Philosophy Essay

1. Settings: I scheduled my AA meeting for Tuesday September the 18th at 10 p.m. at the Sobe Room in Miami Beach (1718 Bay Rd. Miami Beach, Fl. 33139). When I arrived I noticed that the parking was far away from the actual meeting point. The meeting point was a church type structure with no sing or any other identification. The door was open so I just went in; I waited about 5 minutes for the meeting to start. The meeting took place in a large room, and the chairs were organized in a semicircle and at the front there was a kind of podium. In the Sobe Room all meetings are open, so I didn’t have to set an appointment. In the meeting were about 50 people, I guess because it was in south beach the majority were young people under 40. There were mostly white males, followed by white females some Latin and some African Americans. There were about 15 people who were there for the first time. I didn’t have to say why I was there but I did have to say my name when everyone else did. 2. Philosophy Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. The primary purpose of AA is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. Although AA was founded on Christian principles and by white men, the organization has evolved to be multicultural. AA doesn’t keep a list of members’ names, but estimates that it has 2 million members who come from all backgrounds. The philosophy behind Alcoholics Anonymous is that alcoholism is a disease. Even if someone stops drinking, they are not â€Å"cured.† The individual is a recovering alcoholic. The organization follows a 12-step structure designed to help the recovering alcoholic have a healthy mind and spirit. By following the 12 steps in sequence, the recovering alcoholic can improve their thought processes and work on healing their emotions. 3. Therapeutic content Even though AA is an independent organization and is not based on psychological or therapeutic research or interventions, they have adopted some techniques of different theoretical models to help the group members deal with their illness. AA uses techniques from diverse psychological theoretical models such as existentialism, gestalt, and narrative therapy. The existentialism theory invites clients to explore their being and ask themselves philosophical questions such as what is the meaning of live, how do actions define individuals and to continually revise their set of values. AA uses this approach in its program when they talk about the greater power, the purpose of their lives, etc. Gestalt theory sees each client as a unique individual and states that any change made by the client has to be his or her own decision, gestalt therapy is also very confrontational, and in both characteristics are included in the AA program. AA states that the client will get better if and only they really want it and commit to it. Also AA uses an approach similar to the narrative therapy by treating the addiction as an illness and as a problem independent of the client, it externalizes it to try to confront it. 4. Impressions and significance: When I arrived to the meeting the first thing that called my attention was the fact that we had to park really far away from the actual site (about two blocks) I later found out that it was purposely made this way so the members wouldn’t feel self conscious about having their cars outside of something that could be affiliated with alcoholism. I entered the location, it wasn’t an actual church, but it had a church like structure. The doors were opened and most people seemed to know each other, before the meeting started some people said hi to me but no one asked any questions. The meeting began with a shot prayer called the serenity prayer, which had me thinking about some contradictions found in the AA philosophy since they claim not to have any religious affiliation but it certainly felt a little inclined towards the Christian side. After the prayer everyone introduced themselves (most people said their names and I’m an alcoholic, but some didn’t) I said my name but gave no further information. Then someone proceed to talk a little about the AA program and the 12-step structure. After the greeting process a guy (27) stood up and went to the podium. He started by repeating his name and saying he was an alcoholic. He said that since this time he saw a lot of new faces he wanted to share his story again. The man shared a very powerful story about his involvement with alcohol, he stated he started drinking around the age of 14, he said that at the moment he thought he was just having fun and doing the same that everyone else did, but that now that he thinks about it he realizes he was using alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with the confusion he was facing about his sexuality. He stated that he came out of the closet at the age of 16, that it was a very difficult time and that he was dating older men who encouraged him to drink. He continued talking about what coming out had done to the relationship with his family members; he described the time as very painful and he cried while telling the story (some of the people in the meeting cried as well). He said that his mother was very supportive since the beginning, that his younger brother had a hard time understanding; he said that he was a jog in school, so no one expected him to come out since he wasn’t â€Å"the gay type†. But that the real issue was with his father, as soon as he gave him the news the father became very angry and he kicked him out of the house. He said that he sort of expected the reaction but thought that he would eventually get over it, but that that hadn’t happened yet, and that it’s been 10 years and 7 months since the last time he spoke with his father. He said that he joined AA when he was 23, he decide to attend a meeting because he and his partner were having terrible fights while he was under the influence of alcohol and he even tried to hit him once. At that point the partner threatened with leaving him if he didn’t get treatment. He stated that it was the best decision he made in his live. He has now been sober for 3 years and 4 months. Before going to the meeting I had many opinions about what I would find there, I was sure that most people would be people of low socioeconomic status probably many homeless and very angry people. I was afraid of being forced to speak and that they wouldn’t understand the reason that I was participating in the meeting. I expected to see a lot of people praying, singing, and hugging at the end. But the truth is that the reality was very different to what I had in my imagination, I think my perception was heavily influenced by movies I’ve see about it. One thing that caught my attention was the first to realize that most people in the group were people with jobs and life situations fairly normal. But mostly I was surprised that people were a bit cold and distant. I was hoping that dodos were united and friendly to each other but not the case. For me the story of gay guy was very powerful and I felt good to see people around me responding positively and nodding. One thing I did not like was the strong Christian influence of the program; I feel that excludes many people who do not feel identified with this dogma. I think AA is a very powerful tool and can help many clients, but I also think is not for everyone. I would recommend it to clients with maladaptive behaviors that do not have the skills to deal with day-to-day problems. I think that a person has to be religious to some point to really identify with the program. I would not recommend this program to teenagers because I think that there are other programs more suitable for this population.

Why Chinese Mother Are Superior

Golsom Azim Ms: – Rebecca Language and composition First Draft of Narrative Essay Going to Marriage Party I was nine years old, very noisy and did not pay attention to anyone even my parents. Whatever I wanted the most I just did so. One day while I was playing with my dolls, I overheard that my parents were talking together about going to a marriage party, the marriage party related to one of my mother’s relative, my mother was saying that â€Å"don’t inform the children because the house is so far and if we take them they will become tired and also let them to study their lessons.When I heard it I became very happy because on my childhood I really liked to participate in different kinds of parties, I just continued playing, When my mother prepared herself for going to the wedding, I went and asked: â€Å"Mother where are you going? † Because I was so obstinate my mother hid it from me and said â€Å"my dear daughter I am just going out for shopping. à ¢â‚¬  but I knew that she is going to the wedding, I said: â€Å"No mother you are telling lie, due to going out why are you wearing such beautiful clothes? my mother said nothing, just preparing herself. I screamed mother I know that you are going to the wedding; please I want to go as well. Please take me also but my mother did not look at me and went to find her sandal I just fallowed crying, she did not do anything because she knew that I am so stubborn and never listen to her, after a lot of crying she gave me one of my beautiful dresses and I got ready. On that day at ten o’clock my parents and I left home.Journey was really joyful for me because I never had long trip before, on the way my parents were talking with each other about the wedding but I did not hear them, I was just seeing out from the window of the car different things, like people were busy on their works and did different things and saw many beautiful trees and flowers and wondering about the people ou tside. I liked them a lot and also on the way I saw two people were fighting with each other and I became very curious and asked my father â€Å"why they are fighting? my father said my dear daughter I don’t know about them why they are fighting, I said noting just looked at them. After one hour journey we got off the car and ate lunch near one of the beautiful springs. I really enjoyed, while we were eating our lunch my mother advised me a lot that â€Å"my dear daughter when we arrive there just take care of yourself because you don’t know anything about there and be with me, don’t go anywhere without my permission I just said OK mother.After three hours we arrived there, they were very happy to meet us and respected us a lot. At night when the party started and all the guests came and the groom and bride also came and sat on their own chairs, they were looking really attractive and charming. People who were there started to dance. Due to I couldn’t f ind any friend to play with them I just sat near my mother and watched them. The party was so joyful for me and had a lot of fun to watch them because everything I saw was new for me.After the party was finished at one or two o’clock midnight many guests left the house and some of them stayed there, they took me and my mother to one small room for sleeping at that night, I was so tried and felt sleepy soon. I woke up at 8 o’clock in the morning, ate my breakfast. When my parents wanted to came back home they did not remain as to come because their party did not finish they had one more party that show all of things that bride brought from her parents home. So we didn’t go home on that day and stayed for one more day. When I finished my breakfast I saw that my mother was busy talking to other women.Without taking any permission from her, I just went out and saw that many children were playing with each other I was very excited to see them because they were playin g a game that I loved it as well. They were tightening one of the girl’s eyes with a black Catton and she had to find other girls if one of the girls was found by her, she would play in place of her. Without saying anything I went and joined them. They did not tell anything while we were busy in playing. One of the girls said to us, â€Å"Let’s go to the garden because here is not good place for playing. We all accepted and went with her. The place that she talked about was so far but still I liked to go, when we got there it was so green and had beautiful trees, nice flowers with different kinds of smell and one small river. we started playing other game that one girl should hide her eyes and other girls should go and hide themselves everywhere that they want, we were just busy in this game when I passed my turn, I went to hide myself somewhere after a lot of running to find any better place my feet stuck on a big stone and fell down to a river.I tried a lot but coul dn’t save myself and began to scream a lot but no one heard my voice because they had gone to a very far place to hide themselves. After being for ten or fifteen minutes in the water I became unconscious. And when I woke up I found myself in a hospital. It was night about six or seven a clock I saw that my mother was crying in the corner of the room and my father was sitting on a chair when they saw me, my father was very happy but my mother was happy and angry as well.Because my father had scold her a lot why she did not take care of me. My mother came near to me and asked me why I did like this, why I did not pay attention to her advices. I was feeling so shy and couldn’t tell anything just said: â€Å"mother who brought me there? † She said,† your father. † I asked again† how? † She told that: â€Å"We waited a lot for you but you did not come so I just searched and after a lot of searching, the girls that you had gone with them told us that you were with them but after playing they couldn’t find you so they came home without you. I was really shameful in front of my parents because I made them nervous and just because of me they didn’t enjoy from the party and also I was really afraid of doctors and medicine because I hate to eat medicine. At the end I came to believe that parents never want the badness of their children and they just think about the happiness, betterment and prosperity of our life. So from that day, I have always been obeying whatever my parents have advised me.

American Association of Retired Persons

American Association of Retired Persons is the largest organization representing the interests of retired persons in the country. With the number of retired persons increasing in the United States, AARP has been in the forefront to influence public policies that serve the interest of this population segment especially on important issues like health, housing, and others.Apart from serving the current senile generation, AARP has also carried out intensive lobbying campaigns on issues that will impact the future generations. The main aim of the organization is to create positive social change and enhance the quality of life for the aged. The group uses different strategies but most important has been its advertising campaign, research reports from its Policy Institute, and many others.The group has been most influential in shaping of public health care policies and its policy influence clearly indicates that it advocates for pluralism. AARP has been providing the best services for the aged and it will continue to influence public policies in the future.Background of the organizationAccording to Charles (1996) American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) was founded in 1958 by Dr. Ethel Percy. Initially, it started as the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA) which had been established in 1947 with the aim of promoting healthy aging philosophies and to provide health insurance for teachers.   It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization which mainly comprise of individuals from 50 years and above (Charles, 1996).AARP.org (2009b) shows that currently the organization has more than 40 million members and its offices are spread in all 50 states and also in District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S Virgin Islands. Membership status has also changed and it no longer requires individual to be retired to be eligible but only to have reached the age of 50 years. AARP is the largest membership organization for individuals above the age of 50.   It h as been leading a major revolution to change the perception of life after 50.Major policy goalsFor the last half century, AARP has been in the forefront in creating positive social change not only to its members but to the whole society as well.   The mission of the organization is to enhance the quality of life for all the aged, leading positive changes in the society, and delivery of quality services and value to its members mainly through provision of timely information, advocacy, and services to members.AARP.org (2009b) asserts that the organization strongly believe in the working principles of collective purpose, collective voice, and the power of collective purchasing. These are important principles that guide the organization in all its work. This can exemplified by its Divided We Fall campaign launched in 2007 to influence health care policies.AARP has worked tirelessly in order to fulfill its vision of creating a society in which everyone ages with a lot of dignity and pu rpose and also help aging individuals to fulfill their dreams and goals in life.   The organization speaks in one voice and has a common motto of â€Å"To serve, not be served† (AARP.org, 2009b).

Course Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Course Project - Research Paper Example This is extremely in contrast with the view of Bueno that companies and organizations that do not carry out an evaluation of the performance of its employees cannot compete well with their rivals (7). This view is further supported by Maslow which describes performance appraisal as the estimation and evaluation of performance of workers during a specific period with the goal of determining their suitability and increasing revenue and profit (24). Evaluation based on results can be done in response to a performance crisis or to find the direction that the skills and knowledge of specific employees have to be developed to increase performance .This will end up helping a company move from a loss making trajectory to a profit making one (Buono 30). The techniques that are used to carry out performance appraisal can be widely grouped into three categories namely the absolute, comparative and the result oriented technique The comparative technique is done to compare performance of employees who work in a group. The result oriented is based on the achievement of a specific goal. Absolute performance evaluation, according to Maslow, is done to evaluate employee performance with respect to a set standard performance (40). The choice of the technique used hugely depends on the nature of the organization and the reason for carrying out the performance appraisal. An analysis of the study of ABC Company reveals that the performance of employees and their work patterns is influenced by four major factors. The first factor is attitude and skills. Employees who have the right skills and knowledge perform their duties as required as compared to the lowly skilled ones. The study reveals that those employees with positive attitude tend to enjoy their work. This directly translates to better performance .The workers with negative attitude do not feel empowered and appreciated and therefore their performance is below

Including Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Education Research Paper

Including Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Education Programs - Research Paper Example Further, the differences between children with disabilities or developmental delays and other children are difficult for teachers to deal with (Openshaw 45). However, an inclusive early childhood classroom benefits both normal children and those with disabilities. The former learn acceptance, tolerance and helpfulness, while the latter benefit from the dynamic environment, particularly when they receive supplementary help to overcome any setback caused by their disability. Social workers, special education teachers, speech therapists, and others can provide immense support. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood education programs. Early Childhood Education Optimizing children’s potential through early education depends to a great extent on the environment in which they learn, whether at home, in day care, or in a nursery school classroom. In an inadequate environment, children’s poten tial will not get developed, resulting in quickly widening gaps in achievement which become increasingly difficult to overcome. Example of a model program in America for preschools targetted at low-income children is Head Start. It has offered a helping hand to the nation’s neediest families and children through provision of pre-academic skills, social skills, preventive medical and dental care; and teaching families about nutrition. Head Start also provides child care services otherwise unavailable to low-income parents, and gives nutritious meals and snacks to the preschoolers. It is one of the several early education schemes that ensure that children from lower economic groups get support and preparation for formal schooling (Kennedy 3). The aim is towards equity among all children for reaching their potential and fulfilling their dreams. Short-term beneficial outcomes of the Head Start program are that â€Å"children benefit from improved health and nutrition, and from b eing in a safe and nurturing environment† (Currie 233). Some medium-term benefits of the early education program include the prevention of children being placed in the special education track, and reduced incidence of grade repetition in early grades. Potential cost savings are extensive, because special education is significantly more expensive than regular schooling, and those children who enter special education are more likely to stay in that track. Monitoring of the children’s progress is necessary at every step. Inclusion in Early Childhood Education The concepts of inclusion and exclusion of children with disabilities in relation to the general early education classroom, renders disabled children as ‘different’ from their non-disabled counterparts. Inclusionary discourses are based on the ‘humanness’ of disabled children, where they are not perceived as ‘the other’ as compared to children in the general education classroom. The concept of humanity emphasizes disabled children being ‘like us’. On the other hand, exclusionary approaches to early education believe that regular teachers and early childhood centers are not responsible for the education and care of disabled children (Purdue, Ballard & MacArthur 47). Early childhood education that incorporates inclusion of disabled children, or excludes them is a concept that is a part of a wider social context where there may be

Supply and Demand in the steel industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Supply and Demand in the steel industry - Essay Example Demand and supply in a specific industry is perhaps one of the most debated and fundamental concepts in economics. In order for a market economy to function, it is critically important that producers should supply those goods and services that consumers want and are affordable to pay for them. In economic concepts, the term demand represents the willingness and ability of buyers to buy different quantities of a product or service, at different prices during a specific period of time (Arnold, 54). According to the basic theory of economics, people buy more quantities of a product or service at lower prices than at higher prices. The price and demand relation is well debated in the theories of economics. When price of a commodity decreases, it is assumed that consumers will buy more quantities of that product or service, and thus its demand increases. The term supply refers to the willingness and ability of producers to produce and sell different quantities of a goods or service at different prices for a specific period of time (Arnold, 66). According to economic theory of law of supply, the quantity supplied of a goods or service increases when its price increases. From the explanations given above, it is clear that demand and price is indirectly related whereas price and supply are directly related. There are many determinants of quantity supplied, but out of all the determinants, price plays pivotal role. The underlying assumption is that when the price of steel becomes high, selling steel become profitable and the quantity supplied, therefore, will be high. When it comes to the market, the interaction between supply and demand results one of the followings; excess supply, excess demand and equilibrium price or equilibrium quantity. Excess supply or ‘surplus’ is the conduction at which quantity supplied is greater than quantity demanded in the market. This excess supply occurs only when the price is above the equilibrium price.

The Importance of Nature to Spirituality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Importance of Nature to Spirituality - Essay Example Writers following this tradition sought to find meaning within the natural world that seemed lost within the created world of the humans. However, the way they did this changed depending on their position in time and space. Blake lived from 1757 to 1827 and saw the beginning of the industrial revolution and the growth of the factories. He was aware of the dangers of this growth and saw some of the destruction it brought about, but he lived in England where some of the cities had already had long histories and the erosion of nature didn't seem so dramatic as places such as America where much of the land was still relatively untamed and all of the architecture was new. Wordsworth was an American poet who lived from 1770-1850. The changes that were taking place in America were similar to those happening in Europe, but seemed more dramatic. Both of these poets worked within the same literary movement to emphasize the importance of nature in poems such as "Tyger" and "The World is Too Muc h With Us" respectively. In poems such as "Tyger," Blake focuses on his own individual way of seeing the world and on the emotions these investigations brought out. This is in keeping with the then emerging Romantic movement which placed a great deal of emphasis on emotional feeling, particularly as it was inspired by nature. This emphasis on emotional feeling is seen in "Tyger" as Blake starts the poem with two exclamatory statements: "Tyger! Tyger!" (1) and infuses them with a strong image in the darkness of the reader's mind: "burning bright / In the forests of the night" (1-2). Most of the poem is written with the intention of creating a sense of awe around the creature that is the focal point of the poem and continues to force the reader's attention on this concept. The tiger's features are described in deadly but beautiful detail, "In what distant deeps or skies / Burnt the fire of thine eyes?" (5-6), in such a way as to constantly focus the attention on its emotional impact. At the same time, these statements are phrased in the form of rhetorical questions that naturally cause the mind to start trying to answer them and thus considering the images more carefully. This same emphasis on the emotions is found in Wordsworth's poem as he opens his poem with a sense, a feeling, that there is something missing in the new modern life of the cities. "The world is too much with us; late and soon, / Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers" (1-2). Before the reader is even certain what it is that Wordsworth is talking about, it is clear that he is feeling a sense of emptiness in daily life and a sense of having little energy or interest in this life. This is also in keeping with his personal times. Although Blake was writing at a time when the industrial revolution was having the same effect on his homeland as Wordsworth, Wordsworth wrote in a place where it seemed the factories and cities were taking over all of the natural beauty of the world, burying it un der concrete. It seemed inevitable to most writers of his time and he rightly mourns the loss. He says "We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! / ... / For this, for everything, we are out of tune" (4, 8). Although Blake's creation is filled with the profound emotion of awe, Wordsworth's demonstrates a profound sense of loss. However, both poets discover a sense of natural feeling inherent in the images they produce for their readers and both keep this emotion at the forefront of their poems. Within his poem, Blake focuses on an element of the ‘supernatural’ as something that existed outside the realm of everyday experience, another key characteristic of

Paths of Glory (1957 film) Thesis Paper Movie Review

Paths of Glory (1957 film) Thesis Paper - Movie Review Example Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory is a unique film, not only in terms of the strong anti-war message, but also in the manner in which it was conveyed. Based on a novel by Humphrey Cobb of the same name, the film is set during the First World War and stars Kirk Douglas (Colonel Dax) in the lead role. The heroic authorial stance of the film is unconventional in that it perceives of glory in a radically different way. Taken from Thomas Grey’s famous lines of poem that goes †¦Ã¢â‚¬ the paths of glory lead but to the grave†, author Humphrey Cobb takes up Paths of Glory for the title with implied irony. Kirk Douglass give an excellent performance in translating and presenting the spirit of the story onscreen. (Kane, 1988, p.90) In conventional Hollywood of the time, any glorification in relation to war came via acts of courage and sacrifice, even if it proved fatal. But Paths of Glory spun around this idea and projected glory in an altogether new light. Here, glory would represent the refusal to act on official orders, and instead act on moral convictions. (Stam, 2000, p.14) This message is not easy for the audience to digest, for America’s participation in the Great War was seen as an act of moral responsibility by a majority of its citizens. (Belton, 1994, p.170) Moreover, the film captures the conflicting interests of the officers and the soldiers in real battle situations. Behind the facade of unity (as most war propaganda would have people believe) officers can at times deliberately put the lives of their subordinates at jeopardy. This is evident in the film, as French General Mireau (played by George Macready), orders his division to embark upon a suicidal mission to capture a strongly en-forted German position. As this move would earn Mireau a promotion, he was bent on acting solely for self gain, as against the spirit of unity that is expected in military divisions. (Suid, 2002, p.748) The film will have to be lauded for showin g these bitter internal political realities within a major national institution such as a military in the backdrop of the heat, chaos and intrigue of war. The director pulls off this feat as realistically as possible. Where other movies would evade or underplay such uncomforting truths, Paths of Glory bravely took on a commitment to ground realities. (Altman, 1999, p.14) Colonel Dax (played by Kirk Douglas) is the hero of the film, as he sees to protecting soldiers under his charge from the selfish designs of General Mireau. As a way of deflecting blame from himself, Mireau orders the Court Martial of 100 of his soldiers (later reduced to 3) for cowardice and refusal to obey orders. It is at this juncture that the denouement of the film unfolds, as Colonel Dax (who served as a civilian lawyer prior to his military engagement) takes up the cause of the hapless soldiers and defends their case. Director Stanley Kubrick makes yet another bold statement via his realistic portrayal of the dynamics of power. Although Court Martial are supposed to conform to commonly accepted principles of jurisprudence, fairness, justice and due process of law, in the case the three unfortunate soldiers who are sentenced to death (essentially summarily after the farcical ‘trial’). (Clarke, 2006, p.112) Hence, in conclusion, Paths of Glory is satisfactory in terms of aesthetics, screenplay, dialogue and

Fetal Heart Abnormalities Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fetal Heart Abnormalities - Research Paper Example Genetic predisposition is considered to be a key factor while maternal issues such as infection, diabetes, lupus and drugs trigger the onset. Ventricular and atrial septal defects and tetralogy of Fallot are the most common forms of congenital heart defect. Incidents of truncus arteriosus and transposition  are rare. Anatomy and the heart function Our heart has four chambers; two ventricles and two atriums and has two atrioventricular valves (mitral and tricuspid) to regulate the blood flow between ventricle and atrium. Right atrium and ventricle are filled with deoxygenated blood while left atrium and ventricle are filled with oxygenated blood received from the lungs. Deoxygenated blood collected by the main veins fills in to the right atrium and then to the right ventricle. Right ventricle pump blood to the lungs via pulmonary artery and oxygenated blood comes from the lungs through pulmonary vein fills in to the left atrium. Then it move down to the left ventricle. The ventricul ar wall contracts to increase the pressure enough to distribute blood throughout the body via aorta (Kumar, 2007). Septal heart defect –hole in the heart The mid heart wall, septum separates the left and right sides of the heart. Congenital septal heart defect is identified when unclosed gaps exist in the septum at birth. Any opening of the septum may cause mixing of oxygenated blood with deoxygenated blood resulting an oxygen deprivation to the body tissues. Atrial septal defect During the normal heart developement Interatrial Septum  which separates the left and right atriums is open throughout the fetal stage to avoid the lungs that are not functioning. The placenta supplies the oxygenated blood. But it supposed to be closed after birth when the pulmonary circulatory pressure is reduced. Some literature reported the prevalence of open atrial septum upto to 25%. However the symptoms are absent or not significant for most of the affected individuals and some will never be diagnosed. Place and the size of the opening determine the severity of the symptoms (Kumar, 2007). Common symptoms are blue color of the extremities or cyanosis, breathing difficulties, murmur or additional sound of the heart, growth retardation and difficulty of feeding. This can be diagnosed during fetal development by ultrasound scan. Echocardiography, auscultation and Electrocardiogram or ECG can be used to identify the defect after the birth. The defect can be corrected surgically and the decision of the surgical correction depends on the severity of the symptoms and size. Currently two correction methods are been practiced. The catheter correction is the less invasive method. During the catheter correction a small catheter is inserted in to a vein in the upper thigh under the anesthesia or sedation. The catheter carries a septal  occluder device which can be placed at the septal opening. Once the occluder device is positioned correctly the catheter is removed. The heart tiss ues start to grow around and on the device. This procedure is being practiced from early 90s and known to have less complications and minimum surgical mortality. However all the septal defects cannot be treated by catheter procedure and require a surgery (Squatting, 2002). Open heart surgery This is the most common corrective procedure practiced to correct Septal defect. None like catheter procedure

Economy through US History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economy through US History - Essay Example In fact, in such economies the country’s economic activities depend entirely on the decisions made by the government. For market economies, the supply and demand curves determine the shape that markets will take. Analysts that advocate for market economies argue that market economies are the best for thriving of successful economies. Market economies also work on the assumption that the government does not contribute to well being of the common citizen. It is the responsibility of the citizens to fix prices for their goods, subsidize industries, as well as authorize quotas. Though majority of the countries are characterized by mixed economies, it is evident that citizens have always advocated for a chance to regulate their own economies. In as much, market economies are considered the best in the global world, debates keep raging on how much the government has to do in order to have well-organized economic operations. Over the years, Americans have been on toes in an attempt t o attain a balance between government regulation of the economy and the individuals to make their own economic decisions. This essay shall trace the events and measures that took shape in America to the point whereby individuals were able to make their own economic decisions. In the primordial years, American history was characterized by less involvement of the government in business sectors, especially the private sector. The transportation sector is one of the major economic sectors that did not enjoy less government intervention. This phase of the economy was referred to as the laissez faire phase. Kuttner (220) argues that laissez faire traces its roots to the 18th century, a move that strongly resisted intervention of the government in businesses. This phase worked on the assumption of ‘let it be’, with championing of proper wages and duties for workers. At this time, it was generally accepted that the government had no role to play in restrictions on trade. The go vernment’s role was to ensure that regulations and rules were maintained in the business environment. By 19th century, the notion of laissez faire began transforming. This phase was characterized by small entrepreneurs’ business owners seeking for government interventions in their businesses. As time progressed, majority of these business owners, labor unions and firms were in a dire need for government representation. This move came up as a result of rising rate of uncertainties by the business owners on the movements that were supposedly out for their aid. Kuttner (101) argues that it is at this point that this group of progressives needed support by the government, in terms of business regulation, for free and fair markets. By 1930, the advent of the New Deal was taking shape in America. This phase was characterized by government intervention in the market economies. It was due to public demand that the government had to take control of its business sector, lest a n ew form of rule take over the entire system. It was during this stage that the state was going through massive economic disruptions and destructions that led to the need for immediate action to alleviate the crisis. The state was experiencing what was to be termed as the Great Depression. Murray (76) argues that, at this time the economic state of America was totally dislocated

Analysis of the Kurt Vonnegut and Margaret Atwoods stories Essay

Analysis of the Kurt Vonnegut and Margaret Atwoods stories - Essay Example Although many of us uphold equality as an undeniable human right, the majority have their own subjective idea of what equality means. Prior to reading Vonnegut's story, I believed that I supported equality as a principle but never considered what type of equality I believed in. Following my reading, I discovered that I believed in equality before the law and equality of opportunity but, definitely do not support economic equality and equality of capacities. Economic equality entails denying people their right to succeed, just as equality of capacities ensures that people cannot strive to become all that they can be. Accordingly, I cannot support absolute equality although I most definitely do believe in the fundamental equality of all before the law. The equality to which I am committed is an equality of opportunity as would allow people to fulfill their ambitions and realize their potentials. As I am writing this, however, I cannot help but think of Atwood's story and the simple and absolute truth it conveys. That truth is that in the end, we are all going to die.

Ethical Lens Essay Example for Free

Ethical Lens Essay My personal ethical viewpoint is that I like to weigh out the pros and cons of any situation. Also I believe in fairness and being open-minded. This allows me to look at other people point of views, than I am able to come up with some kind of solution to the subject, topic, or problem. After using the Ethical Lens Inventory, my result indicates that my preferred ethical lens is the Reputation Lens. The Reputation Lens defines â€Å"consistent with the habitual development of sound character traits including habits of thoughtful reflections, good intentions and noble human virtues. † The values that take place in this lens are integrity, justice, courage, and civility. My blind spot consist of â€Å"Unrealistic Role Expectations.† When I am given a task or a job, I try to achieve this goal to the best of my ability. It includes me being very disciplined, loyal, honest, and fair. The fact that I believe that a consistent process results in a just outcome for all, I sometimes trust the process too much. Also I tend to forget that unequal access gives rise to unjust outcomes, even when the process itself is fair. My Strengths are I am compassionate, tolerant, good-natured, considerate, and strong-willed. I am an individual who respects humanity and the rights of others. I am an optimist, generous, adaptable, and a leader. I want to do what is right and what is fair. My weaknesses are I am not good in math, I can use a little more practice with my spelling, grammar, punctuation. Also I am a perfectionist; this can be good and bad in some situations. I tend to come down on myself pretty hard when I do not live up to my expectations. My other weakness shows when I become self-righteous. When I lose my compassion, it can be a bad day for those who are close to me. I value â€Å"rationality and sensibility equally.† Also I value loyalty, honesty, and having a since of purpose in life. Having a clear understanding of why I value these things in my life is vital to me. This can result in good behavior for me in my courses, family, friends, and my career. When using my personal ethics to determine a course of action, this can allow me to have a positive outcome, by being honest, fair, loyal, and being open-minded. Also this can enhance the chances for me to have a better course of action I can take to be able to excel in everything I try to accomplish.

Assessment and process of medical education

Assessment and process of medical education Assessment plays an important role in the process of medical education as it is an effective tool which detect quality in students training to motivate and direct them to what they must learn(1). Assessment drives learning this statement focus on the essential role of assessment as well planned and implemented assessment has an important steering effect on learning because it transfers what is important to learn and motivate students for learning(2). Many people argued that as the curriculum should be the key which motivate learning while assessment should be designed to be sure that learning outcomes have occurred, So assessment tool must has clarity of the learning purpose and must be designed to drive educational intent and maximize learning(3). Constructive alignment is an important influential idea in which the students construct meaning from related learning activities and teachers apply learning environment which support planned learning activities to achieve the intended learning outcomes(4). So constructive alignment makes the teaching systems consistent when curriculum, learning activities and assessment methods are aligned with intended learning outcomes(5) . Moreover, assessment may reveal learning outcome which isnt expected but it is recognized as important outcome, so it must be integrated into the intended learning outcome as emergent outcome(6). Formative assessment promotes deeper learning as it provides students with feedback to encourage them to know their strength and weakness which reinforce students internal motivation to learn and improve their knowledge and skills(7). Summative assessment is a final assessment which determine the rank-order students and decide grades(1). Wass et al(7) argued superficial learning which aim mainly on passing the examination and they emphasized on the importance of feedback on students assessment which encourage student reflection and deep learning. However, Epstein(8) showed that summative assessment influence learning even in the absence of feedback as students study what they expect to be tested on. Although formative and summative assessment are stark in contrast, they are both necessary and distinction between them should be made to detect which assessment is suitable only for formative use or have sufficient rigorous for summative use(7). Van der Vleuten and Schuwirth(9) emphasize d that formative and summative assessment can be used with little difference with focusing on the development of comprehensive assessment programme in which both encourage learning and right decision about learners. I will focus my writing on written assessment as I am involved in assessing written examination of MSc of Radiology scince 5 years. According to Miller pyramid we use written assessment to assess the domain of cognition, either factual recall of knowledge knows or application of knowledge and problem solving knows how. We use written assessment in the form of essays and multiple choice questions in formative assessment of the residents and in summative assessment of final exam. Our final written exam formed of two papers of essays, each one formed of four essay questions with three hours duration for each, and third paper of 20 multiple choice questions with one hour duration. When we prepare a written exam we identify the level of residents training to apply test which assess knowledge appropriate to students experience. Essay questions are effective method for assessing cognitive skills as they can assess ability of students to form answer and measure their attitude and opinions, also they can give students effective feedback on their learning(10,11). But it has the disadvantage of being time-consuming test to grade and its test doesnt cover a wide domain. Newble and Cannon(11) stated that essay is either extended response questions which are useful in assessing higher cognitive skills like analysis, synthesis , problem solving, and restricted response questions used for testing knowledge of lower level but it has the advantage of being more reliable as scoring variation can decreased with it. Epstein(8) stated that well structured essay with clear framework can eliminate cueing and maintain more cognitive process with context rich answers. We usually used extended response questions by which we assess students higher level of knowledge, but I think for improving essay test utility, we must make mix of the two essays types with using clear words on constructing questions like using describe, criticize and compare instead of discuss to direct students to desired answer, as I find some poor structured essay questions in our exam, for example discuss radiological imaging of breast mass which I can change it to be compare between ultrasoun d and mammography for differentiating breast mass. Van der vleuten(12) stated five criteria to assess assessment tool utility which are reliability, validity, educational impact, acceptability and cost effectiveness. Reliability measures consistency of the assessment test and it is often described as reliability per hour of testing time as time is a limiting factor during exam, so essays are low reliable than MCQ because it require longer time to answer(13). Schuwrith and Van der Vleuten(14) stated that inter-case correlation of different essays in certain test is low as the essays numbers which can be asked in a certain test is limited. Chase(15) stated that essay scoring is a complex process as it has many variables which are essay content, writer, rater and other colleague variability with their significant writing effect. The most important type of reliability for rater-type assessment is inter-rater reliability, single inter-rater reliability (which mean correlation between two raters) ranges from 0.3 to 0.8 as this depend on topic of the essay, the essay length, the rater experience and the level of rater training(16). But Munro(17) et al stated that single inter-rater reliability can be regularly obtained as 0.7 if there is continuous extensive rater training. On agreement with those authors about increasing inter-rater reliability we already use double markers for assessing essays question and the mean of their score is calculated to be the end score. Essays are poor objective test for assessing learning outcomes as there is variability in the assessment scores through different examiner with variation of perfect answer (18,19). Norman et al(20) stated that providing structured marking of the essay may improve its reliability but it may cause process trivialization. Schuwrith and Van der Vleuten(14) emphasized that using one marker for each essay for all students is more reliable than one marker for all essays of the same student. Davis(18) stated that using double marking for the same question is mandatory to reduce variation incidence between the markers. Beattie and James(21) suggested using checklist in marking essay to reduce subjectivity and improve objectivity of essay as it provides the examiner with key point of each item and its allocated marks. As mentioned before, double markers are applied in our radiology department for assessing each question but we dont use checklist in marking the essay question, so I think this m ake our examination less reliable with poor objectivity and we have to use checklist with specific marks on each part of the question. Validity is the ability of assessing method to measure what is purported to(19). The valid method will reflect what the students achieved from intended learning objectives of the course, so increasing the test item is essential for more valid test, therefore the validity of the essays is limited(6). Brown(22) advises using large numbers of short essays to improve its reliability and validity and to reduce sampling errors. However, Davis(18) argued that as this may cause more time consuming to mark. As we begin to apply a test blueprint to determine the main content of the test which must have high content validity to cover intended learning objectives, we have to use larger number of shorter essays to be eight to ten short essays instead of four long essays according to test blueprint. Van der Vleuten(23) stated that assessment methods should have content validity which must be designed and mapped on a blueprint. Modified essay questions was initially produced by the Royal College of General Practitioners in London and are widely used now(11). Davis(18) stated the importance of using context rich scenario which will direct the students to answer with precise data and increase exam reality. Schuwirth and Van der Vleuten(14) showed that written case-simulation essay appeared to be more valid as its questions focus on history taking, diagnosis, investigation and examination findings which are closely related to real practice. However Swanson et al (24) argued that as these essays arent suitable for assessing problem solving questions. Newble and Cannon(11) showed that certain skills is needed for constructing modified essay questions to avoid giving idea about answers of a previous question or punshing the student on question constructing error. Also, Schuwirth and Van der Vleuten(13) emphasized that considerable structure of essay question is necessary but over-structuring may lead to limited i ncrease in its reliability, As we use essays in both formative and summative assessment we have to use modified essays instead of traditional essays especially in resident formative assessment as we returned it to students with its model answer for discussing during the tutorial, as this will encourage student critical thinking and reflection, but also we must take training about constructing modified essay questions to avoid poor form which may cause assessment error. Schuwirth and Van der Vleuten(13) advised using essays in limited occasions when objective tests are not suitable, Objective written tests like short answer question, matching exercise and multiple choice questions ( MCQ) have the advantage of being economic, rapidly scoring, high reliable and evaluate the student in large content(25). There are two major format of MCQ which are True/False format and single best answer. True/False format can cover a broad amount of the topics and are easily marked but they mainly measure definitions and simple facts(26). Case and Swanson(27) explained why using True/False format is markedly reduced as it is not only difficult to construct but it mainly used to assess recalling of isolated fact to avoid ambiguous items, also they cant detect if the student who identify correctly the false statement knows the right answer or not. Another disadvantage of true/false format is their high probability of guessing(28). To overcome guessing, negative marking was achieved in which there is deducing marks for the wrong answer, but these may produce negative psychometric results(25). We sometimes use true/false format instead of single best answer, as we think it covers a broad items in the curriculum and can measure complex outcomes but we dont apply negative marking for MCQ correction as we think that is stressful to the students, also I have bad memory about using negative marking when I was medical student at 2nd year I got 19/50 in physiology MCQ test and this caused to me poor willingness to MCQ risk. When, I read carefully a previous exam of True/False format, unfortunately I find some unambiguous questions which may cause a critical failure for these questions. So I think we must limit using these types only for assessing definitions and facts identifications and apply other types of objective tests to avoid the guessing probability of true/false format. This is in agreement with Schuwrith et al(13) who stated that True/false questions are only suitable when the question purpose is to evaluate if the student is able to determine the correctness of hypothesis. MCQ are able to evaluate broad range of learning outcomes within a short time and limited human intervention, also they have low guessing probability with free question of ambiguity(29). In the tutorial of decembrer 2010, there is a debate about effect of MCQ guessing on test reliability, but I learn from the discussion an interesting concept which emphasized that guessing doesnt change test reliability as good student is a good guesser. For constructing good MCQ items it is essential to have a good idea about the content, study the objective of the assessment and apply high quality form for items writing(27). MCQ consist of stem and several options, stem is formed of sentence or question and may be accompanied by diagrams or tables, while the correct option is defined as keyed response and the wrong options are called distracters(29,30). Case and Swanson(27) stated that MCQ must be well structured to be simple, easily understood with using plausible distracters, also grammatical errors especially using negative and inaccurate words like never, sometimes, frequently and usually should be avoided as they may lead to examinees confusions(31). Lowe(32) stated that the useful distracters should demonstrate a misconception between the students about the right option, so writing many plausible distracters is a difficult part for MCQ construction with more time consuming. The flaws of writing distracters which include using more than correct answer, using all of the above or none of the above, or making the right option is the longest one should be avoided(33). MCQ reliability increase with removing non plausible distraction(34,35). Although we choose MCQ from question banks or MCQ books to reduce the examination preparation time , unfortunately I find many drawbacks in our last MCQ exam, firstly one question contains doubl e negatives, also in another question I find it was easily to eliminate some distracters, while other questions contain inaccurate words which are sometimes and always. So I think we must take care during choosing MCQ distracters which should appear to the students as a valid answer while it is incorrect, also we must avoid apparent incorrect or plain distracters. So, we need to take training courses for MCQ preparation and writing MCQ stems and distracters to avoid MCQ flaws and constructing good items. Collins(30) showed that MCQ have the disadvantage of being test knowledge recognition rather than constructing answer. Mcaleer(31) argued that as MCQ are an objective test which doesnt allow students the chance for giving additional information and doesnt apply examiner to put judgment on student answer quality. I agree with Mcaleer(31) as we use MCQ as an objective test to assess understanding knowledge of a broad range of learning objectives within a short time. Reliability is refered to reproducibility of the assessment score and it is expressed as a coefficient which range from 1 for perfect reliability and 0 for no reliability. MCQ are widely used due its high reliability which is attributed to its ability to assess broad amount of knowledge by providing large number of items which address areas of context specificity within a short time(7,30). Downing(36) stated that written test especially MCQ has high internal consistency reliability as the test score would be near the same if exam is repeated at later time. Van der vleuten and Schuwirth(9) showed that the predominant factor which affect reliability is domain as competence depend on context specificity. While McCoubrie(25) argued that and he stated that the assumption of MCQ as a reliable test is weak as they are only reliable because they maintain a time efficient test with wild sampling of topics. Van der vleuten and Schuwirth(9) stated that the reliability of MCQ test in one hour is 0.62 which is increased to 0.93 for four hours test due to using more items number. Wass etal(37) stated that for important exam in which stakes are high a high reliability of 0.8 or more is essential to determine pass-fail decision but for formative assessment lower reliability can be accepted. Our final MCQ exam contain 20 questions with examination time of one hour, s has low reliability due to small number of items within short time which miss many objectives of our curriculum, So I think we have to increase the question numbers to cover more knowledge of context specificity and consequentially increase the test time to improve the test reliability. A criticism of MCQ validity as it measures the factual knowledge and doesnt integrate skills, attitude and communication skills(25). Downing and Yudkowsky(38) emphasized that knowledge is the single best domain which determine expertise, so MCQ is a valid competence method which assess cognitive knowledge. Collins(30) stated that MCQ have a high validity if it represents a wide sample of content that serve the objective learning outcomes. However, Shumway and Harden(1) critic that as MCQ asses discrete superficial knowledge not deep understanding as they designed to detect what students know or dont know. Blooms taxonomy of educational objectives is a hierarchy of knowledge for different cognitive level which are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation(39). While educators simplified Blooms taxonomy into three levels which are knowledge recalling, comprehension and analysis, and problem solving(11). Case and Swanson(27) and Mcaleer(31) showed that well-structured MCQ can assess the taxonomic higher cognitive process like interpretation, application and analysis rather than assessing recalling of facts. Peitzman et al(40) argued that as they stated using higher-order MCQ doesnt improve MCQ validity but it makes them more real and acceptable to students and examiner. Also, Frederiksen(41) stated it is difficult to construct MCQ with rich context as item writers tend to escape from topics which cant be easily asked. In agreement with Case and Swanson(27) and Mcaleer(31), we try to choose MCQ level with different cognitive level, and when I revise our MCQ tests I find some questions which can assess recalling of knowledge(Q*) and other assess problem solving(Q**) for the same topic, example of this is: Q*:what is the effective measure which reduce radiation of CT chest? a-120 mA b-150 mA c-200 mA d-250 mA Q**:what of the following will reduce dose of radiation for CT chest? a-reducing mA from 250 to 150 b- reducing KVp from 160 to 120 c-reducing the pitch to be 1 instead of 2 d-reducing scanning time to be 1 instead of 2 Blueprint is an important powerful tool for integrated curriculum as it maintain assessing all its intended learning objectives.(42). Our faculty assessment centre members work in progress and they make many orientation about blueprint construction and its importance, also they asked all departments to finish their blueprint, but until now we evaluate our exams retrograde according to our ILOs, but unfortunately in some written exam we found that the items dont cover all topics of the curriculum and missed many ILOs, also in other written exam we find a focus on certain system rather than other systems which may produce bias of examination results as the questions sample doesnt represent a big domain of knowledge. So, I think we are urgently in need to use test blueprint which cover the learning objectives and assessing methods to identify the key topics which must be tested according to our objectives and determine the questions numbers according to their corresponding weight in the context. This is in agreement with Downing and Haladyna(43) who stated that blueprint reduce two validity threats which are under-sampling bias of the curriculum and constructing irrelevant items. Consequential validity is referred to the real impact of an assessment method on learning which appropriately drive students learning(25). Wass et al(7) stated that consequential validity refers to the educational consequence of the test as it produce the desired educational outcomes, which means that students should study subject rather than studying the test. Although consequential validity is an important process, it is ignored by many examiners(44). I think our written exam has significant educational impact on how our students study, as from my experience students study what they need to pass rather than studying the whole integrated information. To improve this, we have to use different forms of written assessment which must cover the important content of the curriculum, and it should be mixed with continuous formative assessment and feedback to steer our students to determine what they study and how they learn. This is in agreement with Van der Vleuten(12) who stated that asse ssment can drive learning through four ways: assessment content and structure, the question which asked and the frequency of repeated examination. Newble and cannon(11) advice using computerized optical mark reader to score and analyze MCQ tests as the computer programmed has the advantage of applying statistical data of the test which include reliability coefficient, standard deviation and test item analysis . In our exam we use a hand marking sheet of answers to correct MCQ. But recently our faculty bought a new computer machine for correcting the MCQ test, so we need to learn how to use it for interpreting the test information as these may help us to improve next exam. Shumway and Harden(1) emphasized that practicability of an assessment method depends on resources, expertise availability and their costs. Resource intensiveness is determined by cost of constructing and correcting the test items(45). Cost includes beginning and continuing resources which are needed for test implantation(1). Essay questions appear to be easily constructed items but specific answer key is needed which may cause more time-consuming for preparation(18). MCQ seem to be easy to grade especially with using computer machine but for good structured items more time is needed for construction(30). Shumway and Harden(1) stated that it is important to consider the relation between the assessment method cost and its benefit. Van der Vleuten(12) critics that as he considered investment in an assessment methods is an investment in teaching and learning process. I think we must take care about the criteria of each method and balanced them against each other as the outcome may change according to the assessment context specificity. Also, In agreement with Van der Vleuten, I think we must use different assessment tools especially for summative assessment for high stakes exam to obtain more reliable and valid assessment. Schuwirth et al(45) explained that students can answer correct MCQ by detecting the right answer but they arent able to answer it in the absence of MCQ options. Graber et al(46) explained the problematic effect of MCQ cueing which may cause diagnostic errors especially if diagnostic reasoning is assessed. Schuwirth et al(14) advise using extended matching items and short-answer question as they can reduce the cueing effect. Extended matching questions (EMQs) are good authentic test as they use real clinical scenario which need sufficient clinical knowledge and can test a wide range of topics for knowledge application and problem-solving ability like diagnosis, investigation and management(47). Beullens et al(48) emphasized that EMQs are able to assess extended learning and minimize recognition effect rather than memorizing facts which is needed for MCQ solving. McAleer(31) critics that as EMQs with its many different items and long list of suitable answers are difficult to construct. However, Schuwrith and Van der Vleuten(13) advice using EMQs as they are good reliable test with short time scoring. We dont have experience in EMQs, but after knowing its importance and its significant role for improving written assessment reliability, I think before applying this form we need training of how construct these questions and how practice them to avoid bad representation of some items. Short answer questions is an important assessing tool because they are objectively scored test as they need clear sets of answer with little guessing incidence(3). McAleer(31) critics that as he stated, although short answer questions are easy constructed item, it is used only to measure recalling of information as they cant measure complex learning outcomes like synthesis and information analysis. Epstein(8) stated that short answer questions can be used for summative and formative assessment but its reliability depend on mainly training the students how they answer these items. We dont apply short answer questions in our exam, but I think we can use in certain situation when we want to cover broad area of content and be sure that the students are able to supply an answer rather than choosing it from many options. Score determines the number of correct answers of an assessment but it doesnt represent the quality of students performance(49). Norcini(50) stated standard setting is the process by which pass mark of exam is determined to distinguish competent from non-competent students as it allows for variation according to the level of test difficulty. There are two types of standard setting: relative (Norm-refrenced) and absolute (criterion-refrenced) standard, in relative standard setting fixed number of students will pass the exam irrespective to their level of competence as it is related to peer performance and fixed percentage of success(50). In our faculty we use relative standard setting to select students with highest score for admission to postgraduate course when fixed number is determined. In the tutorial of , I gain a new information which is supposed from one of our peer who advice using relative standard setting for choosing lower achiever in formative assessment who need extra-training. Absolute standard setting is more suitable for competence test as accurate standard should be determined below which the candidate wouldnt be fit for particular purpose(7). Absolute standard setting may be test-centered method or examinee-centered method, in test-centered method (like Angoff method) the examiner evaluate every item to hypothetically determine how the candidate will get in each item(51). While in examinee-centered method (like contrast group method), panelists decide the pass score by detecting it on the score scale which should be most fit to the exam purpose(52). In our faculty we dont use any forms of standard setting as we use 60% as an ideal setting for pass/fail decision for all test types, But as we recently apply assessing centre in our faculty, I think we must use standard setting in our assessment, in my opinion I prefer applying modified Angoff method as an example of absolute standard setting as it is widely used in medical assessment and it can be used fo r many assessment types. This is in agreement of Smee and Black(53) who stated that modified Angoff method reduce the difficulties of traditional Angoff method ,for examlple the difficulty of detecting hypothetical borderline candidates in Angoff method which is facilitated by supplying the examiners with real test scores of previous assessment of the candidates. Norcini etal(50) stated that absolute standard setting is applied either as conjunctive or compensatory standard, In conjunctive standard the candidate must exceed each item separately to pass the total test, while in compensatory standard the test scoring permit the candidate to compensated poor performance in one item by high performance in another item. In our written assessment we use compensatory method in which the standard is achieved according to total test performance, but now I think we can use conjunctive method in assessing essay paper by which the candidates must pass each essay separately as this will improve their studying to pass in each item. Case and Swanson(27) stated that many medical schools provide their faculty with item analysis of their test before test results are announced by which a useful information about the quality of each item separately and the whole test quality are obtained. Items analysis will be valuable when it maintains effective feedback to test writers as this will improve their skills in further test construction, also it would be helpful in discarding poor items and detecting certain areas of the content which may need more clarity(30). Item difficulty is detected from the proportion of students who answered each item correctly, Items are considered difficult if 50% of students or less answered them correctly and low difficulty if 85% or above of students answer the item, while moderate difficulty which have 60-80% discriminating index are the most discriminating items(30). In the tutorial of December 2010, I gain an important information about the value of applying difficult items in the exam a s these will encourage students towards excellent and to study to get more marks, so I think we must apply certain percentage of difficult items in the exam to drive learning of our students. Item discrimination is determined by the difference of the percentage of correct response between two students group (top third and lower third) with discrimination ratio lie between +1 and -1 and acceptable index is in the range of -0.5 to +0.5(27). Good item has discrimination index closer to +1 as it can distinguish good student from poor one but if poor student can answer more item correctly than good students, this indicate negative discriminating item which should be excluded (30). Downing(36) emphasized that items of MCQ test represented sample of all questions which could be tested, so for test with good internal consistency the test score should be an indicator for the student score on any other set with relevant items. Although our faculty recently develop assessment centre, we dont apply item analysis to any exam, So I think before applying it, we are in need to orient our faculty members about the importance of item analysis and how we use its statistical data to detect c auses of low discriminations , discard poor question, and identify gaps in curriculum. Finally, we use written assessment to assess the major domain of cognition in its low level of knowledge recalling to its high level of knowledge application and problem solving, but as mentioned before, I think our written assessment has low reliability and validity as we use limited number of essay questions, and the percentage of essays marks are more than MCQ marks in our assessment, so we must apply using more objective tests of well structured MCQ, extended matching questions and short answer questions with more essays question especially modified essay, also we must determine the questions numbers according to their corresponding weight in the context and according to test blueprint, as these will facilitate sampling a broad range of relevant contents and constructs of our learning objectives. Although I finish my essay about written assessment, During studying this course I was interested in OSCE assessment and how apply it in our department, but I cant write about it as I dont have experience on applying it because we dont use it in clinical assessment and we use two long cases for applying report and ten short cases for radiological diagnosis for. Now I think we must apply using OSCE in our clinical assessment by using 10-20 stations, some of them are procedure stations like carrying ultrasound examination under observation and other pictorial stations on analyzing radiologic image like conventional, CT, MRI images, and answering context-rich questions related to images. Refrences Shumway JM, Harden RM. AMEE guide No 25: The assessment of learning outcomes for competent and reflective physician. Med Teach.2003;25:569-584. Wass V, Van der Vleuten C,Shatzer J,Jones R. Assessment of clinical competence. Lancet.2001;357:945-949. Dixon H.Candidates views of the MRCGP examination and its effect upon approaches to learning: a questionnaire stu

Biography of Dorothy Johnson Vaughan

Biography of Dorothy Johnson Vaughan Abstract This research paper explores the life and journey of how Dorothy Johnson Vaughan became a female African-American mathematician who worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics(NACA) in 1940-1970. A woman who excelled at the facility in many ways despite the fact that she was an African-American and a woman in the era of segregation between race and gender. Her excellence along with other African-Americans such as Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson are the reason for the achievements in the Space Race and bringing confidence back to Americas space program. She along with these two women are subject in the 2016 film Hidden Figures. Dorothy Johnson Vaughan was a mathematics teacher in the early 1940s. As an African-American and a woman, this was a significant role in American history considering both parts were put down in this era. She was the first of her kind to be promoted as a supervisor in NACAs (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) program, which is now called NASA. She became one of the most memorable figures along with other female African-American mathematicians who are the subject to a 2016 film Hidden Figures. On September 20,1910, Dorothy was born in Kansas City, Missouri; however, she also was raised in Morgantown, West Virginia. Her parents were Leonard and Anne Johnson. In 1925, she graduated from Beechurst High school and went straight to Wilberforce University in Ohio where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics. After college, she was accepted a position as a math teacher at Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia. In 1932, she married Howard Vaughan whom she had six children with. Their names areAnn, Maida, Leonard, Kenneth, Michael and Donald (Biography). This was her life for eleven years until she and her family moved to Newport News, Virginia to be employed as a mathematician at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. This was placed at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia where she thought would be just a temporary position. She was assigned to a segregated group that consisted of all African-Americans, called West Area Computers (Shetterly). This is where she also met Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson (the other subjects to the film Hidden Figures). She underwent working beneath the conditions of segregation with these women and many other African-Americans. Dorothy was appointed acting supervisor of the program in 1949, after the death of her manager and thus become the first African American woman to be promoted in the agency. It took two years for her to achieve permanent status in that position. After NACA became NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in 1958, she continued her work there. NASA, at the time, worked as a part in ending racial segregation at the facility. She also had to prepare for the introduction of machine computers in the early 1960s by teaching herself and her staff the programming language of FORTRAN (Melfi). In the last decade of her employment with NASA, she worked with Mary and Katherine on the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, which brought confidence back to Americas space program. She remained at NACA for twenty-eight years until such time as her retirement in 1971 at age 60. Dorothy died of natural causes at the age of ninety-eight on November 10, 2008, in her hometown of Hampton, Virginia (Biography). References Biography.com Editiors. (2016, November 14). Dorothy Johnson Vaughan. Retrieved fromhttp://www.biography.com/people/dorothy-johnson-vaughan-111416 Melfi, T. (Director). (2016). Hidden Figures [Motion picture]. USA: Fox 2000 Pictures, CherniEntertainment, Levantine Films,TSG Entertainment. Shetterly, M. L. (2016, December 1). Dorothy Vaughan Biography | NASA. Retrieved fromhttps://www.nasa.gov/content/dorothy-vaughan-biography

Problems about Scientific Explanation Essay -- Van Fraassen Scientific

Problems about Scientific Explanation Have you ever thought about the way your car works? The inner works of the engine, how does the fuel make it work, how does combustion lead to movement and is then passed to the wheels? If you have, what are you going to answer an 8-year-old kid when he asks: 'Why does the car move?'; Are you going to start explaining high school physics, mechanics, chemistry of combustion and the concept of friction? Or are you just going to say: 'Well, the car eats up gas, and that makes the engine move the wheels.'; Granted, the latter doesn't explain much about what a car is. But it answers the question by the kid's understanding, doesn't it? The question is answered, the kid is happy, and you did not have to spend a few weeks introducing what you just said. Some may argue that this is misleading, but despite the fact that when viewed generally, the simple answer might seem false or incomplete, in the context of the situation, it is quite adequate. That is what van Fraassen is trying to say with regard to scientific explanation. According to him, there are two problems about scientific explanation. Both are very easily seen in our example. The first is, when is something explained? Some argue that we should not explain a phenomenon unless we have the full, unifying, true-to-the-last-miniscule-detail explanation, which will also cover all the cases which correspond to our case, cases similar to our case, or distant variants of our case. In short, what they want is a theory of everything, which in itself is a noble goal, but is hardy achievable. Let's face it, everything in our universe is connected in one way or another, or through one another, to everything else in it. A man bears definite connection to, for instance, 'gas giant'; type of planets. A reason for that could be, for example, that both share some mutual chemical elements. Does that mean that same theory should apply to prediction of man's movement as to a gas giant movement? As ridiculous as it sounds, this type of proposition often arises in sci ence, though not as grotesque, but nevertheless as distant, for example, Theory of Relativity and the Quantum Theory. If a child would have been told to expect the same behavior from and ant and from and elephant, he would be quite confused. How do we then expect gigantic objects to obey the same rules as microscopic ones? W... ...yone would go into the chemical components causing the green color of the apple's skin, unless asked about it. Demonstrations, however, are proofs, and while also answering 'why'; questions, relate the causes to the essence of the phenomena, otherwise the proof is incomplete. A good example of this distinction would be the application of a simple logic rule (also known as De Morgan law), that (~A and ~B) is ~(A or B) and vice versa. We can say that ~(P and ~Q) is (~P or Q) because of De Morgan law, and that is sufficient for an explanation. Yet, if we were to rigorously demonstrate this without any initial assumptions, we would have to prove De Morgan law while at it, or our proof would be incomplete. To conclude, Van Fraassen's idea of explanation is that which has no place in purely theoretical science, as he rejects the truth of theories as well ass their appeal to essence. An explanation's domain, according to him, is to be adequate in the context chosen by pragmatic factors, which are derived from the 'why'; question the explanation is called to answer. Surely, van Fraassen would not doubt for a second what to answer the kid who asked what is the reason his car moves.

Values and Technology in Ibsens An Enemy of the People and Becketts Waiting for Godot :: comparison compare contrast essays

Values and Technology in Ibsen's An Enemy of the People and Beckett's Waiting for Godot Literature has been an outlet for authors to express the importance of human values to the literate public. However, even before a good majority of the general public was literate, there were people who learned various stories either from the bible, historical stories, etc. This gave the public a chance to see a story and take the different lessons out of the play. The public could decide whether or not to utilize the lessons in their daily lives. In two different plays ("An Enemy of the People" and "Waiting for Godot"), both authors develop very different societies that display different human values, different situations that one could face in his or her own life, and how technology has helped or hindered the new developing society of today. In Arthur Miller's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's play "An Enemy of the People," the Stockman Family is faced with many different difficult decisions to make. Dr. Stockman tests the water at a local therapeutic spa; however, when he gets the results back, no one cares to hear the truth. Dr. Stockman represents the importance of honesty in a job. Dr. Stockman has a wealth of knowledge about the chemistry and the bacteria that is causing illness to all of the people that visit this healing place. In contrast to Dr. Stockman, Peter Stockman, his brother, shows the possible corruption that can occur in positions of power. Peter Stockman ultimately shows disloyalty to his brother and is responsible for Dr. Stockman and his family's outcast and downfall. Peter Stockman is obsessed with how he is viewed in the townspeople's eyes, his re-election. This decision to betray his brother led to his nephews fighting at school, rocks being thrown into his family member's home, and possibly the death, even though it is not specifically stated in the play, of his own family members. Where is the line drawn for personal gain and happiness when it interferes with other people happiness and well being? Ibsen shows what can happen to someone (Dr. Stockman) if he is not aware of the opposing forces that are out in the world in many different forms (Peter Stockman). Ibsen shows the importance of compromise, honesty, teamwork, knowledge, and intelligence.

Army: Sociology and Team Leader

By Groves, Ian, L The importance of being on time and communication With leadership on the first level This paper will tell you why it is imperative to be timely and also to keep good communication with your leadership mainly at the first level. This paper is a result to not showing up on time to a formation, and failing to let someone know what was going on. So now this paper will explain the importance of the ways someone could prevent it from happening to them. Being late makes people look bad and reflects upon the people in charge of them.Leaders are in charge of making sure the people they are in charge of are doing the right thing at all times and keeping them squared away. It is very important and imperative that one be on time to formations, briefs and anything else they are scheduled to do that day because if someone misses a brief or meeting they could miss very important information, every mission has a starting point and if your higher-ups tell you that is when they want to get stuff started. If you’re late that could mean doing push-ups Also, if you’re too late for duty you’re considered AWOL (absent without leave).Usually one should try to be early because being early, is always better than being late, it also reflects positively on you as a person, on your team leader and anyone in charge of them because you are a reflection of your team leader and anything he teaches you. It makes you and them look and seem squared away and on their game and not a lazy unmotivated scum bag. So if you want to impress your upper chain of command it would be a good idea to be at least on time if not early. You’ll look good and impress people hopefully the right people.This paper will also tell you the importance and imperativeness of keeping good communication between you and your team leader at the first line level. â€Å"The purpose of communication is to create new or better awareness. Effective communication implies the clear expres sion of vision and values in order to more easily achieve your goals†, keeping a good communication with your team leader is kind of like being on time to a formation, you could miss important information that your team leader puts out, it could be vital information like when to show up for a formation or brief.All you had to do was contact your team leader before the formation time and tell him/her you were running late and none of this would have happened. You would still get in trouble for being late, but not to such a degree. Communication with leadership and being on time also goes further, even all the way to army values. â€Å"Army Values† is not merely a phrase for how members of the Army should act; they are who we are. We emulate the seven Army Values because they are the standard for behavior, not only in the Army, but in any ordered society†.Communication and loyalty is being faithful to your team leader and telling him what is going on. Trust and comm unication is like your team leader trusting you to communicate with him and you trusting that your team leader will communicate and get you all the information you need. On an important mission it is your duty to get important information to your team leader so that you can get a mission accomplished with as little or no casualties as possible. Respect and communication is having enough respect for your team leader to tell him what is going on because he wants to know what is going on and not telling him would be disrespectful.Well I feel I have got my point across with communication and the army values, there is timeliness and how it involves the army values, It is your duty to be on time because it could mean bad outcomes, imagine you were moving some medical supplies to people who needed it and you were too late. it could mean losing lives. Integrity and timeliness is having the integrity to tell your team leader if you’re running late and taking responsibility for being l ate. in this paper I have told you the importance of being on time and communication even at the lowest level.By telling you this information It should have helped in persuading you to be timely and communicate with others. in this paper there are quotes that have been cited for credibility. This is the importance of time management and communication mainly on the first line level. Communication is very important. Time management is very important. Always do the right thing Sources and citing’s . â€Å"The purpose of communication is to create new or better awareness. Effective communication implies the clear expression of vision and values in order to more easily achieve your goals† Pagonis, William G. lieutenant general â€Å"The Importance of Communication. †Ã‚  The Importance of Communication. Blackhawk Consulting Group, n. d. Web. 15 Sept. 2012. . . â€Å"Army Values† is not merely a phrase for how members of the Army should act; they are who we are. We emulate the seven Army Values because they are the standard for behavior, not only in the Army, but in any ordered society†. â€Å"TRADOC News Service. †Ã‚  TRADOC News Service. N. p. , 23 Mar. 2006. Web. 15 Sept. 2012 .

C.S. Lewis: “We have No ‘Right to Happiness” Essay

In the essay C.S. Lewis claims that we the mint at heart the public dont arrive the mature to joy. Now why would he reckon that we dont? Surely, we retain met tribe in our lifes here and there who we thought were either adroit or not. But does that basal in Lewis essay that since We gather in no business to bliss that every adept in the man is sm every in all(a)? Its ironic how nothing has changed in our floriculture since the time Lewis has wrote this short essay. I suppose that people be acquit it off how to be capable al star they just witness wish well they supposedly work a computable reason to not be satisfied with their lives. Society today gulls us brainwash thinking that we dont pass legion(predicate) adepts to do certain things at bottom our lives with all the music, media, and etcetera When in humans we do go for the right to arrive at a stand and construct our happiness be handed to. No one is to be felt like they keistert be happ y because I powerfully disagree on Lewis set break for his call in the essay We countenance no right to happiness because I know that based on peoples life can be entrap happiness in m all shipway whether they find happiness in life, creation rich, or applaud. Firstly, it just mutantny that people misconstrue themselves thinking that they go the right to do whatever makes them find happy. Even though, in the Declaration of liberty states that we ar all equal and have rights to do what makes us happy, but to be honest its just all lies. For instance, in school our opinions in company shouldnt affect our grades.That just shows you how the knowledge domain just wants you to feel unhappy and that you have no right to speak up your mind. In reality, we really dont have equalizes in our own rural ara which I feel its a shame because why doesnt the piece not want us to be happy? What we should have is balance in life in order to know what we know will make us happy. Th e major misunderstanding we the people have is thinking that we can steal, rape, murder people, and etc. Why? Because supposedly we can do whatever that makes us happy, despite the consequences? I feel like there should be limits when we talk about what can make us happy like doing the reform statute entitle instead of doing the bad deed thatisnt the right to happiness. We have to think of good deed brings good karma within in yourself and you will be realize the happiness you deserve. Secondly, I find it rightfully unfair how there are millionaires/celebrities who have all the money in the demesne and motionless arent happy with themselves. Personally, if I were them I would be running some with joy in my big handsome mansion that I bought. I mean if they deserved to be rich with so much money why not be happy?Therefore, you see celebrities overdosing themselves, and deglutition till they cant any more because they arent happy. For example, Brittany Murphy she died from an overdose with of course drug pills why? Honestly, we should all be grateful in the world that we have some sort of happiness to keep us alive because without it well all be weak. In addition, for the people who salute away their problems does it help? Yes, when youre drunk, but once youre sober once more the issue will forever and a day be there. Thus, we should always think twice sooner we act on whatever were doing. In reality, I truly cerebrate that the rich are more dismay then the people who arent rich. lawsuit being, because they know what it is to be thankful and fiendish no matter how richer or poorer. Lastly, when I read that in Lewis essay Mr. B wants to divorce his wife because he doesnt find her sexual attractive anymore. This return I put to last because its the number one topic that truly leads me crazy because I know manpower out there that actually do that to their dearest wives. Now, when it comes to happiness I always do remember in second base chanc e. Why couldnt Mr. B tell his wife Oh, honey deep you havent seem to cover about yourself why dont you treat yourself to the spa or get your hair done.I mean is it that hard to be honest with your love partner? Thats only if you believe in giving love one more try and know that you salve love him/her and would do anything to make it work. Therefore, thats why there are a lot of divorces in America deplorably to say. Couples forget the reason why they brutal in love with apiece former(a) from the very start and how great they apply to communicate together as a strong loving married couple. Its obvious that Mr. B was only lovingness about himself and not his wife. What I do know and I dont want to sound like Im a know-it-all but because I have family members/friends whos had that situation before get divorce for so many reasons that when devil people have long fixed happiness its not because they are exclusive but because they trust each other and also have loyalty, secure over themselves, fair-minded, and etc. Even though Lewis obtainable made Mr. B and his working girl bad in his essay verbalize that others should be happy by divorcing.Overall, as what Lewis wanted to make his readers point out that the word happiness is a adjoin of what we can earn only when our interests arent based on ourselves but others too. His title of the essay is just like a question Do you believe we have no right to happiness? Its a message that Lewis sends out to his readers like what do we believe that if we should have the right to be happy. Obviously, we all do have the right no one should feel neglected. Sadly, to say that there are still people today those think they are powerless and cant achieve anything. But I do strongly disagree on Lewis part for his title in the essay We have no right to happiness because I know that based on peoples life can be found happiness in many ways whether they find happiness in life, being rich, or love. Therefore, this topic is very fun and interesting to write about because everyone has their own opinions whether they believe or not that we should have the right to happiness its a very good argument.

Classroom Shortage Essay

IntroductionThis is an often business of most high schools. The numbers of students become big while the numbers of classrooms argon still the same. collectible to this situation, roughly students at the back are having some difficulties, they cannot concentrate to the discussion on that the teacher had watchful because they barely hear the lessons. The teachers also are having a tough time in balance formulation of all students so that some of the students could not have-to doe with to the topic.Most of the times, especially during afternoon, students are suffering from a hot weather because our school also unavoidably to enhance proper ventilations. Due to this problem, students cant focus in the lesson because sometimes they feel irritated. They are not able to learn in a congested classroom.Some of the students and teachers are pushed to study in the covered court or sometimes in the stage, because of this, they cannot concentrate to the discussion because they are distra cted by the students who passed by and who makes noises. And it is also the cause why students do not attend their class and just exhausted their time in the canteen. As we all experience because of the classroom shortage, our schedule is not well fixed.Pointing on this situation is a problem we need to fruit action. They lose the chance of the students to study comfortably without distractions and hindrances. We whitethorn get the high quality of education if they exit provide more classrooms to accommodate new students climax from other schools.

How to write an introduction for a dissertation?

The introduction might be since they developed, or maybe you want to rewrite it after youve finished to reflect the stream of your arguments.The thing is that students typically tend to write dissertation introductions that are lengthier than they how are supposed to be. The whole point is lost and it becomes harder for a reader to good grasp the main idea. Writing a very detailed introduction is another common problem. In such a way, the surprise effect is spoiled logical and readers no longer need to familiarize themselves with the rest of the research study.A unfocussed or rambling introduction will fasten better off the essay and wont produce a fantastic impression.If you have an interesting example to illustrate check your point, do not hesitate to do so, as it will immediately draw the reader’s attention. Then, proceed to describe the topic of your dissertation. Define the subject you want to research. worth Try to choose something unusual or under-researched.

Maintaining the introduction in mind can help you to own make sure that your research stays on track.Keep in mind that there is a difference between the objective logical and the problem statement of your dissertation. Use research questions to dwell upon the problem statement. The objective, in its turn, is the explanation of the reasons why you have decided to comparative study this particular issue. Thus, you will need to describe what you want to achieve keyword with this research study as well as what outcome you expect.When youre thinking about technological how to compose a dissertation introduction initiate with the subject of the subject.Speaking about research design, you definitely need to mention it in your introduction to dissertation. Provide a brief summary of it. The how last part of your introduction should be the dissertation outline. What you are supposed to do is to briefly describe how your dissertation is constructed.

It needs to be fascinating in order to arouse interest, and stand out.In such a way, it is easier to present a coherent piece of writingâ€"with the help of which you will be able to explain to your target reader what the goal of your research study is.Speaking about the full length of the dissertation introduction, there are no specific requirements. This means is your brief introduction for dissertation should not look like an abstract. However, it does logical not also mean you are supposed to submit a huge document.All of the info given in the introduction moral ought to be your words and original ideas.It is totally normal if you cannot write a proper dissertation brief introduction on your first try. It takes time, which is the reason why it is important not to stress out much about it. Take a break. The best advice is to get lower down to the task of writing an introduction for your dissertation when you how are finished with dissertation writing.

A few pages is plenty in composing the background info.Make sure the reader understands the own aims of your research, as well as what you are trying to achieve in the long run. The more you dwell upon all these aspects in your introduction, the easier it will be for readers to grasp your main idea. Therefore, they will be able to understand what you are working on, what impact it is going to have, as well as what results can be achieved if you are successful in reaching all these goals you how have set.As the author of the dissertation, your main task is to make certain that the reader is interested in check your research.Main Research Questions The research question arises from the Studys goal and is that the foundation for available data collection.Begin with outlining the main argument right away. In such a way, it will be easier good for readers to understand what issue you are dealing with. Then, dwell upon the methodology you have used. Explain what tools you have chosen and mention why you have decided to use those particular ones.

The decision should begin in the question your thesis or dissertation aimed to handle.Therefore, it is a great way to impress your target audience and motivate them to keep reading to find out more about the subject you have chosen to research. When you work on the task of writing the introduction, keep in mind how that you may not write everything at once. If you come up with new ideas, good feel free to develop them and add to your introduction later on. Make sure that the finished english version remains coherent.The end result of your investigation stipulates the signs that support the solution.Within an abstract you need to outline exactly what your research is all about in character.

Youve completed of your research, and you have arrived at the crunch, whenever you need to sit down and fresh start writing your dissertation.Studies dont have hypotheses.Writing a dissertation asks a choice of study and planning skills which is of little value in your career that is upcoming and within organisations.Attempt to restrict your acknowledgement dissertation to a page.