Improving Patient Services Intitiative & Standards in a Community Article

Improving Patient Services Intitiative & Standards in a Community Services Program - Article Example ll not only force an organization to develop and define its quality mission, but also ensure that the processes can be understood and actualized by all involved (Santiago, 1999; Hall et al, 2003). Several studies have shown intervention models that have improved the quality of health care and reduced the health care costs. One is the Total Quality Management (TQM) described as the â€Å"development of an organizational culture which is defined by, and supports, the constant attainment of customer satisfaction through an integrated system of tools, techniques and training† (Sashkin and Kiser, 1993 as mentioned in Walsh, Hughes & Maddox, 2002, p. 299). Since customer satisfaction is the goal of TQM, it should have an in-built culture of continuous improvement by focusing on an organisation’s activities on eradicating the causes of defective products and services which should never reach the customer. Blades (1995) discussed the Baxter Health Care Ltd. model for promoting quality improvement. The model involves coming up with pictorial signs to educate or remind staff of the high quality they need to render. These were initially used as slides for training and then turned to posters. It provides a framework for both analysis and education on quality issues, focusing on the elements of total quality management namely communication; commitment; customer focus and continuous improvement. Piette, Ellis, et al (2002) conducted a study with the purpose of determining the most effective quality of care using the facility’s ethical practices. In the study, constant monitoring and investigation ensure quality outcomes. A leadership council was formed, meeting monthly to discuss and communicate regarding corporate compliance and personnel programs, clinical outcomes reviews, and clinical issues. All committees and councils reported to the Board of Directors on the progress of their project. The study design utilized a clinical practice committee breakdown of the

Subsidize University Fees For Low Income Group Essay Example for Free

Subsidize University Fees For Low Income Group Essay INTRODUCTION: Globally, there is increasing demand for higher education, especially from the youth population of developing countries, as it is viewed as an important pathway for greater social mobility (Devesh, 2008). According to the World Trade Organization (WTO 2010), private returns from higher education are high for both developed and developing countries. In developing countries, the wage differential between a secondary school leaver and a university graduate is estimated to be as high as 200%. Besides the wage premium, rapidly changing technology in a globalized world is also demanding new and changing competencies that require life-long learning skills, for which mature students often have to go back to college for re-training and re-skilling. Malaysia is one of the most subsidized nations in the world. Its total subsidy of RM74 billion in 2009 is equivalent to RM12,900 per household or 4.6 per cent of GDP even higher than Indonesia (2.7 per cent) Philippines (0.2 per cent). Out of the numbers, RM 30.8 billion goes to Primary, secondary, higher education and scholarships. Higher education in Malaysia is divided into 2 sectors; public and non-public sector, there are about 20 universities and 6 university colleges (the term â€Å"university college† is used to for those tertiary level education institutions that are able to confer their own degrees but have not achieved university status). In the non-public sector there are 559 institutions of varying types including: universities and university colleges and foreign university branch campuses. The term â€Å"non-public† refers to the broad category of institutions not funded by the state. A division between private and for-profit institutions exists within this category, but is not entirely clear. Outside of these categories are polytechnics (24) and community colleges (37), which will not be dealt with this profile. The Higher Education Department within the Ministry of Education, co-ordinates and monitors the activities of public and private universities and colleges. Because of government’s large investments in higher education, issues of government involvement and university autonomy arise. Currently, students  are assigned to specific universities based on their cumulative grade point averages, faculty members are essentially civil servants with highly fixed salaries, and vice chancellors and deans are appointed by the state. Malaysian public higher education students must pay tuition and other fees and cover their living costs (though accommodations on campus are subsidized by the government). Solid financing is the backbone of a well-functioning higher education system. The decision to attend tertiary education has monetary and non-monetary variables. In Malaysia the cost of tertiary education (tuition fees) and associated living costs affect how much a cash constraint can discourage otherwise talented students from enrolling and completing higher education. Currently many kinds of subsidies exist such as government owned and operated school (public and private universities state colleges), subsidized loans, grants and scholarships. THE â€Å"PROS† TOWARDS GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY: Why does government need to intervene in the market for education? That is, doesn’t the market produce the â€Å"right† amount of education? If the market outcome is not right, what is the best way to intervene? To answer these questions, we first need to consider the basic model of education. In the economic model of education, every person in society has a certain amount of brain power, skill, knowledge, understanding, and the like. All those factors other than our â€Å"unskilled† labor allow us to produce output. We can think of all these factors as one, the composite factors which is human capital. It is very useful to think of human capital as analogous to physical capital. Durable: continues to have value over time, can decrease over time due to â€Å"depreciation† and can increase due to â€Å"investments†. Acquiring education is like making a physical investment, improves the quantity and/or quality of the human capital. The purpose is to increase productivity and that’s for sure. Hence, there are a few drawbacks if the Malaysian government didn’t subsidized university education tuition fees. Family income determines whether the student can afford the costs of the university or college. First issue related to monetary variables and non-monetary variables will lead to a drop line of a higher education access. This has made many young talents and bright students fail to enter university and are a loss to future generation. This is due to: †¢Cost benefits barrier – the barrier arises when the group decides that the cost of attending university is greater than its expected return to the education investment. †¢Cash constraints barrier – occurs when the students who have decided that the returns to education outweigh the costs still cannot put together the resources to obtain entry to universities. †¢Debt aversion barrier – arises when an individual refuses to use the funds at his or her disposal because part of the funds might be loans, which at some point will have to be repaid. †¢Parental education, race and ethnicity, gender and geographical location – all play a role in the college decision-making process. Of course there are many reasons why government should step in. Subsidy indirectly can reduce crime. Of course crime is clearly an externality in this context. The actions of others affect us and they are not negatively compensated. If we look at current situation there is an extremely strong relationship between crime and education. Well at least for three reasons: †¢Pure human capital motive – education related to income, and people with higher income have less incentive to commit crime. †¢Direct schooling effect – classes makes students smarter so realize that crime doesn’t pay at all. †¢Opportunity cost of time – students are busy at faculty so actually in other words have less time to commit crime. Escalating expenditure for public higher education has ked the government to adopt a cost-sharing system in which students and parents shoulder and increasing share of the costs. The MARA financial aid scheme was converted in January 1998 to a 100% loan scheme except for loans given out under the Excellent Student Scheme. The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) was established for the purpose of offering subsidized loans to help students meet the costs of enrolling a local higher education institution.  It is also designed to ensure that there would be loans available for Malays to afford both public and private higher education so that the targeted ethnic composition of enrolment in higher education is maintained. THE DEBATE TOWARDS GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY: When the government is in the business of handing out money, interest groups lobby to get it, or advocate receiving more than they are already getting. So, it is with spending on higher education. Over the long run, the funding for those areas has increased dramatically. Taxpayers should be skeptical of the current reasons for subsidizing universities further. There are few arguments are dubious for five main reasons stated below in regards with government subsidy related to university fees. It can be elaborate and debate as the following: There is no link between higher education subsidies and economic growth, and none between universities or college degrees and job creation. Malaysia has spent a much higher proportion of personal income on federal and state government to support for higher education. States with a higher proportion of university and college graduates do not necessarily grow by adding more college degrees. For now, the country is currently experiencing a rather worrying unemployment especially among young graduates. Excess of the graduates is unable to meet domestic open vacancy in any sector since most of them are experiencing the freezing phase of job vacancy. Thus its shows there are no linkage at all between higher education qualifications with job vacancies. Indirectly it could not keep the countrys economy. More subsidies equals to more waste. The number of academicians, staff, administrators and service staff at all 20 universities and 6 university colleges increased at a faster rate than full-time equivalent students over the same time period. At the same time, the compensation for the average employees increased too for sure. Colleges set tuition rates relative to supply and demand, but the government subsidies distort this process and inflate the cost. That’s why private universities such as Sunway International College and Lim Kok Wing University which receive no government funding, do a much better job at keeping down the cost of tuition. At the present time the federal government already spends billions of dollars subsidizing universities, whether it is money for Lecturer’s salaries, buildings, or the millions of dollars provided for research. The cost of classes and tuition picks up only small portion of the tab. Aside from that, there are many people who do not deserve or would not make the best of the education provided. Scholarships and government grants are available for people who have worked hard and earned the opportunity, but to hand it over to everyone for free are insane. When comparing earning power between college graduates and non-graduates, correlation is not causation, and the actual cost of universities or collage matters. Proponents of more funding for higher education almost always cite the same statistic as their main point: Overall, universities and college graduates tend to make more money in their lifetime than those without a degree. But this assumes that the degree caused the higher earnings, rather than the fact that those who complete college are already more likely to be financially successful whether they attend university or not. The common figure cited is that a college degree is worth MYR1 million over the lifetime of a worker. Besides ignoring the point above, this is a poor exercise in statistics. The number is arrived at by taking the difference between the average pay of a university and college graduate and the average pay of a non-universities and college graduate and multiplying it over a 40-year career. First, that only tells us what the average is today, not what the actual future earnings are. Second, this assumes that all universities and college degrees have the same value. For example, it assumes that a Bachelor of Arts in art history is the same as a Bachelor of Science in quantum physics. Most significantly, it ignores many important factors: taxes, the real salary data of today’s graduates, the opportunity cost of going to college (how much someone would earn during those years in school), the fact that large proportions of student’s starts school and do not finish, and, most  importantly, student loan debt. Keep in mind that government may be funding someone’s desire to paint or be involved in the arts which do not advance society enough to justify the cost. Perhaps if everyone were taking physics, biology, or computer sciences in order to contribute in a meaningful way post grad it would be a different story. Also the amount of people in college is at the highest it’s ever been. In fact a BA or BS degree is essentially required now for low level jobs and a Masters or Doctorate is needed to advance up the ladder. Ensuring that everyone has university or college schooling would not enhance the labor market – it would dilute a university degree. The assumption among many is that every career should require a higher education. This belief leads to subsidies for subjects with little practicality in the workforce and areas where a student may be better off doing an apprenticeship or working for four years than attending more school. Pushing for everyone to go to universities or college does not automatically make those students university-ready; it lowers the overall standards of higher education. This has led to a high dropout rate, more repeated classes for those in school and an explosion of marginal subjects in which many degree-holders are forced to work outside that field because of a lack of demand. In short, incentivizing degrees students do not ever use. Higher education may be the next bubble to burst. Much like the housing bubble, higher education is fueled by government subsidies, publicly-backed loans and incentives that say everyone should be doing something. Lately tuition costs have risen steeply well above inflation while colleges compete to expand into areas outside of their main purpose and taking on more debt to do so. At the same time, competition from other sectors, like online education, offer cheaper alternatives to the bread-and-butter of university academia. It is important for citizens to be educated, both to learn a job and to better be able to respond to a changing marketplace. But there is a difference between education and schooling. Spending more money to send  people to get a specific number of degrees at a specific institution is different from education. Education comes in the form of apprenticeships, trade schools and time on the job learning. And education is something you can’t force on someone else. Just putting someone in college does make force them to learn anything. Education is a personal matter, and more subsidies will only influence a persons decision to learn or not to learn at the barest of margins. Higher education can build new skills, enhance old ones and show prospective employers that students are able to put in the time to earn a degree. But the value of a degree varies — by the institution, the cost, the time and the subject. From an individual’s perspective, private universities and colleges may be worth the cost. But for a growing number, it’s not. And government subsidies, where political incentives trump market realities, only worsen that problem CONCLUSION: Education issues remain an important priority in developing countries. Because resources are limited and ensuring adequate allocation is a struggle for many countries including Malaysia itself. The delivery of educational services has become a challenge. Malaysia, like other countries in Southeast Asia, faces similar challenges in ensuring the allocation of appropriate funding for efficient and equitable educational services in order to promote access to quality education for all social groups. While Malaysia faces many challenges amid rapid global chances, we can draw on a number of strengths and unique advantages as we take purposeful policy actions to move forward. Education is not preparation for life; education is a life by itself. From the job market to tertiary education, from UPSR to A-Levels, Education in Malaysia focuses on bringing us the latest news and analysis on our nation’s best bet on the future. The future earnings of the individual typically constitute an adequate return on the gross investment in obtaining higher education. Moreover, providing  subsidy university and college education to all is a rather inefficient way to serve the interest of poor students since a large proportion of students who acquire higher education come from relatively well-off families. Raising demand for higher education and the need to produce a critical mass of highly educated and skilled workers for a knowledge economy has led to the massification of Malaysian higher education. However, escalating higher public education expenditure led the government to adopt a cost sharing system where students and parents shoulder and increasing share of the cost for acquiring a higher education.

Death of a Naturalist Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

Death of a Naturalist The poem, like Seamus Heaney’s work, is very nature minded in terms of context. However, he describes the frogs in a very evil, sinister, and menacing way. It is about a child who collects frog spawn from the dam and collects it in jars. He is innocent and unaware of the evil that lurks in the frog spawn. We can see in the poem that the boy is young, when he remembers his teacher teaching him about the frogs, and his way of calling the frogs ‘Daddy frog’ and ‘Mammy Frog’. The poem heavily appeals to the senses, which describes the more sinister parts of nature. Because when people think of nature they usually think of the more beautiful parts of it (e.g. mountains etc.) The poems appeal to senses shows how filthy and grubby nature can be describing the sight, smel...

Management function Essay

During week two the group was presented with new information that helped to teach different aspects of planning as a management function. The different types of planning include strategic, operational, and tactical planning. Strategic planning involves looking into the long term goals and plans. Tactical planning translates broad goals and strategies into specific actions to be taken within different parts of an organization. Operation planning is the specific short term procedures done at lower levels of the organization. As problems in various companies were identified by the class a SWOT analysis was something that could be used to see what weaknesses, threats, strengths, and opportunities an organization has to combat issues. This is very important to see what the organization is doing wrong or right to help strengthen and decrease weaknesses and threats. It also helps a company to find its strengths and lean on them and to look for opportunities within the company. Then there are the threats to the company that we can try and get rid of like competition. Core competencies can be discovered during this process that gives firms a competitive advantage. We discussed how organizations can remain competitive by choosing strategy options that competitors are unwilling or unable to imitate. In making sure that plans are successful managers have to make sure they implement their strategies effectively and efficiently. Learning ethics and why they are vital to the hiring process was reviewed. Business ethics are the moral principles and standards that act as a guide for how those in the business world should act. Different ethical systems include universalism, egoism, utilitarianism, relativism, and virtue ethics. Egoism is doing the right thing that is best for one person where utilitarianism is doing the right thing for the group. Relativism is a fun one that influences business because it is based on opinions and behaviors. Corporate social responsibility or CSR is an organizations obligation toward society. It was observed how ethical decision making is important in the business environment. Management has to consider all facts and how decisions will affect the organization on a short and long term basis. An example is an employee using paid work time to surf the Internet this cause’s lost wages for the company and could cause viruses to the company software by using outside company sites. In talking about ethics the topic of Greenwashing was mentioned. Greenwashing is the misleading of consumers concerning the environmental benefits of a product or service and it was discovered that several companies are guilty of this. In considering what a business needs to have customers value them brand loyalty was learned. Brand loyalty in relation to price is seen because as consumers become more loyal to certain brands they are less sensitive to the changes in price. Consumers who are loyal to a brand feel that there is not another company who is able to imitate the one they have chosen to be loyal to.

Case Study 2

Case Study 2 Springfield Express is a luxury passenger carrier in Texas. All seats are first class, and the following data are available: Number of seats per passenger train car 90 Average load factor (percentage of seats filled) 70% Average full passenger fare $ 160 Average variable cost per passenger $ 70 Fixed operating cost per month $3,150,000 Formula : Revenue = Units Sold * Unit priceContribution Margin = Revenue – All Variable Cost Contribution Margin Ratio = Contribution Margin/Selling Price Break Even Points in Units = (Total Fixed Costs + Target Profit )/Contribution Margin Break Even Points in Sales = (Total Fixed Costs + Target Profit )/Contribution Margin Ratio Margin of Safety = Revenue – Break Even Points in Sales Degree of Operating Leverage = Contribution Margin/Net Income Net Income = Revenue – Total Variable Cost – Total Fixed Cost Unit Product Cost using Absorption Cost = (Total Variable Cost + Total Fixed Cost)/# of units a. Contribu tion margin per passenger =$160 – $70 = $90Contribution margin ratio =$90/$160=56. 25% Break-even point in passengers = Fixed costs/Contribution Margin = $ 3,150,000/$90 Passengers =35,000 Break-even point in dollars = Fixed Costs/Contribution Margin Ratio = $ 3,150,000/56. 25% $ 5,600,000 b. Compute # of seats per train car (remember load factor? )= 90 * 70% = 63 Seats filled Compute # of train cars (rounded) = 35,000/63 = 556 train cars filled c. Contribution margin = $190 – $70 = $120 Break-even point in passengers = fixed costs/ contribution margin =$ 3,150,000/$120 Passengers = 26,250 BE = 90 seats *60% = 54Train cars (rounded) = 26,250/54 = 486 d. Contribution margin = $190 – $90 = $70 Break-even point in passengers = Fixed costs/Contribution Margin = $ 3,150,000/$70 Passengers =45,000 BE = 90 seats *70% = 63 Train cars (rounded) = 45,000/63 = 714 e. Contribution margin = $205 – $85 = $120 (P = Passengers) Sales205*P Variable Exp. 085*P Contribution M. 120*P Fixed Exp. 3,600,000 PretaxX Tax Exp. :X*30% Net Income Op. 750,000 750,000 = X – 0. 3X (X (1 – 0. 3) => 750,000/(1-0. 3) = X X=$ 1,071,428. 57 (Pre-Tax) $ 1,071,429= 120P – $ 3,600,000 => $ 1,071,429 + $ 3,600,000= 120P => 4,671,429/120= P P =38,928 f. Contribution margin = $120 – $70 = $50 # of discounted seats = 90*70%; 90*80% ( Difference is 10%; 90*10% = 9 Seats Contribution margin for discounted fares X #discounted seats = $50 * 9 Seats = $450 50 Train *$ 450 train cars per day * 30 days per month= $675,000 $ 675,000 (-) $ 180,000 additional fixed costs = $495,000 pretax income. g. 1. Compute Contribution margin Route 1 Route2 Overall Mix Sales160*P175*P335 *p Variable Exp. 070*P070*P140 *p Contribution M. 090*P105*P195 *P Route 1 Contribution Margin Ratio =$90/$160=56. 5% Route 2 Contribution Margin Ratio =$105/$175=60% Overall Contribution Margin Ratio =$195/$335=58. 20% Answer: Yes, it should, because the CMR is greater with the two rou tes. 2. BE = 90 * 60% = 54 Seats filled Contribution margin = $175 – $70 = $105 (P = Passengers) Sales175*P (54 Seats) Variable Exp. 070*P Contribution M. 105*P Fixed Exp. 3,150,000+250,000=3,400,000 Pretax120,000 120,000 = (105P*(54 Seats)) – 3,400,000 => 3,520,000 = 5,670P => 3,520,000/5,670 = P P=621 621/54 =12 train cars 3. Contribution margin = $175 – $70 = $105 BE = 90 seats *75% = 68Contribution margin = $175 – $70 = $105 (P = Passengers) Sales175*P (68 Seats) Variable Exp. 070*P Contribution M. 105*P Fixed Exp. 3,150,000+250,000=3,400,000 Pretax120,000 120,000 = (105P*(68 Seats)) – 3,400,000 => 3,520,000 = 7,140P => 3,520,000/7,140= P P=493 493/68 = 7 train cars 4. Springfield should consider Qualitative factors such as: (1) effect on employee morale, schedules and other internal elements; (2) relationships with and commitments to older and new suppliers; (3) effect on present and future customers; and (4) long-term future effect on profita bility and new businesses. Case Study 2 Chapter 2 Case Study Summary 1: 21-year old woman that has had type 1 diabetes for the past 8 years, was brought to the hospital in a coma. She was prescribed to take 92 units of insulin a day to maintain her sugar levels within normal limits and prevent excess sugar in her urine. Upon admission she was hypontensive, tachycardic and hyperventilating.Her labs show she is acidonic, arterial blood carbon dioxide levels were low, blood oxygen tension is normal, bicarbonate levels are really low indicating metabolic acidosis, low sodium levels, slightly high level of potassium, Chloride level is on the low end of normal, very high levels of blood urea and nitrogen, total carbon dioxide levels are really low, extremely high sugar levels and high creatinine levels. She tested positive for ketones. She recieved 8 units of regular insulin through an IV and 8 units per hour by IV infusion pump.Her blood sugar levels began to drop at about 100 mg/dL each hour. After seven hours her breathing an d pH went back to normal, following an injection of intravenous sodium bicarbonate to raise her pH and vigorous IV fluids and electrolyte replacement. 1. It seems her type 1 diabetes is uncontrolled. As her body could not use the sugar and there is not enough insulin, fat was used for fuel instead. During fat breakdown, byproducts called ketones are developed. Ketone bodies are acidic and dangerous when it build up in the body causing all her symptoms upon admission. . Yes, her pH levels became normal. Meaning her bicarbonate levels increased to compensate for the increased hydrogen proton levels in her blood. 3. When the body uses fat for energy instead of sugar, the body creates a byproduct called ketones. Since this is a byproduct, it flows through the renal system waiting to be expelled from the body. Normally, the existence of ketone bodies are detected through a urine sample. 4. The potassium results were high which can indicate some problem with her kidneys. 5.The low sodium results are based on the fact that sodiums job in the body is to keep proper acid-base equilibrium (homeostasis). Sodium has alkaline properties so if the levels are low the acid levels will be higher. 6. Diabetes can affect normal control of BP and can cause damage to the nerves supplying the blood vessels. When the blood pressure lowers the glomerular filtration rate decreases. 7. Anion gap measures of anions in the arterial blood. Anion gap equals chloride plus bicarbonate minus sodium Na-(Cl + HCO3-).The patient has a anion gap of 30. Normal levels are 7 to 16. 8. Osmolality measures the concentration of all chemical particles found in the fluid part of blood. Normal values range from 275 to 295. The patient has a osmolality of 351. 1 Summary 2: 14 year old boy that was never vaccinated against poliomyelitis got the disease late summer. He was hospitalized and needed a respirator during the severity of the illness. Once he began to recover, they took him off the respirator with no apparent effects. Days later a blood analysis revealed the following. H level is slightly acidic, carbon dioxide levels are high and indicate some respiratory acidosis, blood oxygen level is low, bicarbonate level is high, sodium levels are normal, potassium is normal, chloride level is slightly low, and total carbon dioxide levels are high. 1. It seems the patient has respiratory acidosis. Production of carbon dioxide occurs fast and the failure of proper ventilated increases the CO2 in the blood. 2. Buffers are normal compensatory mechanisms to respond to the acidosis. 3.Yes, the HCO3 (bicarbonate) test is elevated and bicarbonate is a buffer. 4. Acute respiratory acidosis is when a abrupt failure of ventilation occurs. Chronic respiratory acidosis may be secondary to many disorders. 5. Total CO2 measures the serum bicarbonate and available forms of carbon dioxide. Bicarbonate takes up about 95% of the total. They take the bicarbonate measurements by the sample of the venous bl ood and arterial blood gas analysis. 6. Chloride levels are slightly lower due to respiratory muscle weakness. Case Study 2 Chapter 2 Case Study Summary 1: 21-year old woman that has had type 1 diabetes for the past 8 years, was brought to the hospital in a coma. She was prescribed to take 92 units of insulin a day to maintain her sugar levels within normal limits and prevent excess sugar in her urine. Upon admission she was hypontensive, tachycardic and hyperventilating.Her labs show she is acidonic, arterial blood carbon dioxide levels were low, blood oxygen tension is normal, bicarbonate levels are really low indicating metabolic acidosis, low sodium levels, slightly high level of potassium, Chloride level is on the low end of normal, very high levels of blood urea and nitrogen, total carbon dioxide levels are really low, extremely high sugar levels and high creatinine levels. She tested positive for ketones. She recieved 8 units of regular insulin through an IV and 8 units per hour by IV infusion pump.Her blood sugar levels began to drop at about 100 mg/dL each hour. After seven hours her breathing an d pH went back to normal, following an injection of intravenous sodium bicarbonate to raise her pH and vigorous IV fluids and electrolyte replacement. 1. It seems her type 1 diabetes is uncontrolled. As her body could not use the sugar and there is not enough insulin, fat was used for fuel instead. During fat breakdown, byproducts called ketones are developed. Ketone bodies are acidic and dangerous when it build up in the body causing all her symptoms upon admission. . Yes, her pH levels became normal. Meaning her bicarbonate levels increased to compensate for the increased hydrogen proton levels in her blood. 3. When the body uses fat for energy instead of sugar, the body creates a byproduct called ketones. Since this is a byproduct, it flows through the renal system waiting to be expelled from the body. Normally, the existence of ketone bodies are detected through a urine sample. 4. The potassium results were high which can indicate some problem with her kidneys. 5.The low sodium results are based on the fact that sodiums job in the body is to keep proper acid-base equilibrium (homeostasis). Sodium has alkaline properties so if the levels are low the acid levels will be higher. 6. Diabetes can affect normal control of BP and can cause damage to the nerves supplying the blood vessels. When the blood pressure lowers the glomerular filtration rate decreases. 7. Anion gap measures of anions in the arterial blood. Anion gap equals chloride plus bicarbonate minus sodium Na-(Cl + HCO3-).The patient has a anion gap of 30. Normal levels are 7 to 16. 8. Osmolality measures the concentration of all chemical particles found in the fluid part of blood. Normal values range from 275 to 295. The patient has a osmolality of 351. 1 Summary 2: 14 year old boy that was never vaccinated against poliomyelitis got the disease late summer. He was hospitalized and needed a respirator during the severity of the illness. Once he began to recover, they took him off the respirator with no apparent effects. Days later a blood analysis revealed the following. H level is slightly acidic, carbon dioxide levels are high and indicate some respiratory acidosis, blood oxygen level is low, bicarbonate level is high, sodium levels are normal, potassium is normal, chloride level is slightly low, and total carbon dioxide levels are high. 1. It seems the patient has respiratory acidosis. Production of carbon dioxide occurs fast and the failure of proper ventilated increases the CO2 in the blood. 2. Buffers are normal compensatory mechanisms to respond to the acidosis. 3.Yes, the HCO3 (bicarbonate) test is elevated and bicarbonate is a buffer. 4. Acute respiratory acidosis is when a abrupt failure of ventilation occurs. Chronic respiratory acidosis may be secondary to many disorders. 5. Total CO2 measures the serum bicarbonate and available forms of carbon dioxide. Bicarbonate takes up about 95% of the total. They take the bicarbonate measurements by the sample of the venous bl ood and arterial blood gas analysis. 6. Chloride levels are slightly lower due to respiratory muscle weakness.

Sam Walton essays

Sam Walton essays There were several characteristics of Sam Walton that enabled him to be successful in his life and business dealings. Sam Walton could do anything he put his mind to. This can be witnessed in his ability to transform a small town store into a 25 billion-dollar industry at the time of his death. Walton did not want to be poor, and this helped to push him when the going got tough because he knew what the possible outcome would be. For example, when Walton first started producing more Wal-marts, he was in great debt. In fact the only way he could get out was to make more stores and continue to set lower prices than the competition. Walton grew up into a poor environment as a child, so he knew what it was like to be at the short end of the stick. Perhaps his difficult childhood gave him something to strive towards later on in his life. Walton learned several things from others as well. For instance, he learned to economize from his job at J.C. Penney. And while he was developing his f irst general store, Walton saw what the competition was doing wrong, and did the complete opposite, such as selling more quantity in order to make a bigger profit in the long run. It can probably be stated that Sam Walton would not have been as successful if his devoted wife had not been there along his side. Always there for him, Mrs. Walton was able to keep the entire family together during the hard and difficult times. While Sam was out doing the dirty work trying to make something of his business, Mrs. Walton was playing the role of mother and father back at home. Sam Walton had to create and develop his business in a very difficult environment. Competition was all around, and most people saw Waltons store as a dead-end flop when it first began. Before the founding of Wal-mart, all of the businesses were the same, trying to set prices in hopes of large gains from not so large quantities. Walton saw what was going on and took advantage of wh ...

Essay on Taxation Essay Example

Essay on Taxation Essay Example Essay on Taxation Essay Essay on Taxation Essay Consumption tax is a levy on the expenditure on goods and services rendered. This form of tax is usually indirect, and there are several types. Some of the most common forms of consumption tax include value-added tax, sales tax, excise tax and expenditure tax. 80% of the federal government revenue is from individual income tax and the payroll taxes that have been continually used to fund the insurance programs (Hyman, 2014). 11% is from corporate income tax and the remaining 9% from other sources. In2014 alone, the federal government collected revenues that totaled to $3 trillion which was equal to 17.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Some of the revenue that the government depends on is from the federal excise taxes which is more of a consumption tax that is levied on the goods and services purchased like gasoline and beverages. Taxation Trends State aid has been shown to have crested in the recent past considering the bulk of the government expenditure. The property tax is also another important trend that should be monitored continuously and has increased in the recent past as well. Regardless, there will be probably no significant increments on the same because it is one of the unpopular forms of government revenue. A significant reversal would, therefore, occur in the property tax long-term trends. The governments reliance on charges still continues and prospects assert that it will go on in the future. The fact that citizens are showing resistance to tax coupled with the increasing demand for foods and local services provides the best possible solution to the budget issues (Hyman, 2014). Technology has also made it easy to tax individuals hence the substantial growth in the revenue. Some of the challenges that individual governments face are eternal like people having a preference for those sources of income that are almost invisible like the sumptuary taxes (Bandyopadhyay, 2015). Also, following the trends in government revenue, particularly during the 2007 to 2009 recession, the federal government faced a lot of challenges. It also provided the opportunity to reform the financial and economic system of the states. The primary goal and priority of local governments regarding their goods and services are to create a five-year financial plan, customer service and employing a unified communications strategy. An opportunity for local governments comes in the form of co-production where professionals and citizens share the power to design, plan and deliver goods and services together. This mode of delivery allows the stakeholders to appreciate that each of the partners contributes significantly and are both vital for its success. Regardless, the local governments wi ll experience challenges still in collecting revenue from taxes because people dislike them (Bandyopadhyay, 2015). Performance budgeting is a paramount tool that can be used to improve the whole process of budgeting of the federal government. It involves the utilization of performance measures to make informed decisions. It is through this tool that governments can reduce and eliminate unnecessary expenditures using performance measures. States like Sunnyvale, CA use accounting data to allocate the budgetary resources to its citizens. Tax policy refers to the governments power to decide which tax to levy as well as the amounts. According to reports, corporate income tax rates has been shown to reduce in many countries (New corporate income tax policy, 2010). The rate at which it decreases is, however, varying throughout the countries. It is however projected to decline in many countries in 2016 than in the last two years. Reference Bandyopadhyay, S. (2015). Local government finance: challenges in revenue-raising at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.Commonwealth Journal Of Local Governance, (16/17), 60-84. Hyman, D. N. (2014). Public finance: A contemporary application of theory to policy (11th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. New corporate income tax policy in corporate restructuring. (2010).China Law Practice (Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC),24(9), 53.

Paraguay Geography

Paraguay Geography Population: 6,375,830 (July 2010 estimate)Capital: AsuncionBordering Countries: Argentina, Bolivia, and BrazilLand Area: 157,047 square miles (406,752 sq km)Highest Point: Cerro Pero at 2,762 feet (842 m)Lowest Point: Junction of the Rio Paraguay and the Rio Parana at 150 feet (46 m)Paraguay is a large landlocked country located on the Rio Paraguay in South America. It is bordered to the south and southwest by Argentina, to the east and northeast by Brazil and to the northwest by Bolivia. Paraguay is also located in the center of South America and as such, it is sometimes called the Corazon de America or Heart of America. History of Paraguay The earliest inhabitants of Paraguay were semi-nomadic tribes that spoke Guarani. In 1537, Asuncion, Paraguays capital today, was founded by Juan de Salazar, a Spanish explorer. Shortly thereafter, the area became a Spanish colonial province, of which Asuncion was the capital. In 1811 though, Paraguay overthrew the local Spanish government and declared its independence.After its independence, Paraguay went through a number of different leaders and from 1864 to 1870, it was engaged in the War of the Triple Alliance against Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. During that war, Paraguay lost half of its population. Brazil then occupied Paraguay until 1874. Beginning in 1880, the Colorado Party controlled Paraguay until 1904. In that year, the Liberal Party took control and ruled until 1940.During the 1930s and 1940s, Paraguay was unstable due to the Chaco War with Bolivia and a period of instable dictatorships. In 1954, General Alfredo Stroessner took power and ruled Paraguay for 35 years, d uring which time the countrys people had few freedoms. In 1989, Stroessner was overthrown and General Andres Rodriguez took power. During his time in power, Rodriguez focused on political and economic reforms and built relationships with foreign nations.In 1992, Paraguay adopted a constitution with goals of maintaining a democratic government and protecting peoples rights. In 1993, Juan Carlos Wasmosy became Paraguays first civilian president in many years.The late 1990s and early 2000s were again dominated by political instability after attempted government overthrows, the assassination of the vice president and impeachments. In 2003, Nicanor Duarte Frutos was elected as president with goals of improving Paraguays economy, which he did significantly during his time in office. In 2008, Fernando Lugo was elected and his main goals, are reducing government corruption and economic inequalities. Government of Paraguay Paraguay, officially called the Republic of Paraguay, is considered a constitutional republic with an executive branch made up of a chief of state and head of government - both of which are filled by the president. Paraguays legislative branch has a bicameral National Congress consisting of the Chamber of Senators and the Chamber of Deputies. Members of both chambers are elected by popular vote. The judicial branch is comprised of the Supreme Court of Justice with judges appointed by the Council of Magistrates. Paraguay is also divided into 17 departments for local administration. Economics and Land Use in Paraguay Paraguays economy is a market one focused on the re-export of imported consumer goods. Street vendors and agriculture also play a large role and in the countrys rural areas the population often practices subsistence agriculture. Paraguays main agricultural products are cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava, fruits, vegetables, beef, pork, eggs, milk, and timber. Its largest industries are sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products, steel, metallurgic and electricity. Geography and Climate of Paraguay Paraguays topography consists of grassy plains and low wooded hills east of its main river, the Rio Paraguay, while the Chaco region west of the river consists of low marshy plains. Farther from the river the landscape is dominated by dry forests, scrub, and jungles in some locations. Eastern Paraguay, between the Rio Paraguay and the Rio Parana, features higher elevations and it is where most of the countrys population is clustered.The climate of Paraguay is considered subtropical to temperate depending upon ones location within the country. In the eastern area,  there is significant rainfall, while in the far west it is semi-arid. More Facts about Paraguay The official languages of Paraguay are Spanish and Guarani Life expectancy in Paraguay is 73 years for males and 78 years for females Paraguays population is almost entirely located in the southern part of the country There is no official data on Paraguays ethnic breakdown because the Department of Statistics, Surveys and Censuses does not ask questions about race and ethnicity in its surveysReferences Central Intelligence Agency. (27 May 2010). CIA - The World Factbook - Paraguay. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pa.htmlInfoplease.com. (n.d.). Paraguay: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0107879.htmlUnited States Department of State. (26 March 2010). Paraguay. Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1841.htmWikipedia.com. (29 June 2010). Paraguay - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraguay

U08d1 Leadership & u08d2 Personal Mastery Essay

U08d1 Leadership & u08d2 Personal Mastery - Essay Example I acknowledge that writing is a skill which can be honed through regular practice over a period of time. It also requires a lot of reading, research, and the use of appropriate information which I should screen and evaluate on their hierarchy of importance. Likewise, what makes writing of interest to me is the vast amount of new information which can be learned from diverse media. We are fortunate that this generation has benefitted from the technology accorded by the Internet, which became an expansive source of information that is easily accessible. Vast amounts of data can be viewed from diverse sources making continuous learning virtually possible and viable from all locations at all times. Learning the skill of writing can actually be done from searching various academic materials on the subject; in addition to regular practice accorded by complying with the writing requirements from various course modules. Writing is enhanced by using innovative approaches and new techniques. By first mastering grammar and punctuations, from structure and spelling, to format and citations, to critical analyses and referencing, one is given diverse opportunities to create, innovate and develop. As indicated in one of the course reading, â€Å"one of the reasons we have schools and thousands of books of instruction is that not all persons are at the same skill level. All perhaps can improve and some excel eventually, but none of the humanities come to us as inborn traits. We have to work at it, or better, to play until expertise slowly arises† (Art as Skill and Standards in the Humanities). This concept is likewise applicable in writing. A novice writer is not expected to produce a literary work that could already be considered commendable or worthy of merits. Feedback from other masters or expert writers assists in developing the skill. Through the regular and constructive feedback received from peers and from the instructors,

Ethical Issues when Marketing with Children Essay

Ethical Issues when Marketing with Children - Essay Example It was also revealed that children greatly affect the commodities their parents buy. Estimates done in this field show that projects tailored for children in the year 2006 totalled fifty two billion dollars. (McGee and Heubusch, 1997) Regardless of all this potential returns that children can give manufacturers and their marketers, there are key ethical issues that arise in the discussion. For example, do children have the capability of understanding some of the intricate marketing tactics Do children posses the final buying power Do marketers need to get permission from their parents And do children understand the negative effects of some of the products advertised to them These key questions will be analysed in relation to business pressures then recommendations will be made. Some companies have become notorious for the utilisation of psychologists in their advertising and marketing campaigns. Normally what such companies do is that when trying to create marketing strategy, they will involve psychologist to tell them about tactics that they can use to influence children. Since psychologists understand the way child's mind works, they can help marketers create campaigns that will be directly aimed at them and those ones that can easily influence their choices. This trend has becoming so alarming that the American Psychological Association has raised an alarm about it. They have set up a committee to estimate the effect that the involvement of psychologists in the marketing process of children's products has on them. The group has asserted that no psychological principles should be used when marketing to children. They are also recommending that there should be some sort of strategy to protect the young ones from exploitation though the use of psychologica l ploys. (Beder, 1998) The basic framework which steers marketing ethics revolves around three main issues. These are; values stakeholders processes Marketing ethics that are done on a value inclined framework are those one that involve the analysis of the kind of value that the marketing idea creates. So advertisements may instil in their target audiences positive or negative attributes. This all depends on their implementation. For example, an advertising targeting a child may become a problem if it violates the right to privacy, transparency, honesty or autonomy. By using psychologists in the process of creating advertisements for children, marketers are imposing upon children's right to autonomy and transparency. They try studying children's behavioural trends and then use this to exploit those children. This is quite unethical. The process oriented framework in marketing ethics is founded on the basis of analysing marketing ethics through the categories that marketers use. For example research, promotion and placement must be done in an ethical manner. This is something that marketers have chosen to ignore because their research is not done in an ethical manner. Their research involves using psychological experts who may use their knowledge to take advantage of children who belong to vulnerable groups (Lizabeth, 2001) Targeting children alone Marketers who create marketing campaigns that are just directed towards children only are engaging in unethical marketing practices. This is because children are naive. They are at a stage of development

The influence of cultural disversity on employees workplace Essay

The influence of cultural disversity on employees workplace performance in transnational corporations in algeria - Essay Example issues are considered to be very important and are expected to be even more important in the near future due to the increasing differences in the Algerian population. Companies should put their focus on diversity and look for ways to become totally inclusive organizations since diversity has got the potential to yield greater productivity and competitive advantages (Shachaf, 2012, P.32) Given the significant transformations in cultural diversity over the past half-century in Algeria, Both the academia and the media have developed more interest in a better understanding of the social and economic impacts of cultural diversity, ethnicity and multiculturalism in organizations (Watson, Kumar & Michaelsen,2013,P.23). There has been enough research to establish facts on how cultural diversity can improve the performance and productivity of the employees as opposed to a homogeneous cultural workforce, thus this research contributes to the existing body knowledge. This research seeks to find out the possible benefits that come with cultural diversity in an organization and how they can contribute positively influence employees workplace performance (Cox & Blake, 2004, P.32).Managing and valuing diversity is a vital component in effective management of employees and can improve workplace productivity (Newman & Nollen 2013) To achieve this objective, I plan to use interviews as my as my data collection tools .I will use both structured and unstructured type of interviews. Bogdan & Biklen (2013) says that the use of interviews as research tools is based on the knowledge that is being generated between two parties often experienced through a well-focused conversation. Interviews are done to allow both the interviewer and interviewee to exchange information on certain phenomenal issues and then give personal perspective interpretations. The interviews will be conducted using a sample of five of the senior managers of the organizations including the human resource managers

Death of a Salesman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Death of a Salesman - Essay Example Linda, the wife, who had a firm grip over the situation, even though she did not want to hurt the family in any way, is shown in the end as unsuitable to face reality while emulating dead Willy in talking to him, in the same way, how Willy spoke to dead brother Ben. This makes the play end as an unfinished tragedy. Willy has passed on his living in illusion to his favorite son Bliff, who thinks of big results, without making any effort towards it ("To suffer fifty weeks a year for the sake of a two-week vacation"). He knew of father's infidelity, but would not inform the mother, would not work for his graduation and would not work anywhere and ends up as a petty criminal. Even in the end, instead of making an honest start, he goes and steals a pen from Bill Cliver, ruining a possible career, and the saving grace comes only then, because he sees the truth at last ("I looked up and I saw they sky ... and I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been") and realises that he had been fooling himself. Hap, on the other hand, craves for father's attention, while the father showers attention on Bliff, who could not care less. Hap is unhappy to hurt family members by telling the truth and tries to gloss it over ("My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women, and still, goddamit, I'm lonely"). Linda, who was realistic enough to realise that Willy was marching towards suicide, hesitates to confront the reality and has a total breakdown after his death. Finally, Bliff comes out as a real person who was ready to discard illusions ("We never told the truth in the house for ten minutes"). The play, divided into three sections is a saga of illusion starting from Willy Loman, a failing salesman, working on commission, could not complete sales trip, tired of life, returned home after 15 years of drifting. He sees a glorifying future for sons, Biff and Hap, though boys think he is becoming senile. Willy embarrasses the boys frequently by falling into another era, on a flashback, conversing with his hero, dead brother, Ben. He lives in world of illusion and false sense of reality, to cover his failures and creates fantasies of success. Even though Ben had stumbled into riches, Willy would like to glorify it as result of Ben's hard work and invents much swagger for Ben ("When I was seventeen, I walked into the jungle. And by twenty-one, I walked out. And by God, i was rich!"). A young woman with whom Willy had an affair intrudes into his illusions. He misguides his sons about life and success saying that looks and being liked are enough in life. "Willy did himself and his family a disservice by putting too much emphasis on appearance and popularity, and not enough on the value of hard work. He wound up living in a daydream whenever things went wrong, and his sons were unethical" http://www.bellmore-merrick.k12.ny.us/death.html Even though he was not particularly liked by anyone, he invents another lie that he was universally liked and when he decides to kill himself, again he had the illusion that the entire community will attend his funeral and once again, he was proved wrong. He was unrealistic enough to refuse Charlie's job and even Bliff tries to wake him up out of the reverie ("Pop, I'm a dime a dozen and so are you"). Hap makes up things exactly like Willy about his sales store and marriage to make parents happy. He wants Bliff to hide the fact that he could not even meet Bill Cliver from Willy. Psychologically

The equality of American public education Essay

The equality of American public education - Essay Example On the other hand, schools which cater to the needs of the influential class students possess and provide abundant opportunities to the students regarding placement in advance courses. Although the immediate effect of such discrimination may not be evident; the long term consequences may be observed in the form of heightened professional success among the privileged students, since such courses prepare them in professional terms (Klugman   1).   Ã¢â‚¬ËœCulture’ as a tool to describe all problems related to achievement gap has become widely accepted among the vast majority of teachers who interact with students of color on daily basis. Although every individual, whether white or black possesses a cultural background; the notion of ‘culture’ is considered associated only with the deprived classes of the society. This may be considered an extension of the teacher’s self-esteem issue, since it is quite common for teachers to associate culture with everythin g that is non-white. So, instead of looking for the real explanation that lies behind the achievement gaps, white teachers are more inclined towards labelling it a ‘culture’ thing which therefore has either ‘no cure’ or needs a ‘prolonged therapy’. It has become extremely common to associate culture of poverty to the achievement gap that is evident among students. Although the reality that lies behind such gaps may be puzzling and in some cases difficult to determine, the common path chosen to explain such gaps is the over-simplistic approach.

Death of a Salesman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Death of a Salesman - Essay Example Linda, the wife, who had a firm grip over the situation, even though she did not want to hurt the family in any way, is shown in the end as unsuitable to face reality while emulating dead Willy in talking to him, in the same way, how Willy spoke to dead brother Ben. This makes the play end as an unfinished tragedy. Willy has passed on his living in illusion to his favorite son Bliff, who thinks of big results, without making any effort towards it ("To suffer fifty weeks a year for the sake of a two-week vacation"). He knew of father's infidelity, but would not inform the mother, would not work for his graduation and would not work anywhere and ends up as a petty criminal. Even in the end, instead of making an honest start, he goes and steals a pen from Bill Cliver, ruining a possible career, and the saving grace comes only then, because he sees the truth at last ("I looked up and I saw they sky ... and I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been") and realises that he had been fooling himself. Hap, on the other hand, craves for father's attention, while the father showers attention on Bliff, who could not care less. Hap is unhappy to hurt family members by telling the truth and tries to gloss it over ("My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women, and still, goddamit, I'm lonely"). Linda, who was realistic enough to realise that Willy was marching towards suicide, hesitates to confront the reality and has a total breakdown after his death. Finally, Bliff comes out as a real person who was ready to discard illusions ("We never told the truth in the house for ten minutes"). The play, divided into three sections is a saga of illusion starting from Willy Loman, a failing salesman, working on commission, could not complete sales trip, tired of life, returned home after 15 years of drifting. He sees a glorifying future for sons, Biff and Hap, though boys think he is becoming senile. Willy embarrasses the boys frequently by falling into another era, on a flashback, conversing with his hero, dead brother, Ben. He lives in world of illusion and false sense of reality, to cover his failures and creates fantasies of success. Even though Ben had stumbled into riches, Willy would like to glorify it as result of Ben's hard work and invents much swagger for Ben ("When I was seventeen, I walked into the jungle. And by twenty-one, I walked out. And by God, i was rich!"). A young woman with whom Willy had an affair intrudes into his illusions. He misguides his sons about life and success saying that looks and being liked are enough in life. "Willy did himself and his family a disservice by putting too much emphasis on appearance and popularity, and not enough on the value of hard work. He wound up living in a daydream whenever things went wrong, and his sons were unethical" http://www.bellmore-merrick.k12.ny.us/death.html Even though he was not particularly liked by anyone, he invents another lie that he was universally liked and when he decides to kill himself, again he had the illusion that the entire community will attend his funeral and once again, he was proved wrong. He was unrealistic enough to refuse Charlie's job and even Bliff tries to wake him up out of the reverie ("Pop, I'm a dime a dozen and so are you"). Hap makes up things exactly like Willy about his sales store and marriage to make parents happy. He wants Bliff to hide the fact that he could not even meet Bill Cliver from Willy. Psychologically

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

Fauvism - Essay Example In Gauguin’s painting, pure and flat red was used to present the message in full intensity so as to point out the seriousness of the subject matter. Red can also be related to anger or passion (Art Factory, n.d.; Elements of Art). Famous fauvism painters include Henri Matisse, Andre Derain and Raoul Dufy. Henri Matisse (1869-1954) painted The Roofs of Collioure (1905, oil on canvas) and The Open Window, Collioure (1905 oil on canvas). Andre Derain painted the Portrait of Henri Matisse (1906 oil on canvas) and The Turning Road at LEstaque (1906 oil on canvas). On a personal notion, I agree with the view of the artists of fauvism. Colours can depict feeling. It can also affect the feeling of the beholder of the artwork. For example, in a painting about war, red and black is commonly the most prominent. The present era though also commonly practice the notion that colours can bring the emotional element of the painting, thus, depicting the effect of fauvism. It can also be considered impressionist in nature since prioritizing colour can mean that the painting does not follow the realistic colours of the subject e.g. Andre Derain’s Portrait of Henri Matisse (1905). In conclusion, fauvism has great effects in the present view of visual arts regarding colours. It also contributed to the freedom of using colours outside the confines of realism or how subjects may have appeared in

Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Mice and Men Essay Hopes and dreams help people to survive even if they never become real. How far is this true for the characters in Of Mice and Men? Support your ideas with details from writing. Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck here two itinerant ranch workers, George Milton and Lennie Small share the same American dream. The story is set in California, at the beginning of the 20th century, during the despotic Great depression where dreams and hopes were the only purposes of living. Desires and aspirations are significant in Of Mice and Men. In a world where it is impossible to have a friend, to talk or to listen to somebody, the hope of a dream coming true is the only thing that can keep George, Lennie and Candy going on, surviving in that hostile environment. George Milton fantasizes about having â€Å"a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens†, helping him to withstand in his precarious situation. The crux of dream for George is not the absence of work, or the easy living, or even having money, it is simply grounded in having for the first time of his life a place to belong. This dream is a driving force for George, a powerful motivation which persuades him that all of these hard working days are not worthless. In fact, George â€Å"said thoughtfully, Look, if me an’ Lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing, we’ll have a hundred bucks†. This shows how George is ready to work hard in order to obtain this sum of money. Moreover, the word â€Å"thoughtfully† imparts that George is deeply thinking of working hard, thus portrayed as extremely motivated. The dream is perceived as reward, an indemnity for all the troubles he has already endured in his life. However, George doesn’t believe entirely in the dream. The protagonist knows that there is a very few chances for the dream to come true. Thus, it is not the dream but the hope of the dream which stimulates Lennie’s companion. Moreover, George uses this dream to keep Lennie in check. For instance, George promises Lennie to ‘tend the rabbits all right. ‘Specially if he remembers as good as that†. Here, George manipulates cleverly the dream in order to captivate Lennie’s attention and to have him remember not to â€Å"say a word† in front of the boss. The dream turns from a motivating force into a reward for Lennie’s effort. Lennie Small yearns for ‘livin’ off the fatta the lan, an’ have rabbits†. From his point of view, this dream is not a simple dream, it’s a hope. A hope in which he could â€Å"tend the rabbits† and all his other favourite animals. Despite the fact that George’s and Lennie’s dream is identical, their perceptions are diverging. Lennie’s approach is much more childish, more fantastical and unrealistic. Besides, Lennie is extremely fond of his dream and believes extremely in it. Lennie is not feeling as â€Å"if† but â€Å"when† The absence of conditional in Lennie’s speech reveals that he really believes in this dream. Furthermore, Lennie knows by heart and can recite, word by word his most precious wish. This shows that Lennie has propably heard the same thing over and over again. In deed, as the protagonist is mentally challenged, the fact that he can remember this dream demonstrates how devoted he is to this wish. Moreover, when talking about that specific desire, Lennie is constantly interrupting George in his speech. At this moment, Lennie’s attitude and behaviour portrays a trancelike character, escaping successfully in his ideal world. Furthermore, after a savage and wild fight with Curley, Lennie’s first question to George is: â€Å"I can still tend the rabbits, George? †. Thus, Lennie appears to be obsessed with his dream, even after a ferocious assault. This shows how Lennie is attached to his main goal. In addition, Lennie’s attachment is also revealed when the protagonist is ready to â€Å"break their God damn necks and smash ‘em with a stick†. This serious threat demonstrates Lennie’s determination to achieve his desire and also how virulent he can be. Anything that’s in the dream’s way will endure Lennie’s barbarity, maybe the death sentence. Moreover, Lennie is only intimidating imaginary cats. This points out that Lennie is extremely resolved to attain his wish, even ready to surpass a fictitious obstacle. This extract is therefore used to foreshadow Curley’s wife tragic fate. In deed, Candy’s wife is perceived since her first apparition as an obstruction to the dream. George orders Lennie to â€Å"keep away from her†. Therefore, if Curley’s wife is susceptible to make the dream impossible to come true, Lennie can easily kill her, and Curley’s wife will turn out to be murdered by Lennie. Despite Lennie’s undisputable faith, his dream turns out to be an unattainable escape. However, the protagonist manages to flee his miserable life thanks to his dream. Candy’s dream is to join George’s and Lennie’s plan, in order to flee his loneliness. Candy’s financial contribution increases the probability for the dream to come true. As a consequence, George, Lennie and Candy â€Å"fell into silence. They looked at one another, amazed. This thing they had never believed in was coming true†. This quote suggests that this precise moment represents the crux of the protagonists’ dreams. The word amazed implies a serious fascination where the three men realize at the same time the possibility for their dream to come true. Moreover, ‘they sat still, all bemused by the beauty of the thing, each mind was popped into the future when this lovely thing should come about†. The quotation shows how engrossed and enthralled the three men are. Furthermore, the adjective bemused suggests how motionless and quite are the three man, astonished and perplexed about the possibility for the dream to come true. However, one could see that Candy’s participation spoils the dream of the farm by making it a genuine possibility rather than an on going and eternal wish. We are suddenly asked weather the dream isn’t better off as a dream, something they can believe and visualize that’s bigger and better than any other reality. In conclusion, hopes and dreams help George, Lennie and Candy to survive even if they never become real. The farm is a dream for George, a hope for Lennie and even a plan for Candy that help them survive in their miserable lives.

Understanding Of The Diversity Of Family Sociology Essay

Understanding Of The Diversity Of Family Sociology Essay The key family types are Nuclear, Extended, Reconstituted and Lone parent. These are the family types that exist in contemporary Britain. The basic premise is that the family structure depends upon social and economical circumstances as such family definition is open to cultural interpretation, norms and values. Whilst the family is adaptable-over the last Three hundred years in Britain, the family has changed and adapted, as we have moved from an agricultural society to industrial society. Sociologist George Peter Murdoch who defined the universal Family concept stated: The nuclear family is a universal human social grouping. Either as the sole prevailing form of the family or as the basic unit from which more complex forms compounded, it exists as a distinct and strongly functional group in every society The concept of the pre industrial extended family is somewhat of a misrepresentation when you consider death rates of working class families. The extended family is referred to as vertical extensions; Aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings -grandparents, children, and grandchildren who all live together, are referred to horizontal extensions the sexual relationships, and are monogamous within the extended and nuclear family. Polygamous relationships do exist within extended family, although this is predominately within specific cultures and religions. Examples being in the Moslem faith the act of polygamy are still practised; further more there are Christian sects such as the latter Day Saints who still practise polygamy, although such relationships are not legal within the European or American laws. The extended family can also be viewed as that of an extension to the nuclear family thru the inclusion of elders, such as grandparents, as many loan parents are female and they may well life or near their mothers, creating a matriarchal family extended unit. Extended reconstructed family, is considered to be when two opposite sex, or same sex adults with dependent children, either marry or cohabitate: thereby forming a reconstructed family over wise known as step families. Therefore it is not surprising that the most rapidly growing family type is that of the Reconstructed / stepfamily. Statistically most children stay with their mothers when their parents either divorce or separate so most children in a reconstructed family have step fathers this brings in to question the social as opposed to the biological care and nurture. It is quite common in British contemporary society for cohabitation of unmarried parents. The average is 31% of all parents as quoted (http://www.esrcsociet ytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/PO/releases/2004/june/stepfamilies.aspx) In contemporary society British society today Lone parenting is still predominately female orientated, however not exclusively as there has been a steady rise in men taking on the role of lone parenting estimates are that an average 11% of lone parents are now men. Attitudes in society have changed towards the lone parents. Nonetheless they are still passively ostracised from main stream society, by the media and government: as being less able, and a drain on society this is a view most commonly associated with conservatism as such in todays society the conservatives plan to introduce a tax that benefits the traditional stereo typical nuclear family which will effectively penalise both cohabiters and lone parents. www.telegraph.co.uk//conservative//Tories-5-billion-tax-breaks-for-married-couples-benefit-rich-most.html therefore in reality stigma still exists for lone parents. Single mothers were not socially acceptable in pre industrialised Britain, nor early industrialised any off spring were sent to childrens homes. There are notorious examples of how the mother and children were often treated, and can be found in Irelands History of Catholic unmarried mothers (http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/reviews/r0000523.shtml. Functionalists believed in a theory that the nuclear family is a positive social institution. Their view point is one of conservatism, which asserts it meets the needs of a contemporary industrial society. Functionalist emphasise that the ideal family type in modern society, is that of a traditional nuclear family. Their view of the nuclear family comprises of a worker husband and stay at home wife and 2.4 children. US sociologists have developed this approach, in particular Murdock, Parsons and Goode. The functional perspective on the family identifies a number of functions families will characteristically carry out: reproduction, socialisation, nurture, family hierarchy and family emotional support. Talcott Parson was a leading American sociologist in the 1950s who believed that the family was structured on the stabilisation of the adult family members and the socialisation of children. Based on a series of complex social structures and roles that needed to be adhered to achieve maximum family, social and cultural gratification -The social system consists of three systems a personality system, a cultural system and a physical environment to which the individual and society must adjust. Parsons model of key systems and sub systems further developed to define four functional prerequisites these are adaptation, to a physical environment, goal attainment, the ability to manage one self and resources to achieve its goals and obtain gratification, integration, the ability to form skills and ways to deal with differences and finally latency to achieve comparative stability. Each system consequently develops four specialist subsystems to be able to meet these mental and physical requir ements. There four systems are cultural, social, personality and biological- these systems are further broken down to four subsystems, these being (in hierarchical order) the socialisation system, the institutions of social control and integration, the political system goal attainment and the economic system adaptation. The feminist view on family is diverse, as the feminist school of thought has many layers from the liberal to the radical each having very different perspectives on family and the impact of family on woman, family and society. In general all feminists have been critical of the effects of family life on women however these views are dramatically different if not diametrically opposed. Liberal feminists reject the concept that family lives are reflections of the economic structure of society. They believe that the cultural and social aspects of male/female inequality are central to an understanding of the feminist issues. It is fair to say that most feminists believe that the family unit oppresses women and keeps men in power. This is based on the belief that society is patriarchical (male dominated) Patriarchy is defined as the combination of ideologies, cultural practices and systems which keep men in power. The three types of feminism liberal, Radical and Marxist aim to challenge patriarchy in different ways: Liberal feminists believe that the family is in essence institutionalised sexism, because its supports the mainstream culture which is also sexist. They advocate change through legislation and education. Jennifer Somerville a Liberal feminist http://soc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/31/4/673 asserts that the Radical and Marxist feminist have failed to take in to the account the changes in society that have enabled woman to enter the work force as equals to men, nor the social changes that removed the restrictions on females, such as child care, and the running of the home have changed. Men in society today, are far more likely be involved in the care and nurturing of their respective children and many men now enjoy the shared responsibility of caring for the child and home. The man is no longer elevated to the head of the house; as such equality in the home and family is being achieved. The Radical Feminist Kate Millett (Sexual Politics, 1971 argued that Sociology examines the status quo, calls it phenomena, and pretends to take no stand on it, thereby avoiding the necessity to comment on the invidious character of the relationship between the sex groups it studies. Yet by slow degrees of converting statistic to fact, function to prescription, bias to biology (or some other indeterminate) it comes to ratify and rationalise what has been socially enjoined or imposed into what is and ought to be. And through its pose of objectivity, it gains a special efficacy in reinforcing stereotypesFunctionalists, like other reactionaries, are out to save the family. Radical feminists view the family and men as the enemy within, which is both insidious and damaging to woman. Radical feminists believe that patriarchy is the central starting place of division in society. Essentially men exploit women as husbands, partners, sons and brothers. This manipulative relationship is reflect ed in the family; in which women do all the work for the benefit of men thus reinforcing the capitalist bourgeois ideology. Men are viewed as the enemy by radical feminists who have created a divide within the feminist ranks, as they believe that no female should be dominated or controlled, and the only way to achieve this, is to not participate in any sexual relationship with men. Valerie Bryson (1992) who bases her feminist philosophy as Marxist, argues all radical feminists see the oppression of women as the most fundamental and universal form of domination whilst this view is polarised within radical feminist thinking, it cannot be seen as definitive or even based in the feminist combined ideology. The Marxist feminist perspective argues that the principle source of division in society is class therefore the exploitation of women is indispensable to the continuation of capitalism The family produces and nurtures the next generation of workers at no cost obvious cost to the capitalists system woman doing housework is an unpaid role, which benefits the capitalist, woman were also viewed as cheap labour, before the equality laws were originally implemented in Britain in 19 75 which has gone thru many iterations, and the latest sexual equality act http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/equalityimpactassessment.pdf was published in 2007. The earliest view of the family developed from a Marxist perspective is contained in Friedrich Engelss The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (Engels, 1972, first Published 1884) Engels stated that: The monogamous bourgeois nuclear family developed to help solve the problem of the inheritance of private property men needed to know who their children were in order to pass on their property to their heirs .The family is therefore designed to control women and protect property Freindrich Engles views the nuclear family as a creation of capitalism, specifically designed as patriachical, its primary purpose is to ensure and perpetuate male domination and power through the male only inheritance of land and property It therefore served the interests of capitalism to keep woman economically and socially of less value to society than men. The Marxist feminist view the tasks carried out by woman as reaffirming male dominance therefore house work, child care, cooking and emotional support are seen as detrimental to woman. Women also provide the sexual and emotional support to the husband or partner, in doing so the role is seen as one of submission to the hierarchy of the male head of family. Christine Delphy and Diana Leonard described the everyday situation of family as familiar exploitation however every example could be seen as simply supportive and part of a loving relationship. Todays family in contemporary Britain is made up of different family groups, cultures, ethnicity, class and economic status. There are more isolated nuclear families, which have either migrated to Britain, or moved geographically within Britain families who will have their own norms and values, based on cultural, religious, class or economics which they will bring with them, and incorporate in to their new life. Lone parents who work, as well as mothers from the traditional nuclear families who work, as a financial necessity or a career option. Same sex parents, who now have the same marriage and parenting rights as heterosexual parents. More people live together before marriage, children born outside marriage; all of these are now norms and values socially and culturally. Family and the definition of whats constitutes family and who actually benefits from the family has not changed. We create life and then teach our children. Families provide the care and nurturing essential to th e learning of who we are, and where we form, what has changed is the is open to personal need and interpretation. Essentially the choices of how family is defined are to fluid in their nature and to diverse, to be able to any other than a personal preference of how to live. Nor should government or society be so prescriptive and controlling to impose. In reviewing the different family types, mainly all have positives and negatives however when reviewing Murdochs assertion that every society had a form of the nuclear family , this was incorrect, as both Nayar and Kibbutz proved that the function of family can be performed equally in a society other than the western defined confines of the nuclear family structure. Different cultures, values and norms, create variations of family and also place different importance on the family status in society. In todays society we have many variations of family, same sex families, same sex lone parents, and same sex adoption. As such the traditional term of family is used incorrectly as an outdated social ideal. The world has changed and the attitudes to parenting specifically in Britain have changed. There have been several significant social developments which have brought about changes in social norms and values. The supporters of the nuclear family believe the benefits of the nuclear family are its conservative core norms, and values which underpin the moral, wellbeing of society. They also consider anything else as a failed form of the nuclear family. The traditional roles of men as the breadwinner, and woman as the happy and fulfilled house wife, staying at home, looking after the children is the theme they most project. The Media use this image of happy family relationship, between all ages groups, every day in concepts and products, actively promoting the nuclear family as the social aspiration to happiness, success and fulfilment- the paradox is that in reality many mothers and fathers in todays society, have no choice, because it not a financially viable option, as they would not be able to house or support their selves or their child/children with just one salary. Moreover the woman may be the chief breadwinner, and the husband would then have to embrace role reversal in the nuclear f amily and be a stay at home dad there has been an increase in men staying at home to fulfil the role of house husband, however it is still predominately a female responsibility to care for or arrange alternative care, for children in the nuclear family. The pre industrialised class and economic status had a significant effect on who lived or died an example being if the family was wealthy a land owner, they may well have a more favourable environment in which to increase their chances of survival, although they were still affected by such diseases as the Black Death (Yesinia pestis ) which over a period of two years killed between 30-40% of the entire population of England in both 1348 and 1605. Twice as many poor children died as rich children; the poor in the country were at the mercy of poor harvests, bad weather famine and infections. Also fatalities were higher in the towns where sanitation and overcrowding in poor areas encouraged the spread of the virus. Given that the pre industrial pre-plague population of England was in the range of 5-6 million people, fatalities may well have exceeded or reached as high as 2 million. Urbanisation or isolation neither could supply the basic needs of the poor, so its unlikely that any chi ld surviving the age of sixteen had an extended family, due to the circumstances that they were born in too. Their functionalist view of the family is ideological and unrealistic, as it does not represent a reality of ever changing family, cultural, economical and demographic factors of life and work If nothing else the functionalist view can be seen as a plausible aspiration for some conservative idealists it is however not a viable option for all family types. Equally from a Marxist perspective, the fact that its wrapped in gender and equality issues and that the feminists have such diverse diametrically viewpoints yet have also provided the vehicle for such positives changes in womens rights and social equality, it has to be held up as the champion of woman, yet also recognised as having done its job. Over the last 100 years in England, woman from all classes, ethnicity and culture have gained the right to vote; in the last 50 years working class woman gained entry to university, the right to divorce, and the right to birth control. These changes have impacted society to its very cor e; challenging the definition of the nuclear family and the society it fits into. Religion is slower to change its views on the Nuclear and industrial vision of the nuclear family: for instance where the Catholic Church is politically, ideologically and (possibly) economically powerful, the promotion of marriage, and the ban on contraception have significant consequences for the family, in terms of such things as: size, domestic violence, traditional male/female roles. This ensures the women are still disenfranchised and that emancipation of woman still exists in contemporary modern society. In todays society family is a hot topic. In last 60 years, there has been significant social and cultural change. There is however multiple issues as the pace of change has not be controlled or understood before being implemented. In conclusion its difficult to blithely wrap family in to one perspective, the reality is that there is no ideal family unit and common sense, pragmatism, social, cultural and economical factors must all be taken in to consideration. The western capitalist perspective of the nuclear family, extended family, same sex family or lone parent, do not necessarily translate to other cultures or societies. Equally the views of the feminists do not agree on female equality, or the emancipation and disenfranchisement of woman in todays society. Young girls and boys nurtured by their parents will determine the values and norms relating to their roles in latter life. Woman do have self determination in Britain today this provides the choices necessary on how they live their lives, be that in a nuclear family, in a same sex relationship or as a lone parent. If is impossible to make a definitive choice, as what benefits to the family as a whole, is to provide equal partnership, respect for both genders and a secure loving environment- in saying that domestic violence, drugs alcohol could all present as negatives. The liberal feminist stance resonant as the most pragmatic and balanced view whilst the radicals and Marxist feminist views are polarised in a gender war.

Frank Lloyd Wright Essay -- Architecture Nature Papers

"...having a good start, not only do I fully intend to be the greatest architect who has yet lived, but fully intend to be the greatest architect who will ever live. Yes, I intend to be the greatest architect of all time." - Frank Lloyd Wright 1867-1959 It appears that from the very beginning, Frank Lloyd Wright was destined by fate or determination to be one of the most celebrated architects of the twentieth century. Not only did Wright possess genius skills in the spatial cognition, his approach to architecture through geometric manipulation demonstrates one aspect of his creativeness. Forever a great businessman, Wright seemed to know how to please his clients and still produce some of the most innovative and ridiculed buildings of the early century. While the United States appeared to be caught up in the Victorian style, Frank Lloyd Wright stepped out in front to face the challenge of creating "American architecture" which would reflect the lives of the rapidly growing population of the Midwest United States. Howard Gardner in his book "Creating Minds" does not make any mention of Frank Lloyd Wright, an innovator who drastically influenced architecture of the twentieth century around the world. CHILDHOOD Born in 1867 Wisconsin, Frank Lincoln Wright grew up in the comfort and influence of a Welsh heritage. The Lloyd-Jones clan, his mother's side of the family, would have great influence on Frank throughout his life. Unitarian in faith, the extended family lived within close proximity to each other thus enabling a strong support system for those born or married into the clan. Great themes within the Lloyd-Jones clan included education, religion, and nature. Wright's family spent many evening listening to William Lincoln... ...FERENCES Boulton, Alexander O. Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect: An Illustrated Biography, Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 1993. Color pictures and text following Wright's personal and professional life. Gill, Brendan, Many Masks: A Life of Frank Lloyd Wright, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1987. Text biography concentrating on Wright's hidden motivations and true personality. Heinz, Thomas A., Frank Lloyd Wright: Architectural Monographs No 18, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1992. Color photographs of the interior/Exterior of restored Wright homes. Lind, Carla, The Wright Style, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1992. Photographs of Wright's works, with text discussing his architectural productions and approaches. Secrest, Meryle, Frank Lloyd Wright: A Biography, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. New York, 1992. Text biography of Wright's work and life.

How Reliable Are Ofsted Reports as a Measure of School Effectiveness? Essay

This assignment examines the reliability of Ofsted judgements that were made on School X in 2009 and 2012. It will discuss how the two inspections were carried out-were they carried out in the same way? Were they felt to be fair? School X is a large 3-11 mixed school with 35.1 % of pupils who are eligible for free school meals FSM. The pupils are mainly Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi. The proportion of special educational needs and disabled pupils is similar to other national schools. The attainment and progress in both English and mathematics meet the current government standards. (Ofsted report 2012). How Ofsted reach an overall judgment about school effectiveness? The inspectors reach the overall judgments by considering the four key areas: achievement of pupils, the quality of teaching, behavior and safety, leadership and management. Inspectors also consider the quality of the curriculum and how the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils at the school. They will also look if the school is meeting the individual needs in particular the needs of special educational needs and disabled pupils. The judgment they make is based on the overall evidence they gather from their observation, parents, pupils, interviews and the raise online, which is â€Å" a secure web-based system that provides schools, local authorities and inspectors with a range of analyses including: Achievement at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2; Progress from Key Stage 1 to 2; Absence and exclusions; and The characteristics (often referred to as ‘context’) of pupils. (Dave Thomson, RM Education, 2011). In addition, their judgments on the quality of teaching are based not only on classroom observations â€Å"snapshots†, but they are also checking pupils’ books, sequences of work, pupils’ academic progress and parents’ perspectives on their children’s progress. Ofsted: A summary of Evidence. Ofsted judgements on teaching through classroom observations face several challenges. First, there is the Hawthorne effect, whereby the pupils or the teacher might change their behaviour because an inspector in the room is a novel experience (Cohen and Manion 1994, Robson 2011). Additionally, Grubb (1999) stated that teachers complain that it is hard for inspectors to evaluate a full lesson from a â€Å"snapshot† as the unobserved part of the lesson may be crucial to interpreting what is happening in the observed part of the lesson. However, the above-mentioned methods that inspectors used to make a judgment on the quality of teaching mush be considered. According to Mr Jonathan Harris, as cited in the report from the Education sub-committee (1999), he was critical of possible changeability of judgements between inspections team where he argued that different inspection teams could make different judgments about the same school in the inspection reports which he stated â€Å"unacceptable†. Thus, there is no evidence which guarantee that Ofsted judgments are reliable. It is not just a matter of reliability as far as the validity of data concerned too. As Gorard (2009) points out, â€Å"if the initial relative error in either the actual or the predicted score is greater than 10%, as it almost certainly would be in reality, the error in the CVA result would be even greater than this, 40 times more than the size of the result itself.†, which makes serious doubts about the validity of the data. On the other hand, Ofsted keep raising expectations and the criteria used by Ofsted which are shown in appendices 1-3 could be one of the causes that the school has a satisfactory in 2009.Figure 1 It is also necessary to consider the fact that Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector raises expectations to ensure a good education for all focusing on the quality of teaching â€Å"the heart of good education†. Thus, a proposal was conducted to improve the education system. (A Good Education for All .2012). Thus, in the new framework it was stated that, â€Å"Schools will be judged on a smaller number of core aspects than before, but we will be examining them in greater depth. The changes will result in more streamlined inspections, with fewer judgments and grades, leading to sharper reports on the quality of education provided by schools and the most important aspects of their performance.† (Ofsted new framework 2012). Ofsted judgments on the school Ofsted judgements on School X’ Figure 1 Figure 1 shows the Ofsted grades for School X in 2006, 2009 and 2012. In each report, the first three judgments of â€Å"overall effectiveness†, â€Å"achievement of pupils† and â€Å"quality of teaching† were given the same grade.The common issue that was raised in all of the reports was about the quality of teaching. For instance, in 2006 they asked the school to ensure the good quality of teaching across the school. In 2009, they said; raise the proportion of good and outstanding teaching. In 2012, they said raise the quality of teaching through appropriate questions that cover different needs of different pupils. First of all, it was the same comment written differently each time and the last one they pointed how. Discussion and description (School’s perspective). Having considered the above-mentioned arguments about Ofsted judgments, it is also important to discuss the validity and reliability of the above-mentioned judgments. An interview was constructed to find the school views towards these judgments. The Deputy Head of School X points out that, children vary in their abilities each year and believed that Ofsted do not take this into account. She argued that when the school went down from outstanding down to satisfactory to good, it was because they had a lot of special needs children ,consequently, they were not able to get up to the standard of the government at that time. Although, the students made progress in Key stage 2 but they did not meet the government standards. (School Data included Appendix 4 & 5). Before considering how the two inspections were carried out, it is important to note that the inspectors in general are subjective people not objective. The deputy head mentioned this particular Ofsted inspector who came in 2009, he walked through the door on the first day and said: â€Å"I am Mr, so and so, if I had come to your school six months ago, I would have given you an unsatisfactory school and put you in special measures†. That clears straightaway that he is not on their side as he had this thought in mind. She also felt that they were making negative judgments not positive judgments about what they are seeing in the school. Indeed, the Deputy Head gave an example of that when the inspector went around the school then said to the Head teacher, â€Å"Where is the White English Board showing the Culture of the White English indigent’s people in Britain?† The Head teacher and the Deputy Head felt that the way the inspection went wasn’t fair. First, they received a call from the department of education the next morning as the notes went to a moderator who looked at the evidence then changed the curriculum from unsatisfactory to satisfactory. Second, within the next two days they received another call from the inspector himself saying that he has changed Leadership and management from satisfactory to good. As (Gibbon and Forster, 1999) point out, Ofsted revealed that there is no issue on who inspect the school and when, but, if two inspectors inspect the same school, the lesson, or the department, and they there was a variation in their judgments. Which inspector do we believe? Then, the Head teacher and the Deputy Head found out in the internet that fifteen schools with the same lead inspector that had the same exact comments in their reports as if they cut and paste the same comment in other reports. â€Å"The National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Russell Hobby said he had heard anecdotal reports of â€Å"cut and paste† reports, adding such a practice was â€Å"not acceptable given that the fate of the school rests on what is written.†BBC News. In contrast, the Deputy Head mentioned that the 2012 inspector was fabulous, open-minded looking for good things, the inspector said, â€Å"This is a good school, you are improving school, I can see your results are going up, they are not quite national, yet, as soon I walked through this door I can feel this is a good school and I want to know what you are doing good? How can you prove this? Where is the information for that? † In this respect, the Deputy Head argued that it depends on the inspector who comes around. However, these remain opinions of people as we cannot treat them as objective fact. Also, we cannot assume that all inspectors are subjective people because people look at things from different angles. For instance, if two inspectors attend the same lesson together and each one has his own believes about teaching, one of them might grade a teacher centered lesson as satisfactory and the other one sees it from a totally different angle. Conclusion. The leaders of this school believe they were judged unfairly and that general evidence on Ofsted points to the risks of unreliable judgements. As Ofsted keep raising the expectation it would be hard for a school to be outstanding as it would be rarely possible to find a school with a big proportion of an outstanding quality teaching. Thus, schools should be flexible and understand that the aim of Ofsted is to improve education for children which is what school is all about. Teaching is the core of school improvement and schools should raise the proportion of good and outstanding teaching. References â€Å"Cut and Paste’ Ofsted Report Claims.† BBC News. BBC, 06 Aug. 2012. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18353533 Cohen, L. & Manion, L. (1994).Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge. Gibbon, C, T & Forster, N, J, S. (1999). Is Ofsted Helpful? In C. Cullingford (Ed.), An inspector calls (pp. 97-118) Harlow: Longman. Gorard, S. (2010).Serious Doubts about school effectiveness British Educational Research Journal, 36:5,745-766. Grubb, N. (1999). Improvement or control?. In C. Cullingford (Ed.), An inspector calls (pp. 70-96). Harlow: Longman. Ofsted 2006 inspection Report for School X Ofsted 2009 inspection Report for School X Ofsted 2012 inspection Report for School X Ofsted. A Good Education for ALL. Feb. 2012. Retrieved from http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/good-education-for-all Robson, C. (2011). Real World Research. United Kingdom: Wiley THE EDUCATION SUB-COMMITTEE. THE WORK OF OFSTED. Rep. no. 4. UK: Parliamentary, 1999. Retrieved from: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199899/cmselect/cmeduemp/62/6212.htm The Framework for School Inspection from September 2012.† Ofsted. 05 Sept. 2012. Retrieved from http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/framework-for-school-inspection-september-2012-UK Thomson, Dave. RAISE online for Governors of. Rep. UK: National Governor’s