependent on navigation of the site. An easy to use interface is likely to attract customers and make them stay for a long time. For a micro-blogging site, clear buttons, pop ups and color change for clicked links should enhance the interface operation of the site. Creative menu navigation labelling and language with a special focus on clarity is an added advantage. Links and labels should be easy to understand and discover. This will ensure that the user experience is not compromised. Additionally, it is a good practice to use standard language according to the web conventions. For example, clicking the logo of the page should navigate back to the homepage(Levene, 2011). SEO and Promotion To generate income, every site requires persistent traffic flow. However, persistent traffic flow does not come easy, it requires advertisements and promotions in order to inform and to remind customers of the website. Search Engine Optimization allows a website to be strategically positioned in the search engine (Google, Bing) such that when a customer searches for a product or service that is offered by your site, then your site appears on the top list of the search engine( Skinner, 2014). The first step of SEO promotion is to identify the target keywords(ZOLOTARYOVA, 2017). Target keywords are those words or/ and phrases that identifies a particular topic from a web page. Search engines creates most traffic and hence it is imperative to use the right keywords to ensure the website appears in the top pages of the search engine results. In general, keywords help improve the rank of a website in the search engines. For instance, for a micro-blogging site, the keywords may include sharing images and videos, share your story, connect with friends and read about. However, these words and phrases are very common with the numerous social networking sites and blogs in the search engines. Therefore, narrowing down the keyword to be more specific and relatable to the topic is important. For example, using phrases like, find friends around you will allow the sites to be categorized according to location(Varndell, 2015). Moreover, besides SEO promotion, there are other ways of site advertisement that can be used to generate traffic. For instance, according to (Shivar, 2017) you can accomplish this by using social media platforms that provide links to your website, using advertisement platforms like YouTube where Google allows placement of ads in various videos, and the use of banner ads where you advertise your website on other websites. Content Development The content development defines the purpose of the website. This is inception stage in which the idea was born. For a micro-blogging site, the content will include but not limited to elements such as texts, images and videos. The posts will be updated as regularly as the bloggers upload them to the website. This will ensure the top posts relate to the recent happenings and new information is given priority(Chad Barr and Alan Weiss, 2012). Additionally, the site would lose the customers if the customers view the same information every time they log in. The content will last in accordance to the users preferences. By creating a queue, the user is able to stretch their content to hours or even days. Moreover, users can assist the audience in finding their content by tagging them. The audience can also choose the content that will appear on their timeline by choosing from a category of items. That way, the content is not only displayed on the site but more specifically the target audience are notified of a new post. Most of the content produces will contain pictures and a text caption(Roy Strauss, Patrick Hogan, 2013). However, this does not create a provision for limitations. The language used will be left to the discretion of the user. The users will choose their style and language according to their content and specific target audience. As the micro-blogging site aims at connecting bloggers with audiences, each user will tailor their content to fit their target audience. The platform allows bloggers to share small snippets of information. Therefore, user will be advised to keep their content short and precise. Beside the content format and style, the site has a team of content moderators that review the uploaded content and flags any inappropriate information. Content moderation is the process of establishing a set of rules that determine what is acceptable and that which is not(O'Donovan, 2016). There are different ways to achieve content moderation. These are as follows. Firstly is the pro-active moderation. Pro-active moderation is used in cases of extreme user generated graphic content. The content is removed by an automatic moderator system before it hits online. Content such as terrorism and child sexual abuse falls under this category of extreme user generated content. However, there are setbacks to using this type of moderation. The users can become frustrated and confused waiting for their content to appear online. This causes the communication to be interrupted along the way and hence the site runs the risk of losing customers(Hopkins, 2017). Secondly, is the post-active moderation where inappropriate user generated content is allowed to be published on the site. A team of site moderators, later reviews the content and determines if the content has crossed the threshold established to what content breaks the rule. If the content is deemed inappropriate, it is removed or reported immediately. Post-active moderation allow moderation to be done in comparison with the activities happening in the world(O'Donovan, 2016). Lastly, there is reactive moderation. Reactive moderation lets users report content that they perceive to be inappropriate. After receiving the complaint, the team of moderators review the offensive content and take appropriate action. While this method is most effective one, it also gets the most false positive. Users may report a post that does not contain any extreme graphic content but because they disagree with the user who posted it. Additionally, this method may not be all effective in cases where immediate action is to be taken. For example, in cases where safety is critical, or a brands reputation is at stake. This is because this method maybe slow and great damage could be done between the time of reporting and the time of removing the content(O'Donovan, 2016). Reflection The micro-blogging idea is one of some revolutionary ideas. In this era where there is freedom of speech and the need to share your thoughts, it is recommendable to have a platform that will facilitate and host sharing of thoughts and ideas across the globe. With proper visual design and, the web page can be very attractive to keep customers glued to the site. The SEO promotion and the type of content published will go hand in hand to provide the best blogging experience for all users. However, there are improvements that require to be considered that would create a setback to the excellence of this website. These limitations are as follows. To start with, there are many blogging sites and social media networking platforms that offer similar services to this proposed web platform. Therefore, the SEO promotion may not be as effective, because the keywords chosen are also highly likely to be taken by other hundreds of sites that provide similar services. The remediation to this problem is to provide other means of advertisements that will cover the loss suffered by SEO promotion. Another setback is that of the visual design. While it is not possible for the design to consider all age brackets, all people from different types of life (those with different disabilities), the site is going to only be tailored to meet the needs of the highest percentage of target audience. While this might be the only way to handle it, it leaves an unexplored market niche. The remediation is to create more tools of viewing information, that will include as many people as possible. References Skinner, S. (2014, April 7). Use Paid Promotion to Refine Your SEO and Make Your Visitors More Valuable. Retrieved from https://moz.com: https://moz.com/blog/using-paid-promotion-to-enhance-seo Tselentis, J. (2012). The Graphic Designer's Electronic-Media Manual: How to Apply Visual Design Principles to Engage Users on Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile Websites. Essex: Rockport Publishers. Chad Barr and Alan Weiss. (2012, August 22). How to Create Great Content for Your Website . Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223752 Hopkins, N. (2017, May 21). Facebook moderators: a quick guide to their job and its challenges. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/may/21/facebook-moderators-quick-guide-job-challenges Krause, J. (2014). Visual Design: Ninety-five things you need to know. Told in Helvetica and Dingbats. New Riders. Levene, M. (2011). An Introduction to Search Engines and Web Navigation. New York: John Wiley Sons. O'Donovan, D. (2016, August 9). 4 types of content moderation every social media manager should know about. Retrieved from https://blog.crispthinking.com: https://blog.crispthinking.com/4-kinds-of-content-moderation-every-social-media-manager-should-know-in-2016 Roy Strauss, Patrick Hogan. (2013). Developing Effective Websites: A Project Manager's Guide. Oxford: Taylor Francis. Shivar, N. (2017, April 3). EZ Website Promotion. Retrieved from https://www.shivarweb.com: https://www.shivarweb.com/2644/how-to-advertise-your-website-online/ Varndell, D. (2015). Learn Search Engine Optimization: Beginners Guide to SEO. EZ Website Promotion. Vecchio, S. (2016, August 18). Designing for a Target Audience. Retrieved from https://blog.catmedia.com: https://blog.catmedia.com/designing-for-a-target-audience ZOLOTARYOVA, E. (2017, May 22). 11 Essential SEO Promotion Stages For Your Website. Retrieved from https://curatti.com: https://curatti.com/essential-seo-promotion-stages/

Malcolm Baldrige Award

Malcolm Baldrige Award Malcolm Baldrige Award refers to the highest level of recognition that a US company can receive in terms of performance. It is the only formal body, which recognizes excellence in performance by US companies in private and public sectors. The president of the US gives the award to the best performing company in terms of quality performance annually.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Malcolm Baldrige Award specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The organizations that qualify for the award cut across Education sector, Manufacturing Health Care non-profit making and business related organizations. Maureen and Gruska state that â€Å"The Congress established the award in 1987 under the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Improvement Act of 1987, named after Malcom Baldrige who was the US Secretary of Commerce† (2005). The establishment of the award was to give recognition to those companies that s howed great performance and achievement in quality business practices. The establishment of the award was to create awareness on quality of goods, services and performance excellence to promote competitive advantage among organizations. Therefore, it refers to a customer-focused agent aiming at achieving productivity, financial and market outcomes, competitiveness, good governance and leadership, product and services outcomes, as well as the quality of US firms for the good of all citizens (Maureen and Gruska 2005). Criteria for getting Malcolm Baldrige award The award identifies organizations that act as role models for other firms. It helps firms to identify improvement efforts, identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and to identify their management information systems for improvement. Organizations have to apply for the award and for an organization to get the award; it must meet the performance criteria established. Companies must apply for the award an d pay a nonrefundable fee. The assessment of the companies is based on its focus and attention to customers, internal processes, employee satisfaction, and leadership among other factors (Maureen and Gruska 2005).Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The history of Malcolm Baldrige award In the 1980s, the US government and industry sectors came up with the idea of having quality control measures expanded to the competitive market. Regardless of this, most of the businesses did not care about quality. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award became the law on August, 20, 1987; it aimed to be the standard of measure of excellence that would propel US organizations to become excellent companies. At the end of 1987, Dr. Riemann and his staff in NIST came up with an award framework with a scheme of evaluation, which is now called the Baldrige Award. The award expanded to healthcare and education fields in 1998, and in 2005 to nonprofit sector (Maureen and Gruska 2005). Malcolm Baldrige award recipients (companies) Year Recipient Sector 2011. Concordia Publishing House Non-Profit, Henry Ford Health System Health Care Schneck Medical Center Health Care Southcentral Foundation Health Care 2010. MEDRAD Manufacturing Nestlà © Purina PetCare Co Manufacturing Freese and Nichols Inc Small Business KN Management Small Business Studer Group Small Business Montgomery County Public Schools Education 2009. Honeywell Federal Manufacturing Technologies Manufacturing MidwayUSA Small Business AtlantiCare Health Care Heartland Health Health Care 2008. Cargill Corn Milling North America Manufacturing Poudre Valley Health System Health Care Iredell-Statesville Schools Education 2007. PRO-TEC Coating Co Small Business 2006. Premier Inc Services 2005 Richland College Education Park Place Lexus Small Business 2004 The Bama C ompanies Manufacturing Texas Nameplate Company, Inc. Small Business 2003. Stoner Inc. Small Business Baptist Hospital, Inc. Health Care 2002. SSM Health Care Health Care SSM Health Care Health Care 2001 Pearl River School District Education University of Wisconsin–Stout Education 2000. KARLEE Company, Inc. Manufacturing 1999. Sunny Fresh Foods Small Business 1998. Solar Turbines Inc. Manufacturing 1997. Solectron Corp. Manufacturing 1996. Custom Research Inc. Small Business 1995. Corning Telecommunications Products Division Manufacturing 1994. Wainwright Industries Inc. Manufacturing 1993. Eastman Chemical Co. Manufacturing 1992. ATT Universal Card Services Services 1991. Zytec Corp. Manufacturing 1990. IBM Rochester. Manufacturing 1989. Milliken Co. Manufacturing 1988. Motorola Inc. Manufacturing Bibliography Maureen, Heaphy, and Gruska, Fredrick. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award: a yardstick for quality growth. New York: Addison-Wesley, 2005. Print. This essay on Malcolm Baldrige Award was written and submitted by user Nathaly G. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)

Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples) Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples) Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples) By Ali Hale At some point in life, you’re almost certainly going to have to write a reference letter for someone. It might be a former employee or student, or even a family friend. Here’s what you need to know about the purpose of reference letters and how to write the most effective letter possible. Note: I will be using â€Å"candidate† to refer to the person who the reference letter is about, â€Å"you† to refer to the person writing the reference letter, and â€Å"recipient† to refer to the person receiving the letter. I’ll emphasise here, though, that reference letters are not only for job or academic â€Å"candidates†, it’s just a handy term to use to keep this article straightforward! What is a reference letter and when are they used? A reference letter is usually written to testify to a person or (occasionally) a company’s skills, character and/or achievements. Sometimes a reference letter is known as a â€Å"recommendation letter†. It is a formal document, and should be typed and written in a serious and business-like style. Reference letters are used in a wide variety of situations; there is no definitive list that covers all possible scenarios. The most common examples are: When a candidate applies for a job, they may need a reference to support their application. If an interviewee is given a job offer, they may need to supply a reference letter before the contract can be signed. A student applying for an academic course often requires a reference letter to support their application. A student applying for funding will often need to supply reference letters. Companies may use reference letters as testimonies to their trustworthiness and ability to carry out a job well. Prospective tenants may need to provide their landlord with a reference letter, testifying to their good financial status. (This could be from a prior landlord or from a current employer.) Who should write a reference letter? If you are approached and asked to write a reference letter for a job candidate, a student or a company, consider whether you can legitimately do so. A reference letter is a formal document, and it is crucial that you do not lie or fudge the truth in it, or there could be legal repercussions. If someone wants a reference letter from you: The candidate should be someone you know reasonably well. For example, you cannot provide any authoritative comment on the academic ability of a student who’s only been attending your lectures for a week. You should know the candidate in a capacity which gives you the ability to write a meaningful reference. For example, if you have worked with the person, it would be appropriate for you to write a reference letter to a prospective employer for them. You should be able to provide an honest and positive reference. If you truly feel that the candidate has no good qualities for you to emphasis, or if you have had a personality clash with them in the past, you should tell them to seek a reference letter from someone else. What goes into a reference letter? The exact structure of a reference letter will differ slightly depending on the type of reference it is, but this is a good basic outline: Start using the business letter format: put the recipient’s name and address, if known, and address them as â€Å"Dear [name]†. If the recipient is currently unknown (this would be likely on an academic application, for instance), then use â€Å"Dear Sir/Madam† or â€Å"To whom it may concern†. It is often helpful to introduce yourself in the first couple of lines of your letter. The recipient will not need your life history: just give a brief sentence or two explaining your position and your relationship to the candidate. Your next paragraph should confirm any facts which you know the candidate will be supplying along with your letter. For example, if you are writing a reference for a job applicant, some or all of these details may be appropriate: The person’s job title, and role within the company. The person’s leaving salary when they were last employed by you (or your organisation). The dates which the person was employed from and until. If you are writing a reference letter for an academic course, you will need to confirm the person’s academic grades. In your third paragraph, you should provide your judgement upon the candidate’s skills and qualities. It is often appropriate to state that you would gladly re-employ them, or that their contributions to your college class were highly valued. Single out any exceptional qualities that the candidate has – perhaps their drive and enthusiasm, their attention to detail, or their ability to lead. Where possible, use your fourth paragraph to give a couple of concrete examples of times when the candidate excelled. (You may want to ask the candidate to tell you about any extra-curricular projects they’ve been involved in, or invite them to highlight anything they’d particularly like you to include in the reference letter.) Close your letter on a positive note, and if you are willing to receive further correspondence about the candidate’s application, make this clear. Include your contact details too. As with any business letter, you should end appropriately; â€Å"Yours sincerely† when you are writing to a named recipient, and â€Å"Yours faithfully† when you do not know who will be receiving the letter. Things to avoid Make sure that you avoid: Mentioning any weaknesses the candidate has. Saying anything that could be construed as libel. Writing in an informal manner: keep the letter business-like. Jokes, slang and casual language are not appropriate and may harm the candidates chances. Including personal information not relevant to the application. Mentioning the candidate’s race, political stance, religion, nationality, marital status, age or health is usually inappropriate. Spelling mistakes, sloppy writing or typos: this letter is hugely important to the candidate, and you should take care to make it look professional. Reference Letter Examples There are a number of good templates for reference letters available on Business Balls. I’ve included one below, which would be appropriate for a general-purpose reference – if you were writing a reference in your capacity as the candidate’s former employer, you would need to include more specific details: Date To whom it may concern I confirm that I have known (name) for (number) years. (State relationship social, business, working together in some other capacity, club, activity, project, etc.) At all times I have found (name/him/her) to be (state characteristics eg, dependable, reliable, hard-working, conscientious, honest, peace-loving, courteous, etc to be as helpful as possible think about what the reader will most prefer to see, in terms of satisfying concerns, or seeing evidence of relevant required skills or characteristics). Im happy to provide further information if required. (optional) Yours faithfully, etc. You can find examples of full reference letters on About.com’s â€Å"job searching† section. They list letters appropriate for a variety of different situations: here’s one from a previous employer in support of a job candidate: To Whom it May Concern: I highly recommend Jane Doe as a candidate for employment. Jane was employed by Company Name as an Administrative Assistant from 2002 2005. Jane was responsible for office support including word processing, scheduling appointments and creating brochures, newsletters, and other office literature. Jane has excellent communication skills. In addition, she is extremely organized, reliable and computer literate. Jane can work independently and is able to follow through to ensure that the job gets done. She is flexible and willing to work on any project that is assigned to her. Jane was quick to volunteer to assist in other areas of company operations, as well. Jane would be a tremendous asset for your company and has my highest recommendation. If you have any further questions with regard to her background or qualifications, please do not hesitate to call me. Sincerely, John Smith Title Company Address Phone Email If you are still unsure what best to include in the reference letter, imagine yourself in the position of the candidate’s prospective employer, or of the panel reading his/her academic application. What information would they need to know? What qualities would they like their candidates to have? Obviously, you should never lie or mislead in a reference letter, but you should try to focus on areas which will give the recipient the most useful information possible about the candidate. Video Recap How to Ask for a Reference Letter If you’re in the position of requiring a reference from a past employer or from someone who taught you at school or university, then you need to approach them in an appropriate way. â€Å"Appropriate† might be quite formal or quite informal, depending on your relationship with them. For instance, if you’re approaching a lecturer who taught you along with dozens of other students and who does not know you well, it’s appropriate to be quite formal; if you’re approaching your former line manager, who you shared nights out and weekends away with for years, then being formal would seem strangely standoffish. In a fairly formal context, you might write something like this: Dear (name) I hope all is going well (at their company / in their department). I’m applying for (give brief details of the role or position you’re applying for). Would you be able to provide a reference letter for me? I’d be very grateful. You can send it to   (add the name and contact details here) With thanks in advance, (Your name) If you’re approaching someone who you’re on very friendly terms with, it’s really up to you to decide what to say. Whatever the situation, it often makes sense to mention particular points that it would be helpful for the reference to cover (e.g. â€Å"The company is especially keen to know about my experience with summarising complex information quickly, as that will be a major part of the role.†) It can also be helpful to include details that the person writing the letter may not be aware of. For instance, if you took part in significant extra-curricular activities at university alongside your studies, you may want to mention this. Writing a Reference Letter: Quick Summary When you’re writing a reference letter, you should: Ascertain why the referee needs the letter. A reference letter for an academic position will read very different from a reference letter for a prospective landlord. Consider whether you can reasonably provide the type of reference required. If you do not know the candidate well, or if you are unable to give them a positive reference, you should encourage them to seek someone else. Format your letter as a standard business letter, and briefly introduce yourself at the start. Confirm key facts about the applicant (e.g. how long they worked for you, and in what role). Provide your judgement upon the candidate’s skills and qualities. Be honest, but do focus on the things that you feel will reflect the candidate in a positive light. If you’re asking someone to provide a reference letter, you should approach them in an appropriate way, and give them the information they need in order to write you a good reference. Reference Letter Quiz For each question, select the correct answer. 1. Your reference letter should be formatted as: A business letter An informal letter 2. When writing a reference letter, you should focus on the candidates weaknesses strengths 3. If you dont know someone well enough to write a good, honest reference, you should: sk them to write the whole reference so you can just sign your name to it Suggest they find someone else to write it 4. When you write a reference letter, the spelling and grammar are important dont really matter Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Punctuating â€Å"So† at the Beginning of a SentenceExpanded and ExtendedRite, Write, Right, Wright

A History of Bow and Arrow Technology

A History of Bow and Arrow Technology Bow and arrow hunting (or archery) is a technology first developed by early modern humans in Africa, perhaps as long as 71,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence shows that the technology was certainly used by humans during the Howiesons Poort phase of Middle Stone Age Africa, between 37,000 and 65,000 years ago; recent evidence at South Africas Pinnacle Point cave tentatively pushes the initial use back to 71,000 years ago. However, there is no evidence that the bow and arrow technology was used by people who migrated out of Africa until the Late Upper Paleolithic or Terminal Pleistocene, at most 15,000-20,000 years ago. The oldest surviving organic elements of bows and arrows only date to the Early Holocene of about 11,000 years ago. Africa: Middle Stone Age, 71,000 years ago.Europe and Western Asia: Late Upper Paleolithic, although there are no UP rock art paintings of archers and the oldest arrow shafts date to the Early Holocene, 10,500 BP; the earliest bows in Europe are from the bog site of Stellmor in Germany, where 11,000 years ago someone lost a pine arrow shaft with nocks in the end.Japan / Northeast Asia: Terminal Pleistocene.North / South America: Terminal Pleistocene. Making a Bow and Arrow Set Based on modern-day San Bushmen bow-and-arrow manufacture, existing bows and arrows curated in South African museums as well as archaeological evidence for Sibudu Cave, Klasies River Cave, and Umhlatuzana Rockshelter in South Africa, Lombard and Haidle (2012) operationalized the basic process of making a bow and arrows. To make a bow and a set of arrows, the archer needs stone tools (scrapers, axes, woodworking adzes, hammerstones, tools for straightening and smoothing wooden shafts, flint for making fire), a container (ostrich eggshell in South Africa) for carrying water, ochre mixed with resin, pitch, or tree gum for adhesives, fire for blending and setting the adhesives, tree saplings, hardwood and reeds for the bow stave and arrow shafts, and animal sinew and plant fiber for binding material. The technology for making a bow stave is close to that of making a wooden spear (first made by Homo heidelbergensis more than 300,000 years ago); but the differences are that instead of straightening a wooden lance, the archer needs to bend the bow stave, string the bow, and treat the stave with adhesives and fat to prevent splitting and cracking. How Does It Compare to Other Hunting Technologies? From a modern standpoint, the bow and arrow technology  is definitely a leap forward from lance and atlatl (spear thrower) technology. Lance technology involves a long spear which is used to thrust at prey. An atlatl is a separate piece of bone, wood or ivory, that acts as a lever to increase the power and speed of a throw: arguably, a leather strap attached to the end of a lance spear might be a technology between the two. But bow and arrow technology has a number of technological advantages over lances and atlatls. Arrows are longer-range weapons, and the archer needs less space. To fire off an atlatl successfully, the hunter needs to stand in big open spaces and be highly visible to his/her prey; arrow hunters can hide behind bushes and shoot from a kneeling position. Atlatls and spears are limited in their repeatability: a hunter can carry one spear and maybe as many as three darts for an atlatl, but a quiver of arrows can include a dozen or more shots. To Adopt or Not to Adopt Archaeological and ethnographic evidence suggests that these technologies were rarely mutually exclusive- groups combined spears and atlatls and bows and arrows with nets, harpoons, deadfall traps, mass-kill kites, and buffalo jumps, and many other strategies as well. People vary their hunting strategies based on the prey being sought, whether it is big and dangerous or wily and elusive or marine, terrestrial or airborne in nature. The adoption of new technologies can profoundly affect the way a society is constructed or behaves. Perhaps the most important difference is that lance and atlatl hunting are group events, collaborative processes that are successful only if they include a number of family and clan members. In contrast, bow and arrow hunting can be achieved with just one or two individuals. Groups hunt for the group; individuals for the individual families. That is a profound social change, affecting almost every aspect of life including who you marry, how big is your group, and how status is conveyed. One issue that might also have affected the adoption of the technology may be that bow and arrow hunting simply has a longer training period than atlatl hunting. Brigid Grund (2017) examined records from modern competitions for atlatl (Atlatl Association International Standard Accuracy Contest) and archery (Society for Creative Anachronism InterKingdom Archery Competition). She discovered an individuals atlatl scores increase steadily, showing improvement in skill within the first few years. Bow hunters, however, do not begin to approach maximum skill until the fourth or fifth year of competition. The Great Technology Shift There is much to be understood in the processes of how technology changed and indeed which technology came first. The earliest atlatl we have dates to the Upper Paleolithic, only 20,000 years ago: the South African evidence is quite clear that bow and arrow hunting is much older still. But archaeological evidence being what it is, we still dont really know the complete answer about the dates of hunting technologies and we may never have a better definition of when the inventions occurred than at least as early as. People adapt to technologies for reasons other than just because something is new or shiny. Every new technology is characterized by its own costs and benefits for the task at hand. Archaeologist Michael B. Schiffer referred to this as application space: that the level of adoption of a new technology depends on the number and variety of tasks that it could be used on, and which it is best suited to. Old technologies are rarely completely obsoleted, and the transition period can be very long indeed. Sources Angelbeck B, and Cameron I. 2014. The Faustian bargain of technological change: Evaluating the socioeconomic effects of the bow and arrow transition in the Coast Salish past. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 36:93-109.Bradfield J. 2012. Macrofractures on bone-tipped arrows: analysis of hunter-gatherer arrows in the Fourie collection from Namibia. Antiquity 86(334):1179-1191. Brown KS, Marean CW, Jacobs Z, Schoville BJ, Oestmo S, Fisher EC, Bernatchez J, Karkanas P, and Matthews T. 2012. An early and enduring advanced technology originating 71,000 years ago in South Africa. Nature 491(7425):590-593.Callanan M. 2013. Melting snow patches reveal Neolithic archery. Antiquity 87(337):728-745.Coolidge FL, Haidle MN, Lombard M, and Wynn T. 2016. Bridging theory and bow hunting: human cognitive evolution and archaeology. Antiquity 90(349):219-228.Erlandson J, Watts J, and Jew N. 2014. Darts, Arrows, and Archaeologists: Distinguishing Dart and Arrow Points in the Archaeological Record. American Antiquity 79(1):162-169. Grund BS. 2017. Behavioral Ecology, Technology, and the Organization of Labor: How a Shift from Spear Thrower to Self Bow Exacerbates Social Disparities. American Anthropologist 119(1):104-119.Kennett DJ, Lambert PM, Johnson JR, and Culleton BJ. 2013. Sociopolitical Effects of Bow and Arrow Technology in Prehistoric Coastal California. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews 22(3):124-132.Lombard M, and Haidle MN. 2012. Thinking a Bow-and-arrow Set: Cognitive Implications of Middle Stone Age Bow and Stone-tipped Arrow Technology. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 22(02):237-264.Lombard M, and Phillipson L. 2010. Indications of bow and stone-tipped arrow use 64,000 years ago in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Antiquity 84(325):635–648.Whittaker JC. 2016. Levers, Not Springs: How a Spearthrower Works and Why It Matters. In: Iovita R, and Sano K, editors. Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Stone Age Weaponry. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. p 65-74.

Mental Health Promotion Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mental Health Promotion Project - Essay Example This definition does not focus on the mere absence of illness or disease; but also on the presence of wellness on multiple factors. This concept is in opposition to the way in which many clinicians view the concept of health. Often the emphasis is on the absence of symptoms of illness; and medical professionals forget to attend to the presence of wellness. While this may or may not be as significant with illnesses of a purely physical nature; such a narrow perspective may not be adequate when dealing with problems that affect mental health. While House (2002) and Seeker (2005) claim that focusing on the symptoms and pathology helps keep a focus on resolution of symptoms and encourages a curer's approach; it needs to be mentioned that a person who is diagnosed and receiving help may be feeling better in part due to the fact that he or she is experiencing being cared for as against someone who is not receiving care. Squire (2002) has noted that someone who does not share the competenci es with the rest of the population could be termed as unhealthy; something that is rather unfair. A better definition is that of the Health Education Authority (HEA) (1997) which includes emotional and spiritual resilience. This is the factor that allows one to enjoy the experience of life and cope with pain (Squire, 2002; Jeanette, 2009). We may say that the WHO (2004) definition that mental health is a state of wellbeing is a more positive definition that focuses on the ability to cope with normal stressors and the ability to work in a fruitful and productive manner and to contribute to the society around them. Promoting Mental Health. Barry and Jenkins (2007) have found that a focus of developing mental health has helped in reducing the number of people diagnosed with mental disorders. It also has the positive impact of increasing the number who recover (Friedli, 2009). Promoting mental health can thus be defined as â€Å"Any action to enhance the mental well-being of individual s, families, organizations or communities (DH 2001).† The national service framework of 1999 has established certain standards of care that are designed to enhance the recovery experience of patients. Over time, the focus has been on not only reducing the extent and number of symptoms seen; but also on the growth of a wellness principle. This principle is one that guides the treatment and carer actions such that the emphasis is on overall recovery and health. Most policies for health care are aimed at the working population. This has many reasons; from the density of this population; to the contribution they make towards the running of the significant services, including the health services. The working population is also the population which contains the parents of minors – a population whose overall wellbeing is to some extent contingent on the wellbeing of the adults who influence their lives. Any country functions best when its working population is well and functio nal in that they participate in meaningful activities and have healthy relationships with people and elements of their lives. The ‘Quality Framework for mental health promotion (Health Education Authority, 1997) was put in place in order to ensure that mental health promotion projects are effectively planned, consistently delivered and properly evaluated. This

Teaching English in primary school why I chose this age and what is Research Paper

Teaching English in primary school why I chose this age and what is the benefit - Research Paper Example What a teacher who teaches in primary school can give a child is the best towards his language acquisition. The selection of this level is the apt one mainly because acquisition process is quick in this period and there will not be any interruption in it. It is necessary to go through the significant points related to the selection f the age of a primary school child for teaching English. A child who is always listening to his mother happens to hear the words she repeats. A misunderstanding that children acquire language through imitation exists. But in fact the process here is recurrence. Linguists too had the same belief until 1957. Noam Chomsky, a then relatively unknown man Noam Chomsky propounded the theory that the capacity to acquire language is in fact innate. This particular theory propounded by Noam Chomsky revolutionized the study of language acquisition, and after a brief period of controversy upon the publication of his work, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax, in 1964, his theories are now generally acknowledged widely. Chomsky says, â€Å"Indeed language is not a skill such as many others, like learning to drive or perform mathematical operations-it cannot be taught as such in early stages.†,Chomsky. [Anandan, 57]. It is so clear that language cannot be learned but acquired through listening. Every human being has got an area called Language Acquisition Device in their brain. This area helps him to acquire a language when an exposure to it is given. But another fact is there. All the aspects of the language are not innate. Chomsky has claimed that all of us are born with what he terms a Universal Grammar, an inherent sensitivity to linguistic structure and patterns applicable to every human language. When the child gets exposure to the language, he begins to reproduce the particular language specific sounds that gradually lead to the acquisition of that language. These sounds are eventually produced by him when he acquires the lexis

Technology Ethics in the Classroom Essay Example for Free

Technology Ethics in the Classroom Essay Carolyn Smith EDU-225 Instructional Technology July 10, 2011 Kathleen Sherbon Technology Ethics I the Classroom Every day, businesses, schools, and individuals depend on computers to perform a variety of significant tasks. Such as tracking sales, recording student grades, creating reports, Web, and sending e-mail. People increasingly rely on computers to create, store, and manage critical information, so it is important to ensure that computers and software are protected from loss, damage, and misuse. School districts, for example, must take precautions to guarantee that student information, such as grades, attendance rates, personal and family data, and learning problems, is protected from loss and kept confidential Gary B. Shelly (2010). In 2000, congress passed the children’s internet protection act (CIPA) in order to protect children from obscene and graphic materials with in most school districts. The universal natural of the internet it is of the up most important to protect our students online with the ever changing technology and lack of decorum, the internet can be rude and take advantage of others. In order to protect my students from internet predators and any inappropriate material I need to add internet safety to the classroom curriculum so that the student can have a constant prompt on how to use the internet safely. Talking to parents about internet policy, also have parents and students sign a technology agreement that has all the rules and consequence for parent and students to read before student is able to use school technology.

Developmental Changes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

Developmental Changes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn      Ã‚   In the novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, the protagonist, Huck, undergoes a series of developmental changes in his character. He is often torn between the ideas of society and those of his friends.   This can all be very confusing for a boy who is about 14 years old.   Huck also has a drunken pap who doesn't care at all for him.   Huck is then forced to live with Widow Douglas and Miss Watson.   Throughout the story we see Huck represent the morals of the innocent prevailing over those of society.   In his "adventures," he learns the meaning of true friendship and what's really important in life.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the story, Huck makes the decision to escape from his "family."   This is a decision that goes against the morals of Huck's society, church and state. Children aren't supposed to run away from their parents.   Also, his decision to help Jim escape goes against the same morals.   In his "adventurous" escape down the Mississippi, he begins to feel truly free.   This is a feeling that is contrasted acutely of society's "oppression" of freedom, basically when he is on land.   In Jim's and Huck's escape, they are able to build their trust and friendship for each other.   However, at the same time he must leave behind societies ways...   getting "sivilized, money, and "family."      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Along Jim's and Huck's "adventure," they have many conversations along the way.   These conversations consist about their freedom, money, and superstition. In the story, they both have their own opinions about various things, like Solomon.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "'Well, b... ...against his society.   Huck had left his "family" and avoided getting " sivilized."   In his quest for true "freedom," Huck was able to grow considerably and mature, yet, he was still not mature enough to formulate ideas of his own. Nonetheless, no matter how Huck's ideas and morals change, he will always remain a true friend to Jim.   Adventurous or not, this book was great in showing that the white's weren't always right and blacks could also be great in many respects.    Works Cited and Consulted Adams, Richard P. "The Unity and Coherence of Huckleberry Finn". Tulane   Studies in English, VI (1956), 89-103. Rpt. "Twentieth Century Interpretations of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" Ed. Claude M Simpson. Englewood Cliffs,N.J. 1968. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.

Unit 051

Unit 4277-051 Promote communication in health, social care or children's and young people's settings 1. 1 Identify the different reasons why people communicate There are 6 main reasons why people communicate. First to build relationships, it's important for the staff and the parent to build relationships but also the staff and the child. It is also important for staff to build relationships with other staff members. Another reason you have to maintain this relationship with the parent or the child, a little ‘Hello' and ‘Goodbye' is maintaining a relationship.Another is gaining and sharing information, it's important you speak to every parent when they are dropping/picking up there child for general everyday information. For example; how their child slept the night before, could he/she be tired, need a sleep a little earlier. Or if there child is a little poorly, on medication. Then for when there picking up there child, to tell them how there child’s been, activiti es/events happening in the nursery, if they need to bring anything in etc.Then it's also important that staff members share the information with other staff members, for example, if a child needs medication at a certain time, tell all the staff members in that room so everyone is aware of it. Express needs and feelings is another reason why people communicate. This is important because if a child is feeling sad, angry, they need to feel that they can communicate with a staff member and tell them that they are feeling sad/angry/upset and why so that the staff member can try help them. It can become very frustrating for young people to keep all their emotions in.Then it’s also important so they can tell the staff their needs, for example if they need the toilet, need to wash their hands. Sharing ideas and thoughts is another reason why people communicate, this could be parents/young people/ children telling staff of new ideas they have. It's important to make their ideas and th oughts feel welcome. Gaining reassurance and acknowledgement, with young people, children this could be praising them for doing something or giving them physical reassurance by giving them eye contact or taking an interest in what they are doing. 1. Explain how communication affects relationships in the work setting Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings and poor performance. More seriously can lead to harming a child and/or breaking the law. Communication is important for staff too, being able to talk to others in the work place will give you more support and you can share ideas and information. You will be able to work as a team to create a work place that is good to work. Good communication is very important with the children will form trusting relationships and help them to settle in and develop.Good communication with the parents is important as well, sharing information regarding children’s care and development, good communication between the two will promote positive relationships. 2. 1 Demonstrate how to establish the communication and language needs, wishes and preferences of individuals 2. 2 Describe the factors to consider when promoting effective communication There are many factors to consider when communicating with others. The first factor is Environment; we need to think whether the environment is ok to share information.If the environment is loud or busy it may be very difficult to exchange personal information. For some parents/young children a quiet place may be required to exchange information. Proximity, orientation and posture are 3 factors we need to consider. Proximity is the distance between you and the person you are communicating with. Babies and young children that you are close with need you to be close to them when communicating, whereas babies and young children that are not familar with you may need you to be more distant they could see it as intimidating or scary.Then you need to be aware of cultural difference s. You will notice if someone is backing away a little from you or is moving closer. Orientation relates to your body's position. When speaking to a parent you tend to stand close on a slant with them whilst talking so you can make eye contact but you are also aware of everything else going on, and is easy to break of if needs be. Posture is the way you are standing or sitting. If you are sitting you need to make sure you’re not giving out signals that you are bored, like leaning back on your chair.It's important you make sure people know you’re interested like leaning forward on the chair. Listening Skills ‘Active listening' is often used to describe good communication, this means don't just listen, think about their body language, what they are hearing, gesture and any other signals they are sending out, give them your full attention and don't just focus on what they are saying but how they are saying it. It's very important when encouraging young people to spe ck and dealing with difficult situations. TimeAllowing sufficient time for Adults and children to think about how they are going to communicate. This is important with young children when communicating but also can be for adults receiving unexpected information or complex. 2. 3 Demonstrate a range of communication methods and styles to meet individual needs 2. 4 Demonstrate how to respond to an individual's reactions when communicating 3. 1 Explain how people from different backgrounds may use and/or interpret communication methods in different ways Communication can be slightly different when using it with other people from different backgrounds.Different people from other backgrounds may use verbal communication to express what they think, however they could also use non-verbal communication to put their point across. People from different backgrounds can find some forms of communication rude, eye contact/hand gestures. 3. 2 Identify barriers to effective communication Speaking a different language is one barrier, when someone speaks a different language or uses sign language, they may not be able to understand what the other person is trying to say. 3. Demonstrate ways to overcome barriers to communication 3. 4 Demonstrate strategies that can be used to clarify misunderstandings 3. 5 Explain how to access extra support or services to enable individuals to communicate effectively. In Leeds, we have great support services to support children and adults with communication problems. There are children’s centres all around Leeds that support families and can direct families to other agencies 4. 1 Explain the meaning of the term confidentiality Confidentiality is very important in a nursery setting.It is about respecting other people’s rights to privacy and keeping safe the information that they have provided. Sometimes when working with young children they give us information that id no intended to be shared around, sometimes this information may b e of a personal nature or simply not relevant to other people. All information gained during work is confidential this means anything you could not be able to find out as a member of the public is likely to be confidential. Data protection act 1998 4. 2 Demonstrate ways to maintain confidentiality in day to day communication 4. Describe the potential tension between maintaining an individual's confidentiality and disclosing concerns While parents and children have the right to confidentiality, there are occasions when the need to maintain confidentiality might be breached, for example; where there are concerns for child’s welfare, maybe abuse. If there is a concern that a child is being abused its staff’s job to disclose this information to the designated/manager of the setting unless they think by disclosing the information will put the child/young person in further danger.

Bulling and Cyberbulling

Bulling and cyber bulling is a huge issue in our society and the problem is increasing. According to the American Justice Department this month 1out of four children will be abused by another youth. And since the introduction of technology such as texting, emails and social media sites it has become allot easier for bullies to both bully and bully secretly and almost constantly. This essay will address the issue of both bullying, harassment and in particular cyber bullies.It will also suggest ways to cope with bulling According to schools. nsw. edu. au bullying is repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s Building Respectful and Safe Schools (2010) identifies four types of bullying.These are: * Physical bullying -Physical bullying is bullying physically including hitting, kicking, tripping, pinc hing and pushing or damaging property. * Verbal bullying- Verbal bullying is bullying someone using words. For example-name calling, insults, teasing, intimidation, homophobic or racist remarks, or verbal abuse. * Covert bullying- Covert bullying is often harder to recognise and can be carried out behind the bullied person's back. It is designed to harm someone's social reputation and/or cause humiliation.Covert bullying includes: lying and spreading rumours, negative facial or physical gestures, menacing or contemptuous looks, playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate, mimicking unkindly, encouraging others to socially exclude someone and damaging someone's social reputation or social acceptance * Cyber bullying- Cyber bullying is overt or covert bullying behaviours using digital technologies. Examples include harassment via a mobile phone, setting up a defamatory personal website or deliberately excluding someone from social networking spaces. Cyber bullying can happen at any time.It can be in public or in private and sometimes only known to the target and the person bullying. Bulling is not mutual arguments and disagreements, single episodes of social rejection or dislike, single episode acts of nastiness or spite, random acts of aggression or intimidation. The standard definition for harassment is unwanted conduct on the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation etc. which has the purpose or effect of either violating the claimant's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.All bulling is harassment but not all harassment is bulling. Bulling has both short term and long term effects for the victims. Although severe long term effects can be avoided by stopping bulling as early as possible. The short term effects can include issues at school (i. e. lower academic achievement), depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and los s of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood.In extreme cases bullied children may also have suicidal tendencies. Long term effects can include: a greater risk of depression and lower self-esteem later in later life, more likely to have problems with alcohol and drug use and it is more likely they will have suicidal thoughts Demonstrating assertive behaviour when bullied or harassed can often help reduce bulling. Assertive behaviour is not aggressive. It’s saying things in a direct and honest way. Saying things such as stop it, I don’t like it and what you’re saying isn’t very nice please stop.If you are being bullied or harassed the most important thing to do is tell someone. People like a trusted adult such as a teacher, councillor or parent are all good to tell. If all else fails call a kids or bulling helpline such the kids helpline on 1800 55 1800. Cyber bullying is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented , threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyber stalking. Adult cyber-harassment or cyber stalking is NEVER called cyber bullying. The actions of a cyber-bully are biasedly verbal bulling over technology. This is includes messaging on a social site, email and texting. There is no way to completely avoid cyber bullies unless you pretty much stop using the computer.But there are things you can do to lessen the chance of being cyber bullied. Firstly if you think you might be being cyber bullied then talk to a trusted adult. Secondly if the bulling is happening over social networking sites then most sites give you the option to block people. If it’s over the phone then tal k to your parents about getting a new number. Bibliography http://ncab. org. au/fourkindsofbullying/ 24/8/12 http://www. stopbullying. gov/at-risk/effects/index. html#suicide 24/8/12 http://library. hinkquest. org/07aug/00117/bullyingconsequences. html 24/8/12 http://www. cyberbullying. info/ http://au. reachout. com/Factsheets/C/Cyberbullying http://www. cybersmart. gov. au/Kids/Tips%20to%20stay%20safe%20and%20cybersmart/Cyberbullying. aspx http://www. bullyingnoway. gov. au/ http://www. bullying. com. au/ http://www. youthbeyondblue. com/factsheets-and-info/fact-sheet-20-bullying/ http://www. stopbullying. gov/at-risk/effects/index. htmlhttp://www. racgp. org. au/afp/201103/201103carrgregg. pdf Bulling and Cyberbulling Bulling and cyber bulling is a huge issue in our society and the problem is increasing. According to the American Justice Department this month 1out of four children will be abused by another youth. And since the introduction of technology such as texting, emails and social media sites it has become allot easier for bullies to both bully and bully secretly and almost constantly. This essay will address the issue of both bullying, harassment and in particular cyber bullies.It will also suggest ways to cope with bulling According to schools. nsw. edu. au bullying is repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s Building Respectful and Safe Schools (2010) identifies four types of bullying.These are: * Physical bullying -Physical bullying is bullying physically including hitting, kicking, tripping, pinc hing and pushing or damaging property. * Verbal bullying- Verbal bullying is bullying someone using words. For example-name calling, insults, teasing, intimidation, homophobic or racist remarks, or verbal abuse. * Covert bullying- Covert bullying is often harder to recognise and can be carried out behind the bullied person's back. It is designed to harm someone's social reputation and/or cause humiliation.Covert bullying includes: lying and spreading rumours, negative facial or physical gestures, menacing or contemptuous looks, playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate, mimicking unkindly, encouraging others to socially exclude someone and damaging someone's social reputation or social acceptance * Cyber bullying- Cyber bullying is overt or covert bullying behaviours using digital technologies. Examples include harassment via a mobile phone, setting up a defamatory personal website or deliberately excluding someone from social networking spaces. Cyber bullying can happen at any time.It can be in public or in private and sometimes only known to the target and the person bullying. Bulling is not mutual arguments and disagreements, single episodes of social rejection or dislike, single episode acts of nastiness or spite, random acts of aggression or intimidation. The standard definition for harassment is unwanted conduct on the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation etc. which has the purpose or effect of either violating the claimant's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.All bulling is harassment but not all harassment is bulling. Bulling has both short term and long term effects for the victims. Although severe long term effects can be avoided by stopping bulling as early as possible. The short term effects can include issues at school (i. e. lower academic achievement), depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and los s of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood.In extreme cases bullied children may also have suicidal tendencies. Long term effects can include: a greater risk of depression and lower self-esteem later in later life, more likely to have problems with alcohol and drug use and it is more likely they will have suicidal thoughts Demonstrating assertive behaviour when bullied or harassed can often help reduce bulling. Assertive behaviour is not aggressive. It’s saying things in a direct and honest way. Saying things such as stop it, I don’t like it and what you’re saying isn’t very nice please stop.If you are being bullied or harassed the most important thing to do is tell someone. People like a trusted adult such as a teacher, councillor or parent are all good to tell. If all else fails call a kids or bulling helpline such the kids helpline on 1800 55 1800. Cyber bullying is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented , threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyber stalking. Adult cyber-harassment or cyber stalking is NEVER called cyber bullying. The actions of a cyber-bully are biasedly verbal bulling over technology. This is includes messaging on a social site, email and texting. There is no way to completely avoid cyber bullies unless you pretty much stop using the computer.But there are things you can do to lessen the chance of being cyber bullied. Firstly if you think you might be being cyber bullied then talk to a trusted adult. Secondly if the bulling is happening over social networking sites then most sites give you the option to block people. If it’s over the phone then tal k to your parents about getting a new number. Bibliography http://ncab. org. au/fourkindsofbullying/ 24/8/12 http://www. stopbullying. gov/at-risk/effects/index. html#suicide 24/8/12 http://library. hinkquest. org/07aug/00117/bullyingconsequences. html 24/8/12 http://www. cyberbullying. info/ http://au. reachout. com/Factsheets/C/Cyberbullying http://www. cybersmart. gov. au/Kids/Tips%20to%20stay%20safe%20and%20cybersmart/Cyberbullying. aspx http://www. bullyingnoway. gov. au/ http://www. bullying. com. au/ http://www. youthbeyondblue. com/factsheets-and-info/fact-sheet-20-bullying/ http://www. stopbullying. gov/at-risk/effects/index. htmlhttp://www. racgp. org. au/afp/201103/201103carrgregg. pdf

Edo Castle essays

Edo Castle essays One of the biggest, nicest and best castles in Japan is the Edo Castle. However, when Edo was first constructed it really wasnt that nice at all. In 1457, this castle was constructed, but much different than it is today. Actually, all it really was, was a fort on top of a hill. The castle was also small, and surrounded by marshes. Ota Dokan was the man originally in charge of the construction of the Edo Castle. Ota Dokan was a local ruler, and leader of the Hojo family. The place that Dokan chose to build the castle was on a hill on which three sides were surrounded by marshes and swamps from the Sumida River surrounded the castle. The construction workers finished the fourth side by digging a moat. This was initially built to separate from the Yamanote district. The castle was not attackable. Edo Castle is an extremely large castle. The castle covers over more than two kilometers. The size of the land is just overwhelming. Inside the moat, there are very beautiful gardens with unbelievable flowering trees, ponds and walkways. There are also a great number of rooms that are lived in. The most important daimyo, which are rulers and distant relatives of the shogun live in very elegant rooms. There is also a very large area in which the thousands of servants and castle officials reside in. There are a very beautiful gardens with unbelievable flowering trees, ponds and walkways. There is also a room in the middle of the castle, which is of course the shogun of Japans. The Hojo family still ruled the castle in 1589. In 1589, In 1589, the ruler for the Hojo family was Hojo Ujimasa. Ujimasas army was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshis in the seige of Odawara. The land that once belonged to the Hojo family was now Toyotomi Hideyoshis. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who at the time was a very powerful daimyo, helped Hiedyoshi in the battle against the Hojos. Ieyasu was invited to Hideyoshis castl...

A Review Of Inequality And Globalization Case Studies Economics Essay

A Review Of Inequality And Globalization Case Studies Economics Essay Globalization is defined as the worldwide movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration according to www.businessdictionary.com. Globalization has been evolving for thousands of years; countries have been buying and selling goods to each other from great distances since the Middle Ages. The recent trend of globalization has been motivated by policies that have opened economies both domestically and internationally. Technology has been another driving factor for globalization. Information Technology has given the world a means of pursuing economic opportunities. There are multiple issues that have arisen due to the globalization of markets from around the world. International trade and transport are hindered by complicated, lengthy and frequently altered procedures and documentation, different requirements in different countries, duplicated inspections, high charges, the lack of effective interagency coordination and cooperation among ministries and agenc ies involved in trade and transport facilitation, overlapping and conflicting conventions for trade and transport facilitation and the absence of effective information and communication technology applications for trade and transport facilitation. These situations create high costs in trade transactions and delays in the cross border movement of goods and services. Globalization has caused the conditions of inequality and discrimination to deteriorate. Women in society have seen a significant impact as a result of globalization. A demand for cheap labor, combined with a loss of jobs held by men which reduced the customary family income has lead to an increase is the number of women in the labor market. Women who either cannot find factory work or whose family situation prevents them from working in a factory, have had to seek work in the informal sector under some of the worse labor conditions in existence. This had lead to inferior quality labor opportunities and puts underemployme nt just as big a problem as open unemployment. â€Å"Labour market deregulation has been an important issue that has arisen. Formal regulations have been eroded or abandoned by legislative means; and implicit deregulation, whereby remaining regulations have been made less effective through inadequate implementation or systematic bypassing. Such deregulation has been based on the belief that excessive government intervention in labor markets – through such measures as public sector wage and employment policies, minimum wage fixing, employment security rules – is a serious impediment to adjustment and should therefore, be removed or relaxed. Deregulation might mean more employment for women, but the danger is that such employment would tend to be on less favorable terms. The question is whether the market can be left almost entirely to determine the price of female labor and the conditions of female employment† (Lin, 1999, p19-20). However, the biggest issue arisi ng from globalization appears to be in human rights violations. The enjoyment of fundamental aspects of the right to life, freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, freedom from servitude, the right to equality and non-discrimination, the right to an adequate standard of living (including the right to adequate food, clothing and housing), and the right to work accompanied by the right to just and fair conditions of labor, There is the concern that countries cannot fulfill their international human rights obligations.

Financial Management & Improving Automotive Industry Essay

Financial Management & Improving Automotive Industry - Essay Example For example, by using balance sheet they can tell the company’s financial position at a specific point in time as it shows the assets and liabilities of the company. Solidity, liquidity and rentability or reliability of the company can also be reflected from the balance sheet. Profitability or the return on assets is another aspect of the company that is measured by the financial statement like the balance sheet. Profitability ratios show the combined effects of liquidity and asset management. If the solidity, liquidity, rentability or reliability and profitability ratios all look good, then the market value of the company is high. Cash is important for the operation of the company but at the same time variable due to several factors like the cash flow. Thus, there should be cash planning, cash management, and cash reserve involved in a company’s financial management. Cash flows can be from operative, investment or financing activities. Cash flow analysis is important for the company as this will provide clues about its financial position. Evaluation of investment projects will help the company to evaluate performances of each investment project and tell whether it will improve or not the financial position of the company. This will help financial managers to analyse ways of improving their financial performance. Capital budgeting is also about planning expenditures on assets whose cash flows are expected beyond one year. Just like in cash management, there is a need for strategic management and planning for the capital. The growth of the company and its ability to remain competitive and to survive will depend on how its finances are budgeted and managed. In any industry the need to develop the efficiency of production and of the working environment of the company is necessary to ensure that the organization is able to meet its needs. The automotive industry, the

The Origin and Traits of Various Cultures Assignment

The Origin and Traits of Various Cultures - Assignment Example The significance of the events depends on their interpretation, through which they exert a pull on meaning and value. For that reason, history as a discipline is the study of the past. It is through learning history that the events of the past are legitimized by respecting the values and ideas of the people and their objective behind their actions. Therefore, history can be defined as the story of the civilization of mankind, depending on the interpretation of well-established and recognized primary sources.Culture is the characteristics and traits of a meticulous group of people who can be defined by common behaviors, beliefs, social habits, religion, language, cuisine, art, and music. There exist numerous cultures; Western, Eastern, Latin, Middle Eastern and African cultures. The members of each culture have universal characteristics that are common. They form a society, which is an interaction between people who share a common culture. A cultural attachment may be racial, ethnic, gender, values, beliefs, and activities. It is through the culture that individuals and groups get to identify themselves; conforming to that society’s values, beliefs, and traditions. It is evident that culture involves many aspects: customs, language, norms, rules, and more. In today’s world, the term culture seems to lose some of its usefulness because people share resources and interact globally (182). It is unlike the past where people labored and lived in small groups in the same vicinity.  Ã‚  

A History of Labour Day in Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

A History of Labour Day in Canada - Essay Example On a Sunday evening a century ago this weekend, 14,000 francophone workers gathered on Old Montreal to prepare for Labor Day. Instead of shouting through the streets, they quietly converged in Notre Dame Church, where Paul Bruschesi, then Archbishop of Montreal, urged them to shun strikes and show reverence to their employers. That same day, 2,000 Anglophone workers descended on what later became St. Patrick's Basilica, in the core of modern downtown Montreal, to prepare for the next day's parade. They heard the identical don't-rock-the-boat message as clergy instructed them to put their trust in church arbitrators to resolve disputes over pay, hours and conditions of work and other issues. Now two Toronto historians have crafted an illuminating, sometimes offensive retrospective of how Labor Day has been marked across Canada. With anecdotes like those above, York University history professor Craig Heron and Steve Penfold, an assistant professor of history at the University of Toront o, deliver substantial analysis. They show how the Labor movement has evolved since the 1880s, along with Canadian society as a whole. In many parts of the country, "Labor Day would eventually die out completely as a workers' festival, or limp on as a spiritless exercise in commercialized civic boosterism" Strong words, Stirring prose.In significant ways, the authors conclude, Labor Day in Canada "is the story of a holiday that never really belonged to workers" and has been supplanted by such holidays as May Day and International Women's Day. Their tone is not entirely bitter or sardonic, though. Heron and Penfold linger in loving detail over the floats, costumes, banners and placards that once made Labor Day parades a key event on community calendars. And they illustrate their points with superbly evocative photos. Even readers inclined to disagree with their hard-edged assessments will concede that Heron and Penfold have laid invaluable groundwork in an area that to date has been poorly documented. They note that times have changed. Early in the last century, "no Asian workers from British Columbia's fish-packin g plants and sawmills ever got invitations to join the West Coast marchers. "In fact," they add, "Victoria's tailors carried a banner in 1901 blaming the Chinese for their plight." Heron and Penfold were hampered, while researching the book, by the fact that few records of past Labor Days have survived, beyond newspaper accounts of the day. In typically quiche fashion, they note that an 1898 parade float by Winnipeg tailors lambasted the awarding of a city-council contract for firemen's uniforms to a local sweat shop -- an open display of dissent that was "apparently ignored by the mainstream newspapers." They learned of it from a small workers' newspaper. In this painstakingly researched volume they elaborate how Labor Day parades have had splendid moments in our history. Primarily, the parades were a much sought-after festival aimed at eliciting attention to the role and needs of Labor. They became a very rich art form developed jointly by organized workers in Canada. Nevertheless, they were also bitterly disheartening to those who attempted to indulge masses of workers in the celebration. The first Labor Day procession was in Toronto in 1882. At that time one of the demands of Labor was to call for a public enquiry into the status of

Research into Truancy: Causes and Effects

Research into Truancy: Causes and Effects Introductory orientation Truancy is about learners who have not been attending school regularly as required by the school, parents and even the authorities. Truant behavior is a problem for the individual, the family, the school and society in general. Free and compulsory education is recognized as a basic entitlement under international standards, including the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950). With the right to free education and the obligation corresponding to this right observed and enforced through a national emphasis on school attendance, The National Statistic Office (Malta) states that in the 2004/2005 scholastic year the figure for school absenteeism accounted for 7.7% of the total number of school days in the reference period or an overall absence rate of 9.2 absent days per pupil that for boys being 10.0 days per pupil and for girls 8.4 days per pupil. As a teacher this makes me fretful about students missing school as this can be associated with subsequent emotional and psychosocial problems in early adulthood and is a predictor of multiple problems (Fogelman and Hibbert, 1990). Truancy may have both short and long term effects on society. There is evidence that truancy is linked to delinquent behaviour and juvenile crime (Collins, 1998; Reid, 1999). According to Jones (1996), ‘Absenteeism is a sign of trouble that often leads to lower academic skills and grades, delinquency, and dropouts. Studies have shown that high school dropouts are twice as likely to be unemployed and on welfare, and overall, tend to be facing a more difficult life than their graduating counterparts. Jones (1996; p.128), All members who form part of any educational institution cannot allow these students to give up on themselves. We as a modern, fast developing society, we cannot afford to let them surrender. It is clearly far less expensive to educate them than pay for a lifetime of welfare and all of the deprivations that welfare represents. These are ominous issues, which imply that the number of students who skip school is rising and that school absenteeism is a new generations behaviour that is today a dramatic social phenomenon. This proposal drafts the intent to investigate and explore realities of how truancy manifests with Maltese youth and also explore the psychosocial world of truants in Maltese schools. Problem Analysis The Pre-Scientific Problem awareness As a supply teacher for these past five years, I have witnessed incidences of truancy in the period 2006 to 2009. One of the common truancy reducation measures used was to lock the school gates during lessons and breaks and open them after school hours (my personal exsperience). Despite the limited impact on truancy reducation, the approach of locking gates is still common and evident in some secondary schools. I found locked gates while visiting some of the schools. Gangsters, to control late coming and to stop learners from dodging classes, locked gates to prevent trespassing, sepecially. Exploring the problem Incidence and nature of truancy Malta Since 1946 education has been compulsory for all children between six to fourteen years and extended to the age of 16 by the Education Act (Malta) of 1971. Maltese law imposes a duty on parents to ensure that their children of compulsory school age receive appropriate education, whether through attendance at a state or independent school. If they fail to do so, without any reasonable excuse and if found guilty, they are liable to a fine not exceeding in previous currency one Maltese Lira (equivalent to â‚ ¬2.33) for each day during which the offence continues, unless the parent fails to give a good and sufficient explanation within three days from the date he or she receives a notice from the Director of Education (Malta Education Act 1988). From January 2001 up to December 2002 there were 8,903 arraignments before the local tribunals in connection with school absenteeism (Grech, 2002). This figure represents only the number of students who were absent from school without a valid reason on more than three occasions in the time frame of a month. It is a known fact that there are a number of students that systematically plan three days off from school each month, just for the sake that they use their monthly absence allowance and knowing that in this way their parents would not receive a citation. Surveys show that the overall absence rate between 25th September 2000 to 31st March 2001 stood at 10.5 days per pupil (NSO Malta, 2001). This figure reveals an increase of 5.2% over 1999/2000 scholastic year (NSO Malta, 2001). Thus it shows that during this period, 657,604 pupil days were lost to absenteeism and authorised absence due to sickness. Indeed, the Clark Report (2005) shows concern for the increase in unauthorised absenteeism with parental consent, particularly in state secondary schools which cater, in the main, for a student population coming from a working- class background. Family problems, psychological problems, illnesses, school phobia and bullying have, significantly, been indicated by the Clark focus group to be the topmost reasons contributing to school avoidance. Some Overseas Countries Most of the research conducted abroad seems to provide information regarding the nature and extent of truancy in secondary schools. Results of a study conducted at a school in London from 1985 to 1987 revealed that 70% of the sampled pupils admitted truanting during the three-year period (Stoll, 1990:22). In the study that involved nine secondary schools, 66% of the 765 fifth year pupils admitted truanting (ibid). Figures on truancy in 150 English secondary schools revealed that 31% of pupils in years 10 and 11 admitted that they played truant or skipped lessons (OKeefe Stoll, 1995:12). Gray and Jesson (1990:25) report about the major national survey results of truancy in English secondary schools. According to this study, 23% of all fifth year pupils were involved in truant behavior and they were less likely to stay on in full-time education. Furthermore, schools facing serious problems of truancy tend to be in the inner city rather than in other areas (ibid). on the other hand, Collins (1998:26) reports that absentee rates vary between schools in the London Education Authority. Munn and Johnstone (1992:4) found that out of a sample of 50 Scottish secondary schools, 18% of the pupils (11% in June and 7% in November) were classified as truants and were mostly form the senior years. These figures exclude truants within the school day, as â€Å"14 schools reported that they did not keep period attendance records† (ibid). Truancy has long been a subject for research in various parts of the USA. According to Nelson (1972:98), 64% of the 591 students surveyed identified themselves as class truants. Learners habitually play truant each day in Los Angeles, Pittsburg and Milwaukee (Black, 1996:33). Bos, Ruiters and Visscher (1992:393) found that the average rate of truancy in 36 schools in the four Dutch cities studied was 4.4% and that truancy increased with the level of the class in almost all schools. Some researchers further indicate that truancy does not necessarily mean missing the whole day of school but found that I could be in the form of missing a part of a day or particular lesson (Kilpartick, 1998:31; Reid, 1999:91). In a study conducted by Malan in South Africa (1972:144), 2,738 out of 69,908 pupils were identified by their teachers as truants. Masithela (Masithela, 1992:33) observed that learners tend to miss lessons during the first and second periods, as well as during the last give periods. The tendency of missing certain lessons towards the end of the school day shows that some form of â€Å"hidden truancy† is prevalent and that pupils can be marked present in the register but fail to attend all lessons (ibid:45). On the other hand, they may come late and be marked absent or be somewhere on the school premises not attending certain lessons or periods, but still be marked as being present on the class resisters. Factors associated with truancy Malta Truancy is about learners who have not been attending school regularly as required by the school, parents and even the authorities. Tyerman (1968) defines the term truant as the child who is absent from school purely on his or her own initiative. Gabb (1994) includes in his definition of truant, that a child who is absent with leave given by his or her parents, or who are actually kept at home by the parents. Hersov (cited in Gabb, 1994) goes still further, dividing from truants, ‘school phobics and ‘school refusers. King (2001) furthermore defines school refusal/school phobics as a difficulty to attend school due to emotional distress, especially anxiety and depression. Fenech (1991) (in an unpublished research) defines ‘absenteeism as ‘being away from lessons for any period of time and for reasons not considered as legitimate, with or without the parents knowledge (p.3). She goes on to include ‘physical presence without any attention being given to a lesson in progress [as well as] masked or selective truancy (ibid., p.3). Fenech (ad. lib.) refers to the latter as ‘skiving off specific lessons or disappearance after registration (p.3) remarking that a number of sources consider absenteeism and truancy synonymous. Sultana (1997), like Fenech (1991), defines absenteeism as ‘staying away from school for reasons not justified by the law (p. 355). However, she goes on to include other ‘less overt ways (ibid., p 355) such as what Willis (1977) calls participating in ‘informal mobility (ibid., p. 355). This includes not entering the class for lesson, intentionally staying in another class, leaving the class without permission, or staying in class without bothering to follow the lesson. Studies conducted abroad When seen from a psychological viewpoint, truancy may be symptomatic of learns who are insecure and have low academic achievement levels and low self-esteem. Lewis (1995:37) states that attendance difficulties my broadly result from a combination of â€Å"pull† and â€Å"push† factors. Pull factors are personal and social aspects that â€Å"pull† a learner out of school. The pull factors may be related to the psychological indices mentioned by Reid (2002:11), such as maladjustment, a lower general level of self-esteem and academic self concept, anxiety and lower career aspirations. Factors that â€Å"push† learners away from school include academic and classroom aspects such as inapproachability of the teaching staff, incomprehensible teaching style and inappropriate classroom management. Other factors relating to the school and the classroom include bullying, the curriculum, boring lessons (Reid, 1999:91), teachers humiliating remarks (Porteus, Clacherty, Mdiya, Pelo, Matsai, Qwabe and Donald 2000:11), poor record-keeping and school organization (Bimler Kirkland, 2001:90; Coldman, 1995:29). According to Pappas (1996:1), truancy is often symptomatic of family dysfunction, since the parents of truants tend to be permissive, undisciplined and unavailable. Some authors believe that truancy is associated with a poor socio-economic background, including poverty, poor housing and unemployment (Bell, Rosen and Dynlacht, 1994:204; Tyerman, 1958:222). Some researchers state that there is a link between truancy and delinquent behavior (Collins, 1998:38; Brown, 1998:298-299; Reid, 1999:25). Truancy differentiated from school phobia There is a need to distinguish between truancy and school phobia. The concept â€Å"school phobia† describes a learner who is unwilling to attend school and stays at home with the knowledge of parents (Wicks and Nelson, 2000:123). A learners problem often stats with a vague complaint or reluctance to attend school and progresses to total refusal to go to school. Blagg (1992:121) asserts that school phobia may be induced by fear-arousing aspects of school, such as fear of failure caused by anxiety about meeting the standards. Fear may also be related to worries about the health and welfare of parents (Blagg, 1992:123). In the other hand, a learner who plays truant misses the whole school day or lessons without the knowledge of parents or caregivers. Furthermore, a truant tends to be involved in various forms of anti social behavior (Blagg, 1992:121). Milner and Blyth (1999:18) acknowledge the difficulties involved in studying the prevalence and pattern of truancy and in comparing current and past school attendance or absence. The difficulties are partly compounded by the variations in the definition of truancy itself (Boyd, 1999:22; Gabb, 1997:2) and the multifaceted nature of truancy (Edward and Malcolm, 2001:1; Reid, 1999:17). The problems associated with studies on truancy should, however, not prevent further research from being conducted. Solutions should be found, or the cause at least eliminated, because truancy is regarded as a serious problem with socio-economic implications. A preliminary review of the literature reveals that truancy is a major problem form schools and society and a most powerful predictor of juvenile delinquent behavior (Van Petegem, 1994:272; Wiehe, 2000). Reid (2002:2) maintains that the amount of money spent on truancy reduction initiatives proves the extent of truancy. Statement of the problem Data on the extent and nature of truancy in schools are often based on information obtained from class registers. This information may be inadequate or almost incomplete and limits the understanding of the phenomenon, thus making it difficult to develop appropriate intervention strategies. More insight on how truancy manifests is needed to provide a base on which to suggest, plan and develop effective intervention strategies. Therefore, further research is needed to enable education officials, schools, parents and other professionals to manage learners with attendance difficulties more efficiently. This study serves to bridge the information gap regarding the nature of truancy and to provide a picture of the life world of truants in Secondary Schools. Aims of the Research The General Aim The aim would be to describe truancy in general as stated in the literature and to conduct an empirical study in order to determine how truancy behaviour manifests in secondary schools and what the life world of truants looks likes. The findings can then be used to inform and guide future practice. The Specific aim The aim of the study would be to gather information that will be used to guide the school (college) community namely the SMT, form teachers, subject teachers, guidance teachers and school councillors, youth workers in school and other stakeholders to help in the interventional approaches and procedures that can be used for reducing truancy. In order to realise the above aims, the following questions are set to direct the research: What is the extent and degree of truancy in terms of the frequency and number of learns involved? What are the patterns, type or nature of truancy? Where do truants go when not at school or in class? What measures are used to monitor and manage truancy? Research Method The study will comprise two methods, namely, a literature study and an empirical investigation. A study of the literature will derive information on studies about poor school attendance and procedures employed to mange or reduce truancy from books, research articles, journals and other resources. A quantitative research design will be used in the empirical investigation. This investigation aims to gather data by means of a questionnaire that will be given to learns in Form 1 and Form 2 in eight randomly selected schools, , incorporating two Junior Lyceums, two Area Secondary and two Church schools. A qualitative research design will be used with guidance teachers, counselors, youth workers, form teachers, Assistant Head of Schools and Heads of School currently working in schools. A focus group and interviews with Heads will help me to investigate what the School community is doing to combat truancy. Such data will be advantageous in that they are ‘the most adequate [tool] to capture how a person thinks of a particular domain (Goldsmiths Collage, n.d.). More over since a face to face rapport with the interviewee, it is induced to continue questioning the subject in order to confirm the hypothesis about his or her beliefs, seeking appraise any underlying meaning in the process. Demarcation of research Due to time constraints, the preset research is confined to then 8 randomly selected secondary schools in Malta. A list of all secondary schools was compiled to allow for the random selection of 8 schools, which will form part of this study. This sample was mainl cohosen on the basis of cost implicaitons and accessibility. Explanation of concepts In this section a number of concepts that are relevant to this research are defined. Truancy Reids (1999:1) asserts that the term ‘truancy is often misused and can be applied both generically and with a local meaning. In the different parts of Great Britain, truancy is known as ‘dodging, ‘skipping off, ‘mitching, ‘skiving, ‘bunking off and ‘going missing, respectively. Whitney (1994:49) defines truancy as ‘absence that has not been authorized by the school and where leave has not been given or approved. Another definition provided by Collins (1998:2), who states that truancy is about pupils who have been registed with a school but identified as not attending school when the law says they should. This definition includes absences from a particular lesson or lessons, known as ‘post-registation truancy (Gabbs, 1994:5; Stoll, 1990:23). Clark Report (2005) identify as truancy when a student is voluntarily absent or not attending school without their parents permission and often, awareness (Anglicare, Werribee Family Services 2000). Truancy is defined as unjustifiable or unexplained absence from school with attempts by the student to conceal the absenteeism. Usually the child avoids home when not at school and the parents are often unaware of the childs absence (Rollings, King, Tonge, Luk, Heyne, Ramsdell, Burdett Martin, 1999). The concept blanket truancy refers to absence from the whole school day, which is usually reflected on the class register, while post-registration truancy occurs when the learner is marked present but fails to turn up at a lesson or lessons (Stoll, 1990:23). In this research, the term ‘truancy is broadly defined as unauthorized absence from school. The definition is adopted with the assumption that absence with the knowledge and permission of the school and parents or guardians does not constitute truancy. Since the study seeks to explore the type of truancy as manifested at secondary schools, both concepts of truancy (blanket and post-registration) are relevant and will be investigated. A Truant A truant is a ‘child aged 6 17 years old who absents himself or herself form school without a legitimate reason and without permission of his or her parents or the school official (Schaefer and Millman, 1981: 335). For the purpose of this research, a truant refers to a learner who, after being registered at a school, absents himself or herself from school or lessons without a legitimate reson or permission from parents or the school official. The traditional or typical truant: Traditional truants tend to be isolated that come from an unsupportive home background, possibly with a tendency to be shy. It is likely that they will have a low self-concept, be introverted and be the citim of their social circumstances. The psychological truant: could be the school phobic (school refusal) case but more othen than this psychological truant miss school for psychological related factors such as illness, opsychomatric complaints, laziness, a fear of attending scholl for any reason (such as dislike of a teacher, a lesson, an impending confrontation or fear of bullying.) The Institutional truant: Institutional truants are more likely to indulge in ‘on the spur of the moment absences from lessons and to be selective about days or lessons to miss. Secondary School A school that admits or registers and educates learners in Form 1 Form 5 is known as a secondary school. Life World In this research, the term ‘life world refers to the psychological context this is made up of elements such as interpersonal aspects, the family, school and the broader community. According to this definition, the life world involves the personal and external world of the learner. The personal word refers to intrinsic factors. The external word is made up of the broader educational systems, the home environment and the community where the child spends his time when not at school. Relevant intervention strategies would be easier to suggest if the contextual issues related to the phenomenon under investigations are understood. Research Program The research comprises give chapters, as follows: CHAPTER 1 In this chapter, the background information in the seriousness and implication of truancy are discussed. The chapter also includes an analysis of the problem, the problem statement, aims of the study, description of the research method and definition of the concepts. CHAPTER 2 Chapter 2 entails a review of the literature on types of truancy and the causes of truancy or contributing factors in different countries, including in Malta. Different approaches that the various countries and schools use to manage truancy will also be discussed. CHAPTER 3 This chapter deals with research designs and methods. A discussion of the research problem, the aim of the empirical investigation, the research tool used in the study and the selection of the sample will be included. Details of the compilation and administration of questionnaires as well as an analysis of data will be presented. CHAPTER 4 In this chapter, the results of questionnaires will be presented. The results will be analyzed to find answers to the research questions. CHAPTER 5 The chapter entails a summary of the research finding, conclusions and recommendations. A summary of the results from the literature study and the limitation of the study will be included. Conclusion This chapter focuses on the background and analysis of the problem, as well as the aims of the study. An attempt will be made to explain the research method used, relevant concepts and planned programmes of the research. The next chapter will contain the review of the literature on the types of truancy, factors contributing to truancy behavior, the rate and extent of truancy and the strategies used to manage truancy. CHAPTER 2 TYPES OF TRUANCY, CAUSAL FACTORS AND APPROACHES USED IN THE MANAGEMENT AND REDUCTION OF TRUANCY Introduction According to Tyerman (1958:217), truancy has been a problem to all concerned with education since 1870s. Approximately 750 children were charged for truancy in England and Wales in 1954 (ibid: 220). This figure could have been an underestimation as it was based on learners who were referred to courts, and therefore represented mainly incorrigible truants (ibid). Furthermore, the figure gives a general picture of truanting children in one country only and without an indication whether it was absence from certain lessons or whole school day absence. Truancy is currently a problem in communities. In Clarks report concern was expressed about truancy among school children. Data presented in this report indicates that non-attendance exists, and has become an issue of increasing concern for schools, educational and student welfare organizations. Non-attendances viewed as being among one of the key problems facing some schools. There is increasing concern for the seemingly large number of ch ildren and young people, who are, for a range of reasons, missing out on the benefits of education and possibly on a better future (Dr. L. Galea, The Times 9th February, 2005). Non-attendance can be the beginning of countless problems for students who regularly miss out on school (Heyne, King, Tonge, Rollings, Pritchard Young,1999). The extent and nature of truancy are best understood in terms of whether it implies absence for the whole day or during a particular lesson. This chapter deals with how blanket and post-registration truancy manifest, the causal factors and various measures of reducing truancy in secondary schools. Blanket Truancy Perspectives in various countries England and Wales Normab (2001:49) states that 50,000 children play truant on a normal school day in England. The number of truants increases steadily with age and most truants are found at secondary school (ibid). This confirms past research findings about the existence of truancy in secondary school in some parts of England. Gray and Jesson (1990:25) gathered information on the incidence of truancy from the youth cohort survey of England and Wales. The result of their survey shows that 6% of final-year secondary school learners reported to have played truant for several days or weeks at a time. Malcolm, Wilson, Davidson and Kirk (2003:50) state as follows: ‘In 1999, the Audit Commission noted that at least 40,000 of the 400,000 learners absent from school are truanting. Scotland In a study done at 50 Scottish secondary schools, it was found that 30% to 33% of learners had been playing truant at least once in the survey week (Munn and Johnston, 1992:38). These schools were requested to provide both the overall attendance rate and the numbers of learners (ibid). Australia Haddon (1996:110), citing a comprehensive study conducted in Victorian secondary schools in Australia, states that 40% to 60% of learners of compulsory school age reported that they engaged in truancy. Cohen and Ryan (1998:12) state that about 10,000 learners in Tasmania play truant at least one day a week. The Netherlands The research done at 36 schools in four Dutch cities indicates that the average level of truancy at all schools was 4.4% (Bos, Ruiters and Visscher, 1992:393). The average percentage of allowed absence was 4.7%, therefore suggesting that learners in most schools are just as often absent with a valid reason as without one. United States of America It appears that truancy is a problem in American schools, although at varying levels. According to Black (1996:33), approximately 2,500 and 4,000 learners play truant on a daily basis in Pittsburg and Mulwaukee, repectively, while 300,000 of the 1.6 million students in Los Angeles are habitual truants. This shows that some learners stay absent without permission every day and that a day never goes by with a recording of 100% attendance. Truancy is so much of a concern that the Department of Education has prepared a manual that gives schools some guidelines on how to reduce it (United States Department of Education, 1996). Malta From January 2001 up to December 2002 there were 8,903 arraignments before local tribunals in connection with school absenteeism (Grech, 2002). This figure represents only the number of students who were absent from school without a valid reason on more than three occasions in the space of a month. It is a known fact that there are a number of pupils that systematically take three days off from school each month just for the sake that they use up their monthly absence allowance and knowing that in this way their parents would not receive a citation. Survey results issued by the National Statistics Office Malta on December 16, 2002 showed that overall absence rate from schools between September 25, 2000 and March 31, 20001, stood at 10.5 days per pupil. That included both absenteeism and authorized absence (such as those due to sickness). During this period, 657,604 pupil days were list to absenteeism, accounting for 8.9 per cent of the total pupil days. This reveals an increase of 5. 2 per cent over the 1999/2000 scholastic year. Absences in government schools stood at 19.12 days per pupil whereas that of government dependent (church schools) and independent private schools was 5.76 days per pupil. The rate of truancy in terms of gender Some of the overseas researchers state that there is no difference in the levels of truancy reported for males and females (Gray and Jesson, 1990:26; Haddon, 1996: 110; Smith, M., 1996:226; Stoll, 1994:36; Whitney, 1994: 59). Recent research on truancy in the seven local education authorities reports that the numbers of learners in secondary school admitting truancy was almost equal for boys and girls (Malcolm et al., 2003:31). Coldman (1995:68) also states that the variation that exists in truancy levels of males and females is slight. It is, therefore, apparent that some research are in agreement with regard to the truancy levels of male and females learners. Earlier research that was conducted in South Africa suggests that more males than females tend to play truant Coldman (1995:68) warns against making assumptions and generalisations about the existence of gender differnce in truancy levels. He argues that observed findings might result from the fact that some schools have more males than females, particularly when one is dealing with a large sample. What the above studies suggest about truancy levels of males and females is that the difference might be slight, if it does exist. Furthermore, observed diffrenences may be incfluenced by other variables, such as the enrolled number of male and female learners in a sample. Truancy rate according to the geographical location of the school Serious truancy is said to be more prevalent in inner-city secondary schools in England (Gray and Jesson, 1990:36; Stoll, 1990:23). Munn and Johnstone (1992:4) also found that the Scottish school with the highest percentage of unauthorized absence was all in the inner city. Coldman (1995:69) asserts that claims that truancy is a problem mainly experienced in inner city schools are disputable, since another survey showed that the truancy level is high even in the suburban, rural and industrial areas of England. It may therefore be purely speculation, without much supporting evidence, to suggest that inner-city school experience higher levels of truancy. Hard evidence needs to be gathered, where possible, in order to verify the claim that inner-city experience higher rates of truancy. According to some researchers, truancy levels also appear to differ from school to school, since they may be more prevalent in schools than in others (Blackm 1996:33; Bos et al., 1992:385; Gray and Jesson, 1990:26; OKeefe and Stoll, 1995:12). It is therefore apparent that the levels of truancy seem to vary from country to country, and in some cases, also in terms of geographical locations within a city or town. The literature indicates that blanket truancy is common in many secondary school and that, in some cases, learners play truant on a daily basis. The levels of blanket truancy can also vary according to regional locations within the same country. In the next section, the evidence regarding the level of post-registration truancy drawn from the literature will be discussed. Post-registration Truancy Very little information is given in the literature about national trends of post-registration truancy in countries where research on truancy was conducted. Most of the studies conducted in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United St Determinants of Health: Area of Residence Determinants of Health: Area of Residence Lisa Theaker The overall health of an individual and of communities can be defined and affected [LF1]by many factors. Circumstances and environment play a massive part in determining whether a Person or Persons can be categorised or labelled as being â€Å"Healthy†. Some of the more common of these determinants are issues such as area of residence- the affluence and prosperity of the general area, the income of the individual or family unit, the levels and standards of education available within the area, social relationships and at the most fundamental level, genetics also play a part. From a social perspective, factors such as access to good quality health services are considered to be a secondary factor and have less of an impact on the individuals’ health than the others. A person’s health is often determined by issues such as their social and economic environment, their physical environment and their general behaviours and lifestyle choices. An individual only really has control over one of these factors – the lifestyle as it is of their own choosing whether they have a healthy diet, if they smoke or drink alcohol. This too is determined to some extent by the level of social, physical and economic factors (WHO, date unknown) (Naidoo et al, 2000). Income and social status or class differences are displayed in statistics from different areas and often show direct correlation to the health of the individuals within them. A better income and â€Å"higher class† proves to be critical in better health. This is due to better quality of diet, access to education and better working environments. Studies have shown that where the greater difference in income between richer and poorer individuals exist, then this is reflected and evident in the statistics of health (Naidoo et al, 2000). Education levels at a lower standard are also linked with poor health. People with a low level of education often have low self-confidence and are found doing lesser paid yet more manual labour in health affecting environments such as factories. This also affects stress levels as well as income. The knock-on effect this produces brings inequalities such as poor housing and unsanitary living conditions in what are commonly labelled as â€Å"deprived areas†. All the factors affecting these communities have a profound effect on the health of not just the individual, but of their families also (BBC, 2008). The physical environment often impacts upon the health of families and individuals [LF2]alike, both in a domestic and workplace. Areas of residence with good quality road networks, decent acceptable housing, safe water and clean air [LF3]are statistically proven to show greater levels of better health of residents than areas with heavy industry, both now and historically. Air pollution is a major contributor to ill health, especially if the individual has an underlying or pre-existing health condition such as asthma. People who live and work in cleaner environments are often generally healthier, or display less health issues than people working within these area of heavy industry. Workers in heavier industries such as coal mining and steelworks have no control over they’re working environment, and although health protection equipment such as dust masks and ear protection are now issued as standard, this has not always been the case and generations of workers have suffered some times horrendous health issues from diseases and conditions associated with working in the dusty, noisy conditions for many years unprotected. Cases of emphysema, a lung condition where essentially the lungs are filled with dust which eventually hardens, have[LF4] affected many generations of coal miners (WHO, date unknown). Social support networks in communities are also proven to show links to improved health. Areas with community support outlets that offer help and advice with aspects covering stop smoking services, job-seeking and educational courses can encourage and offer the means to people within the community to improve themselves both mentally and physically and this has a profound effect on their health by improving their prospects and their self-esteem (WHO, date unknown). The genetic makeup of an individual can also be a major contributing factor to their health and can determine possible lifespan, overall healthiness and the possibility of developing certain illnesses. Personal behaviours of lifestyle can be influenced at an early age, where a parents input on the diet and lifestyle habits are often impressed upon children from a very early age. These attitudes are often carried into adulthood from children having witnessed the un-healthy practices of parents, and assume them to be acceptable and normal. Factors such as smoking and the consumption of alcohol are some of these. General coping skills can be witnessed by the nest [LF5]generation and can often lead to problems with their own coping mechanisms later in life (BBC News, 2008). Access to health services are a fundamental factor too. Good accessible health provision is essential for the maintenance of health within communities – whether the individual chooses to access these available services is down to their general attitudes to their own health (WHO, date unknown). Lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking, promiscuity and a balance of healthy diet and exercise are in the hands of the individual. These choices are also determined by the levels of income and area of residence. Deprived areas, even within the same general locality and country statistically show that this is the case. For example – Calton, an area of Glasgow in Scotland, shows a distinctive rise in the mortality rates in males when compared to a more affluent area of Lenzie. A baby boy born in Calton will have an average life expectancy of 28 years less than a boy born and resident in Lenzie. This is explained by Calton simply being less affluent. The population of Calton are generally of a lower social class, and the mortality rate reflects this amongst males of comparable ages. This is not just in Scotland however, similar findings have been reported in areas of London. The life expectancy varies by 11 years from residents of affluent Hampstead to St Pancras, which is c onsidered to be less affluent (BBC News, 2008). [LF6] People from lower classes experience greater levels of sickness and ill health, whether this is from lifestyle choices or work environments (if they actually work). Work and employment levels are a very important factor to consider. The work environment determines income levels and can directly affect the health of the individual. Some work environments are considered to be â€Å"high-risk† because of accidents, hazardous materials or even stressful situations (WHO, date unknown). A very detailed and thorough discussion of determinants of health however this could be strengthened by creating greater links to the models of health. There are more factors to the determination of â€Å"Health† than reviewing and [LF7]considering the technical issues of income, employment, lifestyle and the areas where people live, although these are statistically proven to have a major impact. Many would consider that ill health of an individual comes about as a direct result of lifestyle choices and that by adequate and improves healthy lifestyle promotion campaigns, theses can make a difference and encourage the individual to make changes and be responsible for taking steps to improve their health and that of their family. This is not always the case however, when the truth maybe that the individual has little or no control over the choices to be made. This serves to strengthen the argument that ill health is not in the hands of the individual rather that its roots lie in the social and economic domain. If the means are not available to make the changes, then it is impossible to do so. It is true however that some people do make the effort to maintain their health and that of their families eve on sometimes limited income however the social environment of poor quality housing and the air around where the live prevents them from doing so. The air quality is beyond the control of anyone. These factors are major contributing issues. Regardless of the input of any health promotion campaigns and any amount of income, this cannot be changed – other than to provide the means to move their family to a less polluted environment. Ill health does not occur merely by bad luck. The imposing factors from birth and through the entirety of an individuals’ life, through to their demise are paramount to affecting how these years are spent, whether in good or bad health. Social factors such as class and ethnicity come into play when tied in with the universal factors of age and gender. The gender, ethnicity and age of the individual cannot be changed, however it is possible that the social class can be altered given the right circumstances. Environmental factors such as housing provision, and the quality and area of it are also major factors – the area of residence and the amenities that are offered there, such as leisure facilities and access to health services have an impact upon the health of the residents. Lifestyle factors such as smoking, nutrition, exercise and the psychosocial environment are also major factors. The amount of stress and worry experienced by the individual are paramount to the levels of the other factors. Smoking levels increase in stressful environments as does overeating (Naidoo et al, 2000).[LF8] References BBC News (28th August 2008) ‘Social factors key to ill health’ [online] Available at: http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/7584056.stm [Accessed 5th April 2014] Health Poverty Action (date unknown) ‘ factors that Determine Good or Poor Health’ [online] Available at: http://www.healthpovertyaction.org/policy-and-resources/the-determinants-of-health/ [Accessed – 5th April 2014] Naidoo, J Wills, J. (2000) ‘Health Promotion – Foundations for Practice’ (2nd edition) London, UK: Harcourt Publishers Ltd World Health Organisation (date unknown) ‘Health Impact Assessment – The determinants of health’ [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/ [Accessed – 5th April 2014] Bibliography Health Poverty Action (date unknown) ‘The Cycle of Poverty Poor Health’ [online] Available at: https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/policy-and-resources/the-cycle-of-poverty-and-poor-health/ [Accessed – 5th April 2014] The College of Occupational Therapists (COT) (2013) ‘Social Determinants of Health’ [online] Available at: https://www.cot.co.uk/social-determinants-health [Accessed 5th April 2014] Very good range of sources used. [LF1]Is this the ‘Introduction’ section? [LF2]Is this the ‘Discussion of Findings’ section? [LF3]You are right but need to clarify what is meant by these i.e., give the parameters [LF4]‘has’ [LF5]‘next’ [LF6]Excellent points and use of example/source [LF7]Is this the ‘Conclusion’ section? [LF8]An excellent conclusion – very well thought out! Well done! However this should have been in report format!