Personality psychology Essays

Personality psychology Essays Personality psychology Essay Personality psychology Essay The profile indicates a high task oriented person with a strong ability to be a crowd pleaser. The inspiring personality style mentor is primarily outgoing making friends easily and possesses a high energy and enthusiasm. (Sq audio. Com/discreteness). He is very influential and communicates well as he inspires others that follow him. He likes challenges and doesnt seem to worry too much because he is extremely confident in his abilities. He is a good negotiator, but not necessarily a good listener or compromiser. He sometimes is the initiator of conflicts because of his stubborn and controlling nature. This personality does not always listen to counsel and sometimes dismisses what he hears. His charisma can be his downfall (Carbondale, 2008). Analyzing the (NEFF) M-BET results of the mentor, Joe Butt (2013) describes this combination personality as the benevolent pedagogue of humanity. They tend to be large talkers, dreamers, and doers with an incredible amount of persuasive attributes and interpersonal skills which makes them into great potential salesmen. They appear to be very creative and responsible to carry out many tasks at once with a great deal of energy and confidence. They like people and make quick decisions about them and are available to anyone who needs them. They eave sometimes a tender psychological shell and are at risk of being hurt emotionally. Students M-BIT Report The students M-BIT report shows that she is a highly complex intuitive INFO, the protector. In the home she displays patient, gentle devotion. She is a natural nurturer with high expectations for her children. She possesses strong values with great faith in her instincts and intuition. Believing in constant growth she is a perfectionist who is not sure she is living up to her fullest potential. Sometimes she fails to see the big picture while pushing herself to the limit. At work she is extremely creative favoring art and science ND service oriented professions. As a careful listener and people person, she is sensitive to conflict and may become agitated and internalize her anger. The comparison of the students Disc SIC and M-BIT personality reports indicate very similar results. The Disc profile and M-BIT both indicate the people oriented and supportive listening traits of the student. Both show a desire to empathic and serve humanity. Since the M-BIT is focused on positive traits, it is different from the Disc profile as it does not show the blind spots and the need to make adjustments in behavior (Collar, 2008, p. 232). The (Discrepancies) states that dominant S listening skills are extremely keen without interruptions, but Squids. Com/discreteness mention the blind spot of getting run over because of the fear of confrontation. When the S minute is engaged in a conversation with her l mentor they are very likely to slip into the flat-brain tango (Petersen, 2007, p. 33). The S/C minute needs to remember to be more assertive while the I/SD needs to stop and pursue clarification. Higher level communication connects us at a level of feeling and spirit (Petersen, 2007, p. 19). SUMP part 2 Questionnaires Demonstrating Fit In order to demonstrate fit to each DISC profile the counselor must be aware of the voice inflection, physical posture, eye contact and focused attention of the counsel (Collar, 1997, p. 95). The D personality trait The high dominant behavior style presents a challenge in that he/she tends to operate in a fast paced manner which is totally the opposite of the high S counselor. Communication with the impatient controller is a challenge for the S counselor until empathy and listening skills begin to emerge. Generally patient, submissive, and quietly reflective, the approach in therapy would be o assist the counsel to choose a solution focused goal for the problem at hand. Since Ds learning styles are result oriented it is best to approach them with an itemized agenda while appealing to their controlling nature and preconceived ideas. (Disclosures). The tender sensitive passive nature Of the S therapist should not take offense while remembering the possible blind spots of the D counsel when viewed as rude, aggressive, and insensitive (Squids. Com /discreteness). The personality trait -? The inspiring and influential behavioral style is usually open to new theories, ideas, and ethos of learning. They are fun loving and have a short attention span (Disclosures). Keeping this learning style in mind, the S counselor should attempt to set good boundaries in counseling sessions. The general friendliness and outgoing nature of the l counsel and the genuine sincere, caring, friendliness of the S counselor would seem to be a good fit. Also, since the I is a talker and the S is a listener an appropriate communication strategy (game) would be the Talker-Listener Card (Petersen, 2007, p 55). The blind spots of defensiveness and not listening to counsel present the biggest robber for the counselor. Getting the l to own his responsibility for defensive behavior and poor listening habits will be the challenge for the counselor. The S personality trait The supportive personality style of the counsel and counselor both ask Hove will we get this problem solved? They both use how questions on a regular basis (Disclosures). Since they both work at a steady pace and are careful listeners they will approach the problem in a step by step manner. The caring S counselor, aware of the bloodspots of sensitivity and self-sacrificing behavior of the S counsel, will deed to gently supply confidence and encouragement to enable the counsel to be more assertive. A willing student the S counsel is very receptive to learning, but likes to observe techniques first then practice. Role play is a good strategy to use with this client. The C personality trait The consciences care-seeker wants to have a plan and schedule and asks many questions surrounding why questions (Disclosures). They want to hear facts and understand. They ask why should we do this (Disclosures)? The counselor would be wise to develop a written plan or goal in the therapy recess and explain the purpose of each step. Since the C personality is the second best listener (Tandem. Com) then the rapport between this counselor and the C counsel will be helpful as long as a structured and accurate listening approach is maintained. Action steps will be necessary as the problem is discussed as this is a blind spot of the C. Rather than worrying about what could go wrong they will need to move forward and attempt risks to accomplish the plan for healing (Squids. Com/discreteness). Communicating with a care-seeker The care-seeker from the case study Crossroads chosen for evaluation and assessment is Melissa. Melissa was chosen because as a high SIC counselor her natural tendency to blend in and serve during this crisis touched a familiar cord. Melissa displays many S personality traits. She is shown as the steady reliable supportive friend, not only to Broody, with whom she has a particular rapport, but also with the entire family. Melissa displays tendencies Of strong compassion, thoughtful, kind servant hood and a gentle quiet-like presence in the face of a horrible tragedy. She rarely expresses her own loss preferring to physically and emotionally care for the family involved. She is blew to get along with every family member easily and even at times gently confront the D personality of Bruce without causing offense. She is loyal to Broody and is greatly concerned for his healing and relationship with Bruce. She is a peacemaker. Since both Melissa and this S counselor are great listeners indicating a great advantage in this counseling relationship from the start. They are both highly empathetic and caring. The S counselor understands that Melissa will have a tendency to over function and even sacrifice as she provides steady friendship and compassion. Dealing with the loss of her friend will be extremely painful because S personalities are extremely relational one on one and make long lasting deep friendships (Carbondale, 2008). Applying what she has learned regarding grief and loss, the S counselor first needs to rule out whether the grief/loss has debilitated into depression (Clinton and Hawkins, 2009, p. 130). Melissa needs encouragement to express and feel her pain. She should be reminded to not attempt to do too much and that grieving takes time and is a process. Not attending to her personal self-care and not speaking out when pain of the loss of her friend overwhelms her are Melissa major blind spots. It will be necessary to remind Melissa that keeping busy and providing support and care is a healthy action while realizing that sacrificial giving to the point of exhaustion can also cause damage. Connecting and communicating with a mentor This students mentor has been determined to be I/SD. The dominate trait of l indicates that this person is full of fun and shares feelings openly. This mentor has a soft caring side and is generally liked and likes people. The D traits show that the mentor is more comfortable telling people what to do ND then inspiring them to get things done. Conflicting with the high S personality trait of this minute is the lack of preparation at times, and the poor listening skills of the I mentor. However, both this minute and the mentor have S traits that indicate that they care for people and have a strong desire to serve. They also have great kindness and tender hearts. The mentors high persuasive personality compliments the sometimes shy and reserved personality of the minute. The C personality trait of the minute counselor likes to be more organized and peruse facts and details. This desire s an area of concern with the minute as Carbondale (2008) mentions that the I/SD mentors interest in gathering facts can sometimes compromise quality in an effort to accomplish a goal or task. Another potential challenge can be the D mentors tendency to control. This would mean that the S minute will need to be a bit more assertive as they accomplish tasks. Overall, this relationship has many possibilities due to the strong desire to serve and the mutual love for people. These are necessary qualities for developing a pastoral counseling mentors.

Sitting Presidents During Major American Wars

Sitting Presidents During Major American Wars Who was the president during each of the major U.S. wars? Heres a list of the most significant wars the U.S. has been involved in, and the wartime presidents who held office during those times.   The American Revolution   The Revolutionary War, also called the American War for Independence,  was fought from 1775 through 1783.  George Washington  was president. Spurred on by the Boston Tea Party in 1773, 13 North American colonies fought Great Britain in an effort to escape from British rule and to become a country unto themselves. The War of 1812 James Madison  was president when the U.S. next challenged Great Britain in 1812. The British did not graciously accept American independence after the Revolutionary War. Britain began seizing American sailors and doing its best to interrupt American trade. The War of 1812 has been called the Second War of Independence. It lasted until 1815.   The Mexican-American War The U.S. clashed with Mexico in 1846 when Mexico resisted  James K. Polks vision of a manifest destiny for America. War was declared as part of Americas effort to forge westward. The first battle took place on the Rio Grande. By 1848, America had taken possession of a huge swath of land, including the modern-day states of Utah, Nevada, California, New Mexico, and Arizona.   The Civil War The War Between the States lasted from 1861 until 1865.  Abraham Lincoln  was president. Lincolns opposition to slavery was well known and seven southern states promptly seceded from the union when he was elected, leaving him with a real mess on his hands. They formed the Confederate States of America and the Civil War broke out as Lincoln took steps to bring them back into the fold - and to emancipate their slaves in the process. Four more states seceded before the dust from the first Civil War battle had settled.   The Spanish American War This was a brief one, technically lasting less than a year in 1898. Tensions first began escalating between the U.S. and Spain in 1895 as Cuba fought back against Spains dominance and the U.S. supported its efforts. William McKinley  was president. Spain declared war against America on April 24, 1898. McKinley responded by declaring war as well on April 25. Not one to be upstaged, he made his declaration retroactive to April 21. The whole thing was over by December, with Spain relinquishing Cuba and ceding the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico to the U.S. Who Was President During WW1? The First World War broke out in 1914. It pitted the Central Powers (Germany, Bulgaria, Austria, Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire) against the formidable Allied Powers of the U.S., Great Britain, Japan, Italy, Romania, France, and Russia. By the time the war ended in 1918, more than 16 million people were dead, including civilians.  Woodrow Wilson  was president at the time. Presidents During WW2 Raging from 1939 until 1945, World War II actually monopolized the time and attention of two presidents:  Franklin Roosevelt and Harry S Truman. It began when Hitler invaded Poland and France. Great Britain declared war on Germany two days later. Soon, more than 30 countries were involved, with Japan  (among several other countries) joining forces with Germany. By V-J Day in August 1845, this had become the most devastating war in history, claiming between 50 and 100 million lives. The exact total has never been calculated.   The Korean War Dwight Eisenhower  was president when the Korean War broke out just five years later in 1950. Credited with being the opening salvo of the Cold War, the Korean War began when North Korean soldiers invaded other Soviet-backed Korean territories in June. The U.S. got involved to support South Korea in August. There was some concern that the fighting would mushroom into World War III, but it resolved in 1953, at least to some extent. The Korean peninsula continues to be a hotbed of political tension.   The Vietnam War Its been called the most unpopular war in American history, and four presidents (Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon) inherited this nightmare. It lasted 15 years, from 1960 through 1975. At issue was a division not unlike that which prompted the Korean War, with Communist North Vietnam and Russia opposing U.S.-backed South Vietnam. The ultimate death toll included almost 30,000 Vietnamese civilians and roughly an equal number of American soldiers. With chants of Not our war! resounding across the U.S., President Nixon finally pulled the plug in 1973. It was two more years before U.S. forces were officially withdrawn from the region in 1975 and Communist forces took control of Saigon.   The Persian Gulf War This one landed in President  George H. W. Bushs lap in 1990 when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August. He thumbed his nose at the Union Nations Security Council when it instructed him to withdraw his forces. Saudi Arabia and Egypt requested the assistance of the U.S. to help prevent Iraqs invasion of neighboring territories. America, along with several allies, complied. Operation Desert Storm raged for 42 days until President Bush declared a ceasefire in February 1991.   The Iraq War Peace or something like it settled over the Persian Gulf until 2003 when Iraq again prompted hostilities in the region.  George W. Bush  was at the helm at the time. The U.S., aided by Great Britain, successfully invaded Iraq, then insurgents took exception to this state of affairs and hostilities broke out again. The conflict didnt resolve until Barack Obamas presidency when American forces withdrew from the region by December 2011.

Nutri, Health & Wellness Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nutri, Health & Wellness - Lab Report Example To achieve safety delivery during this lifecycle, an expectant mother is given a schedule to follow during the pregnancy period. The main aim being to check the growth of the child, and if it is not safe, correction is done and also the mother is advised on maintaining her pregnancy period. Failure to get prenatal care, there are higher chances of the baby having low weight and may increase the chance of the baby’s death. Further, the doctor may spot health problems early enough when a mother accesses health facilities regularly. In addition, the doctor will treat them at an early stage before they spread and affect the baby. Prenatal care is not only on the checkups, but the doctor also gives the mother some advice on how to give her unborn baby a healthy start to life, for example by exposing her to exercises and good nutrition that will keep the baby on good health as he/she was before birth. During this prenatal phase, nutrition is very important to the health of the mother and for the child. These nutrients enable the growth of the child and also enables prevention of diseases from attacking the foetus during pregnancy. On the other hand, poor nutrition results to some challenges to the pregnant mother and also to the child (Marie C & McCormick, 1999). The nutrition challenge associated with the pregnancy include; morning sickness. It is a common nutrition-related problem during pregnancy. It usually lasts for six months during the first trimester. It frequently helps to eat little, or have regular meals throughout the day. Morning sickness is caused by strong flavored and highly seasoned foods, hence pregnant mothers are advised to avoid strong spiced and seasoned junks. Heartburn is another common challenge during pregnancy due to the hormones released by the placenta’s relaxation in the lower esophagus sphincter, which keeps food in the digestive system

Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 12

Research - Essay Example g is an issue that need to be tackled holistically by all people and the relevant authorities without blaming each other for the current worsening conditions. Technically, global warming is a problem that emanates from the presence of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This acts as a blanket which traps heat, thereby warming the planet. Other gases such as methane and nitrous oxide have the same effect. Therefore, burning of coal, oil, and natural gas for energy leads to accumulation of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. Scientific evidence indicate that an increase in global average temperature by 3.6 (F) poses a major risk to the natural systems and the existence of the human beings (Smith 18). Scientists have discovered that methane is mainly released by landfills and various agricultural practices such as use of nitrous oxide from fertilizers. In addition the gas is released through both industrial and refrigeration processes. Greenhouse gas emission is one of the major causes of global warming; global warming, thus, results from the greenhouse effect. The latter involves a process through which the emission and absorption of infrared radiation through the gases in the earth’s atmosphere, which warms the lower atmosphere and the surface of the earth (Smith 26). On the surface of the earth, the naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of approximately 59˚F. Without the existence of the Earth’s atmosphere, the average temperature on the planet would be lowered to the freezing point. The major greenhouse gases exist in terms of water vapor that results in about 30-70% of the greenhouse effect, which leads to global warming. Scientists have pointed out that carbon dioxide causes 10-25%; methane causes 5-10%; and the ozone causes 3-8% of the greenhouse effects. Scientists have also pointed out that human activity that began during the times of Industrial Revolution in the United States and Western Europe increased the level

Effectiveness of a Country’s Educational Provision Essay Example for Free

Effectiveness of a Country’s Educational Provision Essay Introduction In the last quarter of the twentieth century, an increasing consensus developed concerning the link between economic prosperity and effectiveness of a country’s educational provision. As globalization gathered pace dramatically in the 1980’s and 199’s, this link became more overt as the comparison and competitiveness between nations inevitably increases. At the heart of the argument for the link, is the need for an educational workforce, without which a country’s economy will not keep pace.1 In the World Conference on Education For All, which assembled Jomtien, Thailand, it was recognized that the current provision of education seriously deficient and that it must be made relevant, qualitatively improve and made universally available to enable every person, child, and adult to meet the basic learning needs. These needs comprise both essential earning tools such as __________________ 1 David Middle Wood and Carlo Cardno, â€Å"Managing Teacher Performance. and the learning content (such as knowledge, skills, values and attitudes) required by human beings to be able to survive, to develop to their full capacities to live and work with dignity, to participate fully in development, to improve the quality of lives, to make informed decisions and to continue learning. 2 Education is the vital key to national development. More important is the training and development of human resources of teachers who are the frontiers of our educative pursuit. American may continue to lead the word of science and technology but its record of educating its citizens in those subjects is fairly dismal. An NSF panel has spent 128 months examining the state of Science, Mathematics,  Engineering and Technology (SME) and at the undergraduate level and reviewing hundreds of comments from academic. The overwhelming consensus is that most of the SME courses acts as filters. They screen out all but the promising students- those embarking on __________________ careers, leaving majority of the graduates with litters understanding of how science works. This worries the policy makers because many disgruntled students become teachers with little enthusiasm for the subject perpetuating a cycle of scientific and technological.4 Ana Marie Pamintuan, in her column entitled â€Å"Sketches†, in the December 12, 2000 issue of the Philippines Start stated: â€Å"In a season of bad news, there was one item I found particularly depressing. Filipino first year high school students ranked 36th among 38 countries in the Third International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS). According to result, in the latest TIMSS, Japan ran fifth in Mathematics and fourth in Science. It can be expected that many people will really blame the education system for the Filipino students’ dismal performance. Although the schools along with the curriculum, teacher, supervisor, administrators and other elements that comprise the input components of the school as a social system, should take part of the blame. 5 __________________ 4 National Science Foundation, 1999). 5 Aquino, G. Effective Teaching. EDCOM reports that teacher is poorly trained. Many teachers at all levels do not have the optimum qualification for teaching. The proportion of high school teachers of science and mathematics, for example, do not have even  the minimal preparation for the teaching ranges from 54.6 percent to 5 percent. IN the 1991 DOST test given to both teachers and students in first year of the Second Education Program (SEDP), the total mean percentage score (54.08) of the first year high school teachers was only 8.79 points higher than those of the students (42.29). This deplorable performance can be traced to poor teacher training and the low quality of students enrolled in the teacher training.6 To further upgrade the standard of science education in the Philippines, the Department of science and Technology (DOST), University of the Philippines Science and Mathematics Education (UP-SMED) now National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (NISMED), the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have launched a joint project, the purpose of which is to __________________ 6 (EDOM: 1995). develop human resources which would ultimately enhance and upgrade the capabilities of science and mathematics teachers. The core program was the development of thinking skills through practical work and laboratory experiment.7 These are challenging times for the country’s educational system Cooperative efforts at all levels of instruction are directed towards common goal to improve the quality of education. Much more evident are such efforts aimed at reform in Science Education. Varied approaches and techniques have been pioneered to make classroom filled with fruitful investigations to uncover new and useful informations. A great variety of instructional materials and facts intended for daily classroom instruction have been assembled utilizing the indigenous resources of the community. Innovative procedures of presenting learning tasks have been tried to make every teaching-learning situation, encounter more exciting and hallenging.8 Of the 50 schools tested, ___________________  it was revealed what students from 20 schools did not master the topic taught, 27 schools nearing mastery, and only 1 school reported mastery level.9 The low performance of students in science also became the justification for the formulation and launching of the Science and Technology Education Plan (STEP) with Project RISE (Rescue Initiative for Science Education) as one of its project under the manpower development component. One of the major problems cited in the Accomplishment Report prepared by STEP stated, â€Å"every little was done about following up the trainees on in their use of their acquired skills.10  The problem reported b the STEP, prompted the researcher, being one of the trainors of the program, Project RISE, at the Regional Science and Teaching Center (RSTC-UEP) to assess the accomplishment of Project RISE, as to whether it achieved the goal and objectives set for – the training of science teachers to ___________________ improve their teaching competencies and raise the performance levels of the students in General Science. Statement of the Problem This study will try to assess the effectiveness of Project RISE in the Secondary Schools in the Division of Northern Samar, using the DOST-SET Monitoring and Evaluation Forms from its implantation in 1998. Specifically, this study will try to answer at the following questions. 1. What is the extent of accomplishment of Project RISE in terms of: 1. Objective of the program 2. Course content 3. Participants’ profile 4. Trainers profile 2. What is the status of the processing variables such as the following: 1. Teachers 1. Attitude towards teaching General Science 2. Content knowledge and laboratory skills 3. Classroom management 4. Time management 5. Teaching strategies 6. Skills in the utilization of instructional material 7. Skills maintaining classroom discussion 8. Skills in motivating 2. Administrators 1. Administrative support 3. Student 1. Attitudes towards General Science 3. What is the status of Project RISE on the following: 1. Teaching competencies of the teacher-participants as observed and evaluated by the principal. 2. Teacher’s perception on how the training improved their competencies. 3. Student’s performance in General Science/ Theoretical Framework The framework for the evaluation of Project RISE in the Division of Northern Samar particularly in General Science, will make use of the system theory propounded by Millilin. System theory engages a process of examining a school system or educational system (for a program or project), not by piecemeal approach where every element of the system stand independent of the others, but as an organic group of elements, as a system with interaction subsystems inside the school system (social, economic, cultural, political and technological), a system that contributes to society through its outputs the same society from which the school received its inputs, and  layer on as a system that receive feedbacks from the society as to the defined â€Å"value added† through outputs.11 Moreover, that the system theory gives a holistic view of advocating its internal efficiency as well as its external productivity: it calls for an interdisciplinary approach which mean that I considers how all the various system are interrelated, and it is a _________________  self-connective approach because it considers and profits from feedbacks received from its environs.12 The appraisal process using the system theory is hinged on the input, throughput and output concepts. The input includes the setting of verifiable objectives that become standards: the throughputs refers to the actually performance of the organization that is being evaluated; the outputs include the measuring of performance against standards such as the formal type of comprehensive review. A build in feedback mechanism pinpoint the flaws or errors in program implementation. Then corrective actions for undesirable deviation from standards are formulated. The system of evaluation is cyclical in nature consistent of formulation, implementation, monitoring and feedback pointing to the continuous assessment for program revision and improvement. Whichever is pinpointed as error implementation become the focus corrective decisions and actions and for program revisions. The advantage of the system evaluation concept lie in its ability to correct program errors at their earliest stages. Early direction and correction of ____________________ 12 Ibid. program implementation errors diminish the possibilities of incurring financial losses and unnecessary waste of efforts by the personnel implementing the program.  Therefore, assessing Project RISE, specially those having bearing on its accomplishments and innovations achieved by the teacher trainees in General  Science six year after might be a sound decision. This study is also supported by Bautista’s theory on evaluation, which shed light to the program design, assesses the implementation in terms of results of long effects. It is evaluation that provides timely and realistic feedback to the change agents, making the maximization of fiscal manpower resources possible. Programs are not evaluated attend to maintain a status quo to stagnate subsequently. One type of evaluation is the ex-post evaluation or impact evaluation. This is undertaken to determine whether the program or project merits expansion or replication in other areas and ascertain what aspects can be modified to improve implementation in other area. This study is then called an impact evaluation because it with try to assess the _________________  status of Project RISE teachers’ train on their overall performance as General Science Teachers. Carino’s theory, also sustains that accountability is a central problem of the government. The activities of civil servants and public agencies must follow the will of the people to whom they are ultimately responsible. The public ness of their employment and goals therefore prescribe their behavior and circumscribe their choice. Therefore, all individuals and office continue to have a range of options as to how they would act. The evaluation of whether such action would be within the bounds of their authority is referent to the concepts of accountability. Accountability focuses on the following: 1) regularity of fiscal transactions and the faithful compliance as well as adherence to legal requirements and administrative policies; 2) efficiency and economy in the use of public funds, prosperity manpower and other resources; 3) concerned with the results of government operation; 4) human resources accounting and the __________________  analogies of economics and social impacts of programs, and 5) emphasizes  procedures and methods operation and on the transformation of inputs to outputs.15 This study is an assessment of a project, which derives its finances from government funds, therefore projects implementers and all those involved in it are accountable to the people and the society. Another theory to support other variables identified in this study, such as attitudes and values of teachers, is that one advocated by Thorndike. The connectionist theory or the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory. This view was based on the concept that bonds or connections are formed between situations and suppose. Thordike advocates the idea that learning results from translating sense impressions and impulses to action learning occurs through change in connection between particular stimulus and a response, hence, connections are the key to understanding a learning task. ___________________ 15 Carino, Ledevina, â€Å"Administrative Accountability: A Review of the Evolution, Meaning and Operationa-lization of a Key Concept in Public Administration). 16 Gregorio, Hernan, â€Å"Principles and Methods of Teaching†. In the same manner, the personal attitudes and values of the teachers may have much to do with their teaching effectiveness because they could be the basis for their behavior, decisions and choice. This is so because â€Å"values are deep-rooted motivations of behavior. They defined what is important to the individual.16 In this study, it may be stated that the attitudes and values of the General Science teachers will have bearing with their work as teachers. What they believe in and what they consider important will influence their decisions and choices. Conceptual Framework The framework for the evaluation process has three components: inputs, throughputs and outputs. A built-in-feedback mechanism is the place to  derived information for project revision or improvement. Following the evaluation process, the inputs of Project RISE in Region VIII in general and in the Division of Northern Samar in particular are the objective of the program, course content, participants, trainers, and training ___________________  procedures. The actual performance in the implementation of Project RISE will be expresses in terms the throughout or processes. These consists of the teachers’ attitude towards teaching General Science, the General Science content knowledge and skills, classroom management, time management, appropriateness of teaching strategies, skills in the utilization of instructional materials, and skills in maintaining classroom discussions and skill in motivating. It will also include the teachers’ teaching competencies in teaching General Science as perceived by the principles, the teachers’ own perceptions on how the Project RISE training improved the competencies as observes by their principles and the students’ performance in General science as measured by a test in General Science.

Literature - Postmodern Literary Criticism :: Literature Essays Literary Criticism

Postmodern Literary Criticism    Postmodernism attempts to call into question or challenge the notion of a single absolute unified master narrative without simply replacing it with another. It is a paradoxical, recursive, and problematic method of critique.    It encourages transcendence through or in spite of limitation, while simultaneously decentering the concept of absolute transcendence. To this end, it encourages the development of a heightened sense of self in relation to itself and the world around it.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Postmodernism assumes an ontology of fragmented being. Where modernism asserts the primacy of the subject in revealing universal truth, postmodernism challenges the authority of the subject and, thus, universal truth based on it. Modernism and postmodernism, however, draw upon distinctly different epistemological modes: critical and dogmatic.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Modernism posits itself as a source of dogmatic knowledge. Dogmatic knowledge is an unchanging, absolute ideology. It has found the Truth or believes it is possible to acquire it. Knowledge is objective, tangible and quantifiable. The dogmatic mode attempts to subordinate further critical thinking in order to spread knowledge of Truth.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Postmodernism, on the other hand, aspires to reflect the critical. Critical knowledge is a process, rather than product. Absolute knowledge is unattainable, conditional, and provisional at best. Any unequivocal sense of the real is rendered superfluous. Truth, therefore, remains elusive, relativistic, partial, and always incomplete; it cannot be learned in totality. "Truth itself is a contingent affair and assumes a different shape in the light of differing local urgencies and convictions associated with them" (Fish 207). Critical knowledge has no choice but to exercise complicity with the cultural historical context in which it is hopelessly mired. As Lee Patterson states, "Even scholars who are dealing with chronologically and geographically distant materials are in fact examining a cultural matrix within which they themselves stand, and the understandings at which they arrive are influenced not simply by contemporary interests but by th e shaping past that they are engaged in recovering" (259).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Postmodern literary criticism asserts that art, author, and audience can only be approached through a series of   mediating contexts. "Novels, poems, and plays are neither timeless nor transcendent" (Jehlen 264). Even questions of canon must be considered within a such contexts. "Literature is not only a question of what we read but of who reads and who writes, and in what social circumstances...The canon itself is an historical event; it belongs to the history of the school" (Guillory 238,44). Literature - Postmodern Literary Criticism :: Literature Essays Literary Criticism Postmodern Literary Criticism    Postmodernism attempts to call into question or challenge the notion of a single absolute unified master narrative without simply replacing it with another. It is a paradoxical, recursive, and problematic method of critique.    It encourages transcendence through or in spite of limitation, while simultaneously decentering the concept of absolute transcendence. To this end, it encourages the development of a heightened sense of self in relation to itself and the world around it.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Postmodernism assumes an ontology of fragmented being. Where modernism asserts the primacy of the subject in revealing universal truth, postmodernism challenges the authority of the subject and, thus, universal truth based on it. Modernism and postmodernism, however, draw upon distinctly different epistemological modes: critical and dogmatic.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Modernism posits itself as a source of dogmatic knowledge. Dogmatic knowledge is an unchanging, absolute ideology. It has found the Truth or believes it is possible to acquire it. Knowledge is objective, tangible and quantifiable. The dogmatic mode attempts to subordinate further critical thinking in order to spread knowledge of Truth.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Postmodernism, on the other hand, aspires to reflect the critical. Critical knowledge is a process, rather than product. Absolute knowledge is unattainable, conditional, and provisional at best. Any unequivocal sense of the real is rendered superfluous. Truth, therefore, remains elusive, relativistic, partial, and always incomplete; it cannot be learned in totality. "Truth itself is a contingent affair and assumes a different shape in the light of differing local urgencies and convictions associated with them" (Fish 207). Critical knowledge has no choice but to exercise complicity with the cultural historical context in which it is hopelessly mired. As Lee Patterson states, "Even scholars who are dealing with chronologically and geographically distant materials are in fact examining a cultural matrix within which they themselves stand, and the understandings at which they arrive are influenced not simply by contemporary interests but by th e shaping past that they are engaged in recovering" (259).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Postmodern literary criticism asserts that art, author, and audience can only be approached through a series of   mediating contexts. "Novels, poems, and plays are neither timeless nor transcendent" (Jehlen 264). Even questions of canon must be considered within a such contexts. "Literature is not only a question of what we read but of who reads and who writes, and in what social circumstances...The canon itself is an historical event; it belongs to the history of the school" (Guillory 238,44).

Organizational Systems Essay

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a tool designed to help identify not only what and how an event occurred, but also why it happened. We can see from this scenario that the root cause is the lack of oxygen given to this patient, however it is not the only cause. A string of events lead to this patients demise. The first and most important cause was that hospital policy was overlooked. In the scenario it stated. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a tool designed to help identify not only what and how an event occurred, but also why it happened. We can see from this scenario that the root cause is the lack of oxygen given to this patient, however it is not the only cause. A string of events lead to this patients demise. The first and most important cause was that hospital policy was overlooked. In the scenario it stated â€Å"A moderate sedation/analgesia (â€Å"conscious sedation†) policy requires that the patient remains on continuous B/P, ECG, and pulse oximeter throughout the procedur e and until the patient meets specific discharge criteria (i.e., fully awake, VSS, no N/V, and able to void).† The trained nurse had the equipment to insure that this policy was followed, however failed to perform her duties as required by this policy. The second event is that the LPN reset the alarm and made no effort to provide an intervention for the alarm. The LPN did not inform the RN of the O2 Saturation level. The LPN Was not trained properly. The third event was that there was not enough staff called in for the level of acuity that these patients had. The administration should have been made aware of the emergency coming in and called in more staff to accommodate the staffing need. The errors or hazards in care in the scenario were that the RN failed to follow hospital policy to continuous monitor the patient. LPN was not properly trained to handle patients with a higher acuity. LPN failed to report and respond to the alarm. It would be helpful if the parties involved with this event come together and discuss on what failed and how they can improve the system. To decrease the likelihood of this happening again the data collected from the RCA needs to  be presented and a plan needs to be implemented so that all the staff can know what to do if this situation occurs in the future. Implementing a plan where all the parties are involved will insure that policy that is implemented will be followed through and a since of teamwork and collaboration will be felt. Lewin’s change model talks about people that are frozen in their idea of how certain processes should work, and need to be unfrozen in their process in order to make a change. In the scenario, the staff may be stuck in a process of how they perform their job. When things in the ER got busy, The nurse may have felt that since she has experience and is qualified she could handle things in the ER with just the help of the LPN. If this Nurse was not frozen in her old ways she would have realized that knowing when to call for help early enough is a nursing key behavior. Sometimes being stuck in your old ways is not what is best for the patient or yourself. If the future with change this Nurse has the potential to be a good advocate for other nurses and staff. She will be helpful in supporting change for the better of the patient. Lewin’s second model talks about what needs to be changed in a situation. In the scenario, the process of how moderate sedation is performed and followed up for each and every patient in any department needs to be changed. In order to make a change, staff needs to become involved and understand why this change will benefit the patient and the nursing staff. In order to make a change and have it successful the staff will need intrinsic motivators. According to Lewin’s change theory the staff will need to first, be open to the idea of this change and second, see how it can benefit the quality of care given to patients. Updating the moderate sedation policy to include a one on one â€Å"qualified† staff member to stay with the patient after sedation at all times until discharge criteria is met. Staff education, annual education and possibly mock sedation scenerio’s could help the staff learn in a â€Å"real life† situation what could go wrong and what could be done better. When the change has been introduced. Trial and errors are started and perfected and staff starts to use these changes in practice. It has a possibility to become normal to them and then the â€Å"refreezing† process can begin. Lewin’s refreezing process is referred to as, once new change is in practice the staff will then start to implement that changed process in everyday procedure, cause a refreezing process of new and improved procedure. After, Nurse J and the other staff members in  the ER and everywhere else in the hospital, practice and start applying these new changes into their everyday routine after several weeks, it will become second nature to them! (â€Å"Change theory,† February) Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) identifies all possible failures in a service rendered. â€Å"Failure modes† means the ways, or modes, in which something might fail. Failures are any errors or defects, especially ones that affect the customer, and can be potential or actual. â€Å"Effects analysis† refers to studying the consequence of those failures. (The Quality Toolbox.2004) The interdisciplinary team that should be included in the RCA and FMEA are everyone involved like all doctors, RN’s, LPN, administrators, and the joint commission. We would start by developing steps to assess risks of failure to patients in the process that is being used. The pre-steps needed to implement FMEA is that the interdisciplinary team needs to be in agreement with how many steps and the steps that accurately describe the process. For each Failure mode the team needs to assign a risk priority number (RPN), this is used to detect the likelihood of occurrence, detection an d severity. For every failure mode identified, the team should answer the following questions and assign the appropriate score. (the team should do this as a group and have consensus on all values assigned) 1) How likely is it that this failure mode will occur? 2)Assign a score between 1 and 10, with 1 meaning â€Å"very unlikely to occur† and 10 meaning â€Å"very likely to occur.† And 3) How likely will the error be caught before causing harm to the patient. (IHI.pdf) The first step in FMEA is to analysis how likely is it that this failure mode will occur and its severity of affect on the patient. To do this the hospital would assign a severity number to the process step that they are testing. The FMEA would have number 1 through 10. 1 would mean no harm would be done to the patient, 5 would be moderate harm to the patient and 9 or 10 would mean that the severity would be very bad with the worst possible outcome for the patient. Like in the case scenario if the process step they chose was: with no equipment for monitoring of a patient after sedation and without staff present or staff present and all equipment was present. The process failure mode was that the patient stops breathing and no one or no equipment was present. The number value for this scenario would then be assigned the highest number because of the high likelihood that it would have the worst outcome for the patient. The second step in the FMEA is  to analyze how often the error or potential problem is likely to happen in the process. The occurrence scale also has a numeric value of 1 to 10. 1 would be that the problem could occur in under 0.01 to every 1,000 people, 5 would represent about 5 people to every 1,000 people and 10 would have the highest occurrence of over 100 people to every 1,000 people, which would make it very likely that the event will occur. The hospital staff would than take their process step of not monitoring a patient after sedation and rate the occurrence of the process at how likely the event would happen. The hospital then can look at data from other hospitals that did not monitor patients after sedation to see the likelihood that they stop breathing to rate the number. The third and last step is how likely the error or problem can be caught before reaching the patient and on what degree of harm it can cause to the patient. The same principle applies to the detection scale of a scale of 1 to 10. All of the numerical scores would then be multiplied together: Severity x Occurrence x Detection = Score. A score over 100 would prompt the hospital to look into the problem more closely and anything below that number they may want to take off their agenda and focus on the more dangerous outcomes for the patients. (Forrest, 2010) The key role nurses would play in improving the quality of care in this situation. Are to implement a plan of action. They can sponsor classes for other staff to get educated. They can attend drills to rehearse different scenarios to be prepared for other events. Having nursing staff advocate for the change will also help the other staff follow by example when changes are made, especially if they know the reason is to help prevent harm to patients in their care. Nurses with the right tools, guidelines and policies are able to make sure that the care is the best quality for their patients. References Change theory. (January, 2014, 02). Retrieved February 20, 2015, from http://wgu.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=e348f20b-e819-43e4-abcaf191f99bc Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Tool. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2015, from http://www.ihi.org/resources/FailureModesandEffectsAnalysisFMEATool_IHI.pdf Forrest, G. (2010, December 31). Quick guide to failure mode and effects analysis. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from http://www.isixsigma.com/tools-templates/fmea/quick-guide-failure-mode-and-effects-analysis/ IHI Institution for Healthcare Improvement. (n.d.). Lesson 5 testing changes (Pages 1-2). Retrieved from http://www.ihi.org/education/ihiopenschool/Pages/default.aspx Policy name: Root cause analysis. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.precisionlens.net/UserFiles/rootcause-analysis.doc Nancy R. Teague The Quality toolbox, 2nd edition, ASQ Quality Press, 2004, pages 236-240.

Competition in video game consoles Essay

Competition in Video Game Consoles: The State of the Battle for Supremacy in 2008 1. What are the strategy-shaping business and economic characteristics of the console segment of the video game industry? What is the industry like? 1-1 Segmentation: The industry was segmented into console hardware, console software (both sales and rentals), handheld hardware, handheld software (both sales and rentals), PC software (both sales and rentals), broadband, interactive TV, and mobile phones. 1-2 Market Size: Table 1: Size of the Global Video Games Markets, by Sector, 2000, 2003, and 2005, with Projections for 2010 ($ in millions) | 2000| 2003| 2005| 2010| Console hardware| $ 4,791| $6,047| $3,894| $5,771| Console Software (both sales and rentals)| 9,451| 16,449| 13,055| 17,164| Handheld hardware| 1,945| 1,501| 3,855| 1,715| Handheld software(both sales and rentals)| 2,872| 2,238| 4,829| 3,113| PC software (both sales and rentals)| 5,077| 3,806| 4,313| 2,955| Broadband| 70| 497| 1,944| 6,352| Interactive TV| 81| 249| 786| 3,037| Mobile phones| 65| 587| 2,572| 11,186| | 24,352| 31,370| 35,248| 51,292|. Source: Informa Telecoms & Media, â€Å"Games Market to Score Big in 2007,† press release, October 24, 2005, and â€Å"Games Industry Boom Continues,† press release July 24, 2003, both at www. informamedia. com (accessed September 8, 2006). As we can see the table above, the market size has grown from $24. 352 billion in 2000 to $51. 292 billion in 2010. In other words, the video game market becomes bigger and bigger. 1-3 Market growth rate Table 2 Compounded Annual Growth Rates For the Video Game Industry 2000 – 2005 and 2005 – 2010 (projected) | CAGR (2000-2005)| CAGR (2005-2010)| Console Hardware| -4. 1%| 8. 2%|. Console Software (both sales & rentals)| 6. 7%| 5. 6%| Handheld hardware| 14. 7%| -14. 96%| Handheld software (both sales & rentals)| 10. 95%| -8. 4%| PC software (both sales & rentals)| -3. 2%| -7. 3%| Broadband| 94. 4%| 26. 7%| Interactive TV| 57. 5%| 31. 04%| Mobile Phone| 108. 7%| 34. 2%| Total| 7. 7%| 7. 8%| CAGR is compound annual growth rate. The formula is(VtnVt0)1tn-t0-1. V (t0): start value, V (tn): finish value, tn ? t0: number of years. The numbers above are calculated from table 1. 1-4 Entry/Exit barriers The three existing companies are one of the entry barriers of other potential companies that would like to enter this market. Video game industry needs huge capital to invest on research and development department. Also, the entrants need to recruit skillful engineers and other talent staff to develop the products and make efficient marketing strategies. Combinations of all the entry elements, the entry barriers level is high for the perspective entrants. However, the software development is easier to enter this market than the hardware part. Potential entrants only need to focus on the software for the existing companies’ hardware products. This will have less cost than develop entire hardware and software. 1-5 Scope of rivalry. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are the three main companies in the video game industry. Before 2001, there was one more competitor, Sega, in the market. It tried to compete with Nintendo and Sony but it finally was out of the industry in 2001. After 2001, video game industry has entered new war. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft compete with each other by gaining sales and increasing installed base. Play Station 2 from Sony has significant unit sold in $299 each; however, its newest generation, Play Station 3 has not successful result in the market. Play Station 3 was beaten by Xbox and Wii which are from Microsoft and Nintendo respectively. As the result, Nintendo and Microsoft were substitute Sony to compete the leadership position in recent year. In addition, the retails which those three main companies sold their products in are in the price competition. Furthermore, console technology, online gaming, and mobile gaming has gradually changed the competitive situation. The impressive technologies become important for the competitive companies to develop new generation console. Also, game software enter new world which the internet is common, so the online game is on the trend that is expected to continue to increase in market. According to the mobile phone using population increasing, the games are installed in the mobile phone are in the increasing trend also. In short, the video game industry rivalry has become fierce. 1-6 Scale economies According to produce the entire console hardware, a company cannot manufacture all components by itself. Therefore, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo would like to produce large amount of console hardware to reduce the costs. They choose to ally with IBM, maker of GPUs or Intel to get components to assemble their console. Because those ally companies need to offer not only one buyer, they can produce large volume for the buyers. Thus, the price would be reduced by huge amount of production. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo can through this way to reduce the production cost and reach the economy scale. 1-7 Consumer characteristic. There are 300 million population played video games which include console system, handheld devices, and mobile phone all over the world in 2008. Most of them are preteens, teenagers, and young adult who are between 20 and 40 year-old. In 2005, the average age of players is 33 in US and there are 25% of gamers who were over 50. In addition, there are 31% of all gamers are under 18 and there are 44% of players were 1 to 49 year-old in 2005. Moreover, there is 62% of players are males. 2. What is competition like in the video game system industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest? Which is weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants? 2-1 * The bargaining power and leverage of buyers—a __weak_______ competitive force First of all, retailers almost do not have bargain power because they only can buy the products in those three companies. A retailer cannot buy the product from other companies and they may need to sell more than one brand to attract different customers taste. Therefore, they only have low bargain power. * The bargaining power and leverage of suppliers—a ____moderate_____ competitive force Although it is easy for video game companies, such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, to switch the suppliers, the large suppler still contain bargain power. The bargain powers come from special technology, unique parts, and risk of quality control. The small suppliers cannot guarantee the quality of products. Moreover, if those video game companies require unique components, then the suppliers may have bigger power to bargain. In short, the hardware component suppliers have bargain power but the video game companies have ability to change suppliers also although it is not very easy. In addition, video game software suppliers are in the different situation which compares with hardware suppliers. Software suppliers may have bargain power if they make a very wonderful game or they can bargain for the sales of hardware volume. If the sales of hardware console are not good, the software companies may not be willing to produce the software games. However, those video game companies have abilities to produce the software. They can publish their own game software. Therefore, software suppliers may not have bargain power as strong as hardware suppliers. In short, integrate hardware and software suppliers’ competitive forces. Suppliers have moderate bargaining power. * Competition from substitutes—a __weak to moderate______ competitive force Video game is for people to spend their leisure time. Except video games, people can do outdoor activities, board games, watching TV, seeing movies†¦etc. for their free time. Those activities may not instead of the feeling of playing video games but this depends on how video game players like to play video game. According to the data, video game enthusiasts can spend 6 hours per week to play video games. Therefore, those people usually do not do other activities in their free time. In short, there is no activities totally the same with video game but there are still other things that players can do to instead video game. Thus, the substitute force is low to moderate. * Threat of entry—a __weak_______ competitive force. Due to the entry barriers, it is not easy to enter this industry. The requirements of entry are high. In order to enter video game industry, entrants need to invest large capital and possess enough technologic skills to compete with the existing companies. Furthermore, the existing companies have higher ability to stay in the industry and have strong competitive products to threaten new entrants. Consequently, the threat of new entry has weak competitive force. * Rivalry among competing video game console producers—a __Strong_______ competitive force There is strong rivalry within the industry. As we can see, Sega was forced to withdraw from the industry in 2001. The existing three companies have started competing with each other keenly. They continue to develop their products, to compete sales volumes and price. As long as one of them does not pay attention to each other action, they may lose a lot. Therefore, the competing within video game console producers is strong. 2-2 The strongest competitive force is rivalry among competing video game console producers. The weakest competitive force is threat of entry. The competition from substitute is the greatest effect on industry. Because there are no substitutes which can provide totally the same experience for consumers, this is the greatest attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants. 3. How is the video game system industry changing? What are the underlying drivers of change and how might those driving forces individually or collectively change competition in the industry? Driving forces will include: * Product innovation The development of software and hardware of console is an important driver to push the industry to change. New technologies can attract individual buyers to purchase. The enthusiastic consumers may want to obtain newest games, so they may be easy to change their favorites. Also, new development can force other producers to improve their products. A new innovation product can be success in the industry. Then, it may give pressure to other competitors to improve their products. Therefore, product innovation is a driver of change. * Emergence of new video game devices The new video game devices are a driver to let the producers to change their products because new devices may improve the products and may be a trigger of consumers’ willing to buy. When a new device comes out, a producer does not catch up the trend and then it may be kicked out the market. Moreover, a new device may become a trend in the industry and may trigger a new competition war. * Emergence of internet-based video games Internet-based video games allow multiplayers at the same time. Also, the players may change their purchasing pattern. Internet is convenience for the consumers to purchase new games and has accompanies to play games device so it will enhance the products become more vivid and convenience to possess. Therefore, internet-bas video games become a trend in the industry. The major players of industry have started to develop their products to allow users to player through wireless networking. Therefore, the producers are making change to fit the consumers’ new using and purchasing pattern. * The buyer characteristics The players characteristics are gradually change. There are more young adults and female to become players. This trend attracts the producers to consider the buyers age and gender. They have started to design the console and games to match those buyer segment needs. For example, the goal of Wii is even mom can know how to play it. Therefore, the consumers’ segment change can impact the industry trend and push the major industry players to change the design to feed the different segment of players. * The aspect of society The aspect of society is change in this decade. Parents are willing to accompany their kids to play video games. They think some video games can let people to use their brains to think and some video games can help people to do exercises. For example, some games may use particular barriers that push players to figure out what element they need for enter the other stages. Moreover, many sport games of Wii are required users to move their body. Thus, many people think that video games do not only require users to stick in front of the screens and just move the fingers but also require users to operate their brains and move their bodies. Therefore, many video game console producers have started to change their design to fit more potential customers’ needs. 4. What does your strategic group map of the video game industry (all segments) look like? Which strategic groups do you think are in the best positions? The worst positions? Types of Video Game Suppliers/Distribution Channels. Strategic Group Map of the Video Game Industry Arcades Machine Arcade operators Home PC game suppliers Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo Home PCs Video Game Consoles Several online game site: MSN game zone†¦etc. Online Video Game Sites Low Medium High Cost to Players of Video Games Arcade operators can distribute for the arcade machine and little part for home PC use. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo produce games that can be use on home PC, video game consoles and online games. The online video game supplier may distribute the games to online use and may have little part for video game console use. Arcade game costs players very little. Sometimes it just cost few coins to play and players do not need to buy the machine back to homes. Home PC game players have to buy PC and they just can play the games or they may need to go to some Internet bars. Therefore, the cost is highest. Video game console cost players around $100 to $400 to purchase a hardware console. For the online video game sites, they may just cost few dollars from players to download the games. 5. What key factors determine the success for video game console producers? Factors that are necessary for competitive success in the console segment of the video game industry include: * Large installed base While the installed base is getting more and more, the producer company could be profit from the increasing installed base if the producer develops its internal game capabilities. Nintendo and Microsoft have this strategy. Nintendo has published many popular games and those software operating profit margins contribute around 35% to 40 % of Nintendo’s profitability. Also, independent game publishers also benefit from the large installed base because they can have increasing continuous sales. * Technological capabilities According to the improvement of technologies, every industry players are eager to develop the new products that the new technologies ameliorate them. This is because consumers have required more and more functions and quality of the products. They want high definition, easy to use†¦ etc from the products; therefore, every producer is entering the technological capabilities war. The technological abilities can help producers offer better products to attract customers to purchase. * Partnerships with independent software developers. Those software developers are important for the hardware game console producers because there is no fun without game software. Many players have â€Å"must have list. † This is just like the fashion world. People who pay attention on fashion trend know what should be had. Thus, â€Å"must have list† is the fashion trend in the video game industry. Therefore, partnerships with independent software developers are one of key factor that can push the video game console producer to succeed. Those partners can develop the popular software to urge the sales of video game console producers. * Acceptable development and production costs The price of the console should be reasonable for consumers. If the price is too high, the product may be like PS3 to fail in the market. Because Sony spent a lot on developing the better technologic component for PS3, it priced PS3 in $499 and $599 each to charge customers. However, the new design of PS3 did not completion yet at the launched time because PS3 had only 24 PS3 game title can backward compatible with PlayStation and PS2. The development of PS3 is not acceptable and blue-ray technology was too expensive. Therefore, the incompletion development and high production costs are transferred to consumers. The result is PS3 fail. In short, acceptable development and production costs are one of the factors can determine video game console producer will succeed or not. * Access to distribution Retailer distribution: this is the common distribution channel of hardware and software console. Those retail stores, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best-Buy, Flyer’s and Amazon, have high consumers’ density. Due to the development of internet use, online retailers become popular and contain powerful sales. Online download: Because of internet-base becomes a trend, many console producers have developed the online gaming. Hence, internet becomes a potential way to distribute the online game products. Product variety: Some video game producers have variety products. For example: Nintendo produces hardware console and software console game. The software console game cannot only use in Wii but also can use in PC, PS2, or other hardware console. Thus, as a software game publisher, Nintendo access to more than one distribution for its software game. In short, how to access to more distribution is also one successful factor of video game console producers. 6. Which console makers seem to be best able to perform the industry’s key success factors and other measures of competitive strength? What ratings do Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo merit in a competitive strength assessment? | ImportanceWeight| SonyStrengthRating| SonyStrengthScore| MicrosoftStrength Rating| Microsoft StrengthScore| NintendoStrengthRating| NintendoStrengthScore| Large installed base| 0. 25| 7| 1. 75| 6| 1. 50| 9| 2. 25|. Technologicalcapabilities| 0 . 15| 9| 1. 35| 9| 1. 35| 7| 1.05| Partnership with independent software developer| 0. 15| 8| 1. 20| 8| 1. 20| 8| 1. 20| Acceptable development and production costs| 0. 25| 6| 1. 50| 7| 1. 75| 8| 2. 00| Access to distribution| 0. 20| 8| 1. 60| 8| 1. 60| 9| 1. 80| Sum| 1. 00| | 7. 4| | 7. 4| | 8. 3| (Rating Scale: 1=very weak; 10=very strong) General speaking, Sony with PS2 has performance very well in the industry. However, Xbox had beaten Sony’s PS3. Then Nintendo’s Wii has very strong performance to become industry leader. Thus, Nintendo seems to have best performance in the industry. The table above shows the ratings and scores of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft have the same score, 7. 4 and Nintendo has higher score, 8. 3. Although Nintendo do not have strong technological capabilities, it has powerful marketing strategic and variety products to access more distribution. Its product can reach more population to use and weaker technological capabilities become its strength to increase the sales volume. Therefore, I gave rating 8 for the acceptable development and production costs which is higher than Sony and Microsoft. Therefore, the overall rating of Nintendo shows that it has best performance in the industry. 7. What recommendations would you make to Microsoft to win the next generation battle in the video game console industry? to Sony? to Nintendo? Microsoft According to the revenue data, we can see Microsoft has less revenue than Sony and Nintendo. Also the sale unit of Microsoft products are not as mane as Sony and Nintendo. Therefore, I recommend that Microsoft should increase sale volume of its products. Xbox may be popular in America but how about Asia? Asia is a potential place to increase the sale. Therefore, Microsoft may need to create the new generation product can fit more population taste. Sony Sony should remember the lesson of launching PS3. Although it had pressure to launch PS3 earlier, the product was not ready yet to public. This situation can drag more profit down than launching PS3 later. Therefore, I recommend that Sony should make the marketing plan well and prepare more than one back up plan to face the rivals’ new products. Sony should have ability to predict or estimate actions of competitors. Nintendo Nintendo has strong performance of its Wii. Wii is design to reach more population so the key features of Wii are not as strong as Sony Play Station and Microsoft Xbox. Now, Wii has been successful to reach more population, and then I will recommend that Nintendo should figure out how to improve its technological abilities. The consumers cannot be always satisfied with the simple designs. Moreover, Nintendo has famous software game such as Mario Brothers. The game is many people childhood memories. Nintendo could make serial products for the special anniversary of Mario Brothers. Many people would like to collect the serial products, such as the first generation Mario Brother game. This is Nintendo’s strength and Nintendo should use it.

HIV AIDS

HIV AIDS Free Online Research Papers HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection has now spread to every country in the world. Approximately 40 million people are currently living with HIV infection, and an estimated 25 million have died from this disease. The HIV virus has been particularly devastating in Africa, but infection rates in other countries remain high. In the United States, approximately 1 million people are currently infected. Globally, 85% of HIV transmission is heterosexual. In the United States, approximately one-third of new diagnoses appear to be related to heterosexual transmission. Male-to-male sexual contact still accounts for approximately half of new diagnoses in the U.S. Intravenous drug use contributes to the remaining cases. The diagnosis may occur years after infection, there is a higher proportion of recent infections due to heterosexual transmission. Infections in women are increasing. Worldwide, 42% of people with HIV are women. In the United States, approximately 25% of new dia gnoses are in women, and the proportion is rising. New HIV infections in U.S. children have fallen dramatically, with only 28 cases reported in 2007. This is largely a result of testing and treating infected mothers, as well as establishing uniform testing guidelines. HIV infection is commonly diagnosed by blood tests that detect antibodies the body makes in an attempt to fight the virus. It can take time for the immune system to produce enough antibodies for the antibody test to detect them. This time period is commonly referred to as the window period and may take six weeks to three months following infection. If the initial test after exposure is negative, a repeat test should be performed three months later. Early testing is critical; because early treatment for HIV helps people avoid or minimize complications. High-risk behaviors can be avoided; preventing the spread of the virus to others is impertinent. HIV is transmitted when the virus enters the body, usually by injecting infected cells or semen. There are several possible ways in which the virus can enter the body. Most commonly, HIV infection is spread by having sex with an infected partner. The virus can enter the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum, or mouth during sex. HIV also frequently spreads among injection-drug users who share needles or syringes that are contaminated with blood from an infected person. Women can transmit HIV to their babies during pregnancy or birth, when infected maternal cells enter the babys circulation. HIV also can be spread in health-care settings through accidental needle sticks or contact with contaminated fluids. Very rarely, HIV spreads through transfusion of contaminated blood or blood components. Blood products are now tested to minimize this risk. If tissues or organs from an infected person are transplanted, the recipient may acquire HIV. Donors are now tested for HIV to minimize this risk. People, who already have a sexually transmitted disease, are more likely to acquire HIV infection during sex with an infected partner. The virus does not spread through casual contact such as food preparation, sha ring towels and bedding, swimming pools, telephones, or toilet seats. The virus is also unlikely to be spread by contact with saliva, unless it is contaminated with blood. With pertaining to symptoms many people with HIV do not know they are infected. Many people do not develop symptoms after they first get infected with HIV. Others have a flu-like illness within several days to weeks after exposure to the virus. They complain of fever, headache, tiredness, and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck. These symptoms usually disappear on their own within a few weeks. After that, the person feels normal and has no symptoms. This asymptomatic phase often lasts for years. The progression of disease varies widely among individuals. This state may last from a few months to more than 10 years. During this period, the virus continues to multiply actively and infects and kills the cells of the immune system. The virus destroys the cells that are the primary infection fighters, called CD 4 cells. Even though the person has no symptoms, he or she is contagious and can pass HIV to others. AIDS is the later stage of HIV infection, when the body begins losing its ability to fight infections. Once an infected person is said to have AIDS the person has unusual infections or cancers that show how weak the immune system is: The infections that happen with AIDS are called opportunistic infections because they take advantage of the opportunity to infect a weakened host. Over the past 10 years, several drugs have become available to fight both the HIV infection. There is no cure for HIV/AIDS. Therapy is initiated and individualized under the supervision of an expert physician in the care of HIV-infected patients. A combination of drugs is recommended to suppress the virus from replicating and boost the immune system. Despite the efforts by many qualified scientist, there is no effective vaccine against HIV. The only way to prevent infection by the virus is to avoid behaviors that put you at risk, such as sharing needles or having unprotected sex. Unprotected sex means sex without a barrier, such as a condom. Even though condoms are said to be safe, they do often break. Many people infected with HIV dont have any symptoms. There is no way to know with certainty whether a sexual partner is infected. One of the preventions of being infected with the HIV/AIDS virus is to abstain from sex. This is not the preferred way, but it absolutely protects against HIV transmission by this route. Use a condom in other situations. Condoms offer some protection if it is used properly. Occasionally, they may break or leak. Only condoms made of latex, or water-based lubricants should be used. Do not share needles or inject illicit drugs. If you work in a health-care field, follow national guidelines for protecting yourself against needle sticks and exposure to contaminated fluids. There is no cur e for HIV infection. Before we had any treatment for the virus, people with AIDS lived only for a couple of years. Medications have improved the outlook and survival rates. Prevention efforts have reduced HIV infection in young children and have the potential to limit new infections in other populations. Medications have extended the average life expectancy, and many people can expect to live for years with proper treatment. An increasing number of patients have a normal life expectancy if they adhere carefully to medication regimens. Medications help the immune system recover and fight infections and prevent cancers from occurring. In time the virus may become resistant to the available drugs, and the manifestations of AIDS may develop. Drugs used to treat HIV and AIDS do not cure the infection. It is important for the person to remember that he or she is still contagious. Intensive research efforts are being focused on developing new and better treatments. Although currently there is no promising vaccine, scientist today still strives to improve and develop a better system of treatment and cures for the disease. Research Papers on HIV A Unilever ProductThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesResearch Process Part OneArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)

Holding Debates in Middle School Classes

Holding Debates in Middle School Classes Debates are wonderful, high-interest activities that can add great value to lessons for middle school students. They provide students with a change from the norm and allow them to learn and use new and different skills. They have the natural appeal of watching controlled disagreements while scoring points. Further, they are not very challenging to create. Here is a great guide explaining how to hold a class debate that shows how easy it can be if you plan ahead. Benefits of Debates One of the greatest benefits of using debates in class is that students will get to practice a number of important skills including: Learning about the topic assigned. Obviously, researching the topic involved provides students with more information than can be gleaned during in-class lessons. Further, by having to argue for or against a proposition, students have to dig deeper into a topic and look at it from both sides.Using important research skills as they prepare for the debate. Researching information is a learned skill. While many students will have been exposed to library use, encyclopedias, and Internet research during their elementary years, they will need to have these skills reinforced and expanded upon. Further, students will need to learn about ways to judge the validity and accuracy of web resources.Working together as a team both before and during the debate itself. Having students work together as they research and then perform the debate can help them learn important skills about cooperation and trust. Of course, as teachers, we have to have methods in place to ensure that all students are workin g. If one or more student is not pulling their weight, then the grades of the other team members should not be penalized. Practicing public speaking skills. Debates provide students with necessary practice for public speaking made easier by passionately arguing their point of view. This skill will be important for them the rest of their educational and possibly work career.Using critical thinking skills in a real world setting. Debates require students to think on their feet. When one team makes a valid point, the other team needs to be able to marshall their resources and come up with an effective response. Challenges for Middle School Teachers For these and other reasons, teachers often want to include debates in their lesson plans. However, implementing debates in middle school classes can sometimes be quite challenging. There are a number of reasons for this including: Varying maturity levels. Students in middle school are typically between the ages of 11 and 13. This is such a transitional period for students. Personal behavior and maintaining focus can be a challenge at times.Students may not have the necessary research skills. In many cases, students will not have had to research information in the way needed to do a good job in a class debate. Therefore, it is very important that you spend the time helping them prepare.Students may be self-conscious. Public speaking can be daunting. Having them act as a team can help. Creating Successful Debates Debates are a great part of a teachers repertoire of activities. However, there are a few caveats that must be remembered to make the debate successful. Pick your topic wisely, ensuring that it is acceptable for middle school students. Use the following list for great ideas in middle school debate topics.Publish your rubric before the debate. Your debate rubric helps students see how they will be graded.Consider holding a practice debate early in the year. This can be a fun debate where students learn the mechanics of the debate activity and can practice with a topic that they might already know a lot about.Figure out what you are going to do with the audience. You will probably want to keep your team down to about 2 to 4 students. Therefore, you will need to hold a number of debates in order to keep the grading consistent. At the same time, you will have the majority of your class watching as the audience. Give them something upon which they will be graded. You might have them fill out a sheet about each sides position. You might have them come up with and ask questions of each debate team. However, what you dont want is 4 to 8 stud ents involved in the debate and the rest of the class not paying attention and possibly causing distractions. Make sure that the debate does not become personal. There should be some basic ground rules established and understood. The debate should focus on the topic at hand and never on the people on the debate team. Make sure to build consequences into the debate rubric.

Seeing the Forests for the Trees Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Seeing the Forests for the Trees - Research Paper Example The Jocassee gorge location is on high elevation. The location significantly affects the rainfall due to the Orographic lift. These happen when an air mass is forced from a low to higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain, this accounts for 2,000 feet (609m).As the air gain altitude, it expands and cools raising the relative humidity to 100% hence creating clouds and frequent precipitation. The forest has more than 60 species of rare and endemic plants good for botanist. The forest also has five streams flowing through gorges state park; these streams supply water to the forest over the ridge escarpment. Jocassee Gorges has 125 plants and animal species and its 12 endangered plant and animal species. This plants includes, Pringles aquatic moss and Carolina star moss, other species includes mountain laurel, rhododendron, white pine, red oak, and hickories. Animal species includes fox, wild boar, wild turkey, black bear, and white-tailed deer, and with the highest population of green salamanders. Forest diseases and pest have been a big problem in different countries globally; threatening the lifespan trees in the forest. There are a number of diseases and pest that affect the development of the healthy plants in the forest. Include threats such as those posed by fungal pathogen, Phytophora Rumorum, as noted by (Evans & Webber, 2002) Forest have major threats of diseases such beech bark disease, Dutch elm disease, dogwood anthracnose, larch canker, butternut canker and others such as chestnut bright. In most cases, different diseases and pest attack on forest may vary between certain weather conditions. A forest act as a habitat to many living organisms, some may be destructive to the forest while others are harmful. The forests provide food to different living organism, but if not controlled, the harmful organism can be dangerous to the forest. Diseases constantly must be controlled, and regularly checked in