Graduate unemployment Essay

The rising unemployment rate among fresh university graduates today is an upsetting trend. Now the pool of unemployed graduates is rising to worrying levels even in some high-growth economies. This is due to several factors or causes that result in the increase of the unemployment rate today. This article brings and discusses the main causes and issues/effects on the unemployment of many fresh graduates. It is expected that this study of unemployment will achieve the objective and highlights of some important issues which relate to unemployment in graduates. The main cause of unemployment among graduates would be the lack of professional connections. (Alyssa Davis, 2014) For a fresh graduate, it is not often easier to find valuable contacts to recommend a job or get recommended. A valuable connection not only guides them in right direction but also helps fresh graduates to step into a job easily. Employers are followers of technology. They are in a constant search for a common connection that can fit in a vacant position in his organisation. Another cause of unemployment among graduates would be the lack of experience. Fresh graduates often do not have any practical experience of work. (Heidi, 2014) The lack of experience interrupts their job application and causes a significant delay in their employment. The career portfolio of a graduate is important to make up with his/her inexperience. They can attend on-job training programs and internships to demonstrate their working skill and talent in looking for a suitable job. Besides that, the causes of unemployment may also be due to economic crisis and recession. It is a common problem because businesses stop making as much money and have to result in less or no employment of fresh graduates. Unskilled and inexperienced workers such as fresh university graduates will suffer unemployment due to the fact that most employers will be looking for professional workers with a certain set of working skill to maintain the company’s performance during a recession. (Will Kimball, 2014) Effects of unemployment among graduates would be primarily financial issues. Graduates usually do not have enough savings or source of a stable income to support themselves, majority of them will face insufficient use of money daily. With the lost income and the frustration involved in it, the recently unemployed may develop negative attitudes toward common things in life and may feel that all sense of purpose is lost. Also, the effect of unemployment would include the loss of valuable skills  and talent of fresh graduates. The unemployed is not able to put his/her skills to use. And in a situation where it goes on for too long the person may have to lose some of his/her skills that is critical to their success in their field of study. To further complicate the situation, the longer the unemployed graduate is out of job the more difficult it becomes to find a new one. Employers find employment gasps as a negative aspect. No one wants to hire a person who has been out of work for some time even when there’s no fault of the individual per say. In conclusion, if the unemployment issue among graduates is not solved, creation of problems to the unemployed graduates, nations, society and even the country will certainly arise. Furthermore, if the nation’s unemployment continues to be severing, riots and insurgency will be occurring across the country and halting the country trading. A significant lost towards the nation will arise due to this serious problem. Therefore, more on-job training, internships, proper guidance and counselling will help many graduates understand the causes of unemployment. (588 words) 2) Outline of the essay Causes Unemployment among graduates would be the lack of professional connections. Unemployment among graduates would be the lack of experience. Fresh graduates often do not have any practical experience of work Trend of many fresh graduates seeking high income and professional jobs. Causes of unemployment may also be due to economic crisis and recession. Effects Financial problems of many fresh graduates who do not have any source of savings or income. The effect of unemployment would include the loss of valuable skills and talent of fresh graduates. The unemployed is not able to put his/her skills to use

Examine the Role of Expert and Lay Knowledge in Understanding and Managing Risk.

Examine the role of expert and lay knowledge in understanding and managing risk. Contents Page Introduction 3 Risk3-4 What is risk? How do we understand risk? How do we manage risk? Expert Knowledge4-5 What is it? Advantages of expert knowledge Disadvantage of expert knowledge Lay Knowledge5-6 What is it? Advantages of lay knowledge Disadvantages of lay knowledge Beck’s Theory of a Risk society6 Case Study: Allotments the London Borough of Hackney. 7 Who has the knowledge? What are the risks? What is the evidence? Conclusion Case Study: Sun tanning. 8-9 Who has the knowledge? What are the risks?What is the evidence? Conclusion Conclusion9 References10 Introduction. This report will investigate how expert and lay knowledge can be used to understand and manage risk in today's risk society. Using the course materials to explain how different types of knowledge influence how we assess risk. Risk What is risk? Risk is ‘a state in which there is a possibility of known danger o r harm, which if avoided may lead to benefits. ’ (Bromley et al 2009) A risk can be visible, such as an injury sustained by falling off a bicycle, or invisible such as the link between sunbathing and skin cancer.The level of potential harm will affect the degree of risk felt. How do we understand risk? In today's society risk is almost always associated with a negative outcome. So when we are partaking in any activity we automatically compare the risk to the potential benefit. In order to understand risk we have to gain knowledge about the potential harm, this may be either expert or lay knowledge. How do we manage risk? By comparing the potential benefits against the potential harm of an activity we can decide whether to partake in that activity.One example of managing risk involves cycling and how risk is reduced by wearing a helmet. In this situation the benefits of cycling remained the same, it is the risk of sustaining serious head injury that is reduced by wearing a hel met (Carter and Jordan 2009, p59). In order for people to assess risk they will often review two types of knowledge. Expert knowledge – knowledge provided by experts. Lay knowledge – knowledge provided by personal experience. Expert knowledge What is it? Expert knowledge is usually provided by officials in order to inform the general public of the risks that certain activities may pose.There are two main ways of obtaining expert knowledge as discussed by Carter and Jordan (2009), scientific testing is used in the example of the allotments and epidemiology which was used in relation to sunbathing. Both of which have their advantage and disadvantages. Epidemiological findings are often refined and processed into health campaigns and policies. The advantages of expert knowledge are: 1. Experts have access to knowledge and equipment not available to the layperson. 2. They can complete complex scientific testing. 3. They are able to complete large-scale and long-term resear ch such as epidemiology. . Expert assessment of risk can be generalised and can be applied/delivered to specific target groups and the general populace. 5. They are usually employed to assess invisible risks. The disadvantages of expert knowledge are: 1. There are many different theorists and tests available and they often contradict one another making the results difficult for the public to understand. 2. Political agendas can affect project funding and research. 3. Information is given in blanket statements to the general public and can cause anxiety for non-specific groups. 4.Results from scientific tests can be analysed, reviewed and interpreted differently by different people. Lay knowledge What is it? Lay knowledge is an individual’s interpretation of expert knowledge combined or compared to personal experience. (Carter and Jordan 2009, p88) cite Davidson et al who suggest that people interpret and analyse expert knowledge into â€Å"lay knowledge† and they do th is through the medium of humour sometimes referred to as they â€Å"Uncle Norman† or â€Å"the last person† exceptions. For example my uncle Norman smoked 50 cigarettes a day, had fried breakfast every morning and lived until he was 92.The advantages of lay knowledge are: 1. People are empowered to use their own expertise and experiences to evaluate risks. 2. It is in line with the person's own views and religious beliefs. 3. Any assessment is specific to individuals, and their interpretation of expert knowledge. The disadvantages of lay knowledge are: 1. It is subjective and limited to an individual's knowledge or experience. 2. It only looks at risk on an individual basis and does not take into consideration the population as a whole. 3. It is usually based on the exceptional attention to the rule.Beck's theory of a risk society. One prominent sociologist investigating risk is Ulrich Beck, the main points to his theoretical perspectives are: 1. Risks in current socie ty are increasingly invisible. 2. Personal experience is no longer adequate for assessing risk. 3. We rely increasingly on knowledge provided by experts, however, that knowledge is â€Å"open to a social process of definition† (Beck cited in Carter and Jordan, 2009, p. 80). 4. Expert knowledge is usually targeted at the blanket population and can cause anxiety for everyone. . Political considerations are increasingly focusing on risk making epidemiology increasingly popular when devising health campaigns. 6. Experts focusing on long and short-term risks. Case Study: Allotments in the London Borough of Hackney. Who has the knowledge? In this example the knowledge about the risks is provided by experts such as the environment agency and scientists. What are the risks? They have assessed the risks to be: 1)Potential health risks of eating vegetables grown in soils containing poisons such as arsenic and lead. )Potential health risks from their skin contact with soil containing po isons such as arsenic and lead. What evidence is there? 1)The first shows the total levels of poisons in the soil by testing various soil samples and found dangerous levels of arsenic and lead in the soil. 2)The second test at the amount of those poisons that can be absorbed into the human body and found that the levels of poisons that could potentially be absorbed by the body were not high enough to cause concern. However, because there is no standardisation for the second test, the Environment Agency would not accept these findings.Nine samples were sent to different facilities around the world for testing and there was a high degree of variance in the results. Conclusion Because of the two different tests the soil went from being poisonous to safe again (‘A risky world? ’, 2009, track 2). Differences in results from scientific testing make it difficult to know which set if expert knowledge to follow. Case Study: Sun tanning. Who has the knowledge? In this example hea lth experts and holidaymakers have the knowledge to assess the risks of sun tanning. What are the risks? )Health experts advise there is a risk of getting skin cancer through exposure to the sun. 2)Holidaymakers perceive the risk as embarrassment of being seen as a â€Å"peelie wally† when they are on the holidays. What evidence is there? Organisations such as Cancer research UK have taken evidence from epidemiological studies that link overexposure to the sun to skin cancer. However, (Carter and Jordan 2009 p 81) show other scientific research that says lack of sunlight contributes to mood disorders such as SADS, and lack of vitamins D causes illnesses and diseases such as osteomalacia, arthritis and multiple sclerosis. http://www. longevity. about. com/od/researchandmedicine/a/vitamin_d. htm accessed on 11July 2012) Evidence from focus groups urged holidaymakers indicates that they are fully aware of the expert knowledge when assessing risk in relation to sun tanning they a re more likely to be influenced by lay knowledge. One interviewee states with the tan â€Å"Your skin clears up and you look and feel healthier†¦ † (Carter and Jordan 2009 p 77) Conclusion. Therefore in this case study the holidaymakers were comparing their own mbarrassment of going on holiday and being a â€Å"peelie wally† and the benefits of getting a tan and feeling healthier and looking better, with the health advice experts have given about sun tanning causes skin cancer. Conclusion. It is apparent in today’s society risks are increasingly invisible so we rely more on expert knowledge. The two case studies have shown that expert knowledge is often contradictory and there are many differing opinions on how best to obtain evidence in order to assess risk. Because of this people will use lay knowledge to assist them is assessing risk.Lay knowledge is also influential if a person has had experience of harm caused by the risk then they will be more cautiou s about partaking in that activity. So it could be deemed that expert knowledge and lay knowledge are more often than not in direct contrast with one another. References. ‘A risky world? ’ (2009) Exploring Social Lives [Audio CD 1], Milton Keynes, The Open University. Bromley, S. , Jeffries, E. , Meegan, J. and Staples, M. (2009) Learning Companion 3, Introducing the social sciences, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Carter, S. nd Jordan, T. (2009) ‘Living with risk and risky living’, in Bromley, S. , Clarke, J. , Hinchliffe, S. , and Taylor, S,. (eds) Exploring Social Lives, Milton Keynes, The Open University. http://www. longevity. about. com/od/researchandmedicine/a/vitamin_d. htm accessed on 11July 2012 Word count: 1368 Self-Reflection. I am still struggling to stick to my study schedule but I found this TMA much easier than the previous ones because it was not an essay. The shorter more concise paragraphs and bullet point are easier for me to link be cause of my dyslexia.

Hard times by Charles Dickens Essay

The book Hard times, relates to the hard times that people were going through at the time of the industrial revolution, during the 1840’s. the book was published in 1850, so that when Charles wrote the book, he was looking back on the events that occurred 10 years earlier. In his book ‘Hard Times’ Dickens focuses on education and how children used to be taught. Dickens does not agree with the type of teaching that was going on in those times, and by making the characters of the story his object of hate, it makes them prime targets of ridiculing, and does so throughout the book. He describes how the educators insist on teaching fact, and fact alone, nothing but fact. This way he can put forward his views and feelings of this form of teaching, by ridiculing the characters and continually ripping them apart with criticism. The educators insist on teaching fact and pluck all the opinion from the tiny fragile minds that can be so easily moulded into fact filled objects. They scoop out every little fragment of imagination, not leaving the smallest detail to spare and replace it with fact, fact, fact, until they are over spilling with them. As if when filling an empty money box with pennies until it is full to the brim and over flowing, and when you take off the lid they all pour out, one after the other, penny after penny, fact after fact. Facts were ridged and solid, there was no room for interpretation, or another view on the matter, a fact could not be disproved, or argued against, a fact was a fact, and that was what the educators were trying to pour into the innocent little minds, once filled with imagination and opinion. Dickens chooses the names of characters very well. Such as Grad grind, this gives an impression of a strict, hard faced man stuck in his ways. Dickens is very descriptive which gives the reader an image of the characters, and yet at the same time he leaves other aspects to the imagination. The educators were filtering out the opinion and imagination, leaving room for only the facts to get through. This is what Dickens disliked about this form of education, he thought that each child should be independent, and have their own opinion of things and have a free imagination. Dickens himself was a very bright child, yet was denied the right to education, due to the conditions of the time, and the fact that his family were so poor. He left school at the age of 14 and went to work. This is the main reason why Dickens feels so strongly about education and he feels that people should do what they want to do not what they ‘have’ to do, as he had to leave school in order to get a bit more money for his family. In chapter 2 we learn that the teacher Gradgrind has little, if any respect for the children as he refers to them by numbers, also he criticises on of the girls names. He forms the impression of a very narrow minded man with little consideration or respect for children. He is full of fact and stuck in his ways, he believes that because he has been taught facts that every one should be taught pure fact. Dickens doesn’t like this way of learning, and continually ridicules it and the people teaching it. Dickens gets his points across through satire and comic exaggeration, he uses this to achieve humour and also as an extreme way of getting feelings across. During the Victorian times people had a very dim view of education, they did not think it was that essential for children to learn, however in the Victorian times it all came down to your social class. If you were upper class you would have had an education, however if you were lower class you would be considered very lucky if you went to school and even then you would have hat to have left school early to work to get that extra bit of money for the family. I thin these views existed because people had no idea of the importance and it all came down to your social class, also children were ill treated and expected to be seen and not heard. These views of education are very wrong as it is now important especially as we have more rights, and people are respected more.

Melodrama and TV serial in Guiding Light Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Melodrama and TV serial in Guiding Light - Essay Example Jonathan and Cassie are important individuals in the development of the storyline. The multiple lead characters connect the theme of the series and give the viewer the urge to want to watch it to the end. The presence of Jonathan and Cassie brings romance in the drama series. The use of leading characters decreases the attention from the lead characters to other characters in the sequel. The multiple characters allow the use of many storylines at once to provide fluidity in the storyline. The video illustrates that the character does not get an opportunity to resolve their problems. Guiding Light qualifies to be a TV serial. For example, Jonathan is not able to get vengeance for the death of his wife immediately. It is clear that viewers have to wait for the next episode to view the next episode. Resolution is among the components of a TV serial. Guiding Light qualifies to be a TV serial because it ends with a climax. It keeps the viewer with an urge to want to watch the next episode . For example, we see Jonathan planning the revenge for the individuals involved in the death of his wife. The climax plays an important because it produces a new conflict that keeps it interesting to watch. In the end, it is clear that the Cassie does make a choice of the casket to use for her daughter’s death. In conclusion, it is clear that melodrama and TV serials focus on the relationships and family. The main reason to focus on the family relationship is that family is one of the important institutions of the society.

UK on-line advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

UK on-line advertising - Essay Example Being at the so called â€Å"digital age†,people tend to go online whenever possible whether to chat,buy products or services,or even finding a job.When you go over the internet, you will see a lot of advertisement regarding various products being posted. Even job orders are being posted online by various companies. While other advertisers tend to spend millions of dollars on television networks, newspapers or magazines, and radio advertisement, there are some advertisers that would rather invest their money with online advertising. It is the current trend in the world of advertising to go over the internet and post ads. But is it really worth spending posting in an online advertisement? What is the level of reliability that consumers who are taking risk that they would not be scammed in availing products or services in an online advertisement? In countries like the United Kingdom, online advertising has a potential market. According to the statistics done by the UK government , between 2001/02 and 2006 the proportion of adults in Great Britain who had used the Internet in the last three months increased by one-quarter, from 48 per cent to 60 per cent wherein, 59 per cent of the 16 years old and over go online almost every day and 4 per cent go online less than once a month. Internet usage is more common among the young people, wherein 84 per cent of people age 16 – 24 go online compare to older people, wherein 54 per cent are 55 – 64 and 15 per cent are 65 and over. ... bility to businesses to customers is easier compare on television and radio wherein, customers can easily interact via internet to the ads posted by advertisers. On the other hand, advertisers can easily access positive or negative customer feedbacks, monitor the customer needs, and communicate faster but cheaper to customers via internet through the websites. Websites have become an essential means to communicate with customers. In 2005, 70 per cent of the businesses online have a website while the proportion of businesses that sold via internet was doubled between 2002 and 2005, from 7 to 15 per cent. In 2005, the sales value over the Internet was ?103 Tan 3 Billion. This accounted for 34 per cent of sales across all kinds of ICT by non-financial sector businesses. The usual Internet activity by nine out of ten or 91 per cent of young internet users was sending or receiving emails. Other activities included were: finding information about goods or services which is 77 per cent, dow nloading software which is 55 per cent, and reading or downloading online news or magazines which is 54 per cent. Meanwhile, seven out of ten or 70 per cent young internet users stated that they had purchased goods or services online.   The increasing demands and internet usage had made advertisers in UK believed that online advertising is important and that has great opportunity. They have seen some potential in doing so because the online become a direct response medium wherein the marketing budgets being stretched to their very limits, and the online has proved its worth. Another is the growth of new display format wherein the internet has become an entertainment medium because of its interactive multimedia content. There is also the booming of e-commerce wherein people shopping choice

Implications of income inequality. Does or should inequality matter Essay

Implications of income inequality. Does or should inequality matter Why or why not - Essay Example The government will get enough funds to run its operations (Chambers, 2008, p. 98). Countries that support inequality experience political stability. Those who do not support this face welfare crisis (Hanushek, 2006). The governments will pay heavy for creating a monetary union without political unions. Thus, it creates instability. It is very hard to have equality of opportunity (Navarro, 2007, p. 100). There will be economic efficiency in the presence of inequality. The poor in society will have an incentive to work hard. Because of the need to be high earners. In an unequal society, there are limited resources. The government will be able to gain resources from the taxes garnered from the rich (Harmon, 2009, p. 19). There is no social justice in equality. The poor will access low standards of living and do not receive social amenities like healthcare. Those with great wealth provide to their people and take the opportunities meant for the little wealthy. Thus, the cause of injustice (Arrow, 1996, p. 12). Some economists believe degree of inequalities is necessary for working of free markets. In a free market, income inequality will be a fact. There is no equal income and the rich will have their say in the markets. The governments of various countries fail in putting up an equal opportunity for all (Barbanel, 2013, p.

The role of managers and clinical leaders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The role of managers and clinical leaders - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the performance of all individuals is based on a large number of factors including internal as well as external ones. It is the responsibility of managers to make sure that all individuals within the organization are motivated enough and their goals are aligned with those of the company. All work done by the employees must be directed towards the objectives of the organization. Mostly all organizations now have a human resource department to improve the motivational level, performance as well as the productivity of the employees. This would improve the overall performance of the organization and would also result in higher profits due to improved quality of the task work. The factors related to the performance of an employee working in a company are similar to those working in a health organization. The motivation of employees is dependant on many factors including environmental factors etc. It also includes factors such as the task st ructure, the workplace environment as well as how the managers treat the employees and other subordinates. The process of performance management aims to improve the effectiveness of employees in order to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. It includes planning, developing as well as rewarding to increase the overall motivation of employees. Planning includes setting the expectations of employees and monitoring the overall performance of the employees. The management should also rate the performance of employees and provide rewards for good performance.... If an employee is continuously facing problems then the manager should change the tasks assigned to the employee involved. This would give the employee chances to use his potential and portray his skills. However, if the employee continues to face the same problems then the manager should realize that the problem is not with the tasks assigned but other factors within the employees such as the motivational level. Therefore, the manager should try to motivate the employees in order to improve his performance for the assigned task. In order to keep the staff motivated, managers all over the world follow a number of strategies. These strategies include performance appraisals, commission pays, other intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards etc. These rewards act as tools for the motivation of employees in all kinds of organizations. These increased levels of motivation in employees would increase the productivity and improve performance of the organization as a whole. This would also impro ve the employee morale and the organization would be able to retain talented employees as well. It would also improve the image of the organization in the business world. Managers should place a lot of importance on the motivation of employees as they themselves might be the reasons for low motivation and they need to understand what problems the employees are placing in their workplace (Motivation and productivity in the workplace, Web). Managers and clinical leaders have a lot of responsibilities to fulfill to improve staff morale as well as motivation of the staff employees. In order to improve staff morale and motivation, managers can develop clear cut rules and goals for the staff employees. They can even employ

History of American Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of American Islam - Essay Example Estevanico was the first Muslim to enter the historical records in the North America. He was a barber who originated from North Arica and explored the states of Arizona and New Mexico in the 1530s for the Spanish Empire. In 1586, Sir Francis Drake brought around two hundred Muslims the then English colony of Roanoke, which is the present Carolina. Drake’s convoy of some thirty ships had freed these Muslims from Spanish colonial forces in the Carribean where they had been condemned to hard labor as galley slaves.Approximately 15 to 30% of the slaves who were brought to America were Muslims. Some documented cases include abdulrahman Ibrahim Sori and Ayubu Suleiman Diallo 1701-1773. Yarrow Mamout one of the Muslims who bought his freedom had his portrait painted by renowned American artist Charles William Peale, and it is kept at Philadelphia Museum art. In 1831, Omar Ibn said who was an educated native of West Africa managed to write the only well-known American slave descriptio n in Arabic. In 1939 Sayyid Said, the ruler of the Oman ordered his ships to set sail to American on a trade mission, and this marked the point of Muslims friendly relationship with America. In 1854, the Ottoman Empire sent a gift to be included in the Washington Monument. In 1857 Bilali Mohammad, a slave on Sapelo Island, Geogia, managed to write the first and the lone existing book on Islamic Law printed in America and this book was called Bilali document.The first documented Muslim cemetery called the Ross has tombstones dating from 1882.

The South Beach Diet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The South Beach Diet - Essay Example The foods allowed in this phase are starchy carbohydrates, seafood, lean beef/poultry/pork, fruits, dairy (yogurt, milk fat free), vegetables (barley, black-eyed peas, pinto beans, sweet potatoes, yams, onions, and carrots), sweet and chocolates which are semi-sweet and soy products. Agatston believed that that hunger cycles in an individual are triggered by carbohydrate rich food which the body can digest quickly, creating a spike in blood. Such foods include the heavily refined sugars and grains that make up a large part of the typical Western diet. The South Beach Diet eliminates these carbohydrate sources in favor of relatively unprocessed foods such as vegetables, beans, and whole grains which are good sources of carbohydrates. The South Beach Diet eliminates the trans-fats and discourages saturated fats. The foods which contain bad fats may not contribute to hunger cycle but they contribute to LDL cholesterol and heart diseases. Thus the South Beach Diet replaces these bad fats with foods rich in unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids which contribute to HDL cholesterol and provide other health benefits.

Physician-assited suicide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Physician-assited suicide - Essay Example As a treatment of last resort, physician-assisted death becomes a legitimate option only after standard measures for comfort care have been found unsatisfactory by competent patients in the context of their own situation and values (Quill, 1993). In the cases of Vacco v Quill and Washington v Glucksberg, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there is no constitutionally protected right to physician-assisted suicide, its decision clearly endorsed the use of intensive palliative care and seemed to give a green light to experimentation at the state level so that this "earnest and profound debate" can continue (Burt, 1997). The injury suffered by actor Christopher Reeve (Reeve, 1998) and his response to his condition has been the subject of numerous news stories. The public sees a man who previously enjoyed a physically active lifestyle, but who now relies on a respirator to breathe, and on other people to provide for his every physical need. Rick Hansen (Hansen,1987) and Teny Fox (Scrivener, 1981) are examples of people who have not only contributed to the society in significant ways, but who have also captured the imagination of the public in their courageous journeys to help others suffering from spinal cord injuries and cancer respectively. The actions of Dr. Jack Kevorkian (Pfeifer, Brigham & Robinson, 1996), a doctor committed to aiding the terminally ill in their quest for death, continually places this issue about the value of life before the public and the courts in the United States. Flach (1988) defines mental health in terms of resilience. He proposes that when we experience disruption in our lives, it is through resilience that we are able to move through our experiences in good mental health. He argues that it is how well we are able to integrate each new experience and circumstance into our lives that leads to successful adaptation throughout our lives. In her book,

Term paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Term paper - Essay Example sic accounting in the current financial crisis situation which has once again raised concerns amongst stakeholders as major US corporations are having financial difficulties and have already declared bankruptcies. The act of accounting manipulation in order to maintain interest of shareholders in companies is more likely to happen in addition to increase in other types of frauds. Therefore, forensic accountants are more than ever in the spot light for their role to tackle bigger challenges which lie ahead of the current recession. In this research paper different aspects of forensic accounting will be discussed and its relevance as a determining factor to the outcome of accounting frauds and scandals that erupted in the previous recessions that left their trails on the US economy. This report is not limited to the US economy but it also relates to the role of forensic accounting and its due consideration provided by the regulatory frameworks of other countries by carrying out a thorough research and supplementing the report with inquisitive insight into the profession of forensic accounting and the challenges which are confronting this profession in the qualm of the current global recession and fears of yet again a stream of cases involving accounting manipulation emerging tearing down what is considered to be strictly regulated reporting framework. The reason for selecting this area of research is that cases of frauds and accounting manipulations are already on the rise as companies try to survive and retain shareholders interest in them. The older version of forensic accounting could be traced back to 1817 when a case involving bankruptcy was being investigated in the US court and the formal use of term ‘ forensic accounting’ appeared in the article published by Maurice E. Peloubet (Crumbley, 2001). Today forensic accounting is considered to be one of the most important and highly valued branches of the accounting profession. There are a large number of

Global Citizenship Essay Example for Free

Global Citizenship Essay As far as we know, many people throughout the world face different issues such as global warmth, pollution of environment, gap between wealth and poverty, discrimination, suffering of HIV/AIDS and so on. Therefore, more and more people are attracted to join in one community and solve global problems together. Nowadays, many people can be considered as citizens of our planet, or as Global Citizens. The main goal of Global Citizens is to create such conditions and solutions to problems in order to make the world around them a better place. All of them tend to have some specific qualities. I know enough people, who possess them and inspire me more to be a Global Citizen. Initially, I consider myself as a part of Global Community and as a Global Citizen because I try to help people that need it. For me, being a Global Citizen means not only enjoying our rights, but also bearing responsibilities and taking care for surrounding people and environment beyond one’s nation or territory, in order to create a virtuous society in the world. Open-mindedness and willingness to commit good deals are the main qualities, which Global Citizen should have. Every person has different types of personality, some of them can make good teachers, some good creators, other good workers, and so on. Although they have different qualities and abilities, they are part of one community and take some responsibilities for surrounding people for making the world little bit better. Therefore, they can be considered as Global Citizens. They are joined by qualities such as kindness, love to every single person on the world, motivation to hard work, and responsibility for humankind. In addition, Global Citizens should have perseverance because the mission of being responsible for human beings faces many obstacles. Accordingly, Global Citizens should wish to improve lives of others and possess kindness, responsibility, and persistence. Global Citizens are not isolated from the world and think not only about themselves. People start to be such Citizens when they start to commit good deal toward strangers, who need help. No matter if they act alone or in teams, they are still Global Citizens. I have met many people that act as Global citizens. For instance, I know people, who deal with children that have oncologic diseases, or people, who take some activities to decrease the level of HIV/AIDS sufferers, or people that engaged in charity, or other that engaged in special communities, which deal with different issues in society. I, firstly, admire with my grandmother, who have small business, but always take time and money to engage in charity for orphanage. In spite of facts that she is retired and care about her children and grandchildren, she still work hard, has patience, and has desire to help other people, to make their lives better. This example proves that anyone can take even little action toward better humanity’s life and unintentionally become a Global Citizen. I believe, I will follow my grandmother’s example because from my childhood I am kind, responsible and strive to help people. I always wished, nobody should be upset. Therefore, when I saw sad person, I approached to him/her, tried to understand situation and attempted to help. Later on, I become part of different communities such as School Parliament, International Organization â€Å"Dance4Life†, Students’ Community â€Å"Enactus†, and some others. Most of my time I spent in School Parliament, so I will tell more about its activities. This little school organization took responsibilities for almost all events in school and some activities outside it. We regularly took part in charity for orphanage, support disabled people of our school, entertained people that had oncologic diseases, and conducted some events. We helped one family to collect some amount of money to child’s operation by selling some ribbons and conducting few times charity events. It was one of the biggest deals that we did in school time ourselves. After pupil’s operation, his parents thanked us and appreciated our activities. Thus, as studying in high school we started to participate in solving some problems outside of our lives, to help others, to improve surrounding people’s lives and performed as Global Citizens. Thereby, everybody can become a Global Citizen despite age, gender, and region. To be a Global Citizen means to take actions and fulfil some duties in order to improve someone’s life. Global Citizenship should not be focused on scale of an action because helping people starts from little steps, from helping even one unknown person. Therefore, most of people, who are helping others that need a support, can be considered as Global Citizens. The majority of these human beings understand that they somehow may effect on people, who live on the other side of the Earth. Thus, they think broadly and care about surrounding people and nature.

Use And Problems Of Expert Witnesses In Court Law Essay

Use And Problems Of Expert Witnesses In Court Law Essay It is an ancient common law rule that on a subject requiring special knowledge and competence, evidence is admissible from witnesses who have acquired the necessary expertise on that matter, and such witnesses are known as experts.  [1]  The foundation of the use of expert witness in court was laid down by Lord Mansfield in Folkes v. Chadd  [2]  that the opinion of scientific men upon proven facts may be given within their own science. Although opinion evidence is inadmissible as a general rule, the main exception to this rule is the opinion of an expert on matters resting within his expertise, and this exception applies in both civil and criminal cases. Regarding the civil proceedings, the statutory recognition of the exception is reflected by section 58(1) of the Evidence Ordinance (Cap 8) that an experts opinion is admissible on any relevant matter on which he is qualified to give expert evidence. However, there is an issue of potential conflict of interest on the expert w itness.  [3]  On one hand, an expert witness has a paramount duty to assist the court; on the other hand, he is remunerated for his services by one of the parties under the adversary system, which assumed a more partisan role for them at the expense of impartiality.  [4]   This essay aims to examine whether the aspiration of expert objectivity is realistic in our adversary system. In the next part, we shall discuss the problem of adversarial bias as well as the duties of expert witnesses. In part 3, the applicability of court appointed experts in Hong Kong will be examined with reference to the inquisitorial system. In part 4, we will explore the problems associated with the small population of potential experts in Hong Kong, followed by the courts power in dealing with expert disagreements in part 5. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn in the last part of this paper. The problems associated with expert witness It is often said that the principal danger of adversary expertise is motivational bias.  [5]  As expert witnesses are employed by one of the parties to the litigation and they would purposely mould their views to fit their clients proceedings. In fact, the problem of lack of objectivity in expert evidence is not a new phenomenon. As early as in Lord Abinger v. Ashton  [6]  , Sir George Jessel said: Undoubtedly there is a natural bias to do something serviceable for those who employ you and adequately remunerate you, and expert witness may even considered themselves as the paid agents of their employers. The problem of adversarial bias is also widespread in Hong Kong.  [7]  As identified in the Interim Report of the Working Party on Civil Justice Reform, a major problem concerning expert evidence is the partisanship and lack of independence among experts.  [8]  Thus, it is suggested by Professor Gary Edmond that partisanship may be an unavoidable feature of knowledge p roduction and expert opinion.  [9]   Another reason for lack of objective expert evidence is due to the problem of expert shopping, which is a process of selecting opinions from one expert after another, until the most favourable opinion to the partys case is found.  [10]  Since the choice of experts lies with the parties, the expert evidence is selected on the basis that would serve the best interests of their clients cases. Consequently the court does not necessarily obtain the most independent or objective expert evidence. The practice of selecting the most favorable expert is indeed a distortion of the rationale behind expert evidence as well as a discredit to the administration of justice. 2.1 The duties of expert witness Due to the concern about the failure of experts to provide an independent and objective opinion, a developed code of conduct has been set out in National Justice Compania Naviera SA v. Prudential Assurance Co. Ltd. (The Ikarian Reefer)  [11]  to clarify the duties of an expert witness. The most important parts are the first two numbered paragraphs, which stated that: 1) Expert evidence presented to the Court should be the independent product of the expert uninfluenced as to form or content by the exigencies of litigation  [12]  ; 2) An expert witness should provide independent assistance to the Court by way of objective unbiased opinion in relation to matters within his expertise  [13]  . The Ikarian Reefer guidelines remain a good law in Hong Kong, and the relevant principles were set out in paragraph L1/58/7 of Hong Kong Civil Procedure 2009. The expert witnesss overriding duty to provide independent and unbiased assistance to court is also reflected in Order 38, rule 3 5A of the Rules of the High Court (RHC) as well as the Code of Conduct for Expert Witness in Appendix D of RHC. Further guidance is provided in Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. v. Commissioner of Rating and Valuation  [14]  that an expert also needs to ensure no omission of material facts that could divert from his concluded opinion. Although the adversary system may not have provided an ideal environment for the expert witnesses to maintain their independence and objectivity from their clients, I believed that the promulgation of code of conduct would have raised awareness of the expert witnesses in meeting the courts expectations, so that they will be less easily manipulated by lawyers, which can tend to rein in the widespread problem of expert bias in Hong Kong. Court-appointed experts Apart from a code of conduct for expert witnesses, some commentators have recommended other ways to reduce the problem of expert bias, and one of them is the appointment of court experts with reference to the inquisitorial system. It is common for the court to appoint experts in many continental jurisdictions, such as Belgium, Germany and France. Unlike the way to appoint experts under the adversarial system, the expert witnesses are selected and remunerated by an independent authority, usually the court rather than the parties, which may avoid the problem of adversarial bias.  [15]  Take an example of the French system of expertise, the judge would normally commission the expert witnesses from a list of official experts, and they will be questioned by the judge.  [16]  The major distinction between the adversarial and inquisitorial system of justice is that the parties play a minimal role in locating evidence and they need not actively engage with the expert witness in court , as the expert witness is infrequently cross-examined by the defendants. As the court-appointed expert has little interaction with the parties, they are more likely to give an objective and unbiased opinion to the Court. Nevertheless, it is argued that the appointment of court experts under the inquisitorial system is contrary to the principles of the adversarial system of justice. Apart from the loss of right for parties to select their own expert witnesses, there are a number of arguments that go against the inquisitorial court-appointed experts. First of all, the main problem is that the court may place undue reliance on the evidence provided by the court-appointed expert, which may lead to an ultimate result that it would be the court-appointed expert instead of the judge who decides the case.  [17]  This is also highlighted by Lord Denning in In re Saxton that the appointment of a court expert in England is a rare thing, as the litigants realize that the court would attach great weight to the report of a court expert, and are reluctant to leave the decision of the case so much in his hands.  [18]   Second, it is difficult to ensure the validity or test the applicability of the expert evidence in inquisitorial systems due to lack of cross-examination and involvement of more expert opinion, which are fundamental features of the adversarial system. In the absence of challenges to expert evidence, its quality and reliability is therefore doubtful as there is no way to test the correctness of the expert conclusion.  [19]  Moreover, the exercise of courts power to appoint an expert is rare under Order 40 of RHC in Hong Kong. It is indicated in the case of Nguyen Ho Others v. Director of Immigration  [20]  that the Court of Appeal has declined an invitation to appoint a court expert. Consequently, the inquisitorial court-appointed expert is difficult to integrate in our adversarial system, especially the important feature of cross-examination which encourages critical scrutiny of the expert evidence is lacking under the inquisitorial system.  [21]  It is also of my view that the adversarial expertise may benefit the fact-finder in another way by providing a range of perspectives or interpretations that allows verification of the validity and accuracy of the expert evidence in Court. Problems with small population of potential experts As Hong Kong is confronted with the problem of parties obtaining hired gun experts,  [22]  the concern of expert bias may also arise when the employer of the expert witness is the prosecution. This is particularly the case for criminal prosecutions, where the expert witnesses are commonly and closely connected with the police or prosecution authorities. In fact, the small population of available experts in Hong Kong would render the reliance on expert witnesses employed by the prosecution inevitable, for instance, police officers may be called by the prosecution as witnesses to give evidence in drug cases regarding the average dosage of drug addictsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. One may nonetheless argue that relying on the prosecutions own officers as expert witnesses to provide opinion evidence would prima facie cast a doubt on their independence and objectivity in that case. Thus, it raises the problem of whether it is possible to restrict the officers of the prosecution from giving opin ion evidence as an expert in his field to support the prosecutions case. In R v. Chung Chen Hsin  [23]  (Chung), a police officer ballistics expert, who was possibly connected with the investigation, was called by the prosecution as witness to testify for them that the unusual weapon found in the defendants hand luggage was a firearm. The court has made some important points regarding the right of the prosecution authority to call its own officers as expert witnesses to offer opinion evidence. It is held that there is no requirement in a criminal proceeding where the expert witness ought to be independent of the prosecution authority, but a witness who is competent and properly qualified to provide his expertise would suffice.  [24]  Judge Stuart Moore also challenged the judgment in R v. Kai Tai Construction Engineering Company Ltd.  [25]  by claiming that it was not a material irregularity for the prosecution to have called a properly qualified expert from the same department responsible for that prosecution, and there must be powerful reaso ns to cast a doubt on the expert called by the prosecution in order to justify the refusal to allow the prosecutions own officers as expert witnesses.  [26]  Moreover, even the expert witness is so closely connected to the case that he may be biased in favour of the prosecution, it is ultimately a matter remained for the jury to assess the weight to be attached to his testimony and the question of admissibility is irrelevant. The rationale in Chung was reaffirmed in many recent cases, such as Tang Ping Choi Another v. Secretary for Transport  [27]  , where the court held that an experts evidence was not inadmissible merely due to the fact that he or she was an employee of one of the parties to the case. With limited human resources in Hong Kong, the fact that many expert witnesses have been employed by the party calling them is nearly inevitable, especially for the technical matters that require highly specialized experts to offer their opinion evidence. Despite the possible lack of independence of the expert witnesses employed by the prosecution, it has been made clear by the Hong Kong courts that the expert evidence would not be excluded merely on that basis. Even though the expert witness may have produced a biased opinion due to his or her vested interest in the outcome of the case, it is only relevant to the weight to be attached to that experts testimony rather than the admissibility of evidence. Expert disagreement With one of more expert witnesses giving opinion evidence at court, it is possible to have a clash of opinion between opposing experts. In fact, we may divide the discussion into two parts: one is the role the judge if this situation happens at the trial; while the other is the judges powers to limit the extent of expert disagreement before the trial. First of all, if there are conflicting experts opinions during the trial, the judge will need to direct the jury correctly. It is held by the Court of Appeal in Plait  [28]  that the judge should not direct the jury in a way that it is a case of choosing between their opinion evidence. Rather, the jury should consider if there is a reasonable possibility that either the opinion of the prosecution or defence expert, when taken in conjunction with all the other evidence, is correct; then the jury should proceed on that basis. For the second part, the introduction of Civil Justice Reform in Hong Kong has offered the courts more control over the expert evidence, including measures to reduce the expert disagreement before the trial. The most common way for the court to narrow expert disagreement is to direct an expert meeting and joint report  [29]  , where the experts of both sides will meet before the trial and indicate clearly in the joint report the reason for their disagreement with each other. The direction is supported by Justice Wood that experts moderate their opposing views in the expert meeting, or even reach agreement on the controversial aspects of their expertise.  [30]  It is also noticed that the experts have a duty to attend this pre-trial meeting and conclude with a proper joint report, or otherwise, the defaulting expert would have breached paragraph 12 of the Code of Conduct for Expert Witness. Furthermore, the court has an option to order the appointment of a single joint expert under Order 38, rule 4A of RHC. Under this scheme, parties may jointly choose the single joint expert, or the court can select from a list prepared by the parties or any manner as the court may direct. Although the use of single joint expert may allow the fact-finder to have a simpler and less-biased picture over the technical matter, it is stressed in the Woolfs final report that the appointment of a single joint expert is mainly used to deal with the problem of excessive and inappropriate use of experts instead of bridging the differences of opinion between experts.  [31]   As a result, it is believed that the direction of pre-trial expert meeting and joint report will be more useful to narrow the conflicting opinion between experts rather than the appointment of a single joint expert. Conclusion With increasing technological sophistication of issues in courts, it is no doubt that the expert witness is playing a more significant role in the judicial process. Unlike other witnesses, the expert witness has an overriding duty to the court to provide objective and unbiased opinion evidence. An absence of independence and objectivity on the part of the expert witness would be prejudicial to the court, and consequently lead to a devaluing role of the expert witness in the court proceedings. It is opined that the introduction of the code of conduct as well as the new rules under the Civil Justice Reform in Hong Kong have evolved new roles for the expert witness. By setting court expectations in respect of the expert evidence, the expert witness would strive to meet the high standards and adhere to their duties and responsibilities listed in the rules. Despite the effort of the expert witness, I believe the concerted efforts by all streams of the judicial system are also vital to restore not only the credibility of the role of expert witness, but also publics confidence in the administration of justice. BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS M. R. Damaska, Evidence Law Adrift (New Haven London: Yale University Press, 1997) Mike Redmayne, Expert Evidence and Criminal Justice (OUP, Oxford 2001) Peter Murphy, Murphy on Evidence (10th edn OUP, Oxford 2008) Simon NM Young, Hong Kong Evidence Casebook (Sweet Maxwell Asia, Hong Kong 2004) ARTICLES REPORTS Charles Pugh Marcus Pilgerstorfer, Expert Evidence: The Requirement of Independence (2008) Journal of Personal Injury Law 224. Chief Justices Working Party on Civil Justice Reform, Civil Justice Reform: Interim Report and Consultative Paper (2001) Gary Edmond, After Objectivity: Expert Evidence and Procedural Reform 25 Sydney Law Review 131. Gary Edmond, Judicial Representations of Scientific Evidence (2000) 63 Modern Law Review 216. J.R Spencer, Court Experts and Expert Witnesses: Have We a Lesson to Learn from the French? (1992) 45 Current Legal Problems 213. Lord Woolf MR, Access to Justice: Final Report to the Lord Chancellor on the Civil Justice System in England and Wales (HMSO, London 1996) Peter Alldridge, Forensic Science and Expert Evidence (1994) 21 Journal of Law and Society 136. Samuel Gross, Expert Evidence (1991) Wisconsin Law Review 1113. NEWSPAPER Cliff Buddle, Judge calls expert witness mercenary SCMP (22 March 2002) EDT 7. ELECTRONIC RESOURCES Justice Sperling, Expert Evidence: The Problem of Bias and Other Things (1999): accessed 13 March 2011. Justice Garry Downes AM, Expert Evidence: The Value of Single or Court-Appointed Experts (2005): accessed 13 March 2011. Michael Wilkinson, Recent Developments Affecting Expert Evidence in Law Lectures for Practitioners (1991): accessed 13 March 2011. CASES Folkes v. Chadd [1782] 99 ER 589 Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. v. Commissioner of Rating and Valuation [2004] 2 HKLRD 702 In re Saxton [1962] 1 WLR 968 Lord Abinger v. Ashton [1874] 22 WR 582 National Justice Compania Naviera SA v. Prudential Assurance Co. Ltd. [1993] 2 Lloyds Rep. 68 Nguyen Ho Others v. Director of Immigration [1990] Civ App No 135 of 1990 Plait [1981] CrimLR 332 Polivitte Ltd. V. Commercial Union Assurance [1987] 1 Lloyds Rep. 379 R v. Chung Chen Hsin [1996] 1 HKCLR 120 R v. Kai Tai Construction Engineering Company Ltd. [1996] 2 HKCLR 26 Tang Ping Choi Another v. Secretary for Transport [2004] 2 HKLRD 284 Whitehouse v. Jordan [1981] 1 WLR 246

Health care in the Amish culture

Health care in the Amish culture The religious and cultural beliefs of the Amish culture have led to variations in health care practices that are different from main stream American culture. The Amish have a health care belief system that includes traditional remedies passed from one generation to the next. Amish families are without health insurance and though concerned about paying medical expenses, most of the time the extended family, friends, and the church help pay for the expenses. For example if a female infant of the Amish family is in the hospital for an extended period of time the biological and extended family visit frequently and bring in their own food in bags. The grandmother and neighbors would gather the children in the hospital waiting room to feed and entertain them while the mother would visit her baby daughter in the neonatal care unit. The father would most likely visit on weekends. The family would speak Pennsylvania Dutch among themselves but use English in speaking with the health care provi ders. The children in the family are dressed like undersized replicas of their parents. They are in distinctive clothing that is subdued and devoid of any designs of flowers, figures or animals on the material. The little girls wear long dresses and head coverings, while the little boys wear trousers with suspenders. Some of the older boys wear broad-brimmed hats. All are very polite and well mannered. This Amish family appears to come from another time, another place. In an instant the Amish family came into another world, the world of high tech health care. One may well surmise the cultural shock of this encounter. AMISH HERITAGE The Amish are a conservative Protestant group who emerged after 1693 as a descendent of the Anabaptist movement that originated from Switzerland and spread to neighboring Germany. The Amish parted ways with the larger Anabaptist group, now known as the Mennonites, over a doctrinal dispute, (Hostetler 1993) and immigrated to America in the 17th 18th century after experiencing religious persecution in Europe. The diverse subgroups of the Amish Culture have distinctive beliefs, values, and behaviors). Today the Amish stand somewhere between the parent body, the Mennonites, and the four groups of Amish: Swartzentruber (ultra conservative), Andy Weaver (conservative), Old Order (conservative), and the New Order (less conservative). The New Order leads a more progressive path that diverged from the Old Order in 1968 (Blair Hurst 1997). The New Order of Amish attempts to balance distinctive rituals and practices against accommodations. Over time the Amish have adapted to some change but at their own pace. In various rural regions of the United States, especially in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, there are large settlements or communities of Amish families. About 75% of the estimated Amish total population of over 130,000 is concentrated in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In these areas good farmland can be purchased reasonably as agriculture is the main stay of their economy. Holmes County in Millersburg, Ohio has the largest population of Amish in the United States as compared to the more widely known areas of Amish settlements in Lancaster, Pennsylvania or Elkart, Indiana. The population in Holmes county is 38, 943 and about 18,000 of that are of Amish descent (Holmes County Chamber of Commerce 2002). Amish Mutual Network The Amish community has a very strong network of mutual support and assistance for its families. Amish barn raising is one example where several hundred men from many church districts gather to build a new barn. The Amish women plan and prepare the meals for the workers and take the food to the site. Smaller networks with projects called frolics occur when several neighbors and extended families and friends gather to help build a small building such as a shed or corn crib. Another example of Amish mutual aid is the harvesting of crops. A serious illness or accident brings an immediate response of both emotional and financial support from their community. In Holmes County, Ohio, for example, a cooperative effort by both Amish and non-Amish people resulted in the formation of the Rainbow of Hope Foundation. This foundation assists all families in the area with health care costs affecting infants and children. Bake sales, benefit auctions, and private donations assist in raising the needed funds. There is a genuine ritualistic response to human troubles in the Amish close knit family environment. Family Roles The Amish father is responsible for providing for his family through farm work or by employment in the local community. Many Amish men are working away from the farm with the declining availability of farmland. Many Amish men work as carpenters, masons or laborers in factories. Some have home based businesses such as furniture making, harness repair or the shoeing of horses. Amish culture teaches girls to serve and please others such as their parents, husbands and relatives. An Amish wife is identified by using her husbands name, eg. Eli Katie means Elis wife, Katie. The social life for an Amish woman is centered around church, funerals, quilting bees, baking, barn raising and frolics. Amish families usually have many children. Amish women raise on average seven children. On the family farm, parents and older siblings model work roles for the younger siblings. Children are an economic asset to the family as they assist with farm chores, gardening, mowing of lawns, housework or work i n a small family business. These activities involving children serve to strengthen family ties and promote survival of the Amish life-style. Genetics Intermarriage among the Amish culture has resulted in the presence of a large number of recessive disorders, many of which are unrecognized outside of the Amish population. Consanguinity (relatives marrying relatives) accounts for the transmission of these various disorders. When a group of individuals mates only among themselves allele (alternate form of a gene) frequencies may change as a result of chance sampling from a small pocket of a population. This change of allele frequency is termed genetic drift. The founder effect is a common type of this genetic drift. A founder effect is when a community of people have descended from a few founders and have their own collection of inherited disorders that are rare in other areas (Lewis 2001). Amish couples are not deterred from having more children when they have a child with a hereditary defect. An abnormal child is referred to as a special child and is accepted as Gods will (Julia 1996). http://dw.com.com/redir?tag=rbxira.2.a.10destU rl=http://www.cnet.com/b.gif CONCEPTION, PRENATAL CARE, AND BIRTH Babies are a welcomed gift in the Amish culture and are viewed as a gift from God. The Amish view fertility as a family and community gift. They nurture these children in preparation for eternal life (Purnell 1998). Most Amish couples do not use birth control to limit their family size, since it is believed that use of birth control would be interfering with Gods will. Therapeutic abortions, amniocentesis and other invasive prenatal diagnostic testing are also not acceptable. Amish folk wisdom is an integral part of their prenatal practices, for example: walking under a clothesline will result in a stillbirth or crawling through a window or under a table will cause the umbilical cord to be wrapped around the babys neck. Lamaze classes are usually held in a church close to the Amish community to ease transportation barriers. Prenatal care is started in the first trimester for a first pregnancy and much later for subsequent pregnancies if the mother has no problems. The distance to the doctor and cost of care can influence the number of prenatal visits and how soon prenatal care is started. Complications such as pregnancy induced hypertension and diabetes is low in the Amish culture most likely due to the well nourished state of the mother (Julia, 1996). Typically prenatal visits are scheduled every eight weeks, rather than every 4 weeks, during the first two trimesters to reduce the expenditures of money and time for prenatal care. Amish express their preference for prenatal care that promotes the use of nurse midwives, lay midwives, home deliveries, and limited use of high technology. The Amish desire culturally congruent and safe health care services. In preparation for childbirth a five week formula (5-W) is sometimes used in the last five weeks of pregnancy. It is thought that the herbs in this formula tone and calm the uterus, quiet the nerves, ease pain, and help make labor easier and on time. In addition, it has been known to help with menstrual disorders, morning sickness and hot flashes. The herbs included in this formula are: Red Rasberry Leaves: This herb has been used as an old friend to treat diarrhea, vomiting and the flu. It is used for similar purposes of relieving nausea and pain in labor. Red raspberry capsules and red raspberry teas are also used. Butchers Broom Root: This herb is used for hemorrhoids, varicose veins, and thrombosis. In addition, it is a diuretic, anti-inflammatory and improves circulation. This herb contains pseudo steroidal saponins which cause blood vessels to constrict and blood to thin. During the final months of pregnancy women may have circulatory problems such as varicose veins; therefore this herb is considered important. Black Cohosh Root: This is a hormonal herb. It has an estrogenic effect because it contains compounds which mimic the effects of estrogen; therefore it is contraindicated in the early stages of pregnancy as it could bring on premature labor. This herb has a nervine effect which relieves spastic muscles, dilates peripheral blood vessels and helps reduce blood pressure. These actions aid the uterus and other muscles during labor. The anti-cramping effect of black cohosh is thought to help reduce pain during delivery. Black cohosh is also used to treat menopausal and PMS symptoms and menstrual cramps. Because black cohosh may minimic the action of estrogen, anyone who has had a cancer thats estrogen sensitive, such as breast, endometrial or ovarian, should avoid using it. Since this root contains a blood-thinner, it should not be taken with bloodthinning medications (such as coumadin or heparin). Dong Quai Root: The anti-inflammatory and diuretic effect of this herb is used for treating swelling prior to labor. During labor it eases smooth muscle contractions and gives a general sedative effect. This herb, in Chinese medicine, is considered a blood building tonic as it is high in iron, magnesium, and niacin. This Chinese herb is sometimes referred to as a female ginseng and is used extensively in China as a postpartum tonic. Squaw Vine Root: This herb is used to prepare the uterus for childbirth and is also used to speed up delivery and encourage regular contractions. It has an antispasmodic action. (Pederson, 1987; Willard, 1991; Tarr, 1984, Block, 1984). The Amish have no major taboos or requirements for labor and delivery. The women labor in soft pastel colored gowns. Men may be present and most husbands choose to be involved. Delivery may be at home with a midwife, at the birthing center, or at a hospital. VISITING THE AMISH COMMUNITY Their simple life style practices numerous social controls to avoid modernization. However, interaction with the outside world often occurs in the health care arena when an Amish person requires hospitalization for medical care. To better understand the Amish culture related to obstetrical care several nursing faculty visited an Amish Birthing Center in Indiana called the New Eden Care Center which is located in the beautiful countryside of Topeka, Indiana. An adaptation by the Amish to modern medical and nursing practices are the Amish Birthing Centers (Kreps Kreps 1997). This Amish Birthing Center was built in 1997, not from local, state, or federal government funds but from private subscriptions and donations mainly from the surrounding community. This facility is designed to be an alternative for those who prefer not going to the hospital for the delivery of their babies but who recognize the need for skilled care before, during, and after delivery. New Eden Care Center is a place where the physician or midwife can bring their patient for delivery in a more relaxed, home-like environment (Philosophy of New Eden Care Center). Since this facility provides services for the low risk population, all women are screened by their physician or nurse midwife before their arrival. Admission to the facility is opened to anyone upon recommendation and approval of their physician or nurse midwife. The need for this birthing center came from the fact that many of the people in the area are Amish and do not have commercial insurance or coverage for obstetrical car e. Thus the Amish prefer not to go to the hospital with its high cost. This center features a plain relaxing decor with no television sets or phones in the patients rooms, and no separate nursery or delivery room. Labor, delivery and postpartum care are all given in the patients room, better known as LDRP rooms. Newborn babies stay in the room with the mothers. Fees for the use of the New Eden Care Center cover current expenses, repairs, and maintenance of this facility. A flat fee is charged for the birth itself and 72 hours of care starting from the time of admission. There are additional fees for extra supplies such as PKU screening, intravenous solutions, and medications. The nurse midwives and physicians fees are separate from the birthing center fees. At times the fees are bartered for. For example, one of the nurse midwives had a new front porch put on her home to cover for her fee. In addition meats have been given for payments. Services of the birthing center included general nursing care, housekeeping, and meals brought in during the patients stay. Families bring in food for the delivering mother and often eat together in the large home-like kitchen area provided at the birthing center. The center includes 3 MSN prepared nurse midwives and 9 physicians. No prenatal classes are offered by the center but the classes are provided by a staff RN from the center at a nearby church. Prenatal care is provided by the midwives either at their offices, located at the center, or in the homes of their patients. Many of the mothers prefer coming to the midwives offices for the prenatal classes as they enjoy the private and quiet time. The care center provides hitching posts with special parking areas for the traditional horse and buggy as well as a barn for overnight lodging of the Amish horses. Since there are no phones in Amish homes, a red bag tied to a large hook placed on the top of the barn is used to signal neigh bors whenever additional help is needed in the center (cleaning and laundry). All of the midwives, upon request, will do home deliveries. Suction, oxygen, and IV equipment are a few of the supplies they routinely take with them. One of the midwives described her experience following a home delivery. It was a very foggy night and it took me awhile to get to the Amish home. It was well worth the difficult drive when following the delivery a great peace seemed to take over in the still of the night as I listened to the singing of the dad to the newborn, the creaking of the dads rocking chair, and the hum from the kerosene lantern. Where else could one hear such beautiful, peaceful sounds. Culture exerts a great influence on the prenatal family and determines the appropriate interventions to be given to provide competent nursing care. It is increasingly necessary to understand the cultural and behavioral patterns of the individuals whom we serve in our practices. Rapid growth of the Amish population and diverse geographical locations augment the probability that health care practitioners may care for Amish families. Health care practitioners can tailor their delivery of care for Amish families if they understand the Amish cultural practices and modify their services to keep it simple. This Amish Birthing Facility, New Eden Care Center, is an example of wonderful adaptation by the Amish people to modern nursing and medical practices while at the same time maintaining their values of simplicity, low cost and accommodation to the use of their horse and buggy. Here the Amish can remain separate from the wider English society while still interfacing with it when health care is involved in birthing babies. Obstetrical Amish health care can be of excellent quality, with licensed medical and nursing personnel, at a reduced cost to both the Amish and the English society. This is an important consideration in todays ever increasing health care costs.

British Poetry Essay -- Poems Poet Poetry Britain British Essays

Knowledge of contemporary British poetry is of great importance when it comes to understanding the reigning trends of England. The 1970s saw a fair amount of polemic concerning the discontinuities of the national "traditions," most of it concerned with poetry, all of it vulnerable to a blunt totalizing which demonstrated the triumphant ability of "nation" to organize literary study and judgment--as it does still, perhaps more than ever. It remains the case twenty years later that there is a strong hint of the majority of the english poets to rediscover their ‘Englishness’ as a poet, and at the same time the presence of the various other cultures ensures that their remains a deep variety in the crative material. The temptation stubbornly to assert the coherence and power of national traditions is strong not only among cultural conservatives dedicated to the perpetuation of poetic practices associated with or promoting "little-englandism" but increasingly in other, less visible communities of readers as well--and here I think especially of the small but vital communities of poets and critics dedicated to exploratory practices, where the pressures to locate indigenous varieties of Modernist and postmodernist practice are increasing. Now at this stage this would be notable that the English poetry of the present day had to come a long way before it achieved its present mould. It includes the evolution of thought process from the likes of Yeats and Eliot and on to Auden, Dylan Thomas, Philip Larkin and finally to the present day poets like Andrew Zawacki, Brian Patten etc. The poetry of the present day England is one that has many voices to it. There are various ethnicities, cultures and nationalities involved in shaping the face of the contemporary British poetry. But a walk down the memory lane and we find that the early poetry of the century acted as a melting pot to shape the face of the present day trend of the poetry scene. Since 1945 British poetry has moved steadily from what many regard as twentieth century parochial to a twenty-first century international. In the space of little more than fifty years the insular, clear verse of mainland English Britain has changed from being a centralist and predominantly male, seemingly academic practice to become a multi-hued, post-modern, cultural entertainment, available to all. Some observers see this as... ...rse and humor is Wendy Cope. Wendy Cope was born in 1945 in the south of England. Both of her parents held management positions with British companies. Cope earned a B.A. from Oxford (1966) and a diploma from the Westminster College of Education (1967). After teaching for several years at various junior schools in London, she became a freelance writer and columnist. Her Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis (1986) includes a number of literary jokes and parodies in the style of some of the most notable twentieth-century poets. Asked about her work, Cope asserted, "I dislike the term 'light verse' because it is used as a way of dismissing poets who allow humor into their work. I believe that a humorous poem can also be 'serious'; deeply felt and saying something that matters." Twenty-first century British poetry is no longer precisely English as it used to be. In fact it has redefined the word ‘English’ in a new manner and this is because of the fact that there are various different trends in the British poetry scene. Like the world literature with which it is now firmly allied it has as many facets as the eye of a fly. Saying exactly what it is remains the problem of the moment.

Roosevelt Essay -- essays research papers

Theodore Roosevelt is said to have been one of the greatest presidents ever. Theodore Roosevelt expanded the role of the presidency into foreign affairs by using The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, this stated that the U.S. had the right to oppose European intervention in the western hemisphere and also to intervene itself in the domestic affairs of its neighbors. This was brought about when the government of Venezuela stopped paying their debts to European bankers. As a result European naval forces formed a blockade around the Venezuelan coast and began to bombard their ports. Roosevelt saw this action as a potential threat to the U.S. and threatened to use American naval power to pressure the European navy to withdraw â€Å"†¦the adherence of the United States to the Monroe Doctrine may force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercise of an international police power†(Roosevelt Corollary). Theo dore Roosevelt’s first presidency came after the assassination of President McKinley. He was thought of as the first modern president because he was the first to get involved in foreign affairs, with his Big Stick Policy. Other things he did during his president that are remembered for are his Square deal, Hay-Pauncefote treaty, his corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, and his trust busting. The Big-Stick Policy came upon after Roosevelt said that his motto was â€Å"to speak softly and carry a big stick.† After this the p...

Brain Based Learner Centered Model Education Essay

Traditional direction focuses on rote memorisation and callback with a bringing system which is teacher-directed. Traditional appraisal has focussed on multiple-choice and true or false trials which are designed to mensurate whether the pupils can reply the information contained in the text edition or delivered by the instructor. This traditional theoretical account is being challenged for non maximising the larning possible for all pupils, particularly where higher degrees of thought accomplishments are involved, such as in trouble-shooting Brooks ( Brooks, 1993 ) . Many researches ( Brooks, 1993 ; Caine, 1997 ) have been conducted on maximising studentis acquisition from which new instructional systems design theoretical account have emerged. But no unequivocal replies have originated from them. As Warrington ( 2007 ) summarises, the traditional or ifactory modeli of preparation was developed as a consequence of the industrial revolution, stressing which addressed obeisance, methodicalness, regard for authorization and a standardised course of study. This paradigm of instructional design created a ione-size-fits-alli theoretical account of instruction. In the twenty-first Century, leaders and pedagogues likewise are naming for alterations to run into the demanding demands of a technologically changing, competitory, and more planetary society ( UNESCO, 2000 ) . One country receiving heightened attending is the research in brain-based acquisition and its application to curriculum design and development. The neuroscience, biological science, and pedagogic research are edifying us on how the encephalon plants, and its deduction for the schoolroom ( Abbott, 1997 ) . Research workers in brain-based acquisition ( Caine, Caine, McClintic, and Klimek ( 2005 ) , Erlauer ( 2003 ) , Jensen ( 2005 ) , Slavkin ( 2004 ) , Wagmeister and Shifrin ( 2000 ) , Wolfe ( 2001 ) ) believe that traditional direction may impede the encephalon from larning. In visible radiation of this new information, decision makers, course of study developers, instructors, and other practicians in instruction, have become interested in brain-based acquisition because their work requires an understanding on how the encephalon receives, procedures, and produces information ( Bucko, 1997 ) . It is believed that brain-based acquisition has already had a dramatic impact for the instruction and larning procedure ( Sylwester, 1994 ) . 2.2 How Brain-Based Learning Impacts Education. Specifically based on decisions from research in neuroscience, professors from major universities have incorporated this information into books about larning. In conformity with the suggestions of Marian Diamond, U. C. , Berkeley ; Howard Gardner, Harvard University ; Renate and Geoffrey Caine ; Thomas Armstrong ; Candace Pert, Eric Jensen, schoolroom patterns can be modified by using new theories of instruction and larning based on recent findings. Advocates of brain-based larning insist that there is a difference between â€Å" brain-compatible † instruction, and â€Å" brain-incompatible † patterns and methods which can really forestall acquisition. Hart in Human Brain and Human Learning ( 1983 ) claims that learning without an consciousness of how the encephalon learns is like planing a baseball mitt with no sense of what a manus looks likeiits form, how it moves. Hart says that if schoolrooms are to be topographic points of acquisition, so â€Å" the organ of acquisition, † the encephalon, must be understood and accommodated. Although all acquisition can be, in the broadest sense, considered brain-based, Caine and Caine ( 1991: 31-32 ) specify brain-based acquisition as larning which acknowledges the brainis regulations for meaningful acquisition, and organizes learning with these regulations in head. Caine and Caine describe the nucleus rules directing brain-based instruction: * The encephalon is a parallel processor. It can execute several activities at one time. * The encephalon perceives wholes and parts at the same time. * Information is stored in multiple countries of the encephalon, and can be retrieved through multiple memory and nervous pathways.i * Learning engages the whole organic structure. All acquisition is mind-body: motion, nutrients, attending rhythms, and chemicals modulate learning.i * The human pursuit for significance is unconditioned. * The hunt for significance comes through patterning. * Emotions are critical to modeling and drive our attending, significance and memory. * Meaning is more of import than merely information. * Learning involves focused attending and peripheral perceptual experience. * We have two types of memory: spacial and rote. * We understand best when facts are embedded in natural spacial memory. * The encephalon is societal. It develops better in concert with other encephalons. * Complex acquisition is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by emphasis. * Every encephalon in uniquely organized. * Learning is developmental.i The deduction of these rules for preparation analysts and trainers has a direct impact on determinations associating to curricula, instructional methodological analysis, instructional stuff, and appraisal. 2.3 How Brain-Based Learning Helps Shape Knowledge Acquisition. The brainis acquisition capacity is eternal. Caine and Cain ( 1991, 1997 ) study that each healthy encephalon is equipped with a set of unbelievable characteristics: * An tremendous capacity for memory * The ability to self-correct and learn from experience * An unlimited capacity to make Theory on encephalon research has led to a comprehensive, instructional attack to maximise pupil acquisition, and to run into studentis single acquisition demands. The research on encephalon hemisphericity acknowledges the fact that there are differences in larning manners and that our definition of intelligence may be excessively limited. Keefe ( 1987: 16 ) defines larning manners as, icharacteristic cognitive, affectional, and physiological that serve as comparatively stable indexs of how scholars perceive, interact with, and respond to the acquisition environmenti . We could reason that this addresses the ihowi of larning. How do we treat and see cognition? How do we form and retain information? Do we near larning consecutive or randomly? The affectional constituents of larning include personality traits related to countries of duty, motive, continuity, and peer interaction ( Dunn and Dunn, 1978 ) . In other words, do we prefer to work entirely or in groups? Are we concerted or competitory? Traditional direction has ever emphasized abstract receiving and brooding processing, where learner-centered direction allows for all receiving and processing manners. In larning centered direction, course of study emphasizes the accomplishments of intuition, feeling, feeling, imaginativeness and syntheses, every bit good as the traditional manners of analysis, ground, and consecutive job work outing. Direction should be designed to link with all larning manners by utilizing jumping combinations of experience, contemplation, conceptualisation, and experimentation ( UCF Faculty Centre for Teaching and Learning ) . The assorted theories on larning available from Jung, Myers-Briggs, Mok, Keirsey and Bates, Hanson, Silver and Strong manners portion the belief that people learn otherwise. Learning depends on the capacities, intelligence, gender, sex, civilization, personality traits, and motive amongst others of persons. One widely used theoretical account used is Bernice McCarthyis 4MAT System. McCarthy ( 1997: 46 ) provinces that, iThe 4MAT system knows the typical manner that each scholar brings to the schoolroom, while assisting each pupil grow by get the hanging the full rhythm of larning stylesi . 4MAT ( McCarthy, 1981 ) is a constructivist theoretical account of teaching method which believes that effectual direction must travel through four indispensable stages of acquisition: scholar motive, conceptual command, application of thoughts, and originative synthesis. The 4MAT system is a theoretical account for instructional design, based on the research of larning manners and encephalon hemisphericity. The 4MAT System is based on left and right encephalon hemisphere, and emphasizes staff development. Dr. McCarthy tells us, that if all instructors taught in each of the four acquisition manners 25 % of the clip, all pupils in any category on any topic would be reached ( The Dunn & A ; Dunn larning manner theoretical account, 2001 ) . Alternatively of concentrating on the pupil ‘s learning manner, she focused on staff development developing all instructors to include all four acquisition manners in showing each larning undertaking. The work of John Dewy, Anthony Gregorc, Karl Jung, David Kolb, David Merrill, and Helizabeth Wetzig influenced McCarthy ( 1980 ) . David Kolbis experiential acquisition theory is the footing of the 4MAT system. Kolb`s research highlighted how experiential acquisition relates to cognitive development. This theory espouses the belief that acquisition is a uninterrupted procedure by which persons refine and incorporate a distinguishable set of independent systems that give significance to lifeis experiences ( McCarthy, 1997 ) . Kolbis theoretical account identifies a procedure through which four manners of human experience are engaged at different degrees to make a complete degree of understanding. The interaction between and among the manners of concrete experience ( CE ) , brooding observation ( RO ) , abstract conceptualisation ( AC ) , and active experimentation ( AE ) is required for acquisition ( McCarthy, 1980 ) . Honey and Mumford ( Sadler-Smith, 1996: 29-37 ) translated Kolbis work into a categorization system of larning manners based on the interaction between the manners: militants, reflectors, theoreticians, and pragmatists. * Militants like practical work such as labs, field work, observation exercisings and utilizing ocular beginning stuff for information. * Reflectors like to larn by watching others, by taking clip to see observations of their ain experience. * Theorists like talks, reading documents on subjects, sing analogies. * Pragmatists like simulations, instance surveies, prep. Therefore the four types might near larning in different ways. For illustration, pupils must larn to weld a pipe utilizing an electric-arc welding machine. Militants might merely get down utilizing it and experience their manner into it. Reflectors might hold a spell at utilizing it and so take clip to believe about what they have merely done. Theorists might get down by reading the manual. Pragmatists might get down the undertaking, but do frequent mentions to the pupil manual. The four types of acquisition in Kolbis theory can be seen as cyclical phases through which a scholar can come on ticker, think, feel, and do, every bit good as categorizing specific sorts of larning experience. The 4MAT system ( McCarthy, 1987 ) expanded on Kolbis theory by uniting research on encephalon hemisphericity. Harmonizing to Bernice McCarthy, developer of the 4MAT system, there are four major larning manners, each of which ask different inquiries and expose different strengths during the learning procedure. Harmonizing to McCarthy, i4MAT benefits instructors by giving them a model to plan larning activitiesi ( McCarthy, 1990 ) . This is besides the instance for instructional interior decorators who design plans of instructions, every bit good as schoolroom and workshop exercisings. Figure 1 shows the 4MAT system. Figure 2.1i The 4MAT System In the 4Mat System ( McCarthy, 1990 ) , pedagogues consecutive design lessons concentrating on four issues: * Personal Connections: How can I assist pupils do connexions between the content and their immediate lives? * Concept Development: How can pupils incorporate this information and see how it fits within the overall class? * Practical Applications: What can pupils make in the acquisition environment utilizing the information to see it at work? * Creative Integration: How can pupils use this information in original and more complex ways? The research on larning manners support that persons learn in different ways, differences in larning manner are related to forces motive and public presentation, acquisition is a uninterrupted procedure of distinguishing and incorporating experiences, and scholars expand and refine differing manners by sing them ( McCarthy, 1997 ) . The reappraisal of literature nowadayss noticeable deductions for instructional design and methodological analysis. The traditional mentality of the ifactory modeli of instruction and preparation, which dominated educational patterns for a century, has been redefined ( Darling-Hammond, 2003, p. nine ) . Teaching which emphasizes on rote memorisation and the acquisition of unrelated, stray facts does non ease the transportation of larning or use the encephalon expeditiously. Leslie Hart ( 1983 p.xiv ) provinces, iAs the effects of long development, the encephalon has manners of operation that are natural, effortless, effectual in using the enormous power of the astonishing instrument. Coerced to run in other ways, it functions as a regulation reluctantly, easy, and with abundant errori . The encephalon continually seeks significance and thrives in an environment rich with complex and meaningful challenges. For instructional stuff to be effectual, the information should be presented in a manner for the encephalon to pull out pattern, instead than enforce it ( Caine and Caine, 1991 ) . Instructional interior decorators must redefine the manner they write developing stuff by developing meaningful, connecting, and associating cognition. They need to develop a rich choice of methods and attacks which continually augment the learning experience. Several attacks compatible with brain-based acquisition are presently used to learn. Thematic units of direction, concerted acquisition, incorporating the course of study through interdisciplinary instruction, and whole linguistic communication direction are a few of these learning methods. Course of study interior decorators need to compose instructional stuff that engages studentis involvement through relevant life experiences in an ambiance of wonder and self-discovery. The course of study must be built around the alone endowments, strength, failing, and larning manners of the pupil in the schoolroom. Activities which are meaningful to pupils must be organized ( McCarthy, 1997 ) . The end of brain-based acquisition is to supply maximal benefit to all pupils without utilizing a ione-size-fits-alli expression. The more we approach meaningful, ambitious, and relevant acquisition in the schoolroom, the more antiphonal acquisition will be to our learner population which must be prepared to run into the challenges of the twenty-first Century. 2.4 3. What are the issues related to the execution of a learner-centered theoretical account? Rather than being seen as exclusions to the regulation that schools can non alter, the development of a little figure of advanced patterns and schools may alternatively reflect the regulation that schools can merely alter through the monumental attempt, unusual resourcefulness, and strong leading of cardinal persons or groups ( Hatch, 2000: 581 ) . Several factors that can curtail course of study invention have been identified in the literature. These relate to both the agent of alteration ( instructional interior decorators ) and the context in which the invention is taking topographic point. They include issues of clip, outlooks, inaccessibility of needed instructional stuffs, deficiency of lucidity about the reform, instructional designersi deficiency of accomplishments and cognition, and the initial mismatch between the iresidual ideologiesi and the rules underlying the course of study invention. Other obstructions relate to organisational agreements such as function overload, stiff programming of clip, describing systems, and failure of disposal to acknowledge and understand its function in alteration ( Nolder, 1990 ; Gross et Al. as quoted in Snyder et al. , 1992 ) . Research into curriculum airing and execution, and factors finding their success, found a focal point with the work of Fullan and Pomfret ( 1977 ) , who studied 16 instance surveies of attempted invention in American schools and found that all of them had resulted in some grade of failure. For about two decennaries, research workers examined the phenomenon of educational alteration, discussed its features and determiners, listed the accomplishments of the ‘change agent ‘ and suggested ways in which the procedure might be improved ( Fullan, 1993 ) . All of this research has a common subject, and that is that course of study alteration is a complex and hard procedure and requires careful planning, equal clip, support, support and chances for teacher engagement. Much of the literature recognizes the trouble of finding a individual theoretical account to accommodate all. Smooth and successful course of study alteration is tremendously hard and clip consuming and can non be accomplished without possible implementers going personally involved and accepting the alteration on their ain footings and harmonizing to their ain concepts of world. United Kingdom research workers ( Kelly, 1982 ; MacDonald & A ; Rudduck, 1971 ; MacDonald & A ; Walker 1976 ; Rudduck, 1991 ; Stenhouse, 1975 ) long have stressed the importance of a strong engagement function in course of study alteration and the demand for engagement of cardinal forces in the development and determination devising procedure. However, ownership is delicate, really hard to specify or step, and has many degrees. The human face of collaborative squads working creatively on specifying and make fulling their ain demands can be freakish and tense with struggle and emotion. On the other manus, collaborative development frequently needs to be steered and coached, and sometimes top-down determinations need to be made on theoretical issues which are outside developing analysts ‘ cognition and experience. Besides, developing analysts might necessitate to be coached to collaborate in alteration. 2.5 What is Action-learning? Action-learning ( AL ) is defined as a method that enables little groups to work on a regular basis and jointly on complicated jobs, take action, and learns as persons and as a squad while making so ( McGill and Beaty, 2002: 12 ) . The most common applications of Action-learning are in professional and managerial acquisition and development ( Revans, 1998 ) . Revan states that AL is widely used to pull off a work-based undertaking or plan in which set members are involved and for which they have a degree of duty and are hence able to realistically act upon their actions. It is besides used to happen and implement solutions to an issue that concerns how fit members operate in their work context, and one that they wish to better and that could profit from the support and challenge of the other members. Action-learning normally involves: * Participants tackle existent jobs ( no irighti reply ) in existent clip * Participants meet in little stable larning groups ( called iSetsi ) * Each Set holds intermittent meetings over a fixed plan rhythm * Problems are relevant to a participantis ain workplace worlds * A supportive collaborative acquisition procedure is followed in a Set * Process is based on contemplation, oppugning, speculation and defense * Participants take action between Set meetings to decide their job By these agencies, Action-learning seeks to throw a net around slippery experiences, and capture them as acquisition. The single makes sense of an experience by gestating it and generalising the replicable points ; and he plans for future actions based on the acquisition gathered. The set provides the forge in which an individualis actions are shaped through their ain personal contemplation and the oppugning penetration of fellow set members. Harmonizing to Revans, a cardinal point is that actions and results still remain the duty of the single participant. Action-learning provides a pattern field for larning to happen, whilst acknowledging that existent duty prevarications outside any schoolroom environment: it lies with the participants who must have the concern results. Further, in utilizing the organisation itself as a acquisition research lab, it does non necessitate any particular set of conditions to be in topographic point before it can be effectual. Action-learning plants good in a bureaucratism, in a level organisation, in houses culturally hostile to instruction and development, in houses promoting self-actualization ( Smith & A ; Peters, 1997 ) . It does so because its whole ethos is larning about the environing context, and larning to be effectual within it, therefore leveraging the prevalent civilization to its ain advantage. As a consequence, the development demands of the organizationis directors, executives and high-potentials are satisfied through activities which focus on the important current and future demands of the organisation. This leads to the justifiable charge of Action-learning as a narrow ( but deep ) larning docket, instead than a wide but superficial one. This development is addressed as a concern service proviso ; geared to supply exactly what is required, when it is required, where it is required, in the signifier in which it is required. 2.6 What is the Action-Learning Framework? The Center for Applied Research ( 2005 ) describes the action-learning model has holding four stages. Learning occurs in each one. 1. Frame i Define the particular job the group is seeking to turn to, research the premises made in specifying the job. Tie formal acquisition to job definition. 2. Charge i Set explicit ends ( deadlines and public presentation outlooks ) for the undertaking squad to carry through, and depict the procedure and staffing required. 3. Act i Execute undertaking work, following an agreed upon workplan. Connect to executive patrons and other cardinal stakeholders for counsel and blessing. 4. Reflect & A ; Review i Step back from action and reflect on experience, associating squad work to personal development. Consolidate lessons learned and integrate them into the undertaking as it unfolds. At the terminal of the undertaking, distribute lessons learned to the larger organisation in a meaningful manner. The procedure is iterative. The lessons learned by the undertaking squad should increase apprehension of the issues and lead to a re-framing of the job. Figure 2.2i the uninterrupted Action-learning procedure Having established what Action-learning is, who should be involved, and how it could help passage, it is of import to set up what the barriers to a successful Action-learning procedure could be. Clearly Action-learning could be a powerful tool but there will be things that will acquire in the manner of it being successfully implemented into any administration ( Marquardt, 1996: 406 ) . Some of these barriers are existent and some are simply perceived. Some are internal and some are external. 2.7 Barriers to Organizational Change Changing the manner we do ibusinessi creates pandemonium. But within pandemonium is an array of chances. Bush ( 2006 p.45 ) suggests that alteration can be inhibited by bing constructions within an administration ; this can be explained farther by O'Neill ( 2006 ) who implies that lasting squads who may hold settled work and societal forms are likely to be extremely immune to alter. This concurs with the instructions of Barbour ( 2005 p.45 ) who found that imembers are genuinely mutualist on each other and are close sociallyi . O'Neill went farther to propose that collaborative direction theoretical accounts such as Action-learning may merely see the indispensable early success where persons can elect to work on the footing of bing friendly relationship groups or where they feel that they personally will derive more by join forcesing than by moving in isolation ( 2006 p.85 ) . Goals and Aims Undefined ends and aims can be a barrier to Action-learning. Fabian and Simpson ( 2002 ) suggest that staffs are likely to hold uncertainnesss and insecurities at times of alteration. Therefore, clear ends and aims must be an built-in portion of the Action-learning procedure. Organizational Culture Organizational civilization is ithe form of shared basic premises – invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to get by with its jobs of external version and internal integrating – that has worked good plenty to be considered valid and therefore to be taught to new members as the right manner to comprehend, believe, and experience in relation to those problemsi ( Schein 1985 ) . Leadership Commitment Leadership committedness is identified in the literature as an of import and major factor to successfully implement Action-learning. In successful execution in any organisation, leading and civilization play a major function. Some of the features of leaders have been identified as their being airy and transformational ; they promote and O.K. of squad work, larning, engagement, and coaction. The leading manner of directors can drive an organisation to success by assisting them attain their ends and aims ( Rad, 2006 ) . Low tolerance of alteration Resistance is an inevitable response to any major alteration. Persons of course rush to support the position quo if they feel their security or positions are threatened. Folger & A ; Skarlicki ( 1999 ) claim that â€Å" organisational alteration can bring forth incredulity and opposition in employees, doing it sometimes hard or impossible to implement organisational betterments † . Undoubtedly, opposition to alter is a cardinal subject in alteration direction and should be earnestly considered to assist the organisation to accomplish transmutation. In drumhead, apprentice trainees need an instructional theoretical account that will dispute the acquisition potency and better fix them to fall in the work force. The traditional theoretical account does non fix trainees adequately, particularly where higher degrees of thought accomplishments are involved. Traditional instruction and acquisition theoretical accounts, which convey a formal, abstract procedure, are frequently far removed from the specificities of existent universe pattern. The current theoretical account was established in the early 1970 and was non revised since so. The traditional theoretical account is no longer allow to supply trainees with the accomplishments, cognition and attitude required to run into a fast changing and quickly turning company. From this state of affairs emerged a demand to revise the current instruction theoretical account with one that can concentrate in developing future employees that are capable of thought and work outing jobs. Curriculum alteration is a complex and hard procedure and requires careful planning, equal clip, support, support and chances for interior decorators and trainers engagement. To accomplish this ambitious end, action-learning appears to be the itooli of pick. Action-learning provides a tested and true method to help persons and administrations to accommodate to a quickly changing universe and to manage hard state of affairss altering a course of study more efficaciously. This attack is considered to be one of the most of import constructs to hold emerged in direction and organisational development. 3. Methodology This action-research is based on the undermentioned research inquiries: 1. What are the issues with JSC & A ; TUis current instructional development theoretical account with respects to Saudi Aramcois apprentices plan for new employees? 2. How might a learner-centered instructional development theoretical account aid decide the issues from our current instructional theoretical account? 3. What are the issues related to the execution of a learner-centered theoretical account? 4. How might Action Learning support a sustainable alteration in Company X course of study design unitis instructional design theoretical account? This survey adopted action-research as a methodological analysis to making alteration in Company X preparation and development. In this survey, action-research and action-learning are synonymous. The chief difference lies in that action-research is the coverage of the findings where action-learning is the procedure used for the action-learning undertaking. This attack is supported by Hase in iDeveloping Learner Capability through Action-Research: From Pedagogy to Heutagogy in the Workplacei ( 2006 ) . Using action-learning created a paradigm displacement in Company X occupation accomplishments unit. Employees who became members of the AL squad were no longer isolated in their pattern. In other words, the AL squad became a community of pattern where members connected through shared jobs, explored new possibilities to work out them, learned from each other and acted to present consequences to the organisation. 3.1 What is research? First it must be established precisely what educational research is. Research is the orderly probe of a capable affair for the intent of adding to knowledge. Research can meanire- searchi implying that the capable affair is already known but, for one ground or another, needs to be studied once more. Alternatively, the look can be used without a dash and in this instance it typically means look intoing a new job or phenomenon ( Borg and Gall, 1989 ) . Within the kingdom of educational planning, many things are ever altering: the construction of the instruction system, course of study and text edition s, manners of instruction, methods of instructor preparation, the sum and type of commissariats to schools such as scientific discipline research labs, text editions, furniture, schoolroom supplies, and so on. These alterations may take to an betterment, or a deterioration, in the quality of an educational system. In comparing, Pearson ( 1995:15 ) Tells us that researchiis the systematic procedure of roll uping and analysing information to increase our apprehension of the phenomenon under survey. It is the map of the research worker to lend to the apprehension of the phenomenon and to pass on that understanding to others. There are many types of research methods available to a research worker. Research methods are used to find, discover, interpret, and invent facts. The word research and its derivative agencies, â€Å" to look into exhaustively † .iResearch methodsiare used to come up with â€Å" new cognition † . Through probe and find procedures, research methods help to progress many different scientific Fieldss. In drumhead, research is a powerful activity and is conducted for specific ground: to reply a peculiar inquiry or to work out a specific issue ( Depoy and Guitlin, 1998 ) . 3.2 Qualitative or Quantitative Data? This research used quantitative and qualitative informations aggregation and analysis. Kerlinger argues that â€Å" There ‘s no such thing as qualitative informations. Everything is either 1 or 0 † ( Miles and Huberman, 1994: 40 ) . D. T. Campbell asserts that â€Å" all research finally has a qualitative foundation † ( Miles and Huberman, 1994: 40 ) . Many other research workers agree that these two research methods need each other more frequently than non. However, because typically qualitative informations involves words and quantitative informations involves Numberss, there are some research workers who feel that one is better ( or more scientific ) than the other. Another major difference between the two is that qualitative research is inductive and quantitative research is deductive. In qualitative research, a hypothesis is non needed to get down research. However, all quantitative research requires a hypothesis before research can get down. Specifying the function of the research worker is another cardinal difference between the two. In quantitative research, the research worker is ideally an nonsubjective perceiver that neither participates in nor influences what is being studied. In qualitative research, nevertheless, the research worker learns about a state of affairs by take parting or being immersed in it. These basic implicit in premises of both methodological analysiss guide and sequence the types of informations aggregation methods employed. Although there are clear differences between qualitative and quantitative attacks, some research workers maintain that the pick between utilizing qualitative or quantitative attacks really has less to make with methodological analysiss than it does with positioning oneself within a peculiar subject or research tradition. The pick of which attack to utilize may reflect the involvements of those carry oning or profiting from the research and the intents for which the findings will be applied. Decisions about which sort of research method to utilize may besides be based on the research worker ‘s ain experience and penchant, the population being researched, the proposed audience for findings, clip, money, and other resources available ( Hathaway, 1995 ) . Some research workers believe that qualitative and quantitative methodological analysiss can non be combined because the premises underlying each tradition are so immensely different. Other research workers think they can be used in combination merely by jumping between methods: qualitative research is appropriate to reply certain sorts of inquiries in certain conditions and quantitative is right for others. Others think that both qualitative and quantitative methods can be used at the same time to reply a research inquiry. To a certain extent, research workers on all sides of the argument are right: each attack has its defects. Quantitative research frequently prompts responses or people into classs they might non belong in, in order to do significance. Qualitative research, on the other manus, focuses excessively closely on single consequences and fails to do connexions to larger state of affairss or possible causes of the consequences. Rather than dismissing either attack for its downsides, we should happen the most effectual ways to integrate elements of both to guarantee that their surveies are as accurate and thorough as possible. It is of import for research workers to recognize that qualitative and quantitative methods can be used in concurrence with each other. For the intent of this research, qualitative informations were collected in analogue to quantitative informations and consisted of the followers: * Trainers and trainees questionnaires * Classroom observation, * In-depth interviews with trainers, and * Document Analysis ( particularly rating studies and gap analysis studies ) 3.3 Action-research Action-research is known by many other names, including participatory research, collaborative enquiry, Action-learning, and contextual action-research, but all are fluctuations on a subject. Put merely, action-research is ilearning by doingi – a group of people identify a job, do something to decide it, see how successful their attempts were, and if non satisfied, seek once more. While this is the kernel of the attack, there are other cardinal properties of action-research that differentiate it from common problem-solving activities that we all engage in every twenty-four hours. Gilmore, Krantz and Ramirez ( 1986: 161 ) specify action-research as: â€Å" Action-research†¦ aims to lend both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate debatable state of affairs and to foster the ends of societal scientific discipline at the same time. Therefore, there is a double committedness in action-research to analyze a system and at the same time to join forces with members of the system in altering it in what is together regarded as a desirable way. Carry throughing this twin end requires the active coaction of research worker and client, and therefore it stresses the importance of co-learning as a primary facet of the research procedure. † Several properties separate action-research from other types of research. Primary is its focal point on turning the people involved into research workers, excessively – people learn best, and more volitionally use what they have learned, when they do it themselves. It besides has a societal dimension – the research takes topographic point in real-world state of affairss and purposes to work out existent jobs. Finally, the initiating research worker, unlike in other subjects, makes no effort to stay degage, but openly acknowledges their prejudice to the other participants. Figure 3.1i Action-research System Model This survey intends to utilize the Action-learning methodological analysis. By its nature, Action-learning is a manner of speed uping peopleis acquisition and edifice capableness for managing disputing state of affairss to convey about alteration. If a alteration is desired, and the agencies by which the alteration should take topographic point is unknown, so Action-learning is a good manner to continue. This attack has been used in many organisations from different industry sectors every bit good as in educational environments where it is highly effectual. In response to our dynamic universe of work, current organisation frequently demands uninterrupted employee acquisition and development. In many state of affairss, a cardinal premise is that organisational endurance is dependent on acquisition, maintaining gait with, or progressing beyond the rate of alteration exhibited in the external environment ( Boshyk, 2002 ) . In the instance of Company X course of study unit, alteration in the manner course of study is designed is needed to back up trainers in presenting cognition, accomplishments and attitude utilizing a learner-centered attack. The traditional instruction theoretical account no longer suits the demands of immature Saudis. The company needs a work force whose cognition and accomplishments are built around critical thought instead than memorisation. Action-learning is a problem-solving tool. It is built around a job ( in this instance, a undertaking ) . Giving the chance to those that perform the occupation of planing course of study to place solutions and to implement them can significantly increase success and create sustainable alteration. Research demonstrates that larning without application is uneffective. An action without larning fails to develop your organisation ( Dixon, 2004: 18-23 ) . It marries analysis and action, contemplation and making, organisational development and bottom-line public presentation. By unifying these attempts, you drive to consequences in new ways and build capableness. In iAction Learning i Improving Organizational Performance through Team Learningi , the Center for Applied Research ( 2005 ) listed cardinal rules of successful Action-learning: * Executive Sponsorship is Crucial i In order to hold an effectual acquisition procedure, an executive patron must guarantee that proper resources are given to the undertaking and supervise the procedure and consequences. In this instance, the research was converted to a section enterprise, resources and budget was allocated, and the enterprise was tracked by upper-management. * Connect Action-learning to Real Business Issues i The push of the projectithe job to be solvedimust be relevant to the scheme or current demands of the organisation. Otherwise, the consequences of the undertaking might non be seen as important by the larger organisation, and the undertaking feels like an iexercise.i Since the end of this research was aligned with a existent business-need, recognized by both the business-lines and the preparation section, the result of it was of adequate significance for the company to apportion resources, clip and money to it. * Learning is Continuous i Learning happens throughout the procedure, non merely at the terminal. * The Future is Already Here i The Action-learning squad need non get down from abrasion. The solution to any job likely already exists someplace in the organisation. Action-learning uncovers and amplifies those solutions. * The Potential Solution Should Have Impact i A challenge posed by Action-learning is the perceptual experience that it produces excess work. If the procedure is linked to a long-standing or critical job, nevertheless, the procedure will be thought of as productive instead than merely excess work. * Get the Learning Noticed i Exporting outcomes from the undertaking into the wider organisation is critical. A procedure is needed to capture and administer larning throughout the organisation. To back up this research, a figure of action-learning meetings have been conducted within Company X course of study unit, sister units from the same division every bit good as the Training & A ; Development section. A absorbing result of this is that, although these meetings were meant to back up this specific action-learning research, a figure of turning enterprises to undertake similar issues are now being researched and implemented at all degrees. This procedure is improbable to be without its jobs. Chiefly, most people are unfamiliar with the basic processs and capablenesss of Action-learning. Second, Saudi Aramco directors are non used to nor inclined to swear and depute their control. Finally, directors may non be willing to supply the clip that Action-learning groups require to work out this job. An of import measure in Action-learning is to clearly specify the root jobs to work out. Action-learning advocators oppugning and contemplation to motivate a deeper degree of analysis, to prove premises, and to research possibilities. Within a group, work-based jobs are discussed and reframed in a acquisition context. Therefore, the research worker has gathered some cardinal determination from Company X recognizing organic structure the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training ( ACCET ) which conducted a comprehensive rating of the course of study design, bringing, and direction of Company Xis apprenticeship plan for new employees ( APNE ) . The aim of the rating, as specified by Company X decision makers, was to find to what degree the APNE plan is run intoing its ends and to urge alterations or betterments that might be warranted. The information from this audit were gathered in October and November 2008 by the attesting organic structure during sites visits. In 20 11, another rating, which was aimed at a specific stage within the APNE plan, was conducted by the Centre of Applied Linguistic ( CAL ) , a non-profit administration. Both administrations, ACCET and CAL came up with really similar findings. Since these visits, the state of affairs has non improved. The undermentioned findings were highlighted in the ACCET study and were used to specify the issues with our plan of direction and to organize the footing for traveling the course of study from teacher-centered to learner-centered. Table 3.1i Certifying Bodyis Findings ACCET Standard h the mission and ends. The establishment maintains all needed certification. The action-learning squad for this undertaking was 14 members of staff chosen at random from the course of study unit. One participant was selected from the five group leaders, one from the two available senior interior decorators, seven from the 24 available interior decorators from the course of study author group, one from the learning staff, one from the in writing group, and one from the papers design staff. Table 3.2 explains the sample for the qualitative research and will be used to guarantee the namelessness of respondents in this study. Table 3.2iSample Group Code of Interviewee The acquisition penchants study was administered to five groups of 12 pupils from each occupation of the APNE plan, chosen randomly: Metallic elements Mechanicss, Welding, Operators, Process Control Technicians, and Maintenance Technicians. The instruction penchants study was administered to one of the two instructors responsible of learning the predating trades. A semi-structured interview was used with each supervisor responsible of each of the five occupation ladders to compare with the positions collected via studies and observations from the schoolroom. This enabled the research worker to reflect similarities or differences between what was compiled from the studies, observations and interviews of the trainees and the trainers. In this research, affecting a smaller sum of topics reduces investing in clip and money. It is believed that samplingican really be more accurate than analyzing an full population, which in this instance is over 2600 trainees, and 650 trainers in five different locations throughout the state, because it affords the research worker a batch more control over the topics. Finally, holding a smaller information set will let the research worker to avoid human mistake when inputting and analysing the information set. On the other manus, there is room for possible prejudice in the choice of suited topics for the research. This may be because the research worker selects topics that are more likely to give the coveted consequences, or that the topics tend to choose themselves. 3.5 The Data Collection Tools Many ways to garner informations are required to set about the research and as Denscombe ( 2007:3 ) explained, there is no 1 right way to take. Different schemes should be used depending on the issue to be undertaken. Triangulation requires the aggregation of informations from a assortment of beginnings, in a assortment of ways, with a assortment of positions. In this survey, interviews, audit studies, questionnaires, and observations were used to roll up informations in a assortment of ways. 3.5.1 The Interview The interview as a information aggregation tool was considered as it provides an chance to roll up better or more informations at less cost ( Ribbins, 2007 ) . The research worker has decided to utilize semi-structured interviews as the method for roll uping my qualitative informations as it fosters a deeper apprehension of the positions of the interviewees. The semi-structured interview can be described as flexible, leting new inquiries to be brought up as a consequence of what the interviewee says. In a semi-structured interview, the interviewer has by and large a model of subjects to be explored ( Lindlof and Taylor, 2002: 195 ) . The interviewing technique is employed in this research because it serves the explorative nature of the survey. It seeks in-depth information about accomplishment formation results. The latter issue and the information to be obtained are really sensitive to interviewees in this survey. Therefore, questioning is the most appropriate attack. This can be achieved through a little sample of representatives from selected sectors instead than concentrating on a big scale population. Interviewing besides enables the interviewer to supplement information obtained from responses, with those gained from observation of gestural reactionsi ( Kumar, 1999:115 ) . Furthermore, this qualitative research falls within the context of detecting possible barriers and challenges for organisational alteration by implementing a new instructional attack. Therefore, it is indispensable to forestall any possibility of misinterpretation of research inquiries that will be asked as the interviewer can either repetition or explicate such inquiries in the topographic point which can merely be accomplished through face-to-face interviewing. The usage of standardised instructions warranted that each supervisor had a similar engagement. Associating the closed inquiries from the trainees and trainers questionnaire meant that the responses of supervisors could be straight compared to the questionnaires without the demand for a deep analysis from the research worker. 3.5.2 The Questionnaire A questionnaire was administered to the trainees and the trainers by the research worker based upon Gary J. Contiis ( 1983 ) work. The Principles of Adult Learning Scale ( PALS ) was developed and validated for mensurating congruency between big instruction practicians ‘ existent discernible schoolroom behaviour and their uttered belief in the collaborative teaching-learning manner. The PALS is self-administered, has 44 points, and can be completed in approximately 10 to 15 proceedingss ( Conti, 1990 ) . There are several grounds behind taking this instrument ; it is easy to administrate, it is easy to construe, it is self-scoring, and non scored by an external agent, it is comparatively speedy to administrate and finish, it has easy reportable graduated tables, and it has dependability and cogency supported by the research. PALS leads to a individual mark and which can be divided as follows: * Teacher centered-extreme: 0-105 * Teacher centered – really strong: 106-125 * Teacher centered – increased: 126-145 * Learner centered-increased: 146-165 * Learner centered – really strong: 166-185 * Learner centered – extreme: 186-205 About everyone has had some experience finishing questionnaires and they by and large do non do people discerning. They are less intrusive than telephone or face-to-face studies. When respondents receive a questionnaire, they are free to finish it on their ain timetable. Unlike other research methods, the respondent is non interrupted by the research instrument. Written studies are non capable to this prejudice because there is no interviewer. On the other manus, the deficiency of an interviewer limits the research worker ‘s ability to examine responses ( Walonick, 1993 ) . Contrasting with in the flesh interviewing, there are no verbal or ocular hints to act upon a respondent to reply in a peculiar manner. Many research workers have reported that interviewer voice inflexions and idiosyncrasies can bias responses ( Barath and Cannell, 1976 ) . Written studies are non capable to this prejudice because there is no interviewer. As suggested by Bell ( 2007 ) the research worker needs to avoid ambiguity, taking and dual inquiries to guarantee the responses are valid and utile in the research. Some might reason that the deficiency of an interviewer limits the research worker ‘s ability to examine responses. Structured questionnaires frequently lose the â€Å" spirit of the response † , because respondents frequently want to measure up their replies ( Walonick, 1993 ) . By leting frequent infinite for remarks, the research worker can partly get the better of this disadvantage. 3.5.3 Observations Observation is a manner of garnering informations by watching behaviour, events, or observing physical features in their natural scene. Marshall and Rossman ( 1995 ) define observation as â€Å" the systematic description of events, behaviours, and artefacts in the societal scene chosen for survey † ( p.79 ) . Observation methods are utile to research workers in a assortment of ways. They provide research workers with ways to look into for gestural look of feelings, determine who interacts with whom, hold on how participants communicate with each other, and look into for how much clip is spent on assorted activities ( Schmuck, 1997 ) . Observations, as used in this research, enabled the research worker to formalize the consequence of both studies. Participant observation in their acquisition environment allowed the research worker acquire the feel for how the stuff is being taught and evaluated. It besides gave the research worker a better cognition of the learning civilization of the trainees against the teaching civilization of the trainers. The research worker conducted a focussed observation utilizing the same PALS questionnaire administered to the trainers and trainees. An excess field was added for observation notes. A focussed observation emphasizes observation supported by interviews and questionnaires, in which the participants ‘ penetrations guide the research worker ‘s determinations about what to detect. As Wolcott ( 2001 ) notes, one should take note of what he is detecting, what is being put into the field notes and in how much item, and what one is nil about the research worker ‘s personal experience in carry oning the research. 3.6 Reliability and Validity The research worker realises the importance of dependability and cogency of the measurement instruments. Schumacher and Macmillan ( 1993:404-406 ) province, iQualitative research workers typically use as many schemes as possible to see the cogency of the design.i The traditional standards for cogency find their roots in a rationalist tradition, and to an extent, positivism has been defined by a systematic theory of cogency. Within the rationalist nomenclature, cogency resided amongst, and was the consequence and apogee of other empirical constructs: cosmopolitan Torahs, grounds, objectiveness, truth, actuality, tax write-off, ground, fact and mathematical informations to call merely a few ( Winter, 2000 ) . Joppe ( 2000 ) gives the undermentioned history of cogency in quantitative research: iValidity determines whether the research truly measures that which it was intended to mensurate or how true the research consequences are.i Researchers normally control cogency by inquiring a series of inquiries and will frequently look for the replies in the research of others. Reliability as defined by Joppe is: iiThe extent to which consequences are consistent over clip and an accurate representation of the entire population under survey is referred to as dependability and if the consequences of a survey can be reproduced under a similar methodological analysis, so the research instrument is considered to be reliablei ( Joppe: 2000: 1 ) . Rooted in this commendation is the thought of repeatability of consequences or observations. Although the research worker may be able to turn out the research instrument repeatability and internal consistence, and, hence dependability, the instrument itself may non be valid. To achieve methodological and answering triangulation in this research, the research worker used several schemes such as observation, interview, papers analysis, and questionnaire. Bush ( 2006 ) stated that look intoing requires triangulation, which means at the data-collection phase seeking farther grounds including speaking to others, analyzing paperss and detecting action. 3.7 Ethical Considerations Because action-research is carried out in real-world fortunes and involves near and unfastened communicating among the people involved, the research worker must pay close attending to ethical considerations in the behavior of his work. Confidentiality must be a given. Richard Winter ( 1996 ) lists a figure of rules which were respected throughout the survey: * iMake certain that the relevant individuals, commissions and governments have been consulted, and that the rules steering the work are accepted in progress by all. * All participants must be allowed to act upon the work, and the wants of those who do non wish to take part must be respected. * The development of the work must stay seeable and unfastened to suggestions from others. * Permission must be obtained before doing observations or analyzing paperss produced for other intents. * Descriptions of othersi work and points of position must be negotiated with those concerned before being published. * The research worker must accept duty for keeping confidentiality. * To this might be added several more points: * Decisions made about the way of the research and the likely results are corporate * Research workers are expressed about the nature of the research procedure from the beginning, including all personal prejudices and involvements * There is equal entree to information generated by the procedure for all participants * The outside research worker and the initial design squad must make a procedure that maximizes the chances for engagement of all participants. The research worker must besides guarantee that the research participants give their consent voluntarily. Additionally, this consent can be withdrawn at any clip ( TCPS2, 2011 ) . This is confirmed by Busher and James who province that ia cardinal rule for building ethical research is that of voluntarism by the participant when prosecuting with research ( Busher and James, 2007: 110 ) . Besides confidentiality will be achieved by keeping namelessness. Hart ( 2003 ) describes namelessness as mentioning to hiding the individuality of the participants in all paperss ensuing from the research. In carry oning interviews, ethical issues are one of the chief concerns. Ethical guidelines published the University of Leicester Code of Practice ( 2012, Online ) were used to steer the research procedure. Following these rules, the action-learning squad was assembled for this research. An enterprise was proposed to the section caput. From this proposal, the action-learning squad met and developed a formal undertaking proposal. The undertaking proposal was submitted to the Accelerated Transformation Program squad and was subsequently approved. The squad met once more and a undertaking program was elaborated in audience with everyone in the action-learning squad. A formal presentation about Action-learning was conducted and the action-learning squad elaborated land regulations to be followed for each action-learning set. The undermentioned action-learning rules and land regulations were charted and adopted: * Merely in a group where it is safe to unwrap ignorance, admit failing and ask for aid is it possible for the job proprietor to larn at sufficient deepness for him to develop as an person * Keep to external and internal clip boundaries to guarantee each individual has a just portion of the clip available. * Statements merely in response to inquiries ; anyone can inquire inquiries. * Merely one at a clip. Merely one individual at a clip is the issue holder, for that clip, the set members are at that place to listen and to enable. If the job proprietor is non acquiring the kind of aid that is needed, he should state so. * Team members have authorization to step in whenever he identifies larning chances. * Team members need to be able to seek out new ways of relating, cognizing that they will acquire constructive feedback and non be blamed for acquiring it incorrect. * Team members need to acquire over any impression of fight or ibetter thani impressions. * Bing a member is voluntary. Any members can elect to go forth the action-learning squad at any minute without accounts. Additionally, supervisors were informed that they could retreat from the interview at any clip and approved verbally at the terminal of the interview to their informations being used. By returning the questionnaire trainees and trainers gave understanding to utilize their informations. Finally, since the research participants have the right to stay anon. , all information solicited was treated with confidentiality and used for the intents of the thesis merely. The paperss provided by the participants were returned or shredded upon petition. Hart ( 2003 ) describes namelessness as mentioning to hiding the individuality of the participants in all paperss ensuing from the research. All participants were guaranteed that the information solicited was treated with maximal confidentiality. 4. Analysis The intent of this survey was twofold. One: to place the acquisition manners of company X trainees enrolled in the industrial proficient colleges and the instruction manners of the teachers. Two: to find if the usage of action-learning can alter the bringing of course of study from a teacher-centered theoretical account to a encephalon based learner-centered theoretical account. This chapter will explicate the analysis conducted to place the current learning-teaching manners, discourse how the information collected helped the action-learning squad place the job, and show how the usage of action-learning can be an efficient tool in altering Company X preparation design and bringing. 4.1 Finding 1 Based on the PALS trainers and trainees questionnaire, the research worker was able to specify the particular job the action-learning squad is seeking to turn to. The Principles of Adult Learning Scale ( PALS ) Conty ( 1983 ) was developed and validated for mensurating congruency between big instruction practicians ‘ existent discernible schoolroom behavior and their uttered belief in the collaborative teaching-learning manner. PALS, trainers and trainees versions, is self-administered, has 44 points, and can be completed in approximately 10 to 15 proceedingss ( Conti, 1990 ) . One-half of the points are worded positively, the others negatively and are arranged indiscriminately. The PALS questionnaires factor tonss are calculated by summing the value of the responses for each item/question in the factor. Then, the research worker compares each traineris factor mark values to their several agencies. Both groups were given a consent signifier. The PALS trainersi questionnaires were distributed to five trainers during spring of 2012. Engagement to the study was non compulsory. Surveies were collected and placed into an envelope which was sealed before the trainers. Data analysis was conducted before the schoolroom observations took topographic point. The PALS is interpreted as follows: If the mark is equal to or greater than each several mean, so this suggests that such factors are declarative of the traineris learning manner. Those tonss that are less than the average indicate possible countries for bettering a more learner-centered attack to learning. An person ‘s entire mark on the instrument is calculated by summing the value of each of the seven factors. Tonss between 0-145 indicate that the manner is iteacher-centered.i Tonss between 146-220 indicate that the manner is ilearner-centered.i The overall PALS mark can be broken down into seven factors as shown in Table 4.1. While the overall mark indicates the trainer ‘s general manner, the factor scores place specific elements that make up this manner. A high mark on each factor represents support of the construct implied in the factor, while a low mark indicates support of the opposite construct Table 4.1i Factor Score Valuess Factoring procedure Of the five trainers ‘ that responded to this study, all five of their tonss were below the average mark of 146 which indicated that they all prefer a instructor centered attack to instruction. 4.1.1 Trainees Questionnaire The 2nd aim of this study was to find the pupils larning penchants against the trainers learning penchants. The trainees from the same group of trainers participated in this survey. The pupils were given the questionnaire during one of the category Sessionss in the spring term of 2012. A treatment of larning manners and expressed instructions on how to finish the study preceded the distribution. Student engagement was voluntary, so merely completed studies were placed in an envelope. After all the studies had been collected, the envelope was sealed and taken by the research worker for analysis of the informations. The consequences were so analysed and compared with the Index of Learning Styles ( ILS ) formulated by Richard M. Felder and Linda K. Silverman as per the tabular array below. The Index of Learning Styles was created in 1991 by Richard M. Felder, a chemical technology professor at North Carolina State University, and Barbara A. Soloman, so the coordinator of reding for the N.C. State First-Year College. The four acquisition manner dimensions of the instrument were adapted from a theoretical account developed in 1987 by Dr. Felder and Dr. Linda K. Silverman, an educational psychologist so at the University of Denver. The first version of the instrument was administe