Monday, September 30, 2019

Effects of Romantic Relationships on Academic Performance and Family Relationship

Most teenagers have already experienced heving relationships. At this stage, they are easily attracted with their opposite sex. Let's first consider the emotion of love. Love makes people romance enjoy longer. It is believe that love is a very powerful emotion which makes it capable of bringing out the best and the worst in people. Emotion makes the person aberrantly happy or on the other hand lonely. But what makes this kind of emotion occur? Does this emotion makes the world go round? aving a full confident of every individual? makes them stronger? or Does it effect upon your surroundings like your academic activities and also the relationship of your own family? What is really love means? Based some Psychologists, they are hardly searching for a clear definition of what love really is. For them, it is described as a cognitive and social phenomenon, one that is closely linked with conscious affection or close. There are different definitions of love depending on what the person exp erienced. But one thing is for sure: falling in love can be the one of the most unexplainable feelings that a person can feel. Negative effects.. Studies * being in love with somebody has an effect in teenagers’ studies. It does occupy their minds. Students can't focus on the lecture because they keep on thinking about their boyfriend or girlfriend especially when they have a lover's quarrel. * Students being involved in a relationship spend most of their time texting and writing their partner's name during class time * It is hard for them to concentrate. Positive effects .. studies .. * Being inlove can have a positive effect in studies. It can serve as an inspiration to get a high grades because they are trying to make a good impression. * It can motivate student to do assignments and projects. * It can make a teenager to feel more bouncy, lively and more energetic. Parents †¦ * Parents have views in teenagers falling in love. They don’t want them to get involve to relationships. They are still immature and not capable of facing consequences that may happen. They are not aware to the possible difficulties which could lie ahead. * Parents need to be their for their teens at any time. At this stage, teenagers are being to curious about things and may become more distant to their family. They should have an epitome of understanding. They should maintain close relationship so that their teens will not be afraid of talking about some things that may have a great impact on them.

Digital Fortress Chapter 21

The American on Tokugen Numataka's private line sounded anxious. â€Å"Mr. Numataka-I only have a moment.† â€Å"Fine. I trust you have both pass-keys.† â€Å"There will be a small delay,† the American answered. â€Å"Unacceptable,† Numataka hissed. â€Å"You said I would have them by the end of today!† â€Å"There is one loose end.† â€Å"Is Tankado dead?† â€Å"Yes,† the voice said. â€Å"My man killed Mr. Tankado, but he failed to get the pass-key. Tankado gave it away before he died. To a tourist.† â€Å"Outrageous!† Numataka bellowed. â€Å"Then how can you promise me exclusive-â€Å" â€Å"Relax,† the American soothed. â€Å"You will have exclusive rights. That is my guarantee. As soon as the missing pass-key is found, Digital Fortress will be yours.† â€Å"But the pass-key could be copied!† â€Å"Anyone who has seen the key will be eliminated.† There was a long silence. Finally Numataka spoke. â€Å"Where is the key now?† â€Å"All you need to know is that it will be found.† â€Å"How can you be so certain?† â€Å"Because I am not the only one looking for it. American Intelligence has caught wind of the missing key. For obvious reasons they would like to prevent the release of Digital Fortress. They have sent a man to locate the key. His name is David Becker.† â€Å"How do you know this?† â€Å"That is irrelevant.† Numataka paused. â€Å"And if Mr. Becker locates the key?† â€Å"My man will take it from him.† â€Å"And after that?† â€Å"You needn't be concerned,† the American said coldly. â€Å"When Mr. Becker finds the key, he will be properly rewarded.†

Sunday, September 29, 2019

How Stressed Children Are in a Primary School Essay

The recent publication of a Cambridge research paper on high stress levels amongst UK primary school children made national headlines. It told parents of an uncomfortable truth that primary classrooms are not the places of fun and learning that typifies an idealistic notion of education in the UK. It spoke of stress, anxiety and worry in classrooms, where children show signs of distress due to high expectations, excessive workloads and having to shoulder unrealistic responsibilities. But just how accurate is this picture? Is it possible to expect young children to understand the complexities of the manifestations of stress and the inaccuracies of self-appraisal given possible low levels of emotional literacy? This paper explores how feasible it is to collect accurate data from children about their own stress and evaluates how such information can be collected. It concludes that there are a variety of ways of gaining information about stress from children, some better than others, but leaves no doubt that children can be ideal subjects for such research if the design and execution of the study is given due consideration. The world of primary education, it would seem, from anecdotal evidence from parents of primary school pupils, is not what it used to be. Clichà ©s such as ‘its not like it was in my days!’ or ‘school was much easier and more fun in the olden days!’ can often be heard echoing across parents groups in school  yards or in local supermarkets. But is school such a difficult place for children today? A recent paper, published by a Cambridge University research group would suggest that life in a primary school is not as stress free as most parents would want to assume. In order to help understand this uncomfortable notion, this paper will explore whether children are capable of giving accurate information about their stress levels and how this could be collected. Stress research is a well established field spanning eight decades, from Walter Cannon’s seminal work in 1927 on flight and flight, to Mark Kovacs’ recent paper on ‘Stress in the Workplace’, (Kovacs 2007). It fact it seems that there are very few areas of modern life that stress research has not touched upon. In relation to everyday activities, research covers stress at work (eg Kovacs 2007, McCarthy & Sheehan,1996), stress in the street (Brennan,1993), paradoxically there has been studies around stress in leisure activities (Noakes 1991) and crucially for this paper, stress in school environments (eg Williams & Gersch, 2004; Murray and Harrison, 2005 and the recently published Cambridge Primary Review paper 2007). The subject base for stress research has also been highly eclectic, ranging from stress in the elderly (Hodgson, Freedman &, Granger, 2004), to stress at birth and even stress levels in individuals not yet born, (Graham, Heim, Goodman, Miller and Nemeroff 1999). There is a case to be argued however, that very much like the Freudian theory of psychosexual development, there appears to be a relative ‘hiatus of interest’ in the levels of stress in children between the ages of 6 and 11. This crucial period of education covers the majority of Key Stage 1 and all of Key Stage 2 and it would seem to be a pivotal juncture in a child’s education. It is in this period that most children will be structuring their leaning patterns and assimilating vast amounts of knowledge in all areas of the school both academic and social. It could be considered somewhat remarkable therefore that there is relatively less stress research done in education at this age. It is particularly pertinent when we consider that this active period of learning is then brought to a close with the mandatory Key Stage 2 SAT papers. It is perhaps this singular event that indicates, for most pupils, their rights of passage into the world of secondary education where structured exams and revision regimes are rife. So why is it that research during this ‘Latency Period’ (Freud 1905d) of a child’s educational  development is so under represented? It could be because it now appears to be a relatively settled period in a child’s educational life. It may be that in most areas of the UK, the predominantly two-tier education system has removed a major period of transition half way through this phase of schooling. This process of downsizing transitions eradicated a well defined cause of stress in pupils and exaggerated difficulties in coping (Rudduck.J, 2004; Lohaus. A, 2004). However could it also be argued that models of stress and theories for coping with traumatic events are not comprehensive enough to cover this very specific area of children’s development in such settings? It is important therefore to explore how adult models of stress address environmental and personal issues and whether these can be attributed to children in a primary classroom. Stress models for adults Modern stress research has placed itself firmly within the interactionist perspective characterized largely by Lazarus and Folkman (1984). Their model for the possible development of stress explores the essential thought processes that occur in any given situation and the judgments the individual makes in assessing their own ability to cope with the demands placed upon them at any one time. This ‘appraisal’ and subsequent stress levels are governed primarily by recollecting previous performances and the effectiveness of learned coping strategies in similar situations. It seems clear then that by using the interactionist model, there may be opportunities to provide greater opportunities to understand children’s stress in the classroom. In order to fully explore this area, it seems pertinent to start by delving into specific models of stress that add to our knowledge about its development in adults and explore whether these could be used with children in a primary s chool environment. One such model that may be relevant to this paper was developed by Palmer, Cooper and Thomas (2001) who looked at stress in the workplace. This model proposes that there are six contributors to the development and/or the management of stress levels in and around most places of work. These mitigating factors include work/environmental demands, support, change and the worker’s role within the ‘company’ (see below). It would seem on first inspection that this is truly an adult model of stress as it is located in adult world of work. However as  there do not appear to be any established or substantial research as yet, to determine the difference between ‘work’ being in an office, a factory or a shop and ‘work’ as in a classroom, it could be argued that if the ‘classroom’ was seen as a workplace and pupils considered ‘employees’, Palmer et al’s model does have some relevance. Below is Palmer et al’s mo del as published in the ‘Health Education Journal’ 2001. Figure 1: Palmer, Cooper and Thomas’s model of stress in the work place (2001) A Stress model for children? Using the key structure of this model, it is possible to transpose details into a new representation that may be appropriate to help explore stress in children in a school situation. This process of transformation can largely be done by ‘translating’ words and terminology used in the flowchart above into words relevant and applicable to similar aspects of a school environment. A typical example of this would be that the reference to ‘employees’ would need to read ‘pupils’. Perhaps the more difficult aspect of this translation relates to its exploration of ‘negative outcomes’. It is clear that increased and sustained stress levels in children is less likely to lead to coronary heart disease or RSI in the short term than it would in adults, so perhaps more pertinent aspects of this section of the model would relate to an escalation in poor behaviours or higher absenteeism. Table 1 below shows a complete translation of Palmer et alâ₠¬â„¢s terminology using this ideology. Once this translation of meaning has been established then it appears that this model does provide some insight into possible factors that may contribute to stress levels in children. Further exploration of Palmer, Cooper and Thomas’s model would establish how these factors would impact upon the individual and at the whole school level. Table 2 on page 7 shows how Palmer et al’s structure would apply to a school model. It seems clear that there is a probable link between stress levels of a child in the classroom and organisational dysfunctions in the structure of the classroom and possibly to aspects of the whole school. This new model also shows where possible stressors come from for the pupil and how this could be managed to alleviate higher levels of stress across a school environment. It could be argued that a central difficulty in attributing the interactionist perspective model of stress to children is flawed by the intrinsic tenet of the model. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) believe that the essential tool of stress appraisal is the ability to reflect on past experiences to determine the individual’s ability to cope with the current situation. How then, does this model apply to young children whose experiences are more limited than those of an adult? Does this lack of experience allow a young child the ability to accurately evaluate past experiences against past  performances? An example of this could be when pupils are required to complete the Key Stage 1 SAT papers. Even though teachers will have tried to prepare each pupil with several practices in answering unfamiliar maths and literacy booklets, the actual test is unfamiliar due to the heightened expectations of the day itself. How are pupils able to reflect on past experiences of this? Perhaps the best that can be achieved is the familiarity with the style of the test but not necessarily with the SAT day itself. If this is the case, when the interactionist perspective is extrapolated to Key Stage 2 SATs it is likely that a bad experience in the Key Stage 1 SAT papers will affect perceptions of performance during the SAT tests in Year 6. Using this model, it must be argued that in order to achieve better results in Key Stage 2 SATs, there is a case to be made to enhance the positive experiences of sitting formal tests at an earlier age. This could be achieved by either taking away the pressure to achieve in Year 2 or indeed use these tests and tasks to give the pupils positive experiences to build upon. It is likely that a bad experience in Year 2 increases the likelihood of future failures or anxieties. To facilitate this process the model outlined in table 2 above could be used to facilitate good practice, improve support mechanisms, strengthen positive relationships and encourage a greater ability to handle change. This may also have a positive impact on the pupils and the whole school in the long term. The adaptation of Palmer, Cooper and Thomas’s model will allow a school practitioner the opportunity to affect whole school social dynamics by focusing upon the ‘potential hazards’ and being pro -active in offsetting the negative impact they can have on a school environment. But how successful have primary schools been so far in this role? Stress in the classroom In October 2007 the Cambridge Primary Review explored life in a primary classroom from a child’s perspective. The process of data collection, which took place between January and March 2007, collected evidence from a whole range of professionals in the primary education sector as well as people drawn from the wider community. These subjects included children themselves, who are referred to as ‘witnesses’ in the paper. In total there were nine Community locations in different parts of England, culminating in a total of  87 witness sessions, attended by over 750 people. This is clearly an important piece of research that cuts across cultural boundaries and local government differences. It would seem that this research is an amalgamation of collective thought, however there may be some difficulties with interviewing subjects such as children which will be explored in greater detail below. However such research conclusions cannot go unnoticed for long and immediately after its publication in academic circles, their conclusions made national headlines. It was this research that spawned a raft of emotive headlines across all forms of media in the UK. Articles fronted by ‘Children ‘stressed and depressed’ and ‘Primary Cause for concern’ were used offering direct quotes about what causes children such stress, citing: â€Å"the gloomy tenor of ‘what you hear on the news’ or by a generalised fear of strangers, burglars and street violence.† ITN webpage – Friday 12th October 07:05 am Furthermore articles in the media were concluding that: ‘ †¦our young children are anxious, badly behaved, stressed, depressed and obsessed with the cult of celebrity’ Garner, 2007 page 1 These emotive and somewhat generalized media headlines, alongside the Cambridge’s research papers demonstrate that there appears to be a high level of stress and depression in primary classrooms, but there is also a lot of anxiety in the ‘media’ at the possibility of there being stress and depression in the classroom. These headlines echo Mays’ conclusions who observed in his paper in ‘Stresses in Children’ (1996): ‘ there is still much to frighten, to frustrate and to intimidate a growing child’ (page 41) But just how successful are research methods and models of stress in helping to clarify and explain possible sources of stress in the primary classroom? Is it possible to accurately measure stress in children given some of the constraints of data collection? Perhaps more importantly are children able to understand the complexity of stress responses and have sufficient levels of emotional literacy to be able to accurately describe whether they are stressed or not? It seems a foregone conclusion, in stress research, that the respondent themselves is able to understand what stress is and how it affects them and to be able to recognise when they are stressed or not in given circumstances. It seems that collecting stress data from children is fraught with implicit difficulties. However, this should not deter such research being completed; it means only that the data collected may need a greater level of analysis and more rigorous reflection to be able to make any real conclusions. Collecting Stress data from Children There are two key difficulties with any stress research, both of which are applicable when exploring stress in children. The first central problem is that there is an absence of a common definition of stress and this makes research difficult due to the amorphous nature of how stress can manifest itself in different individuals (Ramsden 2007a). The second, somewhat related difficulty is that the vocabulary used to describe stress is often used loosely or interchangeably. It is not uncommon to read in books and research papers subsequent paragraphs using terms such as stress, anxiety, and worry to describe similar aspects of this phenomenon. Furthermore there is a central need to take care when referring to stress in terms of how it would change a person’s demeanor and/ or thought patterns. Stress research refers to stress as both a definition and a symptom. This can be somewhat overcome by trying to establish key differences in terms of relating anxiety as a symptom of stress, in very much the same way as references are made to headaches, depression and irrational thought, all of which may be as a direct result of the stress a person is under. However some research is now suggesting that stress, anxiety and depression are indeed co-variants and the inter-relationship and synonymous presence of all of these problems  together may indeed be: ‘ the rule rather than the exception.’ Compass and Hammem (1996)pg 242 If this comorbidity of anxiety, depression and stress has such strong bonds, then trying to ascertain what the differences are between these manifestations may be an impossible task. If this is the case then the interactionist perspective may indeed be the significant filter that holds such research together. By taking the essence of the Lazarus and Folkman (1984) model, the reason why a person feels they can’t cope is of secondary importance to the fact that they feel they can’t cope with current demands. Furthermore if such feelings of helplessness are born out of, or are exacerbated by, depressive tendencies then this is irrelevant to the basic fact that the individual feels they can’t cope with demands and therefore will be stressed. This tenet must then hold true for stress research into children. It does not seem to matter why the child feels stressed, the fact that they do, means that they are! That is, provided that they understand what feeling stressed i s, which falls back to the central difficulty of how effectively can you measure a phenomenon such as stress within a child when a child may not understand the phenomenon themselves? However, this then leads onto another dilemma. If it can be demonstrated that the children at the centre of the research have obtained a sufficient level of emotional literacy to determine what being stressed feels like, then to collect stress data in children, a methodological choice between two specific models needs to be made. The first strategy for collecting data uses the principle underlined by Selye (1934) that stress is a biological response to the environment and therefore it is possible to use biometric measures such as blood pressure and galvanic skin responses An alternative model such as that proposed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) uses reflective self analysis to determine the individual’s ‘perception’ of their own stress. This second method can be collected in a number of ways but perhaps the most basic, but not necessarily the most simplistic, is either through questionnaires and/or interviewing the individual themselves. Before these qualitative methods are  discussed it is important to explore the more quantitative methods of data collection in children. Some of these discussion points can be found in Ramsden (2007b) which explores variations in data collection in greater detail, however it does not elucidate how they can be utilized with children and therefore it is worth touching on some of those points again but with specific reference for research with children. Biometric data collection in children If the argument is that children do not have the experiential capability to understand what stress is and the ability to describe accurately how they are feeling, or indeed able to recognise when they are stressed, then it seems plausible to assume that a more standardized, less subjective and fundamentally, a less reflective method of data collection is needed. In terms of stress research, the collection of such ‘clinical’ information must revolve around measuring biological responses rather than a child’s ability to tell the researcher when they are feeling stressed, and how this is different to when they are not feeling stressed. This biological method of data collection has its foundation in some of the earliest research into stress. Some of the very first experiments into the stress response were conducted by Hans Selye (1907-1982), an endocrinologist who conducted his work largely in the first half of the Twentieth Century. In his studies, he used biometric measurements from laboratory rats to determine the level of stress they were under. Selye, who was later given the accolade of the first person to define stress, referred to it as: † a non-specific (i.e. common) result of any demand on the body, whether the effect be mental or somatic† page 32 (Selye1936) His definition may well have some value here. If we take the stance that young children are indeed unable to identify accurately what stress is, then we should be measuring this ‘non-specific’ demand on the body in a purely biological way. It would seem plausible then that by observing children in a primary school throughout a typical day or week, and by taking regular  measurements, there may be a case to correlate variations in biological states at certain times of the day. Collecting data such as changes in blood pressure, pulse rates and sweating may give an insight into times when the body is under stress and when the child is calmer and more relaxed. This information could then be matched with events, observations and activities and correlated to show changes in responses to situations encountered. Using this method it should be relatively easy to find out whether participation in SAT tests or some other social situations, that blood pressure, pulse rates and GSR increase to reflect the physical, and by default, the emotional state of the child, and therefore conclude that this was or was not a stressful event for them. There may be a problem with this type of research however. Apart from some of the ethical difficulties, there is a crucial observation to be made. It could be argued that for children, the actual process of data collection may affect their stress levels. It could also be surmised that the actual method of data collection can be as stressful as the event in itself and therefore eradicate any impartiality in the result. There may be echoes here of the ‘Hawthorne effect’ (Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939). Although a concept that has been applied to business models, it is worth exploring a little here. First established by Elton Mayo, Fritz Roethlisberge r and William J. Dickson who saw it as: ‘a temporary change to behavior or performance in response to a change in the environmental conditions.’ Roethlisberger & Dickson (1939)., page14 This definition is a salient one in this discussion. It could be argued that even if the outline of a study was not described to children, and even if the children were not aware that they were being studied so closely, there would be a difference in their day because at somepoint some interactions are needed to measure changes to their physiological state. This would be even more prevalent if these changes were happening alongside other stresses such as SAT tests. It seems therefore that by measuring a response, as Shaver (1981) highlighted, evokes close links with the Hawthorne principles. ‘Almost no matter what experimental conditions were imposed†¦.the investigators had obviously influenced the subjects’ behavior merely by studying that behavior.’ Kelly Shaver p272 In order to measure stress in a primary classroom then, some continuous measurement needs to happen that can be compared to a baseline. This in itself could be problematic. For some children the basis of their stress and the source of their fears and anxieties may come from the school environment itself. If being in the school itself is a cause of high levels of stress, it would be very difficult to ascertain a baseline to measure relative changes to stress levels in the individual. Studies into autistic children in some school environments (Hiroshi 1991) show that for many individuals school can be one continuous bombardment of stressful events. Extensive studies into school phobia at the primary level (eg: Place, Hulsmeier, Davis and Taylor, 2002; King and Ollendick, 1989) also indicate that it would be very difficult to determine a relaxed state for a baseline. In order to address this quandary, one possible method of data collection would be to use a portable blood pressure (BP) kit for example that would pose less intrusive method that enables an individual’s BP to be taken automatically without the need to stop and prepare for the examination. But this in itself causes problems apart from the physical tightening process of blood pressure being taken, it also serves as a reminder that they are being observed. This could be offset however by having a period of acclimatization where the individual being measured would get used to such routines and this may normalize the influence of the measurements being taken. Studies using adults seem to suggest that repetetive BP monitoring does not interfere with the validity of the data (Georgiades, Lemne, De Faire, Lindvall, Fredrikson,1997; Steptoe and Cropley, 2000) but the evidence to suggest that this is the case in studies using children as subjects is not clear. In the absence of any certainlty as to whether collecting biometric data in children can provide reliable evidence, it is important to explore other ways of gathering primary data from children. Qualitative methods of data collection with children As discussed above, in order to collate qualitative evidence of stress in children, there needs to be a clear understanding of a child’s ability to know when they are feeling stressed as opposed to when they are feeling relaxed. Fortunately for the stress reasearcher in this field, there is now a plethora of commercial teaching materials available to schools on Emotional Health and Well-being. Furthermore with ‘Being Healthy’ formally on the national agenda through the Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes (eg Every Child Matters: Change for Children. DfES publication -1110-2004), the PSCHE curriculum in the primary school seems full of opportunities for even the youngest of children to explore their own emotions. It can be said therefore, that pupils in today’s primary schools are better equipped to discuss their emotional state than they have ever been. It seems fair to assume from this, that there only needs to be some basic ground work teaching to occur to give children the necessary vocabulary and a sense of introspection required to respond to stress-related questions and produce meaningful results. Nevertheless, even with this encouraging notion, it is important that the researcher does not lose sight of the influence they may have when trying to obtain children’s views. As with any socio-psychological research, and especially any involving children, ascertaining views on levels of stress or trying to clarify what causes stress does not lead to the adult influencing the responses or the conclusions the child makes about a given situation. This is of particular interest to stress research because of its important in the Lazarus and Folkman (1984) model of Cognitive Appraisal. It is vital, that that the child themself, determines whether a particular situation was stressful or not, rather than the adult implying to the child that it was. This effect is known as ‘Psychological Causality’ and is important in stress research with children. Herbert describes this phenomenon as: ‘†¦the tendency in young children to attribute a psychological motive as a cause of events’ Herbert page 23 (1996) Although Psychological Causality is not usually associated with stress research, it is important to bear in mind that it may be a factor when determining sources of stress in the primary classroom. Especially if this research is conducted in and around other stresses such as SATs, school performances or parents’ evenings. In order to clarify what these stresses are, further research into this field is needed and would help to clarify the influencing factors of data collection. The use of questionnaires One formal method of collecting quantitative information is the use of questionnaires. Perhaps their greatest strength is that it can provide a fair and rigorous structure to the questioning procedure. By handing out questionnaires to all the children, each child will have the opportunity to answer the same questions as everyone else. This rigidity also allows the researcher the ability to analyse statistically the evidence. The use of questionnaires for children is not uncommon and can provide a useful insight into many research areas. The use of a questionnaire as a method of collecting data from children is not without its difficulties however. The first point and perhaps the most salient is that formalising questions through prose has two basic problems. 1. Do the questions allow children the opportunity to give answers that are meaningful to the research question? 2. Will the wording of each question be interpreted by children in the way the researcher wanted them to be answered? Because of these two issues, It is very important therefore to focus on the wording of these questionnaires so that specific vocabulary such as stress, anxiety, worry and nervousness are not misconstrued by the reader and answered in different ways. It seems that once again a lack of a formal definition of stress hampers validity and structure in research design. It seems that compiling a flawless stress questionnaire is very difficult. Fife-Schaw (2000) takes this notion further: ‘Designing the perfect questionnaire is probably impossible’ Fife-Schaw pg159 Nevertheless, even with such limitations, a questionnaire may be useful in ascertaining information but will need some very careful planning. Bath and North East Somerset Council provide some helpful guidelines in their ‘Children in Need Handbook’ on principles for using forms and questionnnaires with children and young people. This information offers advice suggesting that some feedback about the results are done ‘†¦either immediately and/or at a later session’, but most importantly in the implementation of the questionnaire to: ‘Allow plenty of time’ Bath and North East Somerset Council ‘Children in Need Handbook’ (2007) page 47 Giving children enough time to read and process the questions raises a number of key issues, all of which may impact on the validity of the answers collected. Central to these difficulties is the child’s ability to reflect appropriately on their own changing emotional states and determine which events, if any, could be regarded as being under stress. It could be that this variance in what children understand about stress may invalidate results as it may be difficult to ascertain any consistency amongst the data. This could mean that some children need additional or supplementary support in answering the questions. If the questions need to be read out or explained to the child then this could influence how the child answers the question. An immediate concern to the researcher therefore, is whether the responses given reflect the child’s true feelings or ones that are dictated by the way the question is received? This difficulty in ascertaining consistency however may not be such a diffcult obstacle in collating data as it could be in other areas of research. Once again the Cognitive Appraisal model is able to lessen these problems. If the assumption is that all primary children have a ‘basic’ understanding of what stress is and how it affects them, then any reference  to feeling anxious, stressed and or upset in a particular sitaution is pertinent to their ‘assessment’ and therefore their perception of the situation. This data can then be used qualitatively by the use of any ‘thematic analysis’ technique to attribute feelings associated with the notion of stress, irrespective of the possible misuse of language by children. It seems that using markers or coding systems can help capture a variety of words used and still maintain an acceptable level of structure to the analysis of the data. The questionnaire may also need some modification in the format according to the child’s developmental stage (Sadock and Sadock 2000). Given all of these variables and constraints, perhaps the more flexible method of collecting data would be to talk to the children directly. Interviewing children Interviewing children needs careful handling. Chan highlights the difficulty children have when answering open ended questions such as ‘How did you feel ?† to unknown adults, indicating that many may respond with a passive response such as â€Å"I don’t know’, Chan (2005). Conversely in an interview scenario, Breakwell highlights the problem of ‘Acquiescence Response Bias’ (ARB) when asking children direct or closed questions such as ‘Did you feel stressed?’ She feels that the ARB often leads a child to say â€Å"Yes† to any question posed by an adult, irrespective of their own true feelings. Her advice however may not necessarily be helpful given Chan’s perspectives. Breakwell (2000) advises: ‘Questions should be posed so that they are not open to a yes – no response’. Page 245 How then can a researcher obtain collectable data on levels of stress in children that has some validity? The answer to this may be by looking closer to the research subjects. The age of the child is going to be important and can affect the structure of the interview. In some cases it may be necessary to have an adult in with the researcher who can be used for moral support but the choice of the adult needs very careful thought. The ‘Save the  Children’ organization issue a very clear message about the sensitivity needed when choosing this person. ‘Ensure that adults are out of the way – except for the translator and perhaps a project worker, teacher, or another adult that the child knows and trusts.’ Taken from Save the Children/ ‘Interviewing children’ (2007) accessed on the web 17.11.07 In some cases however, especially where children are older and more confident in their social interactions, it may be sufficient to interview the child on their own but in a less formal and more relaxed environment. Furthermore, whether adults are present or not, the interviewer should not limit themselves to interviewing and/or questioning by the use of words alone. By structuring the communications around other activities it may be possible to elicit emotional responses through activities such as play, drawings or model building Gabarino and Stott (1989). Whatever the technique used to interview children, and whatever the age or developmental stage they may be at, it seems the central responsibility of the researcher is to make the child feel at ease with the information-giving process. It should be a central skill of the researcher to design an environment where natural, or as close to natural, observations can be made. The research design should take into account where children feel at ease in giving information to adults. It is fortunate for many pedagogical researchers that school environments are constantly interloped by adults seeking answers to questions. It would seem common in most Primary Classrooms that professionals such as Ofsted, Educational Psychologists and Speech and Language Therapists are more of a visible part of the school environment than ever before. At least for research purposes, it seems that children are used to being observed by visitors in school in one capacity or another and where children’s voices are being sought over some issue on a regular basis. Conclusion It seems that those parental opinions voiced in the playground or in lines at the local supermarket echoing dismay that school is ‘not what it used to be’ are correct on one level. Primary school environments today are more attuned to assessments being made and where adults conducting observations are more commonplace. Classrooms are regular hosts to a whole variety of adults making some evaluative judgments on one issue or another. Children are required to prove themselves in one academic discipline or another at all ages and where children are given numerous and onerous responsibilities in and out of a school environment. Stress in our society is pervasive, it touches the lives of almost everyone and it would seem that age is no barrier to stress being present, even in the youngest of subjects. Therefore if we need to consider whether children are suitable subject for stress research, it would seem that there is no reason why a well structured, ethically sound study on stress levels amongst children could not be carried out in any primary school. Children, it would seem, are well equipped in the modern primary classroom to cope with the rigors of such scrutiny. References Bath and North East Somerset Social & Housing Services (2007) ,Children in Need Handbook, P.O. Box 3343,Bath.BA1 2ZH Breakwell.,G.M(2000) Interviewing. Taken from Breakwell.G.M, Hammond.S and Fife-Schaw, C Research Methods in Psychology. Sage Publications Brennan.E, (1993) Street Stress, Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 6, No. 0643. Cannon. W, (1929). Bodily changes in pain, hunger, fear, and rage. New York: Appleton. Chan, R. Interpersonal psychotherapy as a treatment model for depressed adolescents with chronic medical problems. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2005; 10: p88-101 Compass.E and Hammem.C.L,(1996). Child and Adolscent depression Covariation and Comorbidity in development Cited in Stress, Risk and Resilience in Children and Adolescents: Processes and Mechanisms, and Interventions edited by Haggerty.R.J; Sherrod.L.R,Garmezy.N, Rutter.M. Department for Education and Skills (2004) Every Child Matters: Change for Children DfES publication. Milton Keynes Fife-Schaw.C.(2000) Questionnaire Design Taken from Breakwell, Hammond and Fife-Schaw (2000) Research Methods in Psychology. SAGE Publications, London Freud, S.(1905). Three Essays on Sexuality and Other Writings.(1901-1905) Translated by James Strachey. London: The Hogarth Press, 1953. Frydenberg. E,(1999). Health, well-being and coping? What’s that got to do with education? Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 1-18 Garbarino.J and Stott.F.M,(1989). What Children Can Tell Us, San Francisco and London, Jossey-Bass Inc. Garner,R.(2007),. Stress in the Classroom, The Guardian. Friday 12th October 2007 p1 Georgiades A, Lemne. C ,De Faire.U , Lindvall.K, Fredrikson, M (1997) Stress-induced blood pressure measurements predict left ventricular mass over three years among borderline hypertensive men European Journal of Clinical Investigation 27 (9), 733–739. Graham Y. P, Heim. C, Goodman,S, H,. Miller,A.H & Nemeroff,C,B.(1999), The effects of neonatal stress on brain development: Implications for psychopathology, Development and Psychopathology 11: 545-565 Gore.S, Eckonrode.J,(1996) Context and process in research on risk and resilience. Cited in Stress, Risk and Resilience in Children and Adolescents: Processes and Mechanisms, and Interventions edited by Haggerty.R.J;Sherrod.L.R,Garmezy.N, Rutter.M. Herbert,.M (1996) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children. BPS Blackwell Publishers Hiroshi, K.(1991) School Refusal in Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, March, vol. 21, no. 1, p. 1-15 Hodgson N, Freedman VA, Granger DA,(2004). Biobehavioral correlates of relocation in the frail elderly: salivary cortisol, affect, and cognitive function. Journal of American Geriatrics Soc Vol:52 pp1856–62 Jackson.D,(2006). Playgroups as protective environments for refugee children at risk of trauma. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, vol. 31, no. 2, p. 1-5 King.N.J, and Ollendick.T.H, (1989) Children’s anxiety and phobic disorders in school settings: classification, assessment, and intervention issues. Review of Educational Research, Winter, vol. 59, no. 4, p. 431-470 Kovacs,M. Stress and Coping in the workplace.The Psychologist. Vol 20, No9 p548-550 Lazarus, R.S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal and Coping. New York: Guilford. Lohaus. A, (2004) School transition from elementary to secondary school: changes in psychological adjustment. Educational Psychology, vol. 24, no. 2, p. 161-173 Marr, N and Field T Bullycide: death at playtime, an expose of child suicide caused by bullying, Success Unlimited, 2001 Margalit, M; Kleitman.T,(2006) Mothers’ stress, resilience and early intervention European Journal of Special Needs Education, Volume 21, Issue 3 pages 269 – 283 McCarthy,L and Sheehan E (1996)Bullying: from backyard to boardroom, (Eds), Millennium Books Murray.E and Harrison.L, (2005). Children’s perspectives on their first year at school: introducing a new pictorial measure of school stress. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 111-127. Noakes, T.(1991), Lore of Running, Champaign, Illinois: Leisure Press Palmer S, Cooper C, Thomas K.(2001)Model of organisational stress for use within an occupational health education/promotion or wellbeing programme –a short communication. Health Education Journal;60(4):378-80. Place.M, Hulsmeier.J, Davis.S and Taylor.E, (2002). The Coping Mechanisms of Children with School Refusal. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, June, vol. 2, no. 2, p. 1-10. Ramsden, G (2007) Change as a possible contributor to stress levels in Educational Psychologists. Research paper submitted as part of doctorate at University of Sheffield Roethlisberger, F.J.; Dickson, W.J. (1939). Management and the Worker. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, New York Rudduck.J, (2004) Some neglected aspects of transfer and transition. Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, University of Manchester. The text is in the Education-line internet document collection at: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00003901.htm, pp. 10.accessed on 19.10.07 Sadock BJ & Sadock VA (2000)- Kaplan & Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, Lippincott Williams& Wilkins, New York Save the Children (2007) Interviewing Children taken from www.save thechildren.org.uk/en/docs / guidelines _interview_children.pdf accessed on 17.11.07 Selye, H: (1936). A Syndrome Produced by Diverse Nocuous Agents; Nature.Vol. 138, p 32-33 Shaver. K, (1981) Principles of Social Psychology, 2nd ed., Winthrop Publishers; Cambridge, MA. Steptoe A, Cropley M. (2000) Persistent high job demands and reactivity to mental stress predict future ambulatory blood pressure. Journal of Hypertension 18:5, 581-586 Varma,V.P (1973) Stresses in Children, University of London Press Ltd, London. Williams. M, Gersch.I, (2004) Teaching in mainstream and special schools: are the stresses similar or different? British Journal of Special Education, vol. 31, no. 3, p. 157-162

Books And Reading Essay

Topical Vocabulary 1. Categorisation: Children’s and adult’s books; travel books and biography; romantic and historical novels; thrillers; detective stories; science fiction/fantasy; non-fiction; pulp fiction. absorbing; adult; amusing; controversial; dense; depressing; delightful; dirty; disturbing; dull; fascinating; gripping; moralistic; obscene; outrageous; profound; whimsical; unputdownable. 2. Books and their parts: paperback and hardback; binding; cover; jacket; title; epigraph; preface; the contents list; fly leaf; bookplate; blurb; a beautifully printed book; a tome bound in leather; a book with dense print/ with loose pages. 3. Reading habits: to form a reading habit early in life; to read silently/incessantly/avidly/voratiously; to read curled up in chair; to read a child/oneself to sleep; to be lost/absorbed in a book; to devour books; to dip into/glance over/pore over/thumb through a book; to browse through newspapers and periodicals; to scan/ skim a magazine; an avid/alert/keen reader. 4. Library facilities: reading rooms and reference sections; the subject/author/title/on-line catalogue; the enquiry desk; computer assisted reference service; to borrow/renew/loan books; CDs and video tapes; rare books; to keep books that are overdue; books vulnerable to theft; to suspend one’s membership; to be banned from the library. I. Use the thematic vocabulary in answering the following questions: 1. Which books are you reading now? 2. Where is your favourite place to read? 3. Who is your favourite novelist? 4. Who is your favourite character? 5. Which contemporary author do you most admire? 6. Which is the first book you can recommend reading? 7. Which school text did you most enjoy? 8. What is your favourite children’s book? 9. Which book would you like to see filmed? 10. What is the most difficult book you have ever read? II. Work in groups. Find out about the last book each of your partners has read and make notes on these points: Author and title Type of book and what’s it about Reason for liking it Reason for recommending it to others III. Work in pairs. Choose the best alternative to complete these sentences: 1. Oliver Twist is a classic work of English †¦ . Literature non-fiction letters editions 2. The plot of the story was very exciting, but I didn’t find the †¦ . Persons people characters figurers 3. This book is a special edition for foreign readers, so there’s a(n) †¦ . Appendix glossary introduction preface table of contents 4. A novel is usually divided into several †¦ . Chapters units sections passages 5. If you need to find some information in a non-fiction book, look in the †¦ . Atlas blurb catalogue diary index review 6. Cambridge University Press is the †¦of the book you’re reading. Author editor printer publisher 7. A great novel has a good plot and a strong †¦ . Communication meaning message significance 8. The book was marvelously †¦ and it was a joy to read. Stylistic tedious well-written wonderful 9. Ernest Hemingway is one of my †¦ American writers. Best favourite ideal most popular 10. The thriller was so exciting that I couldn’t †¦ . Let it down look it up pick it up put it down 11. Even the †¦ characters in the book are really interesting. Less minor small tiny 12. I’d like to †¦ that book when you’ve read it. Borrow hire lend loan IV. In these sentences three alternatives are correct and two are wrong. Choose the best three alternatives for each: 1. The †¦ character in the book is called Oliver. Central main principal principle top 2. I enjoy her books because her style is so very †¦ . Dull entertaining readable tedious true-to-life 3. I found that the characters in the story were very †¦ . Amusing believable informative likeable thrilling 4. There were so many twists in the plot that I didn’t really think it was †¦ . Accurate authentic convincing realistic true-to-life 5. She doesn’t read any fiction because she prefers reading †¦ . Biographies short stories textbooks non-fiction science fiction 6. I can’t †¦ books like those – they just send me to sleep. Bear carry enjoy stand suffer V. Fill in the gaps in these sentences with suitable words: 1. You can borrow books from a †¦ or buy them from a †¦ . 2. A writer can also be called an †¦ . 3. I can’t afford to buy the book in hardback, so I’ll wait till it comes out in †¦ . 4. I can’t remember the †¦ of the book, but I know it had a yellow †¦ . 5. A book that tells somebody’s life story is called a †¦ . VI. Match each word in the column with the explanation: Ballad, biography, novel, drama, poem, fairy tale, poetry, story, rhyme, novelette a) a story in prose, long enough to fill in one or more volumes, about either imaginary or historical people; b) piece of creative writing in verse form, especially one expressing deep feeling or noble thought in beautiful language, composed with the desire to communicate an experience; c) simple song or poem, especially one that tells an old story; d) the art of a poet, poems; e) tale about fairies of imaginary origin; f) branch of literature dealing with the lives of persons; g) play for the theatre, radio or TV; h) verse for small children characterized by sameness of sound of the ending or two more words at the ends of lines of verse; i) short novel (story in prose); j) account of past or imaginary events. VII. Read the following extract and make with your groupmates the list of the books you would like to read while travelling: The Book- Bag Some people read for instruction, ad some for pleasure, but not a few read from habit. I belong to that company. Let us admit that reading is just a drug that we cannot get along without. Books are necessary to me and I never traveled far without enough reading matter. But when I am starting on a long journey the problem is really great. I have learnt my lesson. Once I fell ill in a small town in Java and had to stay in bed for three months. I came to the end of all the books I had brought with me and knowing no Dutch had to buy the schoolbooks from which intelligent Javanese, I suppose, got knowledge of French and German. So I read again after twenty-five years the plays of Goethe, the fables of La Fontaine and the tragedies of Racine. I have the greatest admiration for Racine, but I admit that to read his plays one after the other requires a certain effort in a person who is ill. Since then I have made a point of travelling with a large sack full of books for every possible occasion and every mood. There are books of all kinds. Volumes of verse, novels, philosophical works, critical studies (they say books about books are useless, but they certainly make very pleasant reading), biographies, history; there are books to read when you are ill and books to read when your brain want something to work at; there are books that you have always wanted to read but in the hurry of life at home have never found time to; there are books to read at sea; there are books for bad weather; there are books chosen solely for their length, which you take along when you have o travel light, and there are the books you can read when you can read nothing else. (from W. Somerset Maugham) VIII. See how many authors and titles you can match: For Whom the Bell Tolls Charlotte Bronte A Perfect Stranger Charles Dickens Airport Walter Scott Sister Carrie Dan Brown Tom Sawyer Daphne du Maurier Pride and Prejudice Arthur Hailey Martin Eden Danielle Steel Of Human Bondage Ernest Hemingway Alice in Wonderland Mark Twain Ivanhoe Lewis Carroll Rebecca Jack London David Copperfield Theodore Dreiser Jane Eyre Somerset Maugham The Da Vinci Code Iris Murdock Black Prince Jane Austen IX. Read the text and agree or disagree with the statements below: An English author once wrote: â€Å"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed or digested. † This quotation tells us how to read books of different kinds. Most travel books are to be tasted; it’s enough to dip into them and read bits here and there. If you are fond of crime stories (A. Christie, G. Simenon and the rest of modern favourites) you will read them quickly, you’ll â€Å"swallow† them. And then there are books that you’ll read slowly and carefully. If a book’s on an important subject, and a subject you’re interested in, you’ll want to chew and digest it. And you’ll want to weigh what the author says and consider his ideas and arguments. 1) Reading English fiction with a dictionary is very dull. 2) If the book is very exciting, you â€Å"swallow† it. 3) Nobody reads reference books for relaxation. 4) Reading thick science fiction books is tiring. 5) Very intelligent people don’t read detective stories. 6) Non-fiction books can’t be inspirational. 7) Travel books give you a lot of useful information. 8) Unfortunately many young people are not in the habit of reading poetry. 9) Great book-lovers never lend their books. 10) Lots of people buy books for their bright and beautiful jackets. 11) Bookcases and bookshelves are the best kind of decoration for a living-room. 12) It’s of no use collecting book issues of magazines and newspapers. X. Read the following passage and say if you agree with the author: Some people think that as more and more people have their TV-sets in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read a novel, when a play o television can tell you the same story with colour picture and action? Why read the biographies of famous men and women, when an hour-long television programme can tell you all that you want to know? Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers and magazines sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and entertainment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are published today as paperback books, which are reasonably cheap. A paperback novel, for example, is almost always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or theatre, and you can keep a book forever and read it many times. Books in the home are a wonderful source of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. Every home should have an atlas of the world, with large clear maps. It might be expensive, but a good encyclopedia is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. In addition, it is useful to have on your bookshelves other non-fiction books such as history books, science textbooks, cookery books, books about medicine and health, etc. It is equally important to have some fiction on your shelves, too. Then you can relax with a good story, or from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favourite poets. XI. Choose the best answer according to the information in the passage: 1. Which is easier to get the news from? a) newspaper b) the television 2. Which is usually quicker? a) to read a biography of a famous person b) to watch a TV programme about a famous person 3. Which is usually cheaper? a) a paperback b) an evening at the cinema 4. Which is usually cheaper? a) a paperback b) a hardcover book 5. Which is it most important to have in your home? a) non-fiction books, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias b) fiction, such as novels, short stories and books of poems c) a mixture of both: good non-fiction and your favourite fiction XII. Discuss the following questions with your partners: 1. Were your parents worried that you watched too much TV when you were younger? 2. Did you find TV more interesting than anything else when you were at school? 3. Programmes on what subject do you like most of all? 4. Can you learn all you want on TV? 5. Do you think you get more information from books or TV? 6. Is it easier for you to memorize facts watching TV or reading books? 7. What do you like more to read books or to watch TV? XIII. Different people enjoy reading for different reasons. You will read five people saying why they like reading novels. Which of them says that novels a) are good for improving language skills? b) make them forget their problems? c) add some adventure to their life? d) teach them how to act in certain situations? e) increase their knowledge of other cultures? Reading Novels Ricky: Oh, I love novels, especially if they have a good plot. I started reading them when I was 12, encouraged by my parents who were hoping I’d be a writer myself. As it happened, reading so much at an early age had an effect on my studies, my compositions were always very good! And I still read at least one novel a week. My own life isn’t terribly exciting, apart from my work, which is very interesting, nothing much happens. In the novels I read there’s always a lot going on, lots of thrilling events, and I can share in the experiences and problems of the characters. Ella: Well, I used to read only short stories. That changed when I moved to a new city and found myself in a job I didn’t really enjoy. I would get back home at about 5p. m. , make some supper and sit down to read a novel for the rest of the evening. Many of them are pretty unbelievable stories, and not particularly well-written. It’s not as if you can imagine yourself in any of those situations, but the thing is they take my mind off whatever’s worrying me. I’ve had long conversations about this with friends who think I should read better quality staff, but I know what I’m doing. Sally: Why I like reading novels? I remember as an adolescent, I used to read novels just so as to see how my favourite characters solved their problems. I thought I could then apply that to my own problems! And I’m not ashamed to say that’s still the case, that’s what I’m looking for in the novels I read, and that’s my reason for reading them. I always choose novels that are in a clear style, because I find complicated language difficult. And also I like the stories to be about countries and cultures I know well, because then I can understand the characters better. Tom: I think reading novels is helping me a great deal in my studies, and although I haven’t got much spare time, I always make a point of reading a couple of hours in the evening. I’m in my last year at secondary school, and frankly, reading novels is an excellent way of learning how people live in other countries, how they communicate with each other, what problems they have. That’s why I prefer novels with characters who are true to life, not the ones who have impossible adventures. I’m very lucky because my best friend also likes reading and we can often discuss what we’ve both read. Alex: I like reading novels because they help me develop the ability to write myself. I used to have real problems in producing a good piece of writing. It wasn’t that I lacked ideas, no, my teachers always said my compositions were interesting. But I couldn’t get my tenses right. That’s where reading novels helped. I don’t think you can learn much about other things from novels, because the situations are usually so unrealistic. Some people say that’s OK, if your life’s boring, you need the excitement of fiction. Well, my life’s exciting enough, so that’s not my problem. 1. Do you like to read novels? Why? 2. Do you think that reading makes a person intelligent? XIV. Comment on the following: 1. A house looks gloomy and joyless without books. 2. If the book is worth reading it is worth buying. 3. Books and friends should be few and good.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Reneging on a Promise Essay

Billy Tushoes recently received an offer to join the accounting firm of Tick and Check LLP. Billy would prefer to work for Foot and Balance LLP but has not received an offer from the firm the day before he must decide whether to accept the position at Tick and Check. Billy has a friend at Foot and Balance and is thinking about calling her to see if she can find out whether an offer is forthcoming. Question 1. Should Billy call his friend? Provide reasons why you think he should or should not. Is there any other action you suggest Billy take prior to deciding on the offer of Tick and Check? Why do you recommend that action? Billy should call his friend to ask how the recruiting process is going, but not specifically ask if he got the job offer or not. I believe that it will give him an unfair advantage than the other applicants because the other applicants are still waiting as well. I think that it’s reasonable to call to ask when he should be expecting a call from the Foot and Balance LLP, but not to ask if he got an offer from the firm. Part B Assume Billy calls his friend at Foot and Balance and she explains the delay is due to the recent merger of Vouch and Trace LLP with Foot and Balance. She tells Billy that the offer should be forthcoming. However, Billy gets nervous about the situation and decides to accept the offer of Tick and Check. A week later he receives a phone call from the partner at Foot and Balance who had promised to contact him about the firm’s offer. Billy is offered a position at Foot and Balance at the same salary as Tick and Check. He has one week to decide whether to accept that offer. Billy is not sure what to do. On one hand, he knows it’s wrong to accept an offer and then renege on it. On the other hand, Billy hasn’t signed a contract with Tick and Check and the offer with Foot and Balance is his clear preference because he has many friends at that firm. Questions 1. Do you think it is ever right to back out of a promise you gave to someone else? If so, under what circumstances? If not, why not? I don’t think breaking any promises is right to do but I think some promises are more important than others. I feel that people feel obligated to keep promises with certain people based on their importance. For example, a boss or a best friend, a person can feel obligated to keep their promises with those people instead of others who are not as significant. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨2. Identify the stakeholders and their interests in this case. The partner at Foot and Balance is definitely a stakeholder in this case because he is interested in Billy and wants to hire him. Billy is a stakeholder because of his interest in Foot and Balance LLP. And Tick and Check LLP is a stakeholder because they are interested in Billy as well. 3. Evaluate the alternative courses of action for Billy using ethical reasoning. What should Billy do? Why? I believe that Billy should stick with Tick and Check LLP. Billy already knows that he it is wrong to renege on a commitment. Even though he did not physically sign a contract, he did verbally accepted the offer. It would be unprofessional of him to accept the offer and then take it back a day later just because he got an offer from Foot and Balance. A verbal commitment is just as significant as signing the contract.

Human Rights Watch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Human Rights Watch - Essay Example The idea of human rights was developed and the rights and responsibilities of each individual were developed. As people gave their will over to governments, it became necessary for the government to have various responsibilities to protect the individual. This is how the rights of the individual were developed (Moehler 2008). In Asia, the code of Hammurabi is seen to be the earliest codification of human rights. It defined the rights and responsibilities of each individual. The code which included over two hundred clauses, also included such as issues as consumer protection in the form of outlining the responsibilities of builders to their customers. For instance, if a builder built a home for a customer and the home collapsed on the owner in a specific period of time, the builder would be sentenced to death. In Europe, the dawn of human rights can be seen as having started with the signing of the Magna Carter in the year. This was provoked by the acts of King John which led to many people, including the church and other sources of authorities being unhappy with the way King John of England was trying to restructure the power structure and to give himself much power. The King was forced to sing the Magna Carter which among other things described some of the earliest codifications of human rights in Europe. These rights included the right of the church to operate without manipulation from the government and also some individual rights which must be protected by the state. The Human Rights Watch was founded in 1978 under the name of Helsinki Watch. Its scope of activities back then was narrowed mainly to watching the compliance of Russia to the Helsinki Accords. The idea was to watch, name and shame the abuse of power by governments with regard to human rights. Later, Americas Watch was founded in 1981 as a way to watch human rights violation in America with the rise of civil wars in the

Friday, September 27, 2019

Managing Products and Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Products and Services - Essay Example 100 million. Growing competition in the local hospitality sector, changing customer preferences and the rising importance of green practices were the primary reasons behind this decision to undertake an extensive of the entire hotel. The hotel remained closed for nearly 3 years and opened in 2007 after investing over ?220 million (an excess of ?120 million over the initial budget) in the renovation and replacement of its entire infrastructure (Schwab, 2010). All along, the emphasis on the part of Savoy’s management was to preserve the hotel’s identity, elegance and its old-fashioned glory. Notable features such as the statue of Peter II or the American bar were retained although having undergone extensive makeovers and improvements. In simple words, Spenceley (2008) terms the restoration project implemented by Savoy can be termed as an elaborate improvement. A lot has been written about the green makeover that the hotel underwent during this phase. While the identity of Savoy as a luxury hotel or a place of extravagance does not require any introduction, the question does arise over just how green the hotel has become. The resulting strategies that the hotel’s management has adopted to market and promote its efforts towards environmental safety and customer satisfaction present an interesting situation with the reopening of the hotel. This paper describes an analysis that begins with an analysis of the key internal and external factors that influences the strategic decisions of the Savoy Hotel. The effectiveness with which the hotel has positioned itself in the market post-renovation and the steps taken to maintain and improve customer satisfaction are discussed thereafter. Key macro and micro factors influencing Savoy Hotel The effects of global warming and climate change are being felt the world over. Travelers and customers are increasingly aware of this growing problem and are becoming more active towards reducing their carbon footprint . Renewed needs from customers for green solutions and practices and rising costs associated with conventional methods of operation have prompted some much needed change on the part of the hospitality sector in the UK. The restoration of the Savoy hotel that commenced in 2007 was mainly driven by these considerations and the need to adopt a greener image (Peeters, 2010). Another factor that prompted the Savoy hotel to undergo the expensive renovation was the constantly rising costs as the hotel had previously not considered long-term savings through cheaper, greener solutions (Roth, 2011). The latest renovation and reopening of the hotel in 2010 has also led to the question of how much farther the hotel must go in order to become sustainable. Competition from rival hotels in implementing similar solutions to aid in environmental protection is another trend that facilitated a change in strategy on the part of Savoy hotel. Since 2006, the UK hospitality industry has witnessed a rapid surge in energy costs due to rising fuel prices (Horner, 2008). Prices for conventional fuels like gasoline and natural gas have been on higher over previous years. The ongoing tension in the Middle East and the resulting volatility in the markets have also contributed to this increase in fuel costs. Hotel chains like the Hilton International and the Grosvenor House Hotel have

Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Personal Statement Example Currently, I work as an administrative assistant at a non-profit organization. Despite the challenges I face bringing up my three children, I have excelled at my place of work. This opportunity has enabled me learn management operations of a non-profit organization through handling of communications for the management. I have also acquired skills on other business operations that ensure an organization’s success, including record keeping, book keeping and general office operations. In line with my careers goals, I now seek to rise to management level in a public organization. Pursuing Master of Public Administration would equip me with the necessary skills in management and operations, law and human resources management. John Jay College is my best choice because it would provide me with education in liberal arts and criminal justice, in addition to professional studies. This, according to John Jay College of Criminal Justice (n.d.), enables its students to transform ideas into leadership and social action. Additionally, the location of the college within the locality of my birth makes adaptation to the learning environment

Thursday, September 26, 2019

A5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

A5 - Essay Example There needs to be clear processes of setting up goals for the benefit of the partners. The inter-organizational systems need to be effective to facilitate the flow of information between the collaborating organizations. This essay is a critique of the enabling telecommunication and distributed connectivity technologies utilized by Microsoft and SAP in their collaboration. SAP is one of the principle providers of software for businesses, which are significant for improving the capacity of the business to be innovative for better service delivery to clients. It is the unending quest for better services that has made SAP to grow to the current status. The organization has been capable of establishing clients in more than 100 countries, which is an indicator of the success that the company has accomplished in less than 20 years. SMEs as well as organizations in the international market are major clients of SAP. On the other hand, Microsoft is a major computer software company that is distinguished globally for its significant software solutions. The paper describes the inter-organizational systems as well as a description of the organizations’ inter-organizational systems.  It also highlights how these systems are used to define and support the partnership, ranging from management considerations to specific telecommunication and networking archi tectures used to support the collaboration. Microsoft and SAP are two global companies have been successful in establishing a strong collaboration whereby each partner benefits from the association. The most significant collaboration between the two organizations is through Mendocino, which is a project whereby each organization contributes towards transformation of the manner in which clients are served by the employees involved in handling information. The project empowers the personnel involved in information handling in SAP to become more accurate and efficient. Microsoft designed the project with the aim of helping

Pregnancy before Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pregnancy before Marriage - Essay Example It is arguably true that sex is a basic human need that all desire to enjoy with someone they care whether married or not. From a spiritual point of view, Christianity teaches that sex is actually good. In fact, God recommends it (Got questions Web). There are teenagers who seek comfort in sexual relations when they feel incomplete and unappreciated. They engage in sexual relationships that in most cases lead to pregnancies long before they get married. Teens will like to control their lifestyles even when they are under parental care. Hence, when they feel that their parents are exerting too much control in their lives, they seek freedom, support, and affection outside the family. Indeed, they feel emotional security when they engage in sexual relationships with their partners. However, little parental monitoring also promotes premarital sex. Additionally, a parental belief that adolescent sex is appropriate and inevitable fosters premarital relations among the teens. Single parenth ood may also contribute to premarital sex (Focus on the family Web). The aftermath of this may lead to pregnancies and diseases. Additionally, some think it is fashionable to engage in sex before marriage because that is the general trend among the teens. Christians and other religions have done little in talking about sex with some avoiding the topic completely. Our cultures assume that there is no control over sex and thus sex has become common before marriage. Actually many Christians are not considering it as a sin. The present lifestyle promotes sexual relationships and pregnancies before marriage. Teens that are in alcohol and drug use are susceptible to premarital sex because they lose control... This essay stresses that sex is a basic human need that all desire to enjoy with someone they care whether married or not. From a spiritual point of view, Christianity teaches that sex is actually good. In fact, God recommends it. There are teenagers who seek comfort in sexual relations when they feel incomplete and unappreciated. They engage in sexual relationships that in most cases lead to pregnancies long before they get married. Teens will like to control their lifestyles even when they are under parental care. Hence, when they feel that their parents are exerting too much control in their lives, they seek freedom, support, and affection outside the family. Indeed, they feel emotional security when they engage in sexual relationships with their partners. This paper declares that christians and other religions have done little in talking about sex with some avoiding the topic completely. Our cultures assume that there is no control over sex and thus sex has become common before marriage. Actually many Christians are not considering it as a sin. The present lifestyle promotes sexual relationships and pregnancies before marriage. Teens that are in alcohol and drug use are susceptible to premarital sex because they lose control of their conscience and importance in life. The movies, the porn magazines, and the secular songs all predispose young people to premarital sex. Thus, teens who are their customers, are likely to buy their idea and start practicing sex before marriage.

Policy Memo - Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Policy Memo - Human Rights - Essay Example In addition, there is the reality of todays global terrorism where time sensitive information may be able to save thousands of lives. Torture falls under the umbrella of human rights that have had staunch philosophical support from the US government since its inception. The problem that faces the US is being able to stay true to the principles and ideals that the US stands for, while confronting an enemy that does not have the same level of respect for life, dignity, and human rights that the US does. Only by eliminating the use of torture and maintaining our credibility on the world stage, will the US be able to further its agenda of spreading democracy and protecting human rights around the world. Torture dates back to the days of antiquity and has been used regularly in wars to gain information from the enemy. Torture was used in ancient Mesopotamia, the Romans tortured Christ, and Aristotle advocated it as an effective means to extract information (Masci). Since the earliest recorded times torture has been used by churches, militaries, and law enforcement in an effort to get a confession. By the 18th century, enlightened thinking began to question the ethics of torture and humanitarian advocates called for the elimination of torture as a means to get a confession (Masci). Modern views on torture are generally the result of the foundations laid by the American Red Cross and the Geneva Conferences in 1863 and 1864 (Masci). While there has been a movement to reduce torture in the recent centuries, and its practice made more palatable, it still proliferates in many of the civilized countries around the world. Today, law enforcement, intelligence organizations, militaries, and governments in over 100 countries including the United States use torture (Masci). Its use has been banned by international common law, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Geneva Convention

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Ancient and Medieval Cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ancient and Medieval Cultures - Essay Example Also God spoke to man through dreams and visions in the book of Genesis. After the destruction that happened at the time of Noah, God promised himself that he will never bring similar destruction ever to mankind. God and man had a close, clear cut fellowship in the book of Genesis. Man and woman were very innocent when God created them. It is not given anywhere that they had any sexual feelings before committing sin. Sex came into picture only after man committed sin. Adam and Eve could realize their nakedness only after they committed sin. Man lost his naà ¯ve nature only when he displeased God. So the most important consequence of the sin committed by man was that he lost his innocent nature and sexual nature started appearing in him. When God created man, God gave him certain special blessings but woman was not given any special blessings like that. God created woman because man needed a perfect match for him. In short woman was created for the sake of man. Man got life out of the breath of God but woman was created from man. Also man was given the responsibility of taking care of Eden Garden. It was woman not man who committed sin first. Devil knew that it would be easy to influence woman than man. All these reveal the inferior nature of woman. Before committing sin Adam was found to be a complete man with all the blessings of god. God gave him many rights and made him the king of Eden. He had every right over nature and over all living and non-living beings of this world. He was given the responsibility of protecting Eden Garden. He was given full right over all resources of Eden garden. He was the master of the nature and everything it constitutes, and was not a mere part of it. God created everything for man only. He had more rights than the powerful angels who serve God. God punished Cain for killing his brother Abel, and Cain had to be a cursed fugitive roaming all

Management - employee compensation and organization Essay

Management - employee compensation and organization - Essay Example 232). A manager has to create a balance between these two types of rewards so that it recognizes the employee's motivation. The manager shall not choose it for them. Qn.2 What is the relationship between an employee's salary and his or her feeling of worth Explain your rationale from the viewpoints of an employee and a manager. How can managers create a balance between the two Total words: 250 An employee feels that salary fulfills his basic need and also gives him a feeling of higher esteem (Buelens et al., 2006, Pg. 177-179). An employee views salary as compensation to his skill sets, experience etc. Whereas, a manager, if he is responsible for the cost location, feels that salary is a cost on the organisation. A manager has to set out a balance in providing a salary structure which would mirror the worthiness in the minds of the employee, without jeopardizing the interest of the organisation. In reality, compensation is the one which satisfies the needs of an employee, and it is within its boundaries develops the employee's worthiness. Qn.3 What type of compensation component would you like to have through your employer that is not currently offered Explain your rationale.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Focusing on the Market Research Society (MRS), does its code of Essay

Focusing on the Market Research Society (MRS), does its code of conduct play an effective role in governing research in this country and so help protect vulnerable groups - Essay Example The key areas that MRS focuses in the protection of vulnerable people are consent and protection of personal data. In accordance with MRS code of conduct, researchers should ensure that participation in the researches is based on voluntary and informed consent. On the other hand, MRS always recognizes young people and children as vulnerable individuals. As such, consent from a parent or guardian is required before research. Researchers are advised not to involve minors in studies on products and topics which are prohibited for their age group (Sarstedt & Mooi, 2014). MRS has invested a lot of resources and time in ensuring that the business research sector appreciates and understands the data protection laws. MRS offers training programs, legal and standards briefings, and guidance to members of the research community. Additionally, MRS provides regional campaigns on the themes of data security and data protection. Although MRS recognizes the need to update the current laws because of advancing technology in the field, business should not overlook the current framework. When businesses have a clear understanding of the code of conduct in the research field, they can conduct and make decisions on data collection and use, with confidence that they meet the legal responsibilities. It is not only the businesses that benefit but also the vulnerable parties involved in the

Ethical Health Care Organization Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethical Health Care Organization - Case Study Example Again, I strongly believe that if I want my organization to be based on ethics than I have to lead and set an example for everyone. Unless, I am performing my duties based on ethics and values, I cannot expect others to do so. Setting up tone at the top level- For me to believe and wish that my employees should followed strong values and ethics; I have to lead the group. If I adhere to the highest standards of behavior, the rest of employees are more likely to follow suit. In building ethics from the onset- To ensure that the organization is built on strong foundation of ethics, I would like to communicate company's ethics and value and imbibe them in all the employees from the time they are hired. Providing safe channels for employees to report wrong doing- Unless employees are sure of privacy and confidentiality, they will be scared of stepping ahead and informing the management of any sort of wrong doing. I will have to make sure that the company has safe channels to report any kind of wrong doings or violations. Formed a year ago, EDS is a profit organization that aims to become a pioneer in providing health care services, which can be helpful to medical practices in improving their efficiency, maximize their revenue potential, and increase operational control. EDS provides back office services t... Providing safe channels for employees to report wrong doing- Unless employees are sure of privacy and confidentiality, they will be scared of stepping ahead and informing the management of any sort of wrong doing. I will have to make sure that the company has safe channels to report any kind of wrong doings or violations. Now few things about the Organization- EDS Formed a year ago, EDS is a profit organization that aims to become a pioneer in providing health care services, which can be helpful to medical practices in improving their efficiency, maximize their revenue potential, and increase operational control. EDS provides back office services to the medical practitioners all across the US from scheduling an appointment to processing the insurances. This helps the medical practices to focus on their real work- that is patient care. The company has a unique web based application- Synerios that provides an integrated set of tools for medical billing, collections, transcription, document management, electronic medical records, online medical supply purchasing, and business office staffing and health information exchange. The company's application- Synerios is based on the model that medical practices using this application do not need a big IT staff or a large upfront investment. Our staff takes care of the technology for clients. All that is required by clients is high-speed Internet access, computer, and a scanner to become a more efficient and profitable practice. The company even provides trainings to the client's staff on using the application efficiently and conveniently Plus EDS has 24 * 7 support staff to take care of

Monday, September 23, 2019

The laws regarding homicide are an unsatisfactory collection of rules Essay

The laws regarding homicide are an unsatisfactory collection of rules which are unclear and which do not set appropriate leve - Essay Example This paper’s aim is to point out some of the major problems and errors that is contained in the homicide law. The first section will be looking at the definition of the homicide and also some of the legislative areas that is covered under the homicide law. The second section will entirely deal with the defects and problems in the homicide law. The third area will briefly look at the legal framework of the said areas and the suggested statutory reforms that can be implemented on the homicide law in Britain. When looking at the word ‘homicide’ in this essay the terms of reference will be in reference to the relationship between the law of murder and the law relating to homicide especially on manslaughter. The definition of murder can be borrowed from classic definition of Sir Edward Coke in 1797: â€Å"Murder is when a man of a sound memory, and of the age of discretion, unlawfully killeth within any country of the realm any reasonable creature in rerum natura unde r the King’s peace, with malice aforethought, either expressed by the party or implied by law, so as the party wounded, or hurt, etc. die of the wound or hurt, etc. within a year and a day after the same.†2 For the purposes of convenience in this paper, the definition of homicide will imply the unlawful killing of a human being by another human being. Under homicide offences, murder is the most serious of all but its reform cannot be reflected upon seclusion without the inclusion from the other homicide offences. Under Actus Reus there are four ways in which it can be implemented. 1. UNLAWFUL KILLING When the killing is unlawful there are certain defences that will make the killing lawful for example in the case of self defence. Should the jury find the killing was under self defence; then the killing will be lawful. This will only be possible if the act or omission of the defendant is thought to be legal cause of the victim’s death. Therefore the causation in su ch a situation must be established. 2. HUMAN BEING Should the killing occur then it must be the killing of a human being who was living. 3. QUEEN'S PEACE This means that the killing of an enemy during the course of war, under the Queen’s peace, the killing will not be classified as murder. 4. DEATH WITHIN A YEAR AND A DAY The killing ought to have been committed within the year and a day for it to be placed under homicide in particular.3 1. MALICE AFORETHOUGHT The mens rea in case of murder is usually malice aforethought. R v Moloney [1985] AC 905 4 (a) Intention to kill When it comes to murder there is always a specific intention for this crime to be committed. The intention might vary accordingly for example in this context the intention might be direct intention or even oblique intention. The direct intention implies that the situation of the defendant desired death in the first place while under oblique intent it means that the death of the defendant was foreseen as not c ertain although the defendant did not desire the death. The most recent authority on intention is: R v Woollin (1998) The Times, July 23.5 (b) Intention to cause Grievous Bodily Harm (g.b.h) An intention to cause grievous bodily harm is evidenced when there is willingness for acceptance of a substantial risk that the victim in this case might actually die: R v Vickers [1957] 2 QB 664: 6 In England and Wales the law being used

Management Information Systems IP One Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management Information Systems IP One - Essay Example It enhances transparency, reliable and also ensures lower energy consumption. To manage information flow in smart grids, technology is required. There is need to establish network and switches for power management, sensor and monitoring gadgets to follow energy usage and supply trends. The grids should also require systems to supply consumers and suppliers of energy with usage data, communication systems to transmit data along the whole energy supply system as well as systems to run programmable devices when energy is cheaper. The most probable challenge that could hamper the development of smart grids is opposition by consumer advocates. Consumer advocates are out to stop smart grids if it increases energy cost for consumers who are unwilling or unable to pay to use Web portals. Their argument is that smart grids interfere with consumers’ right to use devices without revealing facts about their usage to others. The implementation of smart grids will ensure sustainability of e nergy supply through facilitation of uses of renewable energy sources (Friedrichs, 2011). I would want my house or community to be fitted with smart grids for many reasons. It is believed that smart grids enable smart decision-making on energy consumption. It reduces energy cost and pollution. Smart grids can also detect sources of power outages faster and precisely at individual house level, which will enable utilities to respond swiftly and efficiently to problems. It will allow households to generate their own power. CASE STUDY 2: Collaboration and Innovation at Procter & Gamble Procter & Gamble’s business strategy is to develop new brands and maintain brand recognition with distinct business innovation. Collaboration and innovation facilitate development of new ideas, which is crucial for product development and improvement of existing products to meet emerging market needs. Because the company’s business centers on brand creation and administration, it is crucial for the company to establish collaboration between researchers, marketers and administrators. Procter & Gamble focuses on consumer goods, which demand extensive research for better innovative approaches to develop new ideas. For a giant corporation like Procter & Gamble, identifying effective collaboration approaches is often an intimidating task. For this reason, the company has established information systems that promote effective collaboration and innovation to facilitate product development ideas. The collaboration technologies that the company is using include: e-mail: this is a presumable tool for communication that enables the sender to control information flow. Many people are accustomed to e-mails. Blogs: this collaboration method is open and permits any interested party to access its contents. It also enables interested users to comments on the blog contents. SharePoint: it enables to share bookmarks and tag content with descriptive phrases that feature in successive sear ches and enhance social networks of coworkers to enable them locate and share information effectively. InnovationNet: contain numerous search related documents (5 million) in digital format accessible through a browser gateway.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Why do Brand Extension Strategies Fail Literature review

Why do Brand Extension Strategies Fail - Literature review Example The strategy of brand extension is being used by the organisations in order to cope up with different challenging situations and overcome the competitive pressure in the industry. According to the Han (1998), the brand extension of strategy have been beneficial for the companies in the process of reaping additional benefits from the already established brand. The main reason or rationale behind the introduction of new product under the name of well known and established brand is to make sure that the customers and market is familiar with the brand and the new product category can capture market on the basis of the positive and main characteristics of the parent brand (Buil, Chernatony, and Hem, 2009). Different options available to the brand managers in the process of brand extension are: 1. Horizontal Extension: the horizontal extension is further divided into line extension and category extension. In the line extension a whole new product, within the same category as that of the pa rent brand, is introduced in order to target and capture a new and different segment of the market. On the other hand, in the category extension the same brand is extended into a whole new product category. ... IMPACT OF BRAND EXTENSION STRATEGY ON THE BRAND IMAGE AND BUSINESS: In order to make sure that the brand extension strategy proves to be beneficial and helpful for the organisation and increase the competitiveness of the organisation it is important to identify and understand the implications of the brand extension strategy on the brand image and overall business of the organisation (Serrao and Botelho, 2008). There are several factors which directly influence the impact of the brand extensions on the brand image. According to the research study of Martinez and Chernatony (2004), the perceived brand quality by the consumers and the attitudes and behaviours of the consumers towards the overall extension strategy have positive impact on the general brand image and product brand image. The research study also concluded that the fact that consumers are familiar and aware of the brand only have impact on the general brand image and have no impact on the product brand image. On the other h and the consumers’ perceived degree of fit between the parent brand and new brand only influence the product brand image. The research study of Martinez and Chernatony (2004), have created a difference between the general brand image and the product brand image. They have correctly identified the impact of the consumers attitudes on the general brand image and product brand image. However, their stance about the impact of familiarity and awareness on the GBI and PBI is somewhat shaky. If the customers are aware and familiar with the brand it will definitely affect the PBI also, because the customers will relate the product with the overall brand image and will associate same image with it. The research study by Park, McCarthy, and Milberg (1993), concluded that the

Personality Psychology Essay Example for Free

Personality Psychology Essay Everyday, we meet different kinds of people. It can be our friends, family or new acquaintances. Some of them we already know or even share a common trait. However, it is not always guaranteed that we understand them always. They may behave in this way today, but will be completely different tomorrow. Just as genes contribute to the uniqueness of each one of us, personality in every person is also distinct. Personality is defined as the entire mental organization of a human being at any stage of his development. It embraces every phase of human character: intellect, temperament, skill, morality, and every attitude that has been built up in the course of ones life (Warren Carmichael, 1930). With this concept in mind, we can say that personality is the essence of the human being. He reacts to any life circumstances with his own personality. Psychology regards this as an important factor in understanding people. Personality can work itself on what you are now and how will you be in the future. Research efforts have been expended through the years on how personality develops on one person. Studies on the different patterns of behavior, feelings and thoughts that make a person have been experimented. David and Larsen mentioned in their book that the fundamental components of personality are the following: (1) consistency, which means that people behave in a recognizable order; (2) psychological and physiological, aside from the works of the mind, personality is also governed by biological factors; (3) impact behaviors and actions, it does not only influence how a person respond, but also causes him to act in certain ways and; (4) multiple expressions, personality is embodied not only on one behavior. Given these complexities, it has become a basis of school of thoughts to theorize a person’s personality. Nevertheless, most researchers unite on the fact that personality lies on biological and social systems. Early psychology attributes personality as influence of biological factors. These are what to be known as Type Theories. It tells us that it depends on a person how he reacts on the external environment. One can be extroverted or introverted. Another type of personality theories are the Trait Theories. According to the American Psychiatric Association, traits are enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited in a wide range of social and personal contexts. Traits can be considered also as a big player in defining one’s personality. Overtime, researches on personality has evolved. Earlier, it directs its focus on the person itself, but later on, psychologists acknowledge that the environment the person plays with also dictate his disposition. A person’s personality can change depending on what he sees on other people, not only what he believes in himself. Behavioral and social cognitive theories comprise the contemporary theories on personality. Together with the evolution of personality research, personality tests were also developed. These are very useful nowadays to educational and working environments where people are subjected to diverse kinds of people and experiences. Understanding a person’s personality is an important indicator to teachers and bosses, since this will aid them in handling other people. Personalities of people continue to be a mystery to most of us. However, with how psychology evolves, we can now, if not all, pinpoint the factors that will let us understand how people behave. True enough, it is still a very interesting topic to look on to, given the challenges of the ever changing society. Bibliography Buss, D. M. , Larsen, R. J. (2006). Personality Psychology: Domains of Knowledge About Human Nature. New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages. Robins. (2002). Overview of the proceedings of the 2002 meeting of the association for research in personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 36(6), 539-540. Warren, H. C. , Carmichael, L. (1930). Elements of human psychology. Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin.