Teaching Active Listening in the Classroom

There is an emphasis on students developing speaking and listening skills in classrooms. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) promote the academic reasons for providing ample opportunities for students to take part in a variety of rich, structured conversations in order to build a foundation for college and career readiness. The CCSS suggest that speaking and listening be planned as part of a whole class, in small groups, and with a partner. But research shows that it is listening — really listening — to students that is critical to the student/teacher relationship. Knowing their teacher is interested in what they are saying makes students feel cared for and emotionally connected to their school. Since research shows that feeling connected is necessary for students motivation to learn, showing that teachers listen is important not only as a matter of kindness but also as a motivational strategy. It is easy to perform routine tasks while listening to students. In fact, at times teachers are evaluated for their multitasking ability. However, unless teachers appear to be completely focused on the student speaking, he or she is apt to think the teacher doesnt care about whats being said, or about them. Consequently, in addition to really listening to students, teachers must also show they are really listening. An effective way to demonstrate teacher attentiveness is to use active listening, a technique that can be used for: gaining self-understandingimproving relationshipsmaking people feel understoodmaking people feel cared formaking learning easier By using active listening with students, teachers build the relationship of trust and caring that is essential to student motivation. By teaching active listening, teachers help students overcome poor listening habits such as: dwelling on internal distractionsdeveloping a prejudice about the speaker  due to an early remark with which the listener disagreesfocusing on  the personal characteristics of the speaker or their poor delivery, which prevents understanding Since these poor listening habits interfere with classroom learning as well as interpersonal communication, learning active listening (specifically, the feedback step) may also improve students study skills. In the feedback step, the listener summarizes or paraphrases the speakers literal and implied message. For example, in the following dialogue, Para provides feedback to a student by guessing the students implied message and then asking for confirmation. Student: I dont like this school as much as my old one. People are not very nice.Para: You are unhappy at this school?Student: Yeah. I havent made any good friends. No one includes me.Para: You feel left out here?Student: Yeah. I wish I knew more people. Although some people recommend giving feedback with a statement rather than a question, the objective remains the same: to clarify either the factual and/or emotional content of the message. Through refining the listeners interpretation of the students statements, the speaker gains greater insight into their own feelings and may reap the benefits of catharsis. The speaker also knows the listener is really paying attention. At the same time, the listener improves their ability to focus on a speaker and to think about implied meanings.   Active Listening in the Classroom Although the feedback step is at the heart of active listening, take each of the following steps to be effective with this technique: Look at the person, and suspend other things you are doing.Listen not merely to the words, but the feeling content.Be sincerely interested in what the other person is talking about.Restate what the person said.Ask clarification questions.Be aware of your own feelings and existing opinions.If you have to state your views, say them only after you have listened. These steps, paraphrased from The  Self-Transformation  Series, Issue no. 13  are simple. However, becoming skilled in  active listening  requires considerable practice after the purpose and steps are thoroughly explained and examples are analyzed. Performing the steps effectively depends on giving appropriate feedback and sending appropriate verbal and non-verbal signals. Verbal Signals: Im listening cuesDisclosuresValidating statementsStatements of supportReflection/mirroring statements Non-Verbal Signals: Good eye contactFacial expressionsBody languageSilenceTouching Because most people are occasionally guilty of sending messages that interfere with communication, it should be especially helpful to review Gordons  12 Roadblocks to Communication. It is also possible to apply active learning for  problem behaviors  for a better classroom environment. Sources: Self-Transformation Series: Active Listening. Issue No. 13, Theosophical Society in the Philippines, 1995, Quezon City, Philippines.The Roadblocks to Communication. Gordon Training International, Solana Beach, California.

Understanding and Developing Essay - 1088 Words

Introduction From the time one is born, the infant begins to constantly change throughout his or her’s life. Human development occurs at different stages, throughout the life span. A child will experience many milestones from birth to toddlerhood, throughout early and middle childhood, and several theories for these milestones. Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, and Erik Erikson classify their different theories of the stages of life in three unique domains: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial/emotional. Infancy/Toddlerhood (0-3) and Domain Physical The physical domain of lifespan development is continually changing the human body physically throughout one’s life time. During the infancy and toddlerhood, these physical changes happen very†¦show more content†¦Brileigh, like any other child, would grab anything just to stick it in her mouth. This makes Freud’s oral stage theory true. Considering she has four older brothers that have many toys, it is hard to keep their belongings out of her mouth. Early Childhood (3-6) and Domain Cognitive Early childhood development seems to be one of the most favorite age groups (3-6) of a child for an adult. This is because the child is able to interact more with and adult, than before. It is also the favorite age group because the child is getting taller, filling out, and learning many new things. During the cognitive domain a child develops their memory, grasps new concepts, and makes decisions. Jean Piaget’s theory would be more equip for the cognitive domain. Piaget studied a child’s development of understanding by observing and talking to them, and managed to come up with four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor from birth through two years, pre–operational from two to seven years, concrete operational from seven to eleven years, and formal operational at eleven years and up (Papalia Feldman, 2012, p. 34). I was playing with another cousin of mine, who is three, and he wanted to play on my grandmot her’s walker. This was after Grayson, my cousin, saw me pushing his little sister back and forth on the walker. Once he noticed how I made the walker move and howShow MoreRelatedDeveloping Students Mathematical Understanding1354 Words   |  6 PagesDeveloping Students’ Mathematical Understanding a. Based on your analysis of the focus students’ work samples, write a targeted learning objective/goal for the students related to the area of struggle. [Using addition, students’ will be able to decompose numbers totaling 8,9,10 when a part of the whole is provided in a number bond] b. Describe the re-engagement lesson you designed to develop each focus student’s mathematical knowledge in relation to the targeted learning objective/goal. Your descriptionRead MoreDeveloping An Understanding Of Diabetes Care. 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Fear Free Essays

Fear is one of the leading reasons that influence people’s decision making in life. The dictionary defines fear as, â€Å"A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger†. This feeling, present in everyone’s life at some point, is more influential than one might think. We will write a custom essay sample on Fear or any similar topic only for you Order Now Everywhere in the world today people live in fear, whether it is terrorism, robbery or something as simple as criticism, this feeling of fear causes people to do unusual things. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, fear changes people’s reaction to events, affects a group of people differently from an individual, and controls the rumor â€Å"bin† that goes around their society. In The Crucible, fear was a weapon that was used by people to control and manipulate the citizen’s minds. People in this play had only one thing that they were afraid of: shame brought to their family’s name and punishment from a ruling authority, in this case court. For example, Reverend Parris, father of Betty, was holding back of telling the town citizens what was going on with his sick daughter. Parris feared how the citizens would react and take him down from the pedestal he stood on since witchcraft was still a possibility for his daughter’s obscure sickness. He could of told the people what was going on but, with fear, chose to change his reaction and not report it which came back to bite him in the rear. Fear, weather you disagree or not, affect a group of people differently from an individual. By doing so it makes people say things that are not true. When someone is told to confess or they will get hang or whipped to death, their fear of death pushes them to do whatever they can to avoid this consequence. As Elizabeth, Tituba, and Betty were into trouble from their superiors, they started lying by blurting out, â€Å"I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil! †, â€Å"I saw Goody Bibber with the Devil! †, and â€Å"I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil†, and putting those people’s lives in danger without them committing a sin. When a society’s heart and mind is filled with fear, gossip and rumors start flying through about one another and cause people to turn upon each other. In The Crucible, reverend Hale goes visits the Proctor family and informs them about the rumors and how Elizabeth Proctor’s name came up about witchcraft. Both reverend Hale and John Proctor were afraid to tell the courts people that all the gossip and rumors they heard was a hoax. They feared that for Elizabeth’s sake, they were going to get in trouble for letting out the thoughts on their minds and in the case the truth. Agree or disagree, fear is in everyday life and people can agree it’s happened to them one point in their lives. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, it happened to everybody and it gave citizens fear and changed people’s reaction to events, affected groups of people differently from an individual, and controlled the rumor â€Å"bin† that went around their society How to cite Fear, Essay examples

Legal Risk Management Construction Projects

Question: Discuss about the Legal Risk Managementfor Construction Projects. Answer: Introduction Construction projects are the major and leading part of industries. These projects need proper care and support from the government as well as the organization, which is involved in the construction. In the proposed project, the organization ORALLY ARCHITECTS have been appointed for the renovation of the building of the industry. This report deals with the scope of the proposed construction project along with the legislations that have to be considered for the project. The two form contracts have also been explained in the assignment that can be adopted for the completion of the project. The risks associated with the contracts have also been discussed. Scope of the Proposed Project The construction team from the inception of the project tends to provide delivery effort and cohesive planning to act on the behalf of the owner (Porwal and Hewage 2013). The management services of construction are divided into two major tiers. They are the pre-construction phase/planning design phase and the construction or delivery phase. In the first phase, the construction team is considered as the sounding boards of providing analyzing alternatives and information for both the architect and the owner. At this point, the assistance provided by the construction management team indulges many procedures such as providing the value cost analysis to the architect and the engineer, advising the construction methods to the owner, cost estimation and budgeting and establishment of operational procedures. This phase also includes the bid qualifying and assessment, awarding of the contracts and the contact review and execution phase. The space used, design, energy efficiency, mechanical sy stem, market value and structural integrity were evaluated in the first part itself. The second phase includes providing on-site administration, scheduling of the procedures, developing and maintaining the construction schedules and processing of the changes initiated by the owner. After these procedures, obtaining the building equipment of the owner, operating manuals and the warrant information are indulged. The zero punch lists is provided regarding the project. the reviewing was done in the second phase and it included cost vs. the budget, quality vs. workmanship review, change order summary and change order summary. Legislations Applicable to the Project There are various legislations associated with the proposed project. the legislations involved are mentioned below- The national construction code (NCC)- the NCC is an initiative taken by the council of Australian governments in order to incorporate all the on-site plumbing and building requirements in a single code. The minimum requirements for all the designs, performance and construction are set by the NCC throughout the country. This legislation can be applied in the proposed project as the project deals with the renovation of the industrial building and thus, designs are required for the same. The law can be applied in the building requirements and the designing phase. The Australian procurement and construction council- it is the peak council of Australia which is responsible for the procurement, asset management policy and construction policy of the country. There are 11 members in the council who manage the procurement, design and management phase. This law can be applied in the proposed project as the project deals with the construction work being done in the industry. In order for the project to proceed, the project needs to be approved form the council. Australian building codes board- this council is responsible for managing and developing of the uniform, building standards through the national construction code (NCC) and the national approach to the building codes. It also deals with the development of effective regulatory system. This law deals with the uniformity maintained by the engineers, architects and the workers of the system. This needs to be maintained in order to maintain the safety in the organization. The Australian Paint Approval Scheme (APAS) and Painting Contractor Certification Program (PCCP)- this legislation is responsible for providing accreditation and listing schemes for the industries responsible for coating. APAS tests and certifies paints and PCCP and certifies paint accredits painting contractors. This law can be applied in the painting sector of the proposed project as it can highlight each area of the industry according to their prone to danger and other factors. The Commercial Building disclosure- this act is responsible for the construction projects as the energy efficiency required for the proposed project is approved. This law applied when the commercial space for the office is 2000 square metres and is offered for sale or lease. Under this act, the list of people or sectors who gets affected by the project are listed. This law is mandatory to follow for the proposed project as the site has public road on both the sides. The Fair work building and construction- this legislation regulates the relation laws of the workplace in the construction and building industry by the means of advice, education and compliance activities. This act can be applied on the proposed project as the education of the architects have to be taken into consideration as the safety of the workers and the site depends on the skills of the architects. The advices of other engineers needs to be taken into account as these can help the business to evolve and get done properly. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme- this legislation provides needed information about NatHERS scheme, which estimates the potential thermal performance of residential buildings and ranks them accordingly. The ranking is done throughout the nation. This law can be proposed in the proposed construction project as the project deals with the construction work being done in the industry. The site has public road on both the sides. The your home- this legislation is a guide for the buildings, renovating and buyinh of homes and other industries. It provides a guideline to create an industry with its impact on the environment. According to this law, the building must be economical to run, adaptable to the changes taking place and healthier to work. This law can be applied to the proposed project as the industry needs to be adaptable with the changes taking place in the environment. The industry does not have to pose any harm to the surrounding environment. The competition and consumer act 2010- this act covers most of the market area. The relation between the wholesalers, suppliers, consumers and retailers is dealt under this act. The purpose of this act is enhancing the welfare of all the people of Australia by promoting competition and fair-trading. Provision of consumer protection is also indulged in the process. This act covers product labeling and safety, unfair market price, price monitoring and industry regulation. This act can be applied in the project in order to maintain the budget. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999- this act deals with the maintenance of environmental sustainability. This act needs to be applied in the proposed project as the industry needs to be adaptable with the changes taking place in the environment. The industry does not have to pose any harm to the surrounding environment. The Contracts The major Works Contract The Royal Australian Institute of Architects developed this contract. This contract is used for building the industries buildings. The variations associated with this contract are that maximum percentage of the contractors overhead and profit is nominated accordingly. The nominations are applied to the difference between the performance of the work and the provisional sum. If performance of the work cost exceeds the provisional sum, the percentage is added to the difference and the resultant is summed up with the contract sum. Risk The contract can fail to pay if rate of interest to be applied to outstanding payments are nominated in schedule. This can pose fatal result to the sites renovation as delay may be caused in the working procedure. The Australian Building Industry Contract This act was issued by the Department of Administrative Services. Some of the public work department in all the states uses the conditions. Here, the variations are valued by application of bill or the scheduled rates. Percentage is not added here. Day work rates are applied and agreed charge to cover the overheads. Risk This contract fails if the rate of interest is not mentioned. This can pose fatal result to the sites renovation as delay may be caused in the working procedure. Thus, the owner and the engineers may face certain problems. Conclusion Hence, from the above discussion it can be concluded that Construction projects are the major and leading part of industries. These projects need proper care and support from the government as well as the organization, which is involved in the construction. Various legislations have to be taken in consideration while performing the proposed project. References Cao, D., Wang, G., Li, H., Skitmore, M., Huang, T. and Zhang, W., 2015. Practices and effectiveness of building information modelling in construction projects in China.Automation in Construction,49, pp.113-122. Fulford, R. and Standing, C., 2014. Construction industry productivity and the potential for collaborative practice.International Journal of Project Management,32(2), pp.315-326. Hwang, B.G., Zhao, X. and Toh, L.P., 2014. Risk management in small construction projects in Singapore: status, barriers and impact.International Journal of Project Management,32(1), pp.116-124. Kanamori, H., Rutala, W.A., Sickbert-Bennett, E.E. and Weber, D.J., 2015. Review of fungal outbreaks and infection prevention in healthcare settings during construction and renovation.Clinical Infectious Diseases, p.civ297. Ling, F.Y.Y., Ong, S.Y., Ke, Y., Wang, S. and Zou, P., 2014. Drivers and barriers to adopting relational contracting practices in public projects: Comparative study of Beijing and Sydney.International Journal of Project Management,32(2), pp.275-285. Osei-Kyei, R. and Chan, A.P., 2015. Review of studies on the Critical Success Factors for PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) projects from 1990 to 2013.International Journal of Project Management,33(6), pp.1335-1346. Porwal, A. and Hewage, K.N., 2013. Building Information Modeling (BIM) partnering framework for public construction projects.Automation in Construction,31, pp.204-214. Smith, P., 2014. BIM the 5D project cost manager.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,119, pp.475-484. Songhurst, B., 2014. LNG plant cost escalation.Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Taylan, O., Bafail, A.O., Abdulaal, R.M. and Kabli, M.R., 2014. Construction projects selection and risk assessment by fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS methodologies.Applied Soft Computing,17, pp.105-116. Zhang, X., Wu, Y., Shen, L. and Skitmore, M., 2014. A prototype system dynamic model for assessing the sustainability of construction projects.International Journal of Project Management,32(1), pp.66-76.

Benedict Arnold Life in the American Revolution essays

Benedict Arnold Life in the American Revolution essays Benedict Arnold: Life in the American Revolution On January 14, 1741, Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich, Connecticut. (B Arnold) Arnolds father, also named Benedict, had a drinking problem and his mother Hannah often worried. (B Arnold) Arnold received his schooling at Canterbury. (B Arnold) While away at school, a few of Arnolds siblings passed away from Yellow Fever. (B Arnold) Arnold was a troublesome kid that would try just about anything. (B Arnold) As a rebellious 14-year-old boy, he ran away from home to fight in the French and Indian War. (B Arnold) Later, Benedict Arnold deserted and returned home through the wilderness alone to work with his cousins. (B Arnold) The army had excused him without penalty because of his tender, young age. In 1762, when Benedict was just twenty-one years old, he went to New Haven, Connecticut where he managed a book and drug store and carried on trade with the West Indies. (B Arnold) In 1767, he married Margaret Mansfield, a daughter of a sheriff of New Haven County. (B Arnold) They had three sons together. (B Arnold) When the Revolutionary War was just beginning to break out, Benedict Arnold became a prosperous ship owner, merchant, and trader. (Lake Champlain) Within days, Arnold became very interested in the war once again and joined the American Army. All of the battles Arnold commanded over showed immense courage and bravery, but he was soon known as Americas greatest traitor due to his betrayal of As the Revolutionary War broke out, Benedict Arnold decided to volunteer to head over 1,000 men up to Maine. (Lake Champlain) He asked for additional men from his companies to join the army. Arnold then became a captain in the Connecticut Militia. General George Washington had his favorites, which Arnold was among the very few. (Macks 118) So, Benedict Arnold was sent on a infernal 500 mile march to Maine by Washi...

How to Write a Query Letter in 7 Steps

How to Write a Query Letter in 7 Steps How to Write a Query Letter in 7 Steps A starving writer stands in front of a mailbox, clutching a hefty brown envelope addressed to a publishing company. They say a prayer, push their manuscript in, and begin the long wait for a reply that could make or break their career. It's a romantic image, but most major publishers don't actually accept "unsolicited manuscripts" these days. If that writer were serious about being published, they’d first seek out an agent. And for that, they'd need a query letter. Ready to get an agent? Here's how to write a query letter in 7 steps With the help of our brand-new infographic, this post will show you how to write a query letter that gets results. Note: a lot of research needs to happen before you start querying agents. This article will focus on the query letter itself, and specifically, queries for fiction. You can learn about queries for non-fiction submissions in this post  and how to write a non-fiction book proposal right here. Writing an Effective Query Letter  A query letter is a note asking an agent if they’re interested in representing a book. Agents may receive a dozen or more queries a day - and might only sign four or five authors per year. So you can see how making a good first impression in your query is crucial. Now, there's no "standard" format that all authors use for their letters. However, a query is a business document and as such should look like a formal one-page business letter. Our one universal piece of advice about querying is to keep the letter short. Think 300 to 400 words at the very most. Many agents field queries using their phones, so think about how will your letter look on a small screen. Does it give the impression of being a huge wall of text, or a disjointed series of singles sentences? If so, revise to make it more concise, orderly, and organized. Without further ado, here’s how to write a query letter in 7 steps.Step 1: Capture the agent’s attention with your greetingâ€Å"Dear Ms. Tyler† That’s perfectly fine, assuming that the agent’s name is Tyler and she is, indeed, a woman. The following line should then make the agent prick up their ears. If you’ve published before, why not start with that? Also make sure to mention any critical recognition or awards you've received for your previous work.I’m seeking representation for my novel, The Bedlam Stacks.  This novel is the follow-up to The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, which was shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize, and a finalist for the Locust First Novel Prize in 2016.If you haven’t published before, another great way to start is with a personal connection.We met at last year’s Writer’s Digest Annual Conference and chatted briefly about your work with up-and-coming romance authors.Or, better yet, get a referral from an established author or a publishing insider.Jane Doe at Del Rey Books suggested that I contact you regarding representation for my debut science fiction novel, Arbormancer.Networking is crucial in publishing. â€Å"You want something that will bring the submission directly to the agent rather than an assistant or an intern,† says editor and former agent Fran Lebowitz. â€Å"Showing that you are connected never hurts.† If you have no connections to speak of, don’t panic; just jump straight into your pitch.I’m writing to seek representation for my 92,500-word debut thriller, Operation Kill.The title, genre, and word count: three key pieces of information are right there in your first sentence. With that out of the way, let’s really grab their attention!Tip: Always mention your genre, word count and target audience in your query.Step 2: Craft an irresistible hook"Sell the book, don’t apologize for it, and know how to condense its true meaning to a couple of sentences.†Ã‚   - Jonny Geller, CEO of Curtis Brown (John le Carrà ©, David Mitchell, Susanna Clarke)Within the first few pages of a novel, you need to make it impossible for readers to put your book down. In a query letter, you have to make do with just a few lines. This part of the letter is known as the hook. Your hook should show agents how your book is different from the thousands of others in your genre. It could be an awesome concept that makes the reader wonder why someone hasn’t thought of it before. Just look at the hook for Jeff Lindsay’s Darkly Dreaming Dexter:Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He’s a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likable: he only kills bad people.Another great hook might involve an intriguing central conflict, like the one in Stepheni e Meyers’ Twilight:About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him - and I didn’t know how potent that part might be -   that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.Not only does this introduce the genre and tone (dark paranormal romance), it sets up the narrator’s dilemma: she knows she’s in love with a man who might kill her. What will happen next? Is she walking into a trap? Will her love conquer the vampire’s bloodlust? Perfecting your hook might take days - but it’s the most important part of your pitch, hands down.

Talk about traffic jam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Talk about traffic jam - Essay Example It is therefore not surprising that one encounters overcrowding on the highways with frequent traffic snarls and impatient, honking drivers. Traffic jams have even resulted in the emergence of a totally new phenomenon called road rage. The burgeoning population and economic prosperity in the last century made possession of a personal car desirable as well as mandatory in the developed countries. Combined with the traffic load of public transport vehicles, bikes, heavy trucks of all shapes and sizes, a typical road now is a veritable zoo of metallic monsters. Traffic jams not only result in public inconvenience, but cause psychological distress as well. Such jams often result in great economic loss to the organizations’ whose deliveries are delayed, loss of reputation for professionals who are unable to attend fixed appointments, and sometimes critical delay in getting a grievously injured patient to the hospital. Finding a solution to the problem is not a new phenomenon, as administrators’ and engineers’ have tried multiple tricks up their sleeves to organize traffic conditions on city roads as well as trans-state/trans-national highways. Availability of new technology like computer controlled traffic signals, closed-circuit camera observation, regulation of traffic by traffic-marshals and channeling traffic according to shape, kind and size of vehicles have all been tried. Building new roads, multi-lane highways and flyovers are some of the time tested strategies but they have failed to ebb the flow of the ever-increasing traffic. The limiting factor is the burgeoning population and the thrust on pushing up sales of newer models of vehicles by the automobile manufacturers. Despite the looming fear of extinction of fossil fuels and their increasing prices, automobile manufacturers are coming up with vehicles which run on alternate sources of fuel to feed the consumer demand. It seems that

Disciplinary Literacies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Disciplinary Literacies - Research Paper Example ghlight how finance as a field provided a framework for explaining and solving economic issues and approaching problems in a systematic and efficient manner. The first is a scholarly paper entitled, The Role of Financial Innovations in the Current Global Financial Crisis written by Yoon-Shik Park. It was published in 2009 and was an immediate discourse of the global economic crisis that began two years earlier. The trade journal is entitled Prospects in the Global Financial crisis. Both of these articles revise how the financial crises are perceived. Being of scholarly extraction, it is mainly descriptive in nature, opting to use secondary sources or a wide array of prior literature and theorizing in order to depict the financial dilemma. The article introduced some sort of model to solve its identified problem. The writer directly stressed the need to address the issues of securitization and regulation to prevent a similar crisis from happening in the future. The author took pains in presenting empirical evidence, albeit all secondary, to support his positions. There was a good number of theories and statistical figures to support assertions. The revisionist argument centered on the need for financial innovations and reform. The trade journal article focused on a different angle of the financial crisis. It devoted a good amount of space and content on specific points that would appeal to its readers most. For example, it talked about the impact of the financial crisis on the Western market. It also outlined the likely short- and long-term effects on the Asia Pacific region. It has also proposed very specific solutions, according to specific stakeholder, such strict regulation so that the effects of crisis are either mitigated or diluted. The information provided seeks to revise regional attitudes towards the financial crisis. It cited that those less affected by the meltdown should not be content with the existing conditions that cushioned their economies but

Workplace drug testing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Workplace drug testing - Assignment Example According to the SAMSHA Office of Applied Studies, 8.4 % of the US workforce in 2007 were users of drugs and almost the same percent were reported heavy users of alcohol (cited in US DOL, 2010, p.2). The bottomline impact of such statistics is that the employee, his/ her co-workers and the business itself sustains losses as a result of a poor performance by a drug dependent. Therefore, there is a compelling reason to do drug testing like urinalysis or blood tests in order to deter and prevent substance abuse in workers, not just in public institutions but in all private and public businesses. Today, the law mandates that all companies dealing with the government should have a drug-free workplace (US DHHS, SAMSHA, 1994, p.1). Some states also have their own laws on drug testing, but the focus is on companies that deal with the State. I believe that a drug-free workplace program, i.e., urinalysis drug tests and blood tests, should be enforced on all workplaces regardless of public or private transactions with the government. Where substance abuse is deterred, employees who truly are under the influence will seek employment where such behaviour can be tolerated. Thus, the program will not be effective if there will be companies left that can tolerate substance abuse. According to Larson, et al. (2007), 90% of workers that are elicit drug users or alcohol abusers work for small and medium-sized businesses (cited in US DOL, 2010, p.2). Yet most of these businesses are not mandated, not organized and resourced enough to have a sustainable drug-free workplace programs. Since sm all businesses make up a significant part of the society, they should get all the help they can from the government, more so on the aspect of drug abuse enforcement. There is already an existing law on drug applicable to public institutions and to effectively combat drug abuse in society, this existing law on drug testing should just be expanded to

MRI for Diagnosis of Mycetoma or Madura Foot

MRI for Diagnosis of Mycetoma or Madura Foot â€Å"Dot in Circle† sign — a unique attribute of mycetoma foot on MRI: a report of two cases Aggarwal A, Gupta M, Patel B N, Patel S B Abstract Mycetoma or Madura Foot is a chronic localized granulomatous disease characterized by exuberant granulomatous tissue formation involving the subcutaneous plane. It is most common in tropical countries. Diagnosis has been traditionally done by microbiological culture and histopathological tissue diagnosis but these are often difficult to obtain and frequently inconclusive. MRI has recently emerged as a promising technique for early and prompt diagnosis of Mycetoma with the description of a highly specific sign called as â€Å"Dot in Circle† sign. We hereby present 2 cases showing this characteristic â€Å"Dot in circle† sign on MRI and thereby establishing the diagnosis of Madura Foot. Patient 1 A 52-year-old male farmer by occupation presented with a painless swelling involving the left foot, which had been operated on elsewhere two times. Previous reports of surgery were not available. Examination revealed a non tender, large swelling involving whole of the left foot and the ankle joint. It was associated with numerous chronic discharging sinuses. (Fig 1) General examination was unremarkable and the soft tissue was normal. Rotuine blood and biochemical investigations were also unremarkable. Plain radiograph revealed a soft tissue mass in the left foot with advanced bony destruction mainly involving the tarsal, metatarsals and phalanges without any calcification. MRI scan was performed to evaluate the disease further. MRI showed a soft tissue mass lesion, diffuse hyperintensity involving subcutaneous tissue, muscles, and intermuscular fascial planes. There were also multiple focal fluid collections seen in the fascial plane with ulceration of overlying skin. The mass demons trated characteristically conglomerate areas of multiple, inconspicuous, small 3–4 mm oval to round hyperintense lesions, which were separated by a low-signal-intensity rim in the subcutaneous plane of the dorsum of the foot. The centre of few of these lesions showed a small hypointense focus, resulting in the dot-in-circle sign (Figs. 2, 3). The underlying bones showed cortical erosions mainly involving the tarsal, metatarsals and phalanges. On the basis of the above clinical and radiological findings, a diagnosis of mycetoma foot was put forward. A biopsy was performed to confirm the diagnosis which revealed granulomatous inflammation and presence of eumycetoma (Fig. 4). Patient 2 A 37 year old male, complained of mass in the left foot for the past 2 years. Examination revealed multiple numerous discharging sinuses with skin ulcerations. The discharging sinuses did not contain any grains which is usually pathognomonic of Madura mycosis. Plain frontal radiograph of the left foot shows soft tissue mass with severe destruction of the bone along with a palisade type of periosteal reaction mainly involving the tarsals and metatarsals (Figs. 5). The patient underwent MRI for evaluation and extent of the disease. Similarly, the lesion showed marked inflammatory changes in the left foot with cortical erosion, with micro-abscesses formation. The characteristic dot in circle sign (Figs. 6) was described and diagnosis of mycetoma foot was made. The patient underwent an excision biopsy. Histopathology showed eumycetoma. Images Figure 2. T2-weighted axial MR cut sections  of the left foot shows extensive inflammatory  changes. Multiple hyperintense lesions which were small and round in shape and separated by tissue of low signal intensity  are noted. Some of these lesions (arrows) show a  central small focus of hypointensity, resulting in the characteristic  dot-in-circle sign. Figure 3 T2-weighted fat-saturated coronal MR image of  the left foot shows multiple microabscesses separated by  a low-intensity matrix seen posteriolaterally. Marked inflammatory changes with multiple fluid collections are noted in the fascial plane. Figure 4 Haematoxylin and Eosin( HE) : Fungal organisms  surrounded by granulation tissue. Figure 6 T2-weighted axial MR image  of the left foot shows extensive inflammatory  changes with cortical erosion. Multiple small spherical  hyper-intense lesions separated by tissue of low signal intensity  are noted. Some of these lesions show a  small foci of hypointensity centrally, resulting in the  dot-in-circle sign. Note the presence of multiple  microabscess. Discussion Madurai Mycosis is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by 2 group of organisms, the Eumyces which are also called as true fungi or eumycetoma, and the Actinomyces, which are the filamentous form also called as Actinomycetales or actinomycetoma. The disease was first described in the Madurai district in the state of Tamil Nadu, hence the eponym Madura foot. The infective organisms are normal inhabitants of the soil and cause infection by direct implantation into the skin, most commonly the foot in individuals walking bare foot. Patients classically present with multiple subcutaneous nodules which are characteristically painless. These may give rise to fistulae formation, often associated with a purulent discharge. The disease progresses slowly and over long term leads to abscess formation, sinus tracts, osteomyelitis, and fistula formation ultimately resulting in severe deformity and disability if treatment is not provided [4] . Histologically the disease is characterized by formation of so called ‘‘grains’’, which are found embedded in the abscesses. These grains are nothing but aggregates of the organism and are surrounded by extensive granulation tissue. Initially there is soft tissue swelling with induration which later progresses to form multiple discharging sinus with or without bone involvement. [5] Radiological investigations play a significant role in arriving at the diagnosis swiftly especially since tissue cultures are seldom diagnostic. Radiographs may be normal early in the disease process but later show varying degree of soft tissue swelling with destruction of the bone in form of sclerosis, cavity formation and classical palisade type of periosteal reaction. This is followed by expansion of the bone with scalloping of the cortex or osteoporosis. This condition mimics bacterial osteomyelitis but in mycetoma the bones are usually detsroyed from the outside, giving rise to characteristic â€Å"Moth eaten appearance†. [2] The â€Å"Dot in circle† sign has emerged has a highly specific sign for the diagnosis of this condition and is based on the understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease process. It reflects the unique pathological feature of mycetoma and consists of multiple small round hyperintense lesions of size measuring around 3-5 mm surrounded by a hypointense rim. The small hyperintense lesions represent the granulation tissue and the surrounding hypointense rim represents the intervening stroma having fibrous septations. The low-signal intensity dot in the centre is due to the presence of fungal grains which causes a susceptibility effect on MRI. This is a unique appearance and is easily recognisable in mycetoma. [1] This sign was proposed by Sarris et al. in 2003 on T2-weighted, STIR, and T1-weighted fat-saturated gadolinium enhanced images. Conclusion We conclude by saying that mycetoma is a severe debilitating disease with high morbidity. Until now the diagnosis of the disease was limited to clinical picture supplemented by biopsy and microbiological culture which were difficult to obtain and proved to be inconclusive in many cases. MRI has emerged as an excellent investigation in mycetoma and helps to arrive at the diagnosis much earlier in the course of disease thereby further helping in reducing the morbidity and rate of complications. Awareness of this characteristic sign is important in view of the scarcity of reports that describe it in the literature and with increasing use of MRI in the evaluation of soft tissue tumours. [3] Ref: S, Betty M, Manipadam MT, Cherian VM, Poonnoose PM, Oommen AT, et al. The â€Å"dot-in-circle† sign A characteristic MRI finding in mycetoma foot: A report of three cases.Br J Radiol.2009;82:662–5. Mycetoma revisited. Incidence of various radiographic signs. Abd El-Bagi ME, Fahal AH Saudi Med J. 2009 Apr; 30(4):529-33. Kumar J, Kumar A, Sethy P, Gupta S. The dot-in-circle sign of mycetoma on MRI.Diagn Interv Radiol.2007;13:193–5. Lewall DB, Ofole S, Bendl B. Mycetoma. Skeletal Radiol 1985; 14:257–262. Magana M. Mycetoma, some clinical and histopathological features.Turk J Dermatopathol.1994;3:94.

Could a Computer Feel Pain? :: Technology Feelings Papers

Could a Computer Feel Pain? I define pain as a continuously and purposely optimizing input to a feedback system. I proceed by clarifying and restricting the defining terms to the given context. I then prove the robustness of this definition by demonstrating its compatibility with a biologically-acceptable intuitive and philosophical viewpoint. I conclude that if a computational device were to be designed to meet the definition of the requirements for pain, the computer could be said, then, to feel pain. I further note this definition of pain does not completely integrate with higher-order life forms which are capable of beliefs and intentions which I label representations. I then conclude with a rough sketch of what the requirements would be to define a representational system for the purpose of understanding how a computer could have a mind akin to our own. Function A function maps a set of inputs to a single output. To see this, consider the definitions of "function" which follow. 5. Math. a. A variable so related to one another that for each value assumed by one there is a value determined for the other. b. A rule of correspondence between two sets such that there is a unique element in one set assigned to each element in the other. (Morris 1982:539) From the above, it becomes apparent that a function simply maps one set of points to another such as in the equation of line where we consider x to be the input and y to be the output: y is a function of x = f(x) = y = m*x + b. Note that we can remap the output to the input if we take x as a function of y = f(y) = x = ( y - b ) / m. If we examine definition b of "function", we note that, for each value in the input set x, there is one and only one corresponding value of the output y. Thus, the equation of a circle would not qualify as a function since for many values of x there are two values for y such as a point on the top of the circle and a point directly below on the bottom of the circle. A deterministic, or non-random, function will give the same output y every time a given input x is presented. That is, the input x completely "determines" the output y.