7 C’s of Effective Business Communication

7 C’s Of Effective Business Communication PRINCIPLE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION – 7C’S To compose effective written or oral messages, you must apply certain communication principles. These principles provide guideline for choice of content and style of presentation, adapted to the purpose and receiver of your message. These principles are not only limited to a sentence level, they are also applicable to all forms of communications, from mere utterances and sentences to complete documents or presentations.To some extent the principles overlap because they are based on a common concern for the audience, whether that audience consists of listeners or readers. These principles are called â€Å"Seven C’s†, these are completeness, conciseness, consideration, concreteness, clarity, courtesy, and correctness. The Seven C’s are as follows: 1) Completeness Message Receiver- either listener or reader, desire complete information to their question. e. g. suppose you are working with multinational company who is engaging with engineering goods, like A. C.Now let say one of your major customer wants some technical information regarding â€Å"thermostat† (because he wants to convey the same to the end users). In this case you have to provide him complete information in a short span of time. If possible, provide him some extra information which he does not know, in this way you can maintain a good business relation with him, otherwise he may switch to another company. Five W’s: One way to make your message complete is to answer the five W’s. †¢? WHO†¢? WHAT†¢? WHEN†¢? WHERE†¢? WHY The five question method is useful when you write requests, announcements, or other informative messages.For instance, to order (request) merchandise, make clear WHAT you want, WHEN u need it, WHERE it is to be sent. 2) Conciseness Conciseness means â€Å"convey the message by using fewest words†. â€Å"Con ciseness is the prerequisite to effective business communication. † As you know that all businessmen have very short time. Hence a concise message saves the time and expenses for both the parties. How to achieve the conciseness? For achieving the conciseness you have to consider the following. 1. Avoid wordy expression 2. Include only relevant material 3. Avoid unnecessary repetition. Avoid Wordy ExpressionE. g. Wordy: – at this time. Instead of â€Å"at this time† you can just use only a concise word: – NOW, Always try to use â€Å"To the point Approach† in business scenario perspective. Include only relevant information †¢? Always try to provide only relevant information to the receiver of the message. Let’s say one of your customers requested †¢? For clients of the company o in reply you should provide simply list of clients at the panel of your company. o No need to provide detailed business information about client at all. â₠¬ ¢? Observe the following suggestions to â€Å"Include only relevant information. †¢? Stick to the purpose of message Delete irrelevant words Avoid long introduction, unnecessary explanation etc. Get to the important point concisely. Avoid un-necessary Repetition Sometimes repetition is necessary for focusing some special issue. But when the same thing is said without two or three reasons, the message become wordy and boring. That’s why try to avoid Un-necessary repetition. Some ways to eliminate unnecessary words Use shorter name after you have mentioned the long once. e. g. Spectrum communications Private limited use spectrum. Use pronouns or initials E. . Instead of world trade organization use WTO or You can use IT for Information Technology. (Keeping in views that receiver knows about these terms) 3. Consideration Consideration means – To consider the receiver’s Interest/Intention. It is very important in effective communication while writing a messa ge you should always keep in mind your target group consideration is very important â€Å"C† among all the seven C’s. Three specific ways to indicate consideration †¢? Focus on â€Å"you† instead of â€Å"I† or â€Å"We† †¢? Show audience benefit or interest of the receiver †¢?Emphasize positive, pleasant facts. Using â€Å"you† help you, but over use lead a negative reaction. Always write a message in such a way how audience should be benefited from it. †¢? We attitude: â€Å"I am delighted to announce that we will extend to make shopping more. † †¢? You attitude: â€Å"You will be able to shop in the evening with the extended hours. † Readers may react positively when benefit are shown to them. Always try to address his/her need and want. Always show/write to reader†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ what has been done so far as his/her query is concerned. And always avoid that his/her need and wants.Always avoid that has not been done so far. 4. Concreteness It means that message should be specific instead of general. Misunderstanding of words creates problems for both parties (sender and receiver). When you talk to your client always use facts and figures instead of generic or irrelevant information. The following guidelines should help you to achieve the Concreteness. †¢? Use specific facts and figures †¢? choose image building words e. g General He is very intelligent student of class and stood first in the class. e. g. Ali’s GPA in B. Sc Electrical Engineering 2k3-f session was 3. 5/4. 0; he stood first in his class. Always write on a very solid ground. It should definitely create good image as well. 5. Clarity Accurately is purpose of clarity In effective business communication the message should be very much clear. So that reader can understand it easily. You should always choose precise words. Always choose familiar and easy words. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs. In business communication always use precise words rather longer statements. If you have a choice between long words and shorter one, always use shorter one.You should try your level best to use familiar/easy to understand words so that your reader will quickly understand it. Familiar Next familiar words 1-after subsequent 2-home domicile 3-for example e. g. 4-pay remuneration 5-invoice statement for payments 6. Courtesy Knowing your audience allows you to use statements of courtesy; be aware of your message receiver. True courtesy involves being aware not only of the perspective of others, but also their feelings. Courtesy stems from a sincere you-attitude. It is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of â€Å"please† and â€Å"Thank you†.Although Appling socially accepted manners is a form of courtesy. Rather, it is politeness that grows out respect and concern for others. Courteous communication generates a special tone in their writing an d speaking. How to generate a Courteous Tone? The following are suggestions for generating a courteous tone: Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative. Use expressions that show respect for the others Choose nondiscriminatory expressions be sincerely Tactful, Thoughtful and Appreciative Though few people are intentionally abrupt or blunt, these negative traits are common cause of discourtesy.Avoid expression like those in the left hand column below; rephrase them as shown in the right-hand column. Tactless, Blunt More Tactful Stupid letter; I can’t understand I should understand it, as there is no confusing word in this Letter, could you please explain it once again? It’s your fault, you did not properly Sometimes my wording is not precise; let me try again read my latest FAX. Thoughtfulness and Appreciation Writers who send cordial, courteous messages of deserved congratulations and appreciation (to a person inside & outside) help to build goodwill. The alue o f goodwill or public esteem for the firm may be worth thousands of dollars. 7. Correctness At the core of correctness are the proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. However, message must be perfect grammatically and mechanically. The term correctness, as applied to business messages also mean three characteristics o Use the right level of language o Check the accuracy of figures, facts and words o Maintain acceptable writing mechanics. Use the right Level of Language We suggest that there are three level of language 1. Formal 2. Informal 3. Substandard. Take a quick guess:What kind of writing is associated with each level? What is the style of each? Formal and Informal Words Formal writing is often associated with scholarly writing: doctoral dissertations, scholarly, legal documents, top-level government agreements and other material where formality is demanded. Informal writing is more characteristic of business writing. Here you use words that are short, well-known and conversa tional as in this comparison list: More Formal Less Formal Participate Join Endeavor try Ascertain find out Utilize Use Interrogate question. Substandard Language Avoid substandard language.Using correct words, incorrect grammar, faulty pronunciation all suggest as inability to use good English. Some examples follow: Substandard More Acceptable Ain’t isn’t, aren’t Can’t hardly can hardly Aim to proving ai m to prove Desirous to desirous of Stoled stolen. Facts and Figures Accuracy Check Accuracy of Facts, Figures and words it is impossible to convey meaning precisely, through words, from the head of the sender to a receiver. Our goal is to be as precise as possible, which means checking and double-checking and double-checking to ensure that the figures, facts and words you use are correct. A good check of your data is to have another person read and comment on the validity of the material† †¢? Figures and facts †¢? Verify your statistical data †¢? Double-check your totals †¢? Avoid guessing at laws that have an impact on you, the sender and your †¢? Have someone else read your message if the topic involves data. †¢? Determine whether a â€Å"fact† has changed over time. Proper Use of Confusing Words! Our Language (Any) is constantly changing. In fact, even dictionaries cannot keep up with rapid change in our language.The following words often confusing in usage, an is used before consonants and consonants sounds or a long† u† sound. Use an before vowels. Accept, except accept is a verb and means to receive. Except is a verb or a preposition and relates to omitting or leaving out. Anxious, eager Anxious implies worry, eager conveys keen desire. CONCLUSION These 7 C’s help a person to compose a message in such a way that brings back the positive feedback from the receivers. That’s why it is advice able for everyone to understand and apply these 7C’s whether he is a teacher, doctor, businessman or a student. 7 C’s of Effective Business Communication 7 C’s Of Effective Business Communication PRINCIPLE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION – 7C’S To compose effective written or oral messages, you must apply certain communication principles. These principles provide guideline for choice of content and style of presentation, adapted to the purpose and receiver of your message. These principles are not only limited to a sentence level, they are also applicable to all forms of communications, from mere utterances and sentences to complete documents or presentations.To some extent the principles overlap because they are based on a common concern for the audience, whether that audience consists of listeners or readers. These principles are called â€Å"Seven C’s†, these are completeness, conciseness, consideration, concreteness, clarity, courtesy, and correctness. The Seven C’s are as follows: 1) Completeness Message Receiver- either listener or reader, desire complete information to their question. e. g. suppose you are working with multinational company who is engaging with engineering goods, like A. C.Now let say one of your major customer wants some technical information regarding â€Å"thermostat† (because he wants to convey the same to the end users). In this case you have to provide him complete information in a short span of time. If possible, provide him some extra information which he does not know, in this way you can maintain a good business relation with him, otherwise he may switch to another company. Five W’s: One way to make your message complete is to answer the five W’s. †¢? WHO†¢? WHAT†¢? WHEN†¢? WHERE†¢? WHY The five question method is useful when you write requests, announcements, or other informative messages.For instance, to order (request) merchandise, make clear WHAT you want, WHEN u need it, WHERE it is to be sent. 2) Conciseness Conciseness means â€Å"convey the message by using fewest words†. â€Å"Con ciseness is the prerequisite to effective business communication. † As you know that all businessmen have very short time. Hence a concise message saves the time and expenses for both the parties. How to achieve the conciseness? For achieving the conciseness you have to consider the following. 1. Avoid wordy expression 2. Include only relevant material 3. Avoid unnecessary repetition. Avoid Wordy ExpressionE. g. Wordy: – at this time. Instead of â€Å"at this time† you can just use only a concise word: – NOW, Always try to use â€Å"To the point Approach† in business scenario perspective. Include only relevant information †¢? Always try to provide only relevant information to the receiver of the message. Let’s say one of your customers requested †¢? For clients of the company o in reply you should provide simply list of clients at the panel of your company. o No need to provide detailed business information about client at all. â₠¬ ¢? Observe the following suggestions to â€Å"Include only relevant information. †¢? Stick to the purpose of message Delete irrelevant words Avoid long introduction, unnecessary explanation etc. Get to the important point concisely. Avoid un-necessary Repetition Sometimes repetition is necessary for focusing some special issue. But when the same thing is said without two or three reasons, the message become wordy and boring. That’s why try to avoid Un-necessary repetition. Some ways to eliminate unnecessary words Use shorter name after you have mentioned the long once. e. g. Spectrum communications Private limited use spectrum. Use pronouns or initials E. . Instead of world trade organization use WTO or You can use IT for Information Technology. (Keeping in views that receiver knows about these terms) 3. Consideration Consideration means – To consider the receiver’s Interest/Intention. It is very important in effective communication while writing a messa ge you should always keep in mind your target group consideration is very important â€Å"C† among all the seven C’s. Three specific ways to indicate consideration †¢? Focus on â€Å"you† instead of â€Å"I† or â€Å"We† †¢? Show audience benefit or interest of the receiver †¢?Emphasize positive, pleasant facts. Using â€Å"you† help you, but over use lead a negative reaction. Always write a message in such a way how audience should be benefited from it. †¢? We attitude: â€Å"I am delighted to announce that we will extend to make shopping more. † †¢? You attitude: â€Å"You will be able to shop in the evening with the extended hours. † Readers may react positively when benefit are shown to them. Always try to address his/her need and want. Always show/write to reader†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ what has been done so far as his/her query is concerned. And always avoid that his/her need and wants.Always avoid that has not been done so far. 4. Concreteness It means that message should be specific instead of general. Misunderstanding of words creates problems for both parties (sender and receiver). When you talk to your client always use facts and figures instead of generic or irrelevant information. The following guidelines should help you to achieve the Concreteness. †¢? Use specific facts and figures †¢? choose image building words e. g General He is very intelligent student of class and stood first in the class. e. g. Ali’s GPA in B. Sc Electrical Engineering 2k3-f session was 3. 5/4. 0; he stood first in his class. Always write on a very solid ground. It should definitely create good image as well. 5. Clarity Accurately is purpose of clarity In effective business communication the message should be very much clear. So that reader can understand it easily. You should always choose precise words. Always choose familiar and easy words. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs. In business communication always use precise words rather longer statements. If you have a choice between long words and shorter one, always use shorter one.You should try your level best to use familiar/easy to understand words so that your reader will quickly understand it. Familiar Next familiar words 1-after subsequent 2-home domicile 3-for example e. g. 4-pay remuneration 5-invoice statement for payments 6. Courtesy Knowing your audience allows you to use statements of courtesy; be aware of your message receiver. True courtesy involves being aware not only of the perspective of others, but also their feelings. Courtesy stems from a sincere you-attitude. It is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of â€Å"please† and â€Å"Thank you†.Although Appling socially accepted manners is a form of courtesy. Rather, it is politeness that grows out respect and concern for others. Courteous communication generates a special tone in their writing an d speaking. How to generate a Courteous Tone? The following are suggestions for generating a courteous tone: Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative. Use expressions that show respect for the others Choose nondiscriminatory expressions be sincerely Tactful, Thoughtful and Appreciative Though few people are intentionally abrupt or blunt, these negative traits are common cause of discourtesy.Avoid expression like those in the left hand column below; rephrase them as shown in the right-hand column. Tactless, Blunt More Tactful Stupid letter; I can’t understand I should understand it, as there is no confusing word in this Letter, could you please explain it once again? It’s your fault, you did not properly Sometimes my wording is not precise; let me try again read my latest FAX. Thoughtfulness and Appreciation Writers who send cordial, courteous messages of deserved congratulations and appreciation (to a person inside & outside) help to build goodwill. The alue o f goodwill or public esteem for the firm may be worth thousands of dollars. 7. Correctness At the core of correctness are the proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. However, message must be perfect grammatically and mechanically. The term correctness, as applied to business messages also mean three characteristics o Use the right level of language o Check the accuracy of figures, facts and words o Maintain acceptable writing mechanics. Use the right Level of Language We suggest that there are three level of language 1. Formal 2. Informal 3. Substandard. Take a quick guess:What kind of writing is associated with each level? What is the style of each? Formal and Informal Words Formal writing is often associated with scholarly writing: doctoral dissertations, scholarly, legal documents, top-level government agreements and other material where formality is demanded. Informal writing is more characteristic of business writing. Here you use words that are short, well-known and conversa tional as in this comparison list: More Formal Less Formal Participate Join Endeavor try Ascertain find out Utilize Use Interrogate question. Substandard Language Avoid substandard language.Using correct words, incorrect grammar, faulty pronunciation all suggest as inability to use good English. Some examples follow: Substandard More Acceptable Ain’t isn’t, aren’t Can’t hardly can hardly Aim to proving ai m to prove Desirous to desirous of Stoled stolen. Facts and Figures Accuracy Check Accuracy of Facts, Figures and words it is impossible to convey meaning precisely, through words, from the head of the sender to a receiver. Our goal is to be as precise as possible, which means checking and double-checking and double-checking to ensure that the figures, facts and words you use are correct. A good check of your data is to have another person read and comment on the validity of the material† †¢? Figures and facts †¢? Verify your statistical data †¢? Double-check your totals †¢? Avoid guessing at laws that have an impact on you, the sender and your †¢? Have someone else read your message if the topic involves data. †¢? Determine whether a â€Å"fact† has changed over time. Proper Use of Confusing Words! Our Language (Any) is constantly changing. In fact, even dictionaries cannot keep up with rapid change in our language.The following words often confusing in usage, an is used before consonants and consonants sounds or a long† u† sound. Use an before vowels. Accept, except accept is a verb and means to receive. Except is a verb or a preposition and relates to omitting or leaving out. Anxious, eager Anxious implies worry, eager conveys keen desire. CONCLUSION These 7 C’s help a person to compose a message in such a way that brings back the positive feedback from the receivers. That’s why it is advice able for everyone to understand and apply these 7C’s whether he is a teacher, doctor, businessman or a student.

Cultural Metaphor Essay

Cultural metaphors is a cultural system wherein people with the same beliefs, traditions, ideologies, morals or values associate with each other. People belonging to the same culture, share or participate in a particular interest activity, event, or organization, and any other means, that represents their culture is an example of a cultural metaphor. (Gannon, 2008) Moreover, these interest activities, events, organizations, etc. are specifically identified to one particular culture, influencing the way of life of its people. Cultural metaphors create a more discernible way of exhibiting a unique feature of a particular culture to other people. Since these unique features of a particular culture differ from other cultures, most people would probably have different opinions about them. Examples of cultural metaphors that most people know of include the Italian Opera or the American Football. These cultural metaphors associate certain activities or events, in this case the opera and football as distinct to a particular culture. Furthermore, basing it on the examples given, cultural metaphors, although distinctive to a particular culture, is also well known or popular to other cultures. (Gannon, 2002) Rules, ideologies, knowledge and rituals are several cultural concepts that make up the cultural metaphor. The rules that make up the cultural metaphor are either written or unwritten rules that people of a particular culture follow. For instance, rules that govern American football may differ from its European counterpart. Ideologies are certain beliefs or values that are accepted and practiced by a particular culture. For example, the Chinese believes in placing their idols in an altar for health and good luck. The concept of knowledge in cultural metaphors involves information that only a specific culture knows, as Americans are knowledgeable about football, while Europeans are more adept in soccer. Rituals are rites or customs practiced by a particular culture. For example, Muslims all over the world pray at the same times of the day for five times. References Gannon, M.  J. (2008). Cultural Metaphors: Applications and Exercises. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from Sage Publications. Website: www. csusm. edu/mgannon/Documents/CULTURAL METAPHORS. doc Gannon, M. J. (2002). Cultural metaphors: Their use in management practice and as a method for understanding cultures. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, & D. N. Sattler (Eds. ), Online Readings in Psychology and Culture (Unit 16, Chapter 4), (http://www. wwu. edu/~culture), Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington USA.

Song of Myself

In Walt Whitman’s poem Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, the poet explores themes of the idea of the self, the recognition of self in relation to other people and the poet’s connection nature and the universe. For example, Whitman’s use of tangible objects such as the houses and the rooms symbolize the society. Another example is his use the perfume which embodies the self of one being; lastly, he use the atmosphere to describe the entire self. For Whitman, the self is regarded as mystical and remains constant throughout life. The self includes thoughts, experiences, conscious and subconscious states, and the individual’s spirituality. The theory of self is important in Whitman’s work because it is where his intellect and art is reflected. Walt Whitman sees the self as an individual and also as nature or the entire universe. The poet wants to preserve his own self while fusing with the entire universe. This means that the poet recognizes his need to associate with others and to commune with God. His reference to sex is a metaphor for spiritual experience. The poet’s pleasure stems both from the physical and the spiritual. Whitman demonstrates his individualistic style in â€Å"Song of Myself†. I consider it as one of the greatest poems I’ve read. His experiment with words is just breath taking. As one reads through his verses, one is lost in trance through his vivid imagery. The poem opens with the celebration of the self. The poet rejoices with the experience of communing with the universe as described in Section I lines 1-9: â€Å"I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.  I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass. My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air, Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same, I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, Hoping to cease not till death†. In section 2 of the poem, Walt Whitman asserts his independence from society and at the same time declaring his connection with nature. â€Å"Houses and rooms are full of   perfume†, as stated in line 1 of section 2; the perfume is a representation of the individual selves and the atmosphere denotes the universe. The poet is enticed to be with the other selves but he wants to keep his freedom and independence. The poet delights in experiencing all of his five senses. His use of his sight, his hearing, his taste, his smell and his touch gives him an intoxicating pleasure.  Sections 3 and 4 of the poem, the poet reproaches the â€Å"talkers†, the â€Å"trippers† and the â€Å"askers† for discussing things that is of shallow importance. Whitman describes his spiritual communion with God in section 5 of the poem by stating, â€Å"And I know that the promise of God is the promise of my own, And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ In section 6 of the poem, a child asks the poet â€Å"What is the grass?† The poet stops and thinks and finally explains that the â€Å"grass† is a metaphor for life and death. The grass grows and eventually dries up and dies. In section 7 of the poem, the poet describes his universal nature. The universal self discovers that he is surrounded by everything good and he is a part of them. In sections 8-16, the poet depicts everything he encounters, genders, all young and old alike, people from different places. He is drawn to them and he considers himself as one of them. The poet acknowledges his similarity with mankind as illustrated by section 17. The poet addresses the entire humanity from section 18-19.   In sections 20-25, Whitman expresses his divine experience by the fusion of the physical reality and universal reality. The poet listens to everything around him as depicted in Section 26. The poet is amazed by the sense of touch and what joy it brings to him as it is described in section 27-30 where he asks â€Å"Is this then a touch? Quivering me to a new identity†. The poet believes that all small things are essential. He cites that â€Å"a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars†, as portrayed in sections 31-33. The poet makes reference to every person in existence and the ones who died; he also gives an account of his experiences in the history of America (Section 34-36). He further explains in sections 37-38 that through his connection to all things dead and living, he feels empowered by the experience. Sections 39-41 states that the poet is transformed to a hero that he would save people from falling he would stop â€Å"the descending man from and raise him with resistless will†¦/By God you shall not go down! hang your whole weight upon me†. In section 41, the poet accepts religion as universal. He believes that all men are divine. Whitman sees the inequality, injustice and corruption in society as described by section 42. The poet embraces all religion as explained in section 43. The idea of death and eternity is expressed in sections 44-49. He explains that everything will eventually unite with God in the end. Whitman feels that there is something greater than death and yet he could not explain it as cited on section 50 of the poem. Finally, in sections 51-52, the poet bids farewell â€Å"The past and present wilt—I have fill’d them, emptied them, /And proceed to fill my next fold of the future†¦Missing me one place search another, /I stop somewhere waiting for you.† Walt Whitman believed that the poet has a role of exposing the truth by using his poems. The use of metaphors not only enhances the reader’s imagination but also becomes an eye opener. It makes a person stop and think. It creates a sort of awakening of the senses that may not be seen, heard or felt before. Works Cited Whitman, Walt. â€Å"Song of Myself†. Leaves of Grass. New York: Bantam Books, 1998.

Child adolence and development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Child adolence and development - Research Paper Example In my days as a child, I was carefree with no worries at all. I would wander like a deer upon the open fields. I enjoyed various natural beauties in the gardens together with my other friends. The days gone are gone forever. What I have are only memories that remain in my mind. The memories make me cry and laugh at times. Nevertheless, it is impossible to cut out them from life. For such reasons, childhood memories are said to be the sweetest in man’s life. I also got several memories of my childhood life. The memories present the sweetest time of my mind. My childhood memories are indeed sweet. No one can forget his/her childhood experiences whether painful or pleasant. I still remember my childhood life very well. I was born in the suburbs of Illinois where I spent my childhood. My father was employed by the government. Home was a simple house where we lived happily together with my parents, sisters and brothers. That is not all; there was another family member. That is my grandmother. She was humble and affectionate. I remember her trying to teach me recite some sayings and quotes. That was at an early age and my mind weak to capture them, speaking was still difficult task. She showed love to me most than other family members. The memories are bitter for I lost her a few years ago. Am lucky for my parents are still alive up to today. Both mum and dad have been by best teachers in language. They taught me how to pronounce simple words like â€Å"no†, â€Å"yes†, â€Å"come†, and â€Å"go†. There was a ground in front of our house. Paddy and other crops had grown in the ground. The beautiful golden color of the paddy field attracted me a lot. Every afternoon, I walked to the playground through the paddy field. The paddy plants always touched me. I got mixed up in the midst of the beauty of nature. I loudly named each flower as I went by playing. Though the names hardly meant anything, but at least I was better than

The major challenges for China, Why the past successful export led Term Paper

The major challenges for China, Why the past successful export led growth model cannot continue - Term Paper Example Over a period of three decades, China has established a market-based economy but, however, the establishment of market institutions remains unfinished (Naughton, 2007). The export-led growth was greatly assisted by channeling savings and labor into large scale physical and human labor investments. Further, the shift to markets from planning brought about efficiency in the allocation of resources while taking advantage of the industrial experience acquired during the socialist era. According to Norton (2007), the present economic period has exploited a long entrepreneurship and commercialization history both inside and outside the country, which has eased access to capital and savings. With an emphasis on economy, this paper will discuss the major challenges that China is facing and the reasons why its past successes based on growth that was fueled by exports cannot continue. It will further suggest how the Chinese economy should further be transformed. The key concern facing Chinaâ⠂¬â„¢s economy is the improbability of the continuation of the conditions that facilitated the 7% economic growth in the past 30 years, save for the slowly but steadily improving human capital (Garnaut & Song, 2005). However, the improving human capital may be negated by the rapidly aging professionals that will put a strain on the government’s capacity of healthcare and pensions. ... Although the changeover has resulted in improved standards of living, it has also led to higher economic risk and uncertainty. This is manifested by the worsening distribution of income, unemployment, unstable education, insufficient infrastructure and a badly structured health insurance framework (Zhang, 2008). The economy is in a state of imbalance because of overdependence on exports, with relatively low shares of GDP realized from domestic consumption in comparison to the status in majority of the developed countries. This has led to a never-ending overcapacity, aggravating the trade imbalance between China and its significant partners in trade, the result of which has been recurrent apprehension in mutual relationships with trading partners and, more critically, the United States (Liu, 2007). From the economic point of view, China may be said to be a victim of its own success (Garnaut & Song, 2005). None of its trading partners is enjoying the exponential growth rates that China has experienced, and their imports from China cannot remain the same, or at least in a way that can lead China to continued stability. Viewed in another way, the trading partners may maintain their level of imports, but, from the perspective of China, they would not sustain the growth rates they have seen in past years. After going through a period of humble monthly gains, the country was faced by unexpected drops in September in exports (Silk, 2013). This occurrence renewed the indications of weak points within the emerging markets that China has been trading with as significant partners. More importantly, it signals the restrictions of heavy dependence on more export growth to

Research Methods Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research Methods - Assignment Example The oil export business has also allowed the countries to participate in the international trade and thus the countries are developing in order to compete with the developed nations (Narayan and Smyth, 2007). Since oil producing sector is the most important sector in the middle-east and the GCC nations this is considered for carrying out a detailed study. The aim of the research is to carry out an overall analysis of the performance of the oil producing companies of middle-east by focusing mainly on the GCC nations and the revenue generated them. Since crude oil is on high demand in the international market hence it would prove to be an interesting topic of discussion for most of the researchers. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have a number of features in common that is their structural economic features as well as there are significant differences. The common features comprise of high dependency of the other nations on the hydrocarbon as well as the oil production of the middle-east and the GCC nations (Arouri and Rault, 2012). The countries are expected to earn a large portion of their revenue from the oil export business. Oil producing companies face challenges due to the fluctuations in the oil prices where some of the oil importing countries reduce their dependency on the oil and hydrocarbon and set up a separate non-oil sector. There is a possibility of economic diversification that takes place in the international market that would in turn reduce the demand for oil. Study says that, the member nations of GCC are adopting the method of economic diversification with UAE and Bahrain, acting as the most advanced in this field of economic diversification. According to the study, the GDP growth in the non-oil sector has exceeded that of oil producing sectors in the international market, but the non-oil sector are controlled by the government expenditure which is further dependent on

Creating a Government Tax on Marijuana Research Paper

Creating a Government Tax on Marijuana - Research Paper Example Its use today is for a combination of medical and religious purposes, but recreational use is no less popular. This is why it would really be beneficial to tax marijuana, as it would bring in a sizeable amount of taxes to the USA and really boost our economy in the present lackluster conditions. Why One Would Support a Government Tax on Marijuana One tends to support a Government Tax on marijuana to legalize its use and make it available to those who want it. There are those who need it for medicinal purposes and it would be cruel to deny them this privilege. For those who are habitual drug users and are addicted to the substance, they would find a way to get it anyway and frequently use criminal avenues to satisfy their needs. By making marijuana legal, the street value would reduce and illegal smuggling would be stopped or greatly reduced. Drug control authorities could then concentrate on rehabilitation rather than on stopping the sources of illegal supply. Drug education is a bet ter way of stopping the menace and should be widely introduced in schools, colleges and universities. By making dealing in commercial quantities a punishable offence this would solve the matter in terms of arresting and incarcerating drug pushers as well. There are two commonly used methods of taxing the citizens of a State or nation. One is by direct taxation in the form of deduction from salaries or other earnings of individuals and corporations. This amount then gets transferred in the accounts and coffers of the IRS. The other is by indirect taxation. In this case, the tax is hidden in the various commodities that we buy and sell that contain marijuana in one form or another. Since there has usually been a huge hue and cry raised over allowing consumption and use of marijuana in the USA for medicinal purposes anyway, the State or Federal Government can allow a minimum threshold of use per month or per year without taxation, and anything above that would be automatically taxed at the decided rates. This would appease the groups of people that use marijuana for medicinal purposes such as in the suppression and control of chronic pain, or for religious and spiritual uses. With the number of people smoking, injecting and inhaling marijuana in its various forms increasing every day, there is a good amount of tax to be earned from it. According to UN estimates, marijuana is the most widely consumed illicit drug in the world. While the Federal Government supports the control and restrictions on marijuana, around 14 States in the USA have allowed the use of marijuana to date. It is worth remembering that was only in the early part of the 20th century that the open and unrestricted use of marijuana was challenged and made illegal. Even so, countries like Spain, Canada, Austria and the Netherlands have legalized a certain amount of marijuana for personal and medicinal use. In fact, there is an argument that production of hemp in large quantities was outlawed because it was a cheap substitute for paper and nylon. It would have ruined the business plans of DuPont, the inventor of nylon and affected the fortunes of William Randolph Hearst, who had invested millions in the wood industry (Wishnia, 3). The Case against Legalization The debate as to whether the use of marijuana should be legalized or not is far from over. Among the reasons opposing legalization of this drug are its known harmful effects. For instance, it has been documented that the use of mariju

Geotechnical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Geotechnical - Essay Example Geotechnical engineering uses the geophysical methods in measuring the physical properties on the earth sub surface. These methods have the potential of measuring the anomalies in the properties of soil to identify the position and the presence of minerals (Das and Sobhan, 2013). They involve applying physical methods in measuring the physical traits of rocks and soil thus detecting the physical differences between the rocks that have the hydrocarbons or ore deposits. This paper explores the different types of geophysics method and their use in geotechnical engineering. Electromagnetic induction (EM) involves a method that uses the induction principles in measuring the electrical conductivity of the subsurface. Different from the techniques of conventional resistivity, EM requires no contact in the ground. This eliminates the fast problems of electrical coupling allowing much acquisition of rapid data. Since the EM instruments give an easy and rapid collection of data, the instruments are always used as the tools of reconnaissance used in identifying the greatly detailed anomalies (Nobes, 2000). The induced electromagnetic pulse can be measured using the frequency domain meters and time domain meters. GPR (ground penetrating Radar is utilized in pinpointing the buried objects location and mapping and having stratigraphy mapped out. It gives the shallow subsurface cross-sectional measurements. The method has the ability of locating the nonmetal and metal objects. In many cases, data and profiles are recorded and the result is shown using the real time having the attached display unit of the computer. This results into a fast and easy field interpretation. More data interpretation could be done later (Nobes, 2000). The instruments of GPR have energy beamed into the ground from the antenna in the electromagnetic wave form. An energy position is reflected towards the antenna at the specific subsurface

Online Shops And Traffic Flow Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Online Shops And Traffic Flow - Essay Example The online shopping technology requires a deeply integrated shop that can be recognized and stand out from the thousands of shops available online. The proposed Dreamdecor .com online shop specializing in unique home decors would be designed in an attractive way that would draw as much traffic to the shops as possible. DQ1 Following a company online is informative and exciting. One advantage of following a company is that one has a better to learn about the most current and newly launched products even before such products get to the market. Following a company makes one to lead in customer forums and be well informed with latest news on any product, or the performance of the company in the market. Lieb (2009) explains that companies are extensively investing in strategies s that would lead as much customers to their shop. This implies that by following a company as they do marketing, one stands to benefit immensely from a company by either having latest news in predicting their stoc ks and products dynamics. Following a company is essential in taking advantage of discounts and sales that in most cases last for a short time, mostly 24 hours only. In order to attract customers, companies come up with daily sales to reward regular customers where huge discounts on coupons or products are given. For customers unaware of such discounts, they do not take advantage of such discounts and saving incentives; they have to buy at the market prices. By following a company, one gets firsts hand information on discounts and sales incentives from the company and makes a rush to take advantage of such discounts. Increasing the number of fans is the ultimate goal of any business. For example, Purehomedecor.com a similar company has managed to increase visits to their online shop due to their strategic marketing approaches that have resulted in increased traffic, which translates to profit for the company. One way to increase followers and visits for Dreamdecor.com would be to in crease the shop’s online visibility through search engines. While searching for any product, people will most likely make a first stop in search engines such as Google, where they look for their dream products. There will be need to use Google tools such as Google’s Webmaster tools and Google analysis in monitoring the search visibility of the company in search engines. Google analytic tools help in assessing the search dynamics and the keyword to search term relationships (Brightpearl, 2011). Blogs are an alternative way to increase traffic to the shop. Creating active blogs with professional content in home decor will attract more interested parties. Blogs are designed with follow links that lead the customers to the main shop once clicked. The large number of people visiting blogs currently would be ideal for tapping and increasing traffic on the online shop. Ina addition to creating such blogs, there are a number of leading blogs that allow contribution of articles on every subject including home decor. Such blogs allow follow links to be integrated in the leading to different companies to give customers a variety of choices on home decor and other products. Linking to such blogs would increase traffic; more people will be led to the shop through such links. Having social network links would also be ideal in increasing the traffic to our online shop. Pozin (2009) noted that social networks promise a versatile and limitless potential market. Integrating and advertising the business in social networks such as Facebook or twitter will expose the shop to an infinite number of followers since millions of people use

Culture Influence on Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Culture Influence on Education - Research Paper Example This research paper analyses the influence of culture on education within the perspective of critical pedagogy. Cultural Diversity in Contemporary Education The United States is increasingly becoming culturally diverse. The effect of this increasing cultural diversity is most evident in schools. But in spite of the increasing cultural diversity all over the country, cultural or racial-based segregation in schools has been growing. Alongside the evolving nature of U.S. education, ideas of how best to teach and learn in a culturally diverse setting have also evolved over time. The educational history of the United States, in fact, is full of examples of culturally biased policies that worked to segregate or exclude from formal education students of Latino, Asian, African American, and Native American backgrounds (Doyle 82). It is evident that ideas about racial and cultural inferiority and dominance have a profound and long history in the U.S. educational history. For a considerable pa rt of that educational history, the traditional knowledge was that students who come from minority cultures have a weakness ingrained in their identities. As a result, the faster students assimilated to the mainstream society the smoother would be their move to the upper rungs of the social ladder. In the second half of the 20th century, these assumptions were criticised and disproven, mostly by individuals from the cultures being forced to change. It is not accidental that educational campaigns supporting multicultural education and ethnic studies all appeared simultaneously (Nieto 88). Such campaigns stood for the condemnation of ideologies that had prevented numerous cultural groups from attaining educational success. All teachers nowadays deal with students who are more culturally diverse than ever before. This increasing cultural diversity influences teaching and learning. As an outcome of the evolving demographics of the United States and the rest of the world, culture and lan guage are ever more essential issues in contemporary schools across the globe. Unfortunately, only a small number of educators aside from experts in bilingual education, urban education, or English as a second language (ESL) have been sufficiently trained or experienced to teach students who come from diverse cultural backgrounds (Phipps & Guilherme 62). Consequently, numerous educators are not prepared to confront cultural diversity in schools. Such realities demonstrate that educational reform has to occur in certain areas, especially at the national, societal, and ideological levels. Meanwhile, students who are culturally different from the majority are especially at risk in a society that has viewed such differences to be weaknesses, and financial hardships to be a moral violation (Phipps & Guilherme 29-30). Nevertheless, change can start at any level, and this paper is rooted in the idea that teachers can and, indeed, should positively influence and inspire their students throu gh critical pedagogy. Knowledge is not unbiased, but it is usually viewed and handled by schools, teachers, and students as though it were. As a result, education has a tendency to be limited or narrow; it tends to accept only the least questionable and least offensive. But the truth is history is filled with fascinating controversies, debates, and socio-political conflicts. All

Tourism Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Tourism Planning - Essay Example The planning and management of the places where the destination of tourists will be is less common and equally valuable.   The community or destination level is where the organization and the development of the visitor’s attractions and services respectively. Many communities have shown their need to respond and act in the approach to tourism (Richards, 2000:17). They are also showing their concern over what is developed, the way promotion is done, and the impact it may have in regard to economic, social and the environmental factors.   Tourism planning is much improving and developing new and better attractions. It increased the number of visitors or seeking to boost profits. Rather, it was all trying to promote orderly development of the industry. In the destination planning, setting goals and objectives for the industry is done (Gunn, 2002:33). The Unitary Development Plan was set mainly for managing the growth and development in the borough (Sharma, 2004:54). It was ad opted in the year 2007, and a couple of policies have been saved for further three years as from August 2010. It sets out Camden’s aims and priorities for using the land in the Borough and policies to be used to achieve it through the planning decisions. This was done to fulfill the objectives and priorities contained in Camden Community Strategy and council strategies.   The plan’s aim is to achieve sustainable new development of high quality in most suitable locations. It also played the role of protecting and enhancing their built and natural environment. Their work was to be considered and allowed visit the Borough and supporting the sustainable communities. The UDP is a legal document that provided the main framework for the planning decisions made in regard to show clearly the set criteria. In the planning sector, the council had to make its decisions on planning applications in regard with the UDP (Sharma, 2004:54). This was much considered

Technical features of the sonnet form Essay Example for Free

Technical features of the sonnet form Essay There are a number of technical features of the sonnet form; first of all, all sonnets are fourteen lines long. There are ten syllables in each line, and most of the time they are in the form of iambic pentameter (limping five rhythm), this means that there are five stressed syllables at the start and then five unstressed syllables, this is repeated 5 times. However, Sir Phillip Sydneys sonnet Loving in truth has twelve syllables in each line, so that sonnet is an exception to this rule. All of the sonnets rhyme, there are two rhyme schemes, the Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet forms. The Shakespearean sonnet form consists of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet at the end of the sonnet. Usually, the rhyming couplet in Shakespearean sonnets summarises the whole poem. The Petrarchan form consists of an octave, and then a sestet. Another thing is that there is a lot of imagery in sonnets. The main types of imagery are similes, metaphors and personification. An example of a simile is in Percy Shelleys sonnet, To Wordsworth, when he says thou wert as a lone star. Also there are many examples of metaphors, such as in Shakespeares My mistress eyes, Shakespeare says black wires grow on her head. This means that he is comparing black wires to actual hair. There are also a lot of examples of personification in sonnets, for example Wordsworth says the very houses seem asleep; he said this in his sonnet which is called Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802. There are quite a few common themes in sonnets that poets write about quite often. An example of a theme is love and courtship. There are a lot of sonnets that deal with this subject, such as Shakespeares sonnet called When my love swears that she is made of truth. In this sonnet, Shakespeare talks about his love telling lies to him just to make him feel good. He even says I do believe her, though I know she lies. This shows that Shakespeare is telling us all about courtship, another thing is that he refers to her speech as a false-speaking tongue. All of this explains about courtship in Shakespeares sonnet, and almost at the end of the sonnet he states that loves best habit is seeming trust. Edmund Spencers sonnet 54, Of this worlds theatre in which we stay, is also about love. He compares love to going to the theatre, for example he says my love like the spectator ydly sits. Another thing is that he contrasts his love with comedies and tragedies in the theatre: But when I laugh she mocks, and when I cry She laughs and hardens evermore her heart. This makes it clear that this sonnet is also about love, and going to the theatre is a metaphor for his love. Another sonnet that falls into the category of love and courtship is Sir Philip Sydneys Loving in truth and in fain in verse my love to show. In this sonnet, he talks about winning the heart of someone he loves by writing a poem. By writing the poem he intends her to feel pity, and then he states that pity grace obtain. In another words, his love will feel sorry for him and feel sympathy for him. All of this illustrates that love and courtship is a common theme for sonnets. Another common theme is about poetry. The sonnet Loving in truth and fain in verse my love to show by Sir Phillip Sidney is more about poetry than love. He talks about writing a poem for his love to read, he says pleasure might cause her to read which emphasizes the power of poetry. He also points out that he needs a poem that will entertain her wits. Even in the last line, he makes reference to poetry by saying Fool, said my Muse to me, look in thy heart and write. What he meant by this is that the best poems are written by listening to your heart. However, it is ironic that Sir Phillip Sidney must have done a lot of research into writing this poem, and not by listening to his heart. Another sonnet about poetry is Shakespeares My mistress eyes. In this sonnet, Shakespeare criticises the exaggeration of other poems. He compares his mistress to coral, saying that her eyes are nowhere near as red as coral, which makes fun of the other poems. He states that when compared to perfume, his mistress breath wreaks. Right at the end of the sonnet, at the rhyming couplet he makes it clear that he isnt criticizing his mistress, but that falsely comparing his love and exaggerating isnt necessary: And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare. Another example of poetry as a theme for a sonnet is in Shakespeares sonnet Not marble nor the gilded monuments. In this sonnet he talks about the power of this particular sonnet that he was writing by saying that nothing shall outlive this powerful rime. He mentions that the memory of his love will always be around thanks to the poem he wrote, even after they die, her memory will still be here in the poem, this conveys the power of this particular poem. He says gainst death and all-oblivious enmity shall you pace forth. In the end he illustrates that his loves will live in this, and dwell in lovers eyes. Finally, time, death and loss are part of another theme that is common in sonnets. All these three themes are linked together. First of all, John Donnes sonnet Death be not proud is about death. He personifies death and directs his sonnet to death itself by saying Death be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so. In this sonnet, John Donne illustrates that there is nothing to fear about death. He states that death is a slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men. Even at the end, he stresses that death shall be no more and that death will die itself, this means that death is only really sending people to heaven and that eternal life shall overcome death. The next sonnet about this theme is Shakespeares No longer mourn for me when I am dead. In this sonnet he leaves a message for his love, not to feel bad when he will die. He says remember not the hand that writ it, for I love you so which means that this sonnet is also about time because he talks about his love forgetting about him after an amount of time. Also he thinks of the future, when he will be dead, which also shows that this sonnet is about time and he loss of him. Another sonnet about death and time is John Keats When I have fears that I may cease to be. At the start of the sonnet, John Keats shows that he is scared of death because he wont be able to write poems again, and that he might not live long enough to write a truly great poem. He also is worried that he wont see his lover again because he says that he shall never look upon thee more. At the end he mentions to nothingness do sink which means that he is probably near to death. Overall, he common themes that are used in sonnets are love and courtship, the power of poetry and death.

Newborn Bloodspot Screening Test

Newborn Bloodspot Screening Test This reflection is on the use of the Newborn Bloodspot Screening Test (NBSST), which is undertaken when the newborn is between five and eight days old. I will discuss how the use of this screening test supports the assessment and well being of the newborn. The model of reflection implemented within my assignment will be the Gibbs reflective cycle (1988). I have selected this model due to the simplicity, as it guides you through the six stages of the reflective process by asking a series of questions, allowing the experience to be transformed into knowledge. Throughout this assignment I will be maintaining confidentiality in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Standards (2004). I will therefore use pseudonyms to ensure the identity of my mentor and clients, remain anonymous. For the purpose of this assignment my mentor will be known as Michelle, the newborn will be known as Theo and his mother as Hannah. Using the Gibbs reflective cycle (1988), the first stage is to describe the event. The event upon which I am reflecting is the NBSST which I performed under the supervision of my mentor Michelle, when Theo was five days old at his home. This was undertaken with the consent of his mother Hannah who was present and observed the test being carried out. The second stage of the Gibbs cycle (1988), is to explore the feelings regarding the event. The view proposed by Bulman (2004, p.141) is that when we least expect it feelings can often affect our learning. Therefore to mention a range of feelings encountered, and the situation in which they occurred, can be useful to the learning experience. I felt in such a privileged position to be undertaking the screening test on Theo as a student midwife under the supervision of my mentor. The NMC Standards (2004), state that, every woman has the right to refuse a student to be involved in their care. Therefore Hannah had the right to refuse consent for me to perform the test, however as I had been involved in her antenatal care and built a rapport with her she was confident for me to proceed. I felt that I had gained both Hannah and Michelles trust this gave me increased confidence in my ability and practice. My mentor held Theo securely in an upright position while I warmed the heel by gently rubbing it, as recommended by Michelle. After washing my hands I cleaned the area on the heel I was going to use to perform the test. Then using the automated lancet I made a small incision in the skin, Theo let out a high pitched cry and Hannah became a little distressed. Following the instructions on the test strip I wiped away the first drop of blood to avoid contamination and subsequently dropped four good samples of blood onto the filter paper of the test strip. As soon as I had finished the test I placed a plaster on the heel and gave Theo immediately to Hannah for a comfort feed. I then filled out the information that was required on the test strip and documented the procedure in the maternity record and the Baby notes. I then notified Hannah she would receive the results in approximately six weeks time and this would be by her health visitor or general practitioner, if there was any cause fo r concern she would be notified sooner rather than later. The testing strip was then posted the same day as per the instructions. Although the procedure went well I did however feel slightly anxious when performing the test, as I was concerned about the number of times I would need to puncture the skin and how distressed Theo would become throughout the procedure. I felt comfortable after successfully obtaining enough blood samples for the test using the technique my mentor had provided me with and relieved that I had caused minimal distress to Theo and reassured as he was easily comforted following the distress of the test. Evaluation is the next stage in the Gibbs (1988), reflective cycle. As suggested by Taylor (2006) evaluation is the element of the process in which the situation is reviewed in light of all the feelings gained. Upon evaluating the experience I believe I had successfully performed the technique, and in doing so had enabled me to collect satisfactory samples for the test. I had excellent communication with Hannah and the continuity of care from the antenatal to postnatal period had enabled her to trust me and my confidence had grown immensely. I had been out on community placement, before so my knowledge base had increased so I was therefore able to use this and the skills I had learnt from my mentor to inform my practice. The negative aspect of the experience was the concern for Theo regarding the pain he would feel when attempting the test, and the high pitched cry that he released upon puncturing the skin was quite distressing for me and his mother Hannah. Following the evaluation of the experience, the Gibbss reflective cycle (1988), states that analysis of the situation is undertaken exploring the experience in greater detail. The NBSST is undertaken on a national scale, the UK Newborn Screening Committee (NSC) (2005), test the samples for metabolic disorders which can be treated, such as Phenylketonuria, Congenital Hypothyroidism, Sickle Cell Disorders, Cystic Fibrosis and Medium Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency. The disorders screened for are subject to regional variations, however in my local placement area, all of these conditions are currently tested for as recommended by the NSC (2005). The purpose for conducting this screening test, is to detect the disorder at a stage early enough to introduce effective treatment to prevent the disease or condition from affecting the newborns development (Johnston, Flood Spinks 2003). The NBSST is not a compulsory test, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2006), state that for the well being of the newborn, the test must be offered to all parents when their newborn is five to eight days old. They also suggest that the parents should be encouraged to be present when the test is undertaken. This was performed on Theo the fifth day after delivery and Hannah was present for the procedure. The UK Newborn Screening Programme Centre (UKNSPC) Guidelines for Newborn Blood Spot Sampling (2008) (Appendix 3), state that women should be provided with the relevant screening leaflet in the third trimester and no later than 24 hours prior to conducting the test. This has been developed to enable parents to make informed decisions about the screening and well being of their newborn. However a study undertaken by Cavanagh, Coppinger Franck (2005), found that all midwives involved in the study gave information to parents prior to the test, although there were large variations in the timing and frequency in both the antenatal and postnatal period. The UKNSPC (2008) also state that the test should ideally be performed on day five and verbal consent from the parents is required and must be documented in the maternity record and the baby notes. The NMC (2004) also states that midwives must provide the woman and her family with the information to allow them to make informed choices about the care of their newborn in a form that they can understand, and maintain accurate record keeping. McCullough Chervenak (2008), state that informed consent requires the physician to firstly disclose information to the client and must then obtain the clients acceptance or refusal. They must disclose material information, this being what the client needs to know regarding the procedure and what a person of average sophistication should not be expected to know (McCullough Chervenak 2008). This was carried out with Hannah on the visit prior to performing the test, I had asked Hannah to read the leaflet she had been given on discharge from the hospital prior to giving her permission for the test. On the day of the test before I proceeded on Theo I asked Hannah if she had read and understood the leaflet and if she had any questions, she confirmed this and had no questions, Hannah then gave verbal consent for me to continue. Upon completion of the procedure I fully documented the information in Hannahs maternity record and Theos baby notes. Cavanagh, Coppinger Franck (2005), stated in their study that prior to performing the test, the warming of the newborns foot was undertaken in most instances. However Janes et al. (2002), found in a controlled trial that there showed no differences in the time taken to collect blood, the number of repeat procedures required or the behavioural responses of the newborn, between warmed or un-warmed heels. The study performed by Cavanagh, Coppinger Franck (2005), showed that the positioning of the newborn for the test also varied, despite strong evidence to suggest that the newborn should be in a secure position and cuddled when undertaking the test. The UKNSPC (2008) state in their multi professional guideline an automated lancet should be used on the heel and that the heel should be warm and in most cases additional pre-warming should not be required. They also state that the newborn should be cuddled in a secure position for the taking of the sample. Upon performing the test on Theo I rubbed the heel to warm it as recommended by my mentor and Theo was held by my mentor whilst the test was carried out. The NMC (2004), state that other health professionals should be involved in the care of the woman or baby, when a situation deviates from the midwives normal responsibilities. I therefore advised Hannah that she would be notified of the results in approximately six weeks time by her health visitor, and if there were any concerns then both the health visitor and General Practitioner would be notified and she would be informed as soon as possible. Shepherd, Glenesk, Niven Mackenzie (2005) suggests that the procedure of the screening test is easy to complete however the pain experienced by the newborn and the anxiety of the parents is of concern. When performing the test on Theo I was successful in obtaining a satisfactory sample with only one incision however it was evident that this had caused pain due to the immediate cry upon commencement. In conclusion the neonatal screening test is an important element of the care and well being of the newborn, if these conditions are identified, early treatment can improve health and prevent severe disability or even death (NSC 2005). The new guidelines published by the UKNSPC (2008) reflect the findings from studies I have researched and are based on the recommendations concluding the studies. My action plan for the future is use to evidence based practice when performing the NBSST taking into account the factors highlighted in this assignment with regards to warming of the heel and positioning of the newborn. I am confident in my skills with regards to the incision using the lancet and my communication with the parents.

Impact of widowhood on elderly women in nigeria

Impact of widowhood on elderly women in nigeria The paper examines the social structured context and implications of widowhood in Southeastern Nigeria. It argues that in spite of the efforts by formal and informal agencies to alleviate the burdens of widowhood, the gender informed discriminatory practice of mourning which exacts a heavy toll on women persists. In this case, widows are exposed to harsh and often cruel mourning practices which are especially tasking for elderly women who have to contend with frail physical health, loss of partners and the mental, psychological and physical stress of widowhood. Therefore, while these practices are norm oriented they expose the elderly widows to psychological and social coping challenges. However, these elderly widows are also often led into activities and social strategies perceived as capable of alleviating the burdens of widowhood. Equally interesting is the finding that widows who are actively engaged and enjoy social support cope better with the challenges of widowhood than other s. In view of the above, the paper argues for a more active role by social workers in informing care provisioning and policies for lessening the burdens of widowhood on elderly women. INTRODUCTION The plight of widows has been a recurrent theme in the efforts to address perceived or real gender imbalance in African societies even in contemporary times. In spite of this the traditional conception of mourning which places a higher burden on women has obviously defied reform efforts. Hence the focus on widows actually derives from the traditional and patriarchal nature of African societies in which women are often regarded as the silent role players. In such a situation a woman who loses her partner may confront culturally structured scenarios different from the case of a man in the same situation. Therefore, the imaginings of widowhood in African societies are socio-culturally structured and reinforced and generate significant gender imbalance. Widowhood, meaning loss of ones spouse whether early or later in life entails a lot of things, mostly problems for the bereaved. Its effects may even be worse when the bereaved is an elderly person. Her self identity also changes in the sense that it brings on an era of identity crisis. This is because the widows feel that the real essence of their being married has been lost by the death of spouses. Coping with this identity crisis depends to a large extent on the individuals capacity and will. For traditionally oriented women, the role of wife is central to their lives, structuring their lives not only in their house holds but also on the job and in answering the question who am I and these women often put wife of at the top of their lists (Atchley, 1996). Social recognition and acceptance also pose a problem to widows because often times, widowhood in African societies goes with the erosion of social recognition. Widows often face problems of declining social recognition and acceptance after the death of their spouses and this can be linked to their losing their central roles of wife. In dealing with the societal attitude, these women get involved in other activities that they think will help them get recognition from the public and this can be seen in their active involvement in politics. The elderly people in the society are often stereotyped as lazy, wicked, hard to please disgusting, sickly and sometimes even diabolical (Korieh, 2005). This can be explained by the fact that they are viewed as burdens and distractions from ones immediate family and responsibilities. This stereotype is wrong because in the society, old people who are kind, peaceful and God fearing can still be found and this shows that one being evil or nice has nothing to do with age but the persons character and dispositions in life. According to Hazelrigg (1977), age by itself is not the cause of anything and it gets meaning only from how we use it to sort people. Thus, although age is used systematically to distinguish and categorize people, age in itself explains very little or nothing at all. The loss of a spouse can be a very traumatic experience particularly for many older women who devoted most of their lives to their marriages, husbands and children. Widowhood has thus been called the exemplar of a stressful life event and perhaps requiring more adjustment than any other life transition. (Hatch, 2000; Gallagtor et al, 1983). In addition to this, isolation and exclusion from the social environment sets in all in the name of widowhood practices and rituals and the woman is not expected traditionally to look after herself or freshen-up. This is often defined crudely as not bathing or combing her hair (See Basden, 1966). He aptly captured this practice in traditional Igbo society. According to him the woman mourning: Moves from her deceased husbands house to a small but in another part of the compound. While dwelling in this hut, she wears no clothes unless perhaps a rag; she must sit on a block or wood and nowhere else. Instead of a sleeping mat, a banana leaf must suffice (Basden, 1966; 278). A prominent theoretical orientation in gerontology, the activity theory of aging argues that normal aging involves maintaining as long as possible the activities and attitudes of middle age (See, Havighurst, 1963; Brehm, 1968). The basic assertion of this theory is that individuals should be just as active and involved in a variety of different roles and responsibilities in their later years as they were in their middle years. Judging by the loneliness and feeling of aloneness these widows experience after living for decades with their spouses and losing them when their companionship is most needed- at retirement one would agree that the activity theory to a large extent captures the situation of these widow (See Atchley1996). Thus, according to Brehm (1968), except for the biological and health changes older people have essentially the same psychological and social needs as middle aged people. From our study, it was discovered that this activity theory is of very great significance as a reasonable number of elderly widows used in the study agreed that active involvement in occupation helped them deal with widowhood and its related stress. For them, it helped them overcome loneliness, provide them with resources and kept time moving. This is in live with the contention of Kunkel (1979), that working class widows adjust better during bereavement than those sick, jobless or incapacitated. Based on both the likely erosion of social recognition and insurmountable loss which widowhood occasions, widows have often had to face socio-psychological challenges. These challenges result from both the societal attitude to widows and more crucially the psychological and even physical health of widows. As the above discussion shows, the case of elderly women may be worse given the unexamined stereotype about their attitudes and behaviour (See Korieh, 2005). Therefore this study sought to ascertain the socio-psychological impact of widowhood on elderly women in a typical traditional setting in Nigeria. Such an exercise has undoubted policy and research implications since discrimination against widows form part of the much decried harmful traditional practices against women. Hence the outcome of this study may be instrumental in informing social policies for protection of women as well as pinpointing empirical and theoretical social work response to the problems of widowhood. The study was conducted in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. Three quarters in the local government area viz Nkpunano, Nru and Ihe-owere were purposively chosen for the study. A total of 500 respondents were chosen through purposive sampling in the above three quarters. All the respondents were identified elderly widows above fifty years of age in these communities. The multi-stage sampling technique was used in actually selecting the above respondents while the questionnaire and interviews were used as instruments of data collection. The findings of the study reported below was based on a total number of 448 elderly women who fully responded to the study instruments. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MENTAL/EMOTIONAL STRESS AND WIDOWHOOD IN ELDERLY WOMEN IN NIGERIA. One glaring socio-psychological impact of widowhood identified in the study sample is mental/emotional stress. In the case, quite a good number of the respondents reported experiencing this type of psychological imbalance. As the table below indicates, the enormity of responsibilities widowhood lays on them triggers off mental/emotional stress in addition to physical stress. Table i: Distribution of Respondents by Nature of Health Stress. Stress Respondents Percentage Mental Stress 7 1.6 Physical Stress 280 62.5 None 161 35.9 Total 448 100 From the table above, apart from the 161 widows (35.9%) who declared they had no stress at all, 280 (62.5%) suffered from physical stress while 7 (1.6%) suffered from mental stress. This was as a result of the weight of responsibilities handed down to them after the death of their spouses. As has been indicated in the literature (See Basden, 1966), the isolation of the widow and the shabby treatment meted out to her in the name of culture in Igboland can generate and heighten emotional and mental stress. In fact as one of our respondents stated, most of the times I fall sick, it is because I think of how to care for my family and I dont seem to come up with any solution. Therefore in the Igbo area of Nigeria generally, as our study reveals, widows are confronted by social practices and observances such as disinheritance, and isolation which have adverse effects on their mental and psychological balance. Mental/emotional stress is a situation in ones mental well being or emotional state occasioned by tragedy (See Atchley, 1996). According to Atchley this stress can be manifested in the form of extreme anxiety, worries, frequent head-ache, high blood pressure, insomnia, heartache and regular hospital visits precipitated by mainly by worry. In patriarchal societies, especially where the widows are suspected of killing their husbands widows are left entirely without social support (see Korieh, 1995). This is usually worse for the women who do not have adequate educational background or who were prevented from obtaining further education. According to one of our respondents, a close relative of her deceased husband tried justifying the treatment meted out to her by asking her how come it was our brother who died? Therefore, the death of a womans spouse in Igboland is usually a great psychological and physical challenge to the widow and her children. The woman who is bereaved is usually expected to be the chief mourner, assisted by relatives and friends, the wailing, weeping and hysteria are expected to go on for days before the mans burial and even afterwards (Afigbo,1989). As has been reported in the literature such wailings and bitter lamentations are culturally expected (Basden, 1966; Meek 1937 cf Afigbo, 1989). This practice of prolonged wailing and anguish enforced by culture may often affect the psychological and mental balance of the woman (See Afigbo, 1989). In addition to this, widowhood may also occasion psychological and mental imbalance in some women especially older women whose mental faculties and emotions have been weakened by the challenges of living. Another key practice of widowhood in Africa which affects a womans psychological balance is the compulsory period of seclusion and isolation (Nwoga, 1989). In this case, the woman is isolated from the community for a specified period. According to this scholar, the isolation is combined with a regime of total neglect of the hygiene and body needs of the woman and incidentally, the practice of widowhood known as Igba-nkpe has also been noticed among Islamic communities. According to Trimmingham (1959), this period is known as iddat or idda among the Moslems and covers an average period of four months and ten days but in Igboland, the period lasts full 12 calendar months though radical Christianity has reduced it in some cases nowadays to six months. Due to their ages also, there are more reports of depression, poor health or new or heightened illnesses among these widows than there is among non-bereaved elderly widows and some of them do not live longer than one year after the deaths of their spouses (Gallagher and Thompson, 2001). This is because depression sets in at the loss of a spouse and most of them tell themselves that there is nothing to live for anymore. At some other times, married women friends see these widows as threats to their own still existing marriages and as a result terminate their relationships with these widows at the death of their spouses. ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT IN OCCUPATION AND COPING WITH WIDOWHOOD AMONG ELDERLY WOMEN Women across the globe have shown enviable courage, resourcefulness and residence in carrying on despite the trauma caused by widowhood, the isolation imposed on them by widowhood and the difficult tasks of earning a living and protecting themselves and their dependent family members. These women work outside the home as the breadwinners, make decisions, head their households and sometimes organize other women in areas of public life (ICRC, 1999). The above is no less the case with elderly widows in Southeastern Nigeria whose burden may have been doubled by the reality of aging. However, the women as our findings indicate see maintaining a sense of balance through engagement in occupation or meaningful economic activity as critical to surviving the coping challenges of widowhood in old age. Therefore, as can be noted from the table below, most of the widows were actively involved in one form of occupation or the other in order to earn a living for their families, and maintain some le vel of socio-economic functioning considered necessary to coping with widowhood: Table ii: Distribution of Respondents by Perceived influence of Active Involvement in Occupation on Coping: Active Involvement Respondents Percentage Yes 399 89.1 No 49 10.9 Total 448 100% It can be noted that 399 respondents (89.1%) stated that active involvement in occupation helped them deal with the stress of widowhood. This is in agreement with the literature which asserts that active involvement in occupation assists widows to deal with widowhood (See Kunkel, 1979). These widows when further questioned expressed different reasons for their involvement in active occupation but given that finance usually is a big problem to widows, 126 (31.6%) and 154 (38.6%) respondents respectively believe in active involvement because it provides money for the upkeep of the family and prevents too much thinking for the widows: Table iii: Distribution of Respondents by Importance of Active Involvement in Occupation. Importance of Active Involvement Respondents Percentage Prevents loneliness 56 14 Prevents thinking 154 38.6 Provides money resources 126 31.6 Keeps time moving 63 15.8 Total 399 100 Apart from involvement in occupation, these widows engaged themselves in some sort of social activities. These they did most times to get their minds off their problems especially at those periods the pains of loss of a love one and maltreatment by in-laws were very intense. The table below goes to show that a reasonable number of widows get themselves occupied socially in one thing or the other as a way of avoiding being engrossed in the throes of pain or endless contemplation of life without ones partner: Table iv: Distribution of Respondents by Social Strategies Adopted by Elderly Widows: Social Strategy Respondents % Active involvement in meetings 77 17.2 Stepped up interaction with family 42 9.4 Move involvement in religion 259 57.8 Introversion 14 3.1 Just keeping busy 56 12.5 Total 448 100 Given that most of the respondents were Christians, it was not out of place to discover that majority of them adopted or resorted to prayers as a social strategy to cope with widowhood. In the interviews as well, it was observed that a good number of them adopted church activities as a solace from the loneliness and difficulties associated with widowhood. Apparently, the widows as the interviews revealed held strongly to the popular notion that when all things fail, God never fails. One of them said in vernacular, Ekpere bu ikem. Chukwu bu onye nkwado m. This simply means in English, Prayer is my strength, God is my provider. From the foregoing therefore, the study revealed that most of the elderly widows at one point or another adopted economic strategies to help them cope the hardship associated with widowhood. Such strategies ranged from petty trading down to taking up additional jobs. On the other hand, they also adopted social strategies to assist them in their daily affairs as widows. These womens involvement in occupations and church activities as means of coping or overcoming widowhood are largely in agreement with the views of some scholars who have written on widowhood (see, Kunkel, 1979; Atchley, 1997). SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE AND THE ALLEVIATION OF PROBLEMS OF WIDOWS IN NIGERIA. As the study revealed, widowhood in Southeastern Nigeria poses a variety of problems to women ranging from low social prestige, disinheritance, and forceful remarriage amongst others. Widows in Southeastern Nigeria often encounter the most severe forms of these discriminations in spite of the increasing modernity of all spheres of the society. One dimension of this gender discrimination is that once the man dies, the widow faces the incidence of disinheritance by in-laws. In western societies, a woman is entitled to all she ever had or shared with her deceased husband but as this study found out in Southeastern Nigeria widows, though preferring to continue to work on the lands owned by their late husbands cannot do so because land inheritance is impossible for them as a result of cultural norms which forbid this (Korieh, 2005). According to Oluwa (2005), though in paper the statutory and customary laws indicate that widows should inherit or be sole beneficiaries of their dead husbands properties (especially where children exist), this does not apply in practice. Rather in some cases where the woman is desperate for these lands and property, she is forced to conform to the tradition of widow inheritance. In this case, the woman is treated as part of the properties of the dead men and is also available for inheritance. She b ecomes the legal wife of her inheritor and the children inherited and those born by the inheritor are considered to belong to the new husband (Evans Pritchard, 1951). The study also discovered that for fear of ostracism and related punishments, widows suffer in silence, especially when they are denied traditional sources of support. This usually causes economic hardships and deprivation. They lose their honour and respect as soon as they lose their husbands. Their husbands being traditionally their main sources of honour and respect, once dead gives room for them to be treated with disregard as humans especially by in-laws (ICRC, 1999). This can be explained by the popular Igbo adage which says that Di bu ugwu nwanyi, (a husband is a womans honour). It was further discovered that widowhood in Igboland is usually a great psychological and physical challenge to the elderly widow. The wailing, weeping and hysteria are expected to go on for days, before the mans burial and even after wards; as is obvious in the literature, such wailings and bitter lamentations are cultural expected (Basden, 1966, Meek, 1937 of Afigbo, 1989) and this prolonged wailing and anguish enforced by culture may often affect the psychological and mental balance of the woman. The list of problems is almost in exhaustible and these call for the intervention of social work services to help alleviate if not eradicate them entirely. From the study it was noticed that those widows who involved themselves in occupation cope better than those who did not. Social workers should therefore take cognizance of the need to sensitize the idle widows to get busy in order to overcome both the financial and emotional hazards of widowhood rather than wallowing in self pity. In this case social workers can go the extra mile of linking widows with systems or organizations where these jobs no matter how small can be found. They can also act as advocates for these widows on the issue of in-laws maltreatment. This role of advocacy should be extended to the policy makers bringing to their notice the ills suffered by the widows especially the elderly ones so that ways of enforcing already existing policies will be found and new ones established. These policies should cover areas such as Medicare for widows, living arrangements (this can be achieved by building low cost houses), changing or eradication of harmful widowhood practices etc. Perhaps beyond the above public policy responses is the critical need for a widow oriented social work practice which while cognizant of the socio-cultural and psychological burdens of widowhood in Southeast Nigeria sees the elderly widows as a special group. Basically, aging and its resultant physical infirmities and socio-psychological withdrawal makes the elderly widow particularly vulnerable to widow induced stress. Hence, social workers acting in their capacities to function as enhancers of coping capacity, linking agents and promoters of effective humane operation of social systems (see, Ekpe Mamah, 1997 on the functions of social work) can do a lot to improve the situation of elderly widows in a male dominated society like the Igbo Southeastern Nigeria. The re-examination of the main findings of this study indicates that the situation of elderly widows can be explained along the lines of the popular continuity theory in social work. According to this theory the individual in the course of growing older is predisposed towards maintaining stability in the habits, associations, preferences and lifestyle that he/she developed over the years (Peterson, 1976; McCrae and Costa, 1984). According to these Scholars, peoples habits, preferences, associations, states of health and experiences will in large part determine their ability to maintain their lifestyle while retiring from full time employment and perhaps adjust to the death of a loved one. Therefore in accordance with our findings in the study, it can be inferred that activity at old age helps the elderly overcome loss of their loved ones especially their spouses and this activity if possible should be in the areas preferred and chosen by the individual with which he/she had been accustomed to over time.

Intelligence Collection and Analysis Essay -- Research

Improving the Relationship This paper will detail how I would explain to my policymaker what the psychological barriers are for intelligence collection and analysis. Next, I will provide an argument as to what types of rigors are needed to improve intelligence analysis making it more reliable. Finally, I will persuade the policymaker to support my argument in order to receive more funding in order to implement the type of improvements I have defined. Policymakers need to understand that analysts face psychological obstacles in four key stages of the analytical process, which are making judgments, coordinating judgments, confronting organizational norms, and substantive judgments. (George and Bruce, 2008) When an analyst makes a judgment based on inconclusive evidence the probability that a surprise will occur increases. These judgments are made under some constraint that restricts the analyst from verifying or even receiving further evidence to collaborate or disprove the current judgment. (George and Bruce, 2008) When analysts coordinate judgments with other analysts and managers, other agendas and biases are introduced into the analysis. Analyst need to be informed of the organization’s expectations of the analysis. Substantive judgments occur when an analyst’s ethics force the analyst to ignore the agendas of the policymakers and to be write judgments based on the evidence. (George and Bruce, 2008) All t hese psychological obstacles to sound judgment are clouded by complexity, uncertainty, and secrecy. Cognitive biases are distortions in information processing created by worldview, ideology, or political preference. (George and Bruce, 2008) The mindset of the analyst is the accumulated knowledge of past behav... ...s. Policymakers need to allow additional time, increase analyst-staffing levels, and provide better direction to analysts so that judgments will become sounder. By developing improved communications between the analysts and the policymaker the judgments will be more useful. These improvements are needed to increase the quality and timeliness of judgments. Works Cited George, Roger., Bruce, James. (Eds.). (2008) Analyzing Intelligence: Origins, Obstacles, and Innovations. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. Heuer, Richards. (1999). Psychology of Intelligence Analysis. Retrieved November 28, 2010 from http://www.dtic.mil/cgibin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA500078&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf ledzapp461. (2005, December 22). Orson Welles Paul Masson Commercial. Retrieved November 29, 2010. From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpj0t2ozPWY&feature=related Intelligence Collection and Analysis Essay -- Research Improving the Relationship This paper will detail how I would explain to my policymaker what the psychological barriers are for intelligence collection and analysis. Next, I will provide an argument as to what types of rigors are needed to improve intelligence analysis making it more reliable. Finally, I will persuade the policymaker to support my argument in order to receive more funding in order to implement the type of improvements I have defined. Policymakers need to understand that analysts face psychological obstacles in four key stages of the analytical process, which are making judgments, coordinating judgments, confronting organizational norms, and substantive judgments. (George and Bruce, 2008) When an analyst makes a judgment based on inconclusive evidence the probability that a surprise will occur increases. These judgments are made under some constraint that restricts the analyst from verifying or even receiving further evidence to collaborate or disprove the current judgment. (George and Bruce, 2008) When analysts coordinate judgments with other analysts and managers, other agendas and biases are introduced into the analysis. Analyst need to be informed of the organization’s expectations of the analysis. Substantive judgments occur when an analyst’s ethics force the analyst to ignore the agendas of the policymakers and to be write judgments based on the evidence. (George and Bruce, 2008) All t hese psychological obstacles to sound judgment are clouded by complexity, uncertainty, and secrecy. Cognitive biases are distortions in information processing created by worldview, ideology, or political preference. (George and Bruce, 2008) The mindset of the analyst is the accumulated knowledge of past behav... ...s. Policymakers need to allow additional time, increase analyst-staffing levels, and provide better direction to analysts so that judgments will become sounder. By developing improved communications between the analysts and the policymaker the judgments will be more useful. These improvements are needed to increase the quality and timeliness of judgments. Works Cited George, Roger., Bruce, James. (Eds.). (2008) Analyzing Intelligence: Origins, Obstacles, and Innovations. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. Heuer, Richards. (1999). Psychology of Intelligence Analysis. Retrieved November 28, 2010 from http://www.dtic.mil/cgibin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA500078&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf ledzapp461. (2005, December 22). Orson Welles Paul Masson Commercial. Retrieved November 29, 2010. From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpj0t2ozPWY&feature=related

College Admissions Essay: A Life Changing Experience :: College Admissions Essays

A Life Changing Experience    The experience of the APEC Youth Science festival was incredible. It has had an enormous impact on me in many ways, changing the way I look at the world and connecting me with people and events far beyond my formerly limited experience. I am extremely glad to have had this opportunity. It was a wonderful experience on multiple levels. It challenged me and expanded me intellectually and socially. I feel that this experience has had an immense impact on me.    Through this program I had first-hand access to some of the brightest young minds in both the United States and the world. The sharing among students of ideas and experiences in science, and in other areas as well, was enlightening. I felt like I had the chance to absorb knowledge from those around me. This environment spread beyond the students and also included the faculty and speakers. We had access to incredible faculty who were able to give much to the experience and share their own science insights. The program also brought in speakers and other science professionals from around the world who were at the top of their respective fields. This festival gave me real access to the movers and shakers of the science world, an experience beyond any available to me anywhere else.    The most fascinating aspect of this experience, for me, was the exposure to new cultures. This includes the twist culture puts on science. I found huge difference in the viewpoints of many cultures towards science related issues surprising. For instance many cultures had vastly different ways of looking at the forthcoming issues surrounding the implications of genetic engineering. The Asian and American cultures were very different in many work habit areas as well. There was an interesting group dynamic as culturally mixed groups strove to collectively complete group projects. The cultural sharing in science went beyond how questions were answered to how they were asked to which questions were most important and even which questions were addressed. while observing the cultural spin on science and work habits was an interesting pastime, the true wonder was cultural sharing on a greater scale.    This program exposed me to Asian cultures in a way I had never thought possible. Living in an Asian country, even for only a week, and being mixed with students from around the world brought me face to face with cultures I had never before truly experienced.