The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 3

Orange Fire Enters My Skull Yes, I really do believe in silver linings, mostly because I've been seeing them almost every day when I emerge from the basement, push my head and arms through a trash bag – so my torso will be wrapped in plastic and I will sweat more – and then go running. I always try to coordinate the ten-mile running portion of my ten-hour exercise routine with sunset, so I can finish by running west past the playing fields of Knight's Park, where, as a kid, I played baseball and soccer. As I run through the park, I look up and see what the day has to offer in the way of divination. If clouds are blocking the sun, there will always be a silver lining that reminds me to keep on trying, because I know that while things might seem dark now, my wife is coming back to me soon. Seeing the light outline those fluffy puffs of white and gray is electrifying. (And you can even re-create the effect by holding your hand a few inches away from a naked lightbulb and tracing your handprint with your eyes until you go temporarily blind.) It hurts to look at the clouds, but it also helps, like most things that cause pain. So I need to run, and as my lungs burn and my back rebels with that stabbing knife feeling and my leg muscles harden and the half inch of loose skin around my waist jiggles, I feel as though my penance for the day is being done and that maybe God will be pleased enough to lend me some help, which I think is why He has been showing me interesting clouds for the past week. Since my wife asked for some time apart, I've lost more than fifty pounds, and my mother says that soon I'll be at the weight I was when I played varsity soccer in high school, which is also the weight I was when I met Nikki, and I'm thinking maybe she was upset by the weight I gained during the five years we were married. Won't she be surprised to see me looking so muscular when apart time is over! If there are no clouds at sunset – which happened yesterday – when I look up toward the sky, orange fire enters my skull, blinds me, and that's almost as good, because it burns too and makes everything look divine. When I run, I always pretend I am running toward Nikki, and it makes me feel like I am decreasing the amount of time I have to wait until I see her again.

Grammar school Essay

Intoduction Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. A right to education has been created and recognized by some jurisdictions: Since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. It does not however guarantee any particular level of education of any particular quality. There are three forms of learning defined by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): formal education, education and non-formal education. Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. Schools systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula. In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their content offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latinword for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences. Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12 grade curricula or within majors at colleges and universities as electives. The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater. Enrolment is the total number of students properly registered and/or attending classes at a school. Every year or every school year the different schools were increasing the total number of students who were officially enrolled in their school. We need to be enrolled so that we will be indicated in the master list of enrollees and for us also to be officially enrolled in such institution. ADVANTAGE * Convenience is one of the major advantages of online schools. It allows students to work and learn at their own pace without the unyielding time restrictions of traditional schools. Online schools provide access to learning materials at anytime. This allows students the flexibility to schedule their learning around families, jobs and other activities. Another major advantage of learning from an online school is the accessibility it provides. Students can learn from anywhere in the world. This is an especially important benefit for students who wish to study in a different country. It also allows students to travel without the repercussions of being absent from school * Provide HR personnel and employees access to benefits information around-the-clock * Reduce administrative tasks and eliminate paper-based processes * Grant employees instant access to benefits elections through online confirmation statements * Review data and statistics about employee enrollment activity through reporting capabilities DISADVANTAGE: There are some disadvantages that are associated with the online ordering system. One is that of you do not have access to the Internet you cannot order. The other one is that you may be ripped off. * Being a successful student at an online school requires self-discipline. This is a disadvantage for students who have difficulty with time management and procrastination. While being able to set your own schedule can be an advantage, it can also be a disadvantage. Some students need the structure of traditional schools. Another disadvantage of online schools is the technology involved. It just isn’t available to everyone. The world is rapidly becoming more and more connected by modern technology, but some people still do not have ready access to a computer and Internet connection. And many of those who do have the required equipment are too intimidated by it to take advantage of online schools. Learning through online schools restricts interaction between teacher and student. This is a disadvantage for those students who need the immediate feedback that such interaction provides. REFERENCES: http://www. ask. com/web? qsrc=1&o=102140&l=dir&q=disadvantage+of+online+enrolment+system http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Enrollment http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Education http://www. ask. com/web? qsrc=1&o=102140&l=dir&q=advantage+of+online+enrolment+system Answer: Education is a process of human growth by which one gains greater understanding and control over oneself and one’s world. It involves our minds, our bodies, and our relations with the people and the world around us. Education is also characterized by continuous development and change. The end product of the process of education is learning. Schooling is a specific, formalized process, usually focused on the young, and whose general pattern traditionally has varied little from one setting to the next. 2. Describe how school function as transmitter and re-creators of culture. Answer: Teachers design the classroom so that the Americans and Hispanic cultures are honored and children learn to operate effectively in both languages. American cultures have always embraced many cultures. Nevertheless a primary responsibility of the school is to assist foreign born students in the acquisition. 3. Describe how schools can operate as vehicle for social, democratic, and economic reconstruction. Answer: Social deconstructionists – proponent of the theory of education that schools and teachers need to engage in the reconstructing and reforming of society to eradicate its ills and shortcomings. Economic reconstructionists- subscribers to an educational perspective or motivational that focuses on developing students who take critical stances toward the dominant social and economic status quo. 4. Identify the four basic purpose of school. A. Intellectual purpose- promote academic learning, B. Political and civic- purposes help the students to learn how to govern themselves wisely and justly. C. Economic purpose – schools will prepare students for the future. D. Social purpose- adapt to social expectations. 5. Explain why students in elementary classrooms learn to deny desire, delay gratification, cope with interruptions and work through social distractions. Answer: because they are surrounded by so many other students who want the same thing they want. 6. Describe the range of educational experiences for middle-grade students, based on the grade configuration of the school, the size of the school, the administration’s and teacher’s orientations, the goals of the school and the staffing patterns. Answer: the goals that schools set for students influence middle-school education in other ways as well, including the curriculum offered and the instructional method used. It was found that classroom structure for students in the middle grades varied from completely self-contained classrooms, in which one teacher taught one from of students all major subject areas, to completely departmentalized schools in which each teacher specialized in a single subject area and taught several different classes of students. The middle schools showed a greater percentage of departmentalized staffing. Teachers also differed by the type of licensure held. Teachers with secondary licensure were more likely to be subject matter oriented, and middle-grade students were taught by subject matter experts showed higher level pf achievement. 7. Explain how the greater variety of choices secondary students have can result in different high school experiences, based on tracking, the courses in which they enroll, the feedback they receive from teachers, and the tacit agreement they make with their teachers, Answer: early adolescences are characterized by a variety of developmental needs and dramatic evaluation in the maturation rate. 8. Identify four areas suggested to improve the quality of high schools. A. pressure on the teacher B. influence on tracking C. classroom treaties D. specialty shops 9. List and explain some of the characteristics of schools that are effective with respect to academic. Answer: the teacher’s expectation – high can do expectation Communication among teachers – high degree of colleagueship Task orientation – serious attitude. Academic engaged time- keep students working Part II 1. Raise your hand before you speak 2. No chewing gum 3. No talking in class 4. Do your homework or they will contact your parents 5. If you are late for class you will have to go to the principal office. 6. The principal said it was okay for him to whoop me. ** I felt #6 was unfair because other people shall not be able to whoop you.

Business Strategy Bachelor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Strategy Bachelor - Essay Example The leadership model is leadership with a vision. Their expectation of management is that they will make sound management decisions and leadership that sets a company standard of excellence. A SWOT analysis is in essence a situational assessment of how a company or organization stands within the business that they do. There are three very distinct components that make it up and those are market assessment, the mission, the vision and values and the internal assessment. The SWOT itself is the Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of this organization. The SWOT for CHS would look like that following: S- CHS is a strong organization well supported by a large capital base with income from 120 hospitals and a large stockholder base. Many of the stockholders are employees and they have the opportunity for gain as well as the stockholders. The corporate leaders are highly recognized, in fact the corporate CEO, Smith, is recognized as one of the most important CEO's in the healthcare world. He has much experience and has gleaned a very loyal following in his leadership team (Watkins, 2002). W-It is no longer a surprise when CHS elects to take over a hospital or group of hospitals. This was a major advantage when they did the hostile takeover of the Triad corporation. This puts all hospitals on the alert when they see any type of negotiations that may reflect the involvement of CHS. Another weakness that is seen as a strength within the Corporation is the need to make every department in a hospital the same in every hospital. It does provide them with consistency within the Corporation but it does not allow any creative vision from the people within these departments. O-For a company like CHS, there are always opportunities. In this case there is the failing hospital in the medium size town that they have the cash to purchase, even though the hospital does not want to be. CHS, in their business model statement, clearly states that they concentrate on the effective integrating of acquisitions and improving hospital operations. The average number of Directors that leave a hospital that has been taken over by CHS is 6. This is definitely a weakness and shows itself in their postings for available positions. A position that is especially vulnerable is the CNO position (CHS, 2008). T-The threats to a Corporation like CHS is the bigger Corporation. Most of their threats are external in nature. Is it possible to have a Corporate take over from another company It is not likely but it was also not likely at the time that this would happen to Triad, either. This is always a possibility when you are a publicly traded company. This is real time trading today on the stockmarket. The strategic objectives for CHS are to continue

Describe and evaluate the main macroeconomic policies used by the Essay - 4

Describe and evaluate the main macroeconomic policies used by the Government and Central Bank of China over the last two years - Essay Example Monetary policy involves regulating the money supply and interest rates by a central bank with the aim of controlling and stabilising the currency (He and Chen, 2014). Over the last two years, china’s macroeconomic policies aim at containing inflation to 4% eventually, to contain real estate by bringing prices of houses down, to maintain a decent growth rate of about 8 to 9% and to preserve the value of China’s foreign assets (He and Chen, 2014). This essay discusses the monetary and fiscal policy as used by the government and Central Bank of China. China has used a proactive fiscal policy over the last two years. A proactive fiscal policy is a moderately expansionary policy, which creates demand and triggers economic growth by growing domestic demand (Zhang, Fan and Haan, 2010). The policy has over the period aimed at ensuring the steady growth of China’s economy, making proper adjustments to its economic structure, promoting reforms and benefiting its people. That said, the policy continues to try to maintain balance between enhancing economic growth, keeping prices stable and protection against financial risks. Unfortunately, China’s economy risks being stalled. This was seen in 2014 where the annual GDP growth hit a low of 7.4% (see figure 1), the lowest rate since 1990 (Wei, 2015). However, as many economic policy enthusiasts believe, continued use of moderately expansionary policy will generate positive results on China’s economic growth in the midst of slow export growth. The expansionary policy is aimed at spending to generate income. Build-up of development and infrastructure needs and vast fiscal resources have made China channel immense spending into the economy. China has in recent years has relied on its large population to provide the required demand for their products to generate the required income. Government expenditure has, however, been seen to mainly lie in the areas of education, healthcare and other social expenditures (Jia,

Passive cooling and ventillation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Passive cooling and ventillation - Research Paper Example Structural designs that involved window designs, wall thickness and shading, roofing styles, low heat conductance material, external microclimate control, water bodies and structure stance characterized the era. The contemporary building designs should consider the historical strategies in order to utilize unharnessed resources and reduce energy consumption that leads to resource depletion (Santamouris and Kolokotsa 5). Heat is transferred through three ways, conduction, radiation as well as convention. The three form the basis for heat control ideologies. The construction engineers require having insight on the site’s climate and whether patterns to successfully employ the passive cooling techniques. Most important information they need include the sun’s positions throughout the year and direction of winds (Youtube 1). The wall and windows transfer heat across from the external environment to the internal environment through conduction. The choice of materials to compr ise the wall and windows determine the efficiency of the building in blocking out undesired heat. Use of a high R-value material for walls ensures minimal heat transfer thus maintaining the inner environment cool. A low U-value material for windows acts in a similar way. ... Another strategy is planting of vegetation on the roof. The plants absorb most of the heat and loose it through evapo-transpiration thus the building remains relatively cool. Alternatively, making the roof dome-shaped reduces the surface area for radiation. At least one side of the dome will be shaded at any time. Therefore, while the other side radiates heat into the doomed space beneath the roof the shaded side will be re-radiating the heat out to the atmosphere. The walls directly illuminated by sun radiate heat into the building too. The design should be such that sunshades cover greater surface of the wall to reduce radiation surface. Deep engravings on the wall increase shaded surface area thus reducing radiation area as well (Asif 11) Windows offer another media for heat radiation in and out of the building. Depending on the direction the wall faces, window-to-wall surface ratio optimization helps regulate heat transfer. The windows should comprise of material that allows in o nly visible light while reflecting back ultraviolet and infrared rays. Depending on the time of day and season, window shutters reduce the internal temperatures by hindering radiation (Asif 11). Heat transfer into or out of the building may be resultant of air mass movement. Gaps or openings on the walls and windows allow heat to seep into the building increasing the internal temperature. Gaps on walls should be located on sides that face away from the sun depending on geographical location. Sealing the openings between windows and walls appropriately reduces seepage of hot air into the building. However, the openings may act as a means of cooling the internal spaces

Philosopy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosopy - Term Paper Example Therefore it can be a good thing to lie because by telling â€Å"white† lies we may have the intention of saving others from hurt feelings or we may prevent a crime. In such a case the underlying motivation of the lie is not selfishness, as the intention was to save another’s feelings. If no such underlying selfless motives are present, the outcome of the action can still be positive, as in the example given in this question. This would be an example of act utilitarianism whereby the result of the act is good and therefore the act must be deemed to be good, irrespective of the underlying motivation. Mill explains in â€Å"Utilitarianism† that â€Å"the Greatest Happiness Principle† holds that â€Å"actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, or wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness†. Following that principle, Mill believes that there is no difference in the moral value of an act to help others, or whether the fact that they have been helped is a side effect of an egoistic, self-motivated action. The outcome is the increase of general happiness: a person’s life has been saved, and the person who saved the life has arrived at a financial gain. The act therefore must be deemed moral as it has increased general happiness. An instinctive reaction to this argument for me is that there is a moral obligation and duty to save a person’s life irrespective of any personal gain (Kant’s categorical imperative) and that therefore to save someone’s life purely for financial gain lessens the morality of the action. Still there is a certain compelling elegance in Mill’s argument that, if solely considering the outcome of an action and not the motive that triggered the action, then one is perfectly justified in saying that a person who is lacking ethically sound motivation for his actions is nevertheless still capable of acting in a moral and ethical way. 3.

Critical Self-Analysis Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critical Self-Analysis Paper - Essay Example I have been able to be more careful about the equation between the amount of calories I consume and the amount I spend (Hoeger and Hoeger 2012). I began this workout program in the recent past but I intend to continue to be a part of it in the future. I have already increased the number of times I visit the fitness center from three to five. Given the health record of my family, I believe that it is necessary for me to be a part of a strict regimen for fitness. My father does not smoke and his consumption of alcohol is limited; yet he suffers from high levels of blood sugar and cholesterol. My mother too suffers from high blood pressure. My workouts, as I mentioned, left me tired for a short duration, thereafter raising my energy levels. I found that this left my body in the perfect state for sleep as well. While my sleep used to be fitful earlier, I now have a good night’s sleep every day. The program has also streamlined my physical activity in such a way that I do not work out anytime near my sleep schedule. Maintaining the schedule of my natural body clock is something that this program has enabled me to do. It has at the same time, percolated down to my awareness of the necessity of sleep, something that work and stress often obfuscate (Hoeger and Hoeger 2012). My earlier lifestyle was more stress-filled leading to my inability to provide my body and mind with enough rest. This workout program has been very helpful in this regard. My diet before joining the workout program was not an unhealthy program. My family eats a diet comprising vegetables and adequate protein. Joining the program has thus, enabled the addition of exercise to a good balanced diet, thereby completing the two most important requisites of a healthy lifestyle. I have, however, reduced the intake of fats in my diet, restricting it to the consumption of healthy fats. The workout keeps me thirsty, enabling the consistent hydration of my body. As a result of all these changes, my

Visions of Success of Minority Nursing Students Research Paper

Visions of Success of Minority Nursing Students - Research Paper Example o 2001, among the percentage of students graduating in all the nursing programs, the White Americans constituted 45.82%, Hispanics were 19.63%, African American were only 7.76%, and the rest were composed of Filipinos, Asians and other groups (Seago & Spetz, 2005). On the whole, these facts clearly depict that the minority youth’s living standards are worse than the white youth, and that they generally do not chose to adopt the nursing field. This may lead us to the conclusion that the major problem is unavailability of the funds, which hinders the minority students from entering the nursing programs, but that is not true. The hesitation to choose nursing as a career stems from many cultural, racial, as well as biased ideologies possessed by both the students and the academia. On one side, we have minority students, reportedly, considering nursing as a ‘women field,’ and also balking at the idea of studying from a majority white faculty; on the other side, we have NCLEX-RN, allegedly, having ‘white’ influenced exam questions (Seago & Spetz, 2005). No matter what the actuality is, the need for an institution with a culturally accepting attitude, a solid outreach program and a caring faculty cannot be denied. Background and Problem Statement As a part of an investigation carried out to discover the supposed barriers faced by the minority nursing students in central California, seventeen recently graduated registered nurses were thoroughly interviewed (Amaro, Abriam-Yago, & Yoder, 2005). Upon analyzing the result, it was realized that the major perceived barriers by the minority colored youth were the inadequate language competency, insufficient finances and most importantly the biased attitude from the educators. Minority students generally face a lot of... This paper makes the stress that should be towards providing the quality education and other required resources to the students. The college should build networks with other social organizations present within the community to provide the proper help to students in need. This aid can be in the form of counseling and development, financial assistance and advocacy needs. The minority students attending the institution should feel secure and confident every way possible. In the end, it should be remembered that the primary objective is the same as the one set by the American Nurses Association which is to construct a â€Å"diverse workforce† This report makes a conclusion that to determine the effectiveness of the above-mentioned plan, among other approaches, the most useful method will be surveying the teachers and students. To measure the effectiveness of the educators training procedures, it will be hugely constructive to survey the teachers upon completion of the workshops. It will help in determining whether trainees have experienced any change in their outlook or experienced any awareness regarding dealing with minority students. Afterwards, their performance can be measured by surveying their students. The value of outreach program can be determined by interviewing and surveying the high school students. Keeping statistical data of students from different high schools, registering and attending the information sessions, as well as enrolling in the nursing degree will immensely help in providing valuable information to tweak the program. On the whole, the full impact of this plan can be seen by any increase or decr ease in the enrollment of minority students in future semesters.

Resructuring Model Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Resructuring Model Summary - Essay Example Whatever educational tool a school adopts, the objective should not only focus on academic outcomes, but also in grooming the student adjust to the existing demands of the volatile academic and social environment. I chose to study and analyze â€Å"Quantum Learning K-12† model because the principle objective of this model is aimed at integrating life skills into the curriculum; make content relevant and interesting; integrate technology and software into the classroom; and the target population is up to high school level starting from the elementary level. Especially, the model’s beliefs that (1) all people can learn; (2) people learn differently; and (3) learning is effective when it is engaging and challenging are true to fact and realistic. The Quantum Learning model proposed by Bobbi DePorter, and Rosa Davis, originated during a SuperCamp academic and life skills youth program in 1982. This program adopted by 80 schools in 11 states, was staged off in 1991. The â€Å"Quantum Learning† model was basically designed to achieve life skills in tandem with school education, foster dynamic and challenging environment, increase teacher strength, and enhance student’s achievement. The model components encompass a wide range of aspects such as enhancing leadership qualities, cognitive psychology, research-oriented teaching methods, involving parents and community, measuring performance through evaluation, and primarily making content relevant and meaningful in relation to student’s life. A comprehensive 40 hours of teacher training program that includes sessions such as classroom management and coaching, reinforcement programs, thoroughly provide ample training and strengthen teacher’s understanding of the program. An online Quantum Learning Bulletin Board connects all the teachers by way of posting questions and sharing ideas. The model also facilitates in using Atlas, a curriculum mapping Web

Positive outcomes for children and young people Essay Example for Free

Positive outcomes for children and young people Essay 1.1 Social factors Personal choice Some families decide that they do not wish to live or act in a way in which is viewed as normal. For instance a child may be from a travelling family. The outcome of this factor is that there are people which may not be able to relate to the child or young person’s families views. If a Child is from a travelling family there is a possibility that their development at school may be delayed due to being transferred from school to school. Poor parental supervision and neglect All children need a routine and a loving family home. Without these there may be conflict at their school because they do not know or understand acceptable boundaries. They may have vague view of their own abilities and may believe they are allowed to do what they want because they do not know any different. Lack of boundaries could result in them becoming involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. Neglect could lead to health problems through malnutrition. They may struggle to form social relationships because of their lack of personal hygiene. Poor clothing could lead to bulling and teasing, causing them to be withdrawn and become isolated. Offending or anti-social behaviour Children who miss behave and break the law may run the risk of being expelled from school. Also there is a possibility that their family could be evicted from their social housing accommodation. A child could be taken into care for various reasons such as a parent could be in prison.. The child may perceive the behaviour as normal or acceptable. It may result in them making some bad personal choices. Disability if there is a parent or a child in the family that has a disability, this could affect the family especially if the child is used as a carer for their parents. In some cases respite care may be needed for families with family members that are disabled and this can cause family disruptions and inconsistency in a young person’s care especially if the respite care is for overnight visits away from home. Health support whilst a child or family member is receiving support for healths issue this could possibly affect continuity of care, education, development and income. Addictions The impact on addictions can be varied. They can suffer health problems if their mother had a drug or alcohol problem during pregnancy. They may suffer from neglect, abuse or violence. If they have younger siblings they may find themselves responsible for their care and therefore may suffer stress and feel isolated. They may feel scared and find it difficult to speak to people for fear of getting in trouble or going into care. They may ultimately find themselves in care if the addiction results in their parents being unable to care for them. Bereavement and loss If a family loses a member of the family or a close friend this could affect the mental and in turn physical health of a family. Adults that have lost their partners may find the emotional strain difficult to cope with and may then find it more difficult to care for other children in the family. This can leave a child feeling very insecure and frightened. They may become quiet and withdrawn. They may become very emotional, clingy and tearful or become violent and abusive. They may feel angry, let down and abandoned. Their work and concentration at school may suffer as a result of any stress and worry they may be feeling. They may suffer poverty as a result of a fall in the household income and also suffer a dramatic change in lifestyle that leaves them confused. Economic factors Poverty Families that live in poverty are more likely to suffer mental and physical problems and therefore may not be able to provide for their child. Poverty can result from low income, unemployment, parental separation, illness or disability, addictions, or criminal activities. Children may suffer malnutrition or a poor diet as a result of their parents being unable to afford quality food. It is possible for children to also suffer health related issues. If a child is within a poverty stricken family and this is noticeable by the clothes the child wears and activity the childs parents may not be able to afford then the child is at risk of potential bullying. Housing and community Families on a low income can be placed in local authority housing. If the family grows then this can cause overcrowding within the home. It can result in child having no privacy or space which can affect the child homework. If the home is within a dangerous area then this may result in the children becoming isolated, as their parents may be fearful of letting them out to play or they may themselves become involved in anti-social behaviour and criminal activities. Lack of academic achievement Children whose parents have had poor education or lack numeracy and literacy skills may struggle at school. Their parents may show little in their education and as a result they themselves may also lose interest and starts miss behaving in class or follow in the wrong crowd of friend which will lead to them failing in their education and struggle to get employment as an adult. Cultural factors Religious beliefs and customs Children may have to attend a school that is associated with their religion. It is always possible that this gives the child a different quality/balance of education. They may struggle to understand other people‘s religion or lifestyle choices. They may become confused or isolated and struggle to interact with the community. They may also experience or witness abuse on the grounds of their religious beliefs. Ethnic beliefs and customs Ethnic beliefs and customs can affect a child’s clothing, customs, dietary needs, education and other areas of their lives. Children may have different clothing which could lead to them being bullied. Their culture may view interaction between men and women in a different way. Children will struggle to recognise what is acceptable at school as it differs from home. This could cause them to come into conflict with school rules or to be perceived as mis behaving. 1.2 Low income for a family suffering from poverty can mean that children may not have the same advantages of other children not living in poverty. Such as not having â€Å"normal† clothes or accessories. Children may see this as a target for teasing and bullying. Poor housing could lead to ill health due to unacceptable standards within the home. Such as damp within the home or draft from poor quality of housing. Not having access to the correct food and warm clothing could affect health. Families that live in poverty are more likely to suffer mental and physical problems and therefore may not be able to provide for their child. Poverty can result from low income, unemployment, parental separation, illness or disability, addictions, or criminal activities. Children may suffer malnutrition or a poor diet as a result of their parents being unable to afford quality food. It is possible for children to also suffer health related issues. If a child is within a poverty stricken family and this is noticeable by the clothes the child wears and activitys the childs parents may not be able to afford then the child is at risk of potential bullying. 1.3 In accordance with Article 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child the outcomes of the Governments Every Child Matters framework and the Early Years Foundation Stage, children should be provisioned for by ensuring that children are involved and engaged with, allowing them to be heard, to make decisions, contribute their experiences and be supported and safeguarded throughout their development. Even from an early age, children’s choices, even simple ones, can have an impact on their life chances and outcomes such as choosing which toys to play with at pre-school or which friends to play with, a child may develop a friendship with another child who is perhaps a bit louder and boisterous and may display unwanted behaviour, this choice of friend may have a negative impact on the childs behaviour at home or in other settings they move onto. Whilst the child has the right to choose their friends, it is our responsibility to involve the child in setting expectati ons of their behaviour and help them to make a positive contribution, which is one of the outcomes of the ECM framework. Children throughout their lives will make choices such as whether to eat healthily or unhealthily or start smoking or drinking, as any early years setting we ensure that we offer healthy snacks and encourage parents to supply healthy balanced lunch boxes, we involve the children in activities and discussions about the importance of healthy living but there will come a point where they can choose for themselves. If a child/young person chooses to eat unhealthily this will have a negative impact on their well-being, they could become overweight, develop diabetes and it could exclude them from taking part in activities, this could continue and have a negative knock on effect throughout their lives perhaps causing them to suffer low self esteem and become withdrawn from social situations. 2.1 The Every child matters outcomes are: Be Healthy – this also includes how our health is affected by our social, mental, emotional and physical well-being. The Government has a focus on healthy living for children. At my preschool we provide healthy snacks for the children. We also promote healthy choices, talk about healthy hearts and activities that teach them an active lifestyle.Stay Safe – we ensure children in our care are safeguarded. We have a named safeguarding officer who we can take any concerns to. We also have a robust safeguarding policy. Children know they can talk to any member of staff if they do not feel safe and they know they will be listened to.Enjoy and Achieve – we observe children so we understand their needs and can then plan more accurately for individual children.Make a Positive Contribution – we are continually assessing and developing our policies to ensure we are always making positive contributions to children’s developmentAchieve Economic Well-being  œ by ensuring we follow all the EYFS and Every Child Matters we are ensuring all children have the best start in life and can go on into adulthood and achieve economic well-being. 2.2 The importance of designing services is that each child, young person and their family will have different needs, requirements and barriers that can prevent their access and success. Securing positive outcomes and maximising life chances. It is important to design services that respond to each unique set of needs as each organisation supporting children and young people will be working on behalf of them to achieve the five positive outcomes of every child matters .A non-responsive service would be less accessible, date quickly, may discriminate, be unable to cope with queries, requests, break down and have the potentially to damage the interests of those in need, failing in its ability to safeguard children and the extended community.Issues involved with designing services: How networking between services happens Outreach services and what is available Communication consultation Making effective change Flexibility in working together Care in preparation Integrating information from differing services Collaboration between services, children, young people, parents Ensuring information 2.3 Its very important to listen to childrens views and communicate with parents and respect their points of view. We need to communicate well with children and take into account that young children may use non verbal communication. If children and young people are given chances on what activity they would like to do they are making a decision which can help them become confident. Every week we let the children plan to play. They get to decide where exactly they would like to play within the nursery and if there are certain activitys they would like to carry out. It is always the childs decision. It allows the children to make the choice by themselves building up confidence, self-esteem and social skills. I really enjoy seeing the children gain their confidence and I can tell it makes them feel very important by being allowed to deal and make their own choices. I notice that if the child is allowed to make their own choice then they are much more focused on their chosen activity rather than being told what activity they are doing. Whilst doing this and the child is growing up they can take with them their decision making skills and apply them to adult life. 2.4 2-3 years of age.All children of different ages and stages will chose what they would like to play with within our setting. They do not get help from the adults unless a little support is needed on how to carry out a certain activity. Children will chose different activities to play with. One child will play with cars trains. Another child might like the sensory equipment such as paint and sand. As practitioners in our setting it is our job to provide a variety of resources for the child to make their own choices. This will encourage the child to explore the environment and play with the activities that they enjoy.At snack time we offer a variety of fruit and this is passed round the children sitting in a circle. Again the child is able to make the decision on what type of fruit they would like to eat.Ages 3-6 years.Again at this age within our setting we promote that every child has a variety of choices when planning their time in nursery. At this age I have noticed that because the children are getting older and developing personality and relationships with the other children they tend to stick to the same type of activity. 7- 9 years At this age they like to choose what kind of after school activities they would like to participate, this will be incorporated with their likes and dislikes. This is the time where they take more interest in their optional units at school, this again can be a battle that takes part with parents because the young adult may want to take options that the parents disagree with, however I feel that with both of my children I did let them choose their own optional units and they both did very well, I feel this was because they were interested in what they chose to do. They don’t have an option on certain subjects so it is important for them to help chose the ones that they can. Teenagers-19 years They will choose what work experience they would like to do. This will enable them to try a certain type of work before they go to college or university. They also begin to have a sense of style by choosing and buying their own clothes. Sometimes they will have dramatic choices in life to make, however they can sometimes make the wrong choices, this can include under-age drinking, drugs, smoking, gangs, crime and we can only be there to advise and help support the teenager we can reinforce what they are doing to themselves and others and offer support and guidance. They have to make certain life changing choices such as relationship, employment, which university or college these will be important changes that only they can make. 3.1 Disability can impact the life of a child because of discrimination. Within society children get discriminated against because of their disability. This could be by not being included within groups of children because of their disability. This happens often in our society because young people or children do not understand what disability is at a young age. The result of this discrimination happening could be that the child or young person could get depressed and have low self esteem from not been included. The lack of opportunity available for disabled people could effect disabled or young peoples lives this could be no disabled access on mainstream schools or colleges or on community centres which acts as a barrier for the disabled people when they are trying to lead normal lives. When disabled people cannot use public facilities as mentioned above, it also gives them a barrier to choice and they cannot choose to do things which are not available for them. An example of lack of choi ce is courses within colleges that are not available to the disabled because there is no access . 3.2 A person is often disabled as a result of their impairment unless an effort is made to allow them to fit in and feel accepted. It is possible to avoid or reduce the impact of the impairment so the person can have opportunities to make choices, develop their potential, become independent and play a full part in society. You should always keep a balance between being realistic about the limitations that a childs impairment may cause, whilst at the same time having high expectations for their progress and achievements.Practitioners should have a positive attitude about their capacity to provide for disabled childrens requirements, and are ready to learn new skills such as sign language or using the Makaton system. The children have greater opportunities for making developmental progress. 3.3 Models of disability provide a framework for understanding the way in which people with impairments experience disability. The social model of disability identifies systemic barriers, negative attitudes and exclusion by society that means society is the main factor in disabling people. While physical, sensory, intellectual, or psychological variations may cause individual functional limitation or impairments these do not have to lead to disability unless society fails to take account of and include people regardless of their individual differences. The social model can affect daily practice as some people can not take part in a going to a swimming lesson unless it is specialised. An example of when this takes place is when workplaces do not have wheelchair ramps, so people in wheelchairs can not be employed there. This also happens in some restaurants. The medical model of disability is by which illness or disability being the result of a physical condition, and which is intrinsic to the individual may reduce the individuals quality of life and causes clear disadvantages to the individual. The medical model tends to believe that curing or at least managing illness or disability mostly or completely revolves around identifying the illness or disability from an in-depth clinical perspective understanding it, and learning to control and/or alter its course. 3.4 Speech and language therapy- they will usually work in partnership with parents, teachers and support staff and anyone else who has regular contact with the child and provide training and coaching sessions and provide them with ideas and strategies to put into place to help promote the child’s speech. I myself have sat in on a session with a child in school when the speech therapist came to have a meeting with a child and she gave me advice sheets on how best to help the child with his speech including picture cards with words on with either two, three and even four syllables and the child was encouraged to clap the amount of syllables while saying the word. Support from health professionals additional learning support- a child who has a disability like down syndrome may need extra support in the classroom to help them learn in my setting we have a child who comes in every Tuesday for social skills and he has his own teaching assistant to support him with his needs. A child with epilepsy is likely to require regular monitoring from health professionals and medication, which needs to be adjusted appropriately. Assistive technology- these would be anything which will help someone for example wheelchairs, hearing aids, walking frames in my setting we use large computer key boards for some children and for a child who is blind you could use software which reads text from a screen there are many different aids available for children and adults to help them with everyday tasks. 4.1 Diversity is about valuing individual difference. So diversity is much more than just a new word for equality. A diversity approach aims to recognise value and manage difference to enable all employees to contribute and realise their full potential. Diversity challenges us to recognise and value all sorts of differences in order to make our environment a better place for everyone to work. Equality is about making sure people are treated fairly and given fair chances. Equality is not about treating everyone in the same way, but it recognises that their needs are met in different ways. Equality focuses on those areas covered by the law, namely the key areas of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, transgender and Age. People must not be unfairly discriminated against because of any of these factors and we must all contribute to creating a positive workplace and service delivery environment where discriminatory practices and discrimination no longer happen. Inclusion is about ensuring that children and young people, whatever their background or situation, are able to participate fully in all aspects of the life in school. It is not about viewing everyone as the same or providing the same work, but about providing the same opportunities and access to a high quality of education. 4.2 By treating all families equally this as a positive impact on the child because they can see that their family is being respected and will raise the child’s self esteem. In my setting we promote different cultures and religions every year we celebrate the Chinese New Year and children are taught about some of their traditions and we make dragons and red envelopes with money in and this year in PE we even used materials for the children to dress at dragons and do a dance. My setting provides excellent equipment and resources to enable children to be included and the correct training of staff. We have wall displays about others counties and provide many books on other cultures and religions in the library we display work the children have done for parents to see. We adapt activities to meet the needs of the child and also adapt ways of communicating including visual aids, body language, and speaking slower and face-to-face.Speech therapists promote this by providing different types of communicating methods. With the child and the parents. Behavioural support will come into school and give information and advice on the best ways to tackle bad behaviour and they will also work with the parents.Education support services will monitor attendance and provide a link between school, parent and pupils where necessary and they will develop a supportive relationship between them. They will give advice on issues such as bullying and also they will take legal action against parents if their child is not accessing an education.

Understanding Of Media Audiences

Understanding Of Media Audiences Audiences are a critical subject in studying media. Audience is the term used to describe a large number of unidentifiable people, who usually united by their participation in media use. (Hartley, 2002) Media has a huge power to influence audience thinking and behaviour. There are many approaches to deconstruct the relationship between the audience and the text. The question arise here is, how do human receive text from television, or internet etc.? How do human analyse and affect by the text? In this essay, we will discover two approaches looking into the audiences and how will they related the media or how do we understand media audiences from these approaches. In term of media, Uses and Gratifications (UG) Theory and two-step flow theory are the essential approaches of understanding the audiences. There are many academic studies developed under the UG theory since this idea arises over the past 100 years. On the other hand, two -step flow theory explains that the audiences will be influenced by the media or other opinion leader. Although these two theories has been criticized and negated, they help us to understand the relationship between the media and receiver. In the first part of the essay, we will discover two theory of study the audiences. The first approach is Uses and gratifications theory, this approach focus on the consumer and the audience, rather than the message. It is concern about how people (media audience) made choices and what they did when consuming texts. According to Katz (1959), ask not what the media can do to people, but what the people can do with media. In other words, audience should be an active role to use media for pursues their own needs. Blumler and Katz in The uses of mass communication bring up an idea: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦something of the way in which individuals uses communications, among other resources in their environment, to satisfy their needs and achieve their goals, and to do so by simply asking them. (Blumler Katz, 1974) Blumler and Katz (1974) concluded that different people use the same media for different purposes; therefore, the same media content may satisfy different needs for different individuals. Rosengren (1974) developed the idea of Katz and other scholars and presented the following diagram: mmm Figure 1 (Blumler, 2004 p.271) The diagram put more attention to the society and individual characteristics affect much of people needs. In term of individual characteristics, not just Psychological Set-up, but also added the Social Position, and Life History. Moreover, Rosengren build up `Perceived problem and solutions it explains human psychological process between needs and motives. Those elements not previously emphasized by Blumler and other scholars. In the diagram, basic needs, individual characteristics and society structure are three factors interact and result in people use media for variety of gratifications. Lucas and Sherry (2004) put more simplified model of Rosengrens paradigm.   According to psychologist Maslows hierarchic theory of needs, (1943) basic needs are divided five main cataloguers including physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization.(Maslow, 1943) More detail shows in the following figure: http://levelupliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/hierarchy-of-needs3.png Figure 3 (ICT Learning, 2010) However, in media perspective, according to Katz et.al put `needs into five different categories: cognitive, affective, personal integrative, social integrative and tension release needs. (Iqbal, 2010) In term of individual characteristics and society, we can clearly see these factors including psychological set-up, social position, life history and media structure in figure 1. Audience thinks perceived solutions when he realizes there is a perceived problem and thereby creates motives. After that, audience use the media, make choice to choose different types of media, how much time they going to spends with media etc. Audience also uses with other behavior such as personal contacts or other means of communication. At the end, audience decides to continue use the media while he could obtains gratification or non-gratification. Blumler et.al. concern audiences use media as a sough gratification. They point out UG theory is built up on five assumptions. The first assumption is that the audience is conceived as active (Blumler Katz, 1974) In other words, UG establishes people play the active role to discover their own satisfied information for different reason and in different ways. Secondly, they assume in the mass communication process much initiative in linking need gratification and media choice lies with the audience member. (ibid.) This is an idea that people can allow the media to influence them. `The media competes with other sources of need satisfaction. (ibid.) is the third assumption of UG. This is an idea that mass media is only one of the resources to satisfied people needs. Therefore, mass communication must compete with other non-media resources such as interrelationship communication aim to produce the need. The forth assumption is `many of the goals media use can be derived from data supplie d by the individual audience members themselves. (ibid.) It assumes audience is rational, and can fully understand their choices and motives. Audience also are able to explain them clearly. The last assumption is `value judgments about cultural significance of mass communication should be suspended while audience operations are explored on their own terms. (ibid.) This assumption believes people determinate the value of the media. These five assumptions help us to understanding the relationship between the media and audiences. For the motivation for media use, McQuail, Blumler, and Brown (1972). proposed a model of media-person interactions to classify four different gratifications: diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance. (Katz, E.) Diversion refers to people escape from reality like everyday problem and the constraints of routine. Secondly, personal relationship is about social interaction, people using the media as a substitute companionship. Thirdly, personal identity is including people referencing, learning and exporting themselves from the text. Lastly, surveillance is means the information could be helps our life such as weather report and news. In 1983, McQuail purposed four typology of common reasons for media use, there are information, personal identity, intergration and social interaction, and entertainment. (Chandler, 1994.) This is similar with media-person interactions in 1972 which have been mentioned above. Nevertheless, this typology had emphasis more on soc ial environment and psychological. With other theory, UG theory received some criticism. Ang, L claims that theory did not emphasis on social context and audience is individualistic. UG ignore the content of media, stressed that is the active audience needs. The research found out that the audience is not selective on the messages delivered to them. The result is a contradiction with the theory of assumption that audience is active to make choice for the use of media. The terms of need, motivations, and expectation have not clearly define while gratification sought and gratification obtained is indistinguishable. Despite this theory challenged by these factors, still has its value of researching by the audiences point of view of media. The second approach to understand the audiences is Two-Step Flow of communication. (P. E. Lazarsfeld, 1944) Lazarseld, Berelson and Gaudet introduced their hypothesis in 1955. Research had been carried out on the decision making on a Presidential election, the result of the research had concluded that information does not flow directly from the text into the audiences mind but is filtered through `opinion leaders then leader influence other audiences (followers). (Katz, 1955.) There is two distance stage of media text transmitted. The figure illustrates the how this theory works: Figure 4 (Katz, 1955) In the diagram above, messages no longer dispatch from the mass media (producers) to the receivers directly. Messages were first transmitted to opinion leader who then interpreted and give the information to other (followers) in face-to-face. (ibid.) This explains why media may have failed to alter audiences attitude or behavior. In other words, the effect of mass media is not universal, must be assessed to other media channels to influence the information or opinions. Unfortunately, this hypothesis has criticized and being questioned, For example, figure 4 shows followers only received message from opinion leader. Obviously, we can receive the information from mass media directly. In additional, some scholars discover that transmitting information in society not only two step flow. It is involved multi step flow. (Inglis, 1990) The transmitted is more complicated than we imagine. Moreover, we might get confuse who is the opinion leader. It is a general assumption that a person who influences other people can be opinion leader because they use media more, and socially active. Baran, S,J. defines opinion leader as a ` people who initially consume media content, interpret it in light of their own values and beliefs, and then pass it on to opinion followers. (Baran, 2002.) In other words, most of the opinion leaders social position or status or by virtue of their grater interest in the topic at hand. (Robinson, 1976) Nonetheless, we cannot be certain who opinion leader is? For instance, A is an opinion leader of fashion; however, A is a follower in music while B is an opinion leader. Therefore, opinion leader is depends on the position, background and issue etc. These theories receive many critics from scholars due to the confusion of the position of the person. In spite of those criticisms, two-step flow receives praises and influence mass media especially advertising. The theory refined the ability to predict the influence of media messages on audience behavior,(Dave, 2009) and the reason why people sometime does not influence by media. In the second part of the essay will be illustrate how those two approaches contribute to our understanding of media audiences. Through the study of uses and gratifications and two-step flow theory, we can understand what audience can do with media, their motivations to use media and how media can be transmitted. Put these knowledge into a mass media and into the society, we can explain some social phenomenon and why audience influences by each other. Uses and gratifications approach is very suitable in explaining why people watch television. To apply this theory into the context of audiences which watch TV, watching TV provide the basic needs, society media structure and individuals characteristics which will sum up to gratifications in Blumeler Theory where by they are information, personal identity, integration and social interaction, and entertainment. TV channels provide information such as news and advertisement. Audiences can easily find themselves on TV programme like quiz show. For example, audiences can compare with the experts, laugh at the contestants mistake. (Chandler, 1994) In term of integration and social interaction, audiences may watch the TV together and so create an interaction or communication. They also recognize and more importantly to interact with the highly stylized images presented by TV programmer, especially those entertainers, talk show hosts. (Levy, 1979) Audiences entertained by TV programme such a s game shows and soap operas. They are able to relax, escape from reality. Despite new means of media counties come out namely internet and telephone, still, television can `survive in the completion because tally audience needs of UG theory. Subsequencetly, we can use UG theory to explain audience use other means of media such as magazine and radio. On the other hand, many companies and advertiser may apply to two step flow approach. They agree that customer might change their view of the product or company because of other users opinion. Evidently, a business would be a success as long as they gained the opinion leader support. This is because opinion leader will promote for the business. For instance, social network such as Facebook reaches nearly 500 million active users in 2010 since Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg launch the website reaches mere 1 million active users in 2004. (Facebook, 2010) In this case, word of the mouth is `I add you on Facebook or `how come you dont have facebook? The initial opinion leader on Facebook is the founder and his university classmates. The aim of communication within the campus, however, communication has power to influence other. When a follower became an opinion leader, number of users will dramatically increase. Although the initial aim of founder is not a business, which shows how two -step flow works. Again, that theory can apply to other media or business, especially in this information explosion era. People can easy to obtain information or review from `opinion leader. And other example of two step flow is the source of Lazarseld et.al study -election campaigns. They concluded that only 5% of the people changed their voting behavior as a result of these media messages. (Katz, 1955.) The voters influence by their interpersonal communication (such as friends, politic tradition) and short-run considerations (such as candidate attractiveness or current social issue). This view of media effects known as limited effects theory. Audience is a giant subject of studying media. Beside these two approaches, we can extend the study of understanding audience. Those audiences have different preference or motivation in using the media. We can construct the audience to different cataloguers. In some study, gender, ages, and social class are the elements to decide the audience to use media. For instance, newspaper readers in different gender, age and social position will choose to buy/read different newspaper. The following table shows the newspaper readership: (Griffiths, 2010) In conclusion, uses and gratification and two-step flow theories are the important theories to study audiences behavior. Through this theory of UG, we can understand what people do with the media, how audience satisfy their need by using media to establish such needs and why people using different kinds of media or communication such as radio and television. In the same way, we can see sometime media not fully influence the audience in the theory of two step flow. This approach also suggests audiences are influenced by or face-to face communication with the opinion leader who is more active in media uses. There are many other approaches which provide knowledge for understanding the audiences behavior. In spite of some criticisms of these two theories which we had discussed in the essay, Uses and gratification theory and Two-step flow hypothesis are significant theoretically.

Once And Future King: Analytical Paper :: essays research papers

Once And Future King: Analytical Paper Sir Lancelot's intense desire to perform heroic deeds was brought on by his lack of confidence and insecurity. His childhood was spent in seclusion, training for a job desired only to escape the hellish life that his hideous face would otherwise hold in store for him. Lancelot's adulthood was spent trying to overcompensate for this ugliness by performing Herculean feats and good deeds. And the twilight years of his life were spent in remorse for the bad things he had done. Although held up to almost godlike stature in T.H. White's novel The Once And Future King, Lancelot was truly the most human character of them all. Lancelot's childhood was spent sequestered, training to be a knight in order to escape from his ugliness and give him something to be proud of. Lancelot wanted to be a knight because he felt that he was a depraved, lubricious soul. His hideously twisted visage was a sure sign to him that deep in his inner self he was an evil person. Night and day he brooded over his ugliness, his malfeasance. â€Å"The boy thought that there was something wrong with him. All through his life - even when he was a great man with the world at his feet - he was to feel this gap: something at the bottom of his heart of which he was aware, and ashamed, but which he did not understand.†(p.315) As a result of this fear of himself, Lancelot trained to become a knight. The knighthood, a bastion of chivalry and nobleness, would be the only way to counter his immoral soul. Secondly, Lancelot lived a baneful existence as a boy. He was kept away from all the other children and spent his every waking hour with a fiery old man in a single room, learning to fight, joust, and fence. This may seem extreme to some, but for Lancelot, it was all he had. â€Å"Three years may seem a long time for a boy to spend in one room,...unless you realize from the start that...this rather sullen and unsatisfactory child, with the ugly face, did not disclose to anybody that he was living on dreams and prayers.†(p.320) While this single- minded seclusion would make him a great knight, it also kept him alone. He had no childhood friends, nobody to relate to, nobody to tell him that he was a good person. Consequently, his misgivings about himself took a firm root. Finally, Lancelot was filled with terrible, hateful thoughts toward himself and his face. The only job he could succeed in would be the knighthood, a profession in which

Alternative Fuel Source :: essays research papers

In one year, America will have exhausted 80% of her petroleum reserves. Will we then go to war with the Arabs for the privilege of driving our cars? Will we strip-mine our land for coal and poison the air we breathe to drive our autos an additional 100 years? Will we raze our forests for our energy needs? I certainly hope our country will never come to those conclusions. However, someone must make a conclusion – hopefully toward an alternate fuel source. The fuel source I would propose is biomass fuel derived from hemp.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemp is the world’s most versatile plant. It actually improves the soil in which it grows, without chemical fertilizers, while choking out weeds by virtue of its fast dense growth. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, over a twenty year period one acre planted with hemp produces as much pulp as 4.1 acres of trees. Farming hemp at such a fast rate is the key to providing large enough amounts of raw biomass at costs low enough to enable cellulose (the hydrocarbon provider necessary for fuel production) to recapture lost markets. This versatility has led people to believe it is the only biomass resource capable of making America energy independent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is only one catch: the federal government prohibited the growth of hemp in 1938. There were also theories that the major energy industries of the late 30s collaborated to ensure a petroleum-based energy market. Regardless of laws, let us consider hypotheticals. Farmers would be practically guaranteed profit if they could grow hemp for biomass. It also would not take long for a measly 6% of the American landmass to start cultivating hemp – enough to replace our economy’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Basilica San Zeno Maggiore: Vernona, Italy Essay -- Italy Monuments Ge

Basilica San Zeno Maggiore: Vernona, Italy ?On the west side of Verona Italy stands one of the city?s two beautiful basilicas, the Basilica San Zeno Maggiore.? The older of the two basilicas, San Zeno dates back to the year 1030.? Notable for her Romanesque style, San Zeno is equally fascinating to the modern viewer as she is historically significant.? There are two regional forms of Italian basilicas of the Medieval period: Tuscan and southern.? San Zeon is considered to be the most Romanesque basilica in Northern Italy. ? Origin and Contributors ?The basilica was first constructed in honor of the city of Verona?s patron saint, San Zeno.? Paleo-Christian in origin, the church is commonly stated to have been constructed from 1120 to 1138.? However, some of the oldest parts of the building are assumed to have been worked on as early as the 4th century.? Several reconstructions were done from the 4th to the 14th centuries (at least three that are known of) because of damage by natural disasters.? The building underwent reconstruction after the earthquake of 1137 and was finished in 1386 with the addition of the nave ceiling.? It is unclear who the original architect was, but it is known that Andrea Mantegna was the constructor responsible for the altarpiece, on account of writing on it that would signify his work.? However, many historians suggest that Mantegna played a larger role in the development of the building than just the altarpiece.? The Bronze door panels on the West entrance are said to reflect the work of three separ ate craftsmen from the 11th and 12th centuries. ?Several structures of the church are worth mentioning and make San Zeno unique for her time period.? The main plan of the church was modeled aft... ...zes with beauty the Italian fervor for highly developed, highly detailed art and craftsmanship.? ?Today, the church of San Zeno attracts tourists from all areas.? However, it seems that this particular basilica is greatly overlooked by the broad interest in Roman architecture and culture.? Though Rome certainly contains the richest heritage of the Catholic faith, San Zeno Maggiore should be considered an important site for both Romanesque architecture and religious history.? [1] Smith, G. E. Kiddler.? Looking at Architecture, p. 48. [2] Porter, Darwin & Prince, Danforth (2000).? Frommer?s 2000 Italy.? MacMillan: USA. [3] Italy: Eyewitness Travel Guides.? DK Publishing. [4] Leyerle, John (1997).? The Rose-Wheel Design and Dante?s Paradiso.? UTQ, 156 [5]Kain, Evelyn (1981).? The Marble Reliefs on the Faà »ze of S. Zeno, Verona.? The Art Bulletin,63.

New Communication Structure Essay

Communication is important in every aspect of our lives. This is also true for the communication used in our professional lives. When at work we â€Å"depend on cooperation with others to accomplish our goals, and communication is the critical human process we use to promote such cooperation.† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 1.1) Understanding communication is the best way to make sure it is being used effectively correctly. When communication is effective then organizational components will run smoother and efficiently. Smoother and effective communication means that an organization has a greater chance of following its mission and achieving its goals. Successful communication can be as important to organizational productivity as any other component used. There are five concepts that are important for successful communication within an organizational setting and this proposal will discuss their necessity in an organization. Culture is something that needs to be recognized and aware of whe n we are communicating with everyone. It is also important in organizational communication. Organizational culture includes the norms and attitudes of the organization. To support clear and effective communication in an organization the employees must be pay close attention the organizational culture. The process of socialization will also help an employee to adapt to an organization’s culture. The process of socialization is where, â€Å"established members of cultural groups educate others and enforce adherence to established cultural rules or norms for appropriate behavior.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 17) In understanding the norms in an organization communication will be smoother because there will be less chance for misunderstandings. An example of organizational culture would be the style of dress in the office. If an organization is one where the employees dress in suits and formal business wear then an employee who came to work in shorts and a t-shirt would affect  the culture in a negative way. Those communicating with those employees could become uncomforta ble, or distracted. This may result in avoiding communication with this employee and over all communication will breakdown. Avoidance of communication with only one employee is enough to cause a gap in efficiency. The book â€Å"Communications in Organizations† explains, â€Å"Strategic organizational communicators initiate and develop strong, effective, and satisfying relationships with others to promote cooperation and coordination in organizational life.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 15) Understanding the organizational culture also builds trust and respect among employees which in turn brings higher production. Paying attention to organizational culture helps to build the relational communication to support effective communication. Part of an organization’s culture is the forms of communication used. Informal and formal communications are two types of communication that play an important role in an organization. The difference in both forms of communication can be explained as â€Å"Formal patterns of organizational communication follow the power hierarchy within organizations, whereas informal patterns of communication do not necessarily follow along power hierarchy lines† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 1.5) Formal communication is used to address important job related material. Paying close attention when receiving or using formal communication will stop an employee from making a mistake and will also give them the information to be successful. However, when filtering through formal communications such as emails it is important to avoid information overload. Information overload takes place when, â€Å"so many different messages are impinging on a person that the person has difficulty making sense of all the information available.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 174) Scanning email for the most important and relative messages is a skill that is necessary but recognizing formal emails for their importance will ensure that the information involved will be received. In understanding the nuances of informal communication an employee can avoid getting themselves in trouble by offending a supervisor or missing important information. In regards to organizational communication conflict resolution can be the difference in success or failure when working with others to meet company goals. Conflict is inevitable, and happens when people communicate. It can come from assumptions, miscommunications, or one way communication. The good news is conflict can be turned into a positive thing. A quote in  the book, says An Introduction to Leadership, that, â€Å"The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.† (Weis, 2011, pg 2) Working through conflicts can build better communication skills, as well as trust and understanding. In using conflict resolution steps new and better ideas can be generated for the organizations. A gentleman named Mr. Tim Scudder wrote a book in which he describes five steps to conflict resolution. An interview he gave he made the point that in conflict â€Å"both parties want the same thing.† (Scudder, 2011) He also stressed the importance of anticipating conflict. By anticipating conflict an employee will take time to think, and in thinking they will realize that the person they may have a conflict with wants the same thing. This puts the employee in a positive frame of mind and helps to come to a reasonable solution for both involved. In the article â€Å"How to Deal with Annoying Co-Workers† gives a suggestion to help in dealing with co-workers. It suggests that, â€Å"With most types of annoying co-workers, the solution is simply to be straightforward and assertive.† (Green, 2011) Working through a conflict helps co-workers to come to a better understanding of each other. When people understand and respect each other communication is smoother and more effective. Once again, smoother and effective communication benefits the organization. Formal communication, informal communication, and conflict resolution involve two parties. Each of these communications involves a time where another party receives information. In face to face communication active listening is a technique that will ensure that messages are received correctly and will allow the listener to formulate the best response. Active Listening is not only an important part of conflict resolution but communication as a whole. Active listening means, â€Å"being fully engaged in paying attention to your relational partner’s communication with you. It is not just hearing skills. It involves paying close attention to your partner’s verbal and nonverbal behaviors.† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 4.3) In other words, it’s a way of showing respect for those you are communicating with. It sounds as simple as just listening but it’s not that simple. It takes a conscious effort to begin with before it becomes habit. If you are fully engaged in what your partner is communicating then you will get all of the information being sent. It may also evoke the norm of reciprocity which will have your partner giving you  their full attention. The norm of reciprocity is, â€Å"the urge to act in-kind that often encourages these relational partners to provide you with information and treat you similarly to the way you treat them.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 15) The importance to an organization of its members practicing active listening is participants receive all the information that is coming to them. This means that they have all they would need to know to complete their jobs successfully and meet organizational goals. Organizations have both formal and informal leaders. Formal leaders typically are ‘assigned their positions of authority within the organizational hierarchy and hold titles such as president, vice president, division leader, and manager.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 19) Informal leaders are little harder to define by position or tile but â€Å"emerge with organizational life based on credibility (usually a combination of charisma, dynamism, expertise, and trustworthiness), ability to accomplish complex tasks, and access to relevant information.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 19) Even if you are not a formal leader you can still have influence over others as an informal leader. Informal leaders are not defined by title but by quality of character. Understanding leadership strategies and what being a leader entails helps to motivate workers to meet organizational goals. It is important for organizational leaders be able to communicate in different ways for different situations. There are several different leadership strategies that can be employed for different situations. To understand leadership strategies it’s important to think about how leaders may see those under them. Douglas McGregor used X and Y models of leadership to explain the relationship between leaders and followers. Theory X makes the assumption about workers they do not like work and will do anything to avoid it. This model will make leaders be more directed because they think that is what workers prefer and need. McGregor’s Theory Y assumes that workers do not dislike work and will work hard if they feel the value of their effort. The Theory Y suggests that if workers are given a degree of autonomy and a chance to use their imaginations they will strive to be successful in their tasks. Depending on how leaders see workers can dictate their leadership strategies. One of three helpful leadership styles is the autocratic leadership style. This is a leadership style that would come from a leader who is a believer in Theory X. An autocratic leader â€Å"makes most  organizational decisions without consulting with others. The leader calls all the shots, tells workers what to do and how to do it.† (Kreps, 2011; sec 7.6) This type of leadership style would have little use for upward communication from those who follow. Upward communication is, â€Å"communication that travels up the power hierarchy.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 10) This would be difficult for a leader who believes in Theory X because, â€Å"upward communication enables workers to express their concerns and ideas, to provide and ask for feedback, and seek clarification from managers.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 10) The autocratic leadership style is best suited not for driving workers but in emergency situation where there is little time for collaboration. Organizational participants would appreciate a direct approach in times of pressure. On the opposing side of autocratic leadership is democratic leadership style. When using the democratic leadership style you, â€Å"share responsibility and involve other organizational participants in decision making, although the process for the final decision may vary from the leader having the final say to them facilitating consensus in the group.† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 7.6) This type of leadership style is something that followers respond positively to. It also bolsters the leader’s position because the workers feel a â€Å"buy in† to the process. This is something that Theory Y talks about. The ability of helping the workers feel that their efforts and work are valued, and helping them to see the value. The drawback to this type of style is that it is time consuming, and can lead to conflict if not used correctly and in the right situation. Lastly, there is the laissez-faire leadership style. The laissez-faire leadership style would have the leader, â€Å"share power with workers and delegate decision-making authority to those individuals who are directly involved in the decision-making situations.† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 7.6) This leadership style could be considered an extension of the democratic leadership style. In using this style it is important for a leader to know the capabilities of those under them. The employees under this leader must be experienced and skilled in the tasks that they are being given a degree of control over. This type of leadership style will help a leader delegate those things they have little time for. Delegation is an important skill. In the article â€Å"A Tool Kit for the Real World† it says that, â€Å"Business people don’t get accolades for being smart, but for being effective. That is measured in  things like increased sales, increased earnings and an increased number of licensing agreements. Not, alas, by the fruition of one employee’s great idea.† (Motluk, 2011) However, this should not be used as a way of having others do their work for them. This would be damaging to the leader and certainly the organization in that it can bring a degree of disorganization that would be extremely difficult to correct. The leadership strategies above are mentioned because they show the need for a leader to be able to decipher the right strategy for the right situation. Each has one distinctive way to deal with leading and each has its drawbacks when used outside of its best application. Therefore the situational model of leadership may be the best strategy when it comes to leadership. The situational model of leadership is, â€Å"based on the assumption that there is no right way of leading. Rather, the best leaders adapt to the unique situational constraints to exhibit the appropriate leadership style for the situation.† (Kreps, 2011; sec. 7.6) A leader must be able to analyze situations, those involved, the choices, and the preferred outcome. If it’s an emergency and little time involved then use the autocratic leadership style. When time is available to employ upward communication, and bolster workers self esteem and organizational value a leader should employ democratic leadership style. If a leader is feeling overwhelmed or they are feeling pulled in too many directions, perhaps a laissez-faire leadership style might help to delegate tasks to that can handle them. Understanding leadership strategies helps to use communications with workers that will work best in certain situations. The most important thing about communication in the work place is awareness. As the book â€Å"Communications in Organizations† points out, â€Å"Organizations and the way they communicate play critical roles in our lives.† (Kreps, 2011; pg. 25) The key to effective communication is awareness. All of the five concepts of organizational communication mentioned above have some type of awareness piece built in. Communication is smoothest when those communicating are aware of those they are communicating with, their culture, and their style of communication. Thinking before speaking, anticipating change and conflict, and knowing what actions to take will help a leader communicate effectively with workers. After presenting the five concepts for successful communication within an organizational setting above it is clear to see their necessity for  successful communication. References Kreps, G. (2011). Communications in Organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Green, A. (2011, January 6). How to Deal With Annoying Co-Workers. Retrieved from http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2011/06/06/how-to-deal-with-annoying-co-workers Motluk, A.(2011) A Tool Kit for the Real World. Retrieved from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19969-a-tool-kit-for-the-real-world.html?full=true (2011). Tim Scudder Interview. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_E7YVkjJQ0 Weiss, J. (2011). An Introduction to Leadership. San Diego, Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Comparison Between the Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You Essay

In the movie â€Å"10 Things I Hate About You†, there are a lot of similarities to â€Å"The Taming of the Shrew† by William Shakespeare. For example, most of the similarities have to do with power relationships, courtship and dating, and sisters. The main characters in both the writing and movie have the same personalities. Bianca is played as the perfect innocent teenager and Kate is portrayed as a spiteful, bad tempered person. Also, their father is still very strict. As one would think, the themes between these two pieces are very alike as well. The theme of many people wanting to all date the same person relates to both of these pieces. For example, in the movie the two boys are fighting over who gets Bianca, just like in Shakespeare’s writing. Both of the plots have the same general idea too. They are both about a younger sister forbidden to date/marry before the cruel older sister does so. Both stories have similarities and differences in plot, theme and characters. Bianca and Kate are sisters who face sibling rivalry between each other. It is more apparent in the movie of â€Å"10 Things I Hate About You† that Kate is resentful towards Bianca for being favored by their father. It is obvious to her that Bianca is appreciated more than her. One of the most noticeable power relationships is between Batista and his daughters Kate and Bianca. This is because he makes it very clear that Bianca isn’t allowed to marry until Kate is married, but in the movie they are only allowed to date. Also, Bianca knows that her father compares her to Kate when he says that she is not allowed to date until Kate does first. A different type of relationship shown in these stories is deception. The female ideas on courtship/dating in this movie is very different from in Shakespeare’s writing. For example, in the modern movie it is more common to date and isn’t so serious as in the writing of â€Å"The Taming of the Shrew† because they ordinarily get married young. Shakespeare made the writing of â€Å"The Taming of the Shrew† universal so that any audience can understand it and enabled it to be made into a modern film. Although there are many similarities there had to be different changes made so that the movie would appeal to people nowadays. Something that was stressed more in the modern movie was the dishonesty and deception with who Kate was dating/marrying. In the movie, her date was paid to take her out and she eventually found out the truth and was very upset but in the story written by Shakespeare, she did not figure it out and lived happily ever after. It is more common for modern viewers to relate to the betrayal and it was expected more because of the circumstances. Overall, â€Å"The Taming of the Shrew† and â€Å"10 Things I Hate About You† are very similar and bring back an old tale with a modern twist that everyone can relate to.

Stress Management and Its Causes

Stress is a term used by many, is somewhat misunderstood, and often used to describe a negative condition or emotional state. People experience various forms of stress at home, work, in social settings, and when engaged in activities to simply have fun. Police officer†s experience stresses the same as others, but also in ways much different than the average citizen. The dangers, violence, and tragedy seen by officers result in added levels of stress not experienced by the general population. What is stress? Stress is not a new phenomenon, it has been experienced throughout history. Stress is a biological response to some stimulus. Fear, panic, anger, tragedy and especially pressure can cause it. Stress can result in the competitiveness needed to succeed in business, relationships, sports, and education. Is stress bad or good? It is both. Good stress is manageable stress an can actually heighten your performance in certain situations. Bad stress is unmanageable stress and lessens your performance because it†s too much to bare. Police work, by its nature, calls for an incredible amount of continual stress. The demands on police officers to show greater restraint has been increasing over the years and has increased the effects of stress on police work. Today†s police officer is now more than ever in the public eye. He now must think about consequences before his actions in every situation. If we take a quick overview of police work and look at the research we can see what are some of the biggest stresses. Having your partner killed in the line of duty, lack of support by the department and bosses, shift work and disruption of family time/ family rituals and the daily grind of dealing with the scum of society. All of these factors add up and lead to high rates of cancer, heart disease, and suicide for police officers. We are becoming all too familiar with police suicide especially with the attention it gets from the media. In New York City twice as many police officers die by their own hand than in the line of duty. Stress is put to blame for this. Every study done indicates that police officer face a much higher level of stress. For suicide there are four main factors: 1. Divorce 2. Alcohol 3. Depression 4. A failure to get help. All four factors are symptoms that can stem from an officer†s stress levels. An officer who got into trouble on the job, suspension or termination is seven times more likely to commit suicide. Police suicide is more directly linked to relationship problems which in turn is linked to job stresses. Of the last fourteen suicides of police officers in New York City eighty-six percent had just had a divorce or relationship break-up. Police officers going through a divorce are five times more likely to commit suicide than officers who have a stable relationship. Relationship problems are highly related to job stress. In fact, studies have called police work to be a â€Å"high risk† lifestyle not because of physical danger, but high risk in developing attitude problems, behavioural problems, drug problems, and intimacy and relationship problems. These studies also show that police suffer from a substantially higher divorce rate ranging from sixty to seventy percent higher than normal couples. The medical community has attributed stress to such biological responses as heart malfunctions, blood pressure variations, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, depression, muscular discomfort, strokes, and a host of nervous system related problems. For the police officer, biological consequences can represent more long term concerns, but the short term results are the most profound. Stress of the magnitude that affect an officer†s reaction time (increased or decreased) can seriously inhibit their ability to perform a vital action. An unrealistic increase could result in overreacting in confrontational situations, while a decrease could result in a serious injury or even death. Forty-three percent of all adults suffer from adverse health affects due to stress, seventy-five to ninety percent of all physician office visits are for stress related ailments and complaints. Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death, heart disease, cancer, lung problems, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. Stress is a combination of physical, mental, and emotional feelings that result from pressure, worry, and anxiety. These pressures are called stressors. Some examples of common stressors are, divorce, death in the family, job change, pregnancy, marriage, and retirement. In medicine stress is a physical, chemical, or emotional development that causes strains that lead to physical illness. The early warning signs of stress include apathy, anxiety, irritability, mental fatigue, and over compensation or denial. Some signs of apathy are feelings of sadness or recreation that isn†t fun anymore. Feelings of restlessness, agitation, insecurity and a sense of worthlessness are examples of anxiety. Signs of irritability are feeling hypersensitive, defensive, and arrogant. Feeling argumentative, rebellious, or angry are also signs of irritability. Examples of mental fatigue are denying that there are problems, ignoring symptoms, and feeling suspicious. Some behavioural signs of stress are avoiding things, doing things to extremes, administrative problems, and legal problems. Avoiding things includes keeping to one†s self, avoiding work, having trouble accepting responsibility, and neglecting responsibility. Examples of doing things to extremes are alcoholism, gambling, spending sprees, and sexual promiscuity. Some administrative problems are being late to work, poor appearance, poor personal hygiene, and being accident prone. Possible legal problems are shoplifting, traffic tickets, and an inability to control violent impulses. Some physical signs of stress include excessive worrying about illness, frequent illness, and physical exhaustion. Reliance on medication including remedies like aspirin is a physical sign of stress. Ailments such as insomnia, appetite changes, and changes in weight are also physical signs of stress. Indigestion, nausea, and nervous diarrhoea, are also physical signs. Stress can be confusing. There are some myths surrounding stress. One myth suggests that stress is the same for everybody, this is not true. What is stressful for one person may or may not be stressful for another. Some people seem to think that stress is everywhere, so there is nothing a person can do about it, this is also not true. A person can plan their life so that stress doesn†t overwhelm them. Another myth is that stress is always bad for a person. This is not rue because managed stress makes people productive and happy. Some people think that only the major symptoms of stress require attention. The minor symptoms are the early warnings that a better job of managing stress is needed. There are four types of stress. There is acute stress, episodic acute stress, chronic stress, and traumatic stress. Each type of stress has its own characteristics, symptoms, duration, and treatments. Acute stress is the most common type of stress. Acute stress comes from demands and pressures of the recent past and anticipated demands and pressures of the near future. Acute stress can lead to psychological distress, tension headaches, upset stomach, and other symptoms. Some examples of stressors that can cause acute stress are, an auto accident that crumpled the car fender, the loss of an important contract, a child†s occasional problems at school and so on. Acute stress doesn†t have enough have enough time to do the extensive damage associated with long term stress. Some of the most common symptoms of stress are emotional distress, muscular problems, stomach problems, and transient over arousal. Emotional distress includes anger, irritability, and anxiety. Muscular problems such as tension headaches, upper and lower back pain, and jaw pain are also symptoms of stress. Other symptoms are stomach, gut and bowel problems. Heartburn, acidic stomach, ulcers, flatulence, diarrhoea, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome are examples of these problems. Transient over arousal is another symptom of stress which leads to elevation in blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, and sweaty palms. Heart palpitations, dizziness, and migraine headaches can also result from transient over arousal. Symptoms like cold hands or feet, shortness of breath, and chest pain are also common. Episodic acute stress is common in people who suffer from acute stress. These people†s lives are so unorganised that they are constantly in a state of chaos and crisis. They are always in a hurry, but they are always late. If something can go wrong in their life it usually does. Often these people describe themselves as having a lot of â€Å"nervous energy.† Another form of episodic acute stress comes from non stop worry, they are always worried about something going wrong. The symptoms of episodic acute stress are persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, chest pain and heart disease. The treatment of episodic acute stress requires intervention on a number of levels, generally requires professional help, and may take many months. Sufferers are usually resistant to any kind of change. Chronic stress is the grinding stress that wears people away day after day after day. It destroys minds, bodies, and lives. Chronic stress comes from when a person doesn†t see a way out of a miserable situation. The worst part of chronic stress is that people get used to it and forget that it†s there. Chronic stress kills by means of suicide, violence, heart attack, stroke and cancer. The symptoms of chronic stress are hard to treat and could require a lot of medical and behavioural treatment, therapy, and stress management. Traumatic stress is a special kind of chronic stress, known as post-traumatic stress disorder. It is caused by trauma that is not handled correctly. Some examples of traumatic experiences are, accidents, rape, abuse of any kind, natural disaster, and the death of a loved one. The symptoms of PTSD are flashbacks, over arousal, emotional numbness, and emotional outbursts. People with PTSD suffer from problems with concentration, controlling impulses, and decision making. The long term consequences of PTSD are depression, anxiety, behavioural disorders, multiple personality disorders, and suicide. There are three basic strategies for dealing with stress at the source. The first strategy is altering situations to make them less stressful. Avoiding stressful situations is the next strategy. Accepting stressful situations is the other basic strategy in dealing with stress at the source. Each strategy has it†s disadvantages and it†s advantages. It†s up to every person to decide which one to use with which situation. The tougher a person†s resistance to stress is, the more stress they can take. There is a lot people can do to maximise their resistance to stress. People have resources to help them handle stress, these resources include familial and financial resources, social and spiritual resources, as well as personal resources. They can also develop good health habits and get rid of bad health habits to help build up a resistance. Following these guidelines in a person†s life is a good way to increase their resistance to stress. Eat at least one hot balanced meal per day. Improving a person†s nutritional habits makes them less susceptible to stress. Limiting a person to less than three caffinated drinks per day helps to improve their health and their susceptibility to stress. Give and receive affection regularly. Research shows that people who give and receive affection regularly, live longer and are healthier. Have at least one relative within fifty miles. Family is one of the best ways of reducing stress. Regularly attend social activities. Friends a person meets can provide a support network for good and bad times. Have a network of friends and acquaintances. A strong social network helps fight off feelings of loneliness, isolation, and despair. Have one or more friends to confide in about personal matters. Close friends boost a persons mental health just by being there. Exercise the point of perspiration at least three times a week. Exercise leads to fitness and people who are fit handle stress better. Being the appropriate weight is important not only for health reasons but for self esteem as well. Be in good health is important because a person†s health is their first line of defence against stress. Get seven to eight hours sleep as often as possible. Lack of sleep leads to exhaustion that harms a person†s health and productivity. Do something fun at least once a week. Doing something just for the fun of it improves a person†s resistance to stress because it takes your mind off your problems. Speak openly about your feelings when you are angry or worried. As one can see, stress is a combination of feelings that have different effects on peoples† health, and also there are many different ways to build resistance to it so it will not ruin your life.