The symptoms of schizophrenia at an early stage and treatment can be Research Paper

The symptoms of schizophrenia at an early stage and treatment can be provided to the patien - Research Paper Example This essay analyzes schizophrenia as a brain disorder where a person is unable to think in a normal way rather the thoughts are distorted, actions as well as emotions are abnormal. The perception of the person is unclear and the individual displays massive amount of behavioral as well as biological perturbation and therefore schizophrenia is regarded as split personality disorder. Schizophrenia is a condition of intricacy of devastating illness, a pathophysiological phenotypic observation is required and thus a thorough understanding of the condition is imperative for the timely cure. Innovative methods must be implemented to enhance the pace of diagnosis of the condition. The present research proposal encompasses innovative methods to diagnose the condition of schizophrenia and implementation of appropriate and timely measures. The proposed study is based on the symptom rating scale scores, although redundancy is observed in the rating scales but a association is essential to highli ght the positive and negative characteristics of schizophrenia on the PANS scale. One of the major problems of treatment of patients with mental illness is non adherence to psychotropic medications. Non-adherence to psychotropic medication has soared as high as 90% in the first year in patients taking psychotropic medications. Observation reveals that patients with schizophrenia normally stop their antipsychotic medications mainly because they do not consider the requirement of the medicines to be essential for their well-being and also due to lack of understanding of the mental illness.... One of the drawbacks of PROS encompasses the non-addressed symptoms within the first three visits. If the patient sees Associate Chief Psychiatrist, an evidence based practitioner and a social worker who will be performing the administration of the test. It is essential to procure the opinion of these three individuals in order to achieve success. Problem Statement One of the major problems of treatment of patients with mental illness is non adherence to psychotropic medications. Non-adherence to psychotropic medication has soared as high as 90% in the first year in patients taking psychotropic medications (Weiden, 2007). Observation reveals that patients with schizophrenia normally stop their antipsychotic medications mainly because they do not consider the requirement of the medicines to be essential for their well-being and also due to lack of understanding of the mental illness (Sajatovic, 2010). Severe symptoms cause frustration in patients making them unendurable to participate in groups. Despite extensive evidence and agreement on effective mental health practices for persons with severe mental illness, research shows that routine mental health programs do not provide evidence based practices on the great majority of their patients with such illness (Drake, 2001). Evidence based practice is not always used in the program setting, however the present proposal aims at developing and implementing evidence based practice in the organization. The research proposes a methodology that is able to combat problems in the implementation of the PROS ( Personal Recovery Oriented Services), protocols. Description of organization The present proposal is to be implemented in capstone, a

School Closing Essay Example for Free

School Closing Essay Abstract When I was in school many years age classes were over crowed and merely getting a seat was was an issue, and my parents paid for my education. Being a former resident of Philadelphia I completely understand why parents our out raged at our law makers. There is two sides to every story and I can truly say I understand both in this case. Politicans are also outraged by this what seems to an injustice to our future Doctors, Lawyers and law makers, which may be non exsistent in the future due to the buget crisis and our public as well as catholic schools losing the battle to low enrollment. One editor wrote (Dixon,2012) Why Isnt Closing 40 Philadelphia Public Schools National News? â€Å"In what should be the biggest story of the week, the city of Philadelphias school system announced Tuesday that it expects to close 40 public schools next year and 64 by 2017. The school district expects to lose 40% of current enrollment to charter schools, the streets or wherever, and put thousands of experienced, well qualified teachers, often grounded in the communities where they teach, on the street†. The media has a way of getting their points across however, sadly this is true and close to my heart because I grew up in philadelphia back in the late 70s early 80s and it was no walk in the park than. Closing public and parochicoal schools will merely increase crime and damage our economy even more. School Closing In early January last year the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced that five catholic high schools as well as 44 elementary would be closing or merging to avoid having to close. Here we are a year later and the guns are locked, loaded and pointed directly at the inner city children. A couple weeks ago the Philadelphia public school system announced that they will be closing 37 inner city public schools. How can the children be our future and take our country to a better place if we do not invest in ther education its really sad that we have money for war but not for education. Superintendent Dr. William R. Hite (Hite,2013) introduced Philadelphia parents, teachers, and students to his â€Å"Action Plan†. The Action Plan is built around two anchor goals – improve academic outcomes for students in all schools and ensure the financial stability and sustainability of the School District. The primary objective is to align all employees’ work to six strategies and more than 50 actions. The plan also intends to signal a comprehensive overview of ongoing and future work in addition to performance metrics for accountability to families, students and community and business partners. â€Å"This Action Plan emphasizes solutions to basic problems based on evidence and facts,† said Dr. Hite. â€Å"We must use data and research more effectively than we’ve done in the past. We are getting back to the basics – doing what works and doing it well.† What Dr. Hite failed to add in his plan was a safe haven for our future (children).

One Of The Latest Buzzwords Tourism Essay

One Of The Latest Buzzwords Tourism Essay One of the latest buzzwords that have come into general usage in the world of tourism is that of Integrated Resorts. Over the last two decades, a number of large tourist integrated resorts have been developed around the world, many of which have become highly popular holiday destinations. The growth in tourism generated by these integrated resorts has brought significant economic and social benefits to their respective countries, including increased foreign exchange earnings, direct and indirect employment. In addition, the resorts development has stimulated local and regional development, encouraging new local industries and international trade. The success of these integrated resorts can be largely attributed to the adoption of an integrated approach to their development, caretirl planning and implementation that took into consideration regional environmental, economic and socio-cultural factors. This kind of approach helps minimise environmental, socio-economic and marketing probl ems often associated with uncontrolled tourism development. The development of integrated resorts has grown rapidly over the last two decades also as a reaction to the proliferation of unplanned beach resorts. On the supply side, many governments have increasingly turned to integrated resort developments in an attempt to improve the well-being of the local population by generating iobs and increasing income, and private investors have seen integrated resorts as a way to maximise their profits, while on the demand side, statistics are not available on the relative proportion of tourist demand for integrated resorts. In the context of globalisation and widening international tourist markets, it is acknowledged that integrated resorts offer great opportunities to visitors for leisure, recreation and sports, but due to the difficulty in assessing the impacts that may result from the construction of an integrated resort, as plans for integrated resorts are developed by consultancy iiirms and private investors that rarely publish or divulge their secrets before resort operation, most research has been conducted only after the construction of integrated resorts. The notion of integrated resorts came into plrominence in Mauritius after the successful approval ofthe environmental impact assessment report and construction of Tamarina Golf, Spa and Beach Club that is the first integrated resort in Mauritius. 1.1 Tourism Industrv in Mauritius Mauritius has considerable natural advantages as a holiday destination such as beautiful coral beaches, warm clear lagoons, colouriixl reefs, picturesque mountains, a subtropical climate, a southern hemisphere location, an atmosphere that is exotically different, yet safe and stable, and people who are friendly and welcoming. These Advantages have been exploited with attractive well run hotels with good amenities, direct and reliable air services, efficient supporting infrastructure and effective marketing as an up-market quality destination. It is therefore hardly surprising that tourist arrivals have been rising by more than 8 percent a year and the tourism industry has become one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy, accounting for 19 per cent of gross export earnings and providing employment directly and indirectly for about 50,000 people. However, there are problems. Average spending per visitor has not been going up as fast as hoped, and there have been some signs of adverse reactions at tourist numbers and behaviour. Infrastructure constraints have developed in the form of congestion at peak times at the airport and inadequate efiluent treatment leading to deterioration in water quality in some of the lagoons_ In the longer term, there will be more general environmental constraints, in the form of limits to the capacity for absorbing ever increasing numbers of visitors in a small densely populated country with a finite length of beaches and a sensitive coastal ecology. It will be necessary in fixture to place a ceiling on the number of tourists in order to protect the environment and, indeed, the fixture of the tourism industry itself Mauritius has been very successful in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the 197Os. However there has been a decline in the growth of FDI since the mid-19S0s, particularly i n the manufacturing sector. However, FDI growth has started to pick up again since 2005, led by the tourism sector, particularly the Integrated Resort Scheme as illustrated below. Foreign Direct Investment by Sector, 2003-2007 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 (USD million) Export Processing Zone 2.7 8.7 3.6 2.8 2.2 Tourism 3.4 4.2 18.2 83.0 144.0 Banking 46.0 10.9 15.4 111.0 70.0 Telecommunications 0 1.3 5 _ 9 1 .4 0. 5 Other 16.8 37.8 52.0 30.7 64.3 Total 68.9 62.9 95.1 228.9 281.0 As illustrated above, tourism has proved to be a credible alternative source of foreign currency earnings. However the country will not be able to cope with a policy of mass tourism which is unsustainable. Also the characteristic of the country, which is a Small Island Developing States (SIDS) facing special disadvantages associated with small size, insularity, remoteness and proneness to natural disasters, limits the prospect of tourism development. Hence since the economy of the country is highly vulnerable and the totnism industry having reached its carrying capacity, therefore sustainable tourism development is very instrumental. Mauritius has therefore resorted to the rejuvenation of its tourism life cycle, as this is nearing or has reached the stagnation stage, through the development of an alternative luxurious product known as Integrated Resort, as illustrated below. This good mix of tourism and real estate development has been high on governmentsagenda and has led to governments intervention in the tourism sector with the twin objective of tourism rejuvenation and FDI increase. 1.2 Aims of study The development of the tourism industry in Mauritius has been considered as an important economic diversification tool for the nation. Realizing the importance of the tourism industry in the economic development of Mauritius, government has initiated the Integrated Resort Scheme. Therefore the aim of this dissertation is primarily to conduct an investigation regarding development and impacts of integrated resort in Mauritius. 1.3 Objectives of study This study purports to investigate the anticipated and current socio-economic and environmental impacts of integrated resorts in the Mauritian context. In particular, this study will aim to achieve the following objectives: To investigate the context of integrated resort development and its aims and objectives in the development of Mauritius tourism. To know the criticisms about the initiation of integrated resort in Mauritius. To determine the positive impact of integrated resort in terms of society, economy and environment of Mauritius. To know the negative impact of integrated resorts in terms of society, economy and environment of Mauritius. To recommend guidelines for sustainable integrated resort development and minimizing negative impacts of integrated resort development. This good mix of tourism and real estate development has been high on governmentsagenda and has led to governments intervention in the tourism sector with the twin objective of tourism rejuvenation and FDI increase. 1.2 Aims of study The development of the tourism industry in Mauritius has been considered as an important economic diversification tool for the nation. Realizing the importance of the tourism industry in the economic development of Mauritius, government has initiated the Integrated Resort Scheme. Therefore the aim of this dissertation is primarily to conduct an investigation regarding development and impacts of integrated resort in Mauritius. 1.3 Objectives of study This study purports to investigate the anticipated and current socio-economic and environmental impacts of integrated resorts in the Mauritian context. In particular, this study will aim to achieve the following objectives: 0 To investigate the context of integrated resort development and its aims and objectives in the development of Mauritius tourism. 0 To know the criticisms about the initiation of integrated resort in Mauritius. 0 To determine the positive impact of integrated resort in terms of society, economy and environment of Mauritius. 0 To know the negative impact of integrated resorts in terms of society, economy and environment of Mauritius. 0 To recommend guidelines for sustainable integrated resort development and minimising negative impacts of integrated resort development. Chapter 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 Tourism Impact Mauritius has built its successful up market tourism sector on a fragile and vulnerable natural resource. The growth of the tourist industry in an unplanned manner has led to the following negative impacts:  » High volume tourism has made an enormous impact on parts of the coast. There are plenty of examples of virtually every imaginable type of tourism impact on the environment, including the destruction of coastal wetlands and other sensitive environments, organic pollution and coastal erosion for example. Flic en Flac. 0 There are problems associated with monitonng and auditing due to institutional weaknesses. Most casual tourists bring their own equipment and are relatively self-contained, thus bringing in minimal cash into the country while making a large impact on the enviromnent for example tourists from Reunion and other islands of the Indian Ocean. y 2.2 Tourism Environmental Impacts The natural environment is under increasing threat hom unmanaged human activities, and in assessing the impacts of tourism, it is essential to adopt a holistic view that recognises both the direct and indirect consequences of tourism activities and their intrinsic link with other sectors (Glenn Kreag 2001). Growth in the tourism sector may generate new impacts on the coastal zone but also raise the intensity of existing impacts by placing additional burdens on resources that are already overextended. For this is a feature of human settlement and not just of tomism. However, where this is exacerbated by a significant increase in the number of visitors and people employed within the industry, the tourism sector must take responsibility for providing solutions to the causes of environmental degradation. The major environmental impacts identified and theiR direct consequences on tourism development as well as impacts associated with activities that support the tourism sector are highligh ted as: * Water Resources and River Ecosystem * Estuaries and Wetlands * Soil Erosion and Sedimentation * Waste Disposal and Pollution * Coastal Erosion * Marine Resources * Recreational Activities 2.3 Tourism Economic Impact In the developing world, economic impacts frequently outweigh other considerations when it comes to tourism development. The need for foreign exchange and the ease by which the industry can be developed relative to other sectors, makes tourism development a national priority (Glenn Kreag 2001), It is therefore important to have a clear understanding of the tourism industr`ys economic impacts, particularly because not all of them are positive. These impacts are the primary impacts, employment opportunities, impacts on the labour force, inflation and the availability of essential resources and over-reliance on tourism. 2.4 Classification of Impact There are several ways of looking at economic impacts. The following classification of impacts reflects the multi-sectoral nature oftourism: Primary Impacts arise from the inflow of foreign cash as a result of visitor expenditure. They are fairly well recorded by banks and businesses such as airlines, hotels and restaurants. They are relatively easy to measure. Secondary Impacts arise when the currency inflows penetrate to other sectors. This happens when the tourism industry passes some of its business on to other businesses, for instance, when an airline company contracts to provide on-board meals. Wages earned by people involved in sport services also fall into this category. Tertiary effects arise when currency flows are not the result of tourist expenditure, but when the practise of tourism led to other opportunities. For instance, a filmmaker on holiday in Mauritius may decide to use that country as the venue for his or her next film. Or a tourist may be so enchanted with the sandy beaches and blue lagoons of Mauritius that he or she buys a bungalow. From the above, it can be seen that the total economic impact of tourism is very hard to calculate indeed, but it would be wise to commission a thorough analysis of the tourism industry results. For instance, the high percentage of foreign workers in the tourism industry results in wages ending up going to their home countries which reduces the net benefit to the host Country. 2.5 Tourism Social and Cultural Impacts The socio-cultural impacts of tourism are basically the consequences of either the development of the tourism industry or the presence of the tourists (and the characteristics of the tourist-host relationship) (Sharpley 1994). The table below contains a comprehensive list of these impacts, following the classification adapted from Pizam Milman (1984), and Burdge (1994). The social and cultural impacts of tourism can be vast, and unfortunately many of them are negative. They include: 0 An intrusion of western culture into the host population. The tendency is often for local people to try to emulate westem consumerism. In new destinations, local populations are often not aware that many tourists work hard most of the year and then take time off for leisure. Instead, the tourists appear to have a lifestyle that is only enviable and the temptation to mimic them in terms of- dress or personal assets such as watches, sunglasses, etc, is great. 0 Value systems may be eroded, particularly in poor areas where tourists can be seen as an opportunity to make a fast buck. This may lead to theft prostitution, and sometimes violent crimes. Local customs are often not respected by tourists who may be unaware or insensitive to them. It is critically important that the government and other role players make tourists aware of such issues; Valuable cultural artefacts are olten bought by tourists, and shipwrecks are regularly plundered. The table below show some of the main impact of tourism on a country IDIPACTS IDF TOUllISlI Positive Negative Impacts on population Population increase (immigration, no emigration) Immigration of seasonal workforce (positive in case of lack of labour negative in case of unemployment) Presence of second home owners (positive if involved in community life negative if not involved) Changes in population distribution (by age, sex, race, ethnicity) Urbanisation of population Changes in labour market New jobs Seasonal jobs New types of jobs in tourism Unskilled jobs Increased value of knowledge, language Lack of labour in traditional sectors skills Economic diversification Increased economic inequality Stimulation of underdeveloped regions I Changes in community structure, characteristics Income from tourism Increase in the number of temporary residents (not very committed) Growing importance of service sector i Conflicts with second home owners Stimulation of social, cultural life Difficulties in acquiring real estate Increase in the value of land Increase in real estate prices s Development of infrastructure Increase in prices, intlation Wider opportunity for shopping Loss tiw Improvement in the destination image Transformation of value systems Increase in residents pride in their Religious conflicts settlement l (with second home owners, with tourists) Decrease of prejudices, disappearance of Overdependence on tourism stereotypes, increase in tolerance Congestion Traiiic problems Transformation of social stratification (owners of totuist resources rise, owners of traditional resources fell) Impacts on individual and family level Increase in social mobility i Disruption of social networks p (especially among the young and women) i Improvement in leisure opportunities Changes in the rhythm of life _ Meeting new people, wider social Loss of importance of liiendship Improvement in the quality of life Increase in perception of danger (due to increased criminality) Language skills Xenophobia Income hom totuism Commercialised hospitality Improvement in attitudes toward work, Deviant behaviours (alcoholism, politeness, manners prostitution, I gambling, drug abuse vandalism) Local language suppressed Increased sexual permissiveness Transformation of family structure Transformation of consumer habits Changes in housing conditions Transformation of behaviour (demonstration effect) Impacts on cultural and natural resources Protection of rare resoufces of Disappearance of local habits, traditions outstanding beauty Revival of local arts, crafts, cultLual Commercialisatknl of culture events Revival of local architectural traditions Littering, pollution 2.6 Conception and Development of Integrated Resort in Mauritius Mauritius has during recent years been facing serious economic problems owing to the need to comply with free trade agreements and globalisation. This has severely affected sugar and textile exports, two major pillars of the natio al economy, and consequently our balance of payment. Despite serious economic problems, Mauritius has succeeded in realising a remarkable economic transformation due to a diversified economy resting on other pillars like financial and business services sector and that of tourism, hospitality and property development. Hence the development of the Integrated Resort Scheme can be seen as an economic strategy. As a national strategy the Mauritian government has come along with the introduction of the IRS under the Investment Promotion Act 2000 through the Investment Promotion (Integrated Resort Scheme) Regulations 2002 in order to boost up foreign direct investment which is a necessary component in the fight to compensate for the decrease in sugar and textile income inflow. This has been a strategic attempt with the twofold objective, firstly to attract more foreign direct investment and secondly to strike a more favourable balance of payment. Hence recently Hospitality and Property Development have emerged, attracting substantial investment fiom both local and foreign investors under Investment Promotion Regulations 2007 which promotes the Real Estate Development Scheme comprising of IRS and RES (Real Estate Scheme) projects which are expected to be implemented in the next few years. The objective of the Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) is to attract mainly high net-worth non-citizens into Mauritius by allowing them to acquire luxury villas of international standing and at the same time providing high-class amenities and facilities including golf course, marina, individual swimming pool, catering, nautical and other sport facilities and health centre within the boundaries of the integrated resort area. The acquisition of a villa for residential purposes by a foreigner under the Scheme will allow the foreigner his family to reside in Mauritius as long as he holds the property. Whilst the Investment Promotion Act 2000 expresses governments political will to expand the economic sector by creating the Board of Investment, the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 enhances business opportunities towards IRS projects. The Investment Promotion Act 2000 and Investment Promotion Regulations 2007 provide the legal framework for guidelines with regard to the implementation of these projects. The Finance Act 2007 introduced amendme ts to the following Acts of Parliament in order to regulate the promotion, implementation and marketing of IRS projects in Mauritius: 0 Investment Promotion Act 0 Land (Duties and Taxes) Act 0 Morcellement Act 0 Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act 0 Registration Duty Act  » Sugar Industry Efiiciency Act 2001 0 Environment Protection Act 2002 Here under is a list of IRS projects currently being implemented: Solares at Flic en Flac, Villas Valriche, Les Villas Telfair, Les Salines, La Balise Marina, Domaine de lHarmonie, Barachois villas and River Club. A few other projects have received their letter of approval recently and upon compliance to conditions laid down they will receive their IRS certificates. In some other cases the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report, which analyses the environmental, biophysical and social impact of a proposed development, is being scrutinised in order to ensure that the proposed development is sustainable. The Integrated Resort Scheme provides:  » for the development of luxury residential units of international standing on freehold land of more than 10 hectares to be sold at a price exceeding USD 500,000  » high-class leisure and commercial amenities and facilities intended to enhance the residential units. These may include but not limited to, golf course, marina, nautical and other sport facilities, shopping mall, restaurant and wellness centre. 0 day-to-day management services such as security, maintenance, gardening, solid waste disposal and household services have to be provided to the residents. 0 for a social contribution in terms of social amenities, community development and other facilities for the benefit of the neighbouring community where the IRS project is implemyed/ However the following conditions concerning the eligibility for the acquisition of residential property from an IRS Company have to be complied with: (a) a non-citizen of Mauritius (b) a citizen of Mauritius (c) a company registered as a foreign company under the Companies Act 2001 (d) a company incorporated under the Companies Act 2001 (e) a Socià ©tà ©, where its deed of formation is deposited with the Registrar of Companies (l) a trust, where the trusteeship services are provided by a qualified trustee licensed by the Financial Services Commission It is instrumental to examine the importance and justification of the IRS in Mauritius liom a scientific point of view. Integrated resorts initiatives and development can be primarily viewed from the macro-economic perspective of foreign capital inflow (FDI) where as on the other hand they can be explained from the perspective of the market failure concept which has necessitated the rejuvenation process of the resort cycle in Mauritius. The strong linkages of tourism and IRS with other economic sectors should be the key in realising that tourism and new products are a powerful factor for economic growth and employment. This can clearly be seen by the nature of tourism and permanent residence needs, that is to say, as an industry it calls for goods and services such as: transportation, food, fuel, water and electricity, crafts, tour services, entertainment, communication, etc. These linkages have always had a positive economic impact in Mauritius. Of coLuse tourism and HKS development not only benefit the private sector but contribute significantly to government revenues in the form of sales, business, corporate, personal, departure and of course, import levies. 2.7 The Rationale for Government Intervention in Mauritius Tourism Sector Continuing globalization of competition has given confirmation to the market-oriented view entertained by the Mauritian government which justifies its intervention in the tourism sector by creating the integrated resort scheme to favour our export oriented strategy. It is believed that markets should be given primacy in the production and distribution of goods and services while government should provide the proper institutional infrastructure for markets to function properly. In cases of ket failure government should intervene to correct any imperfection and intervention is also justified because the more important the sector is to the economy, the greater intervention should be in order to ensure socially compatible objectives that foster sustainable development. The public sector can exercise varying degree of influence over the direction of tourism development by acting on both the demand side and supply side (Akehurst et al, 1994). In Mauritius the demand management policies and the management of its supply side must be seen to go in pair with governments macro-stabilization policy in an attempt to reach a state of equilibrium. Micro policies have to be endorsed to make markets function better. Govemmenfs political structure and the functioning of rivate institutions have to go in pair as well, Barriers and rigidities should be removed so that new projects like integrated resort development could function more efficiently. Without appropriate macro-economic policies market-oriented projects in the tourism sector will have to struggle for survival. Thus the role of government in ensuring a better economic climate is of vital importance to improve returns in the lCOl1I`lSII1 Sà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬CfO!` The Mauritian government had taken actions to correct market failure in the economic and tourism sector by rntroducrng the integrated resort development that is the integrated resort scheme Market failure arises from a situation where the riee market does not guarantee environmental protection and community involvement rn development process Since the tourism sector rn Mauritius rs not an integrated

Spiritualism Essay -- Parapsychology Essays, 2015

â€Å"Don't you remember anything?! There is no 'devil.' There is no 'hell.' There is only Unrest. There is no down, only sideways; the transparent beside the opaque, and a thin wall to separate them.† ― Leanna Renee Hieber, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy According to Merriam-webster.com, Spiritualism is a â€Å"belief that spirits of the dead communicate with the living, usually through a medium†. However, Spiritualism is more than a belief. Ever since the Spiritualist movement began and spread in the 1800’s, Spiritualism has evolved into a religion that continues to be practiced today. Contacting the dead is not a pleasant subject for most people however, although Spiritualism used to be casually practiced everyday in the homes of the Victorians in the 1800s. How did something that once used to be a method of being able to re-unite with your beloved, dead, grandparents warp into something that incites fear? Spiritualism was founded by the Fox sisters back in 1848 when Margaretta and Kate Fox claimed to have heard mysterious rappings in their little home in Hydesville, New York. Apparently, their house was reputed to be haunted before the Fox family moved in and there were claims of unexplainable sounds and furniture moving on their own. Margaretta and Fox started speaking to the spirit who was allegedly haunting their home and they eventually developed a system for communicating with it. The Fox sisters would ask the spirit a question and they would get answers in return through the form of rappings. For example, they would interpret one rap for â€Å"yes† or two for â€Å"no† or they would interpret the number of rapping’s given for a letter in an alphabet. It wasn’t long before the neighbors heard about the Fox sisters’ new found abilities and gathered at their house to witness the spirit rappings for themselves. Soon, they were giving performances in major towns, and that was when the rapping phenomena began to spread. The Fox sisters gained fame through their public sà ©ances and it wasn’t long before other people started claiming that they were also able to speak with spirits and other forms of communicating with the dead were created such as table tipping and slate writing. The Victorian era was marked by â€Å"romanticism  and mysticism with regard to religion, social values, and the arts† (http://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/dr-rescher-english-... ... each other. The information that I have learned regarding this topic has helped me a lot in developing my plot for a comic book that I am working on for Senior Show titled â€Å"Post-Mortem†. My story is set in the Victorian era where two brothers lament the loss of their loved ones. The older brother especially has a hard time coping with the loss of his fiancà ©, and the little brother tries to contact her and bring her back. However, instead of drawing back in the beautiful and kind fiancà © he ends up bringing back one that is hungry for revenge. Even though my story is based in the Victorian era where contacting the dead had nothing to do with evil spirits, I wanted to make my story more modern by adding a macabre touch. Works Cited McClenon, James. "The Scientific Investigation of Wondrous Events."  Wondrous Events: Foundation of Religious Belief, University of Pennsylvania Press(1994): 185-207. Print. Simpkins, Sarah. "Dr. Rescher   English 204."  STUDYBLUE. STUDY BLUE, 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. . Roach, Mary.  Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005. Print.

Personality and Ability Essay

1) What determines our individual characteristics? In other words, is personality and ability determined by our genes, our environment, or some combination of both? a. What percentage of our personality is determined by our genes? 35 -49% b. What percentage of our ability is determined by our genes? 60% 2) What are the different taxonomies for classifying an individual’s personality? a. The Big Five – This taxonomy consists of five traits: Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, and Extraversion. It reliably measures personality traits and validly predicts many job outcomes. b. The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory – This taxonomy is one of the most popular. Unfortunately, it is not very reliable (take it once and you might be classified as an ESTJ, take it again and you might be classified as an ISFP). It also isn’t very valid. Why isn’t it valid? Well, for one, it isn’t reliable. (And remember, reliability is a precursor for validity). For another, it doesn’t really separate well from bad performers. This scale is not commonly used for selection or promotion purposes, but it is commonly used for teambuilding purposes†¦We both take the test, then we say, â€Å"Wow, look at me. I’m an ESTJ†¦I ’m such an extraverted senser. What are you? An ISFJ? Oh that’s so cool. We are both senser and judgers. Let’s be good teammates now.† c. Holland’s RIASEC model (named after a dude, not the region of the Netherlands). This taxonomy is used to guide people into career fields†¦not much else. So, the main takeaway here is that on the question that asks, â€Å"Which taxonomy is best for making selection and promotion decisions?† Choose the Big Five. 3) The Big Five a. What are the Big Five? Conscientiousness: dependable, organized, methodical, reliable, persevering, ambitious, NOT careless, sloppy, inefficient, negligent, lazy and irresponsible Agreeableness: kind, cooperative, sympathetic, helpful, courteous, warm, not critical, not antagonistic, not callous, not selfish, not rude and cold Neuroticism: nervous, moody, emotional, insecure, jealous, unstable NOT calm, steady, relaxed, at ease, secure, contented Openness: curious, imaginative, creative, complex, refined, sophisticated, NOT uninquisitive, conventional, conforming, simple, inartistic, traditional Extraversion: talkative, sociable, passionate, bold, dominant NOT quiet, shy, inhibited, bashful, reserved, submissive b. Which two traits predict task performance across nearly all jobs? Conscientious and neuroticism c. In what types of jobs are the other three traits valid predict of task performance? Agreeableness=service jobs, extraversion=sales or leadership, openness= learning d. How does the strength of the situation impact the degree to which personality predicts task performance? 4) In class, we talked about personality testing. Each student completed a personality survey under (a) an honest condition and (b) a simulated job application condition. a. Was there evidence that faking was a problem? b. What are different techniques for alleviating faking on personality tests? Proactive measures Use forced-choice inventories where applicants have to decide between equally desirable options (e.g., which adjective best describes you: ambitious or helpful?) Use conditional reasoning tests (rather than ask about your personality, ask questions then infer your personality based on your responses) Warn applicants not to fake Require applicants to elaborate on their responses Reactive measures Measure response times Include items designed to catch fakers c. Were we able to eliminate faking? 5) In general, what is the best individual characteristic (out of our personality traits and abilities) for predicting task performance? a. What about if we are trying to predict an individual’s typical task performance? Motivation b. What about if we are trying to predict an individual’s maximal task performance? Ability 6) What characteristic of the job impacts the relationship between cognitive ability and task performance? When is the relationship stronger and when is the relationship weaker? One of the best predictor of job performance. Gold standard in terms of individual difference predictors. Research evidence for the validity of general mental ability measures for predicting job performance is stronger than for any other method. Significantly undervalued by managers On average, conscientiousness is a better predictor of employee performance than intelligence. 72% Increase organizational performance/profitability 7) Emotional ability – What are the dimensions of emotional ability? What do they mean? (If I give you an example, you should be able to tell me which dimension is being portrayed.) Self-awareness: Appraisal and expression of emotions in oneself. The ability of an individual to understand the types of she is experiencing, the willingness to acknowledge them and the capability to express them naturally. Other awareness: appraisal and recognition of emotion in others. Ability to recognize and understand the emotions that other people are feeling. Emotion regulation: ability to recover quickly from emotional experiences. Use of emotions: this capability reflects the degree to which people can harness emotions and employ them to improve their chances of being successful in whatever they’re seeking to. Groups and Teams 1. What is task interdependence? Team members interact with and rely on other team members for the information, materials, and resources needed to accomplish work for the team. a. What are the different types of task interdependence? Pooled interdependence: low task interdependence, easier to manage. Faster Sequential interdependence: different tasks are done in a prescribed order the interaction only occurs between members who perform task that are next to each other in the sequence. The latter part sustain the task after former part. One way interaction. Reciprocal interdependence: same sequential one but this is two way interaction. Comprehensive interdependence: highest level of interaction and coordination among members. High quality output, difficult to manage, more conflict, social loafers or dominant members, more  simulate members, more catches errors, i. If I give you an example of a work team, you should be able to tell me what type work team they are (in terms of task interdependence). Work team, management team, parallel team, project team, action team ii. If I give you a type of work team (in terms of task interdependence), you should be able to tell me how their members interact iii. You should a lso be able to rank the task interdependence types in terms of the degree of coordination required. Comprehensive, reciprocal, sequential, pooled, b. How does increasing the degree of coordination required (aka increasing task interdependence) affect process gains? Teams have more (and more diverse) knowledge / skills / information than the individuals Teams are able to â€Å"divide and conquer† tasks Teams are better at catching errors than the individual who proposed the idea Teams are better at creating and enforcing production norms Teams might stimulate individuals to perform better Teams might stimulate a sense of belongingness Members might learn knowledge / skills / information from other individuals in the team Members might positively impact others’ moods and emotions (emotional contagion) c. How does increasing the degree of coordination required (aka increasing task interdependence) affect process losses? Coordination consumes time and energy that could have been devoted to the task Production blocking Groupthink: Pressure to conform to the team and reluctance to criticize the comments of others Fear of negative evaluations from others may cause members to withhold ideas Some team members may exercise undue influence or monopolize the team’s time Members may exert less effort when working on team tasks (â€Å"social loafing†) Members might negatively impact others’ moods and emotions (emotional contagion) 2. What is goal interdependence? The degree to which team members have a shared goal and align their  individual goals with that vision† The more, the merrier. Increases potential for process gains, decreases potential for process losses a. How does increasing goal interdependence affect process gains? b. How does increasing goal interdependence affect process losses? 3. What is outcome independence? â€Å"The degree to which team members share equally in the feedback and rewards that result from the team achieving its goals. a. How does increasing outcome interdependence affect process gains? Answer: It depends on the situation. b. How does increasing outcome interdependence affect process losses? Answer: It depends on the situation. High outcome interdependence: Team members share in the rewards (pay, bonuses, feedback, recognition, etc.) that the team earns Advantages: promotes cooperation Low outcome interdependence: Individual members receive rewards based on individual performance regardless of team performance Advantages: higher performing members prefer getting more rewards than rest. 4. If task interdependence is high (or low), how should outcome interdependence be designed to maximize the ratio of process gains to process losses? . If task interdependence is high, it is usually better to ensure that outcome interdependence is also high 5. If outcome interdependence is high (or low), how should task interdependence be designed to maximize the ratio of process gains to process losses? If outcome interdependence is low, it is usually better to try to ensure that task interdependence is also low. 6. What are some factors that make up a team’s composition? Member roles, member ability, member personality, team diversity, team size 7. What are the different team roles? If I explain a team role, you should be able to tell me whether it is a team task role, a team building role, or an individualistic role. a. What team roles generally benefit the team? What team role is generally negative? Whereas Task role and team building role benefit the team, individualistic roles are generally negative. 8. What is the relationship between team cognitive ability and team performance? a. When is this relationship stronger? In general, a team’s cognitive ability is a moderate-to-strong predictor of  team performance. As the task becomes more complex, the strength of the relationship between a team’s cognitive ability and its performance increases. 9. What is the best combination of team members in terms of: a. Conscientiousness- variance is important, too much is bad b. Extraversion-variance is important, too little variance can be bad c. Agreeableness- minimum is important, no members are too low. 10. What is the impact of diversity on team outcomes? More specifically: a. For which types of tasks is diversity generally good? 1. The The task is complex and requires creativity 2. attributes considered are related to knowledge and perspectives (ethnicity, expertise, personality, attitudes, etc.) b. For which types of tasks is homogeneity (the lack of diversity) good? Regular work, low task complexity, requires efficiency c. What is surface-level diversity? Diversity regarding observable attributes such as race, sex, and age. i. How does it impact process losses over time? These process losses typically disappear over time d. What is deep-level diversity? Diversity regarding attributes that are less easy to observe initially, but that can be inferred after more direct experience such as attitudes, values, and personality i. How does it impact process losses over time? These process losses usually increase over time 11. What are task work processes? Creative behavior, decision making, boundary spanning a. In terms of decision making, why do some teams make bad decisions (i.e., what are the components that lead to poor team decisions)? Decision infirmity: reflects whether members possess adequate information about their own task responsibilities. Staff validity: is the degree to which members make a good recommendations to the leader. Team members can possess all the information needed to make a valid recommendation but then fail to do so because of a lack of ability, insight or good judgment. Hierarchical  sensitivity: is the degree to which the leader effectively weighs the members’ recommendations. 12. What are teamwork processes? a. If I describe behaviors and interactions within a team, you should be able to tell me whether these processes are transition, action, or interpersonal processes. Transition processes: teamwork activities that focus on preparation for future work. Action processes: monitoring progress toward goals. Teams that pay attention to goal related information are typically in a good position to realize when they are off track and need to make changes. Interpersonal processes: motivating and confidence building, affect management, conflict management, b. Also, you should know: i. When are transition processes most valuable to team success? ii. When are action processes most valuable to team success? iii. When are interpersonal processes most valuable to team success? 13. What are team states? a. What is cohesion? Emotional attachment that tends to foster high levels of motivation and commitment to the team. i. How does cohesion affect team outcomes? Tend to promote higher level of team performance. ii. What is groupthink? Feelings of overconfidence about the team capabilities. b. What is potency? Is the degree to which members believe that the team can be effective across a variety of situations and tasks. i. How does potency affect team outcomes? When a team has a high potency, members are confident that their team can perform well. Vice versa. c. What are mental models? Level of common understanding among team members with regard to importantaspects of the team and its task. 14. How do teams develop over time†¦ a. †¦according to the Stage Based Model of Team Development? b. †¦according to the Punctuated Equilibrium Model of Team Development? Leadership: 1. What is power? The ability to influence the behavior of others and resist unwanted influence in return. a. What are the different types of power? Personal, organizational i. What types are derived from a person’s position within the organization? Legitimate power: is derived from a position of authority inside the organization and is sometimes referred to as formal authority. Reward power, coercive power ii. What types are derived from factors other than formal authority? Personal power: expert power, referent power b. What are some contingency factors that influence whether or not a person has power? (If I describe a situation, you should be able to tell me what contingency is responsible for the person’s power or lack of power). Power contingency factors: situations in organizations that are likely to increase or decrease the degree to which leaders can use their power to influence others. These include substitutability: there are no substitutes for the rewards or resources the leader controls. Discretion: the leader has the freedom to make his or her own decisions without being restrained by organizational rules. Centrality: the leader’s role is important and interdependent with others in the organization Visibility: others know about the leader and the resources he or she can provide. 2. What are the different influence tactics? If I describe a situation, you should be able to tell me what influence tactic is being used. a. Which tactics are most effective?  Rational persuasion, consultation, inspirational appeals, collaboration b. Which tactics are least effective? Pressure, coalitions c. When trying to influence a superior, which tactic is most effective? Engagement 3. What are the different responses to influence tactics? a. What influence tactics often lead to internalization/engagement vs. compliance vs. resistance? Engagement occurs when the target of influence agrees with and becomes committed to the influence request Compliance: occurs when targets of influence are willing to do what the leaders asks but  they do it with a degree of ambivalence. Resistance: target refuses to perform the influence request. Influencer’ power is low relative to the target or request itself is unreasonable. 4. What are the different conflict resolution techniques?  a. What types of outcomes do we expect from the different techniques? Competing: high assertiveness, low cooperation (win-lose) Avoiding: low assertiveness, low cooperation (lose-lose) Accommodating: low assertiveness, high cooperation (lose-win) Collaboration: high assertiveness, high cooperation (win-win) the best outcome Compromise: moderate assertiveness, moderate cooperation (win-lose) easy and common 5. Trait theories of leadership: a. Out of the Big Five and cognitive ability, which two traits are the strongest predictors of leader emergence? Conscientiousness and extraversion b. Out of the Big Five and cognitive ability, which trait is the strongest predictor of leader effectiveness? Cognitive ability c. According to the trait theories of leadership: i. What leadership outcome is best predicted by personality? leader emergence ii. What leadership outcome is best predicted by cognitive ability? Leader effectiveness d. Basic premise of trait vs. behavior theories: If traits predict leadership, then organizations should invest in hiring people with general dispositions to be leaders. If not, then organizations should not focus on hiring the right people, but instead, should focus on training people to be good leaders. Research shows that both traits and behaviors predict leadership. So, organizations should focus on hiring people that are predisposed to be better leaders and then training these people how to be the best leaders they can be. 6. Behavior theories of leadership: a. What are the two general categories of leader behaviors? If I describe a particular behavior, you should be able to tell me whether it is an example of â€Å"Consideration† or â€Å"Initiating Structure†. Initiating Structure: the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his/her roles and  those of employees in the search for goal attainment Consideration: the extent to which a person is likely to have job relationships that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings b. What outcomes do these leader behaviors predict? (You don’t need to know which behaviors â€Å"moderately† are vs. â€Å"strongly† related to which outcomes†¦just that these two behaviors are both pretty good predictors of the set of outcomes.) 7. Contingency theories of leadership: a. According to the Life Cycle Theory of Leadership: i. When followers are unable, initiating structure is important ii. When followers are unwilling, consideration is important iii. Followers usually progress through 4 stages: 1. Unable but Willing 2. Unable and Unwilling 3. Able but Unwilling 4. Able and Willing iv. So, in Stage 1 (Unable but Willing), initiating structure behaviors are required. In Stage 2, both initiating structure and consideration behaviors are required. In Stage 3, consideration behaviors are required. And in Stage 4, since the group is both willing and able, neither initiating structure nor consideration behaviors are necessarily required†¦the team will excel on its own. b. According to the Time-Driven Model of Leader Decision-Making Styles i. What are the different decision-making styles and how do they differ in terms of who is responsible for what? ii. I am not going to ask you to memorize the â€Å"decision-tree†. But you need to know that the effectiveness of the decision-making style is contingent upon the situation. In some situations, an autocratic style is most important, in others, a facilitative style, etc. iii. What might happen if leaders use inappropriate styles? You may end up making an incorrect decision The decision-making process may be inefficient (take more time or cost more money) The subordinates may not buy in to the decision c. According to Leader-Member Exchange Theory: Leaders treat different subordinates differently and the effectiveness of a leader is contingent on the relationship between the leader and the particular member(s) i. Who gets invited into the â€Å"in-group†? Those who are competent, likeable, and more similar to the leader in terms of attitudes and values. ii. What are the advantages of being in the â€Å"in-group†? More trusted, receive a disproportionate amount of the leader’s attention, receive special privileges iii. What are the disadvantages of being in the â€Å"in-group†? Rise and fall with the success of the leader. iv. How do people in the â€Å"in-group† differ from people in the â€Å"out-group† in terms of performance, turnover, and satisfaction? Higher performance, less turnover, greater job satisfaction Rate the leader as more effective. d. According to Critical Theories of Leadership: i. If substitutes or neutralizers are present, is it best to spend a lot of money hiring, training, and developing leaders? If neutralizers are present, then spending time and money hiring, training, and developing leaders might not be worth it because they will have little impact on the success of their subordinates Have to consider whether it will be more effective to hire, train, and develop leaders or to focus on leader substitutes instead Good leaders often try to build substitutes so that the unit can run itself When evaluating leader performance, it is important to determine whether success (or failure) is due to the leader or to substitutes and neutralizers. e. What are the different leadership styles? If I explain a leader, you should be able to tell me whether the leader is using a laissez-faire, passive management-by-exception, active management-by-exception, contingent reward, transformational, etc. Laissez-faire: Hands off style of leadership, Leader avoids getting invol ved Management by exception (passive): Leader only gets involved when mistakes are made Management by exception (active): Leader monitors group, looking for mistakes and gets involved only when mistakes are made. Contingent reward: Leader makes rewards contingent on favorable performance. Transformational leadership: What helps leaders â€Å"transform† followers so that they are willing to work beyond expectations to benefit the collective good? Idealized influence: provides a vision and a sense of mission, instills pride, gains respect and trust Inspirational motivation: fosters enthusiasm for and commitment to a shared vision of the future Intellectual stimulation: challenges followers to be innovative and creative Individualized consideration: helps followers achieve their potential through coaching, development, and mentoring f. What are the factors that separate transformational leaders from other leaders? Followers of transformational leaders work harder and are more committed to the group and organization Transformational leadership is strongly related to leader emergence and leader effectiveness Leaders can be trained in transformational leadership styles Dark side: Followers can be convinced to act unethically or immorally. A good leader has desirable leadership traits A good leader exhibits effective leadership behaviors A good leader matches the leadership behavior to the situation A good leader guides individuals and motivates them to perform at a high level A great leader transforms followers so that they are willing to work beyond expectations to benefit the collective good

Evaluate How Own Knowledge Understanding and Skills in Literacy

UNIT 303 How my knowledge, understanding and skills in Literacy, Numeracy and ICT impacts on my practice. In this assignment, I am going to describe how my knowledge and understanding and skills in Literacy, Numeracy and ICT help and impacts on my teaching assistant role at my school. All teachers and their assistants are required to have the literacy, numeracy and ICT knowledge, understanding and personal skills. This will equip us to develop inclusive approaches to addressing the literacy, numeracy and ICT needs of our pupils.I believe I know how to find information from books and know how to use the Internet efficiently to provide me with a good background idea. I often take notes to help me be ahead of the lesson or to remember what is the lesson about and I refer to the planning, which I am provided with by the teacher on daily basis. I believe I am confident in feeding back information to the teacher I am working with about our activities or group work. Literacy, Numeracy and ICT support: I play a key role in supporting the children with their activities after the teacher’s input.I usually support smaller, lower ability groups. I find out from the teacher about our activities beforehand, how is the lesson organized and or what is my specific role in the learning activity. I would prepare the resources needed for the particular lesson ahead, often while the teacher is providing the input for the children and do necessary photocopying or sticking pupil’s work into their books. While working with the groups I make sure I am being encouraging during the activities and that all the children implement the right, agreed strategy throughout the lesson.I provide the feedback and monitor the progress of the pupils and report any problems to the teacher. I often get to mark my group’s work if there is enough time afterwards or possibly in the afternoon while children do more independent work. Within the Literacy timetable I am often reading with children and provide constant feedback to the teacher about their progress as well as assessing them in t heir reading ability and benchmarking them to the next level if required after the discussion with the teacher.I also support lower ability group in their phonics lesson, I prepare daily activities for this sessions and provide progress report to the teacher on weekly basis. I play games with the children, use visual strategies and revise with them all the time to extend their phonics basics. I also do weekly spelling tests in groups and keep records of their progress in spelling area of Literacy. I regards to Numeracy sessions, again they often run similarly to Literacy lessons, where I get to prepare appropriate maths resources and organize the group work or work with certain individuals.I often need to repeat teacher’s instructions to re-enforce what pupils should be able to achieve and maybe introduce follow-on tasks to extend learning of the more able pupils. I feel, I still have a lot to learn in Numeracy department, partly due to the fact that I was not educated in the UK and the strategies for some mathematical activities are solved very differently here that I would had been used to. Luckily in Year 1 I can catch up fairly quickly and I am learning along side our children. I can pick right resources for their activities – like number lines, numbers squares, counter and on.I am fairly confident computer user and I use it in every day activities or planning time. Our children use ICT suite facilities on weekly basis and I have found that my ability in ICT has improved over time. I usually help children with logging in if some struggle, I help with opening particular programs and save and retrieve work when and where necessary. Also I can use email, which I often use in communicating with teacher or currently my tutors. I understand about health and safety related to using computers not just thinking about unsafe cables but also computer ergonomics and e safety.I am not necessarily always aware of how the programmes the children use work, b ut on this level it is all quite self-explanatory or if I’m unsure I ask our ICT lady and she is always happy to brief me before the session. I believe I am able to solve problems related to I. C. T to a certain extent. I am confident with printing documents although am cautious when determining the number being printed. Also I am confident with straight forward photocopying and getting more practice with more complex photocopying features like enlarging or manipulating the image.Every so often I come across the situation in the classroom where I need to ask or be advised about how to resolve the issue or find out the answer from the teacher or other staff. That is a proof of my need to improve and learn every day because I as long as there are questions that need answering, my learning does not stop yet. I would like to extend and put in better use the correct mathematical vocabulary and try to use various prompts to encourage mathematical skills in our pupils. I would also like to become more familiar with wide variety of techniques in problem solving exercises.I have learnt basics of the Phonics sessions, but would like to extend this knowledge further and hoping to receive the training from my school in near future about the Phonics system in more detail. I would help me tremendously as I sometimes run out of ideas to teach my group the same sounds over and over again without them getting bored and uninterested at times. There are few areas in ICT I would also need to brush up on – for example PowerPoint programme, as I do not use it very often, but do find it useful when I do get to use it.Also spreadsheets on Excel programme are not my strong point. But as with anything, if you do not use it very often, it becomes less familiar. Smart boards are a little bit of a mystery to me, too as I do not get involved in preparing daily input on it or uploading the files, but I can use it when it is on and running. So plenty to improve on and develop i n future and that is why I am also attending this course – to provide me with better and deeper understanding of my role in school and improve my knowledge and skills in various types of the curriculum.