Young Thomas Edison Essays - Thomas Edison, Phonograph, Edison

Young Thomas Edison I read the book Young Thomas Edison , by Sterling North. The book tells about Edison's Young life and how he greatly succeeded through out the years. It tells about his greatest inventions and Edisons Historic sites and how her became the greatest inventor of all times. Thomas Alva Edison was born of February of 1847, in Milan Ohio. He was the seventh and last child of Nancy Edison and Samuel Edison. Thomas Alva Edison inherited much of his intelligence from Nancy Elliot Edison. Nancy Edison would read books to Thomas Edison about scientists. That's when Edison got interested in experiments. When Thomas Alva Edison was ten, he and his family moved to a small town in Purt, Hacon. There he had his own laboratory in the basement. At the age of eleven Edison and his friend would raise ten acces of vegetables. Then they would plant them and they would sell them around town. They wanted to earn money so they could give it to the family. They wanted to do this because they had financial problems. When Thomas Alva Edison was older he worked as a trainboy and would sell candies and newspapers. One day Thomas Edison's father realized that Edison was deaf from one ear. Thomas Edison became deaf from working on the locomotive. When Edison was working as a trainboy he got the idea of inventing a telegraph. When Edison was in his twenties he earned many patents by inventing the lightball, telegram, telegraph and many more inventions. Edison's second wife was Mrs. Mina Miller Edison. Edison had many chemical laboratories in his life. On 1931, Thomas Alva died when he collapsed. By this his inventions we have are street lights, phonographs and many other things. I would really recommend this book to any one because Thomas Alva Edison is one of the greatest inventors.

Ali M. Ansaris Confronting Iran essays

Ali M. Ansaris Confronting Iran essays Ali M. Ansaris book Confronting Iran (2006) is especially timely given the current discussion of Iran and its future and concerns about what the U.S. may do to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and becoming a much greater threat. Of course, also in the news is the recent National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) stating that Iran is not the immediate threat President Bush has been implying it is and that Iran ended its nuclear program several years ago. None of this means that Iran is not a threat or that a confrontation with Iran would not be the sort of devastating action critics believe it might be. Ansari considers the nature of Western diplomacy in the region primarily form 1953 to the present and suggests a number of reasons for the failure he discusses. For the first two decades or so, relations were good enough because the country was under the rule of the Shah, rule that was largely imposed by the West. This rule also created great resentment among the population and would contribute to the angry reaction once the Shah was deposed. The taking of the American hostages at the embassy in Tehran was one of the consequences of the failure of diplomacy in the first period, while the subsequent history has been largely more failure to make any inroads into the country, usually based on an American refusal to speak to Iran for one reason or another, as if not talking at all would produce the best outcome, which clearly it has not. American involvement with Iran actually extends back into the nineteenth century, and as Ansari notes, the failure to recognize the nature of the society in that region and to find a way to accommodate it and communicate with its leaders began at the same time and has continued ever since. Essentially, a pattern was set with the first relationships, as Ansari notes when he writes, These formative experiences were crucial in shaping Iranian attitudes to the West. It was increasi...

The main factor that contributed to the hospital infrastructure Research Proposal

The main factor that contributed to the hospital infrastructure projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) running over the budget and delivered late during the last decade - Research Proposal Example 259). It also assumes the referral system which provides curative care to all the members of the society from the general practitioners level that operate at the local health centres to the advanced technology specialist curative services through a wide foundation of general and specialist hospitals (Knapp, Madden and Fowler-Kerry, 2012, p. 162). The Ministry of health is the chief agency as far as planning, financing and controlling the healthcare centres is concerned (Kimberly, Pouvourville and Daunno, 2008, p. 128). It is also mandated with conducting overall supervision and the follow up of activities that are related to healthcare which are implemented by the private sector, which makes it a national health service that serves that whole population of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Chai, 2005, p. 178). The healthcare industry in the Gulf is an industry that is growing very fast as the government in this region continually seek to make improvements to what has been a low standard of service which forced many nationals to go overseas when they need specialized medical attention (Kloep, 2012, p. 107). This industry has also attracted foreign investors who are keen on taking advantage of the rapid expansion that it is experiencing. Investment that is directed at the health sector in the United Arab Emirates has increased considerably, tripling in the last five years and ii is expected that it will rise from USD3.2billion to USD11.9billion in 2015, which will be a contribution of more than 6 percent of gross domestic product that will not be associated with oil. Saudi Arabia also started a countrywide healthcare plan intended to give services to the whole kingdom. This includes more than 420 health projects and over 127 health facilities that are worth more than USD3.2billion. The projects include 19 medical complexes and hospitals intended to have a capacity of more

Flash mob Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Flash mob - Essay Example Therefore, the characters involved in actions are seen making calls and later on engaging in a group dance that begins with a single person. The film shows a group of people in different age sets getting amused by the dancers and eventually joining the group (Life’s for Sharing). Since the dancing style is similar amongst all the members, the Life’s for Sharing video evokes an understanding that everybody has importance; thus, the society should seek to relate with them happily. Another entertaining flash mob video that communicates its effect as desired to the society is the BouncE Streetdance Co. video, which is shot in Stockholm. The video- â€Å"Michael Jackson Dance Tribute† draws the attention of the Stockholm community as it involves many youths from different races. The message drawn from the flash mob film is that the legendary singer was a social icon and his life in the entertainment revolved around ethical communication to suit every group of

Assignment 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Assignment 5 - Essay Example These terms are known to be objective and not subjective. From this, what it means is that the doctor knows more about what the patient is feeling than the patient themselves (Norman, 2004). According to Norman, the world today needs to consider the subjective points of view and not depend so much on the expert opinions. This is ironical since most of the subjective views always come from those affected. E.g. a computer scientist would not know the kind of interface that various groups of people may want without getting their opinion on such. We have to get a more subjective point of view so as to adapt to the explorations that are available today in terms of usability. For example, computer scientist cannot completely ignore user’s subjective views as they are the final people who will use their product. For example if a computer engineer wants to come up with a new hardware, they have to study the needs of the common man and understand what they need. If computer engineers n ever thought subjectively then they would end up building products that are complex and few users would be able to use the products (Norman, 2004). Norman also believes that we have different points of observation. Every user has a way in which they see different things; a professional might see something in a more complicated way as opposed to the non technical manner that a less experienced user might see it. It is for this reason that people can have their own observation and opinions on different matters. Scientist therefore needs to leave the positivism idea and learn to accept some of the subjective opinions. From this observation, it is evident that even though scientist only believe in the objective tone, much of the subjective tone is necessary if they want to understand what people want. Otherwise they would be making products for themselves. 2 Philosophy is described as the study of reality, knowledge and existence. Most people tend to associate philosophy with books and theories that try to explain fundamental laws in physics and nothing that touch our daily lives. Philosophy has been there for thousands of years and various philosophers have existed and have been able to explain the various things that touch our lives. Just like philosophy has touched and influenced a lot of people and life, the IPod has been a great tool in influencing the lives of millions of people. The iPod is transforming the lives of millions of people every day and making them get new ideas within a click. People are listening to music of their taste and others reading social links and contributing a lot to the economy. However, have we ever taken time t o try and link philosophy with an iPod? An iPod can define an individual, the contents of a person determines the kind of things that the person likes as well as the information that is useful to their lives. Since philosophy is concerned with the social lives of people as well, it is ironic that most people would try to ev ade this important field yet it touches them in almost every angle. Most scholars have tried to link various current cultures with philosophy; computer science has however brought this even closer linking people with most philosophical issues such as graphical user interface. It is due to philosophy that a computer scientist is able to determine the type of service that people need. With the right study and understanding of people’

Soft skills using in public universities in Malaysia

Soft skills using in public universities in Malaysia Malaysians, especially the institutes of higher learning, begin to realize the importance of soft skills after the Higher Education Ministry introduced the Soft Skills Module to all public universities in August 2006. With the emphasis on soft skills, it has then become a necessity to integrate soft skills into the undergraduate programmes. Such remedial action is taken due to the increased of graduates unemployment rate in Malaysia, as well as the rapid expand of job market through the globalization. The graduates in education play a great role in the human capital development one of the utmost crucial aspects in developing our country. The power of our human capital is highly connected with the graduates mentality and intellectual capacity. Producing graduates in education with the essential elements of soft skills would heighten the countrys capability to compete with the rest of the world. This is a must if Malaysia aims to realize the vision of the New Economic Model, the Government Transformation Programme, and the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011 2015). Indeed, institutes of higher learning around the world indisputably are working their best to mould graduates with skills that are highly regarded by employers and able to contribute to the countrys prosperity and social capital. Even more important is, the society would generally expected that besides the solid theoretical knowledge (hard skills), a quality education graduate should acquire additional soft skills. This balance is what gives one graduate competitive edge over another. The term soft skills, which can also be referred as process skills, generic attributes or transferable skills, has no single definition on a particular set of skills. The general common descriptions of these skills include communication skills, life-long learning, team work, leadership, creative and critical thinking skills. All these qualities can be obtained beyond the classroom and of course, the textbooks. Thus, book education alone will no longer suffice in building successful educators. Besides equipping themselves with knowledge, it is also important that the graduates must acquire practical skills and good values. According to Chapman (2006), Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives comes with three learning domains: Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor Domains. The Cognitive Domain involves intellectual capability such as knowledge, whilst the Affective Domain involves feelings, emotions and behaviour just like attitude, and Psychomotor Domain involves manual and physical skills. Hence, the measurement of TESL undergraduates knowledge, skills, and attitude require appropriate tools, which are certainly more than just the traditional pen and paper. In Malaysian context, institutes of higher education are perceived as having a very important role in instilling soft skills to students. No doubt, it would be challenging in the attempts to offer an optimum learning environment. Still, it is crucial to get our students ready to compete with the rest in todays rapidly changing world. Students should be well-rounded academically and personally. In other words, besides knowing-what, students must know-how. Statement of the Problem The system and focus of education in Malaysia has witnessed immense changes over the past two decades. The nature of universities is changing in seeking to meet the new demands and needs of the industry from time to time. Furthermore, through the reinterpretation of the universitys purpose and role in the face of societys changing aspirations, universities have attempted to clarify the nature of the education which they offer to their students. This is crucial in order to extend their graduates potential of contribution to the society (Barnett 1990). The most evident attempt in which universities have sought to articulate their role and purpose is through the description of their graduates qualities, in another word, soft skills. The acquirement of soft skills is pivotal in terms of improving the nations development and curbing the latest issues in society, such as the increased rate of unemployment and complaints about graduates performances which are way below expectations. In 2005, the Malaysian government declared that there were 67,000 unemployed graduates, where most of them had graduated between 2000 and 2004. About 92.6% of these unemployed graduates were from public universities; in contrary, only 5.3% from private institutions. Even before the nation received this alarming news, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER 2004) had announced the results of a survey on the employability and marketability of university graduates, showing that 46.2% of public university graduates were unemployed in 2003. The reasons cited for the low unemployment prospects of public university graduates are that they are inadequately prepared for the job market, lack linguistic (English proficiency, both oral and written) (Lim and Normizan 2004; Chiam 2005; Norizan et al. 2006; EPU 2007; Marina 2007) and technical skills, plus cognitive abilities (analytical thinking, problem-solving, reasoning). Many other countries have also recognized that higher education has not met the expectations of employers (Leckey and McGuigan 1997; Bennett et al. 1999; Kember et al. 2006). The issue of graduate employability seems to be associated with the quality and relevance of programmes offered by public universities (World Bank 2007). Apparently, the formal syllabus structure of public universities has inadequate focus on the integration of soft skills in the curriculum (see also Quek 2005; Quah et al. 2009). Not only that, the teaching approaches has also been mainly didactic, where the students are so used to receive inputs rather than discovering themselves. Studies, researches and employers have suggested it is important for the public universities to incorporate additional soft skills into their curriculum (communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving). By bridging the gaps between universities and the demands of current industry, it creates opportunity for students to be exposed with workplace experience in different sectors (World Bank 2007). Purpose of the Study The main objective of this research is to examine the perspective of TESL undergraduates on the most important soft skills for professional development. Secondly, the study also aimed to investigate the TESL undergraduates perception on the soft skills developed by University of Malaya. The last purpose is to identify if difference exists in the level of importance and competency in soft skills. Significance of the Study It is crucial for the government and public universities to improve the quality and employability of graduates. This study reviews the infusion-acquisition of the soft skills in the curriculum of TESL the undergraduates perspective. Hence, it provides the society a clearer picture on the current achievement of the university in bridging the gaps between soft skills and the formal curriculum. The study would show whether the graduates that the university produced possess a right balance of diverse abilities. Besides that, this study helps to gain wider attention on the importance of soft skills among the undergraduates. They would obtain greater realization that students are now both inputs and outputs (see also Newman et al. 2004), under the broad dimension of quality in higher education. Furthermore, it also increases recognition where student learning must be enhanced beyond the mastery of content. This is important as it ensures the graduates to succeed in the local labour market. Therefore, this paper aims to shed light on the importance of soft skills as perceived by TESL undergraduates on the role and values of these skills in educating the future educators, in an attempt to understand what value they attribute to this set of skills. Research Questions The research questions for this study are as follows: 1. What are the most important soft skills as perceived by TESL undergraduates? 2. How do TESL undergraduates perceive the soft skills development by University of Malaya? 3. What is the relationship between the importance of soft skills and the levels of soft skills developed? Background Literature Review What are soft skills? There are no specific skills that are listed as soft skills; it is being defined differently around the world. In the context of Malaysia, the Malaysian Institute of Higher Learning interprets soft skills as incorporating aspects of generic skills. It includes non-academic skills such as leadership, teamwork, communication, and lifelong learning. The seven traits of soft skills that are introduced for the institutes of higher learning in Malaysia are communication skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, lifelong learning and information management skills, leadership, entrepreneurship skill, team work, ethnics and morals. First, from the aspect of communication, students are required to achieve fluency while conversing in Bahasa Malaysia and English language. As graduates, they should be able to express their ideas with clarity and confidence both in written and oral forms. Aside from that, they are expected to be active listeners where while providing the necessary response. Graduates should also be capable of using technology during presentations confidently (Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia 2006). The following trait, critical thinking and problem solving skills, allows graduates to reflect in a critical, creative, innovative, and analytical way. Not only that we want the graduates to obtain higher level of knowledge, we also want them to be capable in applying the knowledge. Elements that graduates must possess under this aspect are the ability to identify and analyze complex situation as well as making evaluations that are reasonable. In addition, they should have the ability to expand and improve thinking skills, to provide ideas, and alternative solutions (Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia 2006). Apart from that, the skills of team work are also being integrated to the curriculum. Such skills involve the ability to work and cooperate with people from various social and cultural backgrounds in order to accomplish a shared goal. Forming a good working relationship with the peers is essential. Graduates are inculcated with sense of respect towards others attitude, behaviour, and belief. From time to time, graduates are also expected to undertake the role of a leader and a group member interchangeably (Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia 2006). In addition to that, from the aspect of lifelong learning and information management, graduates are nurtured to acquire skills and knowledge in practicing self-directed learning independently. They should have the skills to look for relevant information from diverse sources and able to organize them efficiently. Moreover, they should be responsive to new ideas and able to develop an inquiry mind (Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia 2006). Entrepreneurship skill, also one the traits of soft skills, involves the ability to venture into business and work-related opportunities while creating risk awareness. This skill includes the ability to identify business opportunities and be able to prepare, build, and explore business plans which eventually leads to self-employment (Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia 2006). Aside from that, ethics and professional moral is significant in moulding quality graduates as well. With the above skill, graduates are able to practice high moral standards in their respective professional fields. Graduates should own the capability to understand the effects of economy, environment, and socio-cultural factors of their professional practice. In relation to ethical issues, graduates should have the capacity to analyze and make decisions in matters concerning ethics. Beyond the working environment, graduates should be able to practice good ethics while being responsible towards the society (Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia 2006). Last but not least, the Malaysian Institute of Higher Learning also seeks to develop leadership skill Leadership skill entails the ability to lead in various activities. Graduates should have the knowledge on basic leadership theories which will enable the graduates to lead a project. It is also essential that graduates are able to understand the role of a leader and a group member and be able to carry out those roles interchangeably (Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia 2006). The Pre-Employment Programme of the University Malaya Soon after the Malaysian Institute of Higher Learning has launched the Soft Skills Module for Malaysian Public Universities, in 2007, University of Malaya has introduced Pre-Employment Programme for graduates who scored below CGPA 3.0. The objective of this programme is to encourage the use of English in and beyond the classrooms setting. It is also strive to develop communication skills in English but also to motivate cooperative learning. The aims of the curriculum and activities designed for this programme are to assist students to write effective letters of application, to conduct themselves favourably at interviews, and to improve their fluency and accuracy in English. Furthermore, it aims to prepare the students to be more confident and train them as active communicators at the workplace. In the pre-employment programme, communication skills are being improved by the reading of advertisements as well as to learn and using social greetings. The graduates would practice telephone conversations, role playing, make speeches, and express their opinions and suggestions. Plus, they would learn the use of discourse markers and persuasive skills in interpersonal communication, grammar and vocabulary as well as writing cover letters and resumes. The graduates would also have to participate in public speaking and stage presentation. Apart from that, this programme promotes cooperative learning among the graduates. They are divided into small groups with different gender, ethnics and backgrounds. Being in smaller groups enables the graduates realize that each group members efforts are required and indispensable for group success; they should know everyone has a unique contribution to make. Critical thinking and problem solving skills are also learnt through the group activities. Friendly competitions are created between groups to identify the group with the best solution. Groups with the best solution and with the most critical ideas would be announced as winners. Such competition between the groups helped to develop not only the communication and negotiation skills in English, but also the inter-personal and small group skills, where social skills such as leadership skills, decision making, trust building, communication, and conflict management skills are learnt and developed as well. Teaching Practicum Teacher training or teaching practicum can assist in bridging the gap that exists between education and employment. It has become a recognized method for developing the carrier potential of students and making education more relevant (Hymon-Parker Smith, 1998). Teaching practicum presents the student with an opportunity to gain invaluable experience. Classroom learning alone is no longer sufficient to adequately prepare students for the demands of our education field. The right training can be the key to a great job success because it gives the student a change to take on real responsibilities while working side-by-side with professionals. According to Dennis (1996, as cited in Verney, Holoviak, Winter, 2009), internships can help expand upon immediate skills that can improve course performance, such as better time management and communication skills, better self-discipline, heightened initiative and an overall better self-concept. These skills cannot be properly developed if it is just from classroom learning. In University of Malaya, TESL undergraduates will have the opportunity to personally experience the real working culture during the final year for 12 weeks. Mihail (2006) asserted that job training can instill the real work values, gain direct access to job sources, impress potential employers and assist in making wise career choices, all of which can help to improve future job opportunities. Hence, in order to compete and survive in the challenging and competitive working environment, students must develop their work skills, both hard and soft through real work experience. This real work experience has been employed by the education system in developing soft skills in students. The real job setting is expected to enhance students soft skills effectively. Research also suggested that the development of any skill is best facilitated by giving students practice and not by simply talking about it or demonstrating how to do it (D.R. Woods, et al., 1997 as cited in Kamsah, 2006). A study by Cook, Parker and Pettijohn (2004) has shown that job training has improved the general ability to get along with people in work situations, increased confidence level and influenced the future career of the graduates. Furthermore, collective feedback obtained from the evaluations can also be used to revise the curriculum in order to improve student performance and meet employers needs and expectations in the future. Issues such as the lack of practical application as commented by the employers can be minimized and the students can develop various applied workplace skills for transition from the classroom to the world of work. Therefore, with the teaching practicum, development of soft skills among TESL graduates is projected to be more effective. Perception of graduates towards soft skills According to the study of Devadason, Subramaniam, and Daniel (2010), the general perspectives of final undergraduates in University of Malaya shows that the skills embedded in both coursework and training has not met the needs of the students, with the exception for a few skills. This implies that these skills are not adequately infused or acquired either by coursework or training. Plus, their perception also shows that there is insufficient of infusion and acquisition on lifelong learning and information management skills. This reveals a lack of dynamism in the existing programmes of public universities. Courses should be structured to cultivate lifelong learning through active reading and research beyond textbook learning. The result also shows that there is insufficient of integration of leadership skills in the formal curriculum. In fact, this skill is perceived as a critical weakness of local graduates (Quah et al. 2009). In total, the perceived low and selective appreciation of skills by students implies that graduates are still ill-equipped with the necessary competencies. It reflects that there is indeed a need to readdress the existing strategies within the teaching-learning process to ensure a better integration of soft skills. The findings of selective acquisition of certain soft skills in Malaysian universities correspond to the study by Aida et al. (2006). The current situation that happens to Malaysia is many students are equipped with the latest technical certifications and solid work experience; yet lacking the non-technical skills (Kamsah, 2006). While graduating, students may enhance their employability by obtaining an extra degree or certificates, they may not realize on the payoff in acquiring soft skills until after graduating (Brown, Hesketh, Williams, 2003). Another research by Kamsah (2007) indicates that the graduates of University Technology Malaysia believe that each of the soft skills is developed moderately. Therefore, more effort should be put in to empower soft skills among the students through co curricular activities or even during the teaching and learning processes. The university graduates happen to realize that critical thinking and problem solving skills as well as the team working skills are essential to survive the working field. Both domains are viewed as equally important for professional development. Aside from that, from a graduate perspective, soft skills are seen as being deficient in graduates relative to hard skills (Arnold Davey, 1994; Mullen, 1997) although Strebler (1997) notes that technical or hard skill are perceived by graduates as being relatively more critical for getting a job. Similarly, soft skills are generally viewed as less important by academics in comparison with workplace professionals (Page, Wilson, Kolb, 1993). Whereas, Arnold and Davey (1994) note that as graduates spend longer in industry, they rate themselves as more competent in their hard skills but not soft skills. Methodology The main objective of this research is to examine the perspective of TESL undergraduates on the most important soft skills for professional development. Secondly, the study also aimed to investigate the TESL undergraduates perception on the soft skills developed by University of Malaya. The last purpose is to identify if difference exists in the level of importance and competency in soft skills. These objectives led to the following research questions: 1. What are the most important soft skills as perceived by TESL undergraduates? 2. How do TESL undergraduates perceive the soft skills development by University of Malaya? 3. What is the relationship between the importance of soft skills and the levels of soft skills developed? Population and Sampling The population for this research is defined as the TESL undergraduates in University of Malaya. The undergraduates participation in the study would be of voluntary. Selecting TESL undergraduates as the participants creates rich authenticity data for this research. The future teachers of English play significant role in nation building; therefore, their perspectives on soft skills are very much appreciated and valuable. The selected site for this research is University of Malaya. Choosing the oldest and one of the most established universities in Malaysia enhances the research data by reflecting the perspectives of the undergraduates from the university. At the same time, the suitable location and comfortable setting of University of Malaya greatly allows the research to progress smoothly.

Interpersonal Communication in an Intercultural Setting :: essays papers

Interpersonal Communication in an Intercultural Setting Cultural growth in the twenty-first century has heightened the emphasis on interpersonal communication in an intercultural setting. As our world grows, expands and becomes increasingly more interconnected by various technological advances, the need for effective interpersonal communication among differing cultures has become quite clear. Due to the advancement of technology in today's world, a world in which some businesspeople are involved in transactions with other businesspeople in faraway countries, the call for knowledge of intercultural communication within this setting has become a reality. Interpersonal communication is a form of communication that involves a small number of people who can interact exclusively with one another and who therefore have the ability to both adapt their messages specifically for those others and to obtain immediate interpretations from them (Lustig et al, 1993). Although interpersonal communication is usually thought of as being perf! ormed in small, centralized groups, a need to broaden these groups and bring about a general feeling of cultural awareness has become apparent. To a certain degree, all communication could be called interpersonal, as it occurs between two or more people. However, it is useful and practical to restrict the definition to distinguish those relationships that involve a relatively small group of people, such as couples, families, friends, workgroups, and even classroom groups from those involving much larger numbers of people, as would occur in public rallies or among massive television audiences. Unlike other forms of communication, interpersonal communication involves person-to-person interactions. Additionally, the perception that a social bond has developed between the interactants, however tenuous and temporary it may seem, is also much more likely. Intercultural communication is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual processing tool with which people from different cultures create shared meanings (Berko et al, 1998). When we speak to someone with whom we share little or no cultural bond, it is referred to as intercultural communication. Our need to communicate across culture can be very beneficial personally and professionally. Within an intercultural setting, nonverbal and verbal communication are both prevalent in emphasizing the differences in cultures. The way we act and the things we say determine whether or not we belong in a certain culture. Nonverbal communication systems provide information about the meaning associated with the use of space, time, touch and gestures. They help to define the boundaries between the members and nonmembers of a culture (Koester at al, 1993). In order to fully enjoy and benefit from interpersonal communication in an intercultural setting, one must first gain a fu! ll, comprehensive knowledge of the determining factors of culture.

Child Labor as a crime

Childhood is a vital and powerful experience in each individual's lifetime. It is the most important and impressionable period of learning. Throughout all of the highs and the lows, childhood is remembered forever. Although children have many rights, in some developing countries these rights are not always protected. Older, manipulative adults are taking advantage of children to make a profit for themselves. This is known as child labour, and it happens much more than many people realize. Child labour is corrupt and there is no place for it in our modern world today. Child labour happens in many countries. There are many reasons why children are being exploited. First of all, nothing much seems to be happening to prevent it. Child labour must be eliminated as quickly as possible, before many more children get trapped, like the millions who already have in the past. Secondly, many children are too young to realize that what is happening to them is wrong and illegal. Children under the legal age to work in these developing countries, have more important things they should be involved with than labour. Each child deserves a good education, as well as the opportunity to enjoy life, learn new things, and most importantly have fun. Hard labour at an early age can really affect a person's outcome in the future. This terrible scam does not give children a fair chance in life; the chance for them to achieve their full potential. Child labour involves children working at a very young age. The majority of children are between the ages of five to fourteen years. Children at this age in many developing countries work hard each and everyday with very low pay. Millions of youth are forced to work without any real choice whatsoever. The work absorbs so much of their time that school attendance is impossible. School is a very important period in life. School is where humans learn almost all the information they need to know and to use in the future. Education is a must and children should attend school; they should not be forced to work. One out of every four children in developing countries work. This is a sad statistic. Millions of children work and none of them should have to. The children get paid so very little. Some children at this age, do not know how little they are getting paid. It's not okay that the children are working under these conditions and it is not okay that they are getting underpaid. On average, children will earn less then half the pay of a wage-earning adult with seven years of education. This is happening because of many reasons. Children are more malleable; they will do what they are told without asking any questions. They are much more powerless. They are also more unlikely to organize against oppression and they can be physically abused without striking back. Some customs in developing countries are much different then in Canada. For instance, in some developing countries, some people think that low-caste children should work rather than go to school. They believe this is their only option and that they don't need an education. In these countries, children are forced to mature much too quickly and they are not allowed to be ‘a kid' for very long. Some children are forced to work to support their family. The parents of these youths are mostly not employed and can't find work or are very poorly paid. The child's parents look upon them to bring in some money for the family. The roles of parent and child have been reversed. It should not be allowed. The adults have more experience, more time, usually a better education, and a lot more knowledge. The children should definitely not have to suffer and to be forced to work. Employers get away with paying children a whole lot less. It is mainly because there is no one to stop this from happening. Children become relied on and it is just not fair. Many countries have different laws for a minimum working age. In some countries there are no minimum age for working; the average is fifteen years old. In some countries, the age is between sixteen and eighteen. Any age below fifteen is much too young to be given that much responsibility. The work that is demanded of children is long, and performed in dangerous conditions. This is unacceptable, and would not come close to today's standards in Canada. Children are forced to work long days with little or no food, no breaks, and they sometimes have to work up to six days a week. This is more than the average Canadian has to work, and these employees are only five to twelve years of age. The majority of the employers take no account of the children's legal rights. They are deprived of schooling, play, and social activity. They are also denied the emotional support of friends and family. The children are also vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. These conditions would be very hard to accept and live with for the average adult, much less a child as young as five. Children in these countries are taught at an early age to accept the conditions of their jobs, and not to challenge them. Most parents of these children are surprisingly not against this. In fact, in some developing countries, the parents of a less wealthy family will often sign over their off-spring to factory owners, or their agents for small loans. The culture is in fact, a lot different in these countries then most cultures in North America, but this should not take place under any conditions. Parents are forced to sell their own children. Most people would think that this is unheard of, but it occurs everyday. This is wrong and should not take place. Children belong to their parents and nothing should have to come between them. The children don't have a choice; they are powerless and they usually don't even know what is going on. Some factory owners have kept the children in captivity, tortured them and forced them to work for twenty hours straight without a break. In some jobs, where a child is forced to do hard labour work, life expectancy has been reduced to twenty-five years or younger. This is almost like murder, and if not murder, certainly an extreme case of child abuse. Child labour is not allowing these children to live a full life. This slavery has to be stopped before it claims the lives of others. Nobody in this world, especially children, are capable of working so hard for so many hours. Recently, many people from the US and Canada have brought this terrible situation to the attention of others. Petitions are now being signed to try to stop what is going on in these poor, developing countries. Craig Kielburger, a young boy from Toronto, is making a name for himself, as child labour activist. At age thirteen, Craig went to Asia for seven weeks, and found out the truth about child labour. He has informed many people about child slavery, and now he has an organization under way, throughout North America. Everybody in this world can really make a big impact on this issue. Since Craig told the world about child labour, thousands of people have pitched in to help solve the problem. UNICEF has done a lot in the last couple years to stop child labour. Slavery was thought to be ended hundreds of years ago, but yet little does the world know, it still takes place today. Abusing power has to be stopped. Taking advantage of innocent little boys and girls, is not right. All children should receive an education so that they can live a better life when they grow up, and feel good about themselves as people. There are a few more key steps that will have to take place to fix this disastrous situation. First, the immediate elimination of hazardous and exploitative child labour is necessary. This means governments must take strong action against anything that hampers the child's physical, social, cognitive, emotional, or moral development. They must also provide free and compulsory education. Birth registration of all children is a must. Registration is essential to ensure the child's rights, such as access to education, health care and other services, as well as, to provide employers and labour inspectors with evidence of every child's age. If these important steps are followed, child labour will go down, and quickly. Child labour is cruel and in appropriate. It infringes on children's rights, and it is just simply not fair. Child labour has been happening for a long time, but the majority of people tend to ignore it and shrug it off. Actions are now being taken to stop child labour. These deeds will slow down, and hopefully end child labour for good. The world will be a richer, happier place for all if child labour is stopped.

How far can the legislation introduced by the UK government be considered as the most influential factor in the decline of trade union membership The WritePass Journal

How far can the legislation introduced by the UK government be considered as the most influential factor in the decline of trade union membership Introduction How far can the legislation introduced by the UK government be considered as the most influential factor in the decline of trade union membership IntroductionREFERENCES:Related Introduction In the past years and in recent times there have been several factors influencing the decline of trade unions, these are ;Business trends, structural changes to industry and labour market changes which involved a change from   manufacturing sector to service sector, increase in self employment and more people taking up part-time jobs and temporary jobs. Other factors include individualism and HRM practices where employee management, development and training becomes the responsibility of HRM, employees having more performance related pay, and appraisal related to pay. The state however has been the most influential factor amongst those stated above in the decline of Trade unions in the UK.This is made evident by the high rate of Trade Union decline   between 1979 and 1997 during the conservative Government leadership of which legislation was introduced. Basically the conservative government, Magaret Thatcher being the prime minister at that time introduced legislation between 1979 and 1983 which involved a series of changes and events that resulted to a very high decline in trade union membership. One of the objectives of the conservative government was to exclude trade unions from any role in national policy making and this was achieved in 1979 and after 1979 was the regulation of the union’s decision making and electoral procedures (Henry 1989). During this period tactics such as secondary picketing which was used by miners (BBC NEWS) was made unlawful shown in the employment act of 1980 and 1982.   Furthermore, there was abolition of statutory recognition procedure in 1980.Employment act of 1988 and 1990 ensured removal of immunities protecting closed shop. The abandonment of political commitment to full employment leading to unemployment rate decreasing from 5.2% in 1979 to 11.2% in 1983 and thus a decline in trade unio n membership. In conclusion looking at the above stated factors and how they affect the decline of trade union. Government legislation has been proven to be the most comprising factor in the decline, however it is important to note that government intervention by way of legislation was only a reaction to the adverse effects which was perceived by the government. REFERENCES: Paul,E.(ed) 2003.   Industrial Relations Theory and Practice (2nd ed), Blackwell. Lee,W. and Rooner,J.(2005).The Rise and Fall of Unionised Labour Market. Hoque, K. and Bacon, N. (2008) Trade unions, union learning representatives and employer-provided training in Britain.  British Journal of Industrial Relations. Vol 46, No 4, December. pp702-731. Blanchflower, D.G. and Bryson, A. (2008)  Union decline in Britain. CEP discussion paper. no 864. London: Centre for Economic Performance.

Dolch Sight Words for Kindergarten to Third Grade

Dolch Sight Words for Kindergarten to Third Grade The Dolch Word Lists were developed by Edward W. Dolch. He researched English text he found published in the United States and found those words that show up the most in text. Some of those words are decodable, because they follow general phonemic and spelling rules for English. Many, however, are not decodable but instead are irregular, meaning they do not follow the rules of English. Over 50 - 75% of the most commonly used words are found in the Dolch List below. The Dolch Lists are among the most highly respected tools in the field of reading instruction, and are critical for creating meaning in text- using those common verbs, articles, and conjunctions to make words into language.   The Dolch lists are also valuable for word walls. Word walls provide a dictionary for emerging writers as well as readers, as they look to find the words they need to write. Dolch created a spiraling list of sight words that builds from grades to grades. You can add words from the lists to your word wall as you expand your students skills through appropriate pre-primer or primer decodable books, which will have many of the sight words. Then, you can encourage your students to use the word wall words in writing samples. Still, the goal should be to write to communicate, not write to meet some teachers requirements. Students with reading and language difficulties often dislike writing tasks- make them fun and make them about communicating their meaning and they will flex their writing muscles! How to Use the Dolch Words: Play games with them, cut the cards out and use them as flash cards.Use oral reading activities with the cards. Hold up the word, and use a sentence with a blank prompting the child to state the word. For instance: I liked that movie so much that I watched it _________ (again).Use and oral cloze activity, placing three cards, one that fills the cloze. You can have the child point to the correct word. This is especially good for children with reading skills but apraxia. i.e. John went to the park to (swim, and, the.)Shuffle the Dolch cards, turn them over one at a time and use them in a sentence.Have students go back and highlight (and correct, when necessary) the word wall words in their journal entries or free writing.   Daily routine use of the words will build reading confidence. For students with learning disabilities, these words can be learned developmentally, beginning with the pre-primer list.  There are five lists offering appropriate words for the  Pre-Primer,  Primer, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, and  3rd Grade  reading levels. Word cards for all 44 spelling sounds  are available and can be great additions to your spelling program and word walls.

UNITED STATES V. MONTGOMERY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

UNITED STATES V. MONTGOMERY - Essay Example These buys ranged from one to seven ounces of crack cocaine, which was significant under existing Texas statute. After a Grand Jury indictment, Montgomery was tried and convicted of several of the charges levied against him and sentenced to 160 months imprisonment. The appeal that was lodged was based on the following five premises: Sufficiency of evidence, Jencks Act, Evidentiary Matters, the Batson Challenge, and prosecutorial misconduct. In the end, all of the facts pertaining to the case lead to the Appellate court upholding the conviction. In the case of prosecutorial misconduct, for example, the defense contended that several remarked were made the prosecutor that were improper. One of these occasions had the prosecutor issuing an opinion that alleged guilt on the part of the defendant. In the end, however, the court found that Montgomery failed to adequately demonstrate that the closing arguments issued by the prosecutorial team did not violate his substantive rights and that nothing improper was

Public Health Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public Health Leadership - Research Paper Example New paradigms should be considered when those in use seem to lose effectiveness and requires certain competencies and skills on the part of the leadership in public health. Public leaders must effectively organize and apply available resources to achieve the best outcomes for the community. Considering the resource constraints and difficult working environments for public health workers especially in the developing world, managers provide effective leadership for optimum results. A sense of mission is therefore particularly important as a skill for healthcare leaders to direct service delivery. They should purpose to strengthen the infrastructures and systems with the core functions and essential services of public health in mind. The leaders therefore must be able to examine the population’s health care status as well as the community’s ability to meet its priority healthcare needs and implement interventions that reduce if not avid occurrence of crises of public health. They should be able to implement service delivery with a view of the future, ground their views in present realities and also build on past experiences to inform directi on in service delivery policies (Rowitz, 2009). Change management and continuous learning are of great importance to public healthcare leadership. Delivery of health services as well as patient situations change constantly and therefore leaders must continually learn & adapt new skills and capabilities so as to keep up with the changes. Leadership significantly involves providing motivation to other staff, constant communication and negotiation with the stakeholders as well as promoting desirable behaviors which increase discipline and ultimately improve the achievement of good outcomes. it is there imperative for the leaders foster creation of working environments where every person is learning on a constant basis. They must be able to identify those challenges facing service, and the necessary knowledge and