The story of Zahra -book review essays

The story of Zahra -book review essays The Story of Zahra written by Hanan- Al Shaykh, is an insight into the fractured psyche of a young Lebanese girl, scared by the unrequited love of her mother, the many meaningless relationships she entered into, the intimidating and critical social norms of Beirut and finally by her own intense confusion, disarray and low self esteem which further aggravated her fragile state of mind It is a story about a girl who is in search of fulfillment, in search of her self, terrified of the outside world and its menacing accusations and judgments . Ever since I can remember I have felt uneasy, I have never felt anything else .It is an iconoclastic story of a person who is able to find peace and ones true self in the midst of the anarchy and chaos of a civil war. It is a bizarre account of how while the ravages of war were destroying the lives and composure of other individuals such as her brother Ahmad, at the other end of the spectrum Zahra was discovering in this abnormality her strength , self and the normalcy she had been yearning for. A large part of Zahras insecurity can find its roots in her relationship with her mother, which held many paradoxes and can perhaps be best explained as a love-hate relationship. She despised her mother for making her suffer by exposing her to her infidelity and disloyalty at such a young age, Yet at the same time she longed for her mother to shower her with the affection and love which she saw her mother was capable of possessing and expressing to her lover I would watch her when she was with me and study her when she was at distance , I thought all the while as I looked up at her of how much I wanted to draw her towards me , to draw myself closer to her... I wanted to disappear into the hem of her dress and become even closer to her than the navel is to the orange! . But whenever I began to think in this way I felt bitterness towards her and shuddered. I carried this pain an...

Definition and Examples of a Grammatical Category

Definition and Examples of a Grammatical Category A grammatical category is a class of units (such as noun and verb) or features (such as number and case) that share a common set of characteristics. They are the building blocks of language, allowing us to communicate with one another. There are no hard and fast rules for what defines these shared traits, however, making it difficult for linguists to agree on precisely what is and is not a grammatical category. As the linguist and author R.L. Trask put it, the term category in linguistics is so varied that no general definition is possible; in practice, a category is simply any class of related grammatical objects which someone wants to consider. That said, there are some strategies you can use to group words into categories based on how they function in the English language (think of parts of speech). Identifying Grammar Groups One of the simplest ways to create grammatical categories is by grouping words together based on their class. Classes are word sets that display the same formal properties, such as inflection or verb tense. Put another way, grammatical categories can be defined as sets of words with similar meanings (called semantics). There are two families of classes, lexical and functional. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and adjectives fall into this class. Determiners, particles, prepositions, and other words denoting position or spatial relationships are part of the functional class. Using this definition, you can create grammatical categories like this:   Verbs denote actions (go, destroy, buy, eat,  etc.)Nouns denote entities (car, cat, hill, John,  etc.)Adjectives  denote states (ill, happy, rich,  etc.)Adverbs  denote manner (badly, slowly, painfully, cynically,  etc.)Prepositions  denote location (under, over, outside, in, on,  etc.) Grammar groups can be further divided, depending on a words defining properties. Nouns, for instance, can be further subdivided into  number,  gender,  case, and  countability. Verbs can be  subdivided  by tense,  aspect, or  voice. Grammar Tips Unless youre a linguist, you probably wont spend much time thinking about how words can be classified based on how they function in the English language. But just about anyone can identify basic parts of speech. Be careful, though. Some words have multiple functions, such watch, which can function as both a verb (Watch out over there!) and a noun (My watch is broken.). Other words, such as gerunds, may appear to be one part of speech (a verb) and yet function differently (as a noun). In these cases, youll need to pay close attention to the context in which such words are used in writing or speech. Sources David Crystal,  A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 4th ed. Blackwell, 1997Thomas E. Payne,  Describing Morphosyntax: A Guide for Field Linguists. Cambridge University Press, 1997R.L. Trask,  Language and Linguistics: The Key Concepts, 2nd ed., ed. by Peter Stockwell. Routledge, 2007Laurel J. Brinton,  The Structure of Modern English: A Linguistic Introduction. John Benjamins, 2000Andrew Radford,  Minimalist Syntax: Exploring the Structure of English. Cambridge University Press, 2004

Homeland security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homeland security - Essay Example The major Federal legislation on terrorist financing include; The Bank Secrecy Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, The Money Laundering Control Act, The Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act, the Money Laundering Suppression Act, The Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act, Title III of the USA Patriot Act, The Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism Convention Implementation Act and The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, (GAO, 2004). Federal Statutes The Bank Secrecy Act Passed in 1970, BSA has the major money laundering provisions focusing on financial institutions’ record keeping thereby enabling federal officials to apprehend criminals by tracing money trails. The legislation makes it mandatory for financial institutions to file reports for cash transactions that exceed the amount set by the Secretary of the Treasury which is $10,000, (GAO, 2004). The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) Under the IEEP A enacted in 1977, the president has the powers to declare a national emergency in cases of threats to the US national security, economy or its foreign policy. These powers include; the ability to prohibit any transaction in foreign exchange, the ability to seize foreign assets under US jurisdiction, to prohibit the import or export of foreign currency and to prohibit transactions which involve foreign currency between financial institution, (GAO, 2004). The Money Laundering Control Act Passed by the Congress in 1986, the Money Laundering Control Act criminalizes any activities related to money laundering defined as carrying out financial transactions with property that is known to be derived from unlawful activities or attempts to conceal such activity. The legislation prescribes three specific types which include; domestic, international and attempted money laundering uncovered as a part of a larger sting operation, (GAO, 2004). The Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act The leg islation passed in 1992 increased the penalties for depository institutions that are found to have violated any of the anti-money laundering laws. The legislation also authorizes the Secretary of the treasury to require filings of the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from the financial institutions. It also gives the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) authority to terminate federal insurance for any banks and financial institutions found guilty, (GAO, 2004). The Money Laundering Suppression Act Passed in 1994, the legislation mandated certain exemption from reporting requirements in an effort to reduce the number of CTR filings by 30%. This was as a result of excess filings in the early 1990s when the number of currency transaction reports filed greatly surpassed the ability of regulators to analyze them. The statute provides for all money transmitting businesses to register with the treasury secretary, (GAO, 2004). The Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act The legislation was initiated by Congress with the aim of developing a national strategy for combating money laundering. The legislation stipulates that the Treasury Secretary in consultation with the Attorney General must prioritize money laundering enforcement areas by identifying certain areas as high risk money laundering and related financial crime areas, (GAO, 2004). Title

Japanese Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Japanese Politics - Essay Example Of great interest is the process of policy making in the Japanese political environment. It is evident that the elite in society are behind all the policies that get initiated and enacted in Japan. This paper seeks to establish whether or not the policies developed and enacted in Japan are indeed the input of the elite bureaucracy in Japan. As intimated earlier, the government is made up of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. Generally the government is a parliamentary democratic monarchy. The monarchy together with the Prime Minister forms the executive. The prime Minister heads the government which is also home to a myriad of political parties in its multi-party system. It is imperative to note that the executive part is as such exercised by the government which the prime minister heads. The Emperor of Japan is the overall head of state and as such appoints the prime minister. The prime minister before his appointment by the emperor has to have the designation of a diet and as such should win the confidence of the House of Representatives. The prime minister as earlier mentioned heads the government, heads the cabinet and appoints and disappoints the ministers of state who are largely members of the diet. Apart from the executive, there is the legislature. The legislature is basically made up of parliam ent which is divided into two i.e. the Diet which is basically the House of Representatives and the lower chamber which is called the House of Councilors. As such, the legislative power is exercised by both the government and the two chambers of parliament. The judiciary on the other hand is quite independent of the other two arms of government i.e. the executive and the legislature. The judiciary deals with all matters to do with the law and is made up of all the courts, the forces and prisons. It fully exercises the judicial powers without sharing these powers with any arm of government and this is why the judiciary is independent. As far as the law is concerned, Japan is simply a constitutional monarchy. The constitutional monarchy orientation in Japan is largely borrowed from the British system and it is also immensely influenced by the European civil law states such as German and France (Martin & Stronach, 1992). This can be illustrated by the 1896 enactment of a civil code similar to the German model by the Japanese government. The code has ever since remained in effect except for the minimal modifications which were effected after the Second World War. It is imperative to note that the statutory law comes from the legislature an d the national diet of Japan only acts as the rubber stamp for the emperor's approval. Actually, the current constitution provides for the role of the emperor only to promulgate the legislation passed by the legislature. As such the emperor has no constitutional powers to oppose legislation passed by the legislature. After legislation, it is the work of the judiciary to implement the legislation. The judiciary is made up of three levels of courts where the Supreme Court is at the top of the list followed by other three lower cadres of the courts (Johnson, 2002). The primary part of the Japanese statutory law is basically a collection of laws commonly known as the Six

Risky Behaviors in Teens Essay Example for Free

Risky Behaviors in Teens Essay â€Å"Teens are at high behavioral risk for acquiring most STDs. Teenagers and young adults are more likely than other age groups to have multiple sex partners, to engage in unprotected sex, and, for young women, to choose sexual partners older than themselves. Moreover, young women are biologically more susceptible to chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV. † (http://www. cdc. gov/std/Trends2000/trends2000. pd). In the United States alone teen births are extremely high, they represent about 10 percent of 4 million births each year. Not only does having a child during the teenage years causes social, emotional, and physical problems it also cost the United States 9 billion dollars a year. When having unprotected sex, not only pregnancy is a concern but receiving a sexually transmitted disease is a huge concern as well. In order to treat STDs in America it cost the government $17 million a year. The two most common STDs that teenagers catch are chlamydia, and gonorrhea. As a public health official it is important to know why do teenagers continually put themselves in situations that can alter their lives. Another thing public officials need to look into is the adolescents psychosexual health. There have been so many studies looking at the vantage point on the amount STDs, abortions, and pregnancies teens have. Now that depression is a growing concern in adolescents today, looking into the correlation between sexual activity and depression will be of great help to the public health community (Kosunen,Heino, Rimpela, and Laippala). In order to find these answers we must first examine two human behavioral theories: 1) Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and 2) the attachment theory. Once we have the answers to the question of why, then we can start the prevention of teen pregnancies and the spread of STDs amongst our youth. Bronfenbrenner is the leading contributor to the ecological systems theory. The ecological theory uses four types of roles and norms that shape children’s development. In order to make the theory is easy-to-understand Bronfenbrenner described it as the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macro system. It is stated that, â€Å"This theory looks at a child’s development within the context of the system of relationships that form his or her environment. Bronfenbrenner’s theory defines complex â€Å"layers† of environment, each having an effect on a child’s development. This theory has recently been renamed â€Å"bio ecological systems theory† to emphasize that a child’s own biology is a primary environment fueling her development. The interaction between factors in the child’s maturing biology, his immediate family/community environment, and the societal landscape fuels and steers his development. Changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers. To study a child’s development then, we must look not only at the child and her immediate environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well† (http://pt3. nl. edu/paquetteryanwebquest. pdf). The microsystem is where the child has direct daily contact with certain structures. The microsystem includes the child’s family, school, daycare, and the child’s neighborhood. Since this is the most important part of the ecological system the relationships have an impact that can go into different directions(both away from the child and towards the child). For example, a child’s parents may affect his beliefs and behavior; however, the child also affects the behavior and beliefs of the parent. Bronfenbrenner calls these bi-directional influences, and he shows how they occur among all levels of environment. The interaction of structures within a layer and interactions of structures between layers is key to this theory. At the microsystem level, bi-directional influences are strongest and have the greatest impact on the child. However, interactions at outer levels can still impact the inner structures. † ((http://pt3. nl. edu/paquetteryanwebquest. pdf). The mesosystem is the connection between the child’s microsystems. This can be the connection between the teacher and the child’s parents. The exosystem is the layer where the child does not function directly. This could be the parent’s work place or work schedule; even though the child does not function directly in this atmosphere the child can still feel the positive or negative consequences associated with the interaction. The macrosystem consists of the child’s culture, values, customs, and laws. For example if the child’s culture believes that it takes a village to raise a child, not only will mom and dad punish you but Ms.  Susie the next door neighbor will too. This gives the parent’s many more resources in order to raise their child in the appropriate way. â€Å"Attachment theory describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans especially as within families and between life-long friends. Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally, and that further relationships build on the patterns developed in the first relationships. Attachment theory is an interdisciplinary study encompassing the fields of psychological, evolution , and ethological theory. † (http://www. absoluteastronomy. com/topics/Attachment_theory). For a lot of adolescents, going into the teen years can be a very stressful transition. This met with a lot of intense challenges and changes. During this time the teen is moving away from his or her parents as their primary attachments figure and are looking towards their friends to be their primary attachment theory. If the teen’s friends are engaging in risky behaviors such as having more than one sexual partners, having unprotected sex, and etc. he teen is more likely to engage in the same type of behavior(Tracey and Shaver p. 2). â€Å"Adolescents interact simultaneously in several social spheressuch as family, peer, and neighborhood systemsthat can serve to either restrain or promote individual behaviors† (DiClemente, Salazar, Crosby, Rosenthalp. 1). The roles of the parents are very important; studies have shown that if parents are more focused on their child’s wellbeing and know the whereabouts of their child, the adolescent is less likely to engage in risky behaviors (Voisin and DiClemente p. ). in understanding how the ecological theory works, if the child or adolescent is surrounded by teen pregnancy, risky behaviors, and the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases this adolescent will believe that this behavior is okay. It is important for the adolescent to have support inside and outside of his or hers home. It is a belief that teen pregnancy and STDs can be prevented, but the question is how do public health officials began to combat these problems? In January 2011 Frayser high school made national news because 90 girls were pregnant who currently attended the school. â€Å"In Memphis, the teen pregnancy rate is between 15 percent and 20 percent – and in Frayser, the rate is 26 percent, said Deborah Hester Harrison, executive director of Memphis’ Girls Inc. It’s no surprise that Harrison places at least part of the blame on the media, such as the popular MTV shows â€Å"16 and Pregnant† and â€Å"Teen Mom. † (http://fieldnotes. msnbc. msn. com/_news/2011/01/14/5841767-90-pregnancies-at-o ne-high-school). In order for Memphis to fight this epidemic, they have received funding from the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in order to conduct a youth risk behaviors survey and implement effective policies, programs, and practices to avoid, prevent, and reduce sexual risk behaviors among students that contribute to HIV infection, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and pregnancy. (http://www. cdc. gov/healthyyouth/states/locals/tn-memphis. htm). The youth risk behavior survey shows that 90% of teenagers in Memphis do not use protection when having intercourse. The survey also shows that over 60% of teens have had sex are sexually active. Memphis City Schools are implementing a lot of different programs that will teach teens the importance of using protection during sex and the different effects that STDs and pregnancy can have on their lives (http://www. cdc. gov/healthyyouth/states/locals/tn-memphis. htm#1). It is a well-known fact that parents play an important part in their child’s development, there should be a free parenting class to parents that will teach them how to deal with their teens risky behaviors. Also teachers need to be better trained on how they deal with a student’s situation. Schools represent another socializing agent for adolescents and can be a significant source of support. This may be particularly important for many high-risk teenagers, whose families may lack adequate resources and parental support. Adolescents who believe that they are receiving high levels of support in school and feel that they are connected to teachers are less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors compared with peers reporting less school support or teacher connectedness† (DiClemente, Salazar, Crosby, Rosenthal, p. 1). By involving the parents and teachers into the preventive process teen pregnancy and STDs will decline.

Voltaires Candide as an Attack on Optimism Essay -- Candide essays

Voltaire's Attack on Optimism in Candide      Ã‚   Leibnitz emphasized, in his Discours de Metaphysique (Discourse on Metaphysics) (1686) the role of a benevolent creator. He called the constituent components of the universe monads, and while the philosophy of monads is of little concern to readers of Candide, the conclusion which Leibnitz drew from these monads is crucial to an understanding of optimism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leibnitz argued that all of these monads were linked in a complex chain of cause and effect and that this linking had been done by a divine creator as he created the harmonious universe. Since he was benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient, he logically would create the best of all possible worlds. Hence, everything that happens in the universe is part of this greater plan, and thus must be for the best. Humans cannot appreciate how the evils encountered in every day life contribute to the best of universes and universal harmony, but they do, nonetheless.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Optimism was attractive to many because it answered a profound philosophical question that mankind had been grappling with since the beginning of faith: if God is omnipotent and benevolent, then why is there so much evil in the world? Optimism provides an easy way out of this philosophical dilemma: God has made everything for the best, and even though one might experience personal misfortune, God (via your misfortune) is still helping the greater good.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Voltaire's experiences led him to dismiss the idea that this is the best of all possible worlds. Examining the death and destruction, both man-made and natural (including the Lisbon earthquake) Voltaire concluded that everything was not for the best. Bad things do ha... ...e respond, in closing, to his friend the Optimist?    "That is very well put, said Candide, but we must cultivate our garden" (75).    Works Cited and Consulted: Bottiglia, William. "Candide's Garden." Voltaire: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Durant, Will, Ariel Durant. The Story of Civilization: Part IX: The Age of Voltaire. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965. Frautschi, R.L. Barron's Simplified Approach to Voltaire: Candide. New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1968. Lowers, James K, ed. "Cliff Notes on Voltaire's Candide". Lincoln: Cliff Notes, Inc. 1995. Richter, Peyton. Voltaire. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980. Voltaire's Candide and the Critics. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1996. Voltaire. Candide. New York: Viking Publishers, 1998.   

Prostitution Case Study Essay

There are too many women and girls who are lured to prostitution. Men and boys are also being exposed for sexual purposes. In the 1998 study by the International Labor Organization (ILO), it was estimated that there were at least 400,000 to 500,000 prostituted persons in the Philippines with an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 children. In 2004, the number of those exploited in prostitution alone reached 600,000 and it ballooned to 800,000 in 2005. In a 2009 study, there were around 800,000 prostituted persons in the Philippines; half of them are children. Annually, it is estimated that 3,266 children are forced into prostitution. The Philippines ranks fourth among the nations with the most number of children in prostitution as revealed in a study of UNICEF. Prostitution may now be the country’s fourth largest source of GNP according to the study by the Psychological Trauma Program of the University of the Philippines. 2 Prostitution thrives because of gender inequality and lack of respect for women’s human rights clearly manifested on the false notion that women are inferior, sexual objects and commodities while men are superior, decision-makers and owners of properties. The system also thrives because of complex socio-cultural and economic factors — poverty, under-education, unemployment and economic disparity and power relations, making it easier for those who have more money and power to exploit more vulnerable people and lead them into prostitution and the sex trade. Women do not make a rational choice in entering prostitution; they settle with the limited options available to them bearing conditions of inequality that are set by the customers who pay women to do what they want them to do. At some point, State policies which are gender blind on the issue of prostitution may even result in compromising Filipino women’s bodily integrity to sex tourists, foreign and local, mili tary and big business. Our society has made prostitution â€Å"hidden in plain sight† – although it is everywhere, we tend to disregard and do not give priority to addressing it. Article 202 of the RPC as amended by R.A. 101583 provides: â€Å"Article 202. Prostitutes; Penalty. – For the purposes of this article, women who, for money or profit, habitually indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct, are deemed to be prostitutes. Any person found guilty of any of the offenses covered by this article shall be punished by arrestomenor or a fine not   200 pesos, and in case of recidivism, by arrest mayor in its medium period to prison correctional in its minimum period or a fine ranging from 200 to 2,000 pesos, or both, in the discretion of the court.† [emphasis added]. Notably, the above provision focuses law enforcement and legal sanctions exclusively on prostituted women. This is clearly an affront to women as it continues to criminalize prostituted women, while letting the customers and the pimps go unscathed. SALIGAN, in its mission towards the empowerment of women  throughout the country, joins various women’s groups in their clamor for national legislations that will fully recognize women’s rights and gender equality. Towards this end, SALIGAN supports and calls for the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill and the Anti-Prostitution Bill. †¢The Reproductive Health Bill is a recognition   reproductive health is a basic human right and it is the obligation of the government to protect and facilitate the enjoyment of this right. †¢The Anti-Prostitution Bill states that women exploited in prostitution should never be treated as criminals; instead, they should be treated as victim-survivors of sexual exploitation. Being victim-survivors, the blame should not be attributed to sexually-exploited women but on those who take advantage of them, as well as those who profit and gain from their sexual victimization. The proposed pieces of legislation find bases   international instruments, foremost of which is the International Bill of Human Rights which lays down the fundamental human rights of every individual. Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth†¦ without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour,sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. It recognized gender equality as one of the basic tenets of humanity. In addition to this, the Philippines is also a signatory to the the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the paramount international human rights instrument espousing the promotion, protection and fulfillment of women’s rights. As signatory to CEDAW, the Philippines is duty bound to give life to the provisions of the Convention by incorporating into its legal system laws that recognize gender equality, define as well as prohibit gender discrimination and put forth a national agenda that would end all forms of discrimination against women in its society. Twenty-six years after the ratification to the Convention, the Philippine Government has been remiss in complying with its State obligations under the Convention. Furthermore, the 1987 Constitution recognizes the role   women in nation-building and ensures fundamental equality before the law between men and women. As a state policy, it is therefore incumbent upon the State to enact measures towards gender equality. Beyond international and constitutional bases, the  above-mentioned proposed measures would address pressing issues of women who,more often than not, without protection from the State through domestic laws,suffer from gender discrimination, marginalization and violence. V. Summary and Concluding Statement Prostitution is the action of providing the sexual services to the other people for money (Lauer & Lauer, 2001). There are 50% of the countries in the world legalized prostitution, 10% of the countries limited the legality, and Philippines is one in the 40% countries that prostitution is consider as illegal (Prostitution ProCon.org, 2010). There are many different ideas toward legalizing prostitution. Majority of Philippine people do not support prostitution while some people said legalizing the prostitution is beneficial than disadvantage. I think prostitution should not be legalized for five main reasons: it is not suit with law, not suit with government policy, not fair to prostitutes, increase the HIV/AIDS rate, and not suit with our culture. The first reason is that, prostitution is not complying by Philippine law. Philippines constitution is not support the prostitution. According to  degree 46 the first paragraph states that human trafficking, prostitution, and phonogram that cause bad impact on the value of female is prohibited by law (LICADHO, 2003). Officially, all laws must be subject to the Constitutional Law of Philippines, so Prostitution could not be legalized in Philippines. Also, in the Law of Anti-human-trafficking and commercial on humanity says that all kind of sexual services are prohibited by law, and the person who run a business of providing the sexual service must be imprison from one year to five years, and find rank from 5 million pesos to 30 million pesos, states in Law of human trafficking and commercial activities on humanity (as cited in ADHOC, 2008). If the state wants to legalize the prostitution, it has to edit many laws that already put in to practice. The second reason is that our government policies do not support prostitution. Government of Philippines advertises Philippines as the place for best place to live and cultural tourism, but if the state legalizes prostitution;

Teamwork: Communication and Group

Communication is essential throughout our daily life, both in our personal life and professional life. Communication skills are vital when we are working towards a common goal as a part of a team (Kearney-Nunnery, 2008). By observing and evaluating yourself when in interaction with others, we can learn how to communicate effectively. Group work demonstrates our capacity to communicate effectively, share and reflect on our opinions, gain trust for group members, and resolve conflicts. A team can be defined as â€Å"a group of individuals who work together to produce products or deliver services for which they are mutually accountable (Tyrer, 2004). Teamwork is described as â€Å"a dynamic process involving two or more [health professionals] with complimentary backgrounds and skills, sharing common [health] goals (†¦ ). This is accomplished through interdependent collaboration, open communication and shared decision-making (Ream & Xyrichis, 2007). † â€Å"Effective collab oration can lead to effective teamwork (Canadian Health Services Research Foundation). † One of the most commonly used methods to assess our performance is through writing a reflective evaluation. In this assignment, I have been asked to reflect on my communication patterns and experiences whilst working within a group. This semester we were asked to work in small groups of 4 – 5 students to prepare a 20 minute information session on the ‘completion of documentation’, and perform a presentation in front of the class. In this assignment I will demonstrate my understanding of group dynamics and communication skills, reflect on my experience during the group activity, and briefly explain how the member contributions were divided up for the group presentation. Team members are described as â€Å"having complementary skills, being committed to a common purpose and holding themselves accountable for their performance (Tyrer, 2004). † These descriptions make it clear that teams are about working together as a group, and each member of the team has a purpose within the group, in working towards a common goal. Team members share goals and are mutually held accountable for meeting them (Canadian Health Services Research Foundation). † To be effective, team members must be flexible and tolerant. For successful teamwork, there must be open and effective communication between all of the team members. Open communication means that all members of the team have their chance to share ideas without being criticized. Establishing such communication between all members is vital for productivity and achievement of goals. â€Å"If effective, the team is more likely to utilize the full range of diverse knowledge and skills available (Tyrer, 2004). † Because the team is held collectively accountable, integrating with one another is expected and included in the responsibilities of each member. Unequal levels of participation between the members of the team may inhibit the smooth running of a team (Caldwell et al). Group working allows people's individual skills and knowledge to merge, which compensates in areas where individual members are lacking. â€Å"It has been argued that teamwork offers greater adaptability and creativity than any one individual can offer, while promoting job satisfaction and staff retention. (Ream & Xyrichis, 2007)† Many variables affect teamwork and team performance on group assignments; including the individual characteristics and personalities the students, the mode of delivery, and understanding of what teamwork involves. During the group work activity I learned how to work with different personalities. Everyone approached the topic differently. I think each group member brought a unique perspective to the group, which helped to create ideas and allowed the group to discuss each angle with each other. Although our group did not have a clear leader chosen at the start of our group work, I believe Rebecca held many of the essential qualities of a group leader. â€Å"The leader has the responsibility to develop team processes (for example, clarity of roles and support for the team) and create favourable performance conditions for the team (Canadian Health Services Research Foundation). Our group decided to divide the topic of ‘completion of documentation’ up into categories with subheadings (e. g. reasons for documentation, history of documentation, forms of documentation, errors in documentation, etc. ); each group member was then responsible for writing a paragraph on one bullet point, ensuring we distributed the work fairly among the group. However, we did all of the b rainstorming as a group and used group meetings to create outlines for the designated points each person was to follow. Once a draft was written, each group member edited it and gave comments, but final adjustments were left to the writer’s discretion. This was to ensure that our categories flowed nicely. We then met as a group and collectively created a PowerPoint presentation with the information we had gathered, instead of having one person doing the majority of the work. In between group meetings, we kept each other updated on our progress via emails. This allowed us to exchange information and share resources. We used email to keep in touch with team members as an easy way to get a hold of other members of the team in the fastest way possible. I found this effective as we were able to maintain contact during our busy weeks. Although I thought communicating via email was appropriate due to the colliding schedules of the group members, more direct observation of the team at work together as a group would be helpful in my assessment of the effectiveness of teamwork behaviours, and the writing of this paper. More frequent team meetings dedicated to the group presentation may have resulted in better communication, which could have allowed for better transfer of knowledge and therefore may have increased our team performance during the presentation. During group meetings, all members participated actively, trying to express their point of view. I think everyone had equal opportunity to voice their opinions and incorporate their ideas into the presentation. I thought working in a group setting was really valuable, which enabled us to expand our communication skills, and become more aware of our behaviour in group situations. In summary, Teamwork is the interaction or relationship of two or more people, who work interdependently towards a common goal. Team-based methods of working have many advantages. Team working has been viewed as a valuable way of improving performance, and quality of working life in a health care setting. Teamwork will accomplish a task more effectively and efficiently than an individual effort. Working in a team requires effective communication. For teamwork to be successful, it is important that every member of the team has patience or tolerance for the opinions of the rest of the team members. When members respect each other’s opinions, there will not only be an increase in productivity, but in teamwork itself. The development of an effective team requires a positive attitude and commitment toward teamwork, along with an understanding of what teamwork involves. REFERENCES Caldwell, K. , Atwal, A. , Copp, G. , Brett-Richards, M. , & Coleman, K. (2006). Preparing for practice: how well are practitioners prepared for teamwork. British Journal of Nursing, (15) 22, 1250-1254 Canadian Health Services Research Foundation. (June 2006). Teamwork in healthcare: Promoting effective teamwork in healthcare in Canada. Policy synthesis and recommendation. Retrieved October 13, 2010 From: Http://www. Chsrf. Ca/Research_Themes/Pdf/TeamworkSynthesisReport_ E. Pdf Kearney-Nunnery, R. (2008). Advancing your Career: Concepts of Professional Nursing (4th ed). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis. Tyrer, J. (2004). What lessons can we learn from effective teamwork? Nursing & Residential Care. 6 (2), 86-88 Xyrichis, A. & Ream, E. (2007). Teamwork: a concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing: Theoretical paper. 61, 232–241.

Precious Things in Life Essays

Precious Things in Life Essays Precious Things in Life Paper Precious Things in Life Paper Essay Topic: Life Is Beautiful Precious Things in Life In today’s modern society, economical status determines one’s social status. I have some friends who do not have any problem on spending their money to keep up with their lifestyle. They are given such privilege from their parents to be able to spend materially. In result, their social status among the others is considered privilege otherwise because of their exclusive lifestyle. They are often seen with a group of people who are in the same status range as them. It may seem as if they are living a perfect life surrounded by high-end materials to a group of loyal friends. However, it doesn’t seem as perfect as it seems once I get to know some of them. Money may buy us everything we can ever wish for. It allows us to purchase goods and services, gain respect from other people; it provides us with security, or even a family in some cases. Nevertheless, money can never provides us with permanent satisfaction but temporary. Money can never buy us priceless moments, true happiness, or most importantly, time. These are the three things that we always wished for in our lives. And my friends who live in a perfect life we all always assume, hardly experience true happiness behind the overwhelming economic supply their parents gave them. Their problems mostly revolve around family issues. Their parents are too busy working they don’t have any time to spare with them, thus them only could show their love by letting their children get whatever they want. One of them once told me, she would trade everything she has right now with her parents’ time so she can feel the joy of spending even just a day being together as a whole family. She told me that no matter how much money they are able to provide her, at the end of the day, it only provides her temporary satisfaction. Ever since she was a little girl, her parents barely spend time with her. She reminisced on how she wanted to go to a theme park badly with her parents like her friends at school always do, and ended up spending her day with her babysitter and her driver. She told me how she would have dinner at the dining table all by herself in silence, or sometimes she would ask her loyal babysitter to sit down with her just to chat. She never gets home after school straightaway, she rather go out anywhere but home because she always thought she could find something better outside her home, temporarily. She may be able to get the most expensive designer handbags anytime, but the one thing she wished her money can be purchase for is the time and happiness with her family. She also doubts the friendship some of her friends in the group gave her, because they could be tagging her along just for fame, not for a genuine friendship. From just hearing a story from one person, I could never be more thankful for what I have now. I may not have the same amount of money as they do, but I am given some things she could never buy with her money. Temporary satisfaction may feel nice at first, but in the end it doesn’t matter because the happiness does not last forever. Money can never buy us everything that is what I feel the society should learn and understand more about. We often think money solves everything therefore life would be easier the more money you get. Happiness and time are two precious things that keep our life interesting and we often forget that. The most precious things in life are priceless and they can only be gained, not purchased. Humans tend to have their own concept of happiness. These days, the society finds their happiness from rich food, fine clothes, beautiful sights and ease. This is the problem. Sometimes the concept of happiness cannot be defined in physical form. Precious things that happened in our lives are designed in such twisted way for us to learn to appreciate for all we got. Will money buy you happiness? No. Will more money gives you happiness? Maybe. A severe lack of money may brings you unhappiness but a genuine happiness is invaluable and has to be earned otherwise. Precious moments, too, are those we often wish to be able to capture them or nonetheless, remember. Everyone have a certain moment in our lives we wish to be able to turn back time and to experience it once again. In my friend’s case, she barely experience one and is waiting for it to happen, which she claimed to be impossible. Most of us think that spending time with friends is a lot more fun than stay at home with our family. We often don’t realize that there are people out there who would trade their money just for a moment we could have for free everyday. Isn’t it tragic that her money may buy her acceptance from her friends but her own family? Perhaps we should question the genuineness of their friendship as it may be based on material acceptance. A true friendship is priceless and it will be clearly obvious when you hit the lowest point of your life.

Using City Directories for Genealogy Research

Using City Directories for Genealogy Research For anyone researching ancestors in a city or larger community, standard genealogical resources often fall short. Newspapers generally mention only the influential, interesting or most newsworthy residents. Land records offer little help when researching renters. Census records dont tell the stories of individuals who moved multiple times between census years. Cities, however, offer an invaluable historical and genealogical resource not available to those of us researching rural ancestors- namely, city directories. City directories offer anyone conducting family history research in a city or large town a nearly annual census of city residents, as well as a window into the community in which they lived. Genealogists all know the value of placing an ancestor in a particular time and place, but city directories can also be used to follow an individuals occupation, place of employment, and place of residence, as well as potentially identify life events such as marriages and deaths. Looking beyond the names of your ancestors, city directories also provide invaluable insight into your ancestors community, often including sections on neighborhood churches, cemeteries, and hospitals, plus organizations, clubs, associations, and societies. Information Often Found in City Directories Name and occupation of head of household (often men and female widows; later single employed females)Name of spouse (often in parentheses following name of husband; mid to late 19th century)Sometimes the names of children, often only those employed outside the homeStreet name and house number of residenceOccupationWork address (if employed outside the home) Tips for Research in City Directories Abbreviations were often used in city directories to save printing space and costs. Locate (and make a copy) of the list of abbreviations, usually located near the front of the directory, to learn that n Fox St. indicates near Fox St., or that r means resides or, alternatively, rents. Properly translating the abbreviations used in a city directory is essential for correctly interpreting the information it contains. Dont miss the late listing of names received too late for inclusion in the alphabetical portion. This can usually be found located just before or after the alphabetical list of residents and may include people who had recently moved to the area (including those moving within the city limits), as well as individuals the canvasser missed on his initial visit. If youre lucky, you may find a separate list of individuals who migrated from the city (with their new location), or who died within the year. What If I Cant Find My Ancestor? Just who was included in a city directory was up to the discretion of that directorys publisher, and often varied from city to city, or over time. Generally, the earlier the directory, the less information it contains. The earliest directories may list only people of higher status, but directory publishers soon made the attempt to include everyone. Even then, however, not everyone was listed. Sometimes certain parts of town weren’t covered. Inclusion in a city directory was also voluntary (unlike a census), so some people may have chosen not to participate, or were missed because they werent home when the agents came calling. Make sure you have checked every available city directory for the time period when your ancestors were living in the area. People overlooked in one directory may be included in the next. Names were also often misspelled or standardized, so be sure to check name variations. If you can locate a street address for your family from a census, vital, or another record, then many directories also offer a street index. Where to Find City Directories Original and microfilmed city directories can be found in a variety of repositories, and an increasing number are being digitized and made available online. Many may be available either in original format or on microfilm in the library or historical society that covers that particular locality. Many state libraries and historical societies have large city directory collections as well. Major research libraries and archives such as the Library of Congress, Family History Library, and American Antiquarian Society also maintain large collections of microfilmed city directories, for locations across the United States. Over 12,000 city directories for cities across the United States, most from the collection of the Library of Congress, have been microfilmed by Primary Source Media as City Directories of the United States. Their online collection guide lists the cities and directory years included in the collection. The Family History Library Catalog also lists a large collection of city directories, most of which can be borrowed on microfilm for viewing at your local Family History Center. Where to Find Old City Directories Online A large number of city directories can be searched and viewed online, some for free and others as part of various subscription genealogy collections. Large Online City Directory Collections Ancestry.com has one of the largest online collections of city directories, with a focus on coverage between the 1880 and 1900 U.S. federal census, as well as 20th century data. Their U.S. City Directories collection (subscription) offers good search results, but for best results browse directly to the city of interest and then page through the available directories rather than relying on search. The City Directories collection online at subscription-based website Fold3, includes directories for thirty large metropolitan centers in twenty U.S. states. As with the collection at Ancestry.com, better results are achieved by browsing the directories manually rather than relying on search. The Historical Directories Searchable Library is a free website from the University of Leicester in England, with a nice collection of digitized reproductions of local and trade directories for England and Wales for the period 1750–1919. Additional Online Sources for City Directories A number of local and university libraries, state archives and other repositories have digitized city directories and made them available online. Use search terms such as city directory and [your locality name] to find them via your favorite search engine. A number of historical city directories can also be found through online sources for digitized books, such as Internet Archive, Haithi Digital Trust, and Google Books.

The Olympic Games Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Olympic Games - Essay Example However, there was not enough positive response from the delegates. That was actually devised for the study of amateur sports, he again voiced his view on the revival of the Olympic Games and was delighted when the other countries participating in the Congress agreed with him. Following this consensus, delegates decided to have Coubertin construct a committee, comprising members of various countries, to conduct the first Modern Olympics in Athens, Greece. That committee headed by Demetrious Vikelas from Greece oversaw the preparations for the games and that committee only became the later day and now functioning International Olympic Committee. So, Pierre de Coubertin is widely-acknowledged as the originator of the modern Olympic Games, along with Demetrios Vikelas. The three Latin words of Citius, Altius, and Fortius became the Olympic motto, with Coubertin himself proposing after having borrowed it from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who taught the sport to students. Th e games started at the Athens’ Panathenaic Stadium in a celebratory mood on 6th April 1896 and concluded on 15th April. â€Å"The modem games were inaugurated in style, with the ritual and fanfare that Coubertin felt was essential to their social purpose.† Competitors came from 14 nations, with around 245 athletes, all of whom were male. From those beginnings, the games continued to take place with increasing number of countries and athletes every four years, with the exception of the years during the World Wars.