Advanced Managerial Accounting Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Advanced Managerial Accounting Report - Essay Example Most Managers inquire before implementing any of these cost systems where ABC is given a first priority due to its production costs that are considered higher to those of conventional banking (Weygandt, Kimmel, and Kieso 56). ABC is a contrast of conventional banking since it helped patients in their treatment when it came to hospitals. Conventional accounting is a simple method for managing costs compared to ABC. However, it is not accurate and most of the time is accompanied by under-costing and also over-costing. ABC is able to capture changes through direct measurement of activity levels thus adjusting from distortions that arise in the conventional cost system (Weygandt 45). However, there exists a similarity among these two cost systems where provision of costs similar to those of ABC can be structured by conventional accounting. In conclusion, both cost systems; ABC and conventional accounting have their place of application and duration of time matters. They all are implemented differently but all of these systems of accounting have a purpose in any business despite of different strengths and weaknesses. ABC works best for most businesses compared to conventional

Time and Professionalism Essay Example for Free

Time and Professionalism Essay What is professionalism? There are many different forms of professionalism depending on whose opinion of professionalism it is. I will go with my opinion of professionalism. For the thirty years of my life I must say, I have learned a lot about my experiences in life. I’ve learned from myself, I have learned from my friends, and I have learned from mere strangers. I have seen people succeed in their goals. I have seen people fail in their goals. Failing doesn’t mean that you can’t try again. I believe we learn from our mistakes or if you possibly can, learn from others before you commit the same mistake. Well, I have come to a great conclusion. Professionalism plays a major, a very important role in succeeding in life despite of what goal you are trying to reach. To become a doctor there comes a need for a great amount of professionalism. To become a stockbroker, there is a need for people with nothing but a great mind and professionalism. Even to become a professional football player, despite of the great skills you may have to catch a 60 yard pass for a touchdown, there is still a great amount of professionalism expected from that professional wide receiver. Professionalism comes in many different aspects. The first most important aspect of being professional is the mere first image that you present yourself with. I say professionalism starts with your dress code and hygiene. The first detail you will put out to a person meeting you the first thing is that of how you are dressed. You should be dressed up for the occasion you are presenting yourself for. In an interview for example, a man should be dressed with a dark suit with a plain matching tie and decent shoes, also with his hair groomed. The second most important aspect of being professional is how you present yourself! Yes, you may be well groomed, with a perfect elegant suit but, if you do not have the perfect elegant professional attitude, the attire well, does not mean a thing. Professionalism plays a part in every characteristic of any person. So that being said, when being professional make sure you have the proper aura present. Make sure when you meet that important person that will decide your fate that you have a welcoming smile on your face. Make sure you present enough eye contact that you seem very much interested in what that person is trying to offer you and at the same time, not too much eye contact that it may come across to the other person that you are being maybe too cocky. Greet that person with a firm but not too firm handshake. Make sure that interviewer knows that you are comfortable and also make him or her feel just as comfortable. That is a big plus. Although I emphasized that the first impression you make to anyone will determine to the other person on what level your professionalism is to them. Do not forget that consistency is key to life. Yes, your first impression is big and will have a great impact on anyone. Anyone can have a great impression for one day. Can you do it on a daily basis? Can you maintain your characteristics of professionalism? Can you leave a great impression on people every day? This leads me to my third most important aspect of professionalism. Consistency! Although I put it at third most important does not mean that it is not as important as the first two. They play a role together as one. Consistency is big on every part of your personality, characteristic, and statistically. Are you prepared to be dressed professional at all times despite of whatever affair you may have? Are you willing to dress to the occasion? Are you prepared to have a great attitude and personality at all times, despite of what personal issues you may have? Can you keep that smile on your face and a positive attitude? Are you able to keep your good grades at all times? Are you able to have a 100% attendance? Can you show me 100% effort every day? Yes you have to have a great attitude and be dressed accordingly at all times but, can you do this 99. 9 percent of the time. This is what people look for in a professional. Someone they can rely on. There is one thing people tend to forget when talking about professionalism. Everyone has free personal time to enjoy their lively hood. There is no objecting to that. But do not forget that although you are on your own free personal time that there is not anyone watching you. As a famous musician once said, â€Å"the streets is watching†. There are always eyes on you if you are in a public place. You cannot everyday go to work and display a personality of professionalism, then go out to a club and be the worst most obnoxious person ever. Well you can. But I bet you didn’t see your assistant manager on the other side of that club watching you with astonishment! That one mistake may have cost you your whole chance of becoming the next person to being promoted in that company. That is why I say consistency is key. You cannot be professional in places where you think may only matter. Once you take a career that involves you being professional, you must always display that same amount of professionalism at all times. When you are at work, when you’re out at the park, when you’re at the movies, at a bar, anywhere you go you must be professional at all times. This does not mean you cannot have fun. You can have fun and be professional. Just as long as you present yourself in a respectable fashion. I personally will display all these aspects to my experiences in my future for my externship. I have learned a lot about myself and my experiences. I must admit. Most times I have not lived in a professional manner. I am now seeing things in different light. I am seeking the respect of a different group of people than in my past. I know that with all being said above. Without me living up to my knowledge and words I cannot succeed in my field of study so now it comes to that point that I will have to have a great output in my personality, my dress code, and I have to be consistent at all times. I have not been perfect, and I know no one is but I can only try! So after this report I will sit back and evaluate my little theory in professionalism and understand. I can’t only talk about it. I will be about it!!!!!

Should Section 28 Be Repealed? :: essays research papers

Recently, I noticed a petition in my local church that was to be sent to Donald Dewar opposing the repeal of section 28, which bans the promotion of homosexuality in schools. Many people did not want their children and grandchildren to know anything about homosexuality. This made me think, should homosexuality be taught in Scottish schools? The response to section 28 has been very different in different parts of the country. Section 28 has never been used in court to stop a local authority doing anything. Although some local authorities have gone ahead and produced documents in partnership with organisations such as Stonewall youth project to support young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pupils, others have taken the opposite view. Perth and Kinross council refused to give a grant to Dundee Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Switchboard, specifically citing section 28 as a reason for not giving a grant. Authorities' responses have been different because section 28 is badly worded and, legally, does not mean anything at all; its only effect is to act as a disincentive. Section 28 does not directly affect schools or teachers, just local authorities. Nevertheless, according to the "Playing it Safe" survey by the University of London, 56% of teachers surveyed said that they felt that section 28 prevented them from g iving such good advice and support to young lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils as they might otherwise be able to give. Young LGBT people do not have equal opportunities in education at the moment, neither in schools nor in college environments. The biggest single problem for young people, if you ask them, is that of bullying and harassment. It is something that affects LGBT pupils directly, but other people too. Anybody can be homophobically bullied - they do not have to be gay to be a victim of that. Bullying and harassment also affects people who have not come out as being gay. The effect on someone who has not come out in an environment where homophobic bullying is going on all the time is to make him or her terrified about telling anyone that they are gay. One of the particular LGBT equality issues most often mentioned is an understanding of the importance of coming out. Coming out is a life-changing event for a young person, and it is very important that school staff understands the implications and can give support to people who are doing it or thinking about doing it.

When I Grow Up I’M Going to Be

† When I grow up I'm going to be†¦ † How often you must have said the words above when you were younger! You wanted to be a motion-picture star, an acrobat, a fireman, or a sailor. Now that you are older you realize that choosing a vocation is not a simple matter. In fact it is one of the most difficult and most important decisions of your life. Upon it depends your health, happiness, and usefulness. Soon you will be one of many boys and girls who each year go out in search of jobs.Start preparing for your lifework now while you are at school. Study purposefully. You will save yourself many future headaches. True, a few find their lifework accidentally, but there are hundreds who never find their right vocations at all. About 20 per cent of workers are occupational misfits. Jobs change rapidly. Employment opportunities are different from when Dad was a boy. They differ from year to year. In the world today, for example, there are more than 300,000 different occupatio ns.To find the right life- work you need to study your interests and abilities and to explore a variety of vocations. Although there are a vast number of occupations from which to choose, certain traits are required for success in any field-accuracy, ambition, loyalty, and perseverance, for example. Is your supply of perseverance low? Do you become discouraged if you don't succeed in something? What are you going to do about it? As a sensible young person who wants to get ahead in the vocation you choose, you are going to start right now to raise your perseverance index.You are going to stick to a difficult task until you've mastered it, because you know that when you get a job or enter a profession, you will be expected to carry to successful completion every task you start. And what about punctuality? You had better form now the habit of being on time, for in business or a profession lateness will count heavily against you. What are your likes and dislikes? Do you prefer to work i ndoors or out? If four walls and a roof stifle your energy and initiative, investigate such vocations as agriculture, forestry, tree surgery, landscape gardening, aviation, fishing, merchant marine, and surveying.Do you like to work with people, things, or ideas? If people interest you, perhaps you'll enjoy the work of a teacher, physician, nurse, personnel interviewer, social worker, minister, salesman, receptionist, lawyer, insurance agent, or librarian. You'd rather work with things? Then such fields as manufacturing, bricklaying, carpentry, tool-making, welding, transportation, mining, dental mechanics, plumbing, repairing, air conditioning, and printing will probably interest you.Or if ideas hold a deep fascination for you, you may be suited for scientific, literary, or economic research, reporting, writing, advertising, accounting, or designing. â€Å"But,† you are probably protesting, â€Å"I like to work with both people and ideas. † That's all right. The physi cian, the teacher, the minister, the lawyer, the librarian, and the reporter, to name but a few, deal with both people and ideas. The architect, the artist, the engineer, and the mechanic, on the other hand, work chiefly with things and ideas . Do you like to debate questions in social studies?Do you enjoy tackling stiff examples in algebra or geometry? Do you stay after school to experiment in the chemistry laboratory? The subjects in which you do best and in which you take keenest interest show where your abilities lie. If you haven't found your strong points, keep on searching. Try other courses-art, music, commercial subjects, or shop work. What do you do in your leisure time? Are you interested in photography? Do you spend happy hours in your laboratory or workshop? Have you a pile of manuscripts hidden away? Do you give puppet shows for the neighborhood children?Do you like to fuss with flowers and plants? Out of your hobby may grow your vocation. As a boy Thomas Edison like n othing better than to tinker with the apparatus in his laboratory. Whatever you choose as your lifework, your chances for success depend in a large measure on your physical and mental well-being. Although your health is largely what you make it, there are individual differences in strength and endurance, which must be considered in the choice of a vocation. The work of an actor, aviator, or reporter is physically more arduous than that of a librarian or writer.A physician, whose rest is interrupted by emergency calls, must have robust health. Select a vocation for which you are physically qualified. When young people enter a job or university/college, school officials are called upon to write letters of recommendation. What is your attendance record? Your school record? Do you participate in sports, other activities? Are you trustworthy? Even when there is a labor shortage, employers want to know these facts about their prospective employees. You are making now the record upon which the school's recommendation will be made.You are interested in a certain broad field of work it may be scientific, mechanical, or commercial. Or it may be artistic work, work with nature, or with people. You n also have a rough idea about your abilities. How are you going to know about the hundreds or even thousands of i different jobs in your chosen field? You probably want to – know the importance of the job, the kind of work, qualifications needed, pay opportunities, advantages, and disadvantages. Will the work you will be doing offer you the opportunity of making the lives of others richer and happier?In recent years careful research has produced a wealth of printed information on almost every type of job. Reading can fill in the gaps in your job observation and experience. In every field there are jobs ranging from those requiring little training to those which require long training and constantly increasing skill. The jobs at the top are fewest. You may be an electrici an's helper or an electrical engineer; a draftsman or an architect; a filing clerk or a private secretary; a dressmaker or a dress designer. Each of these jobs is a useful one, and one may be a step to another.If you have ability, energy, and determination, you will be wise to train yourself for one of the better positions in the field you select. One good way to learn about a vocation is to try it. Have you, like Thomas Edison, sold newspapers? Have you worked in a laboratory, store or garage? Have you done clerical work, coached weak students, or taken care of children? Through such work you may discover hidden talents. Even if you discover no special gift, your wage- earning experience will develop the self-reliance, poise, and sense of responsibility you will need in any vocation. Keep searching and you will find your lifework.

Resourcing Talent

Resourcing Talent Report Adrienne Westerdale Attracting and retaining a diverse workforce is very important; there are many organisational benefits for doing so. People of different ages, genders and cultures will bring new skills and ideas to the organisation. A diverse workforce can help to inform companies of new or enhanced products and services as well as open up new market opportunities. It can improve market share and broaden an organisations customer base. CIPD defines managing diversity as â€Å"valuing everyone as an individual- valuing people as employees, customers and clients†.Location is a factor that can affect an organisations approach to attracting talent; there are lots of people that will look for work close to their homes to avoid commuting or even relocating. This could become a problem for organisations especially if recruiting for a specialised position such as engineers; it could be that they have advertised the vacancy locally and haven’t had a suitable applicant so will need to look further afield. It may take a little longer to fill the position which could increase the work load for other employees.Again this would have an effect on the organisation as it could lead to employees taking time off due to stress. Salaries would be another factor that can affect the approach to attracting talent. By offering a high salary you are more likely to receive more applicants for the position, however, the company can only offer a specific salary for a specific role. The organisations reputation has a massive affect, maintaining good relationships with employees will help create a good reputation. Offering your staff good benefits and salaries as well as treating them fairly with respect will encourage them to speak highly of the company.Good news travels fast which will attract potential employees to the organisation, however, if you don’t look after your employees you will find it hard to gain their respect which could resu lt in loosing staff. The recruitment methods a company use can determine who they attract when recruiting. There are many things to consider when deciding which methods to use; we must look at the costs of different methods. Advertising can be very expensive, magazines especially. For a black and white quarter page advert a company can look to pay as much as ? ,100 and up to ? 7,650 for half a page. This can also affect an organisations approach to recruitment and selection; as advertising is very costly most companies will be limited to where they can advertise a vacancy which may not attract the appropriate candidate. Recruitment Methods Email: Recruiting through email can be an effective way to recruit internally as everyone within the organisation has access to it; however, there are chances that some employees may not pick their emails up in time to apply for the position.It could also cause conflict if only certain people are sent the email encouraging them to apply for the va cancy and others within the company aren’t. Notice boards are also used to advertise vacancies internally; there are advantages to these as everyone can see them. Most people will take a look if something new is put up; the advert will have to be bright and bold to attract attention. Notice boards don’t always attract the appropriate candidate and employers can find that most of their applicants are unsuitable for the position.A successful way of recruiting internally would be through talent planning/management; this way the employee has the chance to learn all aspects of the business at different levels while progressing. Methods of external recruitment can be through recruitment agencies; a variety of different external agencies can be employed to undertake some part of the recruitment process on behalf of employers. The good thing about using agencies is that they do all the work for you.They will advertise the vacancy as well carry out a short interview with any ca ndidates to identify if they are suitable to apply. The only downside to using this method is the cost; some private agencies will charge a fee. Some companies may also use the job centre as a method of recruitment; however, some employers are reluctant to use them despite the fact that unlike recruitment agencies they offer free advertising. This is partly because the clientele is mainly comprised of unemployed people, who are perceived to be unskilled or low skilled and therefore inappropriate for many jobs.The recruitment function of an organisation is affected and governed by a mix of various internal and external forces. The internal are the factors that can be controlled by the organisation, whereas the external factors cannot. Examples of internal factors would be: * Recruitment policy * Size of the firm * Cost of recruitment * Growth and expansion Examples of external would be: * Supply and demand * Labour market * Unemployment rate * CompetitorsOther factors that will affec t an organisations approach to recruitment and selection can be the effectiveness of the interview; most interviews will be made up of a panel of interviewers from specific departments of the organisation, it is important to ensure that all panel members are trained in interview techniques. You should make sure you carry out thorough preparation and know the candidate’s background while asking competency based questions linked to the person specification. Allowing sufficient time for the interview is very important and always gives the candidate chance to ask any questions.References can affect the approach to recruitment and selection; Stephen Taylor says â€Å"Like interviews and application forms, it is very widely used but has been found to be of limited value by researchers. As a predictor of job performance it has low validity and has often been found to contain more information about its author than about its subject† (Resourcing and Talent Management, Stephen T aylor. P242) a great deal of time and effort is put in by some employers to chase up references to find that they have little practical value.It is very rare that negative or semi-negative references are made; however, most employers now have a policy of only providing factual information and make no comment about an individual’s suitability at all. The law have made it difficult for employers writing references to know for certain that what they will write will be confidential as unsuccessful candidates now have the right to ask for a copy of their references. Inductions The purpose of an induction is to ensure the effective integration of a new employee into the work place.As well as the usual orientation, a new starter needs to understand the business, where their role sits within the set up and what’s expected of them, as well as being quite clear regarding their terms and conditions of employment. A good induction programme should leave no room for confusion or la ck of understanding and should, therefore, induce a feeling of â€Å"belonging†. The employee should then integrate well into the team, have high morale, achieve optimum productivity and therefore be able to work to full potential. In other words- job satisfaction.For the employee it means that all bases are covered and their trained and introduced properly. It also means that all employees receive the same, consistent experience when joining. It ensures that they aware of the company policies and procedures as well as the company ways of working and vision. â€Å"The main reason is that new employees who have undergone an effective induction programme are likely to be competent performers at their jobs more quickly than those whose induction was scanty or non- existent. † (Malcolm Martin and Patricia Jackson, 4th Edition.P110) â€Å"Also, the former group are less likely to leave the organisation at an early stage than the latter group (this phenomenon is commonly kn own as the ‘induction crisis’ and signifies a dissatisfaction with the job or the organisation or both). (Malcolm Martin and Patricia Jackson, 4th Edition. P110) There are certain subjects that should be covered during the induction; employees need to be informed of the organisations products, services, markets and values, terms and conditions of employment for example; pay, hours of work, holidays and sick pay and pension schemes.During the induction employees will be made aware of the physical layout of the organisation along with their rules and procedures, they will also be told of the background and structure. These subjects will put across using different training methods. On the job training will include: * Demonstration/ Instruction- This is showing the trainee how to do the job. * Coaching- This is a more intense method of training that involves a close working relationship between an experienced employee and trainee. Job rotations- This is where the trainee is given several jobs in succession, to gain experience of a wide range of activities (eg. A graduate management trainee might spend periods in several different departments). * Projects- Employees join a project team- This gives them exposure to other parts of the business and allows them to take part in new activities. Advantages of on the job training are that it’s most cost effective as there are no external training courses to pay for and employees don’t need to be given a day release to attend them.It also means new employees are training alongside real colleagues so get an actual feel for how their working day will run. There are disadvantages however to on the job training; employees may pick up bad habits from those who have been with the company for a long time there is also the potential for disruption to production. The learning environment might not be conductive when carrying out on the job training. Off the job training will include: * Distant learning * D ay release * Self-study * Block release course- This may involve several weeks at college.Advantages of off the job training are that a wider range of skills and qualifications can be obtained, employees can learn from outside specialists and experts. It could also mean that employees can be more confident when starting the job. Disadvantages are that it is more experience; companies may need to pay for not only the training course but also for transport and accommodation depending on the location. It could mean lost working time and potential output; once they start the job they may need some further induction training. A big disadvantage to external training courses is the timescales in which they are done.You may book an employee onto a course but will have to wait a couple of weeks for them to attend; this will prevent them from their starting their role. People who will take part in an induction would usually be managers, HR professionals and any trainers depending on the posit ion. Inductions don’t need to be a very formal process but it needs to be properly managed. ACAS run practical training courses to equip managers and HR professionals with the necessary skills to deal with employment relation issues and to create a more productive work place environments.

learning and motivation Essay Example

learning and motivation Essay Example learning and motivation Essay learning and motivation Essay Introduction: In order to study how people learn a new set of behaviors, we are going to apply three learning theories which learned though this course: classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social cognitive theory . ln this paper, only one example would be applied by the theories. The chosen example is a commercial of LNYX body wash which will be further described in the next paragraph. First, we will briefly describe the cases. Then, the application of the theory will be presented part by part from classical conditioning, operant conditioning to social cognitive theory . n each art, we will briefly introduce the major concept of the theories used , followed by the studies on the effectiveness of the commercial. Commercial Content: youtube. com/watch? v=YuvIsaOYr18 The following is the description of the commercial content. The commercial showed that there are two men who were using two different kinds of body wash product. They went clubbing together after using the two different body wash products. The man who used LYNX body wash is charm and handsome so that he got many attractions from girls but another man who used other brand of body wash did not. Classical Conditioning: According to the learning behaviorism approaches, there are two forms of associative learning: Classical conditioning and operant conditioning. I would briefly introduce what is classical conditioning and apply classical conditioning in the chosen advertisement. Last but not least, it will be an analysis on the effectiveness of this advertisement with certain related concepts. Classical conditioning is learning through association/ pairing This is a basic form of learning in which one stimulus predicts the occurrence of another. It also involves making a new connection, or association, between events in the environment. Referring to the commercial showed, before conditioning, charming and handsome man was the unconditioned stimulus and naturally elicits to the reflex of the unconditioned response which was got attraction from girls. During conditioning, there was the pairing up between an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus. Refer to the commercial, charming and handsome man was the unconditioned stimulus and the LYNX body wash was the neutral stimulus which has no intrinsic meaning to the organism before conditioning. After conditioning, man would get attraction form girls after using the LYNX body wash product. So LYNX body wash become conditioned stimulus and elicit girls attraction which is the conditioned For the commercials effectiveness, it depends on peoples cognition of this commercial. According to the related concept of classical conditioning, stimulus generalization is automatic extension of conditioned responding to similar stimuli. Thus, One who are confused about LYNX body wash with other similar product cannot identify the difference and response in the same way with the similar products. That is, they believed that using other brands body wash can also get attraction form girls. Then, the commercials effectiveness would be diminished. Under another situation, stimulus discrimination, the organism does not respond the same way to two similar stimuli as it has learned to distinguish between them. One can distinguish between products of different brands and distinguish that only the use of LYNX can attract girls. So, the effectiveness of the commercial increase as people are willing to buy LYNX body wash in order to get attraction from girls . Therefore, the commercial effectiveness depends on peoples cognition on this advertisement. Operant Conditioning: According to operant conditioning, learning in which the probability of a response is changed by a change in its consequences. (Skinner, 1983)Following the law of effect, if the consequence is positive, or satisfying to the organism, in future with the same stimulus presented again, the same response will be more likely to occur, vice versa. Thus, Skinner said that we learn an association between a response to a stimulus and its consequences with the experiment he did. In this commercial, the stimulus is the use of LYNX body wash; the consequence is become attractive among girls. As we ll know, the consequences attractive here, is positive and pleasant, so people will be more likely to use LYNX body wash. The video shows both types of consequences: reinforcement and punishment. In the video, the man who use LYNX body wash and go clubbing becomes more charming and attracts girls attentions. Being charm is a positive reinforcement. Since Behavior is followed by the delivery of an appetitive stimulus, and it is Increases the probability of that behavior (Skinner, 1969), the delivery of attractiveness after using LYNX body wash reinforces him to increase the behavior of using LYNX body wash. Another man in the commercial, who wears in pink, is using other common brands body wash and going clubbing, he becomes feminine and unwelcome among girls. Removal of attractiveness is the negative punishment since behavior is followed by the removal of an appetitive stimulus, and it is decreasing the probability of that behavior (Skinner, 1969). Therefore, people will not choose to use other brands body wash so as to avoid the unwelcome consequence of removing attractiveness. In order to have an in-depth study on the effectiveness of the commercial based one perant conditioning, we will examine the fulfillment of some important conditions immediately and reinforcer must follow the response. In the commercial popularity among girls (reinforcer) Just followed the response of using LYNX body wash immediately. That means Reinforcers that precede a response rarely have an effect on the response. Moreover, there is no delay in the presentation of popularity among girls after the men using LYNX body wash which preserve the effectiveness of commercial. If the presentation of popularity among girls delayed, the commercial would become less effective as the reinforcers presentation is elayed and the noticed consequence become less rewarding. Last but not least, there are two men using in different brand of body wash but the popularity among girls was only presented when the desired response (use LYNX body wash) occurred. This fulfills the reinforcement contingency which stated that the reinforcer should be presented only when the desired response has occurred. Since there is a strong fulfillment of those conditions for operant conditioning, the commercial is regarded as effective. Social Cognitive Theory: The social cognitive theory force on what and how people learn from one another. There is a reciprocal causation in social cognitive theory stated that the interaction of three variables: environment, person and behavior, affect each other. In order to have a clearer insight on how social cognitive theory is applied in this commercial, we initiate our application from the first step, that is, processes in observation learning. The processes of observation learning included Attention to appropriate models, Retention, Motor Reproduction and Motivation. That means the learner have to pay attention to character in the commercial and remember what the character did. Next, he has to practice Models behavior by using LYNX body wash. If he believe that he will be charming after using LYNX body wash, he will be motivate to keep imitating the Models behavior. Observational learning occurs when an organisms responses are influenced by the observation of a models behavior. Unlike other learning theories, observational learning can be vicarious. In another words, organism simply observes another perform a behavior, notes the consequences, and modifies its own behavior in a future, similar situation. In such, learner observes that the models behavior of using LYNX body wash so as the vicarious reinforcement the model received in the commercial. The learner would then be reinforced by the vicarious reinforcement of Charming and handsome, he would be more likely to imitate the models behavior for the sake of obtaining the same kind of reinforcement in the future. That means, he is going to use LYNX body wash so as to become charming, handsome and attractive to girls. oth self-efficacy and expectancies would affect ones likelihood in imitating the behavior. When one believes they are capable of executing the behaviors successfully, he is with high self-efficacy. Thus, one who got high self-efficacy think that it is easy to get and use LYNX body wash after watching such modeling. He is more likely to imitate the model and using t he product mentioned in the commercial. Expectancies, is about the consequences of a behavior are what render the behavior more or less likely to occur. When one expect to receive a favorable consequence of being Charm and handsome after using LYNX, he is more likely to do so. In order to study whether the commercial is effective, we examine the fulfillment of characteristics of effective models. We found that the model is competent because earners are capable in getting get LYNX body wash. The model behaves in stereotypical gender-appropriate ways as boys generally want to be attractive among girls. to our belief, the commercial will be more effective to boys who seeking for lovers because the models behavior is relevant to the observers situation. as the commercial fulfill such characteristics of effective models, it is an effective commercial form the analysis of social cognitive theory. Conclusion: In conclusion, we had applied all three theories namely classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social cognitive theory in one commercial. We found that the learning effectiveness of the case would depend on different conditions. For instance, in classical conditioning, people would have confusion with different body wash brand thus decrease the effectiveness of the commercial when there is a stimulus generalization; however, commercial would become more effective when there is stimulus discrimination because people could distinguish between different brands which urging them in purchase LYNX body wash. In addition, we can look into some particular conditions and characteristics to scrutinize the effectiveness of the commercial. For operant conditioning, we have examine on some important conditions for operant conditioning like the reinforcement contingency, reinforce must follow the response and immediacy. For social cognitive theory, we have study in some of the Characteristics of effective models: Such as competency, stereotypical gender-appropriate ways and whether the models behavior is relevant to the observers situation. We also noticed that one with high self-efficacy and expectation towards the behavior would also increase the effectiveness of the commercial. Based on the fulfillment of those particular onditions and characteristics of operant conditioning and social cognitive theory respectively, we reckon that the commercial is still regarded as the effective one. Skinner, B. F. (1938). The Behavior of Organisms: An Experimental Analysis. Cambridge, Massachusetts: B. F. Skinner Foundation. Skinner, B. F. (1969) Contingencies of Reinforcement: A Theoretical Analysis TV Commercial from YouTube: youtube. com/watch? v=YuvIsaOYr18 Bibliography Contingencies of Reinforcement: A Theoretical Analysis Skinner, B. F. (1950) Are theories of learning necessary? Psychological Review, 57(4), 193-216.

To Kill A Mockingbird Essays (520 words) - To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird Essays (520 words) - To Kill A Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is an ageless classic that takes place during the 1930s. In the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, there was a deadly racial attitude towards the people who were different then the general public. In a town of tunnel vision and hatred, Atticus and Scout stood out with open minds. Atticus was the anchor of reason in Maycomb. He understood many people in town and taught his children how to understand other people's feeling as well. Atticus believed that if you knew what someone had been through, then you would understand them better. Atticus also made Jem and Scout realize that no one is pure evil; meaning that if you look hard enough, you would find that there is good in every person you meet. Mrs. Dubose, who was perceived as an "old witch" by Jem and Scout, showed great bravery in her fight against drug addiction. Atticus believed Jem would change his opinions of Mrs. Dubose if he spends some time with her. Only after Mrs. Dubose's death did Jem begin to perceive Mrs. Dubose the same way his father did. Likewise Atticus defended Tom Robinson when no other lawyer would. He was one of the few respectable people who were not blinded by the racial injustice Tom Robinson faced. Not only did Atticus defend Tom in the courthouse, he defended him at jail on one occa sion too. It happened when an angry mob was trying to kill Tom Robinson, but Atticus risked his life to save him from that mob. If only the people of Maycomb were willing to listen to Atticus' wise advice, then the town would be free of racism. Scout, symbolizing the leaders of tomorrow, began to see how other people perceived things. She started to understand the meaning of "to kill a mockingbird." At first Scout couldn't comprehend what Atticus meant when he said, "It was a sin to kill a mockingbird." As the novel progressed, Scout begun to realize how people contributed to the community without harming others. For example when Boo Radley (the shy neighbor who never went outside) killed Bob Ewell to save Jem and Scout, the sheriff of Maycomb County tried to cover it up. Heck Tate, who was the sheriff, believed that "...taking the one man who's done you and this town a great service an' draggin' him with his shy ways into the limelight" (279) was a sin. Tate reasoned that Boo would have hated being praised a hero by the townspeople because he was so shy. Because she had a child-like innocence and believed that racism is wrong, she could have been the perfect role model for people of all ages. Atticus and Scout, the few people in Maycomb who had enough senses to see the injustice of discrimination. Some people may ask how a whole town could be consumed by hatred. But even today our world continues to deal with racism. If people like Atticus and Scout did not exist in our world, then mankind would be in forever war until we completely destroy each other.

How to Make Pure Sand (Silicon Dioxide) in a Lab

How to Make Pure Sand (Silicon Dioxide) in a Lab Sand that you find on a beach consists of several minerals and organic matter. If you could separate out the impurities, you would have pure sand, which is silica or silicon dioxide. Here is how to prepare pure sand yourself in the lab. It is an easy project that only requires a few chemicals. Ingredients for Sand sodium silicate (make sodium silicate yourself)sodium bisulfatewater Make Pure Sand Mix together 5 ml sodium silicate solution and 5 ml water.In a separate container, use a glass stirrer to mix 3.5 grams sodium bisulfate into 10 mL of water. Keep stirring until the sodium bisulfate dissolves.Mix the two solutions together. The resulting gel that forms at the bottom of the liquid is orthosilicic acid.Place the orthosilicic acid into a heat-safe glass or porcelain dish and heat it over a burner flame for about 5 minutes. The orthosilicic acid dries to form silicon dioxide, SiO2, which is your pure sand. Sand is non-toxic, but it presents an inhalation hazard since the small particles could become trapped in your lungs if inhaled. Therefore, enjoy your sand, but dont play with it like you might with natural sand.

Development of childrens higher order reading skills Essay

Development of childrens higher order reading skills - Essay Example Children are always the same, it’s the educational setup that needs to be adapted to their needs for a good nation building. Knowledge is extremely important for every individual in order to keep up with the rapidly modifying dynamic nature of the modern world. Books are among the key sources, that children can develop knowledge from. Learning starts from the day the child is born. He keeps on developing an understanding for the world as he/she experiences matters of daily life. Every child starts the journey of speech from broken words. Then the child starts to link words to express his/her meaning effectively. These broken words are aided by actions. A child may not be structuring the sentence correctly, but is careful about acting enough so that the meaning gets delivered. With due passage of time, with careful attention and regular practice, the child unintentionally starts to construct the sentence in the right way. It is the nature of every creature to adopt ways to communicate, and this urge is inborn. A child’s psychology is greatly influenced by colors. A child’s world is a world of colors and fantasies. That is why in our life, at a later stage, we find things, that once we used to fancy in our childhood, very absurd. So the delicate child-nature needs to be dealt with immense care to develop good reading skills in the child.

Self reflection (Craven books) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Self reflection (Craven books) - Essay Example The ability of that system is to operate all computers independently which are associated with software programs and peripheral devices (Reference for Business, n.d.a). The significance of this new computer system lies in the goal of the company to have a competitive advantage. This can be evaluated on how the company applies its Information System Strategy. These are information systems developed to support and meet the company's competitive strategy. The computer systems implemented will create business strategies relevant to all business operations: capture, transmit, store, retrieve, manipulate, and display information for all business processes (Reference for Business, n.d.b). 2. System Implementation The importance of implementing a computer system in a company is to manage efficiently and effectively all business operations and transactions. The system implementation includes hardware and software acquisition; user preparation; hiring and training of personnel; site and docume ntation preparation (Davis & Yen, 1998); installation, testing and start up; and user acceptance (Baldauf & Stair, 2011). 2.1 Acquisition This involves the selection of the hardware, software, materials and equipments used during the implementation (Implementation plan, 2003) and also the names of the suppliers. The cost of acquiring the computer system can either be purchased or leased. If it is purchased, some of the advantages are: free working capital; hedge against hardware obsolescence; allows installation with small capital budget but large recurrent budget; and selling of unwanted equipment is minimized (Bramer, n.d.). If it is purchased the advantages include: ownership and usage of the system without additional cost; and choice of purchasing additional equipments (Bramer, n.d.). However, the downsides of leasing will be: high interest rates, reduced flexibility of disposing obsolete equipments, maximum system usage; and chances of dispossession if it is unpaid (Bramer, n.d .). When purchased, the disadvantages will be high initial capital costs (Bramer, n.d.). 2.2 User Preparation User preparation involves readying the key personnel in the organisation, from top management down to low level management who will be affected in the new system application. It includes marketing, training, documentation and support. The training is the very highlight in the entire process because it can affect the efficiency and effectiveness of both the system and users (Baldauf & Stair, 2011). It also covers the system security features and timeline of the entire process. 2.3 Hiring and Training Of Personnel After the system is purchased or developed, the hiring and training of personnel must also be considered. These personnel must know their role and responsibilities in facilitating effective implementation. When hiring key personnel, their qualifications must consist of outstanding expertise in handling the systems. The objective of this training is to prepare them to manage the whole software applications, thus facilitate the training of the end-users. Adams et al. (2004) recognized the role of consultants as beneficial because they don't just provide experience and expertise but also there would be no conflict of interest involved in making decisions since they're not under the umbrella of the company (cited in Tavassoli & Toland, 2008). 2.4 Site and Documentation Preparation Site

INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON SAFETY AND PROJECT PERFORMANCE Dissertation

INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON SAFETY AND PROJECT PERFORMANCE - Dissertation Example It is a fact that there has over time, developed a lot of debate concerning the influence of safety culture in the construction industry of Saudi Arabia. According to Williamsen (2013), safety culture provides the project leader with the courage to follow through all the decisions that he has made because without it, then his decisions will most likely not be taken seriously by his subordinates, and will,  in fact, become meaningless. It has been found that in the Saudi construction industry, there has developed a need for the integration of conservative Saudi safety culture into the design of the building being constructed (Zou, Redman & Windon, 2008). It is a fact that many project leaders in Saudi Arabia in the past have been unsuccessful because they have failed to consider the importance of culture in this society when making decisions concerning safety and project performance, especially when these decisions were needed the most (DeJoy, Gershon & Schaffer, 2004). In this indu stry, every project leader should be conscious of the situations involving safety of their workers and this enables them to ensure that the safety of those who work in the construction site is ensured; they have to consider the best safety solutions that are culturally acceptable (Nelson, 1996; Simon & Frazee, 2005). They have to study the cultural needs exceptionally well and understand them so that their decisions concerning the project can be correct and well informed and this is likely to ensure that safety standards and the project performance are of the high. The purpose for this research is to explore how Saudi safety culture has come to influence the safety and performance of construction projects in the country. The study is based on the construction industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and seeks to explore the impact of this culture on the safety of employees as well as on project performance. The current aspects of safety culture and safety policies that have been ado pted by the construction industry in Saudi Arabia, as well as the factors that influence implementation of safety culture in construction companies will also be examined. Among the cultural factors that are going to be explored in this research include the religious recommendations on safety, the economic considerations, as well as the willingness of the construction companies to ensure the safety of their employees. The research would be helpful in determining the degree to which culture influences safety and performance of construction projects. Background According to Carrillo (2012) the failure of those taking on projects in Saudi Arabia to understand the importance of safety culture means that they will likely make decisions that are unacceptable, and these might end up jeopardizing the entire project. Moreover, individuals in the construction industry have to consider the fact that the safety culture of the Saudi Arabia is prescribed not only on the Holy Quran but also on the Sunnah. They therefore need to conduct investigations in order to come up with as much information about it as they can to ensure that all the construction projects that they undertake are in compatibility with the Sunnah (Chileshe & Dzisi, 2012). They should be extremely careful when attempting to stop those old practices which might be detrimental to the project, but part of the local culture, because the adoption of new ones leads to the immense failure of the safety standards as well as the project

Case Study Discuss the pathpyysiology of Myelofibrosis Essay

Case Study Discuss the pathpyysiology of Myelofibrosis - Essay Example This disease is characterized by fibrosis and sclerosis of bone marrow. To compensate for the hematopoietic cell population, extramedullary hematopoiesis takes place in the spleen, accounting for the massive enlargement of the spleen. This disease occurs predominantly in subjects over the age of 54 years. The bone marrow fibrosis is the hallmark of pathological findings in such cases, where extensive fibrosis with resultant peripheral blood leukoerythroblastosis is expected as a typical histopathologic picture on bone marrow biopsy (Tefferi, 2000, p. 1255-1265). This clinically heterogeneous group of diseases stems from clonal proliferation of stem cell origin and is characterized at least initially by marrow hypercellularity with varying degrees of marrow fibrosis and an increase in the production of one or more terminally differentiated cell types. These differentiated elements may accumulate in the bone marrow, in the peripheral blood, and in other organs, such as, spleen. All these diseases demonstrate a variable tendency to undergo disease progression that may terminate in bone marrow failure or in transformation to an acute phase malignant disease. The evaluation of bone marrow histology holds an important role in defining the pathology of this disease, by mainly ruling out unsuspected pathology. The pathologic changes are subtle until the disease has progressed, and therefore, classification of these disorders benefits from the integration of the morphologic features with clinical, hematologic, and cytogenetic findings. Of major impo rtance is the presence or absence of Philadelphia chromosomes (BCR/ABL or translocation9;22). This group of diseases constitutes the classical group of BCR/ABL-negative chronic myeloproliferative disorders. The disease is regarded as one of the chronic myeloproliferative disorders. Recently considerable progress has been made in understanding its pathogenesis, although this has yet to result in significant therapeutic advances. Indeed, its prognosis remains poor when compared to other BCR-ABL-negative chronic myeloproliferative disorders with death resulting from cardiac failure, infection, hemorrhage, and leukemic transformation (Barosi, 2003, p. 1211-1226). Hemapoetic Components It has been appreciated for many years that MF is a clonal disorder and that the disease arises from the proliferation of malignant pluripotential stem cells. Recently, using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), there is evidence that both B and T cells can be involved, while karyotypic analysis has shown that the stromal proliferation is polyclonal, or reactive, and not part of the underlying clonal hematopoiesis. An increased number of circulating hematopoietic precursors, including pluripotent and lineage restricted progenitor cells is a feature of MF and is likely to result from the proteolytic release of stem cells from the marrow. It is also possible that the spleen and liver contribute to the circulating progenitor pool as splenectomy temporarily normalizes levels. The high level of circulating progenitor cells is reflected in the significantly increased peripheral

Management Styles & Decisions IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management Styles & Decisions IP - Research Paper Example The company would like to create an additional layer of management to focus on the global initiatives while lower level management focuses on day to day operations. In making recommendations a consulting firm must address each concern of the company. Any change within an organizational structure requires first identifying and examining what objectives the company would like to achieve and then deciding how best to achieve those objectives. Global expansion efforts that are not successful due to complete thorough and well made plans will cost the company time and money and management effort will be wasted. Risk assessments evaluation should be done on the company’s global expansion and careful market research should be completed by both an inside and outside organization if this is possible. Developing a new company vision to involve a culturally aware mission statement should also include global values and managers who operate in a globally sensitive way. Determining what structure the new organizational type should be will guide the focus of new efforts. A team based structure provides integration and flexibility though it is size limited and can lack role clarity and technical excellence. To compensate for these weaknesses information technology, rewards systems, skills development tools and integrating roles should be focused on (Digeorgio). Employee morale as reported by the company is mixed, with half of the employees eager to move into management positions and the other half being satisfied in their current status. Budget restraints do not allow everyone within the company to be promoted and performances evaluations show not everyone within the company have been performing satisfactorily. Using employee recognition programs could provide incentive to improvement in those employees who will not be offered promotions or upper level management positions. Reward programs create a positive impact on customer focus and

Case Study Discuss the pathpyysiology of Myelofibrosis Essay

Case Study Discuss the pathpyysiology of Myelofibrosis - Essay Example This disease is characterized by fibrosis and sclerosis of bone marrow. To compensate for the hematopoietic cell population, extramedullary hematopoiesis takes place in the spleen, accounting for the massive enlargement of the spleen. This disease occurs predominantly in subjects over the age of 54 years. The bone marrow fibrosis is the hallmark of pathological findings in such cases, where extensive fibrosis with resultant peripheral blood leukoerythroblastosis is expected as a typical histopathologic picture on bone marrow biopsy (Tefferi, 2000, p. 1255-1265). This clinically heterogeneous group of diseases stems from clonal proliferation of stem cell origin and is characterized at least initially by marrow hypercellularity with varying degrees of marrow fibrosis and an increase in the production of one or more terminally differentiated cell types. These differentiated elements may accumulate in the bone marrow, in the peripheral blood, and in other organs, such as, spleen. All these diseases demonstrate a variable tendency to undergo disease progression that may terminate in bone marrow failure or in transformation to an acute phase malignant disease. The evaluation of bone marrow histology holds an important role in defining the pathology of this disease, by mainly ruling out unsuspected pathology. The pathologic changes are subtle until the disease has progressed, and therefore, classification of these disorders benefits from the integration of the morphologic features with clinical, hematologic, and cytogenetic findings. Of major impo rtance is the presence or absence of Philadelphia chromosomes (BCR/ABL or translocation9;22). This group of diseases constitutes the classical group of BCR/ABL-negative chronic myeloproliferative disorders. The disease is regarded as one of the chronic myeloproliferative disorders. Recently considerable progress has been made in understanding its pathogenesis, although this has yet to result in significant therapeutic advances. Indeed, its prognosis remains poor when compared to other BCR-ABL-negative chronic myeloproliferative disorders with death resulting from cardiac failure, infection, hemorrhage, and leukemic transformation (Barosi, 2003, p. 1211-1226). Hemapoetic Components It has been appreciated for many years that MF is a clonal disorder and that the disease arises from the proliferation of malignant pluripotential stem cells. Recently, using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), there is evidence that both B and T cells can be involved, while karyotypic analysis has shown that the stromal proliferation is polyclonal, or reactive, and not part of the underlying clonal hematopoiesis. An increased number of circulating hematopoietic precursors, including pluripotent and lineage restricted progenitor cells is a feature of MF and is likely to result from the proteolytic release of stem cells from the marrow. It is also possible that the spleen and liver contribute to the circulating progenitor pool as splenectomy temporarily normalizes levels. The high level of circulating progenitor cells is reflected in the significantly increased peripheral

Decolonization as a Violent Phenomenon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

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Linguistics and Interjections Essay Example for Free

Linguistics and Interjections Essay In Western philosophy and linguistic theory, interjections—that is, words like oof, ouch, and bleah—have traditionally been understood to indicate emotional states. This article offers an account of interjections in Q’eqchi’ Maya that illuminates their social and discursive functions. In particular, it discusses the grammatical form of interjections, both in Q’eqchi’ and across languages, and characterizes the indexical objects and pragmatic functions of interjections in Q’eqchi’ in terms of a semiotic framework that may be generalized for other languages. With these grammatical forms, indexical objects, and pragmatic functions in hand, it details the various social and discursive ends that interjections serve in one Q’eqchi’ community, thereby shedding light on local values, norms, ontological classes, and social relations. In short, this article argues against interpretations of interjections that focus on internal emotional states by providing an account of their meanings in terms of situational, discursive, and social context. p a u l k o c k e l m a n is McKennan Post-Doctoral Fellow in Linguistic Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H. 03755, U.S.A. [[emailprotected]]). Born in 1970, he was educated at the University of California, Santa Cruz (B.A., 1992) and the University of Chicago (M.S., 1994; Ph.D., 2002). His publications include â€Å"The Collection of Copal among the Q’eqchi’-Maya† (Research in Economic Anthropology 20:163–94), â€Å"Factive and Counterfactive Clitics in Q’eqchi’-Maya: Stance, Status, and Subjectivity,† in Papers from the Thirty-eighth Annual Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society (Chicago: Linguistics Society, in press), and â€Å"The Interclausal Relations Hierarchy in Q’eqchi’ Maya† (International Journal of American Linguistics 69:25–48). The present paper was submitted 1 vi 01 and accepted 27 xii 02. 1. A longer version of this article was presented at the workshop â€Å"Semiotics: Culture in Context† at the University of Chicago in January 2001. Chris Ball, Anya Bernstein, John Lucy, and Michael Silverstein all provided very helpful commentary. This article also greatly beneï ¬ ted from suggestions made by Benjamin S. Orlove and several anonymous referees. Western philosophy and linguistic theory have traditionally considered interjections at the periphery of language and primordially related to emotion. For example, the Latin grammarian Priscian deï ¬ ned interjections as â€Å"a part of speech signifying an emotion by means of an unformed word† (Padley 1976:266). Muller (1862)  ¨ thought that interjections were at the limit of what might be called language. Sapir (1921:6–7) said that they were â€Å"the nearest of all language sounds to instinctive utterance.† Bloomï ¬ eld (1984[1933]:177) said that they â€Å"occur under a violent stimulus,† and Jakobson (1960: 354) considered them exemplars of the â€Å"purely emotive stratum of language.† While interjections are no longer considered peripheral to linguistics and are now carefully deï ¬ ned with respect to their grammatical form, their meanings remain vague and elusive. In particular, although interjections are no longer characterized pure ly in terms of emotion, they are still characterized in terms of â€Å"mental states.† For example, Wierzbicka (1992:164) characterizes interjections as â€Å"[referring] to the speaker’s current mental state or mental act.† Ameka (1992a:107) says that â€Å"from a pragmatic point of view, interjections may be deï ¬ ned as a subset of items that encode speaker attitudes and communicative intentions and are contextbound,† and Montes (1999:1289) notes that many interjections â€Å"[focus] on the internal reaction of affectedness of the speaker with respect to the referent.† Philosophers have offered similar interpretations. For example, Herder thought that interjections were the human equivalent of animal sounds, being both a â€Å"language of feeling† and a â€Å"law of nature† (1966:88), and Rousseau, pursuing the origins of language, theorized that protolanguage was â€Å"entirely interjectional† (1990:71). Indeed, such philosophers have posited a historical transition from interjections to language in which the latter allows us not only to index pain and express passion but also to denote values and exercise reason (D’Atri 1995).2 Thus interjections have been understood as a semiotic artifact of our natural origins and the most transparent index of our emotions. Such an understanding of interjections is deeply rooted in Western thought. Aristotle (1984), for example, posited a contrastive relationship between voice, proper only to humans as instantiated in language, and sound, shared by humans and animals as instantiated in cries. This contrastive relation was then compared with other analogous contrastive relations, in particular, value and pleasure/pain, polis and household, and bios (the good life, or political life proper to humans) and zoe (pure life, shared by all living things). Such a contrast is so pervasive that modern philosophers such as Agamben (1995) have devoted much of their scholarly work to the thinking out of this tradition and others built on it such as id versus ego in the Freudian paradigm. In short, the folk distinction made between interjections and language 2. D’Atri (1995:124) argues that, for Rousseau, â€Å"interjections . . . are sounds and not voices: they are passive registerings and as such do not presuppose the intervention of will, which is what characterizes human acts of speech.† Proper maps onto a larger set of distinctions in Western thought: emotion and cognition, animality and humanity, nature and culture, female and male, passion and reason, bare life and the good life, pain and value, private and public, and so on (see, e.g., Lutz 1988, Strathern 1988). In this article I avoid such abstracting and dichotomizing traps by going straight to the heart of interjections: their everyday usage in actual discourse when seen in the context of local culture and grounded in a semiotic framework. I begin by characterizing the linguistic and ethnographic context in which I carried out my research and go on to relate interjections to other linguistic forms, showing how they are both similar to and distinct from other classes of words in natural languages. Next I provide and exemplify a semiotic framework, generalizable across languages, in terms of which the indexical objects and pragmatic functions of interjections can best be characterized. Then I detail the local usage of the 12 most commonly used interjections in Q’eqchi’ and show the way in which they are tied into all things cultural: values, norms, ontological classes, social relations, and so on. I conclude by discussing the relative frequency with which the various forms and functions of interjections are used. In short, I argue against interpretations of interjections that focus on emotional states by providing an account of their meanings in terms of situational, discursive, and social context. Linguistic and Ethnographic Context While I am attempting to provide as wide a theoretical account of interjections as I can, thereby providing a metalanguage for speaking about similar sign phenomena in other languages, I am also trying to capture the grammatical niceties of Q’eqchi’ Maya and the discursive and social particularities of one Q’eqchi’-speaking village in particular. Before I begin my analysis, then, I want to sketch the linguistic and ethnographic context in which I worked. Q’eqchi’ is a language in the Kichean branch of the Mayan family, spoken by some 360,000 speakers in Guatemala (in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Izabel, and Peten) and Belize (Kaufman 1974, Stewart 1980). 3 Lin ´ guistically, Q’eqchi’ is relatively well described: scholars such as Berinstein (1985), Sedat (1955), Stewart (1980), Stoll (1896), and Chen Cao et al. (1997) have discussed its syntax, morphology, phonology, and lexicon, and I have detailed various morphosyntactic forms (encoding grammatical categories such as mood, status, evidentiality, taxis, and inalienable possession) as they intersect with sociocultural values and contextual features and as they illuminate local modes of personhood (Kockelman 3. Typologically, Q’eqchi’ is a morphologically ergative, head-marking language. In Q’eqchi’, vowel length (signaled by doubling letters) is phonemic; /k/ and /q/ are velar and uvular plosives, respectively, and /x/ and /j/ are palato-alveolar and velar fricatives, respectively. All other phonemes have their standard IPA values. 2002, 2003a, b). This article is therefore part of a larger project in which I examine how intentional and evaluative stances are encoded in natural languages and the relations that such stances bear to local modes of subjectivity. Alta Verapaz, the original center of the Q’eqchi’-speaking people who still make up the majority of its population, has had a unusual history even by Guatemalan standards. In 1537, after the Spanish crown had failed to conquer the indigenous peoples living there, the Dominican Friar Bartolome de Las Casas was permitted to  ´ pacify the area through religious methods. Having succeeded, he changed the name of the area from Tezulutlan (Land of War) to Verapaz (True Peace), and the Dominicans were granted full control over the area—the state banning secular immigration, removing all military colonies, and nullifying previous land grants. In this way, for almost 300 years the area remained an isolated enclave, relatively protected by the paternalism of the church in comparison with other parts of Guatemala (King 1974, Sapper 1985). This ended abruptly in the late 1800s, however, with the advent of coffee growing, liberal reforms, and the inï ¬â€šux of Europeans (Cambranes 1985, Wagner 1996). Divested of their land and forced to work on coffee plantations, the Q’eqchi’ began migrating north into the unpopulated lowland forests of the Peten  ´ and Belize (Adams 1965, Carter 1969, Howard 1975, Kockelman 1999, Pedroni 1991, Saa Vidal 1979, Schwartz 1990, Wilk 1991). In the past 40 years this migration has been fueled by a civil war that has ravaged the Guatemalan countryside, with the Q’eqchi’ ï ¬â€šeeing not just scarce resources and labor quotas but also their own nation’s soldiers—often forcibly conscripted speakers of other Mayan languages (Carmack 1988, IWGIA 1978, Wilson 1995). As a consequence, the past century has seen the Q’eqchi’ population spread from Alta Verapaz to the Peten and ï ¬ nally to Belize, Mexico, and even the  ´ United States. Indeed, although only the fourth largest of some 24 Mayan languages, Q’eqchi’ is thought to have the largest percentage of monolinguals, and the ethnic group is Guatemala’s fastest-growing and most geographically extensive (Kaufman 1974, Stewart 1980). The two key ethnographies of Q’eqchi’-speakers have been written by Wilk (1991) and Wilson (1995), the former treating household ecology in Belize and the latter upheavals in village life and identity at the height of the civil war in highland Guatemala during the 1980s. In addition to these monographs, there are also a number of dissertations and articles on the history (King 1974, Sapper 1985, Wagner 1996), ecology (Carter 1969, Secaira 1992, Wilson 1972), and migration (Adams 1965, Howard 1975, Pedroni 1991) of Q’eqchi’-speaking people. The data for this article are based on almost two years of ethnographic and linguistic ï ¬ eldwork among speakers of Q’eqchi’, most of it in Ch’inahab, a village of some 80 families (around 650 people) in the municipality of San Juan Chamelco, in the department of Alta Verapaz. At an altitude of approximately 2,400 m, Ch’inahab is one of the highest villages in this area, with an annual precipitation of more than 2,000 mm. It is also one of the most remote, access to the closest road requiring a three-hour hike down a steep and muddy single-track trail. Its relatively high altitude and remote location provide the perfect setting for cloud forest, and such a cloud forest provides the perfect setting for the resplendent quetzal, being home to what is thought to be the highest density of such birds in the world. Because of the existence of the quetzal and the cloud forest in which it makes its home, Ch’inahab has been the site of a successful eco-tourism project the conditions and consequences of which are detailed in my dissertation (Kockelman 2002). While the majority of villagers in Ch’inahab are monolingual speakers of Q’eqchi’, some men who have served time in the army or worked as itinerant traders speak some Spanish. All the villagers are Catholic. Ch’inahab is divided by a mountain peak with dwellings on both of its sides and in the surrounding valleys. It takes about 45 minutes to hike across the village. At one end there is a biological station kept by the eco-tourism project and used sporadically by European ecologists, and at the other there is a Catholic church and a cemetery. In the center there is a small store, a school for primary and secondary grades, and a soccer ï ¬ eld. The surrounding landscape is cloud forest giving way to scattered house sites, agricultural parcels, pasture, and ï ¬ elds now fallow. All villagers engage in corn-based, or milpa, agriculture, but very few have enough land to fulï ¬ ll all of their subsistence needs.4 For this reason, many women in the village are dedicated to chicken husbandry, most men in the village engage in seasonal labor on plantations (up to ï ¬ ve months a year in some cases), and many families engage in itinerant trade (women weaving baskets and textiles for the men to sell) and eco-tourism (the women hosting tourists and the men guiding them). Dwelling sites often contain a scattering of houses in which reside an older couple and their married sons, all of whom share a water source and a pasture. The individual families themselves often have two houses, a relatively traditional thatched-roof house in which the family cooks and sleeps and a relatively new house with a tin roof in which they host festivals and in which older children and ecotourists may sleep. Because of eco-tourism and the inï ¬â€šux of money and strangers that it brings, there has been an increase in the construction of such tin-roofed houses, and, as will be seen, many of my examples of interjections come from such construction contexts. My data on the use of interjections among villagers in Ch’inahab comes from 14 months of ï ¬ eldwork carried out between 1998 and 2001. The data collection con4. Before 1968, what is now Ch’inahab was owned by the owner of a plantation. Q’eqchi’-speakers who lived in the village of Popobaj (located to the south of and lower than Ch’inahab) were permitted to make their milpa in this area in exchange for two weeks of labor per month on the ï ¬ nca (Secaira 1992:20). Only in 1968, when a group of villagers got together to form a land acquisition committee, were some 15 caballerÄ ±as (678 ha) of land purchased from the owner  ´ for 4,200 quetzals (US$4,200). This land, while legally owned by the entire community, was divided among the original 33 villagers as a function of their original contributions.

Facebook As A Learning Tool

Facebook As A Learning Tool Many teachers believe that students using laptops during class are not always taking notes or doing research related to their class discussion. If students are wondering then chances are they are using Facebook. Statistics show that students spend most of their time on Facebook. Most of the teachers believe that Facebook is a disturbance in the classroom, but Facebook has the potential to be a learning tool when it`s used strategically and creatively. I assert that Facebook can be a reliable and a popular medium through which both educators and students can interact appropriately. I will review findings by some researchers to understand the relationship between Facebook and education, and will show how it could be a reliable and popular mean to be used as a learning tool by focusing on three main points: (1) Facebook promotes knowledge and maintains effective and efficient student interaction with educators. (2) Facebook open doors to new opportunities for ubiquitous learning. (3) Fa cebook as a medium to develop communication skills and encourage participation and social commitment. Develop communication skills and encourage participation and social commitment: Communication through Facebook is different from traditional face-to-face communication. First, friendships through Facebook are explicit, where traditional friendships usually tend to be implicit. Secondly, conversations through Facebook are persistent. They are permanently stored and easily retrieved at any point in time. Finally, Facebook conversations share with all friends who can access someones profile (Siegle 15). Facebook is used as a primary communication activity through which young adults post, comment, and share information with each other. Facebook can provide a window into anyones life. Given that fact, it is the responsibility of the parents to monitor and provide guidelines to their children once they start using Facebook. The use of Facebook by students entails education-related interactions, while some use it to obtain information on a missed class, others may use Facebook to engage in humorous comments about their own and their teachers actions. No one can deny the fact that Facebook broke down the barriers between students and educators because the informal learning that occurs in the context of sharing media offers important opportunities for increased student involvement in formal learning settings (Fewkes and McCabe 2012). Fewkes and McCabe have argued that a learning community would perform its best if the characteristics of connectedness and trust have been established amongst the learners (Fewkes and McCabe 2012). For this reason, education remains one of the areas most heavily impacted by technology. Promotes knowledge and maintaining effective and efficient student interaction with educators: Various studies have been conducted on teachers, university professors, and young adults to understand and assess the usage of social networks in the light of education and its effect on students academic achievements as well as fulfilling the desire of promoting knowledge and maintaining effective and efficient student interaction with educators. Aaron M. Fewkes and Mike McCabe conducted a survey on a sample of students at Waterloo Regional District School Board after the latter had made a decision to embrace the growing popularity of Facebook to verify if their vision of using Facebook in schools aligns with the actual behavior of the students. The results show that 48% of students do log on to Facebook at least once during class time, moreover, the research exposed a possible disconnect between school board and students due to improper implementation of this policy. Educators who relied on Facebook to follow professional organizations were more knowledgeable than those who did not (Pilgrim and Bledsoe 38-39). We live in an age in which we are fully dependent on instant updates and information, the rationale behind using Facebook as a tool for professional learning adopts the idea that the internet is this generations defining technology for literacy (Pilgrim and Bledsoe 39). Facebook is indeed an important source of information for educators who seek to continue their learning. According to a study conducted on university instructors in Turkey, all instructors who participated in the survey somehow use Facebook in their courses; even the instructor with the lowest frequency had used Facebook to make announcements about the course by creating a group. The study concludes that instructors have adopted Facebook and they are using it intensively, with a greater tendency toward its use for educational purposes. According to my cited sources, the studies recognized Facebook as a reliable source for academicians because it is flexible and user friendly, in addition, the sources emphasized on the role of Facebook as a medium between students and instructors and argued that Facebook can neither be solely dependable for conducting courses nor can it be ignored. Open doors to new opportunities for ubiquitous learning: Educators respond the use of technology in their classrooms in five ways: (1) Ban it: This has been deemed ineffective due to the fact that technology is becoming a part of our life that we constantly use. Typical workarounds are hiding devices behind books and texting from pockets. (2) Do business as usual: I disagree with this behavior of educators as it is the educators responsibility to engage the students in their classrooms (3) limit the use of Technology: a clear guideline indicating what is to be tolerated and what would be unacceptable. (4) Enhance traditional practice: Technology is dependent on users. (5) Use the technology to restructure the educational process: encourage students to use technology for inquiry, problem solving and/or instruction. (Siegle ) If I was an instructor, my choice would be the fifth option, as it is the most effective and efficient according to the studies conducted by Pilgrim, Beldsoe, and Siegle, who all have concluded in their studies the importance of learning how to incorporate Facebook into the education process. The use of technology allows students to use social media websites like Facebook to engage in formal or informal discussions with their instructor as well as their fellow students. There are many ways educators and students can connect using Facebook. For instance, teachers can post comments for the students, students can post their final work for their peers to review and provide feedback, and also students can use the wall feature to ask questions and respond to each other. In addition, teachers set up a central page where all classroom mates can join to participate at any time of their choice to exchange knowledge and understanding of the subject being studied. Using social media should be, however, accompanied by some important precautions which educators should adhere to when using Facebook as a tool for educating students: (1) Teachers should consider setting up a separate Facebook account. (2) Educators should obtain signed parental consent prior to interacting with young students on Facebook. (3) Teachers should refrain from installing any applications on their page that would negatively affect their professional image. (4) Educators should remind students that they need to transfer the respectful tone teachers expect in class to their online interactions with them and ensure that students are aware that a teachers ethical responsibility will continue online. After I have explored the usage of Facebook by educators as well as students and identified the benefits of such usage by each party, I can say that Facebook is a reliable and a popular medium through which both educators and students can interact appropriately. In order for this medium of communication to work in its most effective and efficient way, students need to be trustful and self-regulated, that is, to refrain from the over- use of Facebook. In conclusion, Educators and students use Facebook; the education process should be focused on the interaction of each party with the other and not the technology itself. Facebook opens new doors to students and allows their knowledge to grow. Facebook also allows them to learn about themselves from their peers. It is my belief that social networks like Facebook will continue to evolve and optimize the education channels in the context of human communication. Educators should consider Facebook as a mean of enhanced communication that provides traceability to what has been discussed and a source of feedback and/or evaluation on whether the discussion has fulfilled what it is mandated for or not.

inferno :: essays research papers

Is there still time...   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alakhai, at the young age of 27, is a very respected and very wealthy stock broker. He has a loving wife and 2 kids which he truly adores. He met his wife five years ago when he was in his last year of college. She fell completely head over heals for him the minute she met him. At first she was a little hesitant to marry him when he asked because he really did not believe in God, and she was a devout Christian. She told him that before he married her, he had to go to church and Sunday school for two month. Well after about five weeks he had a â€Å"spiritual breakthrough.† He, realizing she would never marry him if he was not a Christian, accepted Christ when the invitation is given at the end of the Sunday school course. She was thrilled, and they were married four months later. He now lives each day saying that he is a Christian and pretending to be, but if you were able to look into his soul, you would find a heart completely cold to the Word. Then one d ay he awakes in a dark forest surrounded by nothing but trees. After a few hours, he hears a voice coming from the what seems to be every direction....   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Hello Alakhai. My name is Surealla. I am here to take you on a journey in the hope that you will see the Truth. Please do not ask questions, for we do not have much time. We must go before it is too late.† As I look before me, a young girl appears, dressed in a white robe and caring a book. Upon further observation I see that the book is actually the Bible. â€Å"Please take my hand and follow me. I want to show you something.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As we walked, it seemed like the woods were growing thicker and darker. I could smell a very faint odor that resembled that of a wet dog. As I looked ahead of me, I saw a very large door. It looked very heavy to open. It was clearly black, but it seemed to have some red tint to it. As we moved closer to it, I could see that the door was covered in...in blood? At that point I turned to run away, and behind me was a sight so frightening that I almost fainted.

Fashion Branding

Dry. Hang Fashion brands in the Market place The Market place of MAC was solely built on the networking and the relationships the previous owners Frank Token, and Frank Angelo had with people in the fashion industry. The owners were tired of seeing makeup products that couldn't sustain the abuse of studio lights so they decided to make a quality makeup company. Frank Token was the idea behind the original project making formulas with his brother-in- law Victor Casual who was also a chemist (Evelyn, 2009).Frank Angelo came along to kind of help with the entrepreneurship aspect of the company, and they hit it off after that. Since both of the franks were already in the makeup, and hair industry they knew a lot of people that they could network their new makeup products too. Like I also mentioned before they were the first cosmetic line to offer a wide range of color lipsticks, most companies were mainly focused on skincare and facial products.MAC cosmetics were originally made for peop le in the high fashion industry, and were later pushed towards any and everybody in the fashion and keep industry (Evelyn, 2009). In 1986 MAC was styling fashion looks one being the concept of bald brides in Toronto fashion shows (Upgraded). In 1988 Henry Bended in New York was the first department store picking MAC's cosmetics , followed by a 1994 campaign of â€Å"Who is the M. A. C girl† starring Our Paul nearly raising $1 million for their M. A. C AIDS fund.All this leads to MAC's participation in their first New York fashion week with fashion designer Amateurs (Upgraded). MAC was also featured in one of the biggest fashion magazines Vogue in 1994 for the first time. That first New York fashion week runway then lead to MAC sponsoring over 850 shows, spread across 47 New York fashion week by 2012. By 2007 MAC's AIDS fund raised over 236 million dollars with the help of celebrities such as Mary J. Bilge, Ill Kim, Nick Mina], Lady Gaga, and Rick Martin. We love the idea of b eing able to champion and solidify a strong point of view for the next generation,† says an Est ©e Lauder executive. â€Å"We're a makeup-artist brand, and we're inspired by the runway?it's very organic. † said Esteem' Lauder executive (Upgraded). One of MAC's biggest introduction of endorsements were led by the likes of Pamela Anderson, Boy George, Debbie Harry, and other big stars in the ass's this led to the company's growth in the industry and marketplace (Evelyn,2009).

Sex Ed Reduces Teen Pregnancy

We have all heard it, parents, teachers, and students, gossiping about the latest young girl to become pregnant in high school. They make comments like, â€Å"What was she thinking† or â€Å"Her parents must be so disappointed. † Did anyone question if she had been properly educated on the risks of sexual activity or if she had been provided with medically correct information? No one stops to think about the big picture; instead they choose to be judgmental and critical of other’s decision-making skills, or lack thereof. That’s where sexual education comes in. Teenage pregnancy, along with sex education continues to be a highly controversial subject, especially with regards to when and where it should be taught. Much of the debate comes from the two types of education, abstinence-only or comprehensive, also known as abstinence-plus. Abstinence-only education promotes sexual abstinence until marriage, leaving out crucial topics like birth control and condoms. A comprehensive curriculum includes education on the use of contraceptives while maintaining a basis of abstinence. Although there has been a steady decline in the United States teen birth rate, it remains higher than many other developed countries. Statistics show that sexually active teens in the United States are less likely to use varying forms of contraception and are more likely to become pregnant, than those of other equal nations (Rubin). Partially to blame is the United States government, which supports the abstinence-only approach; therefore, most schools are not required to teach subject matter that surpasses that concept (Stanger). Media, although equally controversial, can play a vital role in opening the door for parents to engage in conversation with their children. According to Rachel Canter, executive director of Mississippi First, â€Å"An effective, comprehensive sex education program starts with a base of abstinence but includes medically accurate information about contraception and health† (Pettus). The research is proven; comprehensive sex education reduces teenage pregnancy. Not only are most schools lacking in the information that is covered in their curriculums, some are providing medically incorrect information to students. A recent report revealed that 30% of schools instruct that birth control does not prevent pregnancy (Rubin). In 2009, a lawsuit was filed against a Fresno county school district in California for violating state law by only teaching about abstinence, and for using textbooks that were not in compliance with that law, which requires medically accurate information be taught, along with methods to prevent pregnancy and diseases. With one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in California, parents were compelled to do something to protect their children (Watanabe). According to a recent survey, more than half of adults questioned feel that federally funded programs should offer more education about contraception and three-quarters of those wish education included information about both abstinence and contraception (Teens). If statistics prove that abstinence education is ineffective at preventing pregnancy and most adults are on board with a more comprehensive approach, maybe lawmakers should take that information into account when developing policies about sex education. A step in that direction would be requiring that curriculums include a more comprehensive style. Abstinence-only programs tend to leave out valuable information such as contraception, which some believe sends the wrong message to students (Stanger). Although abstinence programs play an important role in comprehensive education, there is little evidence to support that these curriculum alone help reduce teenage pregnancy. According to Lisa Wirthman, a Denver journalist, â€Å"By trying to scare and shame kids and withholding critical health information, abstinence-only programs treat teens like toddlers† (Wirthman). A report released this year by the Centers for Disease Control reveals that nearly 50% of pregnant teenagers denied using contraception. Furthermore, 30% were under the impression that they could not get pregnant, while others simply â€Å"misunderstood how one gets pregnant and the risk of becoming pregnant after unprotected intercourse† (Brakman). Therefore, it can be concluded that many young people are under informed about their sexual health and lack proper decision making skills regarding their sexual behaviors. Studies show that states that support the abstinence-only approach to sex education tend to have higher teenage pregnancy and birth rates as compared to those who support a more comprehensive approach. Nevada, having one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the nation, does not mandate that contraceptive methods and condom use be included in their curriculum (Stanger). Likely, if it is not required, most schools will not cover such aspects in its studies. The majority of supporters of these programs do not acknowledge that many students will become sexually active during their teenage years. It is inevitable that teenagers are going to have sex, choosing to ignore that fact by not teaching them the proper methods to protect themselves is negligent. Abstinence-only education fails at teaching students many important aspects of sexual health. Those included are, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy prevention and contraception. Much of the information provided in these programs is misleading and medically inaccurate, leaving students uninformed and at risk (Watanabe). The typical abstinence curriculum lectures that the only way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases is to â€Å"abstain† from such behaviors that may result in either of the two. While this is truthful, little to no information is provided to students about how to protect themselves if they choose to participate in these activities, leaving them at high risk for unplanned pregnancy. . According to Congress, it was found that abstinence-only programs provide misconceptions of reproductive health and a lack of proper decision-making tools, therefore, promoting irresponsible behavior (Stanger). A study by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy shows that nearly 8 out of 10 teenagers believe they are properly informed on how to prevent pregnancy, yet confess to knowing hardly anything at all about contraception and condoms (Teens). As statistics like this show, young people are, in general, naive about many aspects of their sexual health and require a more all-encompassing education to be able to make appropriate decisions regarding their sexual wellbeing. A common misconception about ‘sex-ed’ is that it only includes information about sexual intercourse; however, it incorporates a variety of topics. These include, but are not limited to, anatomy, reproduction, body image, relationships, and safe sex practices. Comprehensive sex education, or abstinence-plus, includes a wide array of age-appropriate, evidence-based, medically accurate information to enable teenagers to make well-informed decisions about their overall health, while still advocating that abstinence is the only true method to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (Wirthman). Not only does comprehensive education provide insight to multiple sex-health topics, it also stresses the importance of delaying sexual behaviors. To the disbelief of abstinence-only supporters, studies show that students that are taught comprehensive sex education are no more likely to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases, than those taught only about abstinence. Also contrary to pro-abstinence belief, those that are taught a more comprehensive approach have a lower risk of becoming pregnant teenagers (Stanger). One study revealed that of those who are taught more comprehensively, 40% waited to have sex and more than 60% used protection (Wirthman). It is obvious that the more educated students are about the risks associated with sexual activity, the better decisions they make. A recent survey revealed that 38% of teenagers are more influenced by their parents regarding their decisions about sex (Teens). As stated by Emily Pettus, some legislators argue that sex education, including contraception and condoms, should be taught at home, not by the education system (Pettus). This is also where much of the debate is centered. However, teenagers typically do not open up to their parents about sexual activity and many parents tend to bury their heads in the sand and act like it is not happening with their children. Often times, parents and teenagers are unsure about how to discuss the somewhat awkward subject of sex, so they do not talk about it at all. Therefore, education is often left up to teenagers’ peers and other typically inaccurate sources. One study revealed that nearly 90% of young people think if they could have open conversations with their parents about sex, it would be easier to postpone sexual activity. Also, nearly 80% of parents wish their kids would talk to them about sex so that they can provide them with the proper resources to protect themselves (Teens). Kathrin Stanger, professor at the University of Georgia states, â€Å"If teens don’t learn about human reproduction, including safe sexual health practices to prevent unintended pregnancies and STDs, and how to plan their reproductive adult life in school, then when should they learn it, and from whom? † (Stanger). Parents, along with the education system, can provide accurate, age-appropriate information to teenagers to help empower them to make healthy, responsible choices; however, when both of these options fall short, teenagers often turn to the media as a source of education. Many critics often accuse the media of promoting teenage pregnancy, and even glamorizing it. However, little thought is given as to what the benefit of these shows might be. The more teens are watching, the more producers are showing. Nevertheless, there might be some advantages to the influence media has on its young viewers, especially regarding pregnancy (Suellentrop). Although some parents believe the media creates a false sense of reality by glorifying teenage pregnancy, they often fail to realize that such television shows can actually help bridge the conversation gap between them and their children. Two of the television shows popular amongst high school students are MTV’s Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant. Both are reality shows that follow several young girls and their daily struggles as pregnant teenagers and young parents. A recent study by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy revealed interesting results when they asked teenagers their thoughts about such shows. The results revealed a surprising 40% talked to a parent about the show after watching and most agreed that becoming teenage parents would have an overall negative impact on their lives (Suellentrop). If watching these episodes results in teenagers talking to their parents about sex, then ultimately it can be a positive influence, not only by seeing the struggles that young parents face, but by giving parents and teenagers an opportunity to openly discuss their views and opinions about sex and relationships. Research shows that episodes such as these can be used in a positive manner to teach young people about the risks of becoming pregnant and how their lives could change drastically. Also, it seems that teenagers are willing to discuss these shows with their parents, allowing the opportunity to engage in educational conversations with their teenagers. Clearly, the media influences its viewers; however, advantage can be taken to properly inform today’s youth of the risks of sexual behavior while presenting information in an alluring way (Suellentrop). Although there has been a steady decline in the U. S. een birth rate, it remains higher than many other countries. Students are more educated and are therefore making more informed decisions about sex (Kann).    How can we expect teenagers to make appropriate, well-informed decisions regarding their sexual health if we do not give them the proper education and factual information to do so? The statistics show that â€Å"evidence-based sex education works,† so why go against the grain? (Wirthman). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more teenagers are using birth control, which has help lead the way to a record low birthrate, and the numbers of hose using contraception keep rising. Also leading to the decline, is â€Å"more effective† sex education, according to Leslie Kantor, vice president of education for Planned Parenthood (Tulumello). Hopefully in the future, additional school districts will adopt a more comprehensive approach to their curriculums, as it is shown to be much more effective in reducing teenage pregnancy than abstinence-only education. Telling a teenager not to experiment is like a meteorologist saying there is a 50% chance of rain. Yo u hope it does not rain; however, you bring an umbrella just in case it does. As much as we would like to believe that teenagers will not have sex, it is likely that they will engage in some type of sexual behavior in high school and providing them with accurate, age-appropriate information is vital. Sexual education can come from many avenues, including parents, schools, and the media. Comprehensive sex education will not stop the occurrence of teenage pregnancy 100%, but by adequately educating teenagers on safe sex practices, and providing them with medically accurate information, today’s youth are able make healthy, well-informed decisions regarding their sexual well being.