Based on George Parks

Based on George Parks (2007) December article for Correction Today, the application of Relapse Prevention Therapy (RPT) as a primary cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in corrections and recidivism . He recognizes that RP affords the implementation of evidenced based interventions in corrections but requires further refinement if it is to be expanded from its current application in offender programming. This would require further testing of RP programs and more importantly, a philosophical shift in criminal programs for the effectiveness of rehabilitation and social reintegration. Criminality is an issue that is continuing concern of any society. Considering the evidence suggesting the increase in repeat offenders and the degree of their crime, the demand to develop effective recidivism programs is well justified. Parks (2007) discusses RPT clearly and provides significant information regarding its application prevailing principles and practices in its application. However, though his discussion on the impact of RPT and related CBT based interventions, he does not provide statistical or actual performance evidence. Though this does not imply that his opinion is less valid, the urgency and importance of the issue would have been better communicated with the presentation of such data. Parks himself recognizes the need for new perspectives and insights to the issue of not only corrections and recidivism but also corrections and social support for offenders. There have been a numbers of suggestions to address the issue including the contradictions to RPT such as the increase in punitive measures for offenders. In the case of restorative justice programs, there has been a similar increase in the support for their application but there has been hesitation on their full implementation because of perceived risks and the management participation on inmates. RPT has an advantage over other perspectives since there is already substantial evidence of its effectivity and relatively has lower risks since people involved in the interventions are limited to offenders’ corrections and parole officers. The research’s orientation reflects a psychological perspective as evidenced by the focus on CBT approaches. It should be noted that orientation does not exclude other orientations, as it is apparent form Park’s discussion that he recognizes the value of various perspectives in the development of recidivism programs. For example, he sites that crime cycles should be studied based on the conditions that create offense scenarios which include social, political and criminological perspectives or orientations. The theoretical framework utilized by Park combines sociology and psychology. The latter is apparent in the programs the areas of correction he sees the potential for the application for RPT. This puts an emphasis on psychological strategies, indicated by his recommendation of CBT and CBT-based programs including RPT as well as Helen Annis’s structured relapse prevention (SRP). However, the actual intervention proposed utilizes sociological frameworks for implementation. He believes that there is significant change that offenders will be able to reform if they are able to learn the impact of their actions, their responsibility for it and the need for criminal justice programs to apply penalties for those who offend them. Park’s orientation also indicates his support for sociogenic collaborative programs in corrections and criminal recidivism. Park’s theoretical perspective and research orientation are consistent with each other. Like any other author or researcher, his research orientation is based on the theoretical perspective he employs in developing the study. Thus, the assumption that the researcher employs for the research are reflected in the orientation of the study, the way the collaborations for the program are constructed or are to operate and the determination of the desired outcomes of the programs. In the same way, an insight to the theoretical perspective of the author allows credible estimates to how the research will approach he subject matter. The literature review completed by Park and his opinion of them reflect his theoretical perspective and research orientation. In particular, his citation of the works of Annis, David Wexler, James McGuire, John A. Cunningham , Edward Zamble and of course the proponent of RPT, G. Alan Marlatts. Though Park does not make any distinct or overt contrary position against any research mentioned or otherwise in his studies, he constantly reiterates his belief of the need for further studies before extensive application of RPT can be done. One point he points out is the lack of large-scale cohort studies to support the intensified application of RPT in recidivism. As previously mentioned, one of the limitations of park’s study is the lack of quantitative data. Though considering the extent of the assessment he made of the existing literature, there is sufficient corroboration for the regard he has for RPT, CBT-based programs and the existing researches for the subject. Park’s analysis of the research and its related issues and concerns reflects his own extensive research and interest in the issue. His insights and conclusions are not surprising because similar conclusions about corrections, rehabilitation and recidivism are reflected in other researches. However, unlike some opinions on the issue, Park believes that offenders should be given allow the opportunities for rehabilitation and reintegration. His sentiment is not just for humanitarian reasons but also recognized that the success of such interventions will reduce demands for correction facilities and programs. Written for popular readership, the research is quiet effective in delivering the need for correction and rehabilitation programs for offenders that will allow them to become productive and law-abiding members of society. Considering this, then Park’s avoidance of statistical or technical terms in RPT or CBT may be deliberate so as not to overwhelm his audience. Furthermore, this supports his objective of communicating the issue as social concern that needs collaborations of various social institutions as well as the public. The construction of Park’s arguments first highlights the significance of RPT in criminal justice systems then reflects the importance of the issue in society and among individual members of it. He points out that the objective of any criminal justice system is should go beyond apprehending and punishing offenders and extends to efforts that offenders are able to reform and become productive members of society. He then enumerates the requirements for the development of RPT programs that support these objectives and the insights that can be developed from existing research. In this article, Park contributes to readers’ understanding of the developing issue in corrections and recidivism, the perspective or researches being developed regarding it, and the potential of utilizing CBT-based interventions such as RPT. It highlights the need to review the relevance of programs and to streamline strategies to maximize the resources of criminal justice programs. There is also the realization of the increasing emphasis in rehabilitation of offenders instead of punitive measures which in turn reflects changes in social perspectives on criminality and corrections management. Park’s research is to be commended in its effort to reach a wider audience for an issue that has often been considered as a concern exclusively to the criminal justice field. Furthermore, his emphasis on the development of research, testing and collaborative programs lend a strong foundation as well as frameworks for the development of programs and interventions. The issue of recidivism, crime and rehabilitation is presented as in issue that affects all member of society not only offenders or their victims. In conclusion, Park’s work should be considered as an important foundation for further researchers on the topic and provides ample foundation for the analysis and development of RPT applications in criminal justice programs. REFERENCE Parks, George A. (2007). New approaches to using relapse prevention therapy in the criminal justice system. Corrections Today 69(6) December: 46(4)

Assess How Well Own Knowledge Skills And Understanding Meet Standards

SHC 22 Personal Development v1. 4 Title Level Credit value Learning outcomes The learner will 1 Understand what is required for competence in own work role Introduction to personal development in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings TWO 3 Assessment criteria The learner can: 1. 1 Describe the duties and responsibilities of own role 1. 2 Identify standards that influence the way the role is carried out 1. 3 Describe ways to ensure that personal attitudes or beliefs do not obstruct the quality of work 2 Be able to reflect on own work activities 2. Explain why reflecting on practice is an important way to develop knowledge, skills and practice 2. 2 Assess how well own knowledge, skills and understanding meet standards 2. 3 Demonstrate the ability to reflect on work activities 3. 1 Identify sources of support for own learning and development 3. 2 Describe the process for agreeing a personal development plan and who should be involved 3. 3 Contribute to drawing up own personal development plan 4. 1 Show how a learning activity has improved own knowledge, skills and understanding 4. 2 Show how reflecting on a situation has improved own knowledge, skills and understanding 4. Show how feedback from others has developed own knowledge, skills and understanding 4. 4 Show how to record progress in relation to personal development 3 Be able to agree a personal development plan 4 Be able to develop knowledge, skills and understanding Additional information about the unit NOS ref CCLD 204 GEN 12 HSC 23 Themes recur as knowledge requirements, performance criteria and core values throughout HSC and CCLD NOS Unit purpose and aims This unit is aimed at those who work in health or social care settings or with children or young eople in a wide range of settings. The unit introduces the concepts of personal development and reflective practice which are fundamental to such roles, and GEN 13 SHC 22 Personal Development v1. 4 ways to implement the se. Assessment requirements Additional information This unit must be assessed in accordance with the assessment strategy for health and social care.Standards may include: Codes of practice Regulations Minimum standards National occupational standards A personal development plan may have a different name but will record information such as agreed objectives for development, proposed activities to meet objectives, timescales for review, etc. Sources of support may include: Formal support Informal support Supervision Appraisal Within the organisation Beyond the organisation Who should be involved may include: The individual Carers Advocates Supervisor, line manager or employer Other professionals

Applied Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Applied Leadership - Essay Example Overall, this review highlights the importance for a leader to be flexible to the situation and context in which they find themselves making decisions and taking action. It appears that there is no one set formula to be an effective leader, instead professional and personal development must be made lifelong learning goals. Professional development may take the form of training courses, or getting back to the 'ground floor' of the organization. Personal development for the leader requires critical reflection on one's outcomes, to bring awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses, as well as what makes one unique. It is anticipated that this paper will provide a concise collection of leadership definitions that can contribute to student learning of leadership, and the qualities that are necessary to motivate others to be led by them. Leadership is a role that requires valuable skills as well as a reliance on innate personal characteristics. Effective leadership is highly demanded in the product and service industries. The act of leadership is complex and is determined by the credibility of the leader; importantly the leader must be able to exhibit commitment to a clear set of values (Kouzes & Posner, 2003). Characteristics of a good leader are often identified as being: honesty, competency, a good communicator, inspiring and forward-thinking (Kouzes & Posner, 2002). Definitions of a Leader My Definition My personal definition of leadership is, a person who is able to act in an ethical manner and so keeps in mind the rights and dignity of other person's they interact with. Complementary to this, is transparency of decision and actions, as well as demonstrating accountability for decision and action outcomes. Also, leadership is cultivated through the practice of reflective thinking, as when a person critically considers their decisions and actions in light of the outcomes. I see leadership as a flexible behavior, which adapts itself to the context of the situation, whilst remaining aligned with the leader's temperament. An example of flexible leadership is when socio-cultural, political, economic and/or another's personal characteristics are included in how a decision is arrived at, or a solution implemented. Finally, leadership is the embodied in the skill of communication, the leader being able to empathize with others, listen to their needs and expectations, and can learn what mo tivates and empowers others to try, persist, achieve, and to adapt to unsuccessful outcomes and focus on solutions. Five Other Definitions Using email, five friends were contacted to ask them who they determined was a good leader. Their responses are outlined below: R ---- suggests that the Prime Minister of the UK, Tony Blair as the embodiment of good leadership. With the modification of the National Health System, beginning in 1997, Blair's

Ethics memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ethics memo - Essay Example Instant messaging might be considered as a source of enhancing the productivity of Texas technologies. This is because IM allows the employees to perform multiple tasks in an effective manner. However, a major issue linked with this feature is that the security and privacy risks as well as legal issues of the employers can be made an increased subject of exposure. it should be concern that if no strict policy is not put into practice, the Texas technology would result in a lack of control over their employees and inevitably into a disastrous end for the company. A major concern is that the most of the employers are unaware of the pervasiveness of the use of instant messages within the company. This is mainly because the employees at Texas technology are set up IM accounts without the knowledge of the company. In order to put a stop to this issue within the Texas technology it is important that effective policies should be enforced and the employees should be educated on the matter. Certain guidelines for appropriate and suitable personal as well as business use must be enforced and set so as to ensure that the employees are utilizing the feature of IM in a professional manner at Texas technology. By educating the employees regarding the proper IM usage will lead to minimized employers risk. Due to the fact that the IM accounts are an easy target for hacker penetration, the technology should be in place because this is allow the identity of the person they are in communication with to be confirmed. The employers must be made aware of certain legal issues which result from using the instant messaging within the company. Closing: it can thus be summarized that the use of instant messaging certain employees consider as a type of break can result in disastrous effect for the company. This can be done by appropriate IM management. Defense against liability for the behavior of the employees on IM can be accomplished

International Perspectives in Employment - Individual Business Report Essay

International Perspectives in Employment - Individual Business Report - Essay Example The next step will be to devise a packaging that is made from recycled products. This will not only reduce costs but will also be a good strategy to attract customers from the Corporate Social Responsibility Perspective. The next step will be a challenge for the marketing department. Their marketing strategies especially advertising will have to take a 360 turn and promote products as healthy, environmentally friendly and low in cost. 2 Findings 3 Conclusion 5 Recommendations 5 Following are the recommendations for the company after this evaluation: 5 Bibliography 6 Terms of Reference Introduction In order to conduct an evaluation for Nature Foods about how it should react to the changing business environment, it is extremely vital to take care of a few important points that will help in changing the way it operates. The evaluation is intended for the internal usage of the company, as an analysis of its position that is declining because of the global economic downturn as well as env ironmental concerns for customers that have become strong enough to make them switch brands. The recommended changes will help Nature Foods to adopt new strategies that will help them increase their sales as well as customer satisfaction. Following the research that has been conducted by the relevant staff of Nature Foods, a plan needs to be developed for making the required strategic changes for the company. This process of evaluation will try to involve as many people from the organization as possible, so that a unanimous decision can be made regarding the changes, and so that relevant people can be gathered who on one table can together decide what strategies are likely to be more effective. Procedure For attaining the objectives above, the procedure to be followed will long and will be implemented throughout the organization. First of all, the production department will be called for a meeting to help devise modified products that are entirely focused on health. The formulas and ingredients of the products will be changed after discussions with the senior management as well as the operations department, in collaboration with relevant medical help such as nutritionists. The next step will be to devise a packaging that is made from recycled products. This will not only reduce costs but will also be a good strategy to attract customers from the Corporate Social Responsibility Perspective. The next step will be a challenge for the marketing department. Their marketing strategies especially advertising will have to take a 360 turn and promote products as healthy, environmentally friendly and low in cost. Findings Global Business involves more than just making money After all the research that had been conducted, available material on this subject indicates that Global business is not just about making money anymore according to Czinkota, Ronkainen, & Moffett (2008). It involves many other things such as complying to international standards, a sustainable busine ss that is concerned about the future and that provides lower prices to the consumers in this era where they have many choices and switching costs are low, especially for evyday products like FMCG’s, to which Nature Foods belongs. Moreover, it is very difficult to ensure brand loyalty from the customers who are very rational and highly aware of global and market trends as well as opportunities

Read three questions and then write an essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Read three questions and then write an - Essay Example Besides, high risk is also attached with most form of securities that has been traded in the financial market, thereby , analysis of the movement of pricing and market trends remains highly important prior to undertaking any investment decision (Gitman, 2008). The environment of stock market and stock pricing is highly volatile, which led to significant difficulty in taking sound investment decisions for the investors where they need to consider the risks involved and the return combination at large. Additionally, the technical measure also plays an important role in predicting and analysing the movement of stock in future. The relevance of technical tools and measure has been studied in various literatures in quantifying the pricing movement of stock markets. Besides, in the presence of the aspect of technical measure, investor can be able to look forward and take effective buying and selling decision. Thus, the approach of technical supervision in the security market helps to provide opportunity to the investor to make high profitability through analysing the trend of the share prices (Vashishtha & et. al., 2013; Brownlees & et. al., 2012; Christiansen & et. al., 2012). In order to take the profitable position in the stock market, determining the possible movement of pricing of the security is highly important through using appropriate technical analysis. Thus, in this essay in order to determine appropriate investment plan for Brett Daly, two approaches of measuring the security pricing movement including Stock’s relative strength index (RSI) and moving average method have been used for determining the Nautilus security movement RSI, measures the speedily movement of pricing on the index of 0 to 100 whereas, moving average method is used to measure the pricing trend-followed as per security based on previous prices (Milionis & Papanagiotou, 2011; University of Rhode Island,

Compare and contrast discontinuous change Research Paper - 1

Compare and contrast discontinuous change - Research Paper Example Factors causing the discontinuous change in business can be grounded in different fields that may include but are not limited to politics, religion, technological advancement, and literacy rate. Discontinuous change affects family-businesses more as compared to other types of businesses primarily because the former are less formal in terms of system and organization, and accordingly less likely to increase the resources to help the business sustain as compared to the latter (Kumar, 2012). End of the cinemas and entertainment industry in a region because of a strong religious movement, closure of projects started by the previous government by the new government after it takes the charge, drastic reduction in the scope of manual sewing and embroidery of clothing because of the use of machines for the same purposes, rapid decline in the market value of palmists and magicians with the rise of people’s belief in science and technology as a result of more education and improved literacy rate, and decline in the readership of books with the availability of online reading sources on the

Film review of Lions for Lambs Movie Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Film of Lions for Lambs - Movie Review Example The movie, 'Lions for Lambs', starring Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep is a movie based on the deployment of the Army of United States in Afghanistan. The movie, apart from other things, talks about the strategy of war. The movie, most importantly, is a reflection on Ethics and Morality. This can be seen in many parts of the movie, in the form of situations, dialogues and characterization. Republican Senator Cruise calls in for journalist Streep, to cover his new war strategy on deploying the Army in Afghanistan, to keep the United States above Muslim upsurges. However, Meryl Streep, who has covered the Vietnamese war, is quite apprehensive about the information put forth by the Senator and refuses to cover the war announcement. This is one of the junctures, where a decision is made on the basis of ethics. The journalist certainly listens to the voice of her conscience and is guided by moral code, rather than the mere sensationalism of war. Two students from a California University decide to enroll themselves in the Army to fight the war for their country. This is because of their sheer responsibilities as citizens.

Week 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 4 - Essay Example Although the changes will affect my personal life in an apparent negative way, it will save on my money and also on the local water supply as a whole. Concerning the local water supply, my strategy would be to reduce the amount of water delivered to my homestead and this would also imply a reduction of electricity cost for the local supplier. As a general strategy of water saving for the whole region, I would suggest the recycling of water. This might appear as a hard nut to crack but the water that goes to waste on a daily basis is even more than we could ever imagine. For instance, the water used to wash dishes could be used to water the kitchen garden. However, there are cons and pros of this method. Starting with cons, it should be said that this method requires use of washing buckets instead of washing sink to make it easier to retrieve the water. There is no doubt it is a big nuisance. Also, the method will require more than just throwing the water on the garden. Moreover, it is required to sieve the water of unnecessary material before using it for watering. Taking the total household use as 272 gallons, considering each gallon to be about 8.3 lbs in weight, then carrying the water home from a distant source would mean carrying about 2257.6 lbs per day per person. This is incredible but it happens every day in the developing countries. This difference, which is quite big, can be attributed to water wastage like that in the bathroom. It can also happen due to the use of machines not designed within the concepts of water saving

Moral Teachings of the Catholic Church Essay Example for Free

Moral Teachings of the Catholic Church Essay Introduction: Catholics believes that acting morally means acting in accordance with the eternal laws of God, which are written into the human hearts so deeply that even those who know nothing of God can follow the path of morality. According to Cynthia Stewart, Nature law, as this interior marking is called, comes to humans through their capacity to reason, which sparks the conscience to respond to the eternal law. This means that people of other religions or the non religious all have the capacity to act as morally as catholic Christians, it is believes that they will struggle more since they will not have the benefit of the sacraments that opens them to grace to resist sin. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) regarded sin as a word, deed or desire contrary to the eternal law. The church classified sin into two parts, they are: mortal and venial sin. Catholic moral theology divides sin into two parts, primarily on the basis of degree and effect: What is mortal sin? According to http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu06.htm :  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the private of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance of Gods forgiveness, it causes exclusion to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a serious offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.† For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be met: Mortal sin is a sin whose object is a serious matter and which is also committed with full intension awareness and deliberate consent. A serious matter is specified by the Ten Commandments Corresponding to the answer to the rich young man: ⠝â€" Do not kill ⠝â€" Do not commit adultery ⠝â€" Do not steal ⠝â€" Do not bear false witness ⠝â€" Do not defraud ⠝â€" Honor your father and your mother What is venial sin? According to chrome://newtabhttp//christianityinview.com/catholic/morals.html: Venial (Pardonable) sin Positively, this sin does not directly destroy the relationship with God. Rather, it weakens that relationship. Unremitted venial sins can affect the duration spent in Purgatory. Therefore the church encourages confession of these types of sins as well without being strictly necessary. Confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the church. Example of venial sin is, selfishness, jealously and anger. Venial sin involves the disobedience of the law of God in slight (venial) matters. If we gossip and destroy a persons reputation it would be a mortal sin. However, normally gossip is about trivial matters and only venially sinful. Additionally, something that is otherwise a mortal sin (e.g. slander) may be in a particular case only a venial sin. The person may have acted without reflection or under force of habit. Thus, not fully intending the action their guilt before God is reduced. It is always good to remember, especially those who are trying to be faithful but sometimes fall, that for mortal sin it must not only be, 1) Serious matter, but 2) The person must know it is serious and then 3) Freely commit it as was said previously. These two categories of sin are explicitly to be found in Sacred Scripture. In the Old Covenant there were sins that merited the death penalty and sins that could be expiated by an offering. This Law was a teacher that prepared the way for the faith (Gal. 3:24). In the New Covenant these material  categories are replaced by spiritual ones, natural death by eternal death. There are thus daily faults for which we must daily ask forgiveness (Mt. 6:12), for even the just man falls seven times a day (Prov. 24:16), and mortal faults that separate the sinner from God (1 Cor. 6:9-10) for all eternity. Indulgence The punishment of sin is also divided into two parts by catholic theology; they are, eternal and temporal. Normally, the eternal punishment for sin can be remitted through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. However, the church maintains that there is still a temporal punishment to be borne, as all sin is an affront to God. This then leads to the idea of Purgatory as a place where unremitted sin can be removed in the afterlife. Temporal punishment can be reduced or removed/ forgiven due to the concept of merit. Merit Doing more then is required by God can earn an individual merit. The most important merit is Christ himself, this is adequate enough to eliminate temporal penalty for all sin. The Merits of Christ and the saints form a treasury of merit. The Catholic Church maintains that it has the authority to dispense merit because of Christ’s promise to peter in Matthew 16:19. Therefore an Indulgence is simply a way of using this extra merit to reduce or remove the temporal penalty of sin. Indulgences may only be given to those who have no unconfessed mortal sins. According to whether the temporal penalty of sin is partially or fully removed, the Indulgence is called Partial or Plenary respectively. Abortion: Abortion is referred to as any death of a baby in the womb and its expulsion form the mother’s body according to today’s issues and Christian beliefs. Since the first century the church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not change and remains unchangeable.  Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the mortal law. It is important to distinguish between direct and indirect abortion: Indirect abortion occurs when treatment given to save the life of the Mother has the secondary effect of causing an abortion. In certain cases, this is considered permissible. The seriousness of the matter is highlighted by the fact that those who participate in or carry out direct abortions face the penalty of automatic excommunication from the church. The catholic theology teachings that human life begins from the moment of conception and as our entire human the unborn child should be see as a child of God as should therefore be protected. Hence the deliberate abortion of a child is a serious in all circumstances for it the killing of an innocent individual. The views of the religious leader of the Catholic Church have always been against as is proven by the following statements. â€Å"Human life is sacred; all men must recognize that fact† Pope Paul VI (Humanae Vitae) â€Å"Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of the conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes† (Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes 51) The bible also gives perspectives on abortion in the following verses: Genesis 1:27 â€Å"God created human beings in his own imagine in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them â€Å"be fruitful and increase†. Luke 12:6 â€Å"Jesus said, â€Å"isn’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. â€Å" Isaiah 49:15-16 â€Å"so the lord answers, ‘can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you! I have written your name in the palms of my hand. Contraceptives Contraception is â€Å"any actions which, either in anticipation of the conjugal act or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible† according to Humanae vitae 14. This includes sterilization, condoms and other barrier methods, spermicidal, coitus interruptus (withdrawal method), the pill, and all other such methods. The Catholic Church has strongly condemned all artificial methods of Contraceptives. Infact the church regards contraception as mortally sinful. The official position is stated in the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae , issued by Pope Paul VI in 1968. Though the Catholic Church rejects contraception, it does encourage a responsible attitude amongst couples in their spacing of births. It permits what is known as Natural family planning (NFP), which is a method whereby intercourse is avoided on those days when a woman is at the most fertile phase of her menstrual cycle. NFP can be taught by a specialist practitioner and success rates of well over 90% are claimed when the method is correctly followed. The bibles perspective on contraceptive: Genesis 38:8-10 â€Å" then Judah said Er’s brother Onan , â€Å"go and sleep with your brother’s widow, fulfill your obligations to her as her husbands brother, so that your brother may have descendants. But knew the children would not belong to him. So he had intercourse with her, he left his semen spill on the ground so there would be not descendants of his brother, what he did displeased the lord and he killed him also. Homosexuality Homosexuality refers to elations between men or between woman who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex according to chrome://newtabhttp//www.catholic.com/tracts/homosexuality. The Catholic view is that all Homosexual acts are morally and intrinsically wrong and thus the church requires people with Homosexual leanings to remain celibate. It also encourages proper respect as human beings for all Homosexual people, being opposed to any form of discrimination and persecution of Homosexuals. The church distinguishes between Homosexual acts and Homosexual leanings the latter may not be necessarily sinful. In 1986, the church issued its Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, explaining this distinction: Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder. In 2005, the church issued its Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and t o Holy Orders. The policy states that those men with deeply rooted homosexual tendencies cannot be ordained under any circumstances. The rejection of homosexual behavior that is found in the Old Testament is well known. In Genesis19, two angels in disguise visit the city of Sodom and are offered hospitality and shelter by lot. During the night, the men of Sodom demand that lot hand over his guests for homosexual intercourse. Lot refuses, and the angels blind the men of Sodom. Lot and his household escape and the town is destroyed by fire â€Å"because the outcry against its people has become great before the lord.† (Genesis 19:13). The incident is not the only time the Old Testament deals with homosexuality. An explicit condemnation is found in the book of Leviticus: â€Å"you shall not lie with a male as with a  woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them† ( Lev. 18:22:20:13) Summary: To act morally is to follow God’s eternal law which is written deeply in the hearts of every human being despite race or religion. Even thought the ability to act morally is in us as human being we often fall victims to sin. Sin refers to an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law, the church divides sin into two categories, Mortal sin, which is an unpardonable sin entailing a total loss of grace. Examples of mortal sin are: adultery, abortion, murder. Venial sin the other types of sin are referred to as a relatively slight sin that does not entail damnation of soul. Example of venial sin is: selfishness, anger, jealousy. Issues that impact us today are: ⠝â€" Abortion which is refers to as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy or a miscarriage. The Catholic Church has consistently condemned the act of abortion. Catholics views human life as sacred and maintains that it should be protected by every means necessary as was stated by Pope Paul VI (Humanae Vitae). Biblical prove can also be found in Psalm 127:3 â€Å"Truly children are a gift from the lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.† ⠝â€" Contraceptive can be defined as the deliberate use of artificial methods or other techniques to prevent pregnancy as a consequence of sexual intercourse. The Catholic Church has strongly condemned all artificial methods of contraceptives as regards it as mortally sinful. Biblical proof to support this view can be found in Jeremiah 1:5 â€Å"I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations.† ⠝â€" Homosexuality is the manifestation of sexual desire towards a member of one’s own sex. The Catholic Church encourages proper respect as human beings even homosexuals although Catholics view are that all homosexual acts are intrinsically and morally wrong and encourages people with homosexual feelings to remain celibate. The bible conforms this in Leviticus 18:22 â€Å"thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination† Catholic theology also divides punishment for sins such as  those listed above in to two parts; they are eternal punishment which is sins that can be remitted through the sacrament of reconciliation. And temporal punishment which refers to punishment that can be reduce, removed or forgiven due to the concept of merit. Merit is referred to as doing more then is required by God.

The Post Office

The Post Office The Post Office is a group of three core businesses that form the UKs national postal system. It operates as a public corporation and is owned, but not managed, by the Government. Its businesses are: Royal Mail: the letters business, Post Office Counters Limited, the retail Business and Parcel force, the parcels business. It also runs Subscription Services Limited, which provides a portfolio of services to UK businesses. The group as a whole has recorded a profit for the last 19 years, and is one of the few national Postal administrations to operate without government subsidy. In 1994, following a review set up two years earlier, the Government published a discussion paper that set out proposals for the future of The Post Office. Following a prolonged and intense public debate the Government decided, in 1995, to drop plans for Royal Mail/Parcel force privatisation from its then current legislative programme but in the following year announced it was relaxing some of the financial restraints to allow The Post Office businesses to compete for new business. A brief history of the Post Office The origins of the Post Office can be traced back to 1482 when couriers carrying pacquets (royal messages) were granted the power to requisition horses and guides. By 1660 control of The Post had passed from the monarch to Parliament with the creation of the post of Postmaster General. From the introduction of the uniform penny post in 1840 the Post Office grew and took on new responsibilities until by the 1950s about 1/3 of all civil service staff were employed by the Post Office. In October 1969 the Post Office ceased to be a government department and became a corporation. The responsibility for the day to day management passed from the Postmaster General to the board of the newly constituted corporation, although the new Minister for Posts and Telecommunications still retained control of the Post Offices budget. Further reform followed in 1981 when post and telecommunication were separated and The Post Office Corporation was divided into The Post Office (responsible for postal services and National Giro Bank) and British Telecom (responsible for telephones and telecommunications). Again the argument behind this change was that it would make the Post Office more suited and responsive to the needs of the commercial modern world. The Post Office delivery services survived the mass privatisations of the 1980s. However, British Telecom was privatised in 1984 followed by the National Girobank in 1989. Although, The Royal Mail is the letters division of the Post Office, It is obliged to provide a universal service at a uniform price. This is achieved through cross subsidisation of more costly services by less costly and a monopoly on deliveries of letters costing less than  £1.00. The Royal Mail has a network of approximately 100,000 post boxes and employs approximately 80,000 postmen. Post Office Counters Ltd is a network of approximately 20,000 sub post-offices. They are mostly privately owned and run by agents (sub-postmasters), many are also shops. They sell stamps and provide other services such as pensions, etc. Parcel force is an independent division of the Post Office that operates without a monopoly and in direct competition with a number of private sector companies. Parcel force employs approximately 13, 00 staff, has 165 depots and a fleet of approximately 9000 vehicles. The reason to tell this entire story to explain the changes went through in this organisation by the time requirement. Description of nature of information systems: A Local Area Network (LAN) had been introduced in the Newcastle upon Tyne postal district 18 months earlier and was intended to link together different locations in the Newcastle area and to provide a gateway to other Post Office LANs nationwide. Initially use of this system was restricted to senior (board level) managers but with the impending restructuring and expected privatisation use of the LAN was extended to other levels in the organisation. At the initial time of the interviews there were 37 terminals in the Newcastle area and 6 at remote sites. The Newcastle LAN could also be used to link to another 20 Post Office LANs in different parts of the country. The system integrated elements of personnel, administration, recruitment and data on human resource utilisation with data on costing and the volume of business transactions. What is a network? A network is a generic term for any computer based communications system that links together a number of computers and other devices. A network may be called a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). LANs are networks that connect several devices, usually through a single cabling system, within a clearly defined area such as a single building or a group of adjacent buildings. WANs on the other hand are networks used to distribute data around sites that may be scattered across or single country or the entire world. WANs may be composed of interlinked LANs and may use a number of different communications links (e.g. satellite and telephone lines) to join their component parts. Networks may take many forms although, conceptually, they only consist of two parts. Description and analysis of functional use of information systems: The networking software defines the logical structure of the network: it controls and co-ordinates certain activities in a group of otherwise independent processors (network stations). At the heart of each network is the fileserver. The fileserver treats the network stations as if they were storage peripherals (e.g. disk drives) while the network stations treat the fileserver as if it were a hard disk reading from it and writing to it as required. To each machine it appears as though the data had simply come from a disk drive. Communications software and the physical link both the network stations and the fileserver run communications software to send data to each other through the physical link. The physical link, i.e. cabling system, defines the physical structure of the network while the communications software carries the data along the physical link; together these two things act as a medium for the communication between fileserver and network station. However networks can facilitate communication between people as well as machines. Electronic mail, diaries and teleconferencing facilities can be used as a medium for communication, control and co-ordination between people. For example, e-mail allows asynchronous communication between individuals or groups and also enables the efficient distribution of text based memos or messages to a group, or groups, of recipients. Assessment of current use of information systems Security and ease of management: Networks, by their nature, impose restrictions on certain actions by certain users at particular times (e.g. two users cannot write to the same file at the same time). This greatly simplifies file management and can provide several layers of additional security, e.g. passwords and or access only via dedicated terminals. Networking software can also provide alarms and audit trails to assist dealing with security problems if they do occur. Resilience Networks are virtually unaffected by local damage. If a network station breaks down it can be simply removed without any disruption to the other users. If the data has been backed up then no data need have been lost; the user can simply move to another network station. The fileserver on the other hand is the hub of the network; if this ceases to function the whole network stops. However, once again, if all the data has been backed up and good recovery procedures exist networks can even survive a fault at the fileserver. Efficient use of resources: Networks make a more efficient use of resources as they allow the apparently simultaneous use of one application by several users. The most obvious example of this is the shared use of programs such as word processors and spreadsheets. These will only need to be installed once on a file server and can then be used on any number of machines. Networks also allow the cost of expensive but infrequently used items, such as specialist printers or tape drives, can be shared between a large numbers of users. Similarly old, unusual or otherwise obsolescent equipment can also be made use of in this way.

Media And Politics: Agenda Setting And Framing Essay -- essays researc

How has media influenced public perception of political figures, issues, and institutions? Through agenda setting and framing, media has the power to set the agenda for political discussion by providing public attention to political figures, issues, and institutions. In addition, the media can frame political agendas by influencing public perception and interpretation. (Ginsberg, Lowi & Weir, 1999) Agenda Setting and Framing Political Figures and Candidates In campaigning, media coverage plays a large role for candidates. They use the media to make their name heard and image seen. â€Å"Nearly everything a candidate does is geared toward the media, especially television† (Stuckey, 1999, p. 99) Candidates make appearances on talk shows, televise town hall meetings, and press conferences. Their agenda is not the issues they present or their positions on them, but to gain media attention. If the candidates do not present interesting visuals or dramatic news, than the media can pull the plug from underneath them. â€Å"The media has a good deal of discretion over how individuals are allowed to portray themselves† (Ginsberg, Lowi & Weir, 1999, p. 298). In addition, the media has control over how they portray an individual. Thus, political figures are framed by the media. The media can set the image for a political figure or candidate, sealing their approval or disapproval for them and cementing that image toward the audience. The media can make certain political figures or candidat...

Lincolns Gettysburg Address (memo Guide) :: essays research papers

When the White Men Came I miss my home. I always thought I would be surrounded in its beauty forever, until they came to our land. Everyday it becomes more difficult to remember back to the days when it was ours. They took our lives away, and we were helpless. But there was nothing that we could have done. They were white men we were afraid. It began as the leaves started to change from cool green to warm red and gold. My sister had married only the night before and we were all very happy. Because of the change in weather and the addition to our family we had thought something wonderful would be granted unto us. We were wrong. I first felt that something was going on early the morning after my sister''s wedding. There had been talk of an enormous canoe seen in the water off the land away. The excitement seemed to be in full swing that morning. I sat with my father''s mother working on my weaving. She was talking about her own wedding and because she had told that story many times last night, it was easy for me to be distracted by the commotion outside. There were shouts and yells, but all to distant for me to make out what was being said. After a few minutes of listening, two men stopped and stood just a few feet away from my window. Thought out of eyesight, I could sense their uneasiness. The two talked of the great canoe. They were nearing. As they morning went on, I was assigned various tasks. One of my duties brought me not too far from the water''s edge. My mother knew of the excitement of what was approaching us, and warned me to stay away from the water. She knew that the bravest men in our tribe had gone down to investigate the situation and/or defend our village. As a 13-year-old girl, I knew of no such plan. But, of course, curiosity got the best of me and I hurried down to see what was going on. I hid behind a large tree and peeked out at the men. They stood watching the people lower smaller canoes into the water and get into them, still away from the shore. I observed from my hiding place, but soon fell asleep, still tired from the festivities the night before. I was awaken by a deafening bang.

Nostradamus :: essays research papers

Nostradamus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michel De Nostradame, otherwise known as Nostradamus was born December 14, 1503. His family was of Jewish ancestry. His grandfather, Pierre de Nostradame, had settled in Provence because by the mid-1400s, many Jews had come to live there. Nostradamus' father was Jacques de Nostradame. Jacques worked as a scholary, since most people didn't know how to write he wrote things for them, from love letters to formal documents. Jacques' income provided a good home at the time. Nostradamus' earliest recollection of his home was the following:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Typical of all provenà §al homes in the sixteenth century was the room where both domestic and social life was carried on. The center and symbol of the room's activity was the great fireplace, majestic, caver-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  nous, holding a banked fire that never went out since his mother and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  father moved in. Shining pots and pans of brass hung low from the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  mantle shelf. At either angle of the fireplace was an oak settle were his grandfathers liked to laze and talk when they came to visit. On the walls hung light cabinet shelves holding salt and spices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nostradamus had one definite brother, Cà ¨sar who wrote Histoire de Provence, a book which sustains the myth of the Nostradamus royal line. Historians think Nostradamus had three other brothers, Bertrand, Hector, and Antoine, but they are not sure and almost nothing is known about them besides their names.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nostradamus was educated by his grandfathers. First Peyrot, who had been a great traveler, brought Nostradamus up in his home. He taught Nostradamus the basics of mathematics, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Astrology. After Peyrot de Nostradamus' death Nostradamus moved back in with his parents, Jacques and Reynià ¨re. It is thought that his other grandfather took over his education for a while, but the family decided to send Nostradamus to Avignon, which at that period was the center of Renaissance learning. At Avignon, Nostradamus spent many hours at University libraries. Nostradamus' biggest interest was astrology. His interest in astrology began to worry his parents, and by the advice of his grandfather he was sent to the University of Montpellier to study medicine. The University of Montpellier was regarded as second only to that of Paris in all of France. Nostradamus arrived there in 1522 at nineteen years of age. In three years he studied all the subjects needed for his bachelor's degree. He was tutored by some of the finest doctors in Europe. The process of getting a degree was far more arduous than in the present day, and lasted much longer. A successful candidate was given his license to practice by the bishop of Montpellier.

The Long Term Impact of Staff Reduction on Surviving Staff: Starbucks Experience

Research Aims Staff reductions are often required as part of the restructuring of an organisation, or as a response to economic conditions. However, the focus of the research here is to look at the long term and whether this type of staff reduction has an impact on the staff that remain, rather than focussing on those that leave. It is argued, at the outset, that the remaining members of staff are often overlooked, as they are perceived to be the â€Å"lucky ones†. Despite this, the basis of the research is that there will be both a psychological and practical impact on those remaining staff and these issues needs to be considered with much greater emphasis by the management team when looking at this type of restructuring. The aim is to provide a much greater understanding, by looking at Starbucks as an example, so that the management team is in a better position to deal with these types of situations in the future (Ferrie et al., 2001) Objectives In order to achieve this aim and to look at the broader issues associated with staff reactions, it is recognised that there will need to be several focussed objectives. Staff reactions are by their very nature going to vary, depending on a variety of subjective factors and by being clear with the objectives this will ensure that the overall aim remains the focus of the research throughout. The key objectives are as follows: To gain an understanding of the initial redundancy or downsizing process, including the impact of the various selection processes; for example, the long-term impact is likely to be different where the redundancy is voluntary and therefore understanding the involvement of those staff retained in the process is the first step to understanding the reactions. To understand the perception of individuals, depending on their role within the downsizing process; this recognises that there are multiple staff being impacted on when some are made redundant as well as the retained staff. These include the staff members who were not involved in the process, in the first place, as well as the managers, to make the ultimate decision. To appreciate the psychological reactions and individual perceptions of those staff members who remain within the organisation, depending on the way in which this process is managed; for example, is there a difference between staff who are engaged with post-redundancy, or does it generally seem preferable to return to a â€Å"business as usual† mentality (Armstrong-Stassen, 1993) Finally, the impact on the performance of the business over a longer time horizon will then be considered, looking at the immediate aftermath, as well as six months or even one year down the line, with potential reference to the ways in w hich staff members then react when the recovery process takes place. For example, it is potentially suggested in the literature that staff lack loyalty to the organisation and when general economic conditions improve may be more likely to look for alternative employment, as a result of the treatment they received during the recessionary period. Research Questions Two key questions emerge from this proposed research: Which factors impact on and to what extent do they impact on the remaining employees, following a period of downsizing or redundancy How can a management team look to mitigate the negative effects of downsizing and redundancy Critical Review of the Literature The literature in this area has already dealt with a variety of factors relating to redundancy and the impact on an organisation, but has not looked specifically at the longer term impact on the retained staff and the wider staff groups that may not have been directly linked to the restructuring and decision making. Firstly, it is noted that research in this area recognises that staff members will typically understand that there are often periods where it is necessary to downsize or restructure, to such an extent that there will be involuntary redundancies. Klein (2009) states that, although staff will recognise this need, there is now also a recognition that the business managers are making decisions with the staff in mind, but are instead looking specifically at the immediate business demands. This shows lack of long term recognition of business sustainability, when it comes to retaining staff loyalty. Research by Machlowitz (1983) looked at the emotions of the individuals, following on from a redundancy situation where they were survivors. This looked at the immediate aftermath, from an individual perspective, finding that individuals typically felt emotions of guilt or isolation, as well as a feeling of betrayal, where they felt that the process had not been undertaken completely fairly. Research from Brockner et al. (1985) looked at a laboratory experiment where students were subject to â€Å"lay offs†, finding that feelings of inequality were emerging and a sense of disgruntlement happened where it was felt that the relationship between the individuals was in some way unfair. This indicates that where there is a redundancy situation, the vitally important aspect to consider is the process of the downsizing, rather than the actual downsizing itself. Anxiety also ranked as a driving factor, as there was the concern that others would be made redundant, in the future. These perceptions and fears potentially result in efficiency within the organisation reducing and the staff then being more prepared to look towards other locations for their long term employment (Hughes, 2000). The longer term impact of staff reduction and downsizing remains largely unexamined and the purpose of this paper is to look at how these activities can have an impact on the longer term operation within the business, by understanding the way in which the surviving individuals react (Cascio,1993). Further research is also required to ensure that the management team understands the impact of the way they handle a downsizing process and that this can have a direct and lasting impact on the success of the business, in the long run. Industry background In order to explore this issue in more detail and to create a relevant analysis, Starbucks is being looked at as a case study. Starbucks presents an interesting opportunity for analysis, as it has risen very rapidly from its first store which opened in 1971 to an organisation that has stores in nearly 21,000 locations across the world. Despite this, during the last ten years, the store has actually reduced its numbers, in the wake of the global financial crisis and lowering profits (Jennings, 2008). Starbucks was not seemingly on the brink of disaster and in fact continued to open up other stores across the world, yet chose to close 600 stores across the United States, creating an interesting question as to how it impacted upon staff members where there were reports of a globally successful organisation that was still experiencing redundancies in their local area. Arguably, the reason for the downsizing in the United States was the recognition that they had achieve the maximum growth available within the industry and they simply had too many stores. Takeaway coffee is largely a luxury product, with a limited number of affluent individuals able to partake on a regular basis. Despite Starbucks being a popular location for individuals and being recognised as an outlet in which individuals can choose to spend a large amount of time working or meeting friends, there are some limits to the number of customers who are prepared to pay premium price for good quality beverages. With an industry essentially at saturation point, there needs to be a readjustment of strategy, yet there is likely to be a reaction from the employees who feel somewhat jilted having been involved in the dramatic growth and now suffering from their own success and hard work. This type of reduction is therefore particularly interesting, as it is a reaction within the industry, rather than something which can necessarily be attributed to the staff members themselves. Research design The research design for this paper is particularly important, as it involves looking at the feelings and reactions of individuals, thus making it a different type of research than simply collecting statistical data and then analysing this in a quantitative manner. In order to look at the reactions of individuals to a downsizing scenario, it is necessary to consider a sufficiently broad range of individuals, to gain any material understanding of exactly what is actually going on and the way in which individuals react. Different individuals will naturally react differently to a downsizing scenario. Certain individuals may even view this as an opportunity to further their own position, as there will be less competition within the organisation when it comes to securing their future; others will be much less positive, despite both individuals being part of the same process (Vahtera et al., 1997). For this reason, the primary method of research will be a detailed case study of precisely what is happening within the organisation. This will include an understanding of the management theory behind the downsizing, before then going on to undertake a relatively detailed questionnaire with individuals from a variety of different locations, all of whom have been affected by the downsizing in some way, as well as completing at least two focus groups where individuals are brought together to discuss their experiences. This form of research is particularly important in this scenario, due to the fact that when individuals are left to openly discuss their thoughts and feelings, it is likely that they will open up and produce a much deeper understanding of their reactions (Weca, 2008). Data Analysis Plan Due to the qualitative nature of the research planned, the necessary data analysis also needs to be sufficiently open to looking at individual reactions and trying to find consistency of patterns of behaviours or thoughts. For this reason, the questionnaires will involve a quantitative analysis of the results, which will offer an understanding of any patterns being formed, before then looking towards the qualitative aspect of the research, in order to understand why certain responses have been obtained. By taking this two-stage approach, it is anticipated that the overall conclusions will have sufficient certainty, based on the quantitative analysis and will also be able to add to the understanding, through the use of individual thoughts and responses. A particular concern does arise, however, that there will be some limitations in the accuracy of the research. Firstly, the research focuses on survivors within a certain location or organisation and there may be an unwillingness of th e individuals to be completely open about their thoughts and feelings, for fear of jeopardising their own position in the future. There are also likely to be limitations, due to the fact that this research is focusing on one organisation alone and downsizing may have different responses in different organisations (Stone, 2008). By ensuring that any results obtained are dealt with anonymously, this will assist in some way to ensure greater accuracy. Nevertheless, there will always be the need to recognise that interviewing survivors of a redundancy process is potentially a skewed approach and some individuals are going to present an inaccurate picture, purely to further their own position, or at least to protect it. On balance, however, this overall analysis is likely to present the most balanced result and also establish some themes and generalisations which will be useful for the future. Conclusion In conclusion, understanding the impact of a downsizing programme on surviving staff members is crucial to the approach taken by the management team and any such situations in the future, either within the same organisation or for management teams of other organisations (Schwaner-Albright, 2008). Personal reactions to a situation can be somewhat difficult to appreciate and understand, due to the fact that individuals, by their very nature, will react differently to exactly the same factual scenario. The aim of this research, is to identify themes and generic strategies that may be useful to those looking at downsizing in the future, in order to ensure that surviving members of staff do not suffer from the negative effect of the redundancies and that the organisation is able to return to full efficiency, as soon as possible. Time-scale for Project This research is being undertaken over one academic year, although the plan is to undertake a full research and write-up within eight months. The following chart depicts the general approach that is being followed. 12345678 Background, Aims and Objectives Literature Review Research Design Research Collection Analysis of Research Writing Up Revisiting and Checking The majority of this research will involve the collection of primary data and the analysis of the research findings that have then been collected. It is anticipated that there will need to be several re-visits to the original data, as new information or themes arise. For example, analysing questionnaires will provide a strong starting point for the focus groups, but following the focus groups, it may then be necessary to go back to the questionnaires to further explore certain key issues. It is for this reason that the research collection and analysis of research findings takes up such a substantial part of the time allowed. There is a degree of flexibility in this process and the research will be sufficiently flexible to ensure that the key points arising from both the case study, conducted as part of the literature review and the research collection, is able to take a longer period of time, if required. Resources As noted previously, the research is focusing entirely on the experience of individuals within one organisation. Therefore, good access to those individuals will be an essential element of ensuring that this research is conducted in sufficient depth. It is also noted at the outset that one of the main aims of this research is to provide the management team with guidance as to how it can better manage a downsizing operation in the future and therefore having management support in order to gain access to key individuals is a necessary resource. Secondly, understanding the responses received and looking at existing literature will also require access to a variety of different publications, although this can largely be obtained through library facilities. On balance, the key resource within this research is the ability to speak to a variety of individuals who have survived the downsizing process in Starbucks. This will require the management team to be completely supportive of the overall agenda. Individuals may be reluctant to speak about the subject or do not feel that the management team is supportive of this. No specific software is required for the analysis, although Microsoft Office suite including Excel will be useful, in order to collate the information received. References Armstrong-Stassen, M. (1993). Survivors reactions to a workforce reduction: A comparison of blue-collar workers and their supervisors. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 10: 334-343. Cascio, W. F. (1993). Downsizing: What do we knowWhat have we learnedAcademy of Management Executive, 7: 95-106. Ferrie, J. E., Shipley, M. J., Marmot, M. G., Martikainen, P., Stansfield, S. A., & Smith, G. D. (2001). Job insecurity in white-collar workers: Toward an explanation of associations with health. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6: 26-42. Hughes, J. (2000). Avoidance of emotional pain during downsizing in a public agency. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 52: 256-268. Jennings, L. (2008). Starbucks to pull breakfast items, shut 100 units, put focus back on java. Nation’s Restaurant News. [Online Version] published 11th February 2008, reproduced in bnet.com, available from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_6_42/ai_n24267543 [Accessed 12/11/2014]. Kivimaki, M., Vahtera, J., Pentti, J., & Ferrie, J. (2000). Factors underlying the effects of organizational downsizing on health of employees: Longitudinal cohort study. British Medical Journal, 320: 971-976. Schwaner-Albright, O., (2008). Tasting the future of Starbucks coffee from a new machine. The New York Times. [Online Version]. Published March 26th 2008, available from: http://www.nytimes.com/03/26/dining/26starbucks.html?_r?=2&sq=starbucks&st=nyt&oref=slogin [Accessed 12/11/2014]. Stone, B. (2008). Starbucks Plans Return to its Roots. The New York Times, [Online Version], published March 20th 2008, available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/business/20sbux.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=starbucks&st=nyt&scp=3 [Accessed 12/11/2014]. Vahtera, J., Kivimaki, M., & Pentti, J. (1997). Effect of organizational downsizing on health of employees. The Lancet, 350: 1124-1128. Weca (2008). Pay more/ stop reliance on Tips. Mystarbucksidea.com. Posted May 23rd 2008, available from http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/ideaView?id=087500000004hShAAI[Accessed 12/11/2014].

Assessment Practice in Classroom

Assessment practice in classroom Students’ assessment is one of the essential principles of any pedagogical program; it plays a crucial part in the educational process. According to McMillan (2011), attaining a perfect classroom assessment requires meaningful learning goals and standards that should be set before commencing classroom assessment procedures. Monitoring students’ progress will help teachers to adjust their instructions effectively to take students to the next level of learning.Diagnostic assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment are major types of classroom assessment, and together they form the assessment cycle. McMillan (2011) points out that teachers must use achievement information derived from summative assessment to provide instructions, to attain the purpose of the assessment, and to give performance feedback to students and parents.Pre assessment or diagnostic assessment is the first step in classroom assessment that teachers do be fore commencing a new learning activity, to provide them with information about students’ pre knowledge, tendencies, and motivations. It is a crucial procedure needed to proceed to the next step, which is formative assessment. This type of classroom assessment is given during a learning activity to detect the student’s progress and adjust teaching according to possible new requirements.After completing the learning activity, summative assessment takes part in the process. This assessment is intended to determine whether long-term learning goals have been met, in addition to providing feedback and measuring the level of success that has been obtained; students can use outcomes of a summative assessment formatively to guide their learning. In order to make this process effective, teachers should perform consistent assessments that provide reliable results because â€Å"unreliable assessments cannot be valid† (Eggen, 2009, p. 36). Unclear directions can give incons istent information that lead to unintended negative consequences. Recurrent failure in students with learning disabilities can lead to a further failure; teachers can support those students by encouraging them, and trying to rebuild their self-confidence (Robinson, 2008). Those students need special materials and learning strategies to deal with their learning problems. Diagnosing the students first, can help teachers to make right decisions later, considering each student’s individuality.There are several methods to be used in the classroom to ensure success according to Robinson (2008). For instance, the language experience approach and reading â€Å"usually guarantees interest, as it is one in which the student has a personal involvement. It is implemented with them and for them, it belongs to them. It allows the pupil to become involved in the learning process. Confidence and success are usually guaranteed, as developing your own stories based on everyday activities is l ikely to make the task easier to learn.Reading one's own story, for example, should be easier as writers should remember what the story was about† (Robinson, 2008, p. 306). This method represents an example of formative assessment in a classroom. The final stage of assessment represents the process of summative assessment. Robinson (2008) suggests that reading the story onto a tape recorder could be beneficial for revision, by revising the students’ work, teachers will provide feedback to students, and may want to set forth new instructional plans to promote students’ learning.Classroom assessment is a teachers’ powerful educational tool, especially when they use it to diagnose students with learning difficulties, and make modifications to their learning materials and instructions. McMillan (2011) argues that in order to make the assessment procedure successful in case of teaching students with learning difficulties, teachers should observe students precis ely to give accurate indications of their performance. Employing the assessment cycle in classroom reinforces learning and improves its quality.Making modifications that conform to learners’ capabilities can positively influence them educationally. (514) words References: McMillan, James H. (2010) Classroom Assessment: Principles and Practice for Effective Standards-Based Instruction, 5th Edition. Pearson/Australia, Dec-10 Eggen, P. (2009) Educational Psychology: windows on classrooms, 8th Edition. Pearson/Australia, Jan-09 Robinson, G. (2008b). Understanding literacy and numeracy. In P. Foreman (Ed. ), Inclusion in action (2nd ed. , pp. 303-307). South Melbourne, Victoria: Thompson.

Language and Logic: Behind the Last Word

There has been a lot of misconception whether the true nature of the language hides behind the context of every letter it has. But since the systematic arrangement of the letters give the essence to what it will mean, the notion of having a naturalistic view wherein we are settled to believe that everything exists as they are is not a god point in defining the social phenomenon that later make it useful. As defined by the writer, those who successfully undergone the challenges that was set by the fast changing environment wherein the substance of the spoken literature and the unheard story of the language emerged as the primary tool of examining the precise condition of certain issue in the society. As we are aware of what is happening around us, it is equally important to visualize the significance of taking some actions in accordance to what we see as fit and right. Moving on from the tradition of generations, the awareness of having these things behind the power of language had settled the misconceptions of breaking the odds that was produced by the conflicting ideas of the members of the community. Because of these, the struggle to fight the increasing prejudice and the social problem arises from the bottom line of the issue. Since then, the power to develop certain criteria and use of the language as a tool of communicating with others had been undermined by some technological advancement which does not promote any metaphysical understanding. It is important that we use the development of our language in developing our relation to the cosmic being. With the use of the language as a powerful tool, we can not only use this as a communicating skill but the ultimate tool in discovering the facts behind the fallacies and the truths behind the fake notion. At any case, those who obtained the pure understanding of how the language works will be able to understand how different language perceived stimuli from sources and attached meaning to it as it try to develop the utmost understanding of the issue. It also provides the venue for rationalization of everything that has been incorporated with such idea in developing behind the context of the situation. Since it has been needed to aspire the success and the continuous growth of a certain language for the achievement of the goals being set by the majority of the society where in effect, the introduction of the new system of communication will lead to a better development of communicational skills. Since what matters most in our daily communication with other people is the meaning attached to every letters and words that came from our mouth, the internal realization of the thoughts that had been made is the primary important point in determining the validity of a statement. Although we do not have an objective basis in pin pointing the deviation of the truth from the lie, but the greater discovery behind that is that, whenever there are sudden outburst of emotion, it is a sudden manifestation of the inner desire where the language capability of the human had been surpassed and the language he or she knows does not offer a venue or even a meaning for the said emotion. In setting this development, we had conquered the primary barrier where people had been fighting for recognition of certain important points but failed to adhere to the basic rule of language sensitivity where all the words that we used has some implications on the social status that we have been gone through. But in the end, the language itself is a complete tool of undermining the meaning imposed by the society itself in conquering the true nature of the real world, where the language has a great effect and no one bothered to listen when you know that there have been more things to be said than to be left unspoken. Provided that all the premises had been satisfied, logically speaking, it can give explanations to many uncertainties in life. By continuously analyzing the causality and the effects of certain situation, logically, we can arrive to a better explanation of the phenomenon that we’ve been going through. Many believed that such idea had falsely equated the truth to the absolute truth and to the ways of finding the truth. The well supported proposition of having a logical manifestation of our daily encounters in life had been sufficiently proven by the facts and the literal explanation he mentioned. He showed that in able to define one’s position in the place where he assumed any position, it will only be put into a realization where the complete arguments and the representation of all the abstract concepts will be materialized. In this sense, all that we can give reasons and prove by any mathematical or logical explanation can be regarded as the truth and branded as the last word. The search for this had tried to invade the human civilization as it occurred in different places across time. But the quick impact and the history left by this notion had made us developed the consciousness of having a more concise and logical views in the society as it shows the true side of the society. Since then, the analysis of the context based on its logical composition will not only yield us in discovering the truth but also finding the way to the truth. For searching the exact definition of the experience he or she encountered, an individual can now freely assess his r her environment as it gives impact to his or her behaviors. In doing so, the subjective part of the human development will help the objective part, which is the logical and other first order knowledge, in discovering the truth behind the life scenic view of every day’s interaction with each other. By looking into the capacity of humans to decode and understand the meaning attached to every symbols he or she is seeing in the society, by extracting the logical element of it and transforming into some useful information that can be used as the front runner of having a established notion for the people to freely assess the developmental change that might occur in the group of people as well. In this case, the logic of dealing and having a more precise view whether it is something that needs the intervention of the cosmic side of the world or stay at least in the radical minds of the people is still important in looking forward into the impact it has in the society and the questions it forged. From the time being of realization and finding the truth behind all the questions and through scientific investigations, we can narrow down our limitations and make us more aware of the external environment that we’ve been going through. In effect, the perspective of the world as a two-dimensional stage will be transformed into an object presented in many dimensions, each dimensions represents a part of it which may be small, but highly essential for it to exist. As we try to rediscover the known knowledge given to us by the generation that came before us, the power of discovering something and merging it as our own is the power that we can have as we go through with the challenges of life. This book by Thomas Nagel had opened many philosophical queries and questions that until now, looks like unfamiliar to most of the people. Many still does not understand the different concepts of looking into the elements of life as Nagel tries to point out. Although we have many cultural background, we are bounded by the universality of the reaction we could made in order to secure the relationship not only with our close group but with the environment we have in our system. Thus, language and logic is the two important tools in dealing with the search for the explanation of the existence and finding the truth hidden behind the context of certain social phenomena. As it is equally important of finding yourselves in the diversified society, this elemental component should be integrated for you to function better.

Heatlhy Eating

Healthy eating and exercise will help in the prevention or maintenance of sugar levels thus lowering the chance of developing diabetes and/or other illnesses. A well balanced diet and regular exercise are important for a healthy lifestyle to avoid these health issues. There are certain benefits and important reasons for eating healthy. Eating healthy allows the body to operate more efficiently, so that the numbers of visits to the doctor’s office related to digestion or the lack there-of are kept to a minimum, and a better quality of life can be enjoyed. This paper will discuss the benefits of healthy eating, controlling diabetes and prevention of other diseases and illnesses. There are significant benefits of feeling better. For one, a healthy lifestyle promotes feeling better through exercise, and taking advantage of activities that are not regularly participated in, because of the way the body feels. Feeling better will also boost metabolism. This means the body does not feel tired and could potentially encourage a daily exercise plan. Exercising will get the cardiovascular, lungs and stigma pumping. This exercise plan could aid in the prevention of unwanted medication due to fatigue, being overweight and generally not feeling well. Just moving about and being active can work certain parts of the body. When the body feels good it releases adrenaline. Adrenaline helps with daily activities. Walking or running on a daily basis will provide the body with some kind of physical activity. Feeling better alone with healthy eating is a key essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. More than a decade ago, the U. S. Department of Agriculture created the Food Guide Pyramid. This simple illustration conveyed in a flash what the USDA said were the elements of a healthy diet. The Pyramid was taught in schools, appeared in countless media articles and brochures and was plastered on cereal boxes and food labels (Willett, 2000, 2005). From EAT, DRINK, AND BE HEALTHY by Walter C. Willett, M. D. Copyright  © 2001, 2005 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Reprinted by permission of Free Press/Simon & Schuster, Inc. The Healthy Eating Pyramid sits on a foundation of daily exercise and weight control. Why? These two related elements strongly influence ones chances of staying healthy. They also affect what and how you eat and how your food affects you. (Willett, 2001, 2005) Does the body need three meals and two snacks between meals daily? Well, listen to what the body says. One way to listen to the body is to stop eating when the stomach feels full. When the stomach feels full, do not continue to eat. Feeling stuffed will cause fatigue, a sluggish and tired feeling accompanied with feeling uncomfortable. Do not over eat; this could result in stretching the abdomen. â€Å"Eating healthy foods provides your body with energy, strengthens your immune system and improves your ability to stay fit† (Segal, 2000). Another reason eating healthy foods is essential is it provides the body with nutrients needed to maintain energy levels throughout the day. A person will feel better and have higher sustained energy levels that could last until evening or when it is time to retire for the day. Here are some suggestions that should be used to start eating healthy. They recommend to develop a routine meal plan for daily meals and snacks. First, learn to not skip meals especially breakfast; a balanced breakfast is recommended every morning. Providing the body with breakfast in the morning is like starting the motor of a car with a full tank of gas. If there is no gas in the tank, the car will not run. With a full tank of gas, the car is able to run for days. By providing the body with fuel in the morning, the body is started for the day. When planning a routine meal plan for eating healthy, think about if the body weight is normal. If the body weight is normal, three meals a day and two snacks between meals can be enjoyed everyday. Snacks can be enjoyed between meals if hunger is experienced. Some suggestions for eating healthy without piling on calories are to eat raw foods like salads combined with low fat dressings. Drink plenty of water to dilute toxins the body stores, which could leave a sluggish feeling. If drinking water is boring, natural fruit juices low in sugars can be substituted. Healthy eating can prevent certain types of diseases and high cholesterol. When shopping for food at the grocery store, purchase certain foods that are low in saturated fats, low fat or skim dairy products. Try to avoid a large amount of red meat. Purchase meat products that are high in protein and buy products that have some fiber in them. Foods that are high in saturated fats and cholesterol are known to cause blockage in the body arteries. When these arteries are blocked, the blockage will cut off the supply of blood to the heart. If the heart does not get the oxygen it needs, this will result in a heart attack. Dairy products such as milk, ice cream, butter and cooking ils are high in fats and should be given careful consideration when being purchased. The reasoning for not eating a large number of red meat products is because these meats are high in cholesterol and the body produces its own cholesterol. Cholesterol is found in our hormones and in bile acids for digestion purposes. When cholesterol is deposited into the body from the food we eat, the ch olesterol goes into the arteries that could result in a blockage of the arteries. The coronary arteries narrow with high cholesterol foods. A person can develop angina, or result in a heart attack. Foods we can eat to maintain a healthy body have carbohydrates low in total fat, non-dairy products, soy products, skinless chicken, fish e. g. salmon, cod, trout, and nuts. There are benefits to eating these types of foods. Eating these types will provide the body with the nutrients the body needs to stay healthy. Carbohydrates low in fat, reduce the amount of starch the body will absorb. These starches found in carbohydrates turn into certain sugars once it passes through the digestion track. Too much sugar in the body can be filtered into the blood. If there is a family history of diabetes, I would suggest being mindful of products purchased high in carbohydrate and sugars. This is why it is recommended to purchase products low in carbohydrates because as the body ages it unable to breakdown these products as effectively as it did when the body was younger. As the body ages, the body loses certain hormones that are not reproduced therefore compromising overall health. Sugars are measured with a glycemic index (GI). The glycemic index measures how fast carbohydrates are digested when it enters the bloodstream which raises the blood-sugar levels in the body. When foods with a low glycemic index enter the bloodstream the insulin trigger is slower contributing to a steadier blood sugar level. When foods have a higher glycemic index entering the blood stream quickly, it causes the insulin to respond more quickly resulting in large blood sugar swings. This is why it is so important to balance carbohydrates each meal since the effect of one food offsets the other, and all foods turn into sugars to fuel the body. Non-dairy products are recommended in practicing good choices for healthy eating. There are a couple of good reasons for purchasing non-dairy products. Non-dairy products are low fats. Non-dairy products provide the body with the benefit of getting some extra protein in the diet. An additional good product to include when making good quality choices for healthy eating is soy. There are many benefits for including soy in a daily diet routine. Soy is high in protein. Soy can be substituted for red meat. Soy comes in a variety of forms. Soymilk is a non-dairy product. Soy products can be purchased in hamburger, hot dog, sausage, bacon, buffalo wing and host of other forms. It is possible to find soy products in a grocery store. There are many different brand names to choose from. In some studies, soy has been known to reduce hot flashes in women during menopause. Soy products can be used with hormone replacement therapy. Skinless chicken is another product that is beneficial for healthy eating. Chicken also provides the body with protein. Removing the skin from the chicken is important for a couple of reasons. One reason for removing the skin is, so the body does not absorb all the fat that is stored in the skin. The fat from the skin contains and holds toxins that are not good for the body. These same fats produce starches and sugars in that could aid in blockages in the arteries over time. By simply removing the skin from the chicken that is one step forward in practicing good eating habits. Fish alone is good for the body. Fish has certain oils that aids in the production of a healthy heart alone with providing the body with good saturated fatty oils. If fish is not a favorite to eat, a supplement of fish oil caplets or pills can be included in a daily diet routine. Nuts are also an enormous source of nutrition with any diet plan. Nuts are an excellent source of protein, minerals and other nutrients found beneficial to the heart. According to the FDA in July, 2003, it is suggested that eating 1. 5 ounces of some nuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. Six of the healthiest nuts to choose from are: walnuts that contain the antioxidant compound ellagic acid, which is known to fight cancer and support the immune system; almonds are rich in potassium, manganese, copper, the antioxidants vitamin E and selenium, and calcium. Just a quarter cup of almonds contains as much calcium as a quarter cup of milk. Cashews are lower in fat that other nuts and 90 % of the fat found in cashews is oleic acid, the heart-healthy fat found in olive oil. Eating three quarters a cup of pecans can help lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and help clear the arteries. Brazil nuts are rich in selenium which may help with breast cancer. Macadamia nuts are also a good source of protein, fiber, healthy monounsaturated fats, potassium and magnesium. These nuts are also shown to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) just as the pecans do. As with all daily routine diets, a good multivitamin is recommended. Even though this meal plan is a good choice for healthy eating, a multivitamin can be used in conjunction to maximize the benefits of healthy eating. There are a variety of multivitamins to choose from. Choose the multivitamin that best fits the body and lifestyle. Vitamins come in a host of categories. Vitamins can be purchased depending on the age of a person and other factors. For younger adults who are very active, a multivitamin choice may be a multivitamin with a higher percentage of B6 and B12 for energy. For older adults with a calcium deficiency a multivitamin high in calcium would be a good choice. Whatever the need, there is multivitamin suited for the body and all lifestyles. To ensure that the multivitamin being purchased is tailored for the body and lifestyle, check with a doctor or pharmacist for help in choosing a good multivitamin. Therefore, by following a basic guideline for healthy eating, the benefits of feeling better will be greater, and there will be fewer trips to the doctor’s office and a reduction in diseases and illnesses. A better quality of life can be enjoyed with a healthy diet and exercise. References Kemp, J (2001). Preventing and Healing heart disease. Healthy guide. org. Retrieved 01-07, 2009, from http://www. helpguide. org/life/healthy_eating_diet. htm Bray, G (1988). Partnership for a Healthy Management. Obesity Part 1 Pathogenesis, 149, Retrieved 01-07-2009, from http://www. consumer. gov/weightloss/bmi. htm Dorsey, J (2001). Diabetes diet and Nutrition. Healthy guide. org. Retrieved 01-07, 2009, from http://www. helpguide. org/life/healthy_eating_diet. htm. Segal, J (2001). Healthy Eating: Tips for a healthy diet. Healthy guide. org. Retrieved 01-07, 2009, from http://www. helpguide. org/life/healthy_eating_diet. htm Willett, W (1988). Eat. Drink, and be Healthy. Free Press/Simon & Schuster, Inc. , Retrieved 01-07-2009, from http://www. hsph. harvard. edu/nutritionsource/pyramids. htm Chordas, L. (Dec 2008). One life to live: employers extend retirees' wellness programs and benefits in order to trim rising health care costs. (Health/Employee Benefits: Wellness Programs). Best's Review, 109, 8. P. 48(4). Retrieved January 07, 2009, from General OneFile via Gale: http://find. galegroup. com/ips/start. o? prodId=IPS Stengler, M. (2008, November). Spotlight on diabetes. Alive: Canadian Journal of Health & Nutrition, Retrieved January 7, 2009, from Alt HealthWatch database. Wedro, B. C. (2009). Heart Disease. 2009 MedicineNet, Inc. Retrieved January 16, 2009, from http://www. medicinenet. com/heart_disease/article. htm Wells, K. & Odle, T(2005). Exercise. In Jacqueline Longe (Ed. ), Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Me dicine, Vol. 2(2nd ed. , pp. 722-726). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved January 07, 2009, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale: http://find. galegroup. om/ips/start. do? prodId=IPS Active People Can Make Mistakes Too – In Their Diet That Is; American Council on Exercise (ACE) Lists Top Nutrition Mistakes Made by Active People. (Nov 9, 2004). PR Newswire, p. NA. Retrieved January 07, 2009, from General OneFile via Gale: http://find. galegroup. com/ips/start. do? prodId=IPS Ask Dr. Sears Family Nutrition/Sugar Retrieved on 1-25-2009 http://www. askdrsears. com/html/4/T045000. asp#T045005 Barrie – Advance,1 (2008, November 10) Healthy workplaces recognized Retrieved January 07, 2009, from Canadian Newsstand Torstar database. Document ID: 1592924671). Partnership for healthy weight management- Body mass index. Retrieved January 16, 2009, from Nursing Standard, 23(10), 17(2008) Upward mobility in the workplace encourages healthy lifestyles Retrieved January 7, 2009, from Ca reer and Technical Education database. (Document ID: 1599494081). Six wise. If You are Nuts About Health, Try the Top 6 Healthiest Nuts. Retrieved 01-25, 2009http://www. sixwise. com/newsletters/05/06/29/if_you_are_nuts_about_health_try_the_top_6_healthiest_nuts. htm

(For Engineering Applicants Only) If you are applying to the Pratt Essay

(For Engineering Applicants Only) If you are applying to the Pratt School of Engineering, please discuss why you want to study engineering and why you would like to study at Duke - Essay Example Besides, I chose Clark because it offers my desired 3/2 dual engineering program in conjunction with Columbia University which is another reputed university in U.S. It provides an opportunity to earn prestigious B.A. degree and B.S. degree in engineering from Columbia University (CU). I have the option to major in any of the fields of engineering available. The Engineering degree from CU would offer me a rewarding and lucrative career like job satisfaction, variety of career opportunities, working challenges including in scientific and technological areas , self professional development including creativity and critical thinking, financial security, status in society, beneficiary to the society etc. It has an academic program center in China. I would get an opportunity to experience all around American culture. In the changing world the Liberal Arts college provides career-based education than the broad-based, choosing of a right college for post-secondary education is therefore not only an individual choice but a big decision for a student. Lafayette College’s mission for commitment to intellectual integrity and achievement not only made my decision easy but is a right choice because I too follow the intellectual and achievement path for learning. I had been a student known for raising issues and discussing topics on different subjects related with my high school study in class as well as in school. This could become possible because of my intellectuality power like languages achievement (language fluency for both English and Chinese), visualizing, logical, problem creations and solving etc. Many honors and rewards conferred on me speak the truth for themselves. As a part of my ongoing intellectuality power I would of course try to participate in the distinctive McKelvy House Schol ars Program during my stay at Lafayette. I would utilize my intellectuality power to earn my Bachelors