The Road to Happiness Bertrand Russell

George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan was first produced in New York City in 1923 and in London in 1924. Shaw published it with a long Preface in 1924. When word came out that Shaw, who was known as an irreverent jokester, was writing about a Christian saint and martyr, there were fears that he would not be able to produce something appropriate, but the early reception of the play was generally favorable, although some commentators criticized him for historical inaccuracy and for being too talky or comic. Over the years, the play, a rare tragic work in his generally comic oeuvre, has been seen as one of his greatest and most important. It has been hailed as being intellectually exciting and praised for dealing with important themes, such as nationalism, war, and the relation of the individual to society. The play solidified Shaw’s reputation as a major playwright and helped win him the Nobel Prize in 1925. Being at least in part a tragedy, though with comic moments, Saint Joan is part of a shift in Shaw’s work from his earlier optimistic comedies to a more melancholy attitude, perhaps in part the result of his reaction to World War I. Although he had been thinking about Joan of Arc as early as 1913, Shaw did not actually begin writing the play until 1923, three years after Joan’s canonization. He consulted many earlier works on Joan, including the transcripts of her trial. In fact, he modestly said that he had done little more than reproduce Joan’s own words as recorded in the transcripts; however, that statement is unfair to Shaw, who left a distinctive Shavian touch on the story of the martyred saint.

Carson Manor Essay

Three consulting groups had responded to a RFP Has to recommend a consultant by mid-December Carson Manor Was opened about 30 years ago for persons requiring nursing care. It has a bed capacity of 470 and staff totaled 235 with nonmanagement personnel unionized. The report structure: Purchasing and supply division (PSD) The PSD and its director had purchasing and disposal authority for the city’s engineering, fire, social services and so on. The main objective of the PSD was to respond to the needs of other departments and divisions for goods and services at minimum cost, consistent with desired quality, delivery timing and reliability. The Carson Manor study The Carson Manor had a history of problems related to budgeting and cost control City council felt the cost per bed higher than privately run institutions. The report for submission to the Carson Manor Committee of Man- agement in early June : Carson Manor costs were approximately 14% higher than state averages on a per-bed basis. It is difficult to measure and control costs in the absence of a patient classification system. It recommended an operational review by an outside agency and outlined some general guidelines and objectives. Council accepted the report’s recommendations and initiates an independent consultant’s study of Carson Manor. Three proposals: Patientcare Ltd. large operators of nursing homes $35000 Clarke-Hamilton Ltd. management consulting firm located 100 miles away. $47000 Standardcare Ltd. large operators of nursing homes $77000 BASIC ISSUES: Need Criteria in the Value Proposition Categories of Needs Repetitive or Non-repetitive Requirements Methods of Description Standardization & Simplification Risk management Tasks What does Elaine do? Questions for discussion: How does a supply professional know that a certain requirement is strategic? Actions: Results: Priorities: Satisfied the core need of Carson Manor Service quality Avoid supply interruption Reduce the cost Maintain the reputation Best Conclusion I recommend selecting the Standardcare’s proposal because its three characters, manage Henford Lodge 150-bed restorative care program, operational review of Martin Nursing Home and owns or manages 2,400 nursing home bed and units in this state and Florida, satisfied the core need of Carson Manor. And $1.1 million can be saved by selecting the Standardcare’s proposal. And Standardcare is a large operator of nursing homes but not too far away from Carson Manor.

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

Homeostasis - Essay Example A natural process in which certain characteristics are transmitted from parents to off springs. The transmission of these characteristics from parents to off springs depends on the genetic makeup of parents (Cummings,8). Any abnormality in the genetic machinery will lead to abnormal products and thus abnormal characteristics. Regarding the mode, in case of abnormality in the genetic machinery in the parents, the transmission of defeat is subject to abnormality in parents. Autosomal includes autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive. The second is dominant and recessive. Further these patterns of inheritance depends on the defective genetic material transmission through sex chromosomes. Autosomal chromosomes (each individual has 23 pair chromosomes, 22 pairs being autosomal and 1 pair of sex chromosome (Russo et.al,579). Trineucleotide repeat disorders: Most of these genetic disorders present in young and middle age individuals. Prognosis of individuals with genetic disease on the basis of age factor. The question that genetic diseases in young population are more lethal than being in elderly population, the aggressiveness of a genetic disease depends on the following factors,which will be even explained with examples. First is mode of inheritance. Second is age. Third is severity and nature of individual genetic disease. Fourth is Phenomenon of anticipation. Fifth is complications developed as a result of genetic diseases. Thalassemia, a blood disorder, in which there is a genetic defect and leads to abnormal gene formation resulting in an abnormal beta-Globin protein, a component of the oxygen carrying molecule hemoglobin. Depending on the number of genetic mutations, the corresponding number of globin chains are being abnormal, resulting in abnormal hemoglobin formation, ranging from a single globin gene

Statistics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Statistics - Assignment Example However, application of my learnt skills remains my greatest challenge yet. I shall endeavor to apply this knowledge as it is vital for my Masters degree in Nursing. Studying statistics has improved my outlook regarding various everyday issues. I am now able to analyze and interpret data, design and conduct observational and experimental studies, and to find patterns and draw conclusions. I have learnt to approach problems in an analytical way and to formulate theories and apply them to solve problems. Among my helpful resources were the course notes and class discussions. Furthermore You Tube and Live Binder came in handy for my studies. The book Mathematical Statistics with Applications (Seventh Edition) by Freund has been my great companion throughout the six weeks I was taking this course. My perception of statistics has metamorphosed significantly. I feel like an insider in the field I often considered alien. I see statistics as a way of life- for instance every day we compute averages, estimate missing data, seek to determine trend, and wish to make managerial decisions based on facts. Statistics has trained me organizational skills and instilled in me the ability to work methodically and accurately. If presented with a statistics related problem today, I can organize my work in a way that I can achieve the objective of the undertaking. Behind every successful decision, a statistical inference has to be reached. This underlines the essence of our accurately collecting, analyzing, interpreting and applying the results of the analysis

Genetic Modification of Human Beings is unaaceptable it strips the Research Paper

Genetic Modification of Human Beings is unaaceptable it strips the human race of individuality and human rights - Research Paper Example This takes place through manipulation of DNA in different ways to adjust to the intended purpose. This has made it possible to put traits of almost any organism (Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy 1). Most of the organisms are produced in large quantities after the process of transformation and improvement is done. On the other hand, the process has made it possible to create foods, pesticides, cells, tissues, and organs (Uzogara 180). The technique has been used mainly to change or alter the plants and animals we use today as food. On the other hand, there has been advancement of genetic modification in humans. In human, it is usually done to change non-functional or malfunctioning genes (Isasi, Nguyen and Knoppers 2). Moreover, such genes are manipulated or supplemented with health genes. In human, two categories of genetic modification are involved. These categories include somatic and germline modification (Isasi et al. 2). In somatic gene therapy, a gene or a gen e element is introduced into a tissue or organ in a human subject with the purpose of curing a disease (Isasi et al. 2). This process does not alter the genetic structure of future generations, as the altered genes do not exist in sexual eggs or sperms. On the other hand, there is germline gene therapy. This process involves the introduction of gene into germline cells (Isasi et al. 2). As a result, there is heritable changes and thus alters the resulting offspring (Gold and Carbone 1). For this reason, this technique has generated a serious debate due to its implementation in humans. Genetic Modification of Human Beings is unacceptable; it strips the human race of free choices, treats human as a commodity, loss of uniqueness and individuality, and leads to increased inequalities. Proofs Genetic modification leads to interference of freedom to make choices. This means that such person has no control making free choices in relation to the modified trait. This makes its inevitable for the person to avoid expressing such trait. The person who initiated the modification process controls the human future (Resnik and Vorhaus 5). For example, if the person is given the gene for specific skill such as football, he or she has no choice but to become a footballer. Moreover, the process limits the options of the person who is modified by limiting their scope of behaviors and life plans (Resnik and Vorhaus 5). This means that the life choices of such people are limited. For example, if there is a modification of a person height to increased height, such a person cannot become a jockey. Additionally, the person’s ability to make free choices is interfered with as the process increase parental expectations and demands (Resnik and Vorhaus 5). This means that their parents in a large percentage inherently limit their destiny. This is because such person life is artificially molded in the way that they could not have chosen (Seck 1). For example, a person with a gene fo r football talent will be under pressure from the parent to become a footballer. Secondly, genetic modification treats human as commodities. This is seen through children arising from the modification process. Such children are treated like products to be designed, perfected, manipulated, and controlled (Resnik and Vorhaus 8). This goes against the basic principle of having children as gifts. Therefore, the parents exercise control over their children to fulfill their own desires. The parent believes that this is possible through genetic control of their

VIVA examination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

VIVA examination - Essay Example In his statement, the defendant states that he is married and operates a business that employs two individuals. According to the witness statements document 3 and 4 the defendant did not resist arrest and complied with the arresting officers when he was arrested. When the defendant was granted the pre-charge bail, he did not abscond and willingly returned to the police station to be interviewed on the second occasion. From his antecedents it is also evident that the defendant was born in Lymeshire and has a permanent address. The defendant does not have any outstanding bail commitment and has not made attempt to return to The Void. The Bail Act 1976 provides that the court should presume that the defendant should be granted bail unless there are circumstances to justify refusal of bail. Part II of the act provides circumstances when the defendant need not be granted bail. These circumstances include where it is apparent to the court that the defendant failed to surrender to custody in accordance to bail conditions in a previous bail commitment. The court can also refuse to grant bail if it believes that the defendant was on bail when the offence was committed. Additionally, the court need not grant bail if it is satisfied that there are reasons to believe that the defendant would commit a crime while on bail, refuse to commit to custody, interfere with witness or obstruct justice. Furthermore, the court should not grant bail to the defendant if it is satisfied that the defendant should remain in custody for his own protection (Loveless, 2008). From the defendants statement of proof it is apparent that the defendant did not fail to surrender to custody in accordance to the conditions of the pre-charge bail. The defendant was not on bail when the alleged crime was committed. There is no evidence on record or reason to believe that the defendant would commit a crime while on bail. The defendant does not intend to refuse to commit to

ADA and OSHA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

ADA and OSHA - Essay Example Employers should review all existent policies on disabled employees and amend them to align with the ADAAA. This may require the employer to identify circumstances where the company denied a request for accommodation, or asserted that the worker is not disabled as per ADA. Supervisors and the HRM should be adequately trained in order to engage effectively with the detail-oriented interactive accommodation process mandated by ADAAA (Goren, 2010). Employers should be more flexible in implementing policies that pursue ADAAA broader coverage, and more relaxed standards for availing reasonable accommodations and reporting mechanisms. The aim of ergonomics is to minimize stress and eliminate injuries and disorders associated with the overuse of muscles and repeated tasks. OSHA should develop an ergonomic standard that responds effectively to occupational safety and health, and ensure that all business owners have implemented an ergonomics program to prevent or control injuries and illnesses through the elimination of, or reduction of worker’s exposure to musculoskeletal disorder risk factors (Twomey, 2010). The General Clause imposes an obligation to employers to provide workplaces free of recognized hazards by furnishing their employees with employment conditions that are free from probable hazards that might yield death or severe physical harm, whether or not there is an OSHA standard. According to the General Clause, employers must take all available abatement actions that are feasible to eliminate these hazards (Twomey, 2010). In instances where an employer fails to adhere to do this, OSHA can inspect and issue a citation as stipulated by the General Duty

Compare and differentiate the nature of the imagination in Tintern Essay

Compare and differentiate the nature of the imagination in Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth and Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Essay Example erences could be more marked that in Coleridges â€Å"Kubla Khan†, and Wordsworths â€Å"Tintern Abbey†, two poems that are as different in tone, subject matter, and treatment that it seems possible for two poems to be. â€Å"Kubla Khan† is an elaborate and sensual adventure, it is fantastical and a phonic treat, conjuring amazing, startling images in the minds eye and enacting this creation through the medium of sybaritic, mesmerising poetry. â€Å"Tintern Abbey†, on the other hand, written as it is in blank verse, is more austere and more consciously philosophical. Its dominant mode is not that of the image, but of thought, its rhythm more steady. These differences, albeit whilst they mask some similarities, are indicative of Wordsworth and Coleridges divergent understanding of the nature of the imagination. For a large part of the critical history of â€Å"Kubla Khan†, the poem has been considered as something slight, when it was published it was considered nothing more interesting that a nonsense poem. This reading is certainly a mistake and one made, I imagine, because of a misunderstanding of how to read the poem. It cannot be read, or at least to understand its significance it should not be read, on an ordinary level, for its word by word, phrase by phrase significances. Rather the very motion of the poem, its exaltation in creation is its sense; the poems means of creation is equal to what is created. In other words, the meaning of this imaginative poem, a poem that the imagination has slaved long over, is imagination itself. If we see the imagination at work as that which is represented in the poem, then we can also decipher precisely what the nature of imagination is in Coleridges conception. For example, in the very first stanza we see Kubla Khan â€Å"decree† his â€Å"stately pleasure dome† (2). Note that he decrees it, he does not decree that it be built. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, its construction begins: â€Å"So twice five miles of fertile ground /

Graphic Novel vs Movie Essay Example for Free

Graphic Novel vs Movie Essay Books that have become sources of scholarly learning have been categorized under these titles to make the field sound more appropriate than comic book, which could be mistakenly perceived by others as something that may be childish or adolescent. Such a thing would cost the literature its’ credibility and cause people to lose sight of what is really important, the content. So why is there such a sudden sense of acknowledgment on the academic end? This type of literature has never been sophisticatedly observed up until recent times. More and more complex stories have been using this form as their outlet. Reading and comprehending the world of comics has evolved into quite the mental task that is not as basic as pictures and words. Most graphic novels/narratives (GN) are basically composed of frames and gutters, which call reader’s attention visually and spatially to the act, process, and duration of interpretation. GN use the artwork to help narrate the story. This leaves an important part of translation up to the artist. GN offer an intricately layered narrative language (the language of comics) that include the verbal, the visual, and the way the two both interact on the page. The world of GN are so complex that books have been dedicated to understanding them. Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics(1993) was used as a medium for comics. It defined comics as â€Å"a medium using words and pictures for reproduction. † This guide may have proved useful before but now the field has evolved into longer more elaborate and complex books rather than your old traditional comics. Some of the more recent GN drawing attention include Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Both of which are written by Alan Moore who is recognized as a major graphic novelist of our time. In a interview Moore once stated about GN that â€Å"Its a marketing term that I never had any sympathy with. The term comic does just as well for me. † Alan Moore is recognized as one of the famous comic writers in the history of the genre. Few writers in the field can compare to his level of success. Moore was born in North Hampton, England on November 18th, 1953. He was also raised in North Hampton and still lives there to this day. Moore considers himself an â€Å"anarchist† and you see him express this in his writings. Moore is popular for creating alternate universes of actual history. He does this by placing several of his stories in alternate histories, meaning that many details to the time period are accurate, but some event has been changed. This is seen in Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Watchmen is set in an alternate history during the presidency of Richard Nixon. The story includes other altered historical events such as the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen alters history such that England landed on the moon in 1901. These alterations of history are one of the signatures Moore is most popular for. They often have political meanings behind them and are a way for Moore to subliminally express his own personal thoughts and feelings in his stories. His popular works also include From Hell, Swampthing, and V for Vendetta. Moore is such a distinguished writer that many of his works have been targeted for adaptation into film. Comics and GN have long been major targets for films. They are often very popular and draw a large fan base of readers that are eager to see a version of their favorite comic book characters brought to life. A major popular string has been categorized as â€Å"Superhero Films†. All these films are comic book adaptations onto the big screen. Some the pioneers of this type of film were the Adventures of Captain Marvel(1941), Batman (1943),Captain America(1948) and Superman (1948). This was just the first generation of comic adapted films. The trend would continue through the years. The decade where these films would pick up and become most popular in would be the 2000s. The list of adapted comics and GNs were endless. X-men(2000),Spider-Man(2002), Daredevil(2003),The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen(2003),Hulk(2003), Catwoman(2004), Hellboy (2004),Ghost Rider ( 2007),Iron Man (2008) and Watchmen(2009). Sequels to many of these would also come out after a successful first film. The decade of 2000 was a major generation for comic adaptation. Several of these were graphic novels. The biggest box office hits were the traditional Superhero films such as The Dark Night which brought in $533. 3 million dollars followed by the wall crawler in Spider-man which brought in $403 million. The films actually based off books categorized as graphic novels didn’t do so bad as well. Frank Miller’s 300 made number 10 on the list of the top 50 comic book movies in history by bringing in $210. 6 million. The very same director, Zack Snyder, whom directed 300 also directed Watchmen. In his second major adaptation of a graphic novel Snyder didn’t due to shabby, Watchmen brought in $107. 5 million and was considered to be a pretty true representation of the graphic novel (it’s was the original source). Other graphic novels that made it into the top 50 include Sin City, Hellboy, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and V for Vendetta. The latter two were both original works of Alan Moore. Alan Moore hasn’t exactly had the greatest history with directors, especially with the ones being paid to adapt his films. Whether the director of the film was very distinguished or even a fan of Moore’s work it did not gain him any more cooperation on Moore’s end in the adaptation to film. Zack Snyder who was both well distinguished and a fan of Moore’s mentioned in an interview about the making of Watchmen When I arrived to do the movie and I said to the producer So when do we call Alan and he said Never. He doesnt want to talk about it, Snyder said. Moore has refused to cooperate since he felt Hollywood butchered his last novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The film itself was a success and Moore was still left unsatisfied. Moore has had several conflicts with DC comics and Warner Bros. regarding the film adaptations of his novels. Moore refused to be associated with anything he did not write and told Warner Bros. to keep his name out of any of the films. During a press conference at Warner Bros. about the film adaptation of V for Vendetta producer Joel Silver said that Larry Wachowski had spoken to Moore about the film and that Moore was very interested in what he had to say. This was it for Moore and he asked that his name not be included with anything done in Hollywood. The film version of V for Vendetta opened in theatres on March 17, 2006. The film was directed by James McTeigue and its screenplay was written by the Wachowski Brothers who are well known for their work on The Matrix. Alan Moore was not credited in the movie as he wished. The film version contrasted to its original version in many ways. The film was not an exact translation of its graphic novel, but rather another version of the story with the same type of concept. Alan Moore’s GN was written as a political response to British Thacherism and set a conflict between a fascist state and anarchism. The screenplay written by the Wachowski Brothers kept the theme of the film as a political expression that also involved anarchy but chose to incorporate more current political issues in the film. The film involved many of the same characters and plots from the graphic novel. The actress cast in the role of Evey Hammond was Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving was chosen to play V. The graphic novel was set in the early 1990’s while the movie chose to set itself in the near future between the years of 2028 and 2038. That alone would leave many differences in setting and technology between the GN and film. My Analysis of the film†¦To be continued..

Cigarettes cause cancer Essay Example for Free

Cigarettes cause cancer Essay According to a study made by Centers for Disease Control in 2011 more deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.Last year Centers for Disease Control also reported that 1213 people in the United States die every day from smoking. According to National Cancer Institute in 2011 smoking causes an estimated 90% of all lung cancer deaths in men and around 80% of all lung cancer deaths in women. The purpose of this speech is to give the awareness of the effect of smoking.In this informative speech about smoking, Ill discuss what toxic substances cigarettes contain, Ill describe common symptoms related to smoking, and at last Ill inform you about diseases that are caused by smoking. Cigarettes contain toxic substances like nicotine, formaldehyde and arsenic. The nicotine in the cigarettes is the substance that causes an addiction over time.Cigarettes also contain formaldehyde, which turns into a gas whenever the cigarette lights and this gas are today used to preserve dead animals. Arsenic is a substance that probably some of you in here have heard about before, and it is used to kill rats. Only a dose of 0.15g of arsenic will kill a full grown person (CDC, 2011).Now you know about some of the toxic ingredients cigarettes contains I am now going to talk about some symptoms that result from cigarettes smoking. A common symptom caused by smoking is shortness of breath. It is caused by death of alveolus in the lungs, which are the structures of the lungs where the gas exchange of CO2 and O2 takes place.Another normal symptom is smoking cough, which occurs because cells of cilia in trachea either die or decrease their movement which causes particles to stay in the throat and causes irritation. After looking into common symptoms of smoking I am going to inform you about diseases that are caused by smoking.Did you know by being a non-smoker you decrease the risk as a men of developing lung cancer by 23 times and as a women by 13 times according to a study made my Centres of control disease last year. Cancer is an abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to spread (Medicinenet, 2011)According to Center of disease control the most deadly cancer is Lung and Bronchus in both men and women in the United States 2007. PICTUREThe deaths caused by lung and bronchus in Alabama are higher than the average state s value (CDC, 2007). In conclusion after you have been informed about  some of the toxic substances, common symptoms and diseases of smoking, you hopefully got a better understanding of the effects of being a smoker.Never forget that more than one thousand Americans stop smoking every day, by dying.

Crisis Management Plan Guidelines

Crisis Management Plan Guidelines Frances Roulet Introduction The ability of dealing with unexpected and sudden events that disturbs communities and changes in organization culture is known as crisis management. In recent years we have been able to palpate transboundary crisis, that have affected stakeholders in multiple forms. For example, the 2011 tsunami of Japan, which interrupted supply chain all over the world, especially in the automotive industry (Crandall, Parnell Spillan, 2010). This art of dealing with crisis requires skills and knowledge to organize stakeholders’ recovery. Crisis management prepares the person to develop skills in an unexpected and adverse circumstances within the organization of an emergency response with courage and determination. The coordination of the emergency responses to a broader incident that threatens to harm and destroy structures, ability to operate effectively and efficiently. The continuum evaluation of the planning and automatic incident response becomes a major part of the process in a crisis management plan. Organizational resources available in a crisis in Dominican Republic. According to Crandall, Parnell Spillan (2014) there are countries and cultures that are known as â€Å"crises-prepared†, because they have been able to train and support any crisis planning to overcome their weakness. The Dominican Republic is not the exception, when a crisis arises the community and Dominican Civil Defense are the first to respond to the emergency, as first responders. Nevertheless, not everyone is prepared to assist another person or assume a role of leadership in the process of an emergency crisis. The national emergency and communication system, known as the Center for Emergencies Operation, [COE], in its role of the leading agency nationwide in a crisis, and responding organization has been able to develop competence and abilities to assist potential crises and manage the ones that eventually occur. The Center for Emergencies Operation, [COE], is entitled to develop, review, implement and train personnel, volunteers and the community in reference to the national plan and management for emergencies nationwide. The Dominican Civil Defense, are the first responder to the scene of a natural disaster or crisis. This is one of the emergency groups, at least, most known in the country as trained first responders to any type of emergency. The Dominican Civil Defense began their community services as a group of volunteers to the community by providing communication services as radio amateur by 1963. Their first official support to the community was with Hurricane Flora, where they proved how they were effective in providing communication nationwide under an emergency disaster as a hurricane. The Dominican Red Cross allowed them to station their central communication within their center. By, 1966, the Dominican government enacted the Law 257, which created the Dominican Civil Defense as an official organism to assist emergencies. Therefore, becoming an official state institution under the umbrella of the Center of Emergencies Operation, COE. In September 22, 2002, the government enacted the Law 147-02 by which the risk management, became the official emergency governmental Agency in charge of developing the national emergency and communication plan along with its regulations. As general principles they abide by to protect, coordinate, participate, teach prevention and decentralize services. Their primary goal is to prevent or reduce loss of lives and minimize property damages of civilians and government from natural disasters or manmade disasters. The Dominican Civil Defense, is one the organisms under the umbrella of COE, as well as the Dominican Red Cross, Energy Conservation Department, Fire Department, Police Department, Dominican Port Authority, Health Department, Environment and Natural Resources Department, Dominican Seismological Institute, National Housing Department, among others, have been recognized as an emergency crisis team of technicians and professionals local, national and internationally for its work team on behalf of those in need and the community. In the case of the Dominican Civil Defense, their manpower is composed of 95% of constant trained volunteers, an executive director, an officer corps, and departmental managers who, according to their academic preparation begin working for the community and the benefit of the country. According to Treurniet, Van Buul-Besseling Wolbers (2012) the community may be defined as a group of people living in the same area and having a particular characteristics in common of being a human being. And as such, they will belong to different groups and communities, sharing their understanding of a true active community work, towards each other. By 2014, the Dominican Republic implemented for the first time in its history the services of 911. As one of the new emergency resource services center, its authorities in charge felt the need to educate massively the population about the use and benefits of 911. The communication strategy was massively used (television and radio) during the following two months prior to the activation of the 911 system nationwide. Pearson Mitroff (1993) expressed that there is a need of collaborating with the community, because it provides a sense of being part active within the community. Furthermore, they explained that the community can share their expectations, assessing their needs and goals of those who are needing assistance. In times of crisis, the knowledge of collaborating formally or informally with organizations in reaching one goal of helping out another person becomes a resilient behavior (James Gilliland, 2013). In the Dominican Republic, Center for Emergency and Communication Operations, [COE] would be similar in its function to what FEMA is in the United States. The Dominican Civil Defense is allocated under the umbrella of the COE. This Center would be part integral of the Crisis Management Team, CMT and the Crisis Management Plan, CMP. COE coordinates constant trainings with national and international agencies who are also dealing with emergencies and crisis in order to exchange experiences and train with new techniques. Today, the Dominican Civil Defense has become one of the institutions of the Government that has one of the best communication networks in the country after the Armed Forces. They have a communication system in the UHF band or ultra-high frequency recently installed, and a fleet system is national in scope, in addition to conventional phones. Currently, the Dominican Civil Defense has a radio station, which is the soul of the institution in crisis and emergencies that operate 24 hours a day and the 365 days of the year (Dominican Civil Defense, 2014). Crisis Theories. Theories make several assumptions in order to provide an explanation of a given situation. Several authors, such as James Gilliland (2013) explains that the Eclectic Crisis Intervention Theory entails an intentional and systematic selectively integrated valid concepts and strategies to help the victims from different approaches. This particular theory begins working as a task-oriented theory, instead of using concepts. Several major tasks identified in this theory are: Identify elements in all systems and to integrate them into an internally consistent whole providing a more accurate behavioral data to be explained. Consider all existent theories, methods, and standards for evaluating and manipulating clinical data according to the advanced knowledge of time and place. The need to identify with no specific theory, with an open mind and continuously experiment with those formulations and strategies that produce successful results. This particular theory integrates two pervasive themes. The first of those theme is that people and all crises are unique and distinctive, therefore can apply to anyone and any type of culture. Secondly, all people and all crises are similar. Hence, James Gilliland (2013) understands that these assumptions are seen as mutually exclusive. The eclectic approach, according to James Gilliland (2013) provide an opportunity to a number of approaches and theories, subsequently, it allows the opportunity of being able to assess the victim’s needs in order to apply and plan the appropriate techniques tailored to the person. The therapist, on the other hand, will be taking risks and will have the willingness to switch an approach to another technique even if the first had function. However, the Interpersonal theory in essence explains that people can not sustain a personal state of a crisis for very long, if they really believe in themselves and in others. Having confidence, the person will become self-actualized and overcome the crisis (James Gilliland, 2013). Crandall, Parnell Spillan (2014) explained that the fundamental goal of the crisis management team, CMT is to plan ahead for potential crises and manage those crises that eventually occur. Therefore, it will be looked upon in three aspects, crisis-response organizations and review their relationship between organizations. Ethical and legal challenges. Crandall, Parnell Spillan (2014) provided an understanding of the importance of ethical and legal responsibilities and challenges when dealing with organizations and their cultural barriers. The ethical culture of the organizations most of time is being blemished because of the unethical behavior performed by its employees, and regardless of their written code of ethics. For example, unrealistic goals of organizations, may lead employees to unrealistic decision making. Therefore, employees may feel, that they should incur in unethical behavior to obtain the goal by undermining organizational procedures (Crandall, Parnell Spillan, 2014). On the other hand, ethical standards are not considered to have legal weight only, according to James Gilliland (2013); even though these standards issues are focused more on guiding codes of conducts to the profession. Violation of these codes can and will lead any professional to be censure or may lose their license mandated by the profession’s ethics board. According to Reyes Jacobs (2006) explained that the process helps to ease and overcome multicultural barriers and challenges, such as, language, beliefs, logistics, and sustainability. Furthermore, it may reduce accusations of cultural insensitivity. An example of this may be consider when an organization does not belief in significant religious holidays, and their employees must present themselves to work, against their beliefs and the organization. Organizations must develop standard ethical conduct guidelines, which must implement ethics trainings in order to highlight ethical issues and how they may react to the crisis (Crandall, Parnell Spillan, 2014). Moral principles may have a vast and varied perception, organizations as well as first responders must be set aside their beliefs in order to reach and assist the crisis. Thus, encouraging coping behaviors consistent with the persons beliefs, and customs help ethics minorities understand the management and healing process (Reyes Jacobs, 2006). Throughout the process of crisis management and the first responders, becomes imperative to comprehend what their role is in this process in order to provide the appropriate social support to the organization and its personnel in need. In practice, according to Crandall, Parnell Spillan (2014) there are several suggestions or principles that may better ethical culture codes that can improve drastically the counselor performance when there are multicultural challenges or barriers when managing and responding to crises. One of these suggestions may avoid, when an unethical behavior is discovered. In this case, the organization must respond immediately to correct the situation and discipline the person responsible for the behavior incur against the ethical guidelines codes. Another suggestion to overcome behaviors that violate ethical, legal and multicultural challenges or barriers, is hiring a chief, officer or director of ethics. This person responsibilities as an officer, chief or director which would serve in top management or board of directors, who also will report to the maximum level of the organization whether this is a public or private one. This position will promote the ethical standards of the organization as well as its culture; ensuring the employees behavior along addressing their concerns and needs. In a similar situation, Crandall, Parnell Spillan (2014) suggested that managers, director or presidents should require to have realistic goals. These goals are well conceived, otherwise, unrealistic goals encourages unethical decision and therefore behavior among employees. Along this suggestion, top management or executive directors, may provide a hotline number and/or email in which employees have a person or department within their organization that they can trust and to whom they can report unethical behaviors or ethical violations maintain its confidentiality. This specific suggestion may help employees to report any type of unethical conduct that they or another employee may be facing. Finally, ethical issues arisen within organizations because of weak ethical norms or non-existent codes. The landscape survey of organizations and industries must identify and uncover ethical weaknesses which are feebleness points within the system. As a result, the organizations and industries need to promote ideas within to build an improved ethical atmosphere. Ultimately, the organizations and industries in their learning stages may promote improving the ethical performance throughout the experiences of specific crisis events. Description of a model to train counselors for a crisis. In November, 2014, Dominican Republic, felt for the first time a terrorist bomb attack in the capital city trolley. As it was expected reactions of confusion among the civilians was observed, but, security and police were also confused and terrified. This event could not be happening in this paradise island. There were two victims one female that her burns were moderate and was send home, and the other male victim, was sprayed with some type accelerant and he was severely burned, and did not make it. Police Department took over a day to determine what type of attack was it, until they established without no doubts that it was a terrorist bomb. The Police Department only communicated to the responsible person to give up himself because he was caught in the security camera; or else to abstain himself of what would happened if they go out in his search. Two days after the person responsible for the death of the civilian decided to give himself up and was immediately legally processed an d sentenced. He never gave a really reason of why he did the act. He received a sentence of 30 years in jail, without the possibility of parole. According to White, Mazerolle, Porter Chalk (2014) explained that comprehending the effectiveness of counter-terrorism efforts requires a conceptual framework for its intervention. The Australian National Counter-Terrorism Plan (NCTP) indicated that the framework establishes four categories of interventions: Legislative and Administrative, Prevention and Preparedness, Response and Recovery. All of these four categories use a theoretical different mechanism to have a reaction in pattern of terrorist activity. Today, definitively, the Dominican Republic need to train their first responders and therapist in case of another terrorist attack before the second leaves a worst outcome. Prevention and preparedness is a key in saving more lives, including those who arrive first to respond the attack. The crisis management plan should be evaluate at least twice a year adjusting to the possible changes in the environment and the level of knowledge of those directly involved in assisting the victims and the civilians that also need to be trained as they train anyone in case there is a fire. Who should they called? What should they do? Should they run, remain calm, or hide? Training becomes a major issue in the process of preparedness to survive. Authorities should be able to prepare civilians. Reference American Red Cross (2014). Retrieved on December 24, 2014, from http://www.redcross.org/find-your-local-chapter. Bà ¡ez, A. Valverde-Podestà ¡, A. (2001). Overview of the Dominican Red Cross Emergency and Relief Operations: Following Hurricane Georges. The Internet Journal of Rescue and Disaster Medicine, 3(1). Crandall, W., Parnell, J. A. Spillan, J. E. (2010). Crisis management: Leading in the new strategy landscape. (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, [CDC]. (2014). Center for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC 24/7 Savings Lives, Protecting People. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/ Dominican Civil Defense. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.defensacivil.gov.do/ Dominican Red Cross (2014). Retrieved on December 24, 2014, from http://www.caribbeanredcross.org/index.php/national-societies/dominican-republic Emergency Operation Center, (COE). (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.coe.gob.do/index.php?option=com_contentview=sectionlayout=blogid=2Itemid=42 James, R. K. Gilliland, B. E. (2013). Crisis intervention strategies (7th Edition). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cenegage Learning. Kozlowski, C. (2010). Crisis Management. 110(1): 1-2. London, UK. http://www.catlin.com Pearson, C. M. Mitroff, I.I. (1993). From crisis prone to crisis prepared: A framework for crisis management. Academy Manage Perspective, 7(1): 48-59. doi: 10.5465/AME.1993.9409142058 Reyes, G. Jacobs, G. (2006). Handbook of international disaster psychology. Volume 2. Connecticut, USA: Praeger Publishers. Treurniet, W., Van Buul-Besseling, K. Wolbers, J. (2012). Collaboration awareness a necessity in crisis response coordination. Proceedings of the 9th International ISCRAM Conference. Vancouver, Canada. http://www.iscramlive.org/ISCRAM2012/proceedings/248.pdf White, G., Mazerolle, L., Porter, M. D. Chalk, P. (2014). Modelling the effectiveness of counter-terrorism interventions. Australian Institute of Criminology. Trends issues in crime and criminal justice. 475.

Egypt : The People :: essays research papers

Egypt : The People Approximately 32,500,000 people live in Egypt. Peasant farmers called fellahin make up over 60 percent of the population. But less than 4 percent of Egypt's land is suitable for farming. Before the leaders of the 1952 revolution introduced land reform, less than 2 percent of the landowners owned half of the land available for farming. Most of the fellahin were tenants or owned very tiny farms. A man who owned 3 to 5 acres was considered well-off. Now no one is permitted to own more than 50 acres, and the average Egyptian farm is generally much smaller than that.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An Egyptian farmer's main tools are the hoe, a simple plow, and the sakia, or waterwheel. The fellah, his wife, and their children all work together in the fields. The dreary routine of their lives is relieved only on a few occasions-the group prayer in the mosques on Fridays, religious feasts, and family events such as weddings or the circumcisions of young boys.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A farmer's most valuable possession is the water buffalo, cow, or ox that helps him with the heavy farm work. The water buffalo or ox draws the plow, turns the waterwheel, and pulls the nowraj. The nowraj is a wooden platform mounted on four or five iron disks. The sharpened edges of the disks crush the stalks of wheat so that the grain can be separated from the chaff. The water buffalo or cow also supplies the fellah's family with milk and with calves that can be sold. Very often the fellah shares his house with his animals. This is unsanitary, but it is the farmer's preferred way of protecting them. The theft of an animal could mean economic catastrophe for the poor fellah.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fellah wears a loose, long cotton robe called a gallabiyea, loose cotton pants, and a wool cap, which he makes himself. For special events he makes a turban by folding a white sash around the cap. Flat, yellow slippers complete the fellah's outfit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fellah, the wife of the fellah, wears dresses with long sleeves and trailing flounces and a black veil, which she sometimes uses to cover her face. On market days and other special occasions the women wear earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. These ornaments are usually made of beads, silver, glass, copper, or gold. They make a pleasant musical sound as the fellah walks along the dusty lanes of the village.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most of Egypt's fellahin live in the villages along the Nile. The villages invariably look gray because the houses are whitewashed only for important events suck as weddings.

Rescue Of Susanna :: essays research papers

The Rescue of Susanna 								 In the story of Susanna in the New Testament of the Bible many valuable lessons are learned. The story begins by describing the wife of a man named Joakim, the beautiful Susanna. She had been taught according to the law of Moses and was very righteous. Because her husband was very rich the two elders who were appointed judges often were often there and anyone with a lawsuit came to them there. Susanna would spend the long afternoons in the large garden adjacent to the house. The two elders sometimes watched her and they both secretly began to desire her. Their minds turned from what was holy and they only thought of her. They later developed a plan so that they could lie with her, sneaking into the garden when she was bathing, they threatened to testify that there was a young man in there with her if she did not lie with them. Being the self respecting woman that she was she answered, "I am hemmed in on every side. For if I do this thing, it is death for me; and if I do not, I s hall not escape your hands. I choose not to do it and to fall into your hands, rather than to sin in the sight of the Lord." When the servants hear about this they are very surprised because nothing like this has ever been said of her before however they trust their elders and listen to them. As Susanna is being carried to her death God hears her prayers and aroused the hold spirit of a young lad named Daniel. Daniel pointed out the weaknesses in the two elder’s stories and the Jews rose against them. This story is memorable for several reasons. One is the fact that Susanna doesn’t give in to the elders’ requests even when they threatened her life and her reputation. She has impressive faith in God and trusts him to make everything right. Another reason this story is memorable is how Daniel risked his own life by standing up against the elders to defend a woman whom he did not even know. His faith in God is also very impressive. There are many lessons which can be taken from this story, some more obvious than others. One that plays an important role in our society today is the rule that one is innocent until proven guilty.

Plato and Aristotle on Knowledge Essay

The purpose of this paper is to explore Plato and Aristotle’s conceptions on knowledge, their understanding of the physical universe, and the suggestions that these beliefs conclusively made to the natural sciences. I shall do this by explaining Plato’s analysis of the nature of knowledge, and the role his proposed theory of forms plays in it. I will then go on to describe how this analysis applies to, and provides suggestions for, the methodology of science. This essay will then switch its focus to Aristotle, explore his views on motion, and describe how these represent a departure from Plato’s analyses. It will then conclude with the exploration of his understanding of motion, paying special attention to how it contributes to his understanding of the physical universe as a whole. First, I will address Plato’s interpretation of knowledge. Plato believed that true knowledge could only originate from reason, and that reason could only be derived from that which is unchanging. However, he noted that the sense experiences which our world provides us with go through constant changes, and therefore cannot be relied upon as sources of reason. He states in his novel Timaeus, that these types of things are â€Å"opined by opining accompanied by irrational sensation† (Plato, and Kalkavage 58). Plato argues that the only way to evaluate sensory information to obtain true knowledge is through the application and analysis of certain principles that are unchanging. These principles are what Plato refers to as forms. Because of their unchanging nature, Plato regarded these forms as being able to be â€Å"grasped by intellection accompanied by a rational account† (Plato, and Kalkavage 58), and therefore undoubtedly true He concluded that believing to know something from only sensory information is not equivalent to having true knowledge of that thing. However, if forms cannot be understood from sensory information, one may wonder how a person can begin to comprehend these forms if it is not through perceptions and experiences. To address this puzzle, Plato suggests that before we were born in the physical world, we existed in the realm of the ideal forms. It is there where our soul gained true knowledge. Therefore since â€Å"the soul is immortal and has been born many times† (Plato, Anastaplo, and Berns 17), true knowledge always lies within the soul and learning is simply a matter of recollecting what our souls learned before. Plato’s beliefs introduced a radical new way of thinking to natural scientists, specifically astronomers. His theory served as a warning to scientists that information derived from visual experience is not equivalent to having true knowledge of that thing. This is a revolutionary suggestion for the reliability of previous data collection methods, especially in the case of the conventional idea held in astronomy that knowledge could be derived from an expertise in visual observation of celestial motion. Plato gives two possible outcomes for scientists to consider when confronted with observational data. The first is to discern some unchanging, and therefore rational, mathematical structure within the data in order to obtain a true knowledge of what is seen. The second is to understand where irregularities in this data are too great to be able to discern any such mathematical structure. In this case Aristotle suggests that the data can only be thought of as simply a subject of reality, therefore unable to provide true knowledge. Next, I will explain Aristotle’s views of the nature of change, and how they represent a departure from the methodology of Plato. Unlike Plato’s theory of forms, in which forms are unchanging and absolute, Aristotle believed that most substances undergo change in some way. Also, when describing change, Plato only recognizes change in a pair of opposites, but Aristotle elaborates on this idea, and describes five necessary components for change. In Book V of Aristotle’s novel Physics, he explains that â€Å"there is something which initiates the change, and something which is changing, and again something in which the change takes place (the time); and apart from these, something from which and something to which† (62). In simpler terms, Aristotle believed that every change has the following: a cause, some starting point, something which the change acts on, some ending point, and some time in which it occurred. Aristotle also divided the different types of change he believed to occur into four different categories. The first being change in substance. This type of change encompasses transitions from existence to nonexistence, such as when something is born and when it dies. The second type of change that can occur is a change in quality, also known as an alteration. Hot food becoming cool or the change in color of fruit would be an example of this type. The third type of change is that of quantity. This often refers to the growth or diminishment of a certain object. For example, a toddler goes through a quantitative change during a growth spurt when he grows taller. Finally, the fourth type of change that Aristotle acknowledged is change of place, otherwise referred to as motion. Motion specifically played a large role in developing Aristotle’s overall understanding of the global features of the physical universe. Aristotle believed that knowledge came from understanding and being able to explain the causes which originated motion, or more generally change in itself. This presents the fact that Aristotle believed a physical explanation was necessary to obtain true knowledge, whereas Plato believed that true knowledge was not reliant on physical evidence. This led to Aristotle’s expansion of Plato’s geocentric model of the universe. Unlike Plato, who thought of it in geometric terms, Aristotle thought of this model as physically real and gave a physical explanation for it. According to Aristotle, all of the motion in this system originates in the outermost sphere. This motion is the ultimate cause of all motion in the universe. For this reason he calls the outermost sphere the prime mover. To conclude, in this paper we explored Plato’s analysis of the nature of knowledge, specifically recognizing the integral role his proposed theories of forms played in it. This provided us with the basis to understand Plato’s views on the unreliability of the information we perceive in physical world. We then examined how this analysis provided a radical new way of thinking about the reliability of information obtained by sensory observation. Next, we examined Aristotle’s views on the nature of change, emphasizing how his understanding represents a departure from Plato’s ideas. We then looked more specifically at one of his four proposed types of change: motion. We examined the role it played in not only in his theory that all motion originates from the outer sphere of the universe, but also in his overall understanding of the physical universe. Works Cited Aristotle, Philip H. Wicksteed, and Francis Macdonald Cornford. The Physics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1980. Print. Plato, and Peter Kalkavage. Plato’s Timaeus: Translation, Glossary, Appendices and Introductory Essay. Newburyport, MA: Focus Pub. /R. Pullins, 2001. Print. Plato, George Anastaplo, and Laurence Berns. Plato’s Meno. Newburyport, MA: Focus Pub. /R. Pullins, 2004. Print.

For What Reasons Did the Coalition Government Abolish Police Authorities in 2012? What Problems Do You Think Are Raised by the Introduction of Elected Police and Crime Commissioners?

For what reasons did the Coalition Government abolish police authorities in 2012? What problems do you think are raised by the introduction of elected Police and Crime Commissioners? This essays objective is to take into consideration the rationale of the Coalition governments’ decision to replace police authorities with elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC). A critique and a background of the police authorities operations will be discussed and evaluated. A brief history of policing before police authorities were established will also be explored.Furthermore, the reasons why there was a radical reform to PCC’s will be debated and the problems that may arise. Policing has always been a challenging issue and it most likely will always be challenging. Sir Robert Peel’s first principle of policing stated: â€Å"The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder† (Cited in Theresa, M 2010). There has been an attempt to always c ling onto this. The only difference is how certain authorities or political groups approach it. In the nineteenth century, autonomy and power were located within boroughs, locally.After a few attempts to try to centralise the police force and a few police corruption scandals which occurred in the 1950s, it was finally the time for the government to produce a centralised, professionalised group of senior police officers. In 1964, under the Police Act, these smaller, more manageable forces were to be known as â€Å"police authorities†. Their role was to ‘‘secure the maintenance and of an adequate and efficient police force for their area’’. (Citied in Williams, C 2003). However, the police authorities are now being replaced by elected PCCs.The main purpose of this reform is to restore the drive for local policing priorities and the public by leading engagement with local policing partners. This will boost the empowerment of local communities in crimina l justice affairs. Beginning with a little history of how and why police authorities were introduced. Throughout the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, police power was largely seen as a responsibility of local government, and police were controlled by the appropriate local institution.The policing were in the hands of the local government and the boroughs of England and Wales, by whom fiercely protected the police powers exercised by their elected watch committees. These powers were symbolic of the city's independence, and police forces were crucial exercisers of executive power locally, concerning poor relief, licensing laws, the regulation of the streets, and the imposition of morality on the community. The 1835 Municipal Corporations Act introduced democracy to the self-governing towns of England and Wales.The only compulsory statutory duty was to select a watch committee to run the police force. The self-governing towns can be described as self-confident, prosperou s and autonomous. . The committees had complete power over the activities and composition of their forces. (Citied in Brogden, M 1982). The government aimed at increasing centralisation within the police force but after a few attempts to intervene, they failed. The first attempt by the state to reduce the autonomy of the towns and cities came after the 1853 Select Committee on Police, which recommended extending compulsory police provision to all areas.The Home Office were under no doubt that, the most efficient way to run each force would be to put it ‘under the orders of Government. However, these recommendations from the Home Office had to be consulted with the opposition of the local government. In 1854 and 1856, the Home Office's attempts to pass police bills that limited the rights of boroughs to control their own police forces were defeated by the borough. The boroughs also had total autonomy and democratic control over operational decisions.The watch committees, meetin g weekly, had the power to hire and fire members of their forces and were prepared to exercise it. (Citied in Emsley, C 1996). Further action was done by the Labour representatives in the 1920s to gain centralisation. By 1939, Labour controlled 18 out of 83 county boroughs. The Home Office took increasing responsibility for producing a class of leaders for police forces, and thus intervened increasingly in matters of training, promotion and appointment. The Home Office also began to intervene more in the appointment of Chief Constables.The 1950s Whitehall introduced a policy of refusing to appoint any Chief Constable who had no experience in a different force: this was clearly designed to create a more nationally homogenous and professionalised group of senior police officers. Since the increased effort for involvement with the boroughs and watch committees, there was a growing demand of professionalism within the police. The boroughs had co-operated fully in modernising and homogen ising the police forces, through co-operative training and communication. Citied in Loveday, B 1994) Between 1919 and 1964, the state tried using ‘efficiency', ‘economy', and ‘national security' as reasons to centralise control, before successfully employing ‘corruption' to achieve this. The 1960 Royal Commission was actively steered by the Home Office along its own centralist agenda, resulting in the 1964 Police Act, subsuming city forces into counties. These were influenced by the nature of two policing scandals of the late 1950s, which gave the Home Office a convenient point of entry with which to attack the status quo. (Citied in (Ludtgarten, L 1986).Both scandals were cases of corruption within the boroughs, the Brighton Borough police force in 1957, where the chief constable and two officers were arrested and charged with a variety of corrupt practises, and in Labour- controlled Nottingham in 1958, where there was an investigation launched on Labour cou ncillors and succeeded to prove that two labour councillors and the Secretary of the District Labour Party had been bribed on a visit to East Germany. Events such as mentioned above involving corruption led to the boroughs finally losing their police powers completely.A royal commission on the police had been appointed in 1960 to review the constitutional position of the police throughout Great Britain, and in 1964, the Police Act was introduced. (Citied in Willams, C 2003). Returning to answering the question more directly now, the Police Act of 1946 mirrored the interests of greater efficiency and greater central control over policing. It allowed for the amalgamation of existing forces into more efficient units, merging them into a more manageable number of 43 forces in England and Wales.The watch committees were replaced with police authorities. This new system was characterized as â€Å"the tripartite structure† of police accountability. The tripartite system distributes responsibilities between the Home Office, the local police authority, and the chief constable of the force. (Citied in Williams, C 2003). This tripartite system provides accountability to Parliament through the Home Secretary (who has responsibility for policing policy including centrally setting key priorities that are formalised within a National Policing Plan).Police Authorities were composed of councillors (two-thirds) and magistrates (one-third) and their role was to ‘‘secure the maintenance and of an adequate and efficient police force for their area’’. (Citied in Williams, C 2003). To liberate this duty they were provided with a number of specific and statutory responsibilities which included appointing and dismissing its senior officers, making sure arrangements are in place to consult the local community about the policing of their area and heir priorities, publish an annual local policing plan and a best value performance plan, setting out the pol icing priorities, performance targets, and the allocation of resources, to publish a three-year strategy plan, which must be approved by the Home Secretary and monitor the performance of the force in delivering the policing plan. (Joyce, P 2011: 118, 127). Although there have been issues raised about police authorities and these concerns will be brought to the surface, it can also be argued that police authorities have constituently tried to provide â€Å"an efficient and effective† police force.This can be shown by all the legislation that has been introduced. The 1994 Police and Magistrates Act, Courts Act (PMCA) 1995, the Police Act 1996, and the Police Reform Act 2002, have all endorsed the tripartite arrangements and aimed to fundamentally ensure and provide an adequate, efficient and effective police force. ( Citied in Williams, C 2003). The introduction of the policing pledge in 2008 by the Labour party, although it has been scrapped by the Coalition government, aimed at restoring public faith and to ensure the services being provided locally were adequate.Promises such as providing monthly local crime rates, answering all non-emergency calls promptly, providing information to the community on their Neighbourhood Policing Team i. e. where they are based, how to contact them and how to work with them were stated on this document, to increase community engagement and involvement. (Citied in The Policing Pledge, 2008). There has been placed a great deal of importance on empowerment, localisation, decentralisation of power and community involvement. There has been many green and white papers published to support this.David Blunkett’s â€Å"Civil Renewal† Agenda (2003) and David Cameron’s â€Å"Big Society† Agenda (2010) has influenced trends towards â€Å"community engagement, confident and cooperation† within their respective policing reform programmes continues. The agendas extensively focus on the responsibility of the government and every citizen’s efforts to strengthen communities, to revitalise our democracy and to provide more power and opportunity into people’s hands and security for all. It is believed that the engagement of everyone is necessary to make that happen; the government alone cannot fix every problem.Furthermore, Sir Ronnie Flanagan conducted the report of â€Å"The Review of Policing† in 2008. Flanagan stated that involving local communities in political decision-making processes is crucial and delivering in partnerships, developing the workforce and improving performance at force levels. (Flanagan, 2008). As mentioned above, there were concerns regarding the police authorities. One of the main issues was that central control undermined local police affairs power and authority. In the early 1980’s, there were clashes between police authorities and chief constables relating to who would have the final say in particular activity.The reliance of t he Home Office by chief constables tended to increase the power of the central government over local police arrangements. In addition, the introduction of the 1994 Police and Magistrates Courts Act enabled the Home Secretary to determine and set national objectives or priorties. This task was previously done by chief constables. Furthermore, the police areas would be assessed on their attainment by comparing to a set of performance targets. Empowerment, localisation, and decentralisation are clearly not desired. ( Citied in Williams, C 2003).Additionally, the situation continued to be aggravating as further developments such as the targets imposed by central government were extended and became the key tool of performance management. Police forces had to deliver on activities, which were determined centrally. Public Service Agreements (PSAs) were introduced in 1998 to promote clarity in service delivery, again centrally. This target regime led to the bulk of police work focusing on a chieving the targets imposed on them, this made it impossible to concentrate on local concerns. This again suggests the central power undermining powers and authority locally.Also, it was suggested that centrally determined targets â€Å"tend to distort priorties, tempting officers into using their tine in unproductive ways into directly fiddling performance figures† (Loveday and Reid, 2003: 19). Similarly, they created a â€Å"counting culture† within the police service whereby â€Å"only what got measured got done† (Loveday and Reid, 2003: 22). Additional research was undertaken in 2003 investigating the role of police authorities in public engagement. Participants that were interviewed saw police authorities’ independence from the police force as very important.This was because of the risk of corruption or abuse of power. â€Å"If it was 100 per cent fully independent, then I think that would make a lot of difference to people, and I think they would feel a lot happier knowing that it was being†¦kept an eye on. † (Home Office 2003: 19). However, many participants thought that police authorities did not appear to be independent enough, and this could undermine the community’s confidence and trust in them. There was a feeling in many groups that the number of independent members should increase or even that authorities should be composed completely of independent members.There were worries that the independent members might not have a fair say, as councillors and magistrates have an overall majority on the authority. (Citied in Home Office, 2003). â€Å"â€Å"You’re paying†¦.. it’s your community, you live there, so you should have a say in how it’s policed. † (Home Office 2003: 17). The community does seem to desire to get involved in the decision making, however when asked who made decisions about spending and who was responsible for the monitoring of police performance, there was very little spontaneous mention of police authorities. (Citied in Home Office, 2003).These findings suggest that police authorities are not adequate or efficient enough, people living in the communities have very little knowledge of police authorities and the question is why? More should be done to advertise and involve the community in the decision making process of what happens in their communities. Their involvement would increase the confidence in the police and create a more coherent community. Conversely, as the Coalition government scrapped the policing pledge, they also disposed police authorities in 2o12 and replaced them with elected police and crime commissioners (PCC).The Coalition government strongly believed that it was vital to replace bureaucratic accountability from central government to democratic accountability to the public. PCCs will make forces truly accountable to the communities they serve, ensuring that resources are properly targeted to where they are n eeded and giving the public a greater say in measures to reduce crime and improve community safety. The main aim of PCC was to â€Å"put power directly in the hands of the public†. (Home Affairs Committee, 2o1o:10). The key powers of PCCs are to set the police force budget and to hire and fire chief constables. Citied in Home Affairs Committee, 2010). The Elected PCC’s have overcome issues that the police authorities did not: the community involvement, empowerment and local governance is greater. The community elects their own PCC’s locally and it represents the drive for local policing priorities and the public by leading engagement with local policing partners. This new approach to policing is boosting the empowerment of local communities in criminal justice affairs. They will hold the elected chief constable to account; making sure that policing is responsive to the communities’ needs.There is an increased democratic accountability. (Citied in Home Aff airs Committee, 2010). However, this new reform also faces a few critiques. Lord Blair referred to this proposal as â€Å"the most lamentable provision about policing I have ever encountered† (Blair, 2011). Firstly, the PCC will replace the 17 or 19 members who currently represent a police authority. It is impossible to imagine how one person can adequately represent the diverse demands of the vast range of communities found in the areas covered by police forces, whether they are heavily populated urban ones or cover geographically large rural areas. Joyce, P 2011). As the policing needs and concerns of neighbourhoods are usually vastly different and are often in direct competition for finite police resources, it is a concern that a PCC will seek to direct policing to address the localised, sectionalised or political interests of those who elected him or her into office thus serving to politicise policing and opening the door to the possibility of corruption. (Joyce, P 2011). Before the 1964 Police Act, there were claims and investigations into policing corruption scandals: the Borough police force in 1957 and in Nottingham in 1958. Citied in Willams, C 2003). Its due to these concerns about policing corruption, the police force became centralised. This is a major concern and strict safeguards and monitoring will have to be established to avoid it from happening again. Secondly, there is the question as to whether this reform was needed. It is fair to suggest that it is intensely politicized and a populist measure. Valid criticisms can be made concerning the operations of police authorities, however this did not mean they were performing a poor job and providing a poor police service.Party politics were not injected onto the agenda. In fact, there was a good working relationship between the police authorities and the chief constables in many areas and the communities and local policing benefited from this. (Joyce, P 2011). Ian Loader (2008) stated that the â€Å"government is urged to take another ride on the law and order merry-go-round, to issue a fresh batch of crowd-pleasing-measures that can appease its apparently angry and anxious consumers†. Many will harmonize with this.The government is in need of public support, confidence and trust and the best way to get the local communities or â€Å"customers† support is to respond to our demands. As was mentioned above, the community would like more opportunities to get involved in the way their communities are being policed and the new reform of elected PCC’s can be perceived as a crowd-pleasing-measure. (Citied in Loader, I 2008). Garland again has famously said that the policy-making has become profoundly politicized and populist.Policy measures are constructed in ways that value public opinion over the views of experts and the evidence of research. â€Å"The dominant voice of crime policy is no longer the expert or even the practitioner but that of the long -suffering, ill served people- especially the victim and the fearful, anxious members of the public†. (Stated in The Culture of Control, 2001). Furthermore, a range of views were put forward on the role of PCCs from the consultation feedback and it was not all positive.Concerns have been expressed that a PCC, as a single individual, may not be effective across a whole force area and find it difficult to engage with communities sufficiently. Moreover, there was concerns received about the checks and balances proposed in the consultation. Some members believed that the arrangements might prove overly bureaucratic or create confusing lines of accountability for chief constables and the public. Others felt that they were too weak, or sought more detail on how the Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) would provide a real challenge and scrutiny. Citied in Theresa, M 2010). Many also expressed concerns about the political nature of the role of the PCC and in particular the involvement of c andidates supported by the main political parties. They believe this would risk cutting across the operational decisions made by chief constables and other police officers, and this would most definitely inject party politics, whereby police authorities did not. Additionally, there needs to be appropriate and respectable safeguards to be put in place regarding to circumstances under which a PCC could dismiss or suspend a chief constable.These issues, if they were to ever occur, could create tension between PCCs and chief constables. The community will have a knock-on effect from this, as they would be the ones feeling the consequences. There would not be an adequate and efficient service provided to the community. That was the aim of PCCs and if it does not meet its own aims, it would fail dramatically. (Citied in Theresa, M 2010). It is fair to say police authorities and PCCs have issues to be concerned about but also have positive points.Police authorities and the 1964 Police Act did structure the police force and it did aim at providing â€Å"an efficient and effective† police force. This is consistently shown by the constant need to improve and advance the services being provided to the public . The 1994 Police and Magistrates Act, Courts Act (PMCA) 1995, the Police Act 1996, and the Police Reform Act 2002, the Policing Pledge 2008, have all endorsed the tripartite arrangements and aimed to fundamentally ensure and provide an adequate, efficient and effective police force.However, the demand for empowerment, localisation, decentralisation of power and community involvement perpetually grew stronger too and the police authorities did set priorities and standards nationally, and not locally. Research was undertaken in 2003 investigating the role of police authorities in public engagement. participants that were interviewed saw police authorities’ independence from the police force as very important. This was because of the risk of corruption or abuse of power. You’re paying†¦.. it’s your community, you live there, so you should have a say in how it’s policed. (Home Office 2003: 17). The community does desire to get involved in the decision making, however the lack of knowledge of police authorities and how you can get involved or the lack of liberation of empowerment and localisation should be questioned. (Citied in Home Office, 2003). The Coalition government 2012 decided to introduce PCCs. The ain of this reform was to to democratic accountability to the public and to â€Å"put power directly in the hands of the public†. (Home Affairs Committee, 2o1o:10). In this case, the input from the public is greater and have greater local empowerment.However, PCC faces its problems too. It does face greater likelihood of policing corruption, a PCC, as a single individual, may not be effective across a whole force area and find it difficult to engage with communities sufficiently. 17 to 19 members a re being replaced by one PCC. It is impossible imagine how one person can adequately represent the diverse demands of the vast range of communities and activities. In conclusion, the question still remains as to whether this reform was needed, the police authorities were not proving a poor service or doing a poor job.Garland (2001) would suggest that the policy-making has become profoundly politicized and populist. The introduction of PCC was just a populist measure. However, the local communities may benefit from the empowerment and local prioritisation and if they do, PCCs have succeeded their aims. References †¢Blair, L. (2011), ‘‘Speech in the House of Lords 27 April’’, HL Debs Session 2010-11, Vol 727, Col 137 †¢Blunkett, David (2003) ‘Civil Renewal: A New Agenda’ , London: Home Office †¢Brogden, M (1982), â€Å"The Police: Autonomy and Consent†, London: Academic Press. Emsley, C (1996), â€Å"The English Police: a P olitical and Social History†, Harlow: Longman. †¢Flanagan, Sir Ronnie (Feb 2008) The Review of Policing: Final Report. London: Home Office †¢Garland, D (2001), â€Å"The Culture of Control. † Oxford: Oxford University Press. †¢Home Affairs Committee, (2008). ‘‘Policing in the twenty-first century’’, Seventh Report, Session 2007/08, House of Commons Paper 364, TSO, London. †¢Joyce, P. (2011). Police reform: from police authorities to police and crime commissioners. Sage, London. †¢Loveday, B. (1994), â€Å"The Police and Magistrates Courts Act†.Policing 10(4), pp 221-233 †¢Lustgarten, L. (1986), â€Å"The Governance of the Police†, London: Sweet & Maxwell. †¢The Coalition Manifesto: â€Å"Our Programme for Government† (May 2010) †¢Theresa, M (2010). â€Å"Policing in the 21st Century: Reconnecting police and the people†. Home Office †¢Home Affairs Committee (2010), ‘à ¢â‚¬ËœPolicing: police and crime commissioners’’, Second Report, Sessions 2010/11, House of Commons Paper 511, TSO, London. Bibliography †¢David Cameron speech (19 July 2010) â€Å"Our Big Society Agenda†. London: Home Office Date accessed: 25 November 2012 http://www. conservatives. om/News/Speeches/2010/07/David_Cameron_Our_Big_Society_Agenda. aspx †¢Home Office (2003), â€Å"The role of police authorities in public engagement† Date Accessed: 3 December 2012 http://library. npia. police. uk/docs/hordsolr/rdsolr3703. pdf †¢Loader, I (2008). â€Å"The great victim of this get-tough hyperactivity is Labour†. The Guardian Date accessed: 28 November 2012 http://www. guardian. co. uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/19/justice. ukcrime †¢The Policing Pledge (2008). London: Home Office Date Accessed: 1 December 2012 http://www. met. police. uk/pledge/our_pledge_leaflet. pdf

Loan Processing at Capital One Essay

This marketing effort, which was planned to take the form of a major mail drop, was designed to increase the volume of funded loans in about six weeks when potential customers start returning these applications. It was clear to everyone at Capital One that the operations of loan processing would play a major role in determining if the upcoming mail drop would be a success. With 14 funded loans processed per associate every month and a total of 25 associates on the team, the department does not have the capacity to handle the application volume leading to our target of 700 funded loans per month that we set following our increased marketing effort†, observed one of the managers working for Rick, â€Å"What we need is a significant increase in staff. We also need to heavily invest in information technology to further increase the productivity of the existing staff†. While it was clear that the forecasted increase in loan applications would provide a serious challenge for the underwriters, there was no consensus on what actions should be taken. As was observed by one of the executives in charge of consumer loans: â€Å"When I benchmark the productivity of our underwriting team with other companies in the industry, 14 funded loans per associate per month is not a number we can be proud of. It takes about 3 hours of actual work to fund a loan, and that includes everything from the initial interview to underwriting, quality inspection, and closing. We have 25 associates, that each works about 150 hours per month. So each associate should be able to process 50 applications per month, which gives us 1250 applications per month for the team. Even if we fund only every other loan that we underwrite, we would just need a little bit of over time to get 700 units funded. † Several others at Capital One agreed. As it was put by one of the associates in charge of direct marketing: â€Å"Frankly, if you asked me, there seems to be a lot of potential for improving productivity in our processes. I am optimistic that our upcoming mail-drop will lift productivity and utilization scores in the underwriting process since there will be a lot more work coming in. † As the person in charge for operations management, Rick had mixed feelings about these comments. On the one hand, it was true that his department’s productivity metrics had not been stellar in the past. But his associates worked very hard and were very capable. This case was developed solely as the basis for class discussion. It is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data or illustration of effective or ineffective management. All data in the case has been disguised. Rick was relatively new to this role, though he was a highly accomplished operations manager with a history of taking on tough challenges and producing strong results by redirecting his teams towards better prioritization, teamwork and focus on strategically important activities. As he looked over the marketing forecast and the target of 700 funded loans for the next month, Rick wondered what the upcoming mail drop would do to his department? And, more importantly, what could he do to help Capital One grow its consumer loan business in the most optimal way? Capital One: Background Information After graduating first in class from the Stanford business school in 1981, Richard Fairbank joined Strategic Planning Associates (SPA), a strategy-consulting firm. In 1986, Fairbank met Nigel Morris, a young associate at SPA. While analyzing the operations of a major money center bank, the two reviewed the firm’s credit card operations. Both of them were struck by the enormous profitability relative to the rest of the bank. The young consultants concluded, â€Å"Credit cards are not banking – they are all about collecting information on 200 Million people that you’d never meet, and, on the basis of that information, making a series of decisions about lending money to them and then hoping they would pay you back. † Fairbank and Morris recognized the potential of customizing credit card products based on characteristics and behavior of their customers and taking advantage of the technological advances in computers that offered companies the ability to record, organize and analyze large amounts of customer data. They realized that few products in the credit card industry were being direct marketed and that even fewer firms were fully exploiting the power of statistical analysis. Fairbank and Morris were able to convince the bank to run a test using this strategy. The test worked remarkably well, however, the bank was unwilling to adopt this new strategy. Convinced that they were onto something really big, the two pitched their idea to more than 20 national retail banks before Virginia-based Signet Bank invited them to launch its Bank Card division. Over the next several years, Fairbank and Morris ran thousands of statistical tests and eventually introduced the first balance transfer product in 1991 that revolutionized the credit card industry and saved a struggling Signet Bank. Four years later, in 1995, Signet spun off its credit card division to create the publicly held Capital One. Recognized for its innovation, customer service, information technology, and financial management, Capital One now is one of the largest issuers of Master Card and Visa credit cards in the world. Today, the company’s global customer base is close to 49 Million with managed loans totaling over $83 Billion. From its IPO in 1994 to 2005, Capital One’s stock price had increased more than 1400%. In recent years domestic diversification has become a primary component of Capital One’s strategy. After going public, the company progressed on geographic and This case was developed solely as the basis for class discussion. It is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data or illustration of effective or ineffective management. All data in the case has been disguised. product line expansion through organic growth in credit cards and a series of acquisitions in non credit card businesses. In 1998, the company acquired Summit Acceptance Corporation, an auto loan provider. In 2001, it acquired the nation’s largest online provider of direct auto loans – People First, and a leading provider of financing solutions – Amerifee. The acquisition of Onyx Acceptance Corporation ® made Capital One Auto Finance the second-largest independent auto lender in the United States. The company also acquired Kansas City-based eSmartloan, an online originator of home equity loans and mortgages; Hfs Group, a home equity loan broker in the United Kingdom; and InsLogic, an insurance brokerage based in Tennessee. A number of these diversified businesses along with some organically grown businesses reside in the Global Financial Services (GFS) organization of Capital One. The Loan processing center is one such business that supported a variety of loan products such as small business loans, Line of credits and Jumbo loans. The Loan Approval Process In the division in charge of consumer and small business loans, the marketing department solicits potential customers through direct mail and/or email campaigns, that highlight the loan product features and specials of various products that are offered by Capital One. These campaigns, which are typically carried out at a nationwide level, have an information card that can be returned by the customer. The customer uses this card to provide information concerning their name, the type of loan they are interested in and the phone number/time range that is best to reach them. Customers who respond by sending this information back enter the process and are referred to as an â€Å"App†. Each App flows through a process that consists of five steps: Interview, Workflow Coordination, Underwriting, Quality Assurance (QA) and Closing. Exhibit 1 shows the process flow with a brief description of the activities and the number of associates in each role. Interview The interview step consists of seven associates who call the telephone number specified on the information card. On a typical day between 200 and 500 potential customers are called depending on the incoming volume of customer requests. Federal privacy regulations require that financial institutions can speak about the loan only to the person who actually requested the loan. Hence, if this person is not home at the time of the call, the call has to be repeated at a later point. During the call, the associate interviews the applicant about her loan needs. Based on the customer needs, the associate offers a range of products to the customer and the loan terms such as the maximum loan amount and the interest rate associated with each product (usually a range of interest rates is provided). This case was developed solely as the basis for class discussion. It is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data or illustration of effective or ineffective management. All data in the case has been disguised. If the customer is interested in one of the products, she will start an application process with the associate. The associate follows a scripted questionnaire and enters the information being provided by the customer into a computer system. The interview associate sets the expectation with the customer on the next steps: if additional information is necessary to complete processing and approving the application, an underwriter will get in touch with the customer in 2-5 business days to get the necessary information. If all the information is complete and accurate, the applicant will receive a phone call from an Underwriter in approximately 5-10 business days outlining the next steps in the closing process. Exhibit 2 summarizes some sample data that was collected over the course of a week. The Exhibit shows it takes on average 22 to 24 minutes for an associate to process one extra app. This includes the time the associate spends talking with the applicant. It also includes the time it takes the associate to reach the applicant.

Reading Strategies Essay

Reading is an essential skill in human life. People are trained to learn how to read at very early age and they read with many purposes such as reading for pleasure or reading to earn experience or simply to know what is happening around them. In academic setting, reading is assumed to be the central means for learning new information and gaining access to alternative explanations. Reading also provides people with the foundation for synthesis and critical evaluation skill. In addition, reading is the primary means for independent learning, whether the goal is performing better on academic tasks, learning more about subject matter, or improving language abilities (Grabe and Stoller, as cited in Celce-Murcia, 2001). However, according to Dr. Kathleen King (Reading Strategies, n. d. ) for students at college, reading is a new experience although they have been reading for more than 12 years at school or for pleasure. In addition, academic reading is not easy; therefore, it is extremely difficult for academic students to achieve complex goals without reading strategies. Supporting to this idea, (Hawkins, 1991, cited in Celce-Murcia) also said that â€Å"Of all the skills that the child must acquire in school, reading is the most complex and difficult†. Therefore, English Second Language students are surely unavoidable to face some problems. Firstly, learners may be good at understanding separate words or even each sentence, but fail to understand the relationships between the sentences and the meaning of the text as a whole. Next, they do not have necessary knowledge about what they read. And the most important problem is that they lack necessary reading strategies. English Second Language students need to learn reading strategies because their comprehension breaks down easily. They need different ways to approach reading to help facilitate the reading process and provide them with a better sense of what they are reading (Reading strategies for ESL Students, n. d. ). Reading strategies are the most effective means to help them deal with obstacles in reading and become a better reader. Furthermore, with practice, the strategies lead to skills that become automatic and quick over time (McNamara and Danielle, 2009). But for students at the college, reading is not simply to do the task and reading passage is often longer than it is at high school meanwhile not all of them know the reading strategies and how to use them effectively. So, teaching reading strategies for students becomes necessary. That is the reason why the researcher choose â€Å"reading strategies for academic students† as a topic to do the research with the hope of improving the effect of their reading. CHAPTER II: LITERATURE II. 1. Definition of Strategies Brown (2001) defined strategies as specific methods to solve a problem or task, as modes of activity to reach a particular end or intentional designs to control or manipulate certain information. He stated that strategies differentiate within an individual and that a person can use a variety of strategies to achieve his or her goal. Oxford (as cited in Oxford, 2003, p. 8) defined strategies as follows: â€Å"The word â€Å"strategies† comes from the ancient Greek word strategia, which means steps or actions taken for the purpose of winning a war. The warlike meaning of strategia, has fortunately fallen away but the control and directedness remains in the version of the word. † He believed that whether a strategy is helpful or not depends on the specific context in which it is appropriately used. In order to use a strategy effectively, learners have to consider three important conditions: whether the strategy relates well to the second language task at hand, whether the strategy fits the particular students’ learning style preferences to one degree or another, or whether the students employ the strategy and link it with other strategies well. II. 2. Distinction between Strategies and Skills Strategies can be defined as conscious actions that learners take to achieve desired goals or objectives, while a skill is a strategy that has become automatic. As learners consciously learn and practice specific reading strategies, the strategies move from conscious to unconscious; from strategy to skill (Nunan, 2003). Strategic reading is defined as the ability of the reader to use a wide variety of reading strategies to accomplish a purpose for reading (Nunan, 2003). Strategic reading means not only knowing what strategy to use, but knowing how to use and integrate a range of strategies (Anderson, 1991). II. 3. Difference Strategic Readers from Poor Readers (Reading Strategies, n. d. ) |1. Before Reading, Strategic Readers †¦ |Poor Readers †¦ | |? Build up their own background knowledge about reading and the |? Start reading without thinking about the process of reading or the| |topic |topic. | |? Set purposes for reading. |? Do not know why they are reading but merely view the task as | |? Determine methods for reading, according to their purposes. |â€Å"ground to cover†. | |2. During Reading, Strategic Readers †¦ |Poor Readers †¦ | |? Give their complete attention to the reading task. |? Do not eliminate distractions from reading. | |? Check their own understanding constantly. |? Do not know whether they understand. | |? Monitor their reading comprehension and do it so often that it |? Do not recognize when comprehension has broken down. | |becomes automatic. |? Seldom use fix-up strategies to improve comprehension. | |? Stop to use a fix-up strategy when they do not understand. |? Skip or ignore meanings of unfamiliar but crucial words. | |? Use semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic cues to construct |? Do not integrate text with prior knowledge. | |meanings of unfamiliar words. |? Read without reflecting on meaning or text organization | |? Synthesize during reading. | | |? Ask questions. | | |? Talk to themselves during reading. | | |3. After Reading, Strategic Readers †¦ |Poor Readers †¦ | |? Decide if they have achieved their goals for reading. |? Do not know what they have read. | |? Evaluate their understanding of what was read. |? Do not follow reading with comprehension self-check. | |? Summarize the major ideas. |? Rely exclusively on the author’s words. | |? Seek additional information from outside sources. |? Do not go beyond a surface examination of the text. | |? Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant ideas. |? Apply no conscious strategies to help them remember. | |? Paraphrase the text what they have learned. | | |? Reflect on and personalize the text. | | |? Critically examine the text. | | |? Integrate new understandings and prior knowledge. | | |? Use study strategies to retain new knowledge. | | II. 4. Some Methods for Teaching Reading Strategies Reading Strategies (n.d. ) separates reading lesson into three stages and has some ideas about activities for each stage. II. 4. 1. Before Reading activities should emphasize methods of merging reader, text, and content –enabling students to set appropriate reading purposes, recall related prior knowledge, preview and predict what the text will be about, and select reading methods to suit their purposes and the text. Included in these considerations may be readers’ decisions to expand their background knowledge through related discussion, exploration of key concepts, or related reading. II. 4. 2. During Reading: activities should enable students to monitor their comprehension through a variety of strategies and experience and acquire diverse fix-up strategies to improve their understanding where necessary. II. 4. 3. After Reading: activities should teach students to review their understanding of text, relate new ideas to their background knowledge, revisit the text to clarify and extend meanings, make responsible interpretations and criticisms of ideas from the text, revise their thinking, apply the information to other texts and disciplines, and remember crucial learning for future application. II. 5. Some Techniques for Teaching Reading Strategies Reading Strategies (n. d. ) also gives some techniques to teach reading strategies II. 5. 1. Some Techniques for Teaching Before-Reading Strategies Before reading, strategic readers: * Preview the text by looking at the title, the pictures, and the print in order to evoke relevant thoughts and memories. * Build background by activating appropriate prior knowledge through self –questioning about what they already know about the topic (or story), the vocabulary, and the form in which the topic (or story) is presented. * Set purposes for reading by asking questions about what they want to learn during the reading process. II. 5. 2. Some Techniques for Teaching During-Reading Strategies During reading, strategic readers: * Check understanding of the text by paraphrasing the author’s words. * Monitor comprehension and use fix-up strategies: use the cueing systems to figure out unknown words and imaging, imagining, inferencing, and predicting. * Integrate new concepts with existing knowledge: continually revise purpose for reading. II. 5. 3. Some Techniques for Teaching After-Reading Strategies. After reading, strategic readers: * Summarize what they have read by retelling the plot of the story or the main idea of the text. * Interpret and evaluate the ideas contained in the text. * Make applications of the ideas in the text to unique situations, extending the ideas to broader perspectives. * Use study strategies for note taking, locating, and remembering to improve content – area learning. II. 6. Kinds of Strategy Before students begin their next reading assignment, identify their purpose for reading. According to the reader’s different purposes, he or she will choose the appropriate reading style. Therefore, there are a variety of strategies. II. 6. 1. Study Reading The Study Reading is used when the readers intend to read difficult material at a high level of comprehension. This reading style says that because of the material at a high level of comprehension the readers should read the material more than once and sometimes reading the material aloud also improves their comprehension. (Becoming a Flexible Reader, n. d. ) II. 6. 2. Skimming When the reader’s purpose is to quickly obtain a general idea about the reading material, he or she is suggested to use skimming style. This strategy is extremely useful if the readers want to read a large amount of material in a short amount of time by two ways: identify the main ideas and ignore the details. (Becoming a Flexible Reader, n. d. ) II. 6. 3. Scanning Contrastively, the scanning style is used when their purpose is to quickly locate a specific piece of information within reading material. To scan, the readers mostly focus on a list of names, words, numbers, short statements, and sometimes even in a paragraph. (Becoming a Flexible Reader, n. d. ) II. 6. 4. SQRW. According to A Strategies for Reading Textbooks (n. d. ), it divides strategies into four-steps, called SQRW. Each letter stands for one step in the strategy. Using SQRW will help readers to understand what they read and to prepare a written record of what they learned. The written record will be valuable when readers have to participate in a class discussion and again when they study for a test. Read to learn what to do for each step in SQRW. ( Survey This strategy brings to mind what the readers already know about the topic of a chapter and prepares them for learning more. The readers do survey by reading the title, introduction, headings, and the summary or conclusion or they will examine all visuals such as pictures, tables, maps, and/or graphs and read the caption. By survey, the readers quickly learn what the chapter is about. ( Question Questions give the readers a purpose for reading and help them stay focused on the reading assignment. To form questions, the readers base on a heading and use the words who, what, when, where, why, or how. When a heading contains more than one idea, form a question for each idea. Do not form questions for the Introduction, Summary, or Conclusion. ( Read Read the information that follows each heading to find the answer to each question readers formed. They may change a question or turn it into several questions to be answered. Readers need to stay focused and flexible so they can gather as much information as they need to answer each question. ( Write Write each question and its answer in your notebook. Reread each of your written answers to be sure each answer is legible and contains all the important information needed to answer the question. CHAPTER III: APPLICATION III. 1. For Students Here are some suggestions for students to apply before, during and after-reading in order to become strategic readers. There are two things that students need to prepare before they read. First of all, it is the reading environment. Students had better to choose a quiet place which is far away from making noise. They would be distract by it and cannot concentrate well on what they read. Moreover, a place gives them an attitude to be ready to read. Besides the place, readers also pay attention to have small things as pen or paper in hand. These things help them take note immediately what they read on the text when the ideas come out in the mind before they quickly disappear. Before reading, firstly it is necessary for English Second Language students to set a goal for reading. This activity will keep them focus on what they read and prevent them from wandering around the text. Secondly, they should activate prior knowledge. It means that students brainstorm what they already know about the topic. Combination between prior knowledge and new text help them understand more about the topic. Last but not least, according to their purposes, they choose suitable methods for reading. Appropriate strategies help them read and achieve their goals quickly. While reading is the stage which students apply all their known strategies to read quickly but effectively. For example, strategic readers do not read the text from the beginning to the end; instead they skim it quickly to have an overview or to get main ideas about what they are going to read. It means that those students would read the introduction or every first line of each paragraph before going to read the whole passage. Next, when students read in detail, they should underline the information which they feel interested in and take notes or  highlight for easy to review important points later. In addition, it is important for students to remember to use what their background knowledge and their brainstorming about the text in before reading and see whether the old information fits the text, whether their prediction is correct or need changing. Moreover, if they have any difficulties with reading the text, slow down their reading speed and reread the information with more care. In case, it is too difficult to understand, highlight it for going back later, then skip it and move forward. Finally, college students are often required to read a lot with difficult vocabulary, so they should break down the assignment into many small sections, for example, ten pages for each reading times and manage to finish reading these sections instead of the whole. This strategy gives students more concentrated on what they read and prevents them from getting frustrated and disappointed. It is not simply to finish the reading task, learners should go beyond. And after reading is a stage for them to do so. First of all, students need to draw a conclusion. They turn back and think about what predictions they made before and during reading by reviewing the text. Also, they had better look back to consider how the information read related to their background knowledge and decide whether they achieve their goal. Secondly, students should take notes what they have read by writing a summary. This summary contains the main ideas, the important information or simply just a list of ideas getting from the reading. This activity is very helpful for the readers to maintain new knowledge for later use. Lastly, this stage also gives students a chance to discuss what they do not understand about the text. Students will mark anything that makes them confused and bring it to class and talk with their friends in order to clarify it. III. 2. For the Reading Teachers It takes a long time for students to become strategic readers and reading teachers play an important role in helping their students read quickly but effectively. Therefore, teachers are suggested to take these considerations. First of all, teachers themselves need to have a full awareness of great benefits which strategies could bring to their students, then the introduction of strategies, their practice, and their uses should be part of  every reading lesson because a strategy can be only applied well when teachers frequently explain, model it carefully, then give them enough opportunities to practice. However, for any approach to strategy development, teachers should remember to introduce only a few strategies at a time until students feel confident to use the strategies. And in each reading lesson, separate application of each strategy does not give a lot of help, so teachers should encourage students to combine some strategies together to get the best results. Moreover, teachers should be well-prepared the lesson beforehand. The aim of this preparation is to figure out which strategies are used in the lesson, then the teachers will carefully prepare suitable activities for each stage of a reading lesson. For example, in before-reading stage, teachers give activities such as True/ False Prediction, Brainstorming to help students have some general ideas about what they are going to read. For while-reading stage, teachers use Answer the Questions, Choose the Main Ideas to check their comprehension. For after-reading stage, the activities could be Summary, Discussion or Retelling what they have read. Additionally, when reading process takes place, reading teachers monitor the students’ expertise and independent application of the strategies. If there are many students feeling unsure about using the strategies, teachers stop their work, reintroduce and give them more practice. Finally after every reading times, teachers ask students to record their ability in applying strategies to assess their own growth. CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION During teaching process, most of reading teachers give more time and emphasis on testing reading comprehension than teaching readers how to comprehend. Therefore, this small research has been done to offer an overview of different strategies to reading and application for practice. All of strategies can be brought into play in an efficient way in the teaching and acquiring reading skill. Simultaneously, it helps both teachers and students recognize the significant advantages of mastering reading strategies. With careful discussion about most of strategies used in three main reading stages: before, during and after reading, hopefully this research is a source of reference for reading teachers and students. REFERENCES A Strategies for Reading Textbooks, (n. d. ). Retrieved December 3rd, 2010 from http://www. how-to-study. com/study-skills/en/studying/40/a-strategy-for-reading-textbooks/ Anderson, N. J. (1991). Individual Differences in Strategy Use in Second Language Reading and Testing. Modern Language Journal, 75: 460-472. Becoming a Flexible Reader, (n. d. ). Retrieved December 3rd, 2010 from http://www. how-to-study. com/study-skills/en/studying/33/becoming-a-flexible-reader/ Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles- An interactive approach to language pedagogy. (2nd ed. ). NY: Longman, pp 384-387. Dr. Kathleen King, (n. d. ). Reading Strategies, Lecture from University. Retrieved December 14th, 2010 from http://www. isu. edu/~kingkath/readstrt. html Grabe, W. , Stoller, F. L. (2001). Reading for Academic Purpose: Guidelines for the ESL/ EFL Teacher, In Celce-Murcia, M. (Ed. ), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. (3rd ed). Boston: Heinle, pp. 187-204. Hawkins, B. , (2001). Teaching Children to Read in a Second Language. In Celce-Murcia, M. (Ed. ), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. (2rd ed). Boston: Heinle. McNamara, Danielle S. (2009). The importance of teaching reading strategies, The Perspectives on Language and Literacy. Retrieved December 14th, 2010 from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_7694/is_200904/ai_n32423755 Nunan, D. (Ed. ) (2003). Practical English Language Teaching. Singapore: McGraw Hill. Oxford, R. L. (2003). Language Learning Styles and Strategies. Retrieved February 28, 2008, from web. ntpu. edu. tw/~language/workshop/read2. pdf Reading Strategies, (n. d. ). Retrieved December 10th, 2010 from http://98. 130. 215. 11/articles/6%20Strategic%20Reading. pdf.