Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Internet and Information Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internet and Information Paper - Assignment Example All you need to do is get an access of an Internet connected computer and get the information you want by exploring the sites in the web. However, as there are many sites in the web that provide information, one may become doubtful about the value of those sources, particularly when it comes to the credibility and reliability of the information. On such cases, Internet users should exercise their critical evaluation skills when reviewing the information found in online articles. This is because failure in evaluating information critically may mislead readers, which may result to misinformed judgements. Miriam J. Metzger (2007), in her article Making Sense of Credibility on the Web, evaluates different journals about online information evaluation and concludes that there are three factors that affect the credibility of online information; namely, the content of the information, the author, and the site on which the information appear (p. 2078). With these factors, Metzger also asserts that the Checklist Approach to online information evaluation is the most useful tool in evaluating the reliability and credibility of information in the Internet. The criteria in the checklist include the 1) objectivity of the argument, 2) author’s professional record, 3) date of the sources, 4) academic writing conventions (grammar and referencing styles), and 5) â€Å"stamp of approval† from official evaluation committee/s (Metzger, 2007, p. 2080). In evaluating the objectivity of the information, one should read the article and consider whether the author presents the two opposing sides of the argument without personal biases. Readers should also consider the author’s professional record to see if the author has a comprehensive theoretical background and/or field experience of the topic in question. Further, it is also necessary to check the writing style and presentation of the article because these show how the author values the academic and professional c ontent of his/her article, which also affect its academic and professional reception of the article. As readers, we also look forward to getting fresh information as it informs us on current social conditions; thus, we should be vigilant about the date of the article to ensure that we can get fresh information on the topic. Lastly, the presence of â€Å"stamps of approval† adds value to the article as it suggests that professionals and members of official evaluation committees also read the article. With regard to your inquiry about the â€Å"digital divide,† the term refers to the gap between â€Å"information haves† and â€Å"information have-nots† (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2012, p. 63). â€Å"Information haves† are those people who can buy computers and Internet services while â€Å"information have-nots† are those whose financial capabilities are not enough to buy those services. The gap between the two groups increases because of the fact that there are still other factors that affect people’s inability to get Internet access. For instance, Campbell et al. (2012) further explain that age, educational attainment, and family background may also inhibit people to get Internet access. Specifically, learning to use the Internet and understanding basic Internet skills may become challenging tasks for older people; the same is true for people with lower educational attai

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Positives And Negatives Of Pay For Performance Nursing Essay

The Positives And Negatives Of Pay For Performance Nursing Essay The purpose of this research essay will discuss aspects concerning the effects of pay-for-performance policies on quality improvement. The pay-for-performance policies are continually a debated issue concerning quality of care. This incentive program could open doors in a positive or negative way, but P4P, may lead to results of improving the quality of care; which the research in this essay will assess and analyse these perspectives. Also, reflect on pay-for-performance programs; will be a crucial aspect in the paper. Furthermore, the results that would show the successfulness of these programs, as well. In additional, do the P4P programs meet their goals and how effective they are will be share in the research essay. Other components, that will be mention such as the impact on quality improvement, unintended or negative consequences, and implications for cost containment. Introduction The purpose of this research essay is to discuss aspects of pay for performance from a positive and negative perspective. As the health sector, continue to move toward a positive path, in efforts to improve the quality of care. This quality issue has and will continue to affect many Americans patients nationwide in a positive or negative way, based on, the quality care they are receiving. Therefore, health care providers and managed care organizations (MCO) are encouraged by the monetary incentive programs, in order to give prestige quality of care (Anderson, Rice, Komininski, 2007; Laureate Education, 2009). The strong components of payment policies, such as pay-for-performance (P4P) are aspects of health care services and the influence of patients choice; in which led to quality initiatives (Hillman, 1991). In addition, the factors will help to assess the need of care for patients, and the health organization, which is a positive reinforcement of quality initiatives. For instances, an intention of the incentives program like (P4P) would reward high-quality of care and permit growth in the way of becoming more efficient and effective; when servicing clients with their care needs (Teitelbaum Wilensky, 2007). Also, this quality initiative will help providers to figure out what they need to do; in order to continue to improve quality care procedures on a proficient level. The next step in the pay-for-performance (P4P) policy will permit health organizations JCI (2010) to benefit in aspects of financial incentives; through organizational principles. Therefore, the organizational leaders would produce documents to offer a reliable outline to carry out these accountabilities. For instances, health care organizational leaders must examine the national and worldwide norms that consist of human-beings right, quality initiatives, and professional principles when forming the framework. This pay for performance quality initiatives of services for patients, could JCI (2010) examine access, convey, patient-centred, discharge regulations; correctly bill for services; and help in resolution of conflicts, which financial incentives and payments measures maybe negotiation in patient services (JCI, 2010). Pay-for- performance programs quality initiatives were organized by governmental; Young, Conrad, and Fallot (2007) also the private ownerships and organizations, in which support the aspects of quality performances. Author suggests there are over 100 incentive programs; that focus on quality initiatives and preventive care for consumers (Young, Conrad, Fallot, 2007). Research suggests; the centres for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) are one of organizations that started the pay-for- performance programs (Anderson, Rice, Kominski; Teitelbaum Wilensky, 2007). Author suggests there is a lot of evidence, which implies the pay-for-performance incentive program has improved the overall quality of care initiative (Kuhmerker Hartman, 2007). Also, there is evidence that Jarlier and Charvet-Protat (2000) pay- for-performance quality initiatives, are profitable and can save in the long term for all health care services. Nevertheless, there will always be various negatives issues of barriers that hinder the quality care Datz, (2012); Galvin (2006) progress and growth of stronger incentives for quality advantage. The approach of the pay-for-performance has features that involve the amount of the incentive payment that result into, additional incentives such as of education, patient satisfaction, organizational information technology abilities, health providers level of performance, and diagnostics sources (Young, Conrad, Fallot, 2007). Furthermore, special interest groups seemed to be a particular alarm about the barriers that relates to the less effective method of (P4P) incentive programs, which have to do with the lack of those who do not invest in the continue quality initiatives for the delivery of health care (Young, Conrad Fallot, 2007; Dudley Rosenthal, 2006). Pay-for-performance impacts vary stakeholders, which involves all parties such as, health organizations, government, payers, medical providers, public, and private sectors, so the investment in the aspects of quality initiatives is crucial to the care process. Research suggests some payment incentives programs like (P4P) purpose is for cost containment (IOM, 2001). Also, the negative aspect of the pay-for-performance; there is no clear intention concerning making sure quality care initiatives, or improvement plan, in which relates to this program. Also, there should be some initiatives developed, such as perspectives and goals, in order to improve the aspects of the incentive payment of the health care services; which to provide IOM (2001) higher quality care and to focus on cost containment (IOM, 2001). In summary The positive aspect of health care delivery service can certainly be more effective through the pay-for-performance incentive programs. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of sustainability through this incentives program it has to be a constant arrangement, in which rewards quality of care effectiveness. In addition, all parties involved must be willing to help improve quality policies and make this initiative one of the focal points for the (P4P) programs. These arrangements could consist of fair adequate payment for excellence managerial services and that applies to the care process; which relates to financial incentives. Furthermore, to make sure that (P4P) programs meets its attended goals is to have other primary sources for recognizing and assessments for the performance initiatives, such as the Joint Commission, National Committee for quality assurance, and other agencies (Dudley and Rosenthal, 2006). A priority focus is to motivate and promote standards and firmed bylaws, in ord er to continuous to improve and maintain the quality of care initiatives through aspects of accreditation and licensure, in which would be a great addition to the perspective of the (P4P). Sources Andersen, R. M., Rice, T. H., Kominski, G. F. (2007). Changing the U.S. health care system: Key issues in health services policy and management (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Classen, D. C., Pestotnik, S. L., Evans, R., Lloyd, J, F., Burke, J. P. (1997). Adverse Drug Events in Hospitalized Patients: Excess Length of Stay, Extra Costs, and Attributable Mortality. JAMA. 277(4), 301-306. Clemmer, T. P., Vicki, J. S., Thomas, A. O., Susan, D. H. (1999). Results of a Collaborative Quality Improvement Program on Outcomes and Costs in a Tertiary Critical Care Unit. Crit. Care Med, 27(9):1768-74. Conrad, D., Wickizer, T., Maynard, C., Klastorin, T., Lessler, D., Ross, A., Soderstrom, N., Sullivan, S., Alexander, J., Travis, K. (1996). Managing Care, Incentives and Information: An Exploratory Look Inside the Black Box of Hospital Efficiency. Health Services Research, 31(3), 235-59. Datz, T. (2012). No improvement in patient outcomes seen in hospitals with pay-for-performance programs. Health Insurance Law Weekly. Retrieved from: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2012-releases/pay-for-performance-patient-outcomes.html Dudley, R. A. Rosenthal, M. B. (2006). Pay for Performance: A decision guide for purchasers. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved from: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/p4pguide.pdf Galvin, R. (2006). Pay-for-performance: Too much of a good thing? A conversation with Martin Roland. Health Affairs, 25, w412 w419. Hillman, A. L. (1991). Managing the Physician: Rules Versus Incentives. Health Affairs 10(4):138-46. Jarlier, A., Charvet-Protat, S. (2000). Can Improving Quality Decrease Hospital Costs? International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 12(2), 125-31. Joint Commission International, Inc. (2010). Joint Commission International Accreditation Standards for Hospitals. (4th ed.). Illinois, Chicago: Joint Commission International. Kuhmerker, K. Hartman, T. (2007). Pay-for-performance in state Medicaid programs: A survey of state directors and programs. The Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved October 24, 2012 from: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Fund-Reports/2007/Apr/Pay-for-Performance-in-State-Medicaid-ProgramsA-Survey-of-State-Medicaid-Directors-and-Programs.aspx Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009).  Health  Policy.  Access Challenges Baltimore, MD:  Author:  Ã‚  (Dr. Gerald Kominski and Jim Lott). Institute of Medicine. (2001). Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century. National Academy of Sciences. Young, G.J., Conrad, D.A., Fallat, A. (2007). Practical issues in the design and implementation of pay-for-quality programs. Journal of Healthcare Management, 52(1), 10-19.

Friday, October 25, 2019

A Weird Experiece :: Personal Narratives Violence Crime Essays

A Weird Experience We were a threesome that late winter. Friday afternoons when Thomas got home at a decent hour he called on the intercom and I went down the hall to their apartment for drinks. Sometimes when he was late Krystal knocked on my door and asked me to come on down and keep her company. Later we might go out to dinner. Or we skipped dinner and just talked and listened to music. Sometimes on Saturdays he took his car and we drove down the Jersey shore or up the Hudson Valley or to Connecticut. Once we went out to The Hamptons where they were looking for a vacation house. Our friendship lasted exactly three months. A lucky number, Krystal said of the three of us. The perfect number. Thomas Milton was an investment banker. After getting his Masters from Harvard Business School, he'd returned to New York to a major firm and at 32 years old had already made $100 million, or close to it. Thomas was tall, handsome, charming—and Jamaican. His beautiful photo model wife, Krystal, was Dominican and rich in her own right. The Miltons had just bought and were remodeling a penthouse in a nearby Central Park West apartment building and would soon be moving from the cooperative. :: Inevitably we ended up talking about what I was calling in those days the great American divider—the color line. Not that Thomas and Krystal initiated our discussions; they said race didn't matter. No, it was I, the white liberal for whom race does matter, who turned an everyday conversation into a social study. I think they were embarrassed at my endless talk about such an immutable situation—they were black and basta, as Thomas once said soon after we met. And in general, he said, people are racists. That's just the way things are. Yet with each racial affront encountered, with each new racist attack reported on TV, with each new case of police humiliation, I returned to the attack. Relentless, I forced them to participate. How long, I asked piously, this chasm between whites and blacks? Why the fears? Why the silence? I often asked that winter why race had to change our relationship? Change everything? And deprive me of what I above all needed—their respect. One evening after a number of cocktails in the sprawling salon of their big 10th floor apartment I asked them point blank what it was like being black here in the city.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Effects of Unresolved Conflict on Marital Satisfaction and Longevity Essay

Effects of Unresolved Conflict on Marital Satisfaction and Longevity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Over the past decade, there has been tremendous interest in the processes in marriage, with a corresponding burgeoning of longitudinal studies on marriage. (Bradbury, 1998). Karney and Bradbury, in their 1995 review of the longitudinal research on marriage, included 115 studies consisting of 68 independent samples and more than 45,000 marriages. These studies give an in-depth understanding of when marital dissatisfaction sets in, how problems develop, and what leads to the consequence of marital dissolution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Longitudinal studies on the early years of marriage report a common phenomenon: Marital satisfaction declines and conflict increase (Huston & Houts, 1998; Kurdek, 1998; Leonard & Roberts, 1998; Lindahl et al., 1998). Kurdek found that marital satisfaction for husbands and wives decreased over the first 6 years of marriage, with the steepest drop occurring in the first 2 years. Lindahl et al. (1998), in their 9 year study of the development of marriage, found a similar rend. Marital adjustment significantly declined during the first couple of years and then leveled out by approximately the third to fourth years. Several factors seem to account for this decline: commitment, conflict, and communication. In particular, husbands and wives low faith in the marriage at year 1 predicted both spouses long- term low marital satisfaction. Spouses with low faith at the start of the marriage may report low marital satisfaction 6 years later because they lack the motivation or the skill to engage in the kinds of relationship maintenance behaviors that foster high levels of satisfaction (e.g., being accommodating during conflict, managing jealousy, and being willing to sacrifice). Many researchers attribute the decline in marital satisfaction in the early years to the couple’s transition to parenthood, and typically this factor has been a focus of their studies. However, this factor alone does not seem to account for the lower satisfaction, because many couples without children also experience a similar decline.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The occurrence of conflict appears as another critical variable in the course of marital satisfaction. Conflict is inevitable in any intimate relationship. How it affects satisfaction depends on the extent to which couples engage in conflict or withdraw from it. There are usually short-term negative effects to engaging in conflict, but there are long-term positive effects. If conflict is not openly addressed but is avoided, there are issues that can be left unresolved and further fuel feeling of resentment and anger. In their longitudinal study of 33 couples, Noller and Feeney (1998) found that, during the first 2 years of marriage, less happy couples made concerted attempt to improve their relationships during the first yea of marriage, but gave up these efforts by the time of the third assessment in the study. Noller and Feeney suggested that these new behaviors to improve the relationship were not being reinforced by the partner and hence did not become an integral part of the behavior repertoire. In particular, destructive conflict behaviors such as coercion, manipulation, and avoidance were likely to have negative effects on relationships.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Similarly, particular patterns of communication can have long-term effects on relationship satisfaction. In the Noller and Feeney study, communication behaviors predicted later satisfaction for wives only. Wives reports of negativity, disengagement, and destructive processes at Time 1 predicted lower satisfaction at Time 2. These destructive patterns of communication that cause problems later in relationships had developed before the couple became married. Although most of the couples in this study were not living together prior to marriage, it appears that their patterns of communication and resolving conflict were established before they even had to handle particular issues involved in living together in a marriage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Other researchers have also discovered that how couples behave prior to marriage indeed affects their satisfaction and stability during marriage. According to Lindhl et al. (1998), a variety of communication and conflict-related variables before marriage can predict who will stay married and who will divorce. In particular, they found that how couples communicate and regulate negative effect (anger, frustration, mistrust, and resentment) during conflict was significantly related to marital stability. The strategies that these couples used to handle conflict tended to improve over time. For example, the levels of withdrawal and verbal aggression decreased.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In their longitudinal studies of marital processes, Rusbult, Bissonnette, Arriage, and Cox (1998) found commitment to a relationship to be strongly predictive of feelings of satisfaction. Their study followed 123 married couples over the course of three and one half years. They concluded that commitment is a central relationship-specific motive that promotes a wide range of prorelationship behaviors and enhances dyadic adjustment. Strong commitment to a marriage promotes greater willingness to accommodate. Accommodation is defined as behavior in which individuals forgo self-interested behavior for the good of a relationship, place greater value on prorelationship behavior, and recognize the interdependence of the partners. It is one of several specific mechanisms through which committed individuals sustain their relationships.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As incompatibilities and problems surface during the marriage, partners either accept each other’s differences or the problem that are not resolved persist until the relationship dissolves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The perpetual problems model views couples behaving similarly during courtship as they do after they are married, and consequently the problems that arise during courtship often persist into marriage. Thus, problems that persist from courtship through marriage erode partner’s feelings toward one another. In contrast to the disillusionment model, the perpetual problems model proposes that courting couples are aware of each other’s strength and flaw as they enter marriage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alternative models of relationship deterioration emphasize that particular personalities of the partners are root cause of marital happiness and distress. In these models, spouses view their partners, but not their own, personality as cause for marital disaffection. In particular, the partners with the personality trait of negative affectivity are more likely to be unhappy in their marriages. Negative affectivity reflects a tendency to be anxious and emotionally labile, to report distress or discomfort, to be introspective, and to dwell on one’s own and other people’s shortcomings. Husbands and wives high in negative affectivity tend to make more negative attributions for their partner’s behavior. In the Karney et al. study, there was a relation between husbands’ level of negative affectivity and their own and their wave’s marital satisfaction. On the positive side, a personality quality that is resulted to marital satisfaction is expressiveness, which is a communal orientation that includes being kind, gentle, aware of other’s feeling, warm, and emotional, and which might reduce conflict in relationships because one can respond constructively when one’s partners behaves poorly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is apparent that many of these disaffected spouses suffered in silence. They were reluctant to admit marital problems to friends and family. because the majority of respondents had experienced marital doubts during the first year of the marriage, it may have been too embarrassing to these spouses to admit dissatisfaction so early in their marriages. In addition, there is a taboo in Western culture that discourages spouses from talking about their marriages. This so-called intermarital taboo states that married sposes cannot talk openly to each other about their marriages. Unfortunately, because of this taboo, couples do not have the chance to share with one another the stresses of married life and the possible ways to cope effectively with them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, resolving conflict is part of family life. Husbands and wives disagree with each other, parents and children do not always see eye to eye and sibling relationships frequently involve rivalry. The characteristic ways in which families resolve conflict are an important part of the practicing family and influence child development. Children are sensitive to anger and conflict even when adults other than their parents express it. Unresolved marital conflict is more predictive of child functioning than marital satisfaction alone; suggesting that the specific ways that husbands and wives resolve conflict may be related to child social and emotional functioning. Not at all marital conflict is detrimental to children, however. Exposure to low levels of marital conflict may provide one avenue for children to learn how to solve interpersonal problems effectively.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Particular patterns of marital interaction have been found to be related to couples distress, the likelihood of divorce, and child behavior problems. Couples whose conflict is typified by mutually hostile exchanges, or one partner making demands while the other withdraws from further discussion, are less satisfied in their marriages and are at greater risk for divorce have proposed that children raised in families with high levels of marital conflict may become fearful that their parents are on the road to divorce and dissolution of important family relationships. Consequently, the child is motivated to reduce marital conflict by distracting the parent’s subsystem and decrease the conflict expressed in the marital subsystem. In this regard, the battling husband and wife are enlisted as cooperative mother and father, and the result is a temporary reduction in marital negative affect. Although there may be increased negative affect between parent and child, the system has retained its order and the subsystem of parent –child regulation temporarily overrides the marital subsystem and preserves the family as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Meanwhile, interactions in one portion of the family will more than likely influence other interactions in the family. The cost to children can be quite high when there is disruption in the marital relationships, as it effects the parents’ ability to engage in mutually pleasing interactions with their children. Marital difficulties are proposed to lead to inconsistent parenting and discipline, which in turn create situations conducive to child behavior problems. Externalizing problems in elementary-school-age boys have been found to be best predicted by a model of family stress (including marital satisfaction and divorce) mediated by negative maternal control and disciplinary interactions. In some cases, there is a cascading effect, where specific aspects of marital conflict spill over into parent-child interactions. When husbands withdrew in angry conflicts with their wives, the wives tended to be critical and intrusive with their children, which in turn were related to internalizing problems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Love, money, support, security, companionship, and validation are types of rewards desired in a close relationship. The cost of staying in a relationship may involve one’s time, energy, and various other efforts. During thee breakdown of a relationship, there is a drastic shift in perceived rewards or costs. This shift may be to the individual’s view of fewer rewards, such as less time together and less money, as examples, or what may have been perceived as a reward earlier in the marriages is no longer rewarding. For example, the continual care and attention given by a partner may have been viewed as rewarding in the beginning of the relationship, but later is viewed as smothering or manipulative. Although disappointed in the marriage, the disaffecting spouses were not contemplating leaving the marriage at this time, but were holding on to the hope that the marital relationship would improve. In general, the disaffecting spouses assumed responsibility for marriage problems. They tried to change the marriage by pleasing and accommodating their partners, trying to be a perfect spouse, in the words of one respondent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In coping with their marital dissatisfaction, respondents were primarily keeping silent and denying the gravity of the marital situations. Seeking support and help from their friends, family, or a professional helper rarely occurred. References Bradbury, T. N. (1998). The Developmental course of marital dysfunction. N.Y:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cambridge University Press. Huston, T. L., & Houts, R. M. (1998). The psychological infrastructure of courtship and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marriage: The role of personality and compatibility in romantic relationships. In T. N. Bradbury (Ed.). The developmental course of marital Dysfunction (pp.114-151). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Kurdek, L. A. (1998). Development change in marital satisfaction:   A 6 year prospective longitudinal study of newly wed couples. In T. N. Bradbury (Ed.). The developmental course of marital Dysfunction (pp.180-204). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Leonard, K. E., & Roberts, L. J. (1998). Marital aggression, quality, and stability in the First year of marriage: Findings from the Buffalo newlywed study.   In T. N. Bradbury (ed.), The developmental course of marital Dysfunction (pp.44-73). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Lindahl, K., Clements, M., & Markman, H. (1998). The development of marriage: A 9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Year perspective. In T. N. Bradbury (ed.), The developmental course of marital   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dysfunction (pp.2005-236). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Noller, P., & Feeney, J. A. (1998). Communication in early marriage: Response to   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   conflict, nonverbal accuracy, and conversational patterns. In T.N Bradbury (ed.),   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The developmental course of marital dysfunction (pp.11-43). Cambridge,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   England: Cambridge University press. Rusbult, C. E., Bissonnette, V., Arriaga, X. B. & Cox, C. L., (1998). Accommodation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   during the early years of marriage. In T. N. Bradbury(ed.), The developmental   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   course of marriage dysfunction (pp.74-113). Cambridge, England: Cambridge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press.   

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Factors Contributing to the Growth of Enterprise and Small Business Essay

For example: – In USA small businesses represents 99. 7% of all employers, it represents 26% of America’s exports and they create 80% new jobs each year. Growth and success of a business can be measured on many different variables which also includes annual turnover, profit and employment growth. As in other businesses small businesses have been helped by factors which had contributed to its growth. Growth in small businesses has been aided by policy measures by the government which has supported these small businesses, the macro-economic factors, industry factors and firm-specific factors. Having the intention, the ability to setup and grow, getting the right opportunity, easy access to finance, favorable rules and regulations and market conditions which are aimed at small businesses have also led to the growth of these businesses. People are motivated to start their own business where they have greater control of the business, can stay independent , can manage the business in their own way, the financial freedom, the potential income they can earn as their aims are to reach the top of the table, the amount of financial gains they achieve and the joy of winning which is driving factors for the entrepreneurs as it helps satisfy their achievement instincts. Everybody wants to be their own boss and this is also one of the factors for starting up your own business. Lucy Martin, author of â€Å"Make it your Business† said â€Å"Whatever your situation, there is likely to be a combination of ‘push’ factors (propelling you out of current jobs and situations) and ‘pull’ factors (which attract you to self employment)†. Countries with low income or in developing countries more small businesses are being setup because of the push factor as there is a high number of unemployment and people are forced to start-up their own business. In high income countries or developed countries small businesses are increasing due to the pull factor as more and ore people are interested in setting up their own business go become independent. [pic] Sometimes businesses fail or people get frustrated and it is at this time that they need to remind themselves what motivated them to start their own business and this motivation and dedication has led to their growth and success. According to Schumpeter entrepreneur is an innovator as h e/she brings about a change and introduces new technological processes or products and brings in new ideas which are necessary for a business to grow. He also said that only certain people have the ability to become an entrepreneur and to perform extraordinary tasks. Small businesses are the ones that tend to grow faster than large businesses. They indicate higher number of employment growth. Small businesses accounts for more than 50% of the employers in European Economies. France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Germany and UK are the leading economies of the European Union where small Businesses have been thriving for the past two decades and where small businesses accounts for more than 50% of the total employment. In Greece small businesses accounts for as much as 86% of the number of people employed. In 1998, a charter for small business was adopted by European Council which has helped in the huge number of growth in small businesses. Banks are the main source of lending for small businesses and they depend a lot on them for support and cooperation. HSBC was one of the banks which started recognizing small businesses as one of main force in the economy. In UK small business employ about 12 million people so as to recognize and reward these small businesses HSBC launched an award in 1997 Known as â€Å"HSBC small business of the year Award†. HSBC started a new loan program called â€Å"SMALL BUSINESS LOAN† which was quick and easy to arrange loan facility for long term use and had many key benefits. Customers can choose to make their first repayment either one month after taking the borrowing or defer the first repayment until three months after drawing down the loan, Customers had the flexibility to choose the repayment period which was between 12 months and 10 years, the interest rate and repayments will be fixed for the life of the loan. HSBC recently launched a $5 billion working capital fund to ensure small businesses had access to credit during the current economic crisis. In 2008 alone more than 32,000 small businesses have switched to HSBC because of higher lending fees and banks reluctant to extend loans. Growth of small businesses depends on the type of business they are doing, location of the business (a retail shop should be better placed in the residential area) and most importantly the ownership of the business. Governments in some countries (UAE, Saudi Arabia) have gone as far as allocating lands to small business owners; small businesses are encouraged to setup as the government provides 5 years of tax free operation to businesses with potential growth and they provide financial assistance with low interest rates as well as assign a team to monitor the growth of the businesses. Rental and electricity charges are lower for small firms and the government is also getting small construction businesses to get involved in the construction industry by giving them subcontracts for some of the projects. In UK the government started a programme called â€Å"The Business Support Simplification Programme (BSSP)† which aims to make it easier for small companies and entrepreneurs to understand and access government funded grants, subsidies and advice with which to start and grow their businesses. Small Businesses were given incentives and taxes were lowered so as to help them setup. Setting up of this programme had a huge influence on the growth of small Businesses. In March 2008 the Government launched the Enterprise Strategy. The Strategy’s vision is to make the UK the most enterprising economy in the world and the best place to start and grow a business. It was designed to unbolt the entrepreneurship talents in UK, provide a boost to enterprise knowledge and skills, support new and existing small business getting access to funding for start-up and growth and decrease the burden of regulations in place particularly for small firms. The government wants a culture of enterprise and business innovation which will have a great effect on the economic growth. This new strategy has strengthened the Government upport to small businesses and has allowed SME’s to set up more easily and with a proper regulatory body monitoring the growth. Small Businesses are flexible, more focused, specialized and creative and these are some of the reasons why there is an increase in the number of small businesses . Flexibility is what drives some people to start their own business. For example: – (if a person is expert in any subject, field or have some extraordinary skills he/she can work as a consultant where the work timings are set by him/her self and the amount of time spent also). Growth in business demands creativity. It is what will separate you from the competition. A business had to be different as this is the best way to create awareness. Being different and greater creativity are also the factors which has influenced the growth of small businesses. Being innovative and inventing new things is also a factor which drives people to start their own business. People would have some different business idea of doing something in a different way and this leads to creativity and innovation. Small businesses are easy to setup as the cost of starting up is not very high. Government supports the setup of small business because they want to break the monopoly in the market and there will be a decrease in the number of unemployed as more and more people will become self-employed. Lower opportunity cost also attracts people towards entrepreneurship. Economies with high unemployment can be pushed towards entrepreneurship. Examples are Brazil and India. Some people would like to pursue a particular desire or hobby so they enter in to entrepreneurship, it can be leisure driven and it gives flexibility to the owner as there can be work-life balance. More and more specialized people are starting their own business in the field they specialize as they can deliver better services and products. Specializing in a particular product or service gives you the upper hand in the market you are in as you will have the skills and knowledge of the product you are manufacturing or selling. Specialization has also led professional people or extra ordinary skilled people in to starting up their own business. Gaining inspiration from famous entrepreneurs have also led to the factor that people are ready to start up their own business thinking one day they might be like Donald Trump, Hugh Heffner or Richard Branson. Becoming famous and wanting to be recognized in the world is also a strong feeling which had pulled people towards entrepreneurship as there is a strong desire attached with it to pursue their perceived goals. Gaining fame and recognition is one of the strong factors which have led people to start their own business. In general, I conclude by saying that small businesses have been growing because they thrive for independence and the owners usually have a feel good factor while running their own business. It gives them a chance to show the level of creativity in them as they won’t be able to do so while working in other companies. Small Businesses are the key to innovation and without their support the economy would fail drastically. Growth of Small Businesses can be affected due to the current economic crisis but government and banks should support and back small businesses to survive this crisis. Banks like HSBC are already committed to supporting small businesses in this economic crisis and as more and more people getting unemployed governments should give incentives and grants and promote the setup of new businesses and provide assistance and advice on main issues surrounding the small businesses. Small Businesses are not always successful but having proper business idea and creative mind plus knowledge of market will help the entrepreneurs in getting their business on the right track. As SCHUMPTER proposed that it was the exceptional creative drive of independent entrepreneurs that led to the introduction of radical new products and the creation of new industries. This radical drive to invent, innovate and create something which is new to everyone has been one of the major factors in the growth of Small and medium sized businesses (SME’s).

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Lady Gaga Analysis Essay Sample

Lady Gaga Analysis Essay Sample Lady Gaga Analysis Essay Sample Lady Gaga Analysis Essay Sample Lady Gaga (real name Stefani Joan Angelina Germanotta) is a famous American singer and songwriter. Her native city is New York, where she was born on March 28, 1986. Lady Gaga is sheer contradiction, unimaginable asexual creature and chief freak of the modern world, who overshadowed everyone. Her rareness, originality, extravagance in behavior, music and fashion are effects of internal restlessness in mind and soul. Her passion for music is evident from the first years of life: at the age of four she has already played the piano, repeating the tune and singing along while hearing tape recordings of Madonna and Michael Jackson. Future artist inherited this passion from her father, who was a musician and played in several small coastal ensembles, and modern compositions were always heard in the house. As a teenager, she wrote her first song. When Joan was fourteen years old, she has already played in the New York group â€Å"Bitter End†. In addition to singing songs, future famo us popstar actively took part in the theatrical life. This interest influenced on her music videos such as â€Å"Paparazzi†, â€Å"Just Dance†, â€Å"Born This Way†, â€Å"Telephone† and others. Her songs are full of challenges, rebelliousness; her videos are struggles with accepted standards of the society; her fashion is a demonstration of the contradictory inner world. According to Goodman (2010), â€Å"Lady Gaga could be interpreted as a freak, something unusual and unacceptable; however she is a talented woman, who gained attention and recognition of the whole world† (p. 199). Lady Gaga’s songs reflect an endless stream of critical urban experiences, forbidden and dangerous: drinking, dancing and numerous parties. Videos of this charming and radiant platinum blonde: only visual range gives the challenge to the world. Singing about paparazzi, drinking, money and clothes, she creates a world of individual glamour that dominates young people. Lady Gaga’s debut album â€Å"The Fame† made four songs popular at once. The songs â€Å"Just Dance† and â€Å"Paparazzi† occupied the first positions in various charts. â€Å"Paparazzi† was written in order to reflect her desire for fame. It is a mid tempo, dance song, the lyrics of which show the situation when someone is compulsively pursued to get attention and fame. The song has been positively evaluated by critics for its good humor, club atmosphere, and was named the most memorable and meaningful song of the album. Music video of the song shows Gaga as a fatal starlet purs ued by photographers and in the process nearly killed by her boyfriend. In her interview to Rolling Stone Lady Gaga states: â€Å"When I originally wrote this record, I was inspired by mug shots of some very famous Bond girls. And I decided that there’s really an art to fame. So this video is about three things: death, fashion, and fame whoring† (Kreps, 2009, p. 34). The video shows how she survived, returned to her boyfriend and took revenge in the process of experimenting with a way of returning her fame. The singer is dressed in various costumes, one of which is the image of Minnie Mouse and gorgeous glasses. The singer is dressed in a yellow jumpsuit printed with the little faces of famous cartoon mouse. Designer of this outfit is Marvin y Quetzal. The jumpsuit with the glasses by Jeremy Scott makes her style harmonious and complete. Lady Gaga’s make-up complements the puppet effect that makes the video worth watching. Lady Gaga says that fashion means everything to her. Her trendy urban style runs through all her musical creativity: singer fashion could not exist separately from her music and videos and conversely. Gaga admitted to reporters, â€Å"I designed these sequined pants with artificial light blue diamonds†¦ I made this leather bra specifically for video â€Å"Love Game† (Goodman, 2010, p. 98). Her clothing and accessories in the music video â€Å"Telephone† are different from the previous works, but as usual they are creative and cunning. The singer wears striped dress with enormous shoulders by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, which perfectly combines with Mercura’s sunglasses. In the other episode, she appears in the tailor-made â€Å"tapes for the scene of the crime† by Brian Lichtenberg. The following episodes of the music video are accompanied by different looks: suits and costumes by Haus of Gaga, vintage hat and suit by Thierry Mugler, dress by Rachel Barrett. The variety of Gaga’s looks demonstrates her desire for changes and her own creativity not only in music, but also in fashion. A lot of costumes, which could be seen on the screen, are creations and designs by her studio Haus of Gaga. â€Å"Telephone† is the third song of the debut album, recorded with participation of the American R B singer Beyonce. The main theme of the song was Gaga’s fear that she will not have a break and some time for fun. Nevertheless, lyrics demonstrate that the singer just does not want to answer the calls from her lover, being in the club. Musically, the song is written in a fast pace, with explosive choruses and double bits. The music video for the song was a continuation of the previous singer’s video â€Å"Paparazzi†, and was filmed in the style of a mini-movie. The elements from the style of Quentin Tarantino’s movies as â€Å"Kill Bill† and â€Å"Pulp Fiction† were used in this music video. Lady Gaga wears masks on concerts, videos and in presenting awards; she puts on planetary rings around the head, and designs the face in a manner that reminds bird nests. Her desire to hide the face or to demonstrate all the beauty of her body by opened dresses, suits, or even wearing bacon dress could be considered contemporaneously as extraordinariness and fear to be usual. The artist is ready to transform everything in her wardrobe (shoes, hats, sunglasses, gloves, tights and stockings) into shocking elements of Gaga’s trendy and futuristic outfit. The song â€Å"Just Dance† is released as the first single from her debut studio album â€Å"The Fame†. According to Gaga, the song is an example of a happy record and it will be appreciated by people who are going through various life difficulties, such as loss of job, home, and other aspects. When she was asked about reasons for popularity of the song, she said: â€Å"Every person is looking for a song that really meets the joys that are stored in our souls and hearts and so they can have a good time. This song is just about it. It is felt when you are listening to a song, it makes you feel good. Nothing more† (Kreps, 2002, p. 33). The song has rhythmic dance character, where straight marching beats, electronic and R B elements are combined. The video begins with the fact that Gaga comes along with dancers Yoori and red-haired girl at the home party that ended. The crowd wakes up and starts dancing. Gaga’s make-up is unusual: she has blue sticker in the form of lightning under the eye. This symbol reveals her rebellious spirit and desire to have some fun. Lester states, â€Å"The singer on this music video trying to be individual and different: her blonde hair, sharp fringe suit, wealth and property, showed in the video make a statement of her unique† (p. 112). Lady Gaga’s outfit and hairstyle declare her extravagant futuristic style, and show characteristic eccentricity and openness. Despite of outrage, Lady Gaga follows fashion trends. She even has her favorite designers, whose clothes she is ready to wear all the time. Those are the fashion house Chanel and Versace (the mistress of Italian fashion house is Gaga’s idol). Recently popstar decided independently realize her own fashion line and opened her own studio, called The Haus of Gaga. Along with her team she creates unusual outfits and hairstyles, which gain huge popularity among people, especially her fans. Lady Gaga opened her shop, which is located in New York, Madison Avenue. Lady Gaga and Nicola Formichetti presented their new project – shop called â€Å"Gaga Workshop†. It could not be said that the fashion market is concentrated only on clothes or accessories; there are a lot of things ranging from books and underwear and ending by different sweets and souvenirs. â€Å"Gaga Workshop† makes an incredible effect on everybody, who is coming across: teenagers, adults, Gagaâ€⠄¢s funs and ordinary people. There is a chocolate shoe, famous from the video for song â€Å"Bad Romance†, for ten dollars. All goods match the style of Lady Gaga and are available for everyone. However, there are also limited propositions: one can buy a huge candle-sculpture Gaga bust candle for $ 395 or sweets in boxes made in the form of the singer costumes for $ 85. Thus, â€Å"Gaga Workshop† has various products for each person who wants to help (a quarter of the proceeds of sales is planned to be transferred to Born This Way Foundation). As well as Lady Gaga, her music, fashion and other aspects are also considered by well known critics, writers and journalists. According to Paul Lester: â€Å"She probably achieved, in three to six months, what Madonna took five years to achieve: total media saturation You can plainly spot the influence in Lady Gaga, thats one of the fun things about her, I think. She is sort of the culmination of forty years of pop history† (Weight, 2012). Paul Lester is a music journalist and writer, whose creation is a book â€Å"Lady Gaga: looking for fame. The life of a pop princess†. This work is representing the biography of the woman, who became a popstar and fashion idol for many people all over the world. Paul Lester states: â€Å"The music was catchy and commercial, but I thought the public would think it was slightly too â€Å"arty†, in a way. She reminded me of early Grace Jones and I thought it wouldn’t catch on in a big way. But of course I was completely wrong. Within three months she was massive. She was everywhere† (Weight, 2012). Thus, the famous journalist in an unusual manner shows his attitude and beliefs about American popstar. Lady Gaga lovingly refers to the fans, affectionately calling them â€Å"monsters†. She appreciates their love and treatment that is seen from her own words in the note, which was written by the outrageous singer after an operation on her hip in gratitude for support of the fans. According to Lady Gaga: â€Å"Monsters, You really gave me a lot of strength today. Everything happened so fast, but when it came time to face it I reflected on the many stories and experiences you’ve shared with me about your lives. If you can do it, I can do it too, and if we stick together we can get through anything† (Lady Gaga, 2013). Fans’ websites, devoted to Lady Gaga, include her music, fashion and true lovers who are inspired by her creation and culture. They share their stories, photos, thoughts about American singer, who became an idol for them. Such websites are created by people, who are interested and obsessed by Lady Gaga’s life and music. According to many music critics, lovers and fans, Lady Gaga will have even greater success than she has now. She has become a favorite female artist of many people and now she is the most discussed person in the world of show business.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Young Women and Smoking Essays

Young Women and Smoking Essays Young Women and Smoking Essay Young Women and Smoking Essay Essay Topic: Little Women Name: Course: Instructor: Date: Young Women and Smoking A recent survey by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least a third of female adolescents in high schools are smokers and over 70% of regular adult smoker admitted having formed the habit in their earlier ages, probably before 18 years. Popular films and television programmes have highly influenced and allured this increasing smoking habit in young women. However, a recent survey on the role of cigarettes manufacturing factories regarding their product placement in popular movies indicates little participation. An analysis on G-rated children films found that more than 75% featured alcohol or tobacco in their story plots without any clear reference to the associated health adverse consequences featured. Popular female actors in Hollywood films are presented as smokers and thus influencing young women who portray those actors as being a role model to them (Am J Public Health. 2000; 90: 412-414). This paper seeks to concur with the earlier views on the internalizat ion of Hollywood actress smoking habit and their success on the beauty, femininity and popularity on the young female characters in the society, with smoking being the dependent variable under investigation while the popular movies or films as independent variable. In addition, this paper seeks to dispute the belief presented in Hollywood that acting and art has no influence on actions but only mirrors the societal actions. It is this premise that covered under the guise of â€Å"artistic freedom of expression† that depicts sex, alcohol and drug abuse or gratuitous violence. Though, the movie stars’ may not admit their role-model position in the society, this may not be applicable in this scenario. Anti-tobacco activist that the re-acceptance of drug abuse especially tobacco in the growing pop-culture, evidenced in music, movies, films and videos, and the current life-style in young women may be a perfect reflection of the surge, a mind-blocking popularity on cigarrate smoking, despite efforts by the World Health Organizations (WHO) to curb smoking and drug abuse among the youths globally. As Janine Robinette, the Director of Bay Area Tobacco writes, â€Å"It creates a social milieu that it’s accepted, that everyone is doing it.† Though view as personal choice, the increasing smoking among young women around the world is highly influenced by what they watch in the public galleries and films. â€Å"If you look at the kinds of risky behaviour young people take part in–drugs, drinking, sex–[you can see] they don’t have any sense of their own mortality. They’re invincible,† says Robinette. â€Å"They think they’ll be able to do this [smoke] for some time, and then kick the habit.† According to the experts, on-screen smoking by the popular actress like Ryder, Julia Roberts, who are role model to a number of up-coming stars perpetuates the motion that smoking is the order of the day for fashion’s and actress. Therefore, Hollywood stars bear partial responsibility for the increasing smoking and drug abuse in women. Moreover, current nonchalance about cigarette smoking squarely rests on the arms of the Hollywood artists, who should be a role model to the society by affecting positively on the youths. The Hollywood stars or movies, but other Women’s fashion newsletters and magazines regularly featuring insider photos of other runway top models and stars in the rock industry, parting in the Euro-hip sports, do not fuel smoking prevalence rate in women. This prevalence in smoking indicates a kind of rebellion and thus possibly snubbing off the conventional wisdom in our teenagers. DuRant RH, Rome ES, Rich M, Allred E, Emans SJ, Woods ER. Tobacco and alcohol use behaviors portrayed in music videos: a content analysis. Am J Public Health. 1997;87:1131–1135. Distefan JM, Gilpin EA, Sargent JD, Pierce JP. Do movie stars encourage adolescents to start smoking? Evidence from California. Prev Med. 1999;28:1–11

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Top 5 School Administrator Interview Questions

Top 5 School Administrator Interview Questions You know that whatever job you’re seeking, we have you covered on how to tackle interview questions- the good ones, the bad ones, and the ugly ones. You may know what general pitfalls to avoid, but what if you’re going into a very specific field as a school administrator? Your interview isn’t likely to be one-size-fits-all, so we’ve got you covered there, too. Let’s look at some common interview questions you may see in your job interview, and how to face them. 1. Why do you want to be a school administrator?This is one you’re likely to see if you’re already a teacher, looking to move into a leadership administrative role. And if the answer to this question were a simple â€Å"fame and fortune,† you probably wouldn’t have chosen the challenging, rewarding-but-not-super-glamorous path of becoming an educator in the first place, right? This is a question where you can draw on the legitimate reasons you chose to teach in the first place, and be honest about what is making you strive for more.For this question, it’s good to have at least two reasons in your back pocket, so you’re not scrambling on interview day.Some examples:I am ready for more of a leadership role in shaping educational process and policy for all students.As much as I’ve loved the classroom experience, I want to focus more on big picture education questions.I want to work more directly with students and their families on discipline and their progress in school.I want to build on my expertise in maximizing resources and curriculum planning as a vice principal.2. What are your professional goals for the next 5 to 10 years?This is a question designed to gauge your commitment. After all, you’re applying for a role that has significant impact on the school, and potentially the community. If the interviewer thinks you’re a turnover risk, or looking to jump as soon as something better comes along, that will hurt your chances of snagging this job.For this question, be as specific as possible. If you’re interviewing for an administrative role at a particular school, include information that shows you’ve thought about what you can bring to the school itself. Using specific goals (and statistics, if you can find them) will show that you’re a thoughtful, committed candidate who isn’t just applying to every administrative position he or she can find.Some examples:I’m committed to raising the school’s state standardized math test score average raised by at least five points over 2017’s average score.I’d really like to see the school’s technology program fully brought online with our peers, supplementing our curriculum with updated computers and new devices to keep our students competitive. Ideally, I’d want to implement this program by 2022.With graduation rates dipping over the past few years, my main goal is to turn that around, and make sure that students are receiving the resources they need to graduate on time.Because studies have shown that students who play instruments perform better on standardized tests, my pet project is to implement a district-wide music program that encourages students to learn and appreciate music as part of a balanced curriculum.3. Describe how you would deal with budget cuts.As an educator, you probably know all too well the challenges of trying to accomplish your educational goals with a limited budget, or with year-to-year fluctuations handed down from your state. Budget issues are a fact of life in education, and they’re often an even harsher fact of life for an administrator, who may have to make difficult, impartial decisions about how and where resources are used. The pressure is real, and the interviewer wants to make sure you’re up to that task, should it arise.For this question, start with any real-life examples you have, of a time you were faced with making professional choices at school based on resources.Some examples:I’ve actually faced this in my career before. It is never easy, but I found myself making changes to my science lesson plans based on a lack of funding for lab equipment. Instead, we used a â€Å"virtual lab† that allowed students to conduct their chemistry experiments digitally.As an administrator, my priority would be keeping the core curriculum intact. My first step would be locating opportunities where we can streamline the support and non-essential budgets, perhaps by using more digital processes, or implementing cost-cutting measures for extracurricular activities. 4. How would you engage students’ parents as active participants in their children’s education?This question is meant to gauge your public relations skills. Parent relationships can make or break an administrator- without their trust and engagement, it can be difficult to accomplish the school’s goals. This is also a chance to see how you adapt to dealing with different kinds of people- from non-involved parents to helicopter parents who may be camped out outside your office to discuss the issue du jour affecting their student. And with more diverse communities means more diverse students and families, so this question is also a chance to showcase your ability to engage people across cultural, socioeconomic, or language lines.For this question, use at least one specific instance of a time you engaged a student’s parents as part of the classroom. You can also mention how engaging parents and community members factor into your own goals as an administrator.For parent-teacher conferences, I created an infographic for each student, which I then reviewed with the parents. It was a fun, visual way to show what their student was learning and doing, and what I thought we could do better.I would really like to host a series of monthly town-hall meetings, with all parents (and interested community members) invited to talk about new initiatives at the school, get feedback, and make sure voices are heard.Participation in the Parent-Teacher Organization at this school has steadily fallen for the past few years, so I would be committed to getting the participation rate up by having more frequent meetings, and opening up an online forum so that parents can participate fully even if their schedules don’t allow them to come to the school for meetings. I want to update the format so that we can get as many parents involved as possible, even as they are juggling many priorities for their families. 5. Why should we hire you over other applicants who have similar backgrounds?The interviewer has your CV right in front of them. They know that you graduated summa cum laude, or that you were the Teacher of the Year four years running. This is more of a free-form answer, designed to see how you see yourself as an applicant. And it’s a tough one- it’s a danger spot for getting caught in the headlights while you try to come up with what makes you special.For this questions, the key is to prepare an answer, but not make it sound too canned or rehearsed. Think about what you bring to the table that no one else does, and your core values.For example:My parents emigrated to this country 40 years ago, and through my family’s struggles and successes, I’ve learned how much can be accomplished through effort and hard work. That’s a perspective I bring to my school every day.As much as I’ve loved teaching, I’ve discovered that my real passion is working on fundraising and building awareness for the wonderful things happening in the classroom. I am a tireless advocate for improvement, inside the classroom and out.My experience as a teacher working with special needs students has taught me that students need a strong advocate and guiding hand, maximizing their resources and opportunities so that they can thrive and learn.The best approach you can take to your interview for a school administration position: be yourself. Your resume and list of accomplishments are great, and essential parts of the hiring process. But by the time you get to the interview stage, they already know those things about you. This is your chance to fill in any gaps, and tell the stories that have helped to shape the professional you are today. Your goals, your vision, your leadership skills, your problem-solving skills- these are all fair game, and are likely to come up as part of the process. It’s definitely in your best interest to come up with a stash of go-to stories that you can bust out without having to pause too much. And don’t be afraid to tell stories that show you in a less-than-stellar light, as long as you can explain what you learned from them, and how they affected your path as an educator. This is your chance to shine, and we know you will!

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Business path way Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business path way - Essay Example Income inequality may either benefit an economy or derail the economic growth. The extent to which income inequality negatively affects the economic growth is debatable. This essay provides an elaborate argument about the degree in which income inequality may affect the economy. Overview This essay provides an overview of some of the ways in which income inequality may influence an economy. It contains several ideas regarding the degree in which income inequality may affect growth of an economy. It provides thorough analysis of possible positive effects of income inequality and the negative effects of income inequality on an economy. This essay covers an elaborate debate which clearly points out at risks that may be imposed on an economy due to income inequality. 2.0 Main Body: Effects Analysis Income inequality is instigated by supply and demand for labor caused by imperfect competition and uneven distribution of information. Income inequality may have different effects on economy. It may either drag or catapult growth of economy. The central theme of this analysis is to make an evaluation about the degree in which income inequality may negatively affect economic growth. 2.1 Positive Effects on Economic Growth High income inequality may be vital for economic growth. ... Excessive money in circulation may have extremely negative effect on the growth an economy due to inflation. Foreign trade may be very expensive especially when a country tries to import raw materials. Moreover, low income earners may tend to borrow money from financial institutions and this can be used as a tool for controlling money circulation (Castello-Climent 2010, 293-315). Additionally, there income inequality may result into wide gap between the rich and the poor. Wider gap between the rich and the poor can be very helpful in promoting competition and innovativeness. There is a high level of social stratification which prompts competition for status thus spurring growth of the economy due to hard work (Judis 2013, n.p). Also high income inequality may decrease efficiency because of low incentive to work. Because of income inequality, the rich will always get richer and save money for investment (Allen 1999, 143-150). Furthermore, high income earners may enjoy all the faciliti es such as the recreational facilities present in the country thus increasing revenue earned from these facilities. Happiness which is associated with high income contributes a lot in predicting the future behaviors such as productivity in the labor market and happier people also tend to be healthier and live longer (Shin 2012, 2049-2056). 2.2 Negative Effects on Economic Growth Nevertheless, income inequality has an adverse effect on the growth of an economy. Equal income inequality reduces the gap between the rich and the poor thus leading to distributive efficiency within a country. Distributive efficiency reduces marginal utility of resources and further lowers personal utility. An extra dollar consumed by a low income earner is automatically directed to necessities which are

Friday, October 18, 2019

DISSERTATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DISSERTATION - Essay Example Online shopping takes the experience of shopping to altogether a new dimension and helps in improving the necessary services given to the consumers as well as the vendors and also helps in managing all the required information of the payments of the customers, receipt of products of the new customers, their product and updating of all the necessary credentials. The primary features of the online shopping helps in providing business accuracy, flexibility of design and readiness of accessibility (Gay, Charlesworth, & Esen, 2007, p. 173). Today internet is an increasingly popular medium of shopping due to its shopping convenience. This research paper focuses on this subject because of its growing relevance among the young generation. The behavior of the consumers in shopping is highly essential for the businesses in tracking the discrete preferences and engineers their strategies for focusing on the key requirements of the consumers. Various factors stand in the way of influencing the behavior of the consumers. From the standpoint of Warner, various external influences which affect the consumer’s behavior are demographics, socio-economics, technology and public policy; culture; subculture; reference groups; and marketing. Within the domain of internal influences, attitudes, learning, perception, motivation as well as self image and semiotics are various psychological attributes affecting the consumer behavior in online shopping. From the studies of a scholar called Sheth, it can be also found that the consumers are predominated by mainly two types of motives which are basically functional as well as non functional. It is a common agenda that people in today’s world have drastically changed their shopping patterns and there has been application of various strategies by the companies towards positioning their products in systematic and successful manner. The marketing managers while strategizing optimal marketing plans and concentrating on the four

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 22

Case study - Essay Example r, it is a popular belief amongst experts from the industry that GE should bring change – change in people handling and change in the approach to work at GE. The million dollar question then arises: What is GE doing wrong despite such huge training investments and what area does it need to concentrate on to improve the current working attitude of its people. These questions can only be answered by exploring the approach that GE’s CEO Mr. Jeffrey R. Immelt has adopted to deal with his employees. G.E has a centralized organizational structure. The article mentions that executive recruiter Peter Crist says companies that once poached GE talent now look beyond it to alternatives such as Danaher (DHR), United Technologies (UTX), and even Tyco (TYC), which are viewed as "decentralized, sophisticated, and young." Jeff Immelt practices a democratic style of leadership and the leadership theory that he follows is a traits theory. The quote that best supports the approach says: ‘within GE, the talk is about the new traits leaders will need to thrive, a subject thats reviewed every five years. "We are working on 21st century attributes," explains Chief Learning Officer Susan Peters.’ The above quote shows that human traits are given more importance and Immelt strongly believes that there are some common traits shared by all leaders and that these can be learnt at the Crotonville Management Center. Moreover, the dinner weekends that Immelt organizes and the focus that he has started to give to his employees also support that he practices a democratic form of leadership. Immelt seems to be making both programmed and non programmed decisions as on one side he is only following the old and timed practices of GE’s human resource management, but on the other side he is experimenting with his new ideas of bonding with his employees. Instead of bringing out a change in how employees are trained he believes that what GE has been doing is in the best interest of its

Socrates' Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Socrates' Death - Essay Example It is against this backdrop that the dikasts sentence Socrates to death by drinking a conium-laced concoction. Rebutting Socrates’ Position Socrates’ appeal that in his philosophical lectures to the youth on the nature and essence of virtue as a way of directing them to be examined, ethical life does not suffice. Calling people to examined and moral lives does not require the ignoble lampooning of the Athenian pantheon of gods. Socrates was fully aware that the Athenians heavily depended on their many deities since Athenians had assigned every force of nature or the environment to a given deity; yet he proceeded to malign these gods. In an instance, he charged publicly that contrary to Athenians’ beliefs, the gods could act neither morally nor whimsically. Given that the youth formed the majority of his audience and public lectures, it was obvious that Socrates was inspiring the youth towards socio-cultural disobedience. The legitimacy or illegitimacy of the gods that Socrates preached against in this case does not matter: what matters most is that the religious system existed to foster communal good, unity and continuity. By extension, Socrates in his teaching was threatening the very unity and continuity of the Athenian community (Blyth, 2000). ... on and politics were not divided in the Athenian total way of life, Socrates proceeded to advance his stand against the collective and ritualistic views of religion by not participating in these rituals. Socrates was aware that the rulers were considered spokespersons of these deities and thus, by attacking these gods, he was actually disparaging the Athenian oligarchy and political order. The consequences were dire as he indeed knew, but he trudged on with his impious agenda. Thus, Socrates was not only advancing an antireligious onslaught on the Athenian culture but also on Athens’ political stability. Alongside serving in the military (Ephebos) and getting an education, a good citizen of ancient Athens was supposed to exercise his religious duties. Socrates does not observe the religious duties that he owes Athenians fully. Instead, he contravenes this expectation by introducing other gods to the youth and his larger audience. While Socrates is categorical that the sun and moon are inanimate bodies in lieu of Athenian gods, he implies that he believes in gods other than the Athenians’. Socrates also confirms this as he answers Meletus in his unapologetic three hour defense. According to Miller (2000), these concepts underlie contemporary perspectives, except that they are treated as rights and freedoms in lieu of duties. Presently, democracies insist that all have a right to education, the freedom of association and conscience (religious affiliation and beliefs and any career or profession, including the military). The advantage of the contemporary view is that plurality of views in politics and religion is preserved. The shortcoming of this view is that many have not been able to tinker their democratic freedoms and rights with personal responsibilities.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The Pursuit of Quality at AT&T Universal Card Services Essay

The Pursuit of Quality at AT&T Universal Card Services - Essay Example In order to monitor the performance of employees in dealing with the customers, the business organization has set up a unique and multifaceted measurement system. With these thrusts, the company is seen to surpass the industry standards. The creation of a process measurement system enables AT&T "to locate problem processes; to promptly address any problem discovered; to constantly asses how well customers are being served; and to reward exceptional performance" (Rosegrant 3). It should be noted that AT&T's motivation technique is primarily through the use of monetary benefits. Customer service representatives who are in forefront of the company's operations and are directly dealing with AT&T's customers are given financial incentives like bonuses if they achieve the goal set by the management. In order to monitor performance, managers, team leaders, and top executives are tasked to listen to the telephone associates' conversation with the customers in varying degrees. AT&T also conducts daily meetings in order to discuss the daily performance of the customer service representatives. This becomes the important venue for the discussion of how service quality can be continuously improved. The product offered by AT&T in the market together with the company's extension of exceptional customer service has gained it the largest market share in the credit card industry. AT&T has become the youngest business organization to be awarded the sought after Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Despite this success however, both external and internal pressures are forcing AT&T to institute changes in its business operation. II. Statement of the Problem Looking at the external environment, competitors have recognized the huge profit potential in the market served by AT&T. The product which was pioneered by AT&T has become common in the market. New players have tried to offer their own no-fee, low interests credit card making it difficult for AT&T's product to stand out. Thus, the business organization opts to emphasize its thrust of providing above industry standard customer service. With this, AT&T's executives are faced with the challenge of identifying the ways on how to boost and enhance customer service provided by their telephone associates. This is even worsened by the fact that the company growth has slowed down and will not be able to accommodate the ascent of telephone associates to the corporate ladder. Externally, there is a strong pressure for managers to take the quality measurements a step further. The current system fails to correctly indicate customer satisfaction. It has been found out that the telephone associates' performance is not directly correlated to the quality of the service extended as perceived by the customer. There has been a consensus that the current system is not adequate to meet the more intense rivalry in the market: "Moreover, the current measurements no longer seemed to be driving the quest for improvement, and Davis and others had become convinced that it was time to retool a system that no longer fits the needs of the company" (Rosegrant 12). However, there is no consensus on what ought to be done in order to improve the process. Changing the process will also post problems within the workforce. It has also become apparent that changing the system

Group Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Group Motivation - Essay Example All workers in any organization always want something to keep them going. Normally, salaries and wages are always enough to keep workers. These employees should be motivated to work and if this is absent there is always cause deterioration in work output or the work quality. Same to motivation of an audience where both hard sell and soft sell takes place. Incentives on workers ’salaries motivate them intrinsically and an urge to work more hard is seen. According to Mc Gregory theory x and y human being must be motivated to work. Maslow’s’ theory also emphasizes motivation out of satisfaction of human needs to the highest level of satisfaction. A personal life experience is when youths in a community are told to volunteer to clean their environment only a few people show up but when there is motivation in form of wages the turn up will be more than expected. In a nutshell, motivation deals more with human cognitive levels. This is explained by conditioning a human being by introduction of motivators of different levels. Generally people are motivated by provision of what creates a sense of

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The Pursuit of Quality at AT&T Universal Card Services Essay

The Pursuit of Quality at AT&T Universal Card Services - Essay Example In order to monitor the performance of employees in dealing with the customers, the business organization has set up a unique and multifaceted measurement system. With these thrusts, the company is seen to surpass the industry standards. The creation of a process measurement system enables AT&T "to locate problem processes; to promptly address any problem discovered; to constantly asses how well customers are being served; and to reward exceptional performance" (Rosegrant 3). It should be noted that AT&T's motivation technique is primarily through the use of monetary benefits. Customer service representatives who are in forefront of the company's operations and are directly dealing with AT&T's customers are given financial incentives like bonuses if they achieve the goal set by the management. In order to monitor performance, managers, team leaders, and top executives are tasked to listen to the telephone associates' conversation with the customers in varying degrees. AT&T also conducts daily meetings in order to discuss the daily performance of the customer service representatives. This becomes the important venue for the discussion of how service quality can be continuously improved. The product offered by AT&T in the market together with the company's extension of exceptional customer service has gained it the largest market share in the credit card industry. AT&T has become the youngest business organization to be awarded the sought after Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Despite this success however, both external and internal pressures are forcing AT&T to institute changes in its business operation. II. Statement of the Problem Looking at the external environment, competitors have recognized the huge profit potential in the market served by AT&T. The product which was pioneered by AT&T has become common in the market. New players have tried to offer their own no-fee, low interests credit card making it difficult for AT&T's product to stand out. Thus, the business organization opts to emphasize its thrust of providing above industry standard customer service. With this, AT&T's executives are faced with the challenge of identifying the ways on how to boost and enhance customer service provided by their telephone associates. This is even worsened by the fact that the company growth has slowed down and will not be able to accommodate the ascent of telephone associates to the corporate ladder. Externally, there is a strong pressure for managers to take the quality measurements a step further. The current system fails to correctly indicate customer satisfaction. It has been found out that the telephone associates' performance is not directly correlated to the quality of the service extended as perceived by the customer. There has been a consensus that the current system is not adequate to meet the more intense rivalry in the market: "Moreover, the current measurements no longer seemed to be driving the quest for improvement, and Davis and others had become convinced that it was time to retool a system that no longer fits the needs of the company" (Rosegrant 12). However, there is no consensus on what ought to be done in order to improve the process. Changing the process will also post problems within the workforce. It has also become apparent that changing the system

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The cold war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The cold war - Essay Example Truman’s policy, also called the â€Å"containment doctrine,† was intended to suppress and control the spread of Communism worldwide. The containment promptly became the executive U.S. policy towards the USSR (â€Å"The Cold War†). In 1949, Soviet Union had effectively launched its first atomic bomb, thus ending Americas monopoly of atomic weaponry. This event started the Cold War. The US then realized that the country was faced with threats of nuclear warfare.  The government immediately commenced the investigation of the probability of the US atomic secrets leaked to the Russians by American Communists. High-status court proceedings concluded the conviction and execution of  the Rosenbergs in 1953 (â€Å"The Second Red Scare:  Fear and Loathing in High Places, 1947-1954†). Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, under the Espionage Act, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union from 1944 to 1950. The Rosenbergs had been fundamentally involved in a Communist undercover agent circle that leaked US national defense secrets, particularly blueprints of high-explosive lens patterns and the US atomic bomb Trinity design, to the Soviet Union (Parrish). Truman’s war on communism ignited an anti-communist panic that led to espionage trials, an aggressive communist manhunt, and escalated aggression as the American government questioned, deported and investigated citizens suspected of being communists (â€Å"The Second Red Scare:  Fear and Loathing in High Places, 1947-1954†). Truman’s proposal that the country exercise military force to contain the global communist conspiracy started a chain of armed conflicts and deadly arms race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. (â€Å"Cold War†). The anti-communist hysteria precipitated the U.S. involvement in the Korean War (Sandler). The Second Red Scare occurred after the

Monday, October 14, 2019

Blastocystis Hominis and Colorectal Cancer

Blastocystis Hominis and Colorectal Cancer Blastocystis hominis (B.hominis) is the most common unicellular protozoan parasite that is found in the human gastrointestinal tract (Windsor et al. 2002). The prevalence of B. hominis in both developed and developing countries is reported to be up to 10% and 50% respectively (Wong et al. 2008; Stenzel and Boreham. 1996). On the other hand, B. hominis shows a diverse morphologies which include vacuolar, granular, amoeboid and cyst forms (Zierdt. 1988). Furthermore, B. hominis isolates from human and animals have been reported to exhibit an extensive genetic and karyotypic heterogeneity (Parkar et al. 2010; Stensvold et al. 2009; Tan et al. 2009; Dogruman-Al et al. 2009; Abe. 2004; Yoshikawa et al. 2004). Although many researchers have attempted to identify the pathogenesis of B. hominis in human hosts, however the pathogenic potential of B. hominis has remained controversial as it is present in both symptomatic and asymptomatic individual (Tan. 2008; Garcia. 2007; Tan et al. 2002). The gastrointestinal symptoms that are associated with B. hominis infection include diarrhea, vomiting, anorexia, flatulence, abdominal discomfort and other associated non-specific symptoms. To date, experiments have shown that rats that are inoculated with human B. hominis isolate have demonstrated an elevation in oxidative damage (Chandramathi et al. 2009). Many studies have been done on the genetic and molecular characterization of B. hominis isolates derived from human as well as animal. Recent molecular characterization of Blastocystis isolates suggested that there are 13 subtypes (ST1-ST13) which have been isolated from mammalian, reptilian, avian and amphibian hosts (U. Parkar et al. 2010; Stensvold et al. 2007a; Noà «l et al. 2005, 2003; Yoshikawa et al. 2004b). Recently, many studies have been done to determine the pathogenic potential of different Blastocystis subtypes in human hosts by genotypic analysis as well as molecular characterization of B. hominis isolated from symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals (Dominguez-Mà ¡rquez et al. 2009; Eroglu et al. 2009; Jones et al. 2009; Hussein et al. 2008; Tan et al. 2008). Nevertheless, only limited numbers of studies have shown correlation between the different B. hominis subtypes on the pathogenesis in human hosts (Hussein et al. 2008). Infectious agents such as bacteria, virus and parasites, often have an oncogenic potential. The International Agency on Research of Cancer (IARC) has estimated that 16% of cancer worldwide is caused by infection, including parasites. However, there has been no research done on the association between B. hominis infection and colorectal cancer. A recent study has suggested that B. hominis may possess the ability to induce the growth of colorectal cancer cell lines by inhibiting the apoptotic effect of colon cancer cells. Furthermore, the antigens that are isolated from B. hominis were postulated to be able to promote the proliferation of cancer cells via down-regulation of host immune cellular responses (Chandramathi et al. 2010). In general, inflammation is activated by a variety of stimuli such as trauma, bacterial/viral/parasitic infections, endotoxemia and heating (Ley, 2001; Hart, 2002). Inflammation caused by infectious agents such as parasites will cause an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide and superoxide as a consequence of cell mediated phagocyte dependent immune response (Rosen et al. 1995). A persistent and chronic inflammatory response can be detrimental to human host as it can produce a chronic damage by releasing a variety of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines which then leads to mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, neurodegenerative disorder, inflammatory bowel syndrome and atherosclerosis (Kà ¼hn et al. 1993; Perry et al. 1998; Ludewig et al. 2002; Shacter et al. 2002). Several studies have shown correlation between the inflammation that is caused by infectious agents such as parasites and the development of cancer in huma n (Fitzpatrick. 2001). Thus, it is important for us to evaluate the immunomodulation, cytopathic and cellular cytokines responses as a result of B. hominis infection especially in colorectal carcinomas. Since B. hominis is often present in most stool cultures, it is pertinent to investigate the association between B. hominis infection and the development of colorectal cancer in the gastrointestinal tract of infected host system. B. hominis isolated from an asymptomatic individual could facilitate the proliferation and growth of cancer cells and has the potential to down-regulate the host immune response (Chandramathi et al. 2010). However, only limited numbers of studies have shown the cytopathic effects and cellular cytokine responses of Blastocystis hominis infection (Puthia et al. 2008; Long et al. 2001; Walderich et al. 1998). These studies only investigated on Interleukin 8 and Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) which are pro-inflammatory cytokines. We hypothesized that B. hominis infection in human host system has a potential carcinogenic effect and could influence the growth of colorectal cancer cells especially in colorectal cancer patients and that the B. hominis subtypes may exert varying degree of pathogenecity. Therefore, in this study, the differences between the effects of solubilized antigen of B. hominis from both symptomatic and asymptomatic isolates on the cell viability in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs, which represent the immune cells) as well as colorectal cancer cell line was evaluated. Besides that, the gene expression of cytokine, apoptotic mediators, and nuclear transcriptional factors in response to the symptomatic and asymptomatic B. hominis antigen in both PBMCs and colorectal cancer cell was compared. The knowledge and understanding in the association between Blastocystis hominis infection and colorectal cancer as well as the role of various cytokines involved in the tumour progression may provide an insight into prevention and/or development of new immune-therapeutical strategies to combat colorectal cancer. OBJECTIVE The objectives of the present study are:- To study the effects of solubilized antigen of B. hominis from symptomatic and asymptomatic individual isolates on viability of both the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs, which represent the normal immune cells) as well as colorectal cancer cells (HCT 116, colorectal cancer cell line). To investigate the gene expression of cytokine, transcriptional factors and apoptotic mediators such as interleukin 6, interleukin 8, tumour necrosis factor-ÃŽ ±, interferon gamma, nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells, cathepsin B, transforming growth factor-ÃŽ ², and protein 53 upon exposure to B. hominis antigen in both the PBMCs and colorectal cancer cells MATERIALS AND METHODS Sample collection and axenization of Blastocystis hominis B. hominis was isolated from stool samples of symptomatic as well as asymptomatic individuals. The B. hominis cysts were then isolated from feacal sample using the Ficoll-Paque Technique according to Zaman and Khan (1994). The harvested cysts of B. hominis from both the symptomatic and asymptomatic individual isolates were washed in sterile phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The washed harvested cysts were cultured in Jones medium, supplemented with 10% of heat-inactivated horse serum and incubated at 37 °C in CO2 incubator (Suresh and Smith. 2004). Axenization was conducted after the isolates have been incubated for 2 to 3 days. Isolation of solubilized antigen from symptomatic and asymptomatic cultures The axenic B. hominis species were collected using Ficoll-Paque density gradient centrifugation method and the harvested parasites were resuspended in basal Jones medium without the addition of heat-inactivated horse serum. Then, the harvested organisms were lysed by sonication method and the homogenate was incubated at 4 °C, overnight. The homogenate was centrifuged at 13000xg for 15 minutes at 4 °C after the overnight incubation. The supernatant which contains the solubilized antigen of B. hominis was filter-sterilized and the protein concentration of the antigen was determined using Bradford assay (Bio-Rad, USA). Subtyping of Blastocystis isolates from symptomatic and asymptomatic cultures Genomic DNA Extraction: The genomic DNA of symptomatic and asymptomatic isolates of Blastocystis hominis were extracted from the 3 to 4 days old culture with QIAmp DNA stool mini kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) according to the manufacturers protocol. DNA Purity and Concentration: The genomic DNA yields were estimated using measurement of absorbance at 260nm and 280nm using a spectrophotometer. The ratio of absorbance at 260nm to 280nm determines the purity of the genomic DNA yielded. According to the manufacturers protocol, the ratio of 1.7-1.9 indicates that the DNA yields are pure. PCR Typing by STS Primers: The genotype of B. hominis was determined by using PCR amplification with subtype-specific sequence tagged site (STS) primers (SB83, SB155, SB227, SB332, SB340, SB336, and SB337). The PCR reaction mixtures (20  µl of total volume) consisted of PCR buffer, 2.5 U/ µl of Taq DNA polymerase (Fermantas, SB38), 1.5 mM MgCl2, 1.25  µM of dNTPs (Fermantas, RO191), 0.5 pmol of forward primer, 0.5 pmol of reverse primer, and 1.0  µl of the DNA samples. In addition, the PCR conditions were set as follows: one cycle denaturing at 94 °C for 3 min, 30 cycles including denaturing at 94 °C for 30 seconds, annealing at 56.3 °C for 30 seconds, extending at 72 °C for 60 s, , and additional cycle with a 10 min chain elongation at 72 °C. The PCR products obtained were then electrophoresed in 1.5% agarose gel with 1X Tris-boric-EDTA (TBE) buffer. The fragments of the DNA were visualized using UV illuminator under UV light. The fragment sizes of the genomic DNA were confirmed with bands of a DNA ladder (50-1,000 bp DNA markers, Fermentas). Cultivation and collection of HCT116 Human colorectal carcinoma cell line, HCT116, was cultured in 25 cm ³ culture flask containing 5 ml of RPMI 1640 growth medium, supplemented with 5% of FBS, 2mM L-glutamine, 100 U/ml penicillin-streptomycin, and 2.5 ÃŽ ¼g/ml fungizone. The HCT116 cell line was then incubated in a CO2 incubator set at 100% humidity, atmosphere containing 5% of CO2 and a temperature of 37 °C. Prior to the introduction of antigen from Blastocystis hominis isolates, the cells were harvested from the substratum of the culture flask by using 0.25% trypsin-EDTA. The harvested cells were then washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) thrice and resuspended in RPMI 1640 growth medium before introducing the solubilized antigen of Blastocystis hominis from symptomatic and asymptomatic isolates. Isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) PBMCs were collected from fresh human blood sample (12 ml) in sterile EDTA tubes. The PBMCs were then isolated from the blood sample by using Histopaque ®-1077 (Sigma-Aldrich, USA) according to the density gradient centrifugation method (Boyum. 1974). The isolated PBMCs were then washed with PBS thrice and resuspended in 5 ml of RPMI 1640 growth medium, supplemented with 10% of FBS, 2mM L-glutamine, 100 U/ml penicillin-streptomycin, and 2.5 ÃŽ ¼g/ml fungizone in a 25 cm ³ culture flask prior to the introduction of solubilized antigen of Blastocystis hominis isolates. Introduction of the solubilized symptomatic and asymptomatic derived Blasto antigen into PBMCs and colorectal cancer cell line, HCT116 Harvested HCT116 cells (1 x 103 cells per well) in 100 ÃŽ ¼l of RPMI growth medium with 5% FBS and freshly isolated PBMCs (5 x 104 cells per well) in 100 ÃŽ ¼l of RPMI growth medium with 10% FBS were seeded into 96 well plates. After the overnight incubation in a CO2 incubator containing 5% CO2 at 37 °C, Blasto-antigen of B. hominis from symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals at final concentration ranging from 0.001 to 10ÃŽ ¼g/ml was added to each well containing the PBMCs and HCT116 cells and were further incubated for 48 hours. Then, the cell proliferation/viability was measured using the MTT assay (Mosmann. 1983). Quantitative Real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (rtRT-PCR) Concentration of symptomatic and asymptomatic Blasto-antigen that yields the optimal proliferation and inhibition in the preliminary tests (MTT assay) was used to introduce into each culture flask containing PBMCs and HCT 116 cells respectively. For controls, PBS was introduced into both types of cells. After 48 hours of incubation, the RNA was isolated from the PBMCs and HCT 116 cells using Ambion RNAqueous Micro Kit (Ambion, CA, USA). The purified RNA obtained was then used to synthesize complementary DNA (cDNA) using High-Capacity RNA-to-cDNA kit (Applied Biosystems, USA) by the PCR method. Finally, Real-time reverse transcription PCR analysis was performed using inventoried primers (TaqMan ® Gene Expression Assays, Applied Biosystems). In this study, the genes of interest were IL-6, IL-8, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-ÃŽ ±), nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-ÃŽ ºB), interferon gamma (IFN-ÃŽ ³), protein 53 (p53), transforming growth factor be ta (TGF-ÃŽ ²), and cathepsin B (CTSB). The PCR reaction will be prepared according to the protocol that is generated by StepOneTM Software v2.0. Statistical Analysis In order to analyze the real-time RT-PCR gene expressions, the à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  CT value of the treated samples with symptomatic and asymptomatic Blasto-antigen was compared against the non-treated sample (control with PBS) using the Students t test. A P value of 0.05 was considered to be the minimum threshold of significance. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS In the present study, the symptomatic and asymptomatic isolates were genotyped by PCR amplification using the well-known seven sets of STS primers. The extracted DNA of symptomatic isolate showed positive amplification with SB83 and thus determined as subtype 1 (Yoshikawa et al. 2004). Nevertheless, the extracted DNA of asymptomatic isolate did not show any positive amplification with all the seven sets of STS primers that was used in this study. Hence, it is postulated that the asymptomatic isolate may be subtype 8 to 13 which was not amplified by the STS primers used in this study (Dominguez-Mà ¡rquez et al. 2009; Eroglu et al. 2009; Jones et al. 2009; Hussein et al. 2008; Tan et al. 2008). Molecular phylogenetic analysis need to be carried out in order to further characterized the subtype of asymptomatic isolate used in this study (Noel et al. 2005; Stensvold et al. 2007; Yoshikawa et al. 2007). In this study, the Blasto-Ag isolated from both symptomatic as well as asymptomatic isolates have caused an inhibition of PBMC cells proliferation which leads to the speculation that the Blasto-Ag may have caused apoptosis in the immune cells to prevent the propagation of immune cells to combat with the Blastocystis infection. The symptomatic isolate has caused a greater inhibition of PBMCs as compare to asymptomatic isolates. However, the Blasto-Ag mediated PBMCs cell inhibition is contrast to our previous report (Chandramathi et al. 2010). Our previous study showed that Blasto-Ag caused stimulation of PBMCs cell proliferation (Chandramathi et al. 2010). However, the molecular genotyping of the B. hominis isolates used in that study was not carried out. Past studies have reported that there may be a correlation between different B. hominis subtypes on the pathogenesis in human hosts (Dominguez-Mà ¡rquez et al. 2009; Eroglu et al. 2009; Jones et al. 2009; Hussein et al. 2008; Tan et al. 2008). This contrasting result observed in the cell viability of PBMCs may suggest the different subtypes of B. hominis may give different effects on the immune cells. Hence, further investigation is required to investigate the potential pathogenesis of different B. hominis subtypes. In the current study, increase in cell proliferation has been observed in colorectal carcinoma cell line, HCT116 cells upon exposure to antigen from symptomatic as well as asymptomatic isolates. HCT116 cells have shown significantly higher increase in cell proliferation stimulated by symptomatic Blasto-Ag as compared to asymptomatic antigen. The increase in the cell proliferation may further suggest that Blastocystis infection could facilitate the growth of colorectal cancer cells (Chandramathi et al. 2010). It is evident from the present study that symptomatic Blasto-Ag is more pathogenic as compared to asymptomatic Blasto-Ag. Hence, it may be essential to treat the Blastocystis infection in symptomatic colorectal cancer patients for better prognosis. On the other hand, a diverse pattern of cytokine, nuclear transcription factor as well as apoptotic gene expressions were observed upon the stimulation of HCT116 cells and PBMCs by symptomatic and asymptomatic derived Blasto-Ag. In the present study a noticeable up-regulation of Th1 (IFN-ÃŽ ³ and TNF-ÃŽ ±) and Th2 (IL6, IL8 and TGF-ÃŽ ²) cytokines was observed in HCT116 following exposure to symptomatic Blasto-Ag may lead to the speculation that B. hominis has activated the cellular and humoral immune responses in clearing the Blastocystis infection. This is accordance to the previous study that extracellular parasites such as B. hominis would be more effective in counteracted by a combination of Th1 and Th2 cytokines (Daugelat et al. 1996). Nevertheless, a more significant up-regulation of Th2 cytokines as compared to Th1 cytokines observed in HCT116 upon exposure to symptomatic and asymptomatic Blasto-Ag may lead to the postulation that symptomatic Blasto-Ag may resulting in a Th2- dominated responses and has the potential in weakening the cellular immune response, allowing the progression and growth of an existing tumour cells. On the other hand, HCT116 exposed to symptomatic Blasto-Ag has resulted in a more noticeable up-regulation of Th2 cytokines then asymptomatic Blasto-Ag which may lead to the speculation that asymptomatic Blasto-Ag is less pathogenic than symptomatic derived Blasto-Ag. Furthermore, the up-regulation of TGF-ÃŽ ² in the colorectal cancer cells has the potential role of anti-inflammatory and resulting in host immunosuppression by inhibiting the cell mediated immune responses against the tumour cells (Zou, 2005; Seruga et al. 2008). In addition, it is widely-accepted that humoral immunity is activated by extracellular microbes such as bacteria (Romagnani, 1996). B. hominis, being an extracellular allergen, has triggered the activation of host humoral immune responses which is evident by the significant up-regulation of Th2 cytokines in the PBMCs upon exposure to symptomatic and asymptomatic Blasto-Ag. Moreover, this results can be supported by the recent finding which shown an elevation of IL6 and IL8 level in the monocytes of healthy volunteers exposed to Leishmania infection (Menezes et al. 2008). In spite of that, an interesting finding has been observed in PBMCs stimulated by symptomatic and asymptomatic Blasto-Ag, besides activating the humoral immune responses, PBMCs exposed by Blasto-Ag has also triggered the activation of cellular mediated immune response characterized by Th1 cytokines. As described earlier, extracellular parasites may be more effective counteracted by a combination of Th1 and Th2 cytoki nes mediated immune responses (Daugelat et al. 1996). However, the activation of cellular mediated immune responses which is reflected by a significant up-regulation of TNF-ÃŽ ± and IFN-ÃŽ ³ may lead to the speculation that Blasto-Ag isolated from symptomatic as well as asymptomatic individual has the ability in causing extensive inflammatory damage in the host tissue as a result of macrophage mediated responses towards the parasitic infections. In addition, an up-regulation of NF-ÃŽ ºB and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL6 and IL8 was observed in HCT116 stimulated by symptomatic Blasto-Ag. Furthermore, these findings were also observed in PBMCs stimulated by symptomatic and asymptomatic Blasto-Ag. Nevertheless, HCT116 exposed to asymptomatic Blasto-Ag has exhibited an insignificant down-regulation of NF-à Ã‚ ºB gene expression which then leads to a significant lower expression in IL6 and IL8 as compared to HCT116 stimulated by symptomatic Blasto-Ag. Although the previous reports by Chandramathi et al. 2010 has stated the potential role of asymptomatic Blasto-Ag in causing the up-regulation of NF-à Ã‚ ºB and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL6 and IL8, however, the similar trend was not observed in the current study. As described earlier, different Blastocystis subtypes may have different effects on HCT116 cells as well as causing different gene expression profile in HCT116. To further characterize the gene expression profiles a s well as pathogenic potential of each subtype on HCT116 and PBMCs, more samples on different subtypes need to be recruited for the future study. Apart from this, NF-à Ã‚ ºB is also related to the apoptotic mediator genes namely p53 and CTSB. NF-à Ã‚ ºB has been postulated to play a role in inhibiting the apoptosis; hence it is hypothesized that the down-regulation of NF-à Ã‚ ºB gene expression will lead to the up-regulation of p53 and vice versa (Baldwin, 2001; Chwieralski et al. 2006). Although the recent study has suggested that CTSB may contribute to the cell apoptosis, however the studies have only reported on CTSB-mediated apoptosis in breast cancer cells as well as hepatocytes apoptosis in fulminant hepatic failure (Sandes et al, 2007; Yan et al. 2009). Nevertheless, the possibility of CTSB participation in the apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells has not been investigated. Moreover, there are a number of studies have shown that over expression of CTSB mRNA and elevation of its protein activity have been associated with the invasive and metastasis properties of various cancers (Campo et al. 1994; Yan et al, 1998; Hirai et al. 1999; Sanjeeva et al. 2001). The similar findings were observed in the current study where the HCT116 cells stimulated by symptomatic as well as asymptomatic Blasto-Ag have caused a significant up-regulation of CTSB. The over expression of CTSB in HCT116 cells stimulated by symptomatic and asymptomatic Blasto-Ag may implicate the potential of Blasto-Ag in causing the invasive and metastasis of colorectal cancer (Campo et al. 1994; Yan et al. 1998; Dora et al. 2003). In the present study, the insignificant down-regulation of p53 gene expressions observed in PBMCs may indicates that the symptomatic and asymptomatic Blasto-Ag may have prevented the PBMC cells to undergo the apoptosis process. The observation of p53 gene expressions obtained was contrary to the expectation. This may be due to the latent effects of the host immunity to down-regulate the apoptotic mediator gene in order to combat with the invasive B. hominis as well as to prevent persistent inflammation which can lead to carcinogenesis. Although the down-regulation pattern was observed, it does not causing a significant effect (0.95 and 0.96 fold decrease respectively). In contrast to PBMCs, stimulation of symptomatic Blasto-Ag in HCT116 has insignificantly down-regulated the gene expressions of p53. The insignificant down-regulation observed in HCT116 stimulated by symptomatic Blasto-Ag may be explained that it could be the reason that HCT116 cells to have low level of NF-à Ã‚ ºB gene expression level (1.34 fold increase). Nevertheless, the down-regulation observed may further suggest that symptomatic Blasto-Ag may has enhance the proliferation and progression of existing tumour besides causing an extensive release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. On the other hand, an interesting finding was observed in HCT116 exposed to asymptomatic Blasto-Ag, instead of causing down-regulation of p53 gene expression, asymptomatic Blasto-Ag has caused an up-regulation of p53 (1.09 fold increase) in HCT116. The findings and observations obtained from the current study are still far to characterize the mechanism of the potential pathogenic role of B. hominis in PBMCs as well as HCT116 cells. However, the current study was able to give an overview of the potential pathogenesis of symptomatic and asymptomatic derived Blasto-Ag in HCT116 and PBMCs. Moreover, the findings also suggest that symptomatic derived Blasto-Ag is more pathogenic as compare to asymptomatic Blasto-Ag. More studies still need to be done on the association of this emerging parasite on the association with the colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION The MTT cell proliferative assay and gene expression profile in this study has shown that the solubilized antigen isolated from symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, at a particular concentration, could facilitate the proliferation and growth of colorectal carcinoma while having the ability to induce apoptosis on PBMCs immune cells. Moreover, the cell proliferative assay also successfully reported that antigen isolated from symptomatic individual is more pathogenic as compare to asymptomatic isolates, as it causes a significantly higher increase in cell proliferation of HCT116 colorectal carcinoma cell lines and a significantly higher increase in inhibition of PBMCs immune cells. Moreover, symptomatic isolate of B. hominis has exhibited a more evident increase in the gene expression of Th1 and Th2 cyokines. Hence, there is a vital need to screen colorectal cancer patients for B. hominis infection.