Architecture: Ancient Rome and Frank Lloyd Wright

In Our Daily Lives By Frank Barr l. Introduction A. Architecture is one of the most common studies people will take in college. B. Thesis: Architecture is an active part of our daily life. II. History A. Ancient Greece B. Ancient Japan C. Ancient India Ill. Famous Architects A. Frank Lloyd Wright B. List of architects IV. Unique Architectural Designs A. Habitat 67 B. Atomic V. Conclusion Frank Barr May 6. 2013 Grade 6 Architecture Research Paper Architecture, one of the most common studies taken(and personally what I'm aging on).I believe that architecture, plays a main role in everyone's life. â€Å"Architecture- The art or practice of designing and constructing buildings. â€Å". So basically, without architecture, wouldn't any schools (yeah any students reading this probably do NOT want architecture to exist. ), we wouldn't have any libraries, or any buildings in general. You can live four days without water, three days without food, but only three hours without shelter. So, you cannot LIVE without architecture, it is the act of creating buildings, buildings are shelter, without shelter you would die in three hours.So you can thank all the people in the field of architecture, that you are reading this now. Ancient Greek architecture is best known for its temples, if you were to visit you would find them all over the place. The ruins of many Greek temples are surprisingly still intact. The second most well known are the open air theaters, they have located them to date back to about 350 BC. Ancient Rome had much similar architecture, then again many Roman cultural things grew out of Greece. Like Greek Gods, myths, and again, their architecture. But much after Rome, was Europe, Europe wasn't a lot alike Greece, but they shared some similarities.For instance, the open air theaters I mentioned that were located in Greece(as well as most of the Hellenic region), Europe, during the Shakespearean age, had many of them built. Although they were greatly refined and quickly grew into closed theaters, they were still there. Where Greek architecture is focused on using stone and clay building material, the Japanese used mostly wood whilst building. At first the Japanese were very primitive in their building, making mostly pit houses. But after the introduction of Buddhism, the Japanese started to create temples, but they had no material to build such things, so darted using wood.These temples started as one floor of the tall elaborate Japanese temples we know as of today. But as their skills increased, so did the size of the temples, they eventually grew to be about eight floors tall. Japanese architecture has been described as, â€Å"Impossible†. That is, due to its wooden frame being fairly weak, though it can hold up to five families, even at its tallest height. When Greece was using clay, and Japan was using wood, India was sitting there using sticks and stones(which mind you, did in fact, break their bones). India was one of he most primitive building societies.But, they eventually grew to become the greatest architects of the modern world, ex. The Tag Mall. Indian architecture is old, yet has incorporated many modern values. The style they used to build the Tag Mall soon spread worldwide and became very popular at the time. The earliest buildings from India found dated back to about 2500 B. C. After several centuries of their stone type building,Linda finally discovered bronze. This discovery rocked the country, the style of building changed completely. Not only did it change that, it also changed their military strength.By far one of the most famous and well recognized architects is, Frank Lloyd Wright. Many collectors would crave to live in a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (Architecture,l). He has designed several structures in Toledo alone. With his better known, â€Å"Falling Water†, he used â€Å"Organic Architecture†, ex. He built it right on top of a waterfall. Several architects suc h as Frank Lloyd Wright used Organic Architecture. Through all of his years of architecture, it is said that he always hated museums, except for the Solomon R. Cunningham Museum (Thiele, 147). Personally I admire Frank LloydWright, Eve always looked up to him as one of the greatest architects ever. But alas there are more who would pass him. When you think of â€Å"from the inside out†, what comes to mind, probably not the Philharmonic Theatre. But Sharron does, that's probably because he planned the Philharmonic from the inside out, it is a world renowned structure. Keno Tangent, is a world renowned Japanese architect (Architecture, 1). Out of all famous architects, one of the most important is Doll Loss. He ranks as one of the most important pioneers of the modern movement in architecture (Architecture, 1).Fumier Make is responsible for of the great Japanese urban designs we see today. He is recognized for his urban designs, which you can find in most places in Japan (Archi tecture, 1). Habitat 67 is a housing complex located in Montreal, Canada. It was designed by famous architect, Mosher Safe. When Mosher put in the idea for Habitat 67 he was ridiculed for thinking up such absurd designs. Eventually he was able to come up with a model, after that the board of architecture decided he could do it. Mosher struggle to find a team willing to build such an absurd structure but eventually he succeeded.The team built Habitat 67 at an impossible rate, it was finished within five years after Mosher submitted the project. Habitat 67 is often referred to as â€Å"Impossible†, or â€Å"Logos all over again†. I think It was amazing how hard Mosher worked to make this impossible project become a reality. Atomic, also referred to as â€Å"The Atom building†, is a completely metal structure located in Brussels, atomic resembles the shape of an atom. Atomic is only big enough to hold about 100 people at once. When you walk into one of the branches of the atom like shape of Atomic, all you will see is darkness.Take a few steps and the motion insensitive neon lights will turn on. You will walk and be lost in a world of optical illusions and â€Å"magic† lights. At the ball shape part of each branch, you will find a room, you can rent these rooms for a single night . Although I have never been to Atomic I dream that in the near future I would be able to have the chance to go. To wrap this up all I have to say is that I dream of someday becoming an architect. Architecture is a main part of our daily lives, without it we'd be dead. I don't think anyone I know really appreciates the people who took years out of their lives to give us thingsAtomic and Habitat 67. People don't spend their time to realize how much hard work it would have taken to build such elaborate things like ancient Japanese temples and Hellenic open air theaters. I dream of a world where people actually say â€Å"Thank you† to the people that desig ned their house, their school, all their buildings. You Just don't see that happening these days. Thank you for your time, that is all. Bibliography â€Å"Architecture. † Wisped. 4/16/13.. â€Å"Famous Architects. † Architecture. 4/15/13.. Thiele, Sabine. Icons of Architecture. New York: Prelates, 1999.

Workplace Motivation

Motivation in the workplace is the single most influential factor in achievement of higher productivity and profitability by an organization. Over the years, psychologists have concurred with social analysts and workplace managers that employees indeed act as the main springboard to effectively promote objectivity of their organizations management plans (Weiner, 1985). It is from this notion that motivation in most of the organizations has been assimilated not just at the top management levels only, but at the lower sections to derive genuine intrinsic returns. Owing to this consideration, this paper seeks to explore workplace motivation strategies, their related theories and affects in organizations' workplace settings. Deriving this interlink, the paper outlines various recommendations that could be employed to effect the necessary changes and therefore assimilate holistic productivity and progress. 2. Affects of motivational strategies on work productivity a) Introduction In my organization where I work [XYZ] workplace motivation has been the defining factor for its current success. As an airline company, the management underscores the need to strongly motivate the employees as they are entirely independent in their operations by nature of their jobs. Though the concept of giving the highest possible quality to the consumers through motivating the staff was initially not effectively understood, entry of the current Chief Executive officer made the notion easy to grasp and apply with ease. b) Organizational efforts to promote performance Due to the high level competition in the airline industry, measures that have the capacity to promote returns are always welcome. As a result, workers motivation has been assimilated as a major facet for enhancing greater returns. Therefore, the management has facilitated the formation and operation of teams and groups at the lower levels of employees. Use of teamwork and team leadership has therefore brought the staff and employees at the decision making level as they are entrusted with all the major activities that take place during flights. Indeed, this model been hailed and emulated by other airlines in that the staff is entrusted to address all the emergent issues to generate the highest possible satisfaction to the consumers. Besides, unlike other airline companies that keep on hiring and firing their staff, XYZ observes a high retention system with internal promotions serving as a major motivational consideration. After the terrorist attack at world trade center in US, XYZ maintained its entire staff as others strongly downsized to cater for the crisis period as more people drifted away from air flights. Top leadership and management officials are identified and promoted from the teams’ operations efficiency. Such emergent leadership has been a strong motivating facet to the level lower employees as they seek to follow the same trend to get at the top. Bridging the gap between the top management and the lower level employees has perhaps been the best motivating notion that the company employs to boost the morale of the workers in their duties. Since the onset of the current economic crisis the management has sought to break the previous hierarchical mode of management and bring together all the staff to work together at all times. By bringing them closer to the management, it became much easier to understand their overall needs and sentiments therefore pro-actively solving them. Indeed, discussions and problem analysis between the management and staff in search for solutions and alternatives has become part of the XYZ culture. This brings out the sense of ownership and identity which drives the employees to work in their organizations with great efforts as they would have done for their personal jobs. It is from the above efforts that XYZ maintained its profitability after the terrorist attack in the year at the world trade center and the current economic downturn as the employees seek to gather more efforts from the continuous motivation they generate. c) Employees resistance to increasing productivity It is worth noting that though the management has over the years been strongly committed to enhance greater motivation, strong resistance has also been increasing with time. Some of the employees view the current initiatives as a facet to divide them in that some cannot be able to get the different team leaders positions or being promoted. Though the management has been considering this to be part of the anti development group that generally views any form of development from a negative point of view, the company leadership has often been cautioned to ensure that it does not spread to the rest of the staff. This has prompted the management to establish a general criterion to be used for promotions and awards therefore preventing any sense of sabotage among them. To add to that, bulk of the major changes have seen introduction of modernistic highly computerized and automated systems to not only reduce the time of service to the consumers, but promote the general quality and utility equivalence of the payment. However, this has been interpreted to indicate possible threats to their jobs even with the management confirmation of total retention for all the staff. This has further been linked with the overall resistant nature of the human beings in their work places emanating from their complexity analysis of the present events but overshadowed by the future uncertainty. ) Management philosophy of motivation and practices Application of motivation systems by the company has been deeply based on the understanding of interplay between the different needs of the employees and their efforts to see higher productivity. As a result, the management overview has been in a twin fold model where the general returns to the staff acts as the main driving force to their general efforts. Though this has been cited to be the major factor in the company behind its success, a general shift was recorded when the employees suggested their allowances reduction to anchor the general company's cost reduction strategy. As Hatch underscores in his model of cultural dynamic, the ability of the staff to effectively support the management decisions depends on how the leadership will harmonize their views and needs of the workers to reduce the overall resistance to infer the necessary motivation for work and innovation (2000). In this respect XYZ brought sought to bring the management closer to the staff by invoking the necessary autonomy in their work, reducing the hierarchical management system, and incorporating the employees in the decision making process. 3. Implications of applying other motivational theories a) Vroom's expectancy theory Though XYZ application of motivational theories has been highly integrative of the different theories due to its nature, some have not been effectively applied. To begin with, Vroom's expectancy theory indicates that motivation to the staff and employees is based not only on the material well being, but to attain the necessary anticipated outcome as the general achievement and assimilate the belief that the exerted effort has been helpful in promoting the status of the company. Application of this theory would be of great essence to the company management by being self driven from the onset, carefully self evaluated, and highly cautious to raise productivity and profitability of the company. However, its application would perhaps be highly controversial due to lack of the necessary guidance as exemplified by the present management of XYZ. However, it would be a great relevance in reducing the overall expenses and therefore put greater emphasis on productivity and profitability of the company. To the employees, this theory would infer mixed reactions on their perceptions in that the general assimilated attitude towards the company could be essential in enhancing their efforts towards higher production. However, it also has the capacity to be misinterpreted to indicate oppression by the management towards the employees and therefore become a major stabling block for productivity and progress in the company. It is therefore essential that its application be effected instantaneously to give the correct message to the employees. b) Aldefer's ERC theory. Then Aldefer's ERC theory indicates that for all the expected returns to be assimilated, the staff would be required to attain different set standards to get the necessary benefits attached to them (Bollesm, 1975). Though this would infer further need of grater returns to the company, the management may indeed get the direct opposite. Motivation as indicated in the earlier sections in this paper should be self driving without a sense of coercion. Possible standards should always be established in consultation with the staff to affect the general acceptability of the system by all. For the employees in the company, this would be viewed as part of the general initiative to render them unworkable. Indeed, it has the capacity to spark unrest from the general sense of inferiority to attain the different set standards. It is imperative that such level marks are set at the possible levels that the staff would be able to attain and more importantly in teams. 4. Conclusion It is from the above discussion that this paper concludes by supporting thesis statement that motivation in the workplace is the single most influential factor in achievement of higher productivity and profitability by an organization. It is important that staff is carefully handled by the management to generate the necessary perception from them for higher productivity. Motivation should be integrated to the general culture of the company in a manner that all the major operations project to profitability. To add to that, the management should give the employees the necessary room to contribute creatively and promote innovation for higher returns.

Developing a Balanced Scorecard Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Developing a Balanced Scorecard - Term Paper Example r creating a balanced scorecard and how the scorecard would enable me to evaluate progress, assess the impact of my proposed change, and determine if the costs are justifiable in terms of the outcomes. A balanced scorecard, as defined by Balanced Scorecard Institute (2013, para.1), is "A strategic planning and management system that is used to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance against strategic goals". Further explication by Dr. Carol Huston in this weeks media denotes a balanced scorecard as a tool that can be used in nursing to help establish how assessment and appraisal of accomplishments or achievements will be conducted (Laureate Education, 2013a). Based on these definitions, my first step will be to assess the mission and vision of the my organization in order to identify an unmet need. The second step will be to consider whether the needs of the customers have been met in relation to quality and safety of care. After identification of an unmet need and assessment of customers needs, the next step will be to formulate and outline objectives for proposed change. This will involve identifying strategies and action plans to achieve the proposed change. This will be followed by identifying how performance will be measured. In regards to the elements of a balanced scorecard, data to measure performance will correlate to fiscal, stakeholders, business practices, and learning and growth measures (Laureate Education, 2013a). Fiscal data will be gathered primarily from annual financial reports. To measure performance in relation to customers needs, direct interviews will be conducted whereby patients will be asked to describe their level of satisfaction with services provided. Secondly, patients will be asked to fill questionnaires detailing whether their needs have been met. Data relating to business practices and growth will be gathered through

Lottery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lottery - Essay Example This story was later taught to the middle school and high school students. The story talks about an American town which has an annual ritual known as â€Å"The lottery†. It is based on a life of a small village with 300 people living in it. All the residents become extremely excited along with nervous on the 27th June. Children get together and gather stones and all the adults assemble and become united for their great annual event which is linked with their local tradition which is about practicing to ensure that a good harvest is done that year (Jackson, Reg S, 1983). The process of the lottery starts by the head of each family moving forward and drawing a small slip of paper from a black box. This time Bill Hutchinson and his family were picked for drawing a small slip of paper coming out of the black box. Tessie Hutchinson who is the wife of Bill got the market slip (Jackson, S 1982). As per the process and tradition all the villages that have stone will begin to surround Tessie and finally Tessie was stoned to death by the time the story ends. Tessie knew that the situation was extremely unfair but sadly she could do anything about it. The tradition basically is that the lottery preparations start a night before, the task of making the paper slips is assigned to Mr. Graves and Mr. Summers who need to note down the list of all the families. Once the names are properly written down, the slips are kept in a black box which is safely places in the coal company for a night. Everything is closed till 10 am so that everyone can participate in the lottery tradition which takes place around the lunch time. For the first round, men who are drawing the slips need to be over sixteen years and then later on, in the second round the families draw slip no matter whatever age they are of. After the slips were picked, they were allowed to fly off the wind followed by the most brutal act of human sacrifice which this name Tessie Hutchinson had to give. Initially when the novel was published, it was considered to be an extremely controversial novel. The readers were not ready to accept the brutal and cruel reality which was explained through an implicit work of Shirley Jackson. The rituals and the traditions which were explained in the novel about the America’s small town were not something people wanted to accept or openly admit (Jackson, S, Joyce C. Oates, 2010). This cruel story is about the event of lottery which ends up in taking life of poor and innocent people without any solid reason or justification. All the villagers as per the short story gathered at the square to participate in the lottery which was conducted by Mr. Summer. All the children arrive first and gather stones as their parents ask them to do so. Tessie Hutchinson unaware of her sad and unfair future arrives late and starts talking to Mrs. Delacroix. As soon as the process begins and Hutchinson family is selected, Tessie starts protesting and thus the readers here un derstand that though the name says â€Å"The Lottery† the story is not about the family wining money or something big, it is surely something unpleasant and something which no one would want. After the family is selected in the first round, the second round makes the entire family to pick slips. There were five members in Hutchinson

Safe work environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Safe work environment - Essay Example Visitors language should be checked for any harmful devises carried by him. Work stations are to be design to make the employees more comfortable as they would be working long hours sitting. The work station and the equipments like tables and chairs are to be designed to ease the pressure on the employees' body thus avoiding the stains and pains at various back parts. New employees are to be made known about the safety and security measures prior to their joining. They should be given a book let explaining about the privacy and safety policies for their kind reference. The parcels and other goods coming through courier service are to be checked at the ground floor security and should forward to their floors. If the goods are having some offense contents the objects are to be kept at the ground dispatch room and the consignee has to be called for cross check. An in-house doctor has to be placed at the work station for addressing concerns. Reference: Employee safety handbook, Office of research safety and office of risk management, Northwestern university, 2003 viewed on 21/12/2006 available at http://www.northwestern.edu/risk/EmpSafetyHandbook2003.pdf Safety tips,

Conspiracy Theory Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Research Paper - 1

Conspiracy Theory Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting - Research Paper Example The propagation and spreading of such stories are common and not surprising at all. For instance, it is usually seen that when one tragedy occurs it itself gives birth to many conspiracies like the 9/11, Waco, etc... but the unfortunate and the most distracting part is when the media starts to give such petty issues great coverage and significance which has not been to date done by any eminent politicians or commentators. Although the formal coverage that is ongoing to date has randomly sought to marginalize this attention seeking conspiracy-mongers, the problem arises when such false myths gain severe popularity. People start to believe them as undue publicity is done so as to increase their ratings. The first conspiracy was when a man who was near the school hiding in the bushes was caught as a shooter but soon after it was evaluated that he was a cop from the other town on a day off. Then a man who was running around was arrested later it was determined that it was Manfredonia loo king for his six-year-old daughter. Then there was this other conspiracy whether Lanza used a short gun or an assault rifle which could not be determined as both are quite similar to each other. Another conspiracy was whether Ryan Lanza the actual killer instead of Adam Lanza who was the killer. Ryan was suspected as the killer but then it was reported that he was at his place during the shooting and his brother as they did not live together was carrying his old identity card. Another conspiracy was about Rosen whose house is near the school and the kids who ran there took refuge there. The conspiracy lies why he informed the police late although the reason might be that he did not believe the children till he verified the news.

Corporate governance and ownership reforms in Japan Essay

Corporate governance and ownership reforms in Japan - Essay Example The paper will review recent shareholder activism, board structure, the latest corporate scandal, and reforms in the regulative environment of Japanese corporate governance as well as judicial system reformation conducted in the past few years. The paper will also present an analysis of data collected from previous research on the effects of foreign investment in Japanese firms and the introduction and assimilation of U.S. boardroom structures to Japanese corporations. The paper will further examine the attitudes of Japanese managers, legal practitioners, and acceptance and resistance to traditional governance methods vis-a-vis the new U.S.-style forms of governance and ownership structures. Also, the paper will delve into the conflicts and tensions created by the adoption of U.S.-style shareholder activism or board structures in the corporate world among the Japanese business legal practices, and provide analysis of some of the factors involved in such frictions. Introduction The li nkage between corporate ownership and governance has been studied for many decades from various angles. While this area of scholarship had largely emphasized the widely-held type of ownership2 and agency problems that arose out of it,3 corporate ownership and governance issues continue to differ worldwide even after economies or business practices have largely converged.4 As corporate activity spread across the world, scholarship has gradually started to focus on institutional and functional differences.5 Broadly speaking, the analysis of this divergence has been conducted through how corporate governance converted and persisted. While convergence optimists claim dominance toward the U.S.-type shareholder-centered model,6 the ownership structure and unique characteristics of corporate ownership and governance still remain significant. The persistence of this divergence is analyzed through the theory of complementarity in each corporate governance system.7 It is true that the global corporate governance system certainly seems to be unified both functionally and formally, despite persisting differences.8 However, as seen in the example of Japan in this paper, corporate ownership and governance are shaped by historical path-dependence, and the social norms of each country still plays an important role in corporate governance. The reformation of corporate ownership and governance in Japan after the collapse of so-called bubble economy in 1990 is a prime example of corporate governance convergence and persistence. Corporate ownership in Japan had been characterized by reciprocal cross-shareholdings among corporation and banks. Also, corporate governance in Japan has a unique character where the main bank and employee interests play a central role with insider-oriented boards. As we will see in the following chapter, this structure experienced significant change after the 1990s through dissolving cross-ownership and adopting some shareholder-oriented, Anglo-American rules of governance. While these reformations can be considered as a corporate conversion caused by globalization, many Japanese corporations still retain unique governance characteristics and adopt U.S-style rules and practices, causing conflict and tension among Japanese businesses and legal practitioners. This paper attempts to address the issue derived from corporate conversion and persistence that occurred very recently in Japan. I: Dissolution of Cross

E-marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

E-marketing - Research Paper Example In this survey, the viewers were required to answer a number of questions that would provide key information on what the average user was provided with in terms of service quality by each of these two sites. Other important reasons for choosing these companies are due to the fact that they continue to operate in similar ways. Moreover, they are in direct competition in the quest for gaining more shares in the online auction market. For the ease of conducting the survey, a group of around 30 people were chosen for the survey after having established that each of them had had no prior experience in all the site operations such as placing bids, searching, monitoring bids, buying them using credit cards etc. These people were then given a time frame of 10 days within which, they had to get familiarized with the operations of both the sites. As such, these set of 30 customers got ample time to explore the site and were encourage to do things such as placing bids, bidding for other objects, buying some of the products that had been posted on these sites etc. Thereafter, these customers were asked to answer a questionnaire that had a set of 15 simple questions. The questions were simply aimed at assessing different parameters of site quality such a the time required to get acclimatized to the site, the level of security visible, the range of products offered, the ease with which a customer could place a bid/compete/buy a product, the level of transparency in the site etc. in addition, questions that were asked as part of the questionnaire also aimed at assessing the site features such as the appeal, quality of site content, ease of navigation, ease of operation etc. thus, the parameters assessed by way of these questions would ensure that both these sites were thoroughly assessed for the extent of service quality gap present in these sites.The results of the analysis for each of these questions are presented in the form of a table. The table shows the average of the points given by the test customers on a scale of 1 to 4. INDEX QUESTION EBay Amazon Average rating Average rating 1 Ease of finding a product on the site 3.24 3.28 2 Ease of navigating through the site 3.40 3.55 3 The site makes you come back again and again 3.35 3.41 4 The appearance of the site 3.21 3.35 5 The level of competition among customers 2.95 3.12 6 Range of products 3.32 3.60 7 The ease of financial transactions 3.25 3.30 8 Security of private information 3.50 3.52 9 Ease of communication with the other party 3.15 3.26 10 Pace of sale of products 2.87 3.00 11 Product is verified thoroughly 3.40 3.35 12 Better for bargaining 3.26 3.17 13 Reputation 3.10 3.45 14 Speed with which products are delivered 2.95 3.15 15 Allows for resolving queries 2.90 3.04 The purpose of the evaluation was more directed towards using the actual and existing situation for evaluating the service quality rather than conduct the survey in a test environment. Therefore, it was useful in this regard to have customers who were fresh from having interacted actively with the site just prior to the survey. It so happened that in addition to registering and using the various features of the sites actively, many had in fact been buying and selling products and had thus gained good experience with

Barbie-Q Essay Example for Free

Barbie-Q Essay In Sandra Cisneross Barbie-Q, a sudden abundance of flawed Barbie dolls makes the child narrator accepts her own identity and discards societys ideals of women. The initial storyworld is that of materialism and perfection. What the narrator values in her dolls and what she plays with them could be seen as a reflection of her own self image, of what she thinks she should look like and what kind of life she should live. From the first few lines of the story it becomes clear that the narrator of the story is a little girl. She describes the outfits of her barbies, as if reading from the package, to her friend. Yours is the one with mean eyes and a ponytail. Striped swimsuit, stilettos, sunglasses, and gold hoop earrings. The dolls mean eyes reveals the authors critical attitude towards the ideal it represents. This attitude also shows in the title of the story. The Narrator uses second person, as if directly adressing the reader. Who she is talking to is never defined in the story, but it is clear that she is talking to a fellow child. The narration mainly uses only first and second person, which realistically recreates the world of a little girl, where the narrator and her friend are the only people and Barbie dolls the only things that matter. In the second paragraph, the girls repeat societys gender roles in their play: Every time the same story. Your Barbie is roommates with my Barbie, my Barbies boyfriend comes over and your Barbie steals him, okay? The invisible Ken doll could be seen as the authors way of emphasising her point about societys assuptions of young womens interests. The author makes the scene strange enough to catch the readers attention. The flea market scene describes the mundane reality of the narrators neighbourhood which is contrasted with the girls aspirations that are projected to barbie dolls that represent a different social background and lifestyle. The narrator lists the items in the flea markets just like she did with her dolls: Lying on the street next to some tool bits, and platform shoes with the heels all squashed, and a fluorescent green wicker wastebasket, and aluminum foil, and hubcaps, and a pink shag rug, and windshield wiper blades, and dusty mason jars, and coffee can full of rusty nails. This emphasises the contrast. The initial story world is disrupted in the flea market scene as the narrator finds flawed Barbies for sale. This scene develops in the next paragraph as the narrator gets all the Barbies she dreamed of, only all of them damaged by a fire. In the last paragraph, the narrator seems to accept her own social background as she understands that it doesnt matter that they cant afford all the new Barbie dolls. So what if we didnt get our new Bendable Legs Barbie and Midge and Ken and Skipper and Tutti and Todd and Scooter and Rickie and Alan and Francie in nice clean boxes and had to buy them on Maxwell Street, all water-soaked and sooty. The narrator describes her flawed Barbie: And if the prettiest doll, Barbies MODern cousin Francie with real eyelashes, eyelash brush included, has a left foot thats melted a little-so? This statement could be seen as having a wider meaning, that the child also accepts her own flaws and ends her quest for perfection defined by society.

Factors That Affect Streptomyces Growth Biology Essay

Factors That Affect Streptomyces Growth Biology Essay The growth of a microorganism is extremely dependent upon the surrounding environmental conditions. Every organism has a range of optimum conditions at which members of its species will grow ideally. Inoculum, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen concentration (among other factors) within the media is often carefully controlled in industrial applications as deviations from the optimal conditions often have profound effects on the growth rate and activity of the organism (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). When directing experiments involving microbial growth, the preparation and quality of the inocula are as important as any other parameter control. In Streptomyces if mycelia are used in the inoculum, many uncontrolled variables will emerge. These variables include age, stress level and growth stage of the cells, all of which obligatory should be controlled (Kieser et al., 2000). This problem gets even worse when attempting to initiate trials over a period of several months as even small variations in the population size of the inoculum can result in large changes in the level and rate of growth. Streptomyces vegetative inocula are often prepared through the addition of several colonies sometimes from many starter plates to small amounts of media. This is afterward incubated until sufficient biomass is produced, as determined through optical density measurements of the media. This method of vegetative inoculum used by Jakeman et al. (2004) is effective in obtaining biomass; neverthele ss it does not provide the consistent inoculum required for comparative trials. The number of cells within the inoculum is hard to directly measure and the inconsistent manner of initially adding cells can result in cells at different stages of growth or stress level. Another method of preparing an inoculum is to harvest spores from the selected culture and store under conditions not satisfactory for germination. The cells within a spore suspension remain in a consistent state while still providing an instant inoculum (Kutzner and Nitsch, 1970). This technique also allows long term storage of a viable inoculum that should produce reliable results. By suspending the spores in a soft agar spore suspension, Kutzner and Nitsch (1970) have proven that a suspension of Streptomyces spores will remain viable as an inoculum over a year. Temperature The bacterial growth behavior is greatly influenced by many factors such as environmental conditions and the physiological state of the bacteria. The temperature of the environment directly affects the activity and growth of cells; every species has an ideal temperature for growth that is influenced by its physiology (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). This optimum temperature for growth may not be the same as the temperature at which metabolites are produced most efficiently. Streptomyces venezuelae ISP 5230 are mesophilic bacteria, which means that their optimal growth temperature is between 15 and 40 Â °C. For every increase of 10 Â °C closer to the optimum growth temperature, the growth rate of bacteria approximately doubles (Truelstrup-Hansen et al, 2002). If the media temperature is above optimal, the rate of growth is reduced. The temperatures used for Streptomyces venezuelae growth have been cited as 30 Â °C Â ± 2 Â °C (Wang and Vining, 2003; Jakeman et al., 2006). At 42 Â °C Str eptomyces venezuelae express heat shock genes that motivate sporulation and antibiotic production (Yang et al., 2008). pH Similarly to temperature, the pH (hydronium ion concentration) of the media affects the growth rate of bacteria by influencing the activity of cellular enzymes (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). To achieve the maximum growth rate level, current literature recommends growing Streptomyces venezuelae in a media with the maintenance of pH between 6.0 7.8 (Jakeman et al., 2006). The optimal pH levels are often different when maximizing growth rate and highest product yield (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). However, bacteria are often able to grow within a huge range of pH. Studies on the Streptomyces species by Kontro et al. (2005) have found the optimal pH ranges of growth and sporulation for this species to be between 5.5 and 11.5. The study executed by Kontro et al. (2005) has also found that the media strongly affects the acid tolerance of Streptomyces species. When grown at pH 4 in a media that contains yeast extract most species included in the studies were unable to grow, while at the pH of 7 the majority of species displayed maximum growth rate on most types of media. In order to buffer the pH of the growth medium to near neutral values, a buffer called MOPS (3-(N-morpholino) propanesulfonic acid) is normally used for this species of Streptomyces. While studying the effects of carbon sources on antibiotic production by Streptomyces venezuelae, MOPS was added to jadomycin B production media by Jakeman et al. (2006) however, no buffer was added to the Maltose yeast extract malt extract (MYM) agar that was used for the growth during the study. Glazebrook et al. (1990) studied the effect of different carbon sources on Streptomyces venezuelae sporulation in minimal LS media. In this media, enough amounts of MOPS were added to maintain the pH of the media at near neutral values for every carbon source except glucose. During growth in glucose-based LS media, a high production of oxo-acids was observed resulting in growth inhibition. Dissolved Oxygen The dissolved oxygen available to bacterial cells within the media can be a limiting factor if the rate of consumption exceeds the rate of supply (Schuler, 2000). There is a critical oxygen concentration exclusive to each bacteria species, above which the growth rate is independent of the media dissolved oxygen concentration. This value is usually 5 10 % of the maximum saturation level; however the maximum saturation is influenced through the existence of dissolved salts, organics, and the medias temperature (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). The production of secondary metabolites can also be influenced through dissolved oxygen concentration. During antibiotic production Streptomyces clavuligerus, increased oxygen saturation above the critical dissolved oxygen concentration which resulted in additional product and biomass yield (Yegneswaran et al., 1991) up to the maximum saturation limit of oxygen in the media. Substrate The substrate used in the media is an important factor that can affect growth rate of the bacteria as well as its characteristics. For instance, Kontro et al. (2005) found that Streptomyces species changed its behavior as acidophiles, neutrophiles or alkalophiles, depending on the growth media. Most species would grow optimally at pH that is near to neutral or slightly alkaline conditions on a media that included yeast extract (Kontro et al., 2005). Streptomyces venezuelae is grown using many carbon sources including glycerol, glucose, lactose, mannose, maltotriose, maltose starch and more. The effect of these carbon sources on growth and secondary metabolite production is dependent upon many factors such as pH (Kontro et al., 2005). For example, studies on the sporulation of Streptomyces venezuelae in liquid media by Glazebrook et al., (1990) found that while maltose supported the growth and sporulation of Streptomyces venezuelae, glucose significantly inhibited sporulation. Specifi cally, when grown in minimal LS media using glucose as the main carbon source, the pH of the media dropped rapidly with the production of oxo-acids by the bacteria. The increased acidity likely contributed to growth inhibition; however the glucose was reported to also have an inhibitory effect on sporulation that was un-related to the increased acidity of the media. As the jadomycin family of antibiotics is linked to the sporulation pathway (Wang and Vining, 2003), it is visible that the media has a huge effect on the growth and antibiotic production by Streptomyces venezuelae. Work by Jakeman et al. (2006) found that the carbon source supplied in to the media also has an influence on the antibiotic production by Streptomyces venezuelae. The effect of several sugars on jadomycin B production was studied and important differences in antibiotic production between sugars were found, where glucose was found to be optimal. Heat Balance The bacterial behavior is greatly influenced by the environmental temperature; however the metabolism and activity of bacteria also affects media temperature. Naturally about 50 60 % of energy produced during the metabolism of nutrients within a system is transformed into heat energy (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). The metabolism of sugar is a great source of thermal energy that must be taken into consideration in bioreactor design (Ben-Hassan et al., 1992). Streptomyces venezuelae aerobically metabolize sugars for energy and the production of metabolites. In industry, the amount of substrate used by the microorganism for growth and product synthesis determines the economic viability of the process. The heat energy produced can be determined through the utilization of a heat balance model (Ghaly et al., 1992). Once the heat of mixing is determined, the energy generated by Streptomyces venezuelae can be determined. The work by Ghaly et al. (1992) on the heat generated through mixing and me tabolism during lactose fermentation showed that the temperature of media increased from 22 to 32 Â °C with bacterial growth (Figure 3.9). This increase in temperature was due to the heat generated by the yeast (7.4 JÂ ·s-1) as well as the heat of mixing (1.01 JÂ ·s-1). The amount of heat generated by the organisms in a bioreactor can be estimated by modeling the heat flux over the boundary of the enclosed system. This mathematical model or heat balance balances the thermal energy generated within a system with the energy stored and lost from the system (Ben-Hassan et al., 1992). To develop a heat balance using this method, a trial must first be executed on the system through normal stable state operation to evaluate the heat generation during operation of the bioreactor. A heat balance can be performed on a bioreactor to determine the amount of thermal energy generated within the system during normal operation due to mixing. To model the system under different operating circumst ances the reactor can be run at several agitation speeds (e.g. 200, 400 and 600 rpm) until a state of thermal balance is reached. At thermal balance the amount of energy generated within the bioreactor is equal to the amount of energy lost; this state of stability can be used to eliminate unknown parameters within the heat balance model.

Data Mining Analysis in Health Department

Data Mining Analysis in Health Department Data mining has been used intensively and appreciably in lots of fields of life. Likewise in healthcare, data mining is becoming more and more popular each day. Its extensive applications can greatly advantage all events worried inside the healthcare industry. As an instance, data mining in healthcare enterprise benefits each insurer and insured. It assist insurers to hit upon fraud and abuse, healthcare agencies make client relationship management choices, physicians become aware of powerful treatments and great practices, and insurer sufferers receive higher and greater inexpensive healthcare offerings. Conventional, time ingesting, complex and voluminous generated transactions to be processed and analyzed in a totally brief duration. Facts mining offers the technique and technology to transform those mounds of raw shaped statistics into very useful information for choice making. This article explores data mining programs in healthcare. Particularly, it discusses data mining and it s applications inner healthcare in primary regions such as the assessment of treatment effectiveness control of healthcare, client relationship manipulate, and the detection of fraud and abuse. It also gives an illustrative example of a healthcare data mining software concerning the identification of chance elements associated with the onset of diabetes. Sooner or later, the thing highlights the constraints of information mining and discusses some destiny guidelines. The net of things (IoT) and its relevant technologies can seamlessly integrate classical networks with networked units and devices. IoT has been playing an critical role ever because it appeared, which covers from conventional system to preferred household objects and has been attracting the attention of researchers from academia, enterprise, and government in recent years. there may be a remarkable imaginative and prescient that each one things can be easily managed and monitored, may be recognized routinely by using different things, can speak with every different via internet, and can even make decisions via themselves . with a purpose to make IoT smarter, plenty of analysis technology are delivered into IoT; one of the maximum precious technology is data mining. Data mining involves coming across novel, exciting, and probably useful patterns from large statistics sets and making use of algorithms to the extraction of hidden information. Many other terms are used for data mining, for example, knowledge discovery (mining) in databases (KDD), knowledge extraction, data/sample analysis, information archeology, statistics dredging, and data harvesting. The goal of any data mining system is to construct an efficient predictive or descriptive version of a big amount of information that not handiest fine fits or explains it, however is also capable of generalize to new facts. Primarily based on a large view of data mining functionality, data mining is the technique of discovering interesting knowledge from huge quantities of records stored in both databases, data warehouses, and other records repositories. On the idea of the definition of data mining and the definition of data mining capabilities, an average data mining process consists of the subsequent steps. Statistics guidance put together the records for mining. It includes three sub steps integrate records in numerous facts assets and easy the noise from statistics, extract some parts of data into records mining device; preprocess the statistics to facilitate the records mining. Data mining observe algorithms to the information to discover the patterns and compare patterns of discovered expertise. The health department is one of the biggest department who need to be more focused to work on data mining development. We see that there are many diseases present all over the world and especially in third world countries where hunger, thirst of clean water and fatal diseases prevails especially African countries. This is why in many countries people are not able to lead a better life because of inflation. They dont have enough amount of income to bear their health expenses. And we also observe that in such countries their govt. doesnt have enough sources to develop a better healthcare system. In recent research only 2 percent of total budget is spend on health in such countries. In such place the private laboratories have free hands to charge for lab tests due to their monopoly. A person who is not able to perform that type of test fined wrong medicine instead of right prescription. So in a result of that either he will die or may be near to die. So if we study and focus more on res earch then we will be able to find the exact disease rather than with the help of physical appearance of the patient. So we need to be more focused on this domain of data mining. And there are many data miners who are working in the field of this domain of life. But this is not enough for the whole world. We need to be more dedicated and work harder on this domain to have a better world. An expansion of researches specializing in expertise view, approach view, and application view can be found in the literature. But, no previous attempt has been made to check the unique perspectives of Data mining in a systematic way, in particular in nowadays massive statistics mobile net and net of factors develop unexpectedly and some facts mining researchers shift their attention from records mining to big facts. There are plenty of facts that can be mined, for instance, database facts (relational database, NoSQL database), data warehouse, records circulation, spatiotemporal, time series, series, text and web, multimedia graphs, the sector extensive web, internet of factors statistics and legacy gadget log. Influenced by means of this, in this paper, we try to make a complete survey of the vital current tendencies of information mining studies. This survey specializes in information view, applied techniques view, and application view of records mining in the department of health. Lack of data mining leads to patients death in many cases in past we have experienced many such cases. Doctor could not diagnose the actual disease due to lack of proper reports as the result of that patients suffers and died in the end. While now data miners collect the record for more than 1 million people who have different diseases so they analysis the record and check that many disease have same symptoms and segregate different symptoms accordingly. So data miner says that if a patient has same symptoms and he should go to doctor for thorough checkup then doctor recommends the patient for concerning lab tests whom he sees in the patient then he concludes the proper disease and write proper prescription for that particular disease. Various information mining applications have been sent in the health department. In any case, most applications can be categorized as one of the accompanying three classes: showcasing, misrepresentation identification, and system blame detachment and forecast. Healthcare covers detailed approaches of the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of ailment, damage and other bodily and intellectual impairments in human beings. The healthcare industry in maximum international locations is evolving at a speedy tempo. The healthcare enterprise may be seemed as location with rich records as they generate massive amounts of statistics consisting of digital clinical facts, administrative reports and other benchmarking finding. These healthcare facts are but being below-utilized. As discussed in facts mining is able to look for new and valuable records from these huge volumes of records. Facts mining in healthcare are being used especially for predicting numerous illnesses in addition to in supporting for analysis for the docs in making their scientific selection. The dialogue on the various methods used within the healthcare enterprise are discussed as follows. Anomaly detection is used in discovering the maximum extensive changes within the statistics set used 3 one-of-a-kind anomaly detection technique, preferred assist vector information description, density- brought on support vector data description and Gaussian mixture to assess the accuracy of the anomaly detection on uncertain dataset of liver disease dataset which is received from UCI. The technique is evaluated the use of the AUC accuracy. The results acquired for a balanced dataset through common become 93.59%. Whilst the common preferred deviation received from the identical dataset is two.63. The uncertain dataset are prone to be to be had in all datasets, the ambiguity detection would be an amazing way to resolved this count, however because there may be simplest one paper discussing this technique, we cannot remark a good deal on the effectiveness of the technique. Greediness is intense issue for health insurance Company, bringing about billions of dollars of lost income every year. Greediness can be partitioned into classes: misleading and false information. Misleading happens when a client want to get unauthorized benefits for another party from the insurance company This offense can be perpetrate by the insured individual or the provider of health services. A person subscriber can commit health insurance fraud by: Allowing a person else to use his or her identity and insurance data to obtain health care services the usage of benefits to pay for prescriptions that had been no longer prescribed via his or her medical doctor health care companies can dedicate fraudulent acts by using: Billing for offerings processes and/or materials that had been never rendered Charging for extra expensive offerings than the ones truly supplied. Acting unnecessary offerings for the reason of financial benefit Misrepresenting non-protected treatments as a clinical necessity. Falsifying an affected persons analysis to justify assessments surgeries or other processes. Billing every step of a single technique as if it were a separate manner. Charging a patient greater than the co-pay agreed to below the insurers terms. Paying kickbacks for referral of motor car coincidence victims for treatment. The technology and methods of DM were designed in most cases for communication permitting the short and smooth transmission of statistics from the patients to the healthcare vendors who can treat them. A facet effect of that is that, over time, its going to generate big databases of measurements, clinical imagery, symptom descriptions, diagnostics, etc. The purpose for this is that in most cases the facts arent always meant to be handled in real time however saved to be examined later. While it is not their number one reason, the constitution of these databases creates formidable opportunities for researchers to discover fitness statistics from hundreds or thousands of patients. those numbers, a lot extra that what can be accomplished in maximum regular studies that recruit volunteers, allow scientists to enhance patient remedy via searching out patterns on a massive scale and draw new conclusions, for example about the link among the improvement of a clinical condition and environmental factors. as an instance, the Center stone studies Institute has advanced tools for studying the treatment of all their sufferers and discerning the methods that supply the quality end result to be able to practice them to future patients. The information mining has played in a pivotal role in healthcare industry, mainly diagnosing various kinds of sicknesses. The analysis is broadly being used in predicting sicknesses; theyre considerably utilized in clinical diagnosing. In end, there may be no one statistics mining method to resolve the troubles within the healthcare information sets. with a purpose to gain the very best accuracy amongst classifiers that is essential in scientific diagnosing with the characteristics of data being taken care, we want to layout a hybrid version that may solve the noted problems. Our destiny guidelines are to enhance the predictions the usage of hybrid fashions. References

Abuse of Women in Alice Walkers Color Purple Essay -- Color Purple Es

The Abuse of Women in The Color Purple Alice Walker's The Color Purple is an excellent account of the life of poor black women who must suffer not only social ostracism due to gender and skin color but also women who suffer greatly at the hands of black men.   This is true in terms of infidelity, physical and verbal abuse, and sexual abuse.   The Color Purple revolves around the life of Celie, a young black woman growing up in the poverty-ridden South.   In order to find herself and gain independence, Celie must deal with all manner of abuse, including misogyny, racism and poverty.   When she is a young girl of just 14, Celie is sexually assaulted by a man she believes is her father.   She has two children by her rapist, both of who he takes to a Reverend.   When her mother dies, this man known as "Pa" marries Celie to a man she will only refer to as "Mr. ___."   Verbal and physical abuse is a constant in Celie's life.   The man she married makes her raise his two children from another marriage, despises her, and physically and verbally abuses her.   Celie is continually told she is skinny, ugly, and got nothing.   When Shug first meets Celie she says, "You sure is ugly" (Walker 48).   Celie is miserable with Mr. ___, a man who wanted to marry her sister Nettie.   Nettie comes to see her sister at Mr. ____'s house and tells her before departing, "Don't let them run over you.   You got to let them know who got the upper hand" (Walker 18).   Nettie and Celie both mature throughout the course of the novel, a maturation they keep abreast of through a series of letters exchanged with one another.   Despite the constant abuse visited upon Celie, she matures in the novel and becomes an independent woman.   She is able to do so partly... ...le are abused (as many black men in the South were by whites), they typically turn to abusing others.   This is exactly what we see in the novel and it is only the love, nurturing, and strength of the women that create some kind of socialization, bonding, and an atmosphere of love and security.   Without them there would be no such environment, but rather one existing on hatred, abuse, and sexual assault.   It is easy to see why Walker wrote this book to show that no matter how much unjust abuse one must endure, one can find a way to escape its confines and relearn how to feel and love.   The color purple is what most of the women in this novel are at one point from physical violence of one sort or another, but when it comes to their hearts they remain bright red and full of love.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      WORKS   CITED Walker, A.   The Color Purple.   New York: Pocket Books, 1996.

An Autobiography: Lee Iacocca Essay -- Book Reviews

1. Title: Iacocca, An Autobiography. 2. Author: Lee Iacocca with William Novak. 3. This book is an Autobiography. 4. Publisher: Bantam Books  ® 5. Copyright  © July 1986 6. Pages: 357 7. Historical Background: His name when he was born was Lido, not really Lee. He changed it when he had to go down South for a sales campaign. He thought that the Southerners would like it better if his name was Lee. It worked fairly well too. Anyway, his father was the first person to arrive in America. He arrived in 1902, at the age of 12. His father went back to his birthplace, Italy, and married Antoinette. They came back across the Atlantic. Except this time, his father, Nicola, was an American citizen. They moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, also where Lee was born and raised. Lee (Lido, I’ll use Lee from now on though.) was born on October 15, 1924. Lee’s father was a sort of philosophical type of person. He always had an important lesson to tell his son. It usually was great advice that just about anyone and everyone could use. His father once said that ‘When times are tough, be in the food business. No matter how tough times get, people still have to eat.à ¢â‚¬â„¢ He was right. He had a hot dog food stand that stayed afloat during all of the depression. Lee was in the Allentown public schools, as a kid. He was an Italian kid in a place full of ‘Pennsylvania Dutch.’ So he was harassed by a lot of kids. He never let it get him down though. His father was always pushing him to be the best. His father was a hard worker and came from a foreign family. Back then, most parents that came from a foreign country always seemed to push their kids to do their best so they can have a better life style than their parents. Lee ended up going to Lehigh for college. He did very well for himself. Before he went to college though, he enlisted in the army. It was around World War II when he did so, of course. But because he had Rheumatic fever when he was a kid , he couldn’t go and fight. The doctors said it was gone. The army said it could come back though. So they rejected his application. He went to Lehigh instead. Ford always took the top student out of the top fifty colleges back then, for a study at Ford. They would get to work at Ford doing just about everything you could do. Lee was one of them invited. He enrolled at Princeton after that. He graduated with a degree in engi... ...no matter what. He thought that spending time with family was far more important than anything else. It’s a good thing to have values like that. He’s an honest hard working man that deserved all the good things he got. He didn’t fold when it looked hopeless at Chrysler, he did everything he could to keep the company alive, and now it’s having more success than it ever has in it’s history of existence. This is a very good book, and I recommend that everyone read this one. It’s got a lot of interesting stuff and advice in it. It also gives great insight into the auto manufacturing business. There are a lot of stereotype’s out there that say a car company tried to kill them. But really, all of the guys that make the cars are driving them themselves. They don’t purposely make bad cars, they drive them and so do their kids, and I don’t think all of them are suicidal maniacs either. I think most of them are sane people. I s ay one thing we need less of in America is blood sucking lawyers. They’re just greedy people that we could do without some of them. I learned that in order to succeed, you must not give up easily. You can’t give up on your dreams until you have put your all into it.

Principles of Assessment in Lifelong Learning Essay

1.1 Analyse how types of assessment are used in lifelong learning: â€Å"Assessments should be a regular process; it might not always be formalised, but you should be observing what your students are doing, asking questions and reviewing their progress throughout their time with you†. Gravells A. Page 113. Has the outcome of my teaching been as expected; was there room for improvement? This can be measured through assessment; there are different ways to carry out this out. Initial Assessment It is my responsibility to do this before a lesson or course is delivered. This will help determine how I will plan for the session so it sets and meets expectations for me the teacher and also the students. This will identify any prior knowledge, the stages the students are at and any special or specific requirements that are needed. Types of initial assessments are: * Tutor observations * One-to-one interviews. This will help me learn if the learner is on the right course and what assignments they must do to complete the course. * Competency tests (maths, ICT and literacy). This will help me see if the students are competent in these skills. If there is any weakness I can then pinpoint those to the right people to help with them improve. * Essay writing. This will show me if the student is competent with their literacy skills. There will be a lot of written work throughout the course. Formative Assessment is an on-going process. These will take place during the lesson. This can take the form of * Quizzes and puzzles. With multiple choice answers will help me to see if the students have learned anything from their previous set of lessons. * Verbal question and answers. This will help me see if the students comprehend the topic. * Journals. Also can be used; to help the student record their feelings about the lessons, what went right and what can be improved on. This will enable me to assess whether I am teaching at the correct level or if I need to adjust my plan and methods. * Observations. I can walk around the room and observe the student’s work while taking anecdotal notes. Summative Assessments are carried out at the end of a course to measure how much has been retained and where necessary can be articulated. This is usually through: * End of year formal tests or exams. To see what they have learnt over the year. * Portfolio: This is a collect ion of the students work throughout the course. 1.2 Analyse how assessment methods are used in lifelong learning: * To identify what prior knowledge a student has, I would create a self-assessment questionnaire that requires specific answers, (tick boxes). I would then build this into my session plan. * Diaries or Learning Journals would be used to document on-going learning from each session. Progress can then be measured and any gaps in teaching or learning can be then addressed. * Simulation would be used to see if students are able to understand instructions and how well they are able to reproduce what they have seen or heard, and how they might use them in everyday life. * Assignments would evaluate how well student are able to research particular subjects then put their findings into words. * Discussions or debates are a good vehicle for assessment when other methods may be difficult to manage. * Peer feedback where fellow students give their comments and ask questions for clarity. 1.3 Evaluate strengths of assessments methods to meet individual leaner needs: * Quizzes and puzzles can be used as an informal way to assess if learning is taking place. However if the purpose is to measure individual learning the questions would need to be varied. The most effective way to do this would be to have the assessment computer generated; this is not always possible if the correct software or facility is not available. * Diaries or learning journals, aid to literacy and language skills. The student would also be able to reflect back on what they have learnt; this will also build their confidence to self-assess. In order for this to work, there needs to be clear aims and objectives so the outcome is properly measured. * A portfolio is a formal way to gather evidence that has been produced over a period of time covering all topics taught on a course. This would need to be checked for things such as plagiarism; if the information used was current and properly referenced. * Role play is another assessment method. The students will be given a scenario from their lesson; they will then have the opportunity to act out what they have understood, linking theory to practice. There needs to be clear explanations given as this can be time consuming and not all students may feel comfortable doing role plays. * Examinations can assess what students have retained. By just recalling information they have learnt or by using ‘open book’ method whereby they refer to notes or reference books. The down side of this is that students may have only been taught what is needed to pass the exam and not retain any of the other theories they may need at a later stage. 2.1 Evaluate how to involve learners in the assessment process: As a teacher I will carry out various methods of assessment. To maintain continuous improvement I will involve my students in the process. Giving my students clear guide lines I can get them to do peer to peer assessments, where they will give written or verbal feedback to each other. This will allow more focus on the subject being taught; encourage communication with each other, and where they may discover some common ground. Sometimes comments coming from a peer can be better received than from the teacher. Checking their own work and progress through self-assessment is useful as this gives an opportunity for students to take a step back and reflect on what their objectives and whether they attained them. I will also conduct one to one tutorials, where we can discuss their objectives, progress and development. This will demonstrate positive and individual inclusion. â€Å"Assessment is a term given to checking that learning has occurred. It may happen at any stage during the learner’s progress through their qualification†. Wilson L. (2009). page112. Assessments are also a tool to motivate and boost the confidence of students. 2.2 Analyse the role of peer and self –assessment in the assessment process: Peer assessments are a good means of confirming and sharing ideas. During our micro-teach sessions I was able to describe my observations and justify how I reached that conclusion. My peers would agree or get me to look at what I had expressed in a different way. We would discuss and come to a consensus. We had to think carefully how to put our thoughts down on paper, so they were constructive and encouraging. Looking at the peer assessment on my own performance for the delivery of a micro-teach session. I was pleased with the feedback. It clearly showed what I am confident in; what I need to improve on and what I should consider for future delivery. Their feedback was encouraging and it has confirmed that I have made the correct decision in what I am want to do career-wise. I found putting into practice what I already know with what I have learnt over the past few weeks very useful. There were some challenges I had when creating my own micro-teach session, this is all part of the learning process for me. As the session I delivered came to an end I had already started to do a mental self- assessment. It was useful to be able to put down my own thoughts on paper as they came to me to know what I need to include going forward. 3.1 Explain the need to keep records of assessment learning: Assessments should be documented so there is some form of evidence as to what has been taught, how the learning is evaluated and was any progress made. Records also serve for the purpose of verification, in relation to audits for quality assurance and regulatory bodies, such as Ofsted. The following are some of the following records that may be kept. * Assessment tracking, this can be used to show development and if the students requirements are being met. * Feedback and action records are used to show that a student has had feedback, what the agreed follow up is, and when it is to be carried out. * Learning styles results will aid with inclusiveness when reviewing or creating new session plans. * Appeal records are where a student has submitted in writing their reasons as to why they disagree with a formal decision that has been made. This can be used at a later date as part of that process. * Enrolment forms to confirm the student’s details are correct, point of contact in the case of an emergency; whether they are permitted to study. What the student signed up for, and are they are on correct course. 3.2 Summarise requirements for keeping records in an organisation: As part of my role I am going to make sure I follow the guide lines that are in place for me to keep records for an organisation, as these are regularly audited and reviewed. This will provide an audit trail of my students learning. Confidentiality must be maintained at all times by any organisation holding personal data to stay in line with the regulatory bodies (Data Protection Act). Records that are kept must be accurate, legible and current. There should be specific rules as to when information is considered obsolete. (This is usually about three years). Students have the right to request their records held about them. (Freedom of Information Act) if they are entering into an appeal process. A backup copy of records must be made whether electronically or paper based so if one is lost there is always a duplicate. â€Å"Consistency. You will always ensure that the methods and the timeliness of your assessments are at a level standard, making certain irrespective of how and when your learners are assessed, the outcomes are constant†. Wilson L. page 274. Bibliography Gravells A. (2012) Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector Wilson L. (2009) Practical Teaching A Guide to PTLLS & DTLLS.

Final Assignment : Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

Francesca Mancini Prof. Nakamoto October 23, 2012 Final Assignment  : Sugar-Sweetened Beverages The article â€Å"A Randomized Trial of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Adolescent Body Weight†(2012) aims at examining the causal relationship between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity among adolescents. The research for this article is a follow up of a previous pilot study that has been conducted on a period of six months involving normal weight, overweight, and obese adolescents who consumed sugar sweetened beverages regularly.Results showed that there was a significant decrease of body weight and body mass index (BMI) among the overweight and obese adolescents. Due to this result, a further study has been designed to reanalyze the data from the pilot study and further explain the effects of sugar-sweetened beverages. The research method used was a random sample of 224 adolescents that are obese or overweight who consumed at least one serving of sugar-sweet ened beverages or fruit juice per day. Participants were randomly assigned to a control group or an experimental group for two years; where one year would be an intervention and the second year a follow up.Since the participants are young, the parents provided a written consent and the participants a written assent. The multicomponent intervention aimed to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages for one year in the experimental group by providing access to home delivery of non-caloric beverages. Motivational telephone calls with parents were conducted on a monthly basis and three check-in visits with participants. The control group on the other hand received $50 supermarket gift cards to participants at four to eight months as a retention strategy but did not instruct them on what to purchase with the cards.It is important to note that the study did not focus attention to other diet methods or physical activity, however, they have included the daily physical activity lev el and the amount of television watched daily. The measures for his study: * Demographics: sex, race, date of birth, ethnic group, parents level of education, and total annual household income. * Physical activity: in collaboration with the persons metabolic equivalence. * Television viewing: hours per day. * Dietary intake: includes three main items. 1) beverages per servings per day: a-sugar-sweetened, b-fruit juices, c-artificially sweetened, d- unsweetened. ) energy intake per calorie per day: a-total, b-sugar-sweetened beverages, c-fruit juices. 3)Sugar grams per day. * Weight and height: in kilograms and centimeters (these are used to compute the BMI * BMI as an outcome over the two years: used the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to calculate body fat. * Adverse events: any symptom or medical attention that was reported during the study. Hypothesis: One single hypothesis was formulated for this study. They hypothesized that the experimental group would gain weight at a slower rate than the control group.Results: When testing the covariates for interaction, Hispanic ethnic group is found to be the only modifier for group differences, as they have portrayed the most change; causing the study to add an interaction term for the ethnic group. At baseline, regarding the demographics or other variables, there were no differences between the experimental and the control groups. In terms of dietary intake at year one, change in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was different between the control and the experimental groups; declining almost to zero for the experimental.Also meaning that the experimental group consumed more artificially or un-sweetened beverages. At year two, same results remained however, the intake of artificially sweetened beverages did not differ between the groups. Also, sugar intake in both years was less for the experimental group. In terms of the outcomes, at year one the net BMI was significant, but not in year two. When suga r was added to the BMI measure there was no longer a significance. Body fat was not significant among the groups. Although, there was no intervention done for physical activity, the experimental group watched less television.In terms of ethnic group, among Hispanics in the two years, there was significant effect on the BMI, as well as in the change of body weight. The effects of Hispanic youth was strong compared to the non-Hispanics. Discussion: The results show a support of the hypothesis; the experimental group did gain weight but at a slower rate than the control group. These are shown in the results of the overall BMI computed and the overall weight of the participants. Most of the difference is due to the Hispanic participants, as they are the ones that showed to have the most effect out of the intervention.Even if the overall study did support the hypothesis in quest, there are many discussion points towards the results and the overall study: * The unexpected finding that the Hispanics are the ones that have showed the most dominant findings, causing the major change in BMI over two years, is one that should be studied more. It is interesting that they started out with a sample that includes diversity, however, if the Hispanics hadn’t been part, the hypothesis wouldn’t have been supported.There is a reason to why the Hispanics have been affected this much, it would be interesting as they have stated, to look more into the physiology and in generic susceptibility. * During the second year, when the intervention was not playing a critical role, there was an effect but not as powerful. The level of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and juice had increased a bit and this shows that the intervention was not that efficient as with time this will increase. It is clear that the results of the study were conducted and everything they needed to establish was accomplished, though, the aim is to keep that behavior going.There should have been a stronger message that could be captured by the participants. * They did not focus on any other diet activity or exercise because their main focus was to check the effect of the sugar-sweetened beverages and non-caloric beverages; wanting to leave everything constant. However, (explaining on a personal level) when people are in an intervention, there is some kind of psychological factor that works to lead to the belief that they are on a certain form of diet; causing them to indirectly adjust other things in heir lifestyle (although in the results shown, people have gained weight overall, but it still makes a small difference). If we look closely at the results in year one, the participants technically did decrease their overall weight because as the height increased, it causes a slight change to the weight, therefore leading to an increase in BMI; whereas in year two, one would think that there would be same constant increase (as the increase in height did not differ much) however, participants gained more than the previous year.Which leads to the previous point that shows that the intervention was not efficient enough to stay through the follow up, the participants did not continue the behavior change. * The measure of the time spent watching television daily is also a critical factor that was not used much, as it was clearly stated that they were not examining the effect of physical activity or anything else; it was just an overall view. Results stated that the experimental group did spend less hours watching television; maybe it is relevant to the key point stated earlier about the unconscious change in lifestyle. â€Å"Missing values for BMI were imputed by assessing that the participants’ BMI z score was unchanged from baseline†(p. 3). Including manipulated data to the results would have an effect on the overall study, the missing information of any participant should just be omitted, as well as the participant itself. * There was no intera ction with the parents level of education and the total household income, probably useful to show the differences among social classes; as the study is one of a diverse sample, including differences in all characteristics. * Adverse events were included, however, did not have much significance with the study.. n this study of reduced sugar-sweetened beverages, there are not side effects that could lead to any severe injury. Probably it was necessary to cover everything needed, maybe during a severe injury, the interventions was not followed or the participant have gained or lost weight because of the incident. Impact of paper on intervention: Sugar-sweetened beverages has an effect on the increase of body weight, this was evaluated in the article through an intervention that included the provision of non-caloric beverages to check the difference in weight gain among the two groups of study (experimental and control).There were some issues that the article â€Å"A Randomized Trial o f Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Adolescent Body Weight†(2012) does not answer; these are issues that relate to the messages sent out. To start by saying, an intervention in medical terms is â€Å"any measure whose purpose is to improve health or alter the course of disease† (Medical Dictionary). In this paper, the intervention aimed at the provision of non-caloric beverages aimed at reducing the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, however, the message was not strong enough.It was a trial period of one year to check if sugar sweetened beverages did cause a gain in weight, and whether substituting these with non-caloric beverages would make a difference at a slower pace, and it most certainly did. The researchers did not identify to the participants and their parents what promotes or protects weight gain; they should communicate the effects of these sugar-sweetened beverages, the idea behind using non-caloric beverages, the impact it has on the body, and the aim of modifying the behavior to adjust obesity problems.The telephone calls every month did not include information, just checking up with parents of child’s consumption. Overall the paper did provide the non-caloric beverages, however, it did not communicate the impact of these beverages body weight. Study proposal: To recap, the study in the article provided emphasized on difference in weight gain over a period of two years. One year was including the intervention where non-caloric beverages were provided, and the other year was a follow up, with no intervention.The research however, did not focus on any details about the drinks itself or the amount consumed per day, except that it was non-caloric and â€Å"diet† beverages. A proposed study that includes different variables of beverage intake is going to be explained shortly. The aim is to review the research and suggest additional variables and measurements that are going to be tested and therefore, predict the results. T he research proposed is derived from the study of the article â€Å"Reduction in Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages is associated with weight loss: The Premier Trial† (2009) by Chen, Appel, Loria, et al.Obesity and overweight rates in Europe are increasing as the years pass and is a serious public health concern, at the range of 7. 6% to 24. 7% as reported by the Statistical Office of European Union (2011). A major factor for this obesity is the increase in dietary energy intake from beverages. Energy intake among European adolescents is on average 1455 ml/day, mostly consumed from sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juice, and sweetened milk (Duffey et al. , 2011). Calories consumed in liquid for have weak satiety properties and cause poor energy compensation compared with calories from solid food (Chen et al. 2009). Having explained that, it is safe to say that the reduction in liquid calorie intake may lead to weight loss, which leads to the purpose of this study; to ex amine how changes in the beverages consumption affect weight change among adolescents: * How changes in liquid calorie intake affects the body weight * How changes in consumption of specific beverages affect body weight * The effect of both in terms of time—6 months and 18 months This study is in Europe, more particularly in Switzerland and the sample population is adolescents.We are going to use the same sample size of 224 adolescents that are overweight or obese and that consume sugar-sweetened beverages, juices, or any form of energy intake in the form of liquids on a daily basis. Just like the previous study, there will be a written informed consent provided by the parents and a written assent provided by the participants. The intervention includes participants to be involved in groups where they receive information and behavioral counseling; information and advice on the impact of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption on body weight.Each individual receives two 30 min che ck-in sessions every month as well as group meetings every other week, in addition to the original monthly telephone call with the parents. In this study the control would be the baseline, as everyone is part of the intervention, and all participants would be studied closely in order to see the effects of decreased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages as time passes. Data collection is done in three parts: at baseline, at 6 months, and at 18 months.To begin, a questionnaire would be filled in order to get the baseline characteristics of each individual, followed by an interview via telephone to provide the â€Å"unannounced† 24 hour dietary intake (including portion size and exercise). This was done every time new results had to be measured, meaning at baseline, 6 months, and 18 months. The hypotheses formulated for the study: Hypothesis 1: changes in consumption of liquid calories will cause a reduction in weight; only when liquid calorie is decreased.Hypothesis 2: chang es in consumption of individual types of beverages will cause a reduction in weight. Hypothesis 3: Weight reduction in terms of any decrease of sugar-sweetened beverages will be greater in 6 months, compared to 18 months. The design presented: Independent variable (what we manipulate): Liquid calories Types of beverages Dependent variable (what we measure): Weight change Design 1 | Body Weight:| Liquid Calories: | 6 months | 18 months | No change | No change | No change| Increase on 100 kcal| Increase | Increase |Decrease of 100 kcal| Decrease (0. 3kg)| Decrease (0. 2kg)| Design 2 | Body Weight| Beverage Category:| 6 months | 18 months| Decreased by one serving | Sugar-Sweetened| Decrease (0. 5kg)| Decrease (0. 7kg)| Diet Drinks| No effect| No effect | 100% Juice| No effect | No effect| Other (milk, coffee,.. )| Decrease (0. 1kg)| Decrease (0. 2kg)| The measures for this study: * Demographics: sex, race, date of birth, ethnic group, parents level of education, and total annual house hold income. * Physical activity: in collaboration with the persons metabolic equivalence.Evaluated in the questionnaire, as a recall of the previous 7 day activity. * Dietary intake: includes portion size 1) beverages per servings per day 2) energy intake per calorie per day: a-sugar-sweetened beverages, b- juices, c- diet drinks. Received through â€Å"unannounced† telephone calls 24 hour dietary intake. * Beverages divided into categories: a- sugar-sweetened, b- diet drinks, c- 100% juice, d- other: includes milk, coffee, tea, †¦ * Weight and height: in kilograms and centimeters – these are used to compute the BMI.Results: The results do show that the change in liquid calorie intake does affect body weight and that a decreased in beverage type will also cause body weight to decrease, however, this is explained in more detail. In terms of hypothesis 1- a decrease in liquid calorie did cause a decrease in body weight. Results have shown that a reduction of 100 kc al was associated with a decrease of 0. 3 kg at 6 months and a 0. 2 kg at 18 months (Chen et al. , 2009).In terms of hypothesis 2- there was a relationship with beverage type and body loss, however, not with all the beverage types; with some there was no correlation. When tested, a reduction of one serving of sugar-sweetened beverage was significantly associated with weight loss at both 6 months and 18 months. Diet drinks, 100% juice were inversely associated with weight loss, but this was not statistically significant, leading to not effect in weight loss; a decrease of one serving of the other beverages did show a slight decrease in weight loss along both time periods (Chen et al. 2009). In terms of hypothesis 3- weight reduction will be greater at 6 months, compared to 8 months, showed no significance; the opposite occurred. Compared to baseline, as stated in hypothesis 1, the weight loss was greater at 18 months, also proven at a reduction in sugar-sweetened beverages by one ser ving was associated with a 0. 5kg weight loss at 6 months and a 0. 7kg weight loss at 18 months (Chen et al. , 2009). Meaning at 18 months people lost more weight than at 6 months. Discussion/ Commentaries: From the proposed study, findings have suggested that a reduction in liquid alorie intake was significant with weight loss in both 6 months and 18 months, and that the reduction of sugar-sweetened beverages was also associated with weight loss in these periods of time. The original study by Ebbeling et al. , (2012) was an intervention to reduce the number of sweet-sugar beverages consumed and instead consume the unsweetened beverages or non-caloric beverages. This was studied without advising the participants on the effects of these beverages on the body and overall weight, just by observation and calculation of BMI.Although the results were aimed at checking the weight gain in two years between a control group and an experimental group, their focus was on the result of the BMI w hich is a measure relative to weight and height: people had an increased BMI as they were growing taller and gained more mass. In this proposed study however, the intervention is focusing on the opposite outcome, the weight loss with time of using less sugar-sweetened beverages, the measure here was the overall weight difference caused by these beverages, shown in kg. It also includes counseling, advice, and information on the effect of these beverages on the body.Overall, this is mainly planned so that people could accept this behavior change; and because this is done on obese and overweight participants, the behavior of reducing the intake of these sugar-sweetened beverages is one that should be continued – when participants see a change in the overall weight loss (in which the study has proven to be supported), they would be more motivated to carry on this behavior. It is merely a way of tackling the same issue but in a different way with a stronger intervention – m ore information given to participants.Aside research has shown that the link between sugar-sweetened beverages and body weight is related to the high fructose content in these beverages. On the long-term this can promote fat storage and excessive food intake through an increase and change in the hormonal patterns that are related to this issue –called the â€Å"postpantrial hormone patterns† (Chen et al. , 2009). This is probably why in hypothesis 2, the other types of beverages did not have an effect on weight change, as they do not have the same amount of fructose.The different nutritional components of each beverage type has a different effect on the body, some aiding in the process of losing weight and others adding difficulties, while some have no effect. Another point that is interesting to point out is that earlier, the term liquid calories was used, this is to state the specific energy intake, as there are two kinds of energy intake- the liquid and the solid fo rm; this study is focusing on the liquid calorie intake of most prominent beverages. Strengths and Limitations:Some strengths of this study is the duration of the study, it was long enough to test if there is a significant difference in the change of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, also the ability to evaluate a variety of beverages and knowing the effects of each on the body, as this might affect the overall effect. Another strength would be the responsiveness and excellent participation rate on the group meetings, the individual session, and the availability of information about the 24 hour dietary recall to measure dietary intake.Some might argue that the â€Å"unannounced† 24 hour dietary intake may be a little bit faulty, that the dietary intake should be written on a daily or weekly basis in order to evaluate it better; not just done at baseline, 6 months and 18 months. Although this point may seem like a limitation, the study sees it as a strength as the inte rvention is focusing on the liquid calorie, with the behavioral counseling and advice on increasing or decreasing liquid calories is pretty clear that there is a tight control and a trust that the participants are following what is being told.Some limitations of this proposed study would be the lack of follow up, the study was aimed at 18 months with the manipulation of calorie intake from different kinds of beverages along with counseling, there was no follow up to see if people maintained the lower calorie intake or not. Another limitation would be the lack of provision of these diet beverages or fruit juices in schools, we have not controlled what and where participants should obtain these beverages, we have just instructed them to do reduce the liquid calorie intake.The study has used a rather small sample size in order to have more control and focus on all the results yielded; there is no doubt that the results would be different, however, it is always better to pick a larger s ample size as we are referring to the country as a whole. What we learned: What we learn from this study is that the reduction in liquid calorie intake is associated with weight loss, specially in the reduction of sugar-sweetened beverages.In this study, while focusing on the weight in kg, the result change in overall body fat was clear; the overall change in weight because of liquid calorie reduction is not a large amount, however; it does prove that it has an effect on weight gain or weight loss. Moreover, the study supports policy recommendations and public health efforts to reduce intakes of liquid calories, specially the reduction in sugar-sweetened beverages (Chen et al. , 2009).A number of factors were assumed , however, more prospective studies with accurate measures of exposures and outcomes in terms of body composition are needed to provide more robust evidence on which to base interventions to achieve long-term behavioral change and prevent excess weight gains in adolesce nts (Rennie, Johnson, & Jebb, 2005). References Chen, L. , Appel, L. J. , Loria, C. , Lin, P. H. , Champagne, C. M. , Elmer, P. J. , †¦ Caballero, B. (2009). Reduction in Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages is Associated with Weight Loss: the PREMIER Trial. American Society for Nutrition 89:1299-306. Retrieved from http://ajcn. utrition. org/content/89/5/1299. full. pdf+html. Christian Nordqvist. (2011). European Adult Obesity Rates Range From 7. 6% To 24. 7%. Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www. medicalnewstoday. com/articles/ 238283. php. Ebbeling, C. B. , et al. (2012). A Randomized Trial of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Adolescent Body Weight. New England Journal of Medicine, 367:15, Oct. 11, 2012, 1407-1416. Intervention. (2007). In Medical Dictionary online. Retrieved from http://medicaldictionary. thefree dictionary. com/intervention. Duffey, K. J. , Huybrechts, I. , Mouratidou, T. , Libuda, L. , Kersing, M. , De Vriendt, †¦ Popkin, B. M. 2011). Bever age Consumption Among European Adolescents in the HELENA Study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 66(2):244-52. doi: 10. 1038/ejcn. 2011. 166. Epub 2011 Sep 28. Retrieved from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/21952695 Rennie, K. L. , Johnson, L. , Jebb, S. A. (2005). Behavioural Determinants of Obesity. MRC Human Nutrition Research, 19(3):343-58. Just in case: http://ajcn. nutrition. org/content/87/6/1662. short http://pediatrics. aappublications. org/content/123/4/e661. abstract (used as a limitation cy my intervention did not include a policy inclusion in order to deal with the issue) http://ajcn. nutrition. org/content/84/2/274. full