Global Assignments:Pre-departure Training Program Essay

Introduction Global assignment of managers has been a traditional method of operating far flung commercial empires since the days of Robert Clive and the British East India Company. The importance of transferring knowledge, upskilling remote or local managers and instilling best practice throughout a multinational organization has long been recognized as a source of competitive advantage for those firms able to expand successfully. The failure of rate of global assignments, and indeed international expansion, has throughout history been nothing less than fantastic. The vast majority of firms have been unable to master operations across multiple cultures, political systems or levels of economic development. The need to simply find out what is going on has, in the past, been the major motivator for global assignment. The advent of modern communication and travel technology has arguably reduced the need for â€Å"inspection† style assignments; however this role has been upgraded to the â€Å"mentoring† vocation of international managers whose primary purpose is to transfer knowledge. The plethora of technological marvels that enable cooperative endeavor expanding around the globe do little to change the fact that knowledge is â€Å"person bound† – acquired overtime through interaction with either tacit or explicit sources. Firms must transfer people between host and home countries because it is arguably still the only effective way to exchange culture, knowledge and experiences. A number of issues arise for those individuals who are selected for, or who  choose to embark upon international assignment. These issues may include practical, emotional/psychological or professional hurdles that limit the employee’s effectiveness on assignment, or lead to early repatriation. Options for reducing the risks these potential dangers pose are only limited by finance and imagination, and extend to careful selection of employees for expatriate assignment, pre-departure training, and familiarization visits, mentoring from both the home and the host country, post-arrival training, regular return home visits, repatriation training and extensive communication between home and host. The focus of this training program is on pre-departure training; i.e. preparing potential expatriate candidates and their partners for the experience of global posting before they embark on assignment. Pre-departure training is important because it is at this stage that candidates must determine their personal objectives within the context of the assignment and the firm’s overarching goals. Training at this stage can equip expatriate candidates with the questions they need answered to ensure both the employee and the firm gain from the assignment. The advantages of pre-departure training lie in the safety of the home culture training environment, the ability to catch misapprehensions or poorly formed perceptions before they become costly mistakes. Pre-departure training provides those candidates who do go on to expatriate assignment with a point of reference between their new environment and their home culture – a way to recognize the totally unfamiliar. The Training Program The devised program has been designed for potential expatriate candidates and their partners, to be conducted by independent consultants for multiple firms simultaneously. It is culturally non-specific because it seeks to provide tools that can be applied in a range of cross-cultural situations. Clearly there are limits to the range of non-specific instruction; however the aim is not to provide lists of norms or stereotypes, but rather to teach recognition of unfamiliar cultural circumstances, no matter the national, ethnic or religious environment. The program is intended to be starting point for those employees and firms contemplating global assignment. As such, the program will lay the foundations of service policies, employment contracts and job descriptions, as well as remuneration and repatriation agreements. The program will also provide practical advice for both firms who must manage from afar, and expatriates who must deal with local situations whilst keeping the home office happy. An inescapable factor in global assignment is a change in cultural environment for the expatriate, and the inevitable feelings of unease or stress commonly associated with coping with this change. There is arguably little any course can do to offset this hurdle, yet pre-departure training allows opportunity to raise the candidates awareness of this problem, arguably increasing their ability to cope. The program is not intended to be intensive, nor is it intended to be long. It is structured for 15 to 20 candidates with their partners and will be conducted over the course of a day. The program is divided into three, 2 hour sessions; therefore the participants will also be divided into three equal groups and rotate through each session in turn. Partner’s well be kept together within groups to ensure they gain the same insights. Sessions will be divided as follows: ï ¼Å'Candidate selection and firm / expatriate expectations ï ¼Å'Culture Shock and Practical Problems ï ¼Å'Relocation, on-going support and repatriation. Session A: selection and expectations Part A: Country Briefing The development of overseas business, markets and customers requires multinational companies to adapt to the unique demands of each country. As no two countries are alike, the ability to understand the language and culture of a country can invariably make the difference when building profitable relationships. In contemporary business environment, it is not unusual that an employee mainly based in China has more connections with his colleagues in Paris or Washington DC. The globalization makes the constant transfer of staffs from a culture to another necessary and essential. Not surprisingly, if a company is planning to send staffs overseas, they will find the whole working style not like the one they are used to. In a study of Elizabeth Marx in 1999, approximately 14.3% England and 25% American expatriate managers were not as successful as they used to be. (Elizabeth Marx (1999) Breaking Through Culture Shock) How to prepare for a totally different culture is crucial to an expatriate manager’s performance. Any stereotypical and inaccurate preconceptions may lead to the international assignment a disaster. That means at corporate level, it is important to prepare the expatriate managers for their new, unfamiliar business environment. This training program is aiming to challenge those managers with the culture and social environment they are going to face. The following is a list of the areas our training course may cover: 1.Background of the country History Political System 2.Current Economic System 3.People and Society 4.Population Profile 5.Current Economy Data 6.Working Relations 7.Language 8.Media and Communications 9.Religion 10.Trade and Industry Part B Candidate Assessment Program Source: Pappas Stanoch Will global trotting help your career (http://www.windowontheworldinc.com/pps_1.html) In this part, we are going to help the employee to evaluate their potential for success on an international assignment. By accepting this part of training, it will help to promote assignment success by supporting a candidate and partner in determining their suitability for living and working internationally. The self assessment is important to the business performance as well as the personal life of the expatriate. For many executives, though, whether to take an international assignment boils down to three key issues: personality, timing and motivation. Personality Doing business in a new setting, under different rules and possibly in a different language, requires flexibility. Frequently, employees with Type A personalities are chosen for these kinds of assignments because they’re ambitious, vocal and successful. However, Type B personality are often more adaptive and relaxed about the challenges they’ll encounter abroad. Timing Families adjust better to the difficulties of an expatriate move at certain times in their life cycles than others. A single person might seem ideal for such a transfer because he or she doesn’t have a family to consider. However, single people lack the emotional support other family members provide, which can be important to facing the stresses of working and living in another country. You have to consider the possibility of your children’s education and your spouse’s career before the decision to move abroad. Motivation How strongly do you want to go, and will you be adequately compensated? Given cost-of-living issues, the assignment may not provide a significant monetary gain. Also ask yourself how your company treats returning expatriates? What types of positions are offered? Is their experience valued? Re-Entering Successfully Many repatriates have difficulty readjusting and maintaining career momentum after their return. As a result, 25% leave their original companies within two years of returning from an overseas assignment, according to a survey by Windham International, a New York-based relocation firm, in conjunction with the National Foreign Trade Council Inc. and the Society for Human Resource Management. To avoid problems, planning your re-entry before you leave for an international assignment is essential. Establish ways to stay in touch with your home office while you’re overseas. This can help you to combat â€Å"out-of-sight, out-of-mind† syndrome. Also, find a company mentor to keep an eye on your career path while you’re out of the country. Be flexible about the timing of your re-entry, since the ideal position may not be available when your assignment is scheduled to end. This part of the training will take about one hour. And firstly the tutor will present the four factors affects the decision to relocate. After that, the following questionnaires are handed out to the trainee. Let them discuss the 10 questions in 4-5 people group for 30 minutes. At this stage, tutors will attend the group discussion and try to lead the group discussion to the points mentioned in the bold words following each question. At the end of the discussion, each member will be asked to present the necessity to be relocated. 1 Do I handle stress constructively? Some people feel frustrated, confused or lonely when surrounded by people from other cultures. Expatriates need to manage these sometimes negative and stressful emotions as well as any job-related stress they experience. 2 Do I rebound quickly from disappointments? It’s common to make mistakes and cultural missteps and experience failures in a foreign country. Being able to laugh at yourself and remain focused are important characteristics of successful expatriates. 3 Am I open to risk? Trying new things is inherent in an international experience. Every day there are new people to meet, new foods to try and new places to explore. 4 Am I comfortable during periods of uncertainty? You can’t learn all the new social and business norms immediately. Accept that you’ll learn as you go and that you can’t be expected to figure out everything as quickly as you would in your home culture. It’s estimated that expatriates operate at 65% of their normal level of productivity during the first three to six months of an assignment. This may disappoint or frustrate you, but it’s perfectly normal. 5 Am I flexible and open to new situations and relationships? You’re certain to encounter ways of thinking and behaving that differ from your own. Being open and flexible will help you enjoy interacting with people who think and operate differently. 6 Am I curious about differences in other cultures, and am I discriminate and accepting of other types of people? While on an international assignment, you need to maintain a positive attitude toward the unfamiliar. While living in a host country, you’ll encounter many people unlike yourself. Learn to understand where they’re coming from and try to interact with them in an effective manner. 7 Do I have a strong sense of self, and am I self-directed? As an expatriate, you may not get the reaction and reinforcement you’re accustomed to. During difficult times, your identity needs to come from within. You must maintain a strong sense of self, especially when others aren’t reinforcing your values. Recognize your personal power and set your own goals, so that you can feel at home in any culture. 8 Am I sensitive to how others interpret my behaviour, and do I appreciate others’ feelings? When communicating in another culture, you need to have confidence in your ability to accurately perceive the feelings of others. Verbal language is sometimes a cultural barrier, and another culture’s subtle, nonverbal cues aren’t always obvious. 9 Does my family support accepting this international assignment? Having the support of family members helps you to focus on whether the move will be good for your career and them as well. 10 Is this a good time in my life to be far away from family, friends and my career network, and can I maintain ties with my home office while on assignment? Living away from your native country can be stressful. It’s helpful to be at a phase in life when important relationships can withstand unusual and challenging circumstances. Having a company mentor in the home office to help you stay abreast of any changes and remain visible also is important. Coming home can be harder than leaving, since you’ll have changed a lot, but your company may have stayed much the same. Session B: Preparing expatriates and their families Purpose: To prepare selected expatriates and their families before going overseas. The program is aimed at building trainees’ recognition of culture shock, and providing them with basic knowledge of living and working in a new environment of cultural difference.

History from 1815 to 1848: a Review of What Hath God Wrought

History from 1815 to 1848: A Review of What Hath God Wrought Native Americans had been all throughout the United States in early history, keeping to themselves living their lives. Americans believed the Indians to be savage and not worth the life they lived and some thought they should be exterminated, however, there were those who had compassion that believed that the Indians should be converted to Christianity and then everything would be fine (23). Native Americans showed as much willingness as white people to participate in the market economy (48).The Indians figured out different ways to communicate with the whites so that they would be able to trade and barter with them effectively (27). It was rare for there to be unmarried farmers because it took both a man and woman to operate the farm effectively. Typically American farms were economically individualistic only being operated by the single nuclear family, not an extended kinship or communal enterprise (34). Almost all the fa rm families living activities were done within the household setting.They included production, consumption, birthing, child rearing, transmitting the fundamentals of reading, and caring for the sick and the old (36). The United States in 1815 resembled the economically developing countries of today in many ways because of their high birth rate and rapid population growth (43). After the battle of New Orleans it took four full weeks for the news to reach Washington. The news of Jackson’s victory came as a big relief to Madison. Under Madison’s presidency, his secretary of war John Armstrong dismissed the possibility of any invasion coming from Britain, so no preparations for defense were made (63).The British found their way to the public buildings of central Washington easily. They burned the capitol and the departments of state, war, navy, and treasury. It started to rain which helped put out the fires but not before the damage had been done (65). James Monroe had los t against Madison in the election for a seat in the House of Representatives and then again during the election for president. In March of 1811 Madison and Monroe reconciled their differences and became friends once again. After which Monroe became Madison’s â€Å"right-hand man†, and was appointed as secretary of war after the resignation of Armstrong.Monroe emerged from the war a convert to nationalism and was the people’s choice to become president after Madison (91). His inaugural address emphasized continuity with his Jeffersonian predecessors and the new republican nationalism (92). Monroe expected and wanted the one-party system to evolve into true nonpartisanship. However because almost all ambitious politicians joined the republican party, the other party ceased to have coherence (95). Relations between the United States and Spain turned out to be much more problematic than those with Britain.After the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 eastern and western Flor ida still belonged to the Spanish empire cutting off the United States access to the Gulf of Mexico, which caused the limiting of economic development in the southwest (97). After the defeat of the Red Stick Creeks at Horseshoe Bend, Creek refugees fled into Florida. On November 12, 1817 troops under the command the command of General Edmond Gaines burned the Creek village of Fowltown on the Georgia side of the border and killed several villagers.On November 30 those who had been made homeless hit back hard, the warriors from Fowltown allied with escaped slaves and attacked a boat carrying forty soldiers and eleven of their dependents. These two events are what caused the first Seminole War to begin (98). The administration decided to turn things over to Jackson after the war had started. There was a letter from the president stating that Jackson needed to be informed that there were to be no attacks on Spanish occupied forts.However the letter never made it to Jackson, there is no specific reason for why it wasn’t delivered but it has been speculated that maybe the president changed his mind or that it should have been understood that the same rules applied to Jackson that had applied to the general in charge before him (99). Jackson took a thousand volunteer militiamen with him to Fort Scott, at the fort Jackson was able to obtain reinforcements but little provisions. After gaining provisions and having up to three-thousand soldiers, Jackson moved his army toward the east attacking and destroying village after village on his way (100).On April 6th Jackson’s army arrived at the Spanish fort of St Marks, here he demanded the commandant to surrender so he could prevent the fort from falling into the hands of the Indians and the blacks (101). In May Jackson heard rumors that Seminoles were gathering together at Pensacola, however the rumors were false but Jackson didn’t know that. Jackson welcomed the opportunity to move against the capitol of Spanish Florida, on his way he warned that if the city offered any resistance that any man found in arms would be put to death.The governor of Florida surrendered on May 28, 1818; Jackson proclaimed that Florida would be under American occupation until Spain provided sufficient troops there to control the border (102). The election of 1824 was the end of the nonparty politics and created the foundation for a new party system. An alliance between Adams and Clay formed the basis of the party called the National Republican which later became the Whig party. Followers of Jackson and Crawford’s would become known as the Democratic Republican and later as the Democratic Party (210).Adams ended up winning the election and became president with Calhoun as his vice president. The invention of the steamboat enhanced the advantages of water transportation, John Fitch had actually built the first American steamer but he couldn’t get any one to financially back the project and d ied in obscurity. Robert Fulton’s Clermont was the first commercially successful steamboat; it plied the Hudson River starting in 1807. Steamboats seemed to be the most valuable form of water transportation when traveling upstream on a river with a strong current.The invention of the steamboat reduced the amount of time it took to make a trip. Even after the invention of the steamboat many merchants continued to prefer sailing ships for ocean voyages because they didn’t have to have as much space for fuel for the longer trips (215). On July 4, 1826 the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson died in his home hours before old adversary and friend John Adams. As Adams was dying he said â€Å"Thomas Jefferson still survives†, but he was mistaken in his remark because in all actuality Jefferson had died first.With the deaths of these two men that meant that only one of the original signers of the declaration was still alive, Charles Carroll an eighty-nine year old man from Maryland was all that was left of those who had signed the declaration (243). In September of 1814 during the most serious invasion of the War of 1812, commander of the British nave General George Prevost suddenly ordered the army to withdraw after the battle at Plattsburg. Captain William Miller only had one theory for the withdraw assuming that it was a form of divine intervention.After the war Miller went back to his farm and would study the Bible every chance he got. Due to his lack of knowledge in Hebrew and Greek he used a mixture of ingenuity and common sense to help interpret it (289). While interpreting the scripture in Daniel he believed he was given the key to predicting the future. The verse read â€Å"Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed†, Miller read days to mean years and the cleansing of the sanctuary to mean the second coming of Christ to judge the world.Miller felt as though he had experienced a calling from God and in 1831 he began to preach about his finding. He had done the calculations and estimated that the event would occur sometime between March 1843 and April of 1844 (290). When the target year expired on April 18th Miller publicly apologized for his mistake, but his followers were not ready to give up on the theory. One follower Samuel Snow recalculated and decided that the correct date of Christ’s return would be the next Jewish Day of Atonement, October 22, 1844.The followers were convinced that it had to be right this time so they paid their debts, quit their jobs, and left their crops needing to be harvested in their fields. All waited on that day for the world to actually end only to find that it was all a hoax the day became known as the â€Å"Great Disappointment† (291). On March 4, 1829; Andrew Jackson was dressed in black at his presidential inauguration because his wife Rachel had suffered had suffered a heart attack on December, 17 and had died five days after.Jackson had blamed her death on his political enemies because during his presidential campaign his and Rachel’s relationship had been made an issue. The depressed and bitter president-elect managed to avoid having to attend the celebration that had been planned to welcome him to Washington. He refused to pay the customary courtesy call on the outgoing president, who reciprocated by not attending Jacksons inaugural (329). It was estimated that Jackson removed nine-hundred and nineteen federal officials during his first year in office.By the time Congress assembled in December of 1829; Jackson had already removed thirteen district-attorneys, nine marshals, twenty-three registers and receivers, and twenty-five customs collectors replacing them all with recess appointments. At first the removals were routinely justified with accusations of malfeasance, Jackson leader’s dresses up their patronage policy as a reform of the corruption the alleged had prevailed under Monroe and Adams (333). Indian removal was a major issue during the first year of Jackson’s administration.Although Jackson avoided committing himself on the tariff of internal improvements, his favoring of rapid removal was well know and accounted for his popularity in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The issue involved Indian tribes all over the country, but the ones with the most to lose were the civilized tribes which included the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and the Seminoles. These people practiced agriculture and animal husbandry and still processed substantial domains in the Deep South states plus in Tennessee, North Carolina, and the Florida Territory (342).The Indian removal bill took high priority in the Jackson’s legislative agenda. Both getting the bill to pass and the latter enforcement of it took Jackson’s full attention. However the Indian removal bill called for another round of treaty-making, intended to secure the complete removal of the Indians to west of the Mississippi (347). The president signed Indian removal into law on May 28, 1830. Jackson wasted no time implementing his favorite measure. While the nations focus was on Georgia and the Cherokees, he sent John Coffee and Secretary of War Eaton to Mississippi to obtain the removal of the Choctaws (352).The efforts the commenced secured the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek on September 27, 1830. Some Choctaws in the forests of eastern Mississippi contrived to avoid the government’s attention until 1918, the majority were forced to move to Oklahoma. The first large party of Choctaws crossed the Mississippi River during the severe winter of 1831-32 (353). The word telegraph was used to describe long-distance optical signaling, by the 1820’s the word telegraph had become a popular name for newspapers.In May of 1844 politicins were eager to learn news from the party conventions taking place in Baltimore, help was at hand because in March of 1843 congress had finally passed an appropriation for Samuel Finley Breese Morse to demonstrate an electromagnetic telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore (691). Unlike the telephone, invented later in the nineteenth century, the telegraph was used more for commercial purposes rather than social (696). After the Texan gained their independence from Mexico they signed a treaty with the United States, which basically said that they would become their erritory once more and would eventually become a state under the union. Several years later the United States annexed Texas back into the country. Mexico took offense to this even though Texas had already had their revolution, starting the Mexican American war. The War was from 1846 to 1848 when the United States and Mexico agreed that the Rio Grande would be the territory border which resulted in the end of the war. Society had come a long way in the years between 1815 and 1848, from advancement in techno logies and the rapid changes in the federal government.Jackson changed everything during his presidency, going the complete opposite of those who had served before him. Many of his actions during his time as president would account for legislation created later on. Technological innovations like the steamboat made carrying cargo much easier and cut down the time it took to deliver. As well as the telegraph and its ability to relay messages from father away much sooner than a messenger on horse. Also during this time the United States expanded an annexed more states into the union making the country bigger.

A Study on the Framing Effect of People When Decisions Are Made Through Foreign Language and Native Language

A Study on the Framing Effect of People When Decisions Are Made Through Foreign Language and Native Language A study was carried out to test the framing effect of people after a foreign language and a native language are used to make decisions. A number of participants who spoke specific common native and secondary language were used in the study to determine the effect indicating that this was an experiment that sought to determine how native language and a second language affect decision making. Dependent variables in an experiment refer to the variables that can never be operational in the absence of the others while independent variables refer to the variables that are operational in the absence of the others. Independent variables in this experiment were the language used since one could have made a decision using any language while the dependent variables were the experimental outcomes since any outcome depended on the language used. Random samples of different groups of participants who spoke common native and common foreign languages were selected and their fluency in these languages evaluated. Those that never met the standards required were eliminated from the selected participants to encourage uniformity. Different groups were then presented with two cases in which they were supposed to make a decision favoring one of the cases using both the native and foreign language. And the results were collected basing on the extent to which a decision was made in native language and the extent to which it was made in a foreign language It was discovered that bias in decision making can be eliminated when using an alien dialect. The four experiments conducted indicated that the framing effect tends to disappear when a foreign language is used in making a decision after being presented with choices. It was also discovered that people tend to be risk aversive when advantages are considered and and tend to be risk seeking when there exists cases of losses and when there is a presentation of choices in the native language and the framing manipulation had no effect on them (Shiv, et al, 2005). Additional experiments indicated that evading losses undergoes reductionwhere alien dialect is in usewhen making decisions thus the chances of accepting both hypothetical and real bets are high Critique The experiment is not 100% reliable and valid to the extent that very few random samples were taken to represent the whole population in the globe. There are those people who have almost equal command of native and foreign language and using both languages, they can make similar decisions. Such people were never included in the experiment. The experiment was also conducted in a few parts of the globe thus ignoring most of the other parts when coming up with the conclusion. This means that the findings were never correctly interpreted. Further interpretation and research can be made when almost all parts of the globe are covered to minimize generalization. Ethical safeguards were never fully employed since the beliefs of the people were never fully considered especially when dealing with the cases of making choices regarding bets since there are a number of people who do not believe in such issues thus their decisions get jeopardized. A follow-up study can be used to study the exten t of emotions presented when using a native language and a foreign language. According to CaldwellAycicegi (2009),it can be noted that people are more emotionally attached to their native language thus displaying a higher degree of emotions than when alien dialect is used. However, the results presented were strong since the command and decision making as well as emotions are stronger when using the native language than a foreign language. Therefore, the distance in the attachment of the cognitive self with a foreign language results to the presented findings. Such issues tend to be additional implications of using foreign language over the native language. The problem with the research is that only a small group was used in the study to represent the whole globe where people from all walks of life were never involved in order to come up with the correct decision. The method is better in presenting decisions that are reached when making decisions using a foreign language and native language. It can be noted that a more desired decision that is free of bias can be reached at when alien dialect is used. Brief summary Bias when making decisons can be reduced when a foreign dialect is employed and â€Å"framing effect† tends to disappear in cases where decisions the presentation of decisions is made in an alien dialect (Benjamin, Brown, Shapiro, 2006.avding of losses tends to take place when alien dialect is employed due to the huge cognitive and emotional distance caused by a foreign language. This experiment could have been more desirable if a large part of the global population was used in the experiment instead of using a very small sample to make the decision pertaining to the whole globe. The experiment can be used in making decisions where more desirable decisions that are free of bias are made. Trauma-Informed School Social Work Everyone in a school setting is subject to various forms of pressure, scarce resources and demand. Young people and adults both attend school each with an independent history of trauma that is hard to identify. Therefore, a trauma-informed approach is critical when employed in dealing with students in a school setting. This is because if left unattended, it affects the students’ behavioural, social and academic performance. Various other technical means might not work in cases where trauma is involved leading to traumatization of the student. A study conducted within a period of the year yielded results indicating that 60% of children are subject to violence or abuse (Finkelhor et al, 2009). An assumption that at least every student in a school setting has ever experienced a traumatizing event can be made. Trauma originates from an event that threatens a person’s safety thus making him fear, experience horror or even feel hopeless). Trauma can be as a result of domestic violence, sexual or physical abuse, violence, emotional or physical neglect, betrayal, accidents, life-threatening illness among others (National Child, Traumatic Network, 2013). Traumatic incidences may affect the behaviour, social or even academic performance of a student (Steel and Malchiodi, 2012). Trauma-informed responses become a remedy of the misbehaviours and punishments that may affect the involved student (Blaustein and Kinniburgh, 2010) Adults may be faced with unruly behaviours that originate from the traumatized students. At such a time the efforts of the adults to bring to an end the funny behaviour may not bear fruits which leads to frustration and anger among the involved parties. The trauma-informed approach is critical in opening up new possibilities for change where disciplinary methods are employed in such a way that while teaching the child how to regulate his emotions, safety and empathy are employed. These can be done at the same time since firm discipline and empathy are not mutually exclusive. The administrators, workers as well as teachers areon how to identify and retort to trauma cases. Trauma-informed school is concerned about the recovery and resilience of traumatized students through the implementation of organizational practices, policies and culture that help in the reflection of trauma skills and awareness and thus ensuring student’s security comes first (Ryan, Testa and Zai 2008) The school social workers should, therefore, be involved in teaching the students, school staff and the society in general about what trauma is and how it tends to affect the individuals. They should also be involved in the process of creating a collaborative network that links the parents, school personnel, teachers and the community in general which helps in the creation and monitoring of school policies that ensure the safety of the students from traumatizing experiences. The school social workers are the catalysts for ensuring that a trauma-informed school culture is created to ensure the safety of everyone in the school. This can only be done by mediating the parents, the school staff and the teachers to come up with the best ways to deal with the student’s behaviour and fostering academic achievements in a trauma-informed manner. They should also educate the teachers on how to deal with the students without getting angry or using harsh language. School social workers and the staff should always focus on the child’s cognition as well as the sensory processes that require sensory intervention. Social workers should also be involved in sharing with the students a curriculum that helps in teaching the students how to identify their bodily sensations and emotions helping the students to identify the difference between the past and the present occurrences which allows them to handle each situation differently. Social workers should also b e involved in engaging parents and teachers who might as well be traumatized and helping them deal with such situations and educating them on how to handle students as well as their children. Employing a trauma-informed approach in a school is the best thing that one can do since it takes care of the traumatized students and adults in general. It is necessary for school social workers to intervene and ensure that the approach has been employed and that the students, teachers and the parents have been educated on how to handle traumatizing events which foster behavioural academic and social improvements. Marginalization of School’s Social Workers When the practice of social working began, the social workers acted as the mediators for the students who seemed to be at risk thus acting as a linkage between the homes and the schools (Allen, Washington and Welsh, 1996). Various reforms were seen in the education sector due to the widespread changes that took place in the globe due to industrialization include the compulsory law of school attendance(Phillippo and Blosser, 2013). Therefore, the social workers have for a long time been considered the best means through which student’s problems can be solved. The responsibility of the social workers in schools has been assumed where they have not been involved in making the major decisions in schools. Perpetuated by the consequential practices and shift in the philosophical framework that shapes the responsibilities of the workers, it is evident that marginalization of the of the school’s social workers has taken place for a long time. With the shift in the responsibilities of the social workers, their work has currently been seen as handling mental illnesses in schools rather than addressing the attendance of the students in schools and their changes in behaviors as well as informing their families on the educational requirements and as well as the available community resources (Phillippo and Blosser, 2013). Phillippo and Blosser, (2013) states that the reforms made in the education system in the 1970s which promoted learning among the students with cognitive learning issues as well as physical challenges and advocated for the n ecessity of social workers to schools saw them being the reasonable people who can be charged with the responsibility of taking care of this kind of students. However as they provided the necessary services to the mentally and physically challenged students, their contribution and incidence in the general education system gradually faded D’ Agostino, (2013) concurs with Philippo and Blosser by stating that marginalization has also been exacerbated by the financial constraints for special education where the available capital determines and describes the job done by the social workers and their day to day activities within the school thus limiting their involvement and responsibilities in school affairs. As a result, social workers contribution in the general education has been dismissed since they are only known to deal with the disabled students in the society which is known to be their traditional role thus underestimating their value in the school and the society in general. The occupational profile of social workers is created by â€Å"National Association of Social Workers† (NASW, 2010). It defines the responsibility of the social workers within a school such as conducting home visits, developing plans for treatment, student’s advocacy as well as completion of family and students assessment among other similar roles. There lacks the role of curriculum development and development of leadership activities in the school thus the profession seems to devalue the workers in some way. It is, therefore, necessary for the school administrators and the social workers to come together and redefine the roles and responsibility and contribution to schools and students success (Bye et al, 2009). This would help in eliminating the rift that exists between the social workers and the school guidance and counselling workers in all departments especially in leadership (Altshuler and Webb, 2009) which creates a necessity for their collaboration with the sc hool’s leadership. The social workers must also be versed with self-advocacy which allows to speak to the world and explain the essence of their practices in schools. Social workers have largely contributed to the achievement of the scholars in a school. However unrecognized, their work is unimaginably explicit. There should be a change in the system that defines the roles of the social workers in a school in order to endorse them with the responsibilities that they are supposed to carry out in a school. Apart from their contribution in helping the mentally and psychologically challenged students, they should be allowed to interact with the other students and be involved in school matters to transform the lives of the students and the operations of the school for the better.

Describe elements of power and quote work from Weber, Bachrach & Essay

Describe elements of power and quote work from Weber, Bachrach & Baratz & Lukes - Essay Example Power and control are two concepts highly analysed by theorists and researchers. The works that are most known in this field are those of Weber, Bachrach & Baratz and Lukes. Their views on power and control have certain similarities; still, differences exist at the level that each one of these theorists uses different criteria for evaluating human behaviour. In any case, it has been proved that the relationship between power and control is strong at such level that each of these concepts cannot be fully explained without referring to the other. However, there are also cases where the above concepts can be independent, but these cases are rather the exception and not the rule. In order to understand the relationship between power and control, it would be necessary to check the elements of these two concepts, as explained by theorists who studied the particular subject. The view of Weber of power is quite important for understanding the relationship between power and control. In accord ance with Goverde et al. ... The above description of power has been derived by the view of Weber on the specific concept, meaning that the elements of power, as perceived by Weber, could be slightly differentiated from the description given above. In other words, the interpretation of the view of Weber of power cannot be considered as standardized, reflecting the personal view of the theorist who has tried to explain the concept of power using the work of Weber. The definition of power, as given by Weber, is the following one: ‘power is the possibility of imposing one’s will upon the behaviour of other persons’ (Weber 1954, p.323 in Vahabi, 2004, p.2). The approaches used by Weber for interpreting power are analysed in the study of Breiner (1996). The above study helps to understand also the relationship between power and control, as perceived by Weber. Breiner (1996) notes that the view of Weber on power seems to have the following form: power is considered as an advantage of political auth orities; in other words, power is not so much a right of all individuals, but primarily, a right of governors to decide on critical issues of their state. From this point of view, power is depended on control in the following way: the control on the social/ political and economic affairs of a particular state reflects the power of its governor to rule (Breiner 1996(. In other words, control is a means of governors – or politicians – in order to show their power to govern. This power is related not just to various political issues, but it can be expanded on all aspects of citizens’ daily life, including culture, sciences and business activity. In accordance with Vahabi (2004) the above description of power is quite effective, reflecting the characteristics of power when being

The Industrialization of American West and its Impact to the East Term Paper

The Industrialization of American West and its Impact to the East - Term Paper Example Yet skeptics were proven wrong as this ‘wilderness’ gradually expanded and metamorphosed into a booming industrial sphere and provided a promise that would last a lifetime. True enough, wherever opportunity springs, people swarm. This catapulted the growth of population in the US West and prompted the creation of more industries in the area, affecting not only the other side of the country but also some parts of the world. Evidence The construction of the transportation systems that link the nation’s East to West saw the dawn of great migrations within neighboring states. The Cumberland Road (1811) and the Erie Canal (1825) paved the way for people to explore far-flung areas in the West. This made people, especially those from the East who saw the level of opportunity in the area insufficient, realize that the vast land only waited for their attention and promised them an unspeakable prize. The California Gold Rush of 1849 â€Å"attracted people from all over the world to venture on the mining industry† (â€Å"The California Gold†). As time went by, however, gold deposits in California depleted, so expedient merchants immediately looked for other resources. Some of them ventured into another business while others still believed in the promise of mining. The gold mines in Colorado (1858), South Carolina (1860) and Dakota (1874) rewarded the faith of numerous miners. Several of them explored other natural resources of the West such as coal, copper, ore, and iron. Then the quest for precious minerals began and struck the entire nation with awe and fervor. Decades ago before these, the invention of the cotton gin also revolutionized the industry of farming in the United States during that time. Production of the crop increased and offered a competitive advantage for farmers. The area became a large-scale and respected supplier to the world. Not only that this yielded satisfactory income to workers and immense profits for businesspe rsons, but also contributed much in the revival of a feeble domestic economy. Accordingly, machines and tools were already invented to support industrial productions, especially in textiles and light metals that contributed to the export capability and competitiveness of the country. Generally, the agriculture, mining and construction industries actively facilitated the boost into the economy of the US since this era. The Americans of the East, the West, the natives, and even the immigrants saw these as an amazing turn-of-events. This period of American history, according to the academic Frederick Jackson Turner speaks about the â€Å"virtue of discovery, the courageous determination to trail new paths and an objection to the dogma that because an institution or condition exists, so it must remain† (Turner 35).  

Social and Cultural Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Social and Cultural Philosophy - Essay Example The political stakes in the modern split between high and low art were never more clearly articulated than in the debate between Walter Benjamin and Theodor W. Adorno on popular culture. When Adorno described his defense ÃŽ ¿f autonomous art and Benjamin's apology for mass entertainment as torn halves ÃŽ ¿f one freedom, he located their dispute within a speculative tradition that invests aesthetic experience with emancipatory potential. The origins ÃŽ ¿f this discourse can be traced to Romanticism and its reflection on the role ÃŽ ¿f subjectivity in politics and art. Benjamin's dialogue with Adorno marked an important turning point in this narrative by unmasking its twin protagonists--the autonomous individual and its collective other--as phantasms, figments ÃŽ ¿f the Romantic imagination. By analyzing the Romantic phantasms that haunted Benjamin's dialogue with Adorno, the present essay suggests how critical subjectivity might be reconsidered in an age in which the virtual reality à Ž ¿f cyberspace has become second nature for many individuals. The debate on popular culture is primarily documented in two essays--one each by Benjamin on film and Adorno on jazz--published in successive issues ÃŽ ¿f the Zeitschrift fur Sozialforschung in 1936. (Wiggershaus 191-218) Both friends were living in exile--Benjamin in Paris and Adorno in Oxford--and the letters they exchanged provide additional clues to the positions they were elaborating. If the personal hardships f emigration influenced the tenor f their dispute, then contemporary events almost certainly contributed to its sense f urgency. Everywhere the new mass media seemed subject to manipulation: by totalitarian regimes in Italy, Germany, and the USSR, and monopolizing market forces in the USA. In the 1930s, questions f popular culture became political problems f the first order. Adorno's primary contribution to the debate, an essay titled "Uber Jazz," has a relatively uncomplicated textual history. Benjamin's contribution, "Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit," is another story. At Benjamin's request, the essay was published in the Zeitschrift fur Sozialforschung in French translation. This translation was based on a second, revised version f the essay. After the French translation was published, Benjamin completed a second and more radical revision f the German text, in the express hope that Bertolt Brecht would have it published in Moscow. As it turned out, none f the German versions appeared in print until Adorno and his wife Gretel included the third version f the essay in their two-volume edition f Benjamin's selected works, in 1955. This is the version that served as the basis for Harry Zohn's translation, "The Work f Art in the Age f Mechanical Reproduction," the only one available in English at this date. It is also the v ersion that continues to serve as the basis for most academic discussion f the essay, despite the fact that both earlier versions have been made available in recent decades. (Arendt 217-51) The result f all this is that there exists no one authoritative text f Benjamin's essay, but rather three distinct documents f a work in progress. The differences that distinguish the three texts provide as much insight into Benjamin's debate with Adorno as any one variant read in isolation. For this reason, all three versions will be considered in the discussion that follows. Adorno first identified the Romantic phantasms haunting his dialogue with Benjamin in a letter from 18 March 1936, written to critique an unpublished manuscript f Benjamin's essay. In an attempt to mediate between their divergent views, Adorno observed that autonomous art and popular film both bear the scars f capitalist exploitation, as well as elements f change. He did not, however, suggest that high art be privileged over low. Instead, he insisted that neither be sacrificed to the other, since this would mean losing the critical potential f both. Only if high and low art are

Lit review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Lit review - Essay Example 000 as command center for the acquisition of equipment and supplies of all the armed services – RAF, Navy and ground forces – representing a major restructuring in defense culture and processes. This major command was created precisely to improve logistics acquisition by moving from a functional to a project-based organizational structure. Under the DLO, a total of 144 Integrated Project Teams were organized, one for each type of military equipment and supplies. Each IPT has its own set of assembly staff, logisticians, engineers, contractors and financial team, operating much like a business organization. Lysons, K. and Farrington, B. (2006)note that the Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (PSCM) concept was started in February 2001 to reduce costs as soon as possible and improve overall performance by addressing the following concerns: supplies concerns consumable items or those equipment components that can be easily repaired. Even in the US Air Force, the difficulty of finding cheap consumable parts is blamed for 40 per cent of aircraft downtime. To handle this specific problem, the IPTs created the positions of supply Range Managers (RMs) under its wing to exclusively attend to the problem of high procurement costs. In effect, the Range Managers were handed the decision-making task of finding the methods of procurement and selection of suppliers that would translate into cost-efficient defense spending. As decision-makers, the Range Managers are expected to formulate measures that would cut costs and make their organization more efficient and viable. But the task of making decisions for an organization is not as easy as it seems. Any organization is a technical instrument for mobilizing human energies and directing them toward set goals. Janczak, 2005. The main function of the organization is decision-making which entails planning, evaluating and implementing. These decision-making processes may be disrupted by petty politics and

Harford Bicycle Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Harford Bicycle Planning - Assignment Example Hull consists of a population of 262,000 individuals with a near 50/50 gender ratio. No particular cycling habits were identified through studies pertaining to very regionalized cultural habits in Hull. It is an understanding that certain geographical features and inherent landscape motivations will determine some consumer behaviour, however without this data this marketing function seeks for mass market appeal via a systematic IMC campaign. In this city, the infrastructure for this activity is present, the motivations and incentives are a missing component. Using valid concepts of human behaviour, target markets were identified as subsections: Since no identifiable model of consumer target characteristics could be identified, this segmentation approach represents a modified acknowledgement of the FCB Planning Model and the Elaboration Likelihood Model of consumer decision-making. Taking into assessment the history and structure of Hull, these markets coincide with the geographical proximity of Halford’s product distributors and can be targeted through mass-focused communications over a systematic time period. The concept is not about making comparable difference claims about Halford’s internal brand reliance and partnerships, positioning Halford’s is identifying its strengths and weaknesses that are most likely to be present in the local environment. Halford’s currently refers to itself as much like a distributor when referring to its product selection, thus making it competitive through its product. Halford’s requires a repositioning during this summer period that gives the business a personified image. It is choice of quality positioning as a lifestyle leader for key markets with a supplementary identity as a premier sales organization. Quality. It speaks a different language depending on the target

Describing resolution of a recent business conflict Coursework

Describing resolution of a recent business conflict - Coursework Example According to Spiroska (2014), conflicts always exist in organizations, and the important thing is how to resolve these conflicts for the betterment of the company. Unresolved conflicts affect various people involved. Conflict is costly as it makes workers get sick, and some even do not report to the job. In addition, avoidance of conflict lead to being fired and some opt to resign as in the case of Joe, who decided to quit after he anticipated that his boss was to fire him. Katrina (2010) suggests that such negatives in an organization lead to significant financial losses especially for businesses that are small. For example, if workers stay at home because conflict is not resolved at the workplace, the business incurs some direct costs particularly in the long term. In addition, the company might hire a temporal employee to replace the sick one, thus creating money drain for the company due to the extra pay. Projects are also affected by unresolved conflicts leading to reduced production and unsatisfied customers. Employee turnover due to conflict is also costly as it leads to vacant positions that need new employees. This attracts other costs like recruitment expenses, training expenses; severance paying, and the investment that was made in the knowledge of the previous employee (Spiroska, 2014). Various symptoms develop due unresolved conflict, and they act as the primary cost in many organizations. Some of the effects may include frustration, stress, accidents, and complaints by clients (Katrina, 2010). The cost of conflict from the case study that involved Joe led to the company losing revenue, the owner felt frustrated, and the company’s reputation was affected negatively. Furthermore, the management team was also affected by the retaliatory nature, poor attitude, and negativity of Joe, who was part of them. As a result, other managers tried all means to avoid a relationship with Joe. In the end, the owner hired an

Electricity and Magnetism Essay Example for Free

Electricity and Magnetism Essay In this investigation I will be burning a range of alcohol in a method known as calorimetry. This will allow me to see the amount of energy produced by each alcohol, and then look at the structure of the alcohol and investigate why an amount of energy is produced for each alcohol. Before I go on with the experiment there are several factors that must be first understood. What is an alcohol? The definition of an alcohol as taken from Richard Harwoods Chemistry textbook is a series of organic compounds containing the functional group OH. The OH group, called a hydroxyl group is what defines the compound as an alcohol. The alcohol compounds are very similar to the alkanes, however alcohols contain one oxygen atom, creating the hydroxyl group, and making the alkane an alkanol (alcohol). As the hydroxyl group makes the compound different to an alkane, the hydroxyl group is seen to be functional. The formula for alcohol is: In this investigation I will look at the first five alcohols. These are methanol, ethanol, propan-1-ol, butan-1-ol and pentan-1-ol. The classification of alcohols is similar to the classification of alkanes, where the name refers to the number of carbon atoms i. e.meth- one carbon atom, eth-=two carbon atoms, prop-=3 carbon atoms, but-=four carbon atoms, pent-=five carbon atoms and so on. The carbon atom that the hydroxyl group is bonded to may classify the alcohol further. If it is joined to the end carbon atom it is classified as -1-ol, if it is bonded to the second carbon atom it is classified as -2-ol and so on. The five alcohols I am testing are shown with formulas, and atomic structure diagrams below: Name RMM Formula Structure Boiling Point Methanol. What is combustion? The definition of combustion as taken from Richard Harwoods Chemistry textbook is a chemical reaction in which a substance reacts with oxygen the reaction is exothermic. Burning is a combustion reaction that produces a flame. The reactions that will take place in our investigation will be combustion reactions, as we burn the alcohol in calorimetry. The combustion of an alcohol produces carbon dioxide and water. This is represented by the following equation: ALCOHOL + OXYGEN i CARBON DIOXIDE + WATER e. g. The combustion of methanol produces carbon dioxide and water: METHANOL + OXYGEN i CARBON DIOXIDE + WATER 2CH3OH + 3O2 i 2CO2 + 4H2O What is calorimetry? Calorimetry is defined as the science of heat. It may be used in chemistry to measure the heat energy exchanged for a substance during a reaction, by allowing the substance reacting to heat a measured mass of liquid. The temperature change of this liquid is measured and recorded, and the following equation may be used to calculate the heat energy transferred to the liquid: Heat change = MC? T (where M = mass of liquid, C = critical temperature, and T = temperature change). The critical temperature is the proportionality between heat energy applied and the subsequent temperature rise. E. g. for 1g of water a temperature rise of 1 i C requires 4. 8 joules of heat energy. Using calorimetry may be used to measure both reactions in solution, and reactions not in solution. Wet reactions or those in solution are more accurate than those not in solution, as the actual energy release of the reaction is being measured directly as a thermometer is placed in the solution. For dry reactions, (a reaction not in solution such as the burning of an alcohol) the reaction must be used to heat a mass of water and the temperature increase measured from the water. As the combustion reaction must transfer its heat energy from the reaction to the water, calorimetry for dry reactions can be inaccurate due to heat loss. HYPOTHESIS I believe that the increased complexity of a molecule and the energy released by it are proportional. I found this idea upon the theory of breaking and making bonds. In a molecule, bonds hold atoms together. When these bonds are formed energy is given out to the surroundings (exothermic), and when these bonds are broken energy is absorbed from the surroundings (endothermic). This may be seen by the alcohols boiling points: Name Boiling Point Methanol 65 Ethanol 78 Propan-1-ol 97 Butan-1-ol 117 Pentan-1-ol 137 Using this theory of breaking/making bonds, we can say that there will be a greater amount of energy released from the combustion of a more complex alcohol, as more bonds will be formed. When more bonds are formed, more heat energy is released. The hypothesis may be seen on the flowing graph: TESTING To investigate the relationship between the structure and heat provided by combustion of a range of alcohols, we will use the method of calorimetry. We will do this by burning an alcohol, and allowing it to heat a mass of water. Measuring the temperature rise of this mass of water we can use the formula to find the heat energy released during the reaction. Apparatus == 1 can == 1 measuring cylinder == Water == 1 thermometer == 1 stand == 1 clamp == 1 boss == 1 heat mat == 1 alcohol burner/candle == 1 balance == Draught shields Fig1: Experiment setup. Method. Safety must be ensured at all times, as highly flammable substances are being burned here. All students must wear eye protection during the experiment, stay standing during the experiment, and be aware of the flames around them. 1. The apparatus is set up as shown in fig 1. 2. The alcohol candle is weighed on the balance, and the mass recorded. 3. The mass of water in the can measured and recorded 4. The height between the candlewick, and the base of the can must be set and recorded, measuring the distance with a ruler. 5. The temperature of the water is measured and recorded using the thermometer. 6. The candle is lit and the thermometer monitored until the water has risen by a given temperature. 7. The candle is blown out, the burnt wax on the base removed of the candle, and the candle is weighed. The data produced by this method will then be calculated by the formulas: ? H (j) = mass of water (g) X specific heat capacity of water (S. H. C) X temperature rise (? C) The result of this is found per gram of alcohol burnt by dividing it by the change of mass ? H per gram of alcohol burnt (J/g) = ? H (? C) / change in mass (g) The results of this are the found per mole of alcohol burnt. ? H per gram of alcohol burnt per mole (J/mole) = ? H per gram of alcohol burnt (g) X RMM of alcohol Variables There are two types of variables: dependant variables and independent variables. Dependant variables are those that are kept constant at a set value, so that they cannot cause variation in the results, by changing throughout the experiments. There should only be one independent variable in a test, this is what is being tested. Therefore the dependent variables for this investigation are as follows (see fig 2): 1. The distance of the wick from the base of the can The distance of the flame from the base of the can may vary the results greatly, as it will decide how much of the flames heat is transferred directly to the can and to the water. The experiment should allow the flame to contact the can at its hottest point. The most accurate and safe way to measure flame distance from the can is to measure the distance of the wick. For the purposes of our experiment this should be accurate enough. Measuring the distance from the wick and the base of the can each time will control this variable. 2. The mass of water heated. The volume of water can vary the experiment greatly, as the greater the mass of water used, the more alcohol will be combusted to reach the target temperature. Also when a greater mass of water is used, the test will go on for longer, and thus a greater amount of energy will be transferred to the surroundings as wasted energy. Measuring the amount of water used each time will control this variable. 3. The type of can used. The type metal the can is made from is extremely important to the experiment, as different metals conduct heat with different efficiency and at different rates. Therefore the type of can used will affect the heat transfer to the water. Using the same can each time will control this variable. 4. The heat increase The heat increase can vary the experiment, as the greater the energy increase, the greater the mass of alcohol burnt, and the greater amount of energy transferred to the surroundings as waste. The start temperature may affect the results, as the higher the temperature the equipment reaches, the more heat will be wasted in the surroundings, according to the theory that heat energy moves from areas of high heat energy to areas of low energy. By allowing the equipment to cool after each experiment to a set temperature this variable may be controlled. 5. Stirring of the water Stirring the water will affect the results, as it means that the whole mass accounted for in the calculation will be being heated, not just one volume of water. The type of stirring in terms of frequency and power may affect the results also, and must be kept constant. To control this variable, the same type of stirring will be used each time. The only variable in the experiment will be the changing type of alcohol being combusted, as this is what is being investigated.

Why are Professional Standards Important?

Why are Professional Standards Important? Introduction To start this report I would like to explain the importance of professional standards. According to the LLUK (no date) the professional standards have a purpose. These standards are for all educators who work within the lifelong learning sector which describe the skills, knowledge and attributes required for those who are in teaching and training roles. Professionalism in a teacher role According to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (no date) teacher professionalism has relevant significance in education and that it affects the role of the teacher, which in return affects the students ability to learn effectively. This definition however does not describe how a professional should act within their job or workplace. According to teaching expertise (2006) the post-compulsory education and training (PCET) sector is broad and diverse. Teachers, trainers and tutors who work within the FE sector have all had different experiences. Educators have often gained specialist knowledge within a particular industry e.g. hospitality and catering. An alternative route is through university and specialising this way. Critically examine societies and your own, values in relation to education or training. (K1) Values of professional practice, according to Wallace (2009), Our values represent something internal to us a part at our own moral and ethical guidance system. I believe that teaching and learning has a purpose to educate learners in the means to proceed and progress a learners future and career prospects. I believe that a value is a value created on someones own behalf. The purpose of education, I believe, is to educate and furthermore we need education in our daily lives to survive. The educator has a role which is to support and provide a service whilst at the same time motivating learners. Furthermore, it is important to stress that there should be a connection between the educator and learner and that there is a positive relationship between them. It is important, as an educator, to communicate effectively. In addition, a profession and a professional work together in harmony. It should be made clear that a professional person needs values of professionalism. There may be some overlap in terms of how a professional should act or carry out a professional job. The comments above tie in closely with what makes a good teacher. From personal reflections and thoughts, three distinct aspects came to my attention, which are: An effective listener towards the learners and staff Being respectful to colleagues and learners To be understanding towards learners and staff Poor teaching or poor professionalism in teaching is as follows: Not letting students finish tasks No reassurance of learning Impolite to staff and students Favouritism with students In summary, the values which are distinct and should be considered as acceptable values for teaching professionals are being supportive, being a listener and also to respect all staff and students within the institution. Professional practice can be determined with a set of values. These values are what educators should be following with on-going observation and reflective practice. According to LLUK (no date) there is a set of standards called the New overarching professional standards for teachers, tutors and trainers in the lifelong learning sector. Furthermore, the standards categorised into sub-sections which have specific professional objectives and act as guidelines. It is these objectives which educators must abide to throughout teacher practice. According to LLUK (no date) there is a set of 7 professional values. An example would be, AS 1 all learners, their progress and development, their learning goals and aspirations and the experience they bring to their learning AS 2 Learning, its potential to benefit people emotionally, intellectually, socially and economically, and its contribution to community sustainability As mentioned, each point has a value and purpose. From just observing the set of values, purposely constructed for educators within the LLUK sector, they are powerful and strong. I believe there is a problem with the values that educators may not be able to abide to all of these due to several reasons. Firstly, funding, and that some institutes may suffer to deliver consistent values. Secondly, some of the values will have more demand than others. It can be argued that these values will vary according to the institute. It can be suggested that some institutions would decide to keep their dominant values. Additionally, the values set by the LLUK are and should be approached with underpinning knowledge and understanding and a professional practice. For example, referring to LLUK (No name), The knowledge and understanding: AK 1.1 What motivates learners to learn and the importance of learners experience and aspirations. Professional practice: AP 1.1 Encourage the development and progression of all learners through recognising, valuing and responding to individual motivation, experience and aspirations Darling-Hammond (1988) commented that the value of professionalism, in regards to educators, is fundamental and direction of excellence. The author states that educators need competence and that professionalism relates to three focuses which are preparation, knowledge of subject area, and defined pedagogy. Firstly, preparation, prepares the professional for the classroom which examines the language and cultural barriers. All educators face deterrents in the classroom that must be broken down by individualised techniques. Darling-Hammond (1988 pg. 59) related this to state, Decision making by well-trained professionals allows individual clients needs to be met more precisely andà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦promotes continual refinement and improvement in overall practice It is to suggest that values of professionalism are to be approached correctly. This will encourage the educator to be prepared for the classroom. Furthermore, the values of professionalism exist for a reason. They will benefit the professional teacher in terms of motivating and encourage student participation. Alongside preparation, a professional educator with a strong knowledge of his/her subject area will create opportunities to be creative around the subject taught. As a result, Lesson planning and resource preparation time will be less because the educator will already understand the subject. This will reduce the time researching material. It is worth commenting that it would be an advantage to know a subject inside out and would reflect and portray confidence in his/her teaching. In addition, the educator should have a wealth of experience which would benefit his/her practice and enhance their teaching. According to Lunenburg and Ornstein (2000), developing such expertise and knowledge can take years to develop such knowledge. As a result of this, I believe that constant reading and information seeking is important to teaching a specialist subject. It would be beneficial that an educator has worked and gained enough experience within the industry in order for them to teach or become specialists in their profession. I also believe that this would improve and develop opportunities when it comes to being creative. It is helpful to outline the wider context within which FE practice and values of the professional educator. Notwithstanding, the tutor groups in FE who were not previously included in the FE (e.g. colleges 14-19 diplomas), colleges have become livelier places. Lecturers activities have now geared more to ensuring that students remain on courses and that students pass qualifications (Hyland and Merrill 2003 P.g. 86). To summarise, I would like to comment that professional values assist the educator and that they should be utilised at all times during his or her practice. Guile and Lucas (1999 P.g. 204) suggested that clarification in terms of describing the FE educator is needed. It is worth suggesting that society decides and determines professionalism and the values of professionalism within reason to how the educator should be. Demonstrate a critical awareness of the concept of professionalism as this relates to the current role of a teacher working in the PCET sector. (K1, K2) With regard to the concept of professionalism, Humphreys and Hyland (2002 P.g. 06) argued that, the concentration on performance in teaching and professional development is to be welcomed, provided that performance is not defined in purely technicist or instrumental terms In other words, there is a purpose for performance in teaching which should not be confused or misinterpreted. The criteria, the role and responsibilities of a teacher have and are becoming more and more centralised. The questionable scenario/point to highlight here is that of the educator and how they are to overcome this challenge. According to IFL, a Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status is recognition for newly qualified teachers within PCET. This highlights the identity of teachers in post-compulsory education and training. All new teachers need to achieve a Level 3 teaching qualification. Following this, new teachers have five years to achieve a Level 5 teaching qualification which leads to the QTLS status. The QTLS status is recognition of the teaching qualification in order to teach within the PCET sector. In working towards a new profession, the IFL raises the importance for continuing professional development (CPD) which ensures that educators remain specialists in their chosen subject/s. According to Millerson (1964), there is conflict and discussion to how the teacher should carry out their professional role. This relates to the nature of professionalism. Millerson (1964) mentioned that professionalism concerned a lot of attention to sociologists in the 1950s. The main approach at the time focused on establishing the features that an occupation should have in order to be termed a profession. Within context, this questioned how professions such as medicine and law should be perceived. In contrast, Hanlon (1998) highlighted that there is research on professionalism. The author stated that people see professionalism in a profession. The author has highlighted the point that teaching is a profession and that the role of the teacher is professional. Critically evaluates a chosen aspect of quality assurance in PCET and relates this to the concept of professionalism. (K3) To critique quality assurance within PCET it would be appropriate to define quality assurance. To summarise, quality assurance is a system which prevents a lack of professionalism and through regular control standards and values can be maintained. This makes sure that the needs of the user/s are satisfied. The main purpose is to control assessment and also seeks to improve performance. In addition, quality assurance controls and helps to benchmark against existing qualitative and quantitative results/feedback. Professionalism and quality assurance are two complex areas which overlap and must work together. The two areas concerned are of high importance to the teacher, the course team and the college/Institution. The quality assurance process is closely linked with being a professional teacher and that the professional values should aim to assist and facilitate a direction. Being a professional teacher requires continuous professional development which is carried out by completing research within the specialist subject, faculty and institution. According to the LLUK (no date), student feedback is valuable. There are two types of feedback, formal and informal approaches. It is vital that the PCET teacher considers regular peer observations which will help to improve teaching skills. Observations can help to critique teaching styles/approaches within teaching. Through regular peer assessment and observation, the PCET teacher/tutor must demonstrate effective and appropriate organisational skills which should be evidenced through lesson planning. According to LLUK (No Date), The department and staff should be measured using a variety of ways which should include and involve statistical data such as attendance records, grades, percentages, student profiles, student surveys and lesson observations and more. This data can interpret and help to benchmark against information. This should assist the control and assessment of quality assurance as mentioned above. The institution has a reputation to uphold and a quality status to achieve through goals and action plans. It is part of the PCET teacher to ensure that constant contributions and efforts are made which are then measured through internal audits, college records, league tables and every child matters policies. Lastly, external bodies, as they help to mould the quality together. It could be stated that they are the back bone. External bodies such as, LLUK or Ofsted Inspectors signify what must be done. It is an essential part for guidance and that these external bodies are to help and improve the PCET teacher, college/institution and department. According to The University of Bath (2005) there would be a board or a quality assurance committee who would be responsible for the staff teaching. Internal and external examiners are also utilised to produce reports which help to evaluate and review the teacher, department and institute. All parts of the quality assurance system within PCET are vital to the mix of an overall quality performance. The chosen aspect for critical evaluation is observation. Reasoning for my decision is that there is plenty of research and information about the topic. Observations assist educators and institutions in terms of learning and teaching. It should be made clear for what purpose the observation has and will this benefit the teacher or the institution or both. Bains (2006) highlighted two main categories, formal and informal observations. These must be an agreed upon before it takes place. Bains (2006) stated that Formal observations are those for Performance Management e.g. Ofsted. Informal observations are those used for professional development. These take part of internal monitoring systems. Peer observations, for example, for informal feedback. The University of Sussex (no date) highlighted the importance of peer observation of teaching and that this enhances the status of teaching and learning and also strengthens quality assurance processes. The University of Exeter (2005) explained peer observations to be an assessment of teachers by teachers. Furthermore, pairings may be experienced by mentor/novice or experienced teacher. It could be argued that peer assessment can alternatively assess on various levels in terms of teaching experience. It is also questionable whether the observation criterion assesses appropriately against the observed teacher. The peer observation should help the teacher to develop teaching skills by carrying out observations with colleagues. It should be highlighted that the main objective is to provide opportunities for teachers to reflect on his or her teaching. The QAA (2000) stated that peer observation provides educators with opportunities to learn from each other in a non-threatening environment. This could suggest that teachers would share ideas constructively to his or her professional benefit and within relation to professional values. In summary, it can be argued that peer assessment is for the educators benefit. It is debatable how institutions guarantee that students learn effectively and consistently at all times throughout their education. Peer observations are to improve teaching practice which can be seen as beneficial to newly qualified teachers. It can be commented that peer assessment assists less experienced teachers to improve their teaching skills. Pagani (2002) commented that educators should have the freedom to choose peer assessor/observers. This approach could be argued as vague due to various reasoning behind fairness, equality and also being critical. In agreement, Pagani (2002) stated that institutions should identify an area of focus for peer observation. In summary, peer observations are useful and appropriate. There is some overlap and a lack of decisiveness to a concrete definition of observation. Furthermore, peer observations need to be carefully planned on the grounds of professionalism. I believe that peer observation should not be considered as an informal practice. It would be fair to comment that it is a formal in-house procedure which adopts formal guidelines. In agreement, Partington and Brown (1997) identified that peer review is an essential process for reviewing ideas and identifies where mistakes could occur if action is not followed through carefully. It can be commented that this improves the quality of a product/service. The authors argued that it is an opportunity to criticise and that it is an aspect of building ones confidence and teaching. Using relevant models of reflective practice to critically analyse learning on the Course The course, for me, has been beneficial and an enjoyable experience. It is time to reflect on my teaching practice. There have been some difficult stages which I have highlighted and times where improvement and action have been considered. According to Brookfield (1988) critical thinking is a process on recent experience with a past experience and should create an area or topic for discussion. Brookfield (1988) mentioned that critical reflection should include differences and or any relationships which can be highlighted. The aim of critical reflection is to develop critical thinking skills which will determine specific and realistic outcomes. On many occasions throughout the course I have reflected and it would be difficult to reflect on the whole course due to such varied topics and vast complexity of discussion. Hatton and Smith (1995) designed a critical reflection model which identified a framework for writing and identifying different kinds of reflection. The model will be used to help assist with my critical reflective practice. The framework will also determine stages within my teaching practice where I believe it is worth discussing. The first point of the model is descriptive and aims to create a starting point. To the attention of past reflections and practice it is a wise and an appropriate decision to reflect upon the micro-teach (pttls). The micro-teach was carried out within the early stages of my teaching practice. This was my starting point for teaching and reflecting. The second point will highlight descriptive reflections which attempts to provide reasons based upon personal judgment. I realised that an active approach to my hospitality students was required and that the VAKs strategies improved my lesson planning and time management. Gradually, as the course continued, lesson planning developed to become more structured and defined in terms of my aims and objectives. Throughout my reflective practice, to my attention, a number of students did not respond to how my lessons were planned. Thinking about this, this was down to the level of functional skills applied to the level delivered. To my attention, I needed to improve my skills on delivery. I needed to understand how I should apply them appropriately and effectively in lessons. The forth action point within the model must relate to a broader historical, social and/or political context and what better than my experience and knowledge gained throughout the independent study of the curriculum module. The study helped to generate some valuable points on social, political, economical and technological factors within context to my teaching practice. Brookfield (2001) described critical reflection to be a systematic effort which identified and discovered material. Brookfield (2001) developed the four lenses model which helped to analyse and assist teaching practices. The four lenses are our own experiences as learners, students, colleagues, and reading the professional literature. These help to reveal the assumptions behind those practices and call them into question. The model of reflection will help to analyse my teaching practice within the points identified above. My micro-teach was an experience and made me feel nervous and apprehensive as I have never taught before in my life. Due to my nerves, I wanted to make sure that I was delivering correct and appropriate information. I researched around my chosen topic which reassured my teaching delivery. I also found that this became useful when I was using the question and answer technique. I found that I was applying teaching techniques and strategies that I had learnt in the first few weeks of the course. Having applied these teaching strategies they helped boost my confidence. The question and answer technique was adopted to assist my delivery. I believe that this engaged my learners. I applied the VAKs strategies to help all learners. The students engaged well to my micro-teach and I now believe that I need to consider an active learning approach as I teach hospitality students. I personally found that the micro-teach went smooth considering it was my first time. Having now reflected, I think that more literature could have been used to support other learners. To summarise, the micro-teach was certainly a stepping stone towards becoming a successful teacher within the PCET sector. I found this a leap forwards and was extremely beneficial before going to my placement. After Christmas I personally felt under a lot of pressure as I was accumulating my teaching hours as well as working towards my assignments. Most of my lesson reflections identified that my teaching technique and style was too relaxed. Some of my students started to misbehave and use this to their advantage in class. I realised, after many lessons and observations that I needed to deliver my lessons with an active approach which would then control and manage my class. As a teacher trainee, I found that I was spending a lot of time on my lesson plans. They were not seeking the best out of students. I revisited my approach and consulted my mentor who kindly assisted my lesson planning. I found that this helped tremendously in writing and structuring my lessons. I found myself researching around activities and being creative when it comes to teaching. I researched and functional skills which closely linked with my VAKs and as result, I eventually found that students were learning effectively through their preferred methods of learning and my classroom management skills improved. About half way through the course there were several issues regarding my lesson planning. My mentor assisted me to improve my aims and objectives. I needed to make sure that my aims and objectives were measurable and considered direction towards my classroom approach and student benefit. As a teacher trainee, I feel that lesson planning is something that can only come in time. In fact, I realised that I needed to make sure I can plan a lesson now to ensure that I can deliver a lesson. My mentor and other colleagues supported me by letting me look at their lesson plans. My mentor and I agreed that I would submit my lesson plans before delivery. This helped me to understand and or rethink my aims and objectives. My lessons improved by being realistic about the aims and objectives and, as a result, improved student learning and teaching skills. The course has certainly been a learning curve. One of the most challenging reports was the curriculum assignment. I personally found that the report involved a lot of reading around political, economical, sociological and technological topics. The curriculum models were difficult to understand so I tried to refer to them in a realistic context at my placement. My mentor was supportive and guided me through some of the curriculum models. From past reflections, I think that curriculum models and understanding them are vital towards delivering specific courses such as the BTEC national diploma course. This is a course I was helping to deliver. This helped me to understand how I should approach my delivery. Make a critical comment on the value of reflective practice in the development of professional teachers. (K4, A2, A3) It would be appropriate to explain and define reflection before making assumptions and critical comments. Reflection is an everyday sense which assists and looks back on past experiences. Osterman and Kottkamp (1993) stated that critical reflection is known as a vehicle. This is used by educators to evaluate and analyse experiences within a classroom environment. Brookfield (1995) mentioned that critical reflective practice is a process which is used to analyse experiences. For example, curriculum development or theories. It can be stated that reflection is a process which analyses a point or action. In addition, critical analysis could be used to understand why a point or action is how it is. Within reason, critical reflection will be used. As a metaphor, the reflective practice could be the foundations of a house. The purpose of reflection is clear. Consequently, reflection does not indicate who, what, where, how and or why practitioners should carry out reflections and that it is left to the educator. This leads on to the work of Brookfield (1995) and stated that critical reflection can be broken into a number of dimensions which address or at least suggest a route for reflecting. 1. Descriptive 2. Descriptive with some reflection 3. Dialogic reflection 4. Critical reflection Reflective practice, according to Brookfield (1995), stated that practitioners can develop self-awareness if they evaluate their performance/s on an on-going basis. The author stated that teaching practice can be improved by focussing on the experiences and activities used. Within agreement, reflective practice is meaningful and it improves skills and knowledge. It can be argued that time and patience is an issue and not to forget how experienced the practitioner/educator is. I mean that reflective practice could prove more meaningful for a trainee teacher than an experienced teacher of over 10-20 years. There are many angles which could be argued and that reflective practice improves over time and not over night. Hatton and Smith (1995) agreed that self-awareness is meaningful when we want to improve teaching practice. Various teaching methods and skills allow the professional to consider alternative avenues. This would have a positive impact on their teaching by increasing their level of self-awareness. It can be argued that teaching practice and professionalism can only be developed in time. In addition, personal experiences and the experiences of colleagues should create an environment that enhances student learning. This suggests that the experienced practitioner is valuable and they should help trainee teachers to improve their teaching. As a result, the student, department and institution will benefit. Bruner (1990) highlighted that critical reflective practice is an ongoing process which enriches curriculum. I would agree that educators strive to be effective and students want to be creative. This suggests that curriculum should reflect both parties concerned. There seems to be contrast and overlap to authors opinions on reflection and being critical. It is to suggest that all practitioners have aims and objectives which determine enhance teaching practices and students performances. Curriculum awareness is highlighted and reflective practice should aim to achieve and improve the educator in terms of the teaching practice, students grades, the college league boards and attendance and reputation. Bruner (1990) would recommend that teachers engage in critical conversations with colleagues which would enhance and determine educational philosophies, instructions, and responsibilities to students growth. To summarise, it can be commented that a practitioner should reflect on their experiences. Reflective practice would eventually re-shape his or her teaching practice. It should be expressed that reflection is wise and is compulsory towards becoming and or achieving higher standards of teaching practice for the practitioner, the students and the institute. In addition, I believe that the professional teacher/educator should consider and value students comments. This would engage the students more and would assist the practitioner to understand the students better. Reflective practice develops professionals and enables us to learn from our own experiences. Although, I would argue that more experience does not guarantee improved learning. In addition, I dont believe that twenty years of teaching is twenty years of learning about teaching. It may also be the case that one year repeats over twenty times with no reflections made. I would consider this as poor teaching. It is worth commenting that reflections are honest and effective which should, in time, improve teaching skills. From reading, it has drawn to my attention that additional research is required around critical reflective practice. A review for appropriate opportunities within my personal professional development and to discuss my acquisition of skills in relation to professional development. (A1, A3) ATL (Association of Teachers and Lecturers) (2009) mentioned that since September 2007, all educators within the further education and skills sector in England came under new regulations which revised teaching qualifications. Continuous professional development (CPD) for all teachers are now required and is requested by the Institute for Learning (IfL). To gain and create opportunities within PPD and CPD action will be considered. First of all, up to this date, a review of my skills will be summarised which will help and assist the development opportunities. As part of the PPD and CPD, IFL membership is required in order to complete the CPD. Depending on a job after the course, full-time teachers should undertake at least 30 hours of CPD per year for professional development. CPD is a condition of retaining the IFL membership and aims to improve teaching skills. IFL made CPD compulsory for newly qualified teachers and permits them to teach within FE colleges. Examples of informal CPD might be to work shadowing, peer observation, attendance at subject-specific conferences, reading journal articles, or gathering up-to-date information on new curricula and or helping on qualifications such as 14-19 diplomas. A skills audit was completed for WBE 1 file which identified various weaknesses which could potentially be made into positive outcomes. In addition, WBE 1 and WBE 2 files were compared using the reflective practice gained throughout the course. The skills audit identified some weaknesses and also strengths. One of the main highlighted weaknesses was maths/numeric skills and that consideration would be focussed to embed these into lessons. This was a smart target objective to accomplish before finishing the course. Secondly, writing and literacy skills and was more closely related to proof reading documents before submission. On the other hand, the audit highlighted that IT and communication skills were high and that confidence developed. Action was considered using smart objectives which were defined to achieve in a step by step process however I still feel discomfort w

Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Essay -- The Lottery Essays

â€Å"The less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it† (Twain). The Lottery begins during the summer. A small, seemingly normal, town is gathering to throw the annual â€Å"Lottery†. In the end, the townspeople—children included—gather around and stone the winner to death, simply because it was tradition. The story reveals how traditions can become outdated and ineffective. â€Å"I suppose, I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives† (Jackson). As humans develop as a race, their practices should develop with them. Shirley Jackson develops the theme that blindly following traditions is dangerous in her short story â€Å"The Lottery† through the use of symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony. Symbolism is used heavily in â€Å"The Lottery†. One of the first symbols revealed in the short story is the Black Box, used by the townspeople as the raffle box. â€Å"The black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner . . .was born. Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box† (Jackson). The Black Box stands as a symbol for the lottery itself and tradition of all types. Although it may be difficult to â€Å"upset† or change parts of traditions that have been practiced for ages, it is necessary to do so to grow as people. â€Å"Another symbol in the story is the black box. Although it is old and shabby, the villagers are unwilling or unable to replace it, just as they are unwilling to stop participating in the lottery† (Wilson). The... ...n.p., 1986. N. pag. Print. Jackson, Shirley. â€Å"The Lottery.† Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. â€Å"â€Å"The Lottery†.† Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them. Joyce Moss and George Wilson. Vol. 4: World War II to the Affluent Fifties (1940-1950s). Detroit: Gale, 1997. 235-239. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. â€Å"The Lottery.† Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 139-154. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. Mazzeno, Laurence W. â€Å"The Lottery.† Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. Nelles, William. â€Å"The Lottery.† Masterplots II: Women’S Literature Series (1995): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.