Current Climate and the Need for MTSS

Introduction/Current Climate and the Need for MTSS At this point in clip, pedagogues in our state are accountable for increasing pupil accomplishment more than they have at any old clip ( Guilfoyle, 2006 ) . Educators in America are confronted with increasing outlooks from national and province criterions along with an progressively diverse pupil base that challenge traditional manners of instruction and acquisition. In add-on to increasing criterions, answerability and a diverse pupil population, pedagogues are faced with behavioural issues that detract from quality schoolroom direction clip ( Public Agenda, 2004 ) . The research conducted by Public Agenda ( 2004 ) stated that â€Å"of the 725 center and high school instructors surveyed, 97 % confirmed that good subject and behaviour are necessary for a school to boom. The survey reported that â€Å"77 % of instructors felt that their instruction would be better if riotous behaviours did non necessitate so much of their time† ( Public Agenda, 2004 ) . Additionally, schools a re losing pupils in the passage between in-between school and high school with first-year academic rates on the diminution. Research from McIntosh and associates ( 2008 ) implied that Grade 9 academic public presentation was strongly connected to Rate 8 behavioural informations while â€Å"Grade 9 behaviour was predictable given Grade 8 academic performance† . Behavioral breaks in the schoolroom detract from direction clip, and that reduced clip finally affects academic public presentation. Logically, the clip that pupils miss finally antagonistic pupil advancement toward graduation, which increases high school dropout rates ( McIntosh, Flannery, Sugai, Braun, & A ; Cochrane, 2008 ) . Traditional manners of instruction that are more â€Å"reactive† than â€Å"proactive† no longer run into the demands of pupils, as schools face the conflict of increased examination and effort to non fall farther behind globally in faculty members. At Ottawa ( Kansas ) High School entirely, 91 out of the 174 pupils in the current eighth-grade category have been identified as necessitating extra academic intercession in respects to reading ( J. Blome, personal communicating, November 28, 2011 ) . Professionals who are used to learning in isolation are now being exposed to a more incorporate mentality in respects to information. Schmoker ( 2006 ) states that â€Å"Historically, schools have worked in silos where instructors provide direction independent from other professionals in the building.† These â€Å"silos† , in bend, traditionally cause pedagogues to group pupils with demands into wide â€Å"categories† such as particular instruction, gifted etc. ( Harlacher & A ; Siler, 2011 ) . However, by grouping pupils into wide classs, single demands of pupils can be glossed over by these wide generalisations. The current clime demands that pedagogues meet the demands of all pupils by developing proactive intercessions at a systematic degree, instead than being reactive and puting our pupils in wide groups that do non run into their single demands. The clip is now in respects to â€Å"supporting kids both academically and behaviorally in order to enable them to make their full potency ( Horner et. al. , 2005 ) . In order to accomplish that end, school territories are get downing to implement â€Å"response-to-intervention† schemes, or in the province of Kansas, Multi-Tiered Systems ( MTSS ) of support. MTSS can be used district-wide, from Kindergarten to the 12Thursdayclass. For a focussed attempt, the undermentioned paper will specify and explicate the procedure of MTSS execution at the high school ( 9-12 ) degree with an accent in MTSS reading execution while supplying illustrations from Ottawa High School. Specifying MTSS, Its Purpose and Goals MTSS derives from a signifier of â€Å"Response-to-Intervention† ( RTI ) . Batche et al. , ( 2005 ) and Fuchs & A ; Fuchs ( 2006 ) province that â€Å"RTI refers to the pattern of supplying high-quality, multi-tier direction and intercessions matched to students’ demands, supervising pupil advancement often, and measuring informations on pupil advancement to find the demand for particular instruction support† ( as cited in Averill and Rinaldi, September, 2011 ) . Basically, MTSS provides a systematic attack to reading, math and behavioural intercessions by utilizing research-based direction to all pupils within a school. The Kansas Department of Education ( 2011 ) defines MTSS as â€Å"a coherent continuum of evidence-based, system broad patterns to back up a rapid response to academic and behavioural needs.† The theoretical account is non an accreditation plan ; instead, it is a school betterment system that sets out to supply bar, support and early inter cession for all pupils within a school and territory. It can be adapted to a assortment of school accreditation plans from Quality Performance Accreditation ( QPA to the North Central Accreditation ( NCA ) . The school betterment program acts as an â€Å"overarching model that guides schools through a procedure of demands assessment and determination devising that assists in non merely choosing effectual patterns, but besides in making a sustainable aligned system† ( Kansas Department of Education, 2011 ) . The end of MTSS is to guarantee that every kid can be successful utilizing the resources from schools ( Kansas Multi-Tier System of Supports, 2011 ) . School territories besides do non necessitate to supply extra resources or add-ons to current patterns, but instead it identifies bing plans within the school environment. From at that place, MTSS â€Å"practices to place those that yield grounds of effectivity, turn toing countries that are losing, and replacing uneffective or inefficient attacks with those that are supported by research† ( Kansas Department of Education, 2011 ) . The ends of MTSS are besides accomplished by the followers: being bar oriented to supply support every bit early as possible each school twelvemonth and providing said supports ; using evidence-based intercessions for all pupils ; and utilizing informations to measure advancement and devising alterations when needed ( Kansas Multi-Tier System of Supports, 2011 ) . Model of MTSS-Tiered Learning As mentioned, MTSS wants to guarantee success for all pupils by utilizing a assortment of schemes from within the school. In respects to academic and behavioural direction, MTSS provides â€Å"tiers† of aid for pupils. Tier 1 aid focal points on supplying criterions and evidenced-based direction to all pupils within the school ( Kansas Department of Education, 2011 ) . At Ottawa High School, the current program for academic focal point is reading intercession execution by the following school twelvemonth. The program is in its babyhood, but disposal and the MTSS squad has identified two chief constituents within reading: comprehension and vocabulary. For illustration, the squad is entertaining the thought of implementing a system-wide vocabulary scheme within the school: LINCS ( R. Cobbs, personal communicating, November 30, 2011 ) . The scheme uses ocular imagination, anterior cognition and key-word mnemotechnic devices to make survey cards to help pupils in vocabulary and co mprehension ( LINCS Vocabulary Strategy, 2011 ) . All schoolrooms utilize vocabulary in one signifier or the other and a consistent, systematic attack from all instructors can help all pupils within Ottawa High School to heighten vocabulary development ( R. Cobbs, personal communicating, November 30, 2011 ) . Tier 2 aid occurs when instructors come across the inquiry, â€Å"‘what are we prepared to make when they do non larn? ’† Essentially, pupils who are non run intoing success in Tier I intercessions are identified through advancement monitoring and referred to Tier 2 intercession. Tier 2 intercessions involve predetermined extra intercessions and schemes based off of the specific accomplishment sets that pupils need to accomplish ( Kansas Department of Education, 2011 ) . For illustration, if pupils are identified as holding troubles with phonic consciousness for reading, they are placed on Tier 2 intercession and will have extra day-to-day support to help them with that accomplishment. At the high school degree, pupils are to have an excess 30 proceedingss of nucleus direction in little homogenous groups. Groups sizes at Tier 2 pupils range from four-to-six pupils ( Kansas Multi-Tier System of Supports†¦Reading, 2011 ) . Ottawa High School plans on accommodat ing its logistics to suit the demands of MTSS Reading Implementation. The program is to implement a seven hr twenty-four hours with each hr at 53-minute increases. A 30-minute day-to-day intercession period will be implemented for Tier 2 intercessions. Teachers identified as adept instructors will be approached to help the school with these reading intercessions, irrespective of content ( R. Cobbs, personal communicating, November 30, 2011 ) . Finally, Tier 3 aid occurs when pupils need extra support beyond the aid of Tier 2 intercession. While Tier 2 intercessions have standard intercession protocols for specific demands for pupils, Tier 3 aid becomes even more individualised as â€Å"the student’s instructors, counsellor, and parents consistently determine the issues that need to be addressed for the student† ( Kansas Department of Education, 2011 ) . Group sizes in Tier 3 intercessions range from one-to-three pupils and include frequent advancement monitoring to go on to drive evidence-based direction ( R. Cobbs, personal communicating, November 30, 2011 ) . Execution of Reading Practices of MTSS at the High School Level As stated, MTSS does non a stiff, fixed clip construction for execution. School territories can set the clip frame harmonizing to territory single demands. The procedure for execution can take from two old ages up to four old ages and is non precisely â€Å"linear† as the rhythm is cyclical, with uninterrupted betterment with module and pupils ( Kansas Department of Education, 2011 ) . Fixsen et. Al. ( 2005 ) province phases of execution as the followers: geographic expedition and acceptance ( the consideration that alteration is needed along with possible intercessions ) ; plan installing ( placing specific schemes to be used and taking resources to utilize said patterns ) ; initial execution ( first utilizations of MTSS patterns by staff ) , full execution ( at this point, skilled usage of patterns are used ) ; and eventually, sustainability, which is the consistent skilled usage of patterns as a everyday portion of the school twenty-four hours ( as cited in Kansas Departmen t of Education, 2011 ) . Presently, Ottawa High School is in the latter phases of the exploration/adoption phase. The program is for the school to come in the plan installing phase by early 2nd semester ( J. Blome, personal communicating, November 29, 2011 ) . Based off of demands of the school through research ( MAPP Assessments, Kansas Reading Assessments, figure of Fs in the school ) , disposal at Ottawa High School has targeted reading execution as the initial phase of MTSS. School leaders chose following year’s incoming first-year category ( this year’s current 8th class category ) as the first category to have MTSS reading execution. Administration decided to utilize one category following twelvemonth ( the fresher category ) as a â€Å"pilot† to implement MTSS, larning from strengths of the betterment program and leting for accommodations in schemes, protocols etc. After following twelvemonth, disposal programs to implement MTSS reading intercession school broad at Ottawa High Sch ool. MTSS is traveling to be implemented at the simple and middle-school degrees as good ( R. Cobbs, personal communicating, November 30, 2011 ) . As mentioned, MTSS is a territory and school-wide enterprise ; hence, all pupils in a high school receive MTSS Tier1 direction. In order to place pupils for MTSS Tier 2 and 3 intercessions for classs 9-12, all pupils must foremost take a cosmopolitan screener. The cosmopolitan screener determines if pupils are reading at grade degree. Universal screeners that can be used for initial appraisal include the MAP, NWEA, GRADE assessments etc. From at that place, pupils who do non run into grade degree are so given a curriculum-based measuring ( CBM ) provides information about specific reading accomplishment sets ( phonic consciousness, comprehension, vocabulary etc. ) from pupils that need betterment. CBMs that can be used in schools include the DIBELS or AIMSweb measuring. Finally, diagnostic procedures and appraisals that include phonics awareness screeners, formal appraisals, and phonological consciousness screeners are used to prove the students’ accomplishments and cognition ( Kansas Multi-Tier System of Supports Required Practices, 2011 ) . Students receive the differentiated and single direction based off of the Tier schemes discussed before in this paper ( see â€Å"Framework of MTSS-Tiered Learning† ) . In its current geographic expedition and acceptance phase, Ottawa High School is be aftering on utilizing the MAP appraisal as the territory universal screener for pupils. The MAP appraisal determines the lexile or reading degree of pupils. The appraisal will be given to the first-year category at the beginning of the 2012-13 school twelvemonth. Students who do non run into the 9th class reading degree will be identified as necessitating Tier 2 or 3 intercession. Currently, disposal has isolated the AIMSweb as the CBM that is to be used as the advancement monitoring appraisal in the school. Administration is presently weighing options on direction possibilities for Tier 2 and 3 intercessions. As mentioned, the school is be aftering on utilizing the LINCS vocabulary as a school-wide vocabulary option ( R. Cobbs, personal communicating, November 30, 2011 ) . Students are non needfully â€Å"stuck† in Tiers in MTSS. The end of MTSS is to guarantee the academic and behavioural success of every pupil, and the intercession Sessionss are to be intensive, dynamic personal businesss to supply aid when needed. The end of Ottawa High School is to acquire pupils from Tier 3 to Tier 2 and theoretically Tier 1 degrees. The end for Tier 1 pupils is to acquire their peculiar accomplishment deficiencies back to the Tier 1 degree. Once pupils have reached Tier 1 degrees, the intercessions end, although follow-up cheques and appraisals can be used ( R. Cobbs, personal communicating, November 30, 2011 ) . Guaranting the Success of Multi-System of Supports As a systematic, school-wide betterment enterprise, MTSS should non be viewed as â€Å"another manner to place pupils for particular instruction or every bit merely another manner to place pupils for particular instruction or as one department’s responsibility† ( Harlacher & A ; Siler, 2011 ) . MTSS is a alteration in the manner pedagogues approach pupils and pupil acquisition. As antecedently stated, instructors are no longer isolated in their single â€Å"silos† in the MTSS theoretical account. The attack encourages faculty-wide aid and buy-in to guarantee its success. MTSS and other theoretical accounts of RTI â€Å"is viewed as a comprehensive, embedded procedure that involves the engagement and coaction of every individual in the building† ( Hughes & A ; Dexter, n.d. ) . Teachers can go progressively defeated or apathetic about MTSS and RTI if they merely go through the gestures and do non per se believe in the motion. Ikeda et. Al. ( 2007 ) province that â€Å"although some schools implemented patterns associated with RTI good, they did non incorporate the belief system associated with it.† Ultimately, the pedagogues must retrieve this chief mantra: pedagogues must retrieve what is best for the pupils. If the traditional manners of instruction and school betterment are non assisting our pupils win, pedagogues must set aside their comfort degrees and buy-in to the MTSS theoretical account if their territories decide to implement it. Harlacher and Siler ( 2011 ) province that â€Å"†¦part of the buy-in procedure should include an apprehension that extra support is provided earlier, is more targeted to students’ demand compared to old theoretical accounts of service bringing, and that the end of any intercession or instructional scheme is to rectify the identified problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Besides, MTSS and RTI are non â€Å"fixed models† as schools can accommodate the theoretical account contextually to run into their demands. The theoretical account does include extra attempt and work from instructors, but it does non necessitate instructors and territories to hold to develop extra resources in order to do it win. The intercessions and instructional schemes required with MTSS are provided by already bing resources within the territory. ( R. Cobbs, personal communicating, November 30, 2011 ) . For illustration, communicating between disposal and module can help pupils if there are structural alterations of MTSS reading execution within a school. Administration and module can place if group sizes need to be adjusted ; altering the frequence of progress-monitoring appraisals ; increasing instructional clip for Tier 2 or 3 degrees of support and altering the course of study ( Mercier Smith et. al. , 2009 ) . Finally, in order to make a sustainable clime of civilization for MTSS execution, important leading and a clear focal point of vision is required. The undermentioned non-negotiable points are required to farther guarantee success of MTSS: a territory leading squad if MTSS is territory driven ; active engagement of edifice decision makers in the territory leading squad ; members from the territory leading squad demand to hold authorization over territory direction and appraisals ; lucidity that MTSS is being implemented to help all pupils ; and execution of MTSS in all content countries must be supported by all school staff members ( Kansas Department of Education, 2011 ) . Decision Changing times in society require alteration in the educational system. For many pupils, traditional signifiers of instruction and traditional school betterment programs do non run into the demands of the diverse manners of acquisition of today’s pupils. If pupils are to truly â€Å"not be left behind† , they need a school betterment program that enables every kid to larn by placing the demands of each pupil. MTSS, through system-wide direction, intercession and aid, provides that single support that every pupil deserves in our schools today.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born into a pre-determined life. His father was a minister, so he was already set to become a minister. However, Emerson didn’t believe in organized religion. This was the reason that he became a transcendentalist and wrote his essay â€Å"Self Reliance†. In 1817, Emerson attended Harvard College where he first began to formulate his ideas that were portrayed in his most famous essay. In his essay, Emerson uses two main strategies to persuade his readers. These strategies were anecdotal stories and reasons supported by evidence. Throughout his essay, Emerson uses anecdotes as his main strategy for persuasion. For example, he tells an anecdote about when he was a child. When he was a child, he expressed his true beliefs to a close adult. When asked how he knows that his beliefs aren’t from the devil, Emerson responds by saying, â€Å"They do not seem to me to be such; but if I am the Devil’s child, I will live then from the Devil. † In this response he is saying even if his beliefs are from the Devil, it doesn’t matter. This is what he believes in and nothing can change that. This idea was Emerson’s main virtue that he lived by and wanted others to live by: trust thyself. Emerson’s anecdotes prove to be a very effective way to persuade his readers to believe in his ideas. The anecdotes in this essay are so effective because the reader is able to connect with him, and place themselves in his shoes. The anecdotes are also effective because they are a portal into Emerson’s life. Instead of just listing facts and statistics, Emerson chooses to tell stories about his life. This allows his readers to connect with him on a personal level and the readers develop a stronger emotional connection with Emerson. Another strategy that Emerson uses is reasons supported by evidence. This strategy is also effective because it gives the reader a reason why they should trust themselves, and then supports the reason with evidence to show why the reason is true. For example, he says that if people don’t trust themselves, then they will feel guilty and ashamed. This is the reason Emerson gives of why people need to trust themselves, and then he supports the reason with evidence by saying that it is a waste of time to want what thers want and â€Å"envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide†. He also says that to be truly happy, a man must accept himself for better and for worse. This evidence supports the reason that people should be happy with themselves the way they are. Emerson’s strategy of reasons supported by evidence is very effective because it gives the reader concrete evidence. The evidence supports the reason, and the reason supports the overall claim. The reasons and evidence are logical appeals which appeal to the reader’s good sense; this also makes the strategy effective. It is hard to argue when Emerson gives many concrete reasons to support his claim and then backs it up with even more evidence. Although Emerson’s essay â€Å"Self Reliance† has many good strategies and qualities, it also has some weaknesses. The essay is aimed at a small audience, educated white males. If he were to open the essay up to a broader audience, he would be able to spread his idea more effectively. For example if women were also targeted in the essay, then Emerson’s ideas would be spread to almost twice as many people. Another weakness in the essay is the overall claim. He says that people should trust themselves. This claim has no qualifiers; therefore Emerson is saying that people should trust themselves, always. This is not always true. Yet another weakness in the essay is that Emerson uses mostly anecdotal evidence. Although the anecdotes prove to be effective, the evidence inside of them is not all that concrete. The claims he makes in these anecdotes are not as strong as they could be if he had more of a variety of strategies to support his claims. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay â€Å"Self Reliance† tells its readers to trust themselves. He says that every heart vibrates to this iron string. Emerson uses many strategies in his essay; however the two main strategies are anecdotes and reasons supported by evidence. Both of these strategies prove to be very effective on the reader. The anecdotes allow the reader to connect with Emerson, and have strong emotional appeals on the reader. While the reasons supported by evidence apply the reader’s logic and give concrete examples that support his claim. â€Å"Self-Reliance† is a well written essay that persuades its readers to listen and trust themselves.

Company Represantative Resume Example Essay

This letter is to express my interest in bringing my expertise as an Educator and Counselor to your institution.   I possess strong communication skills and have a passion promoting a positive school environment. As you can gather from my attached resume, I have contributed to the personal and academic growth of Elementary students while working for the New York Department of Education.   I earned my Masters Degree in English as a Second Language and am currently pursuing my Masters Degree in School Counseling.   I believe in maintaining a professional demeanor and resolving conflicts in a diplomatic and courteous manner.   I am committed to helping students with disciplinary problems through utilizing effective classroom management techniques in cooperation with parents and school administrators. In addition to the skills noted on my attached resume, I can also offer your organization: An ability to analyze a complex problem and implement a practical solution. Superior presentation and interpersonal communication skills with effective writing skills. Self-motivated professional with experience in helping students attain their academic goals. Excellent analytical skills with an ability to develop comprehensive reports. It is my hope that my education and professional experience will convey to you that I have the qualifications to make a valuable contribution as a School Counselor at any institution.   Should you have any questions, I can be reached at the number listed above.

Problematical Aspects Encountered When Using The English Language Essay

Problematical Aspects Encountered When Using The English Language - Essay Example English grammar also recognizes the importance of the â€Å"aspect†, which is considered to be â€Å"a cover term for those properties of a sequence that constitute the temporal structure of the event denoted by the verb and its arguments† (ibid.). In his â€Å"Translating English Perfect Tenses into Arabic† study, Hassan A.H. Gadalla develops the idea of Kerstens, Ruys & Zwarts (1996–2001), that the English language contains four tense forms (past, present, future, future-in-the-past or conditional) and that for every one of these tenses there exist four â€Å"aspectual references† (simple, progressive, perfect and perfect progressive). Either one of the verbal tenses can, therefore, admit an aspect, in order to express a certain idea regarding the moment in which the presented action occurs. According to the previous definitions and ideas, the use of the English tenses and aspects is primarily influenced by the speaker’s intention regarding the framing of time that he wishes to offer to his communicational sentence. Furthermore, this essay will develop the appropriate theories and real situations in order to exemplify the usage of the English Perfect Tenses, in both English native communication and in translation. Considering these aspects regarding time value in an action and discussing the issues that may occur is vital for the appropriate transmission of the message, since English grammar offers a wide range of examples and situations in which the knowledge, and therefore the correct usage of aspects and tenses tends to have a great impact on the communication activity. Moreover, when translating from English to other languages, an adequate understanding of the linguistic phenomena such as transferring the modal aspects or perfect expressions into a language with different grammar and tenses usage probably is the most important part of the process.

Language and Literacy in Children Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Language and Literacy in Children - Assignment Example Children use different literate behaviours in different contexts based on the grounds of language. (2006a) Language is partitioned into syntax, phonology, semantics, and pragmatics, each with distinctive characteristics. The semantic system bears little resemblance to the structure of phonology or the rules of communication. The mapping of words onto representations of the world appears very different from the mapping of articulatory movements onto sounds or sounds onto written letters (Bialystok, 2001, p. 24). Moreover the systems appear at different times, starting with detection of the phonological and prosodic features of language and moving to adept, persuasive prose. Vocabulary and communicative skills change throughout the child life span, whereas command of the phonological and grammatical structure of one's native tongue rarely changes radically after middle childhood. (Amsel, 2002, p. 6) Language along with the context of learning is not purely a matter of speech. Gestures of the arms, hands and face also contribute meaningfully towards essential properties of learning. Language unfolds in predictable stages from infancy through early childhood, with production lagging behind perception and comprehension. The most important aspects of language and syntax emerge between the ages of two and four and seem to be governed by a sensitive period of growth. For many years, the development of theories about the way children learn to read and write was dominated by studies of English-speaking populations. As we have learned more about the way that children learn to read and write other scripts whether they have less regularity in their grapheme phoneme correspondences or do not make use of alphabetic symbols in all it has become clear that many of the difficulties that confront children learning to read and write English specifically are less evident, or even non-existent, in other populations. At the same time, some aspects of learning to read and write are very similar across scripts. When learning to read and write is examined from a unique cross-linguistic perspective, it is found that there are several ways to develop a child's skill towards learning reading and writing. (Light et al, 2000,p. 55) In this respect Japanese, Greek and the Scandinavian languages as well as English, demonstrates several ways showing how the processes of learning to read and spell are affected by the characteristics of the writing system that children are learning to master. Language and literacy starts just after the birth of a child, as this is the time when they start hearing and recognizing sounds. Very young infants cannot speak, but they are capable of perceiving aspects of speech long before they can produce them. One way to show this in a baby is to connect an artificial nipple to a tape recorder, so that every time the baby sucks a speech sound is played. The experiment shows the infants seem to enjoy sucking for sound almost as much as they enjoy sucking for milk. After hearing the same sound for a while, however the baby loses interest and the sucking rate drops. Thus he has actually learned the phenomenon of habituation, which

Social Psychologhy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Psychologhy - Essay Example as depicted by the signage of â€Å"Maps to U.S.A.† Cartoon #2 shows that the officials of U.S.A. government projects conflicting messages to people of Mexico. U.S.A. offers job to immigrants from Mexico but strictly enforces stoppage of illegal immigration. Thus, people from the other side of the fence assessed the government as having a disorder. Borderline personality disorder is described as â€Å"Socially more like the neurotic but they behave vocationally more like the schizophrenic.   Borderline patients act out in a variety of ways: Self destructive acts, destructive acts towards others, anti social behavior, such as drug and alcohol abuse† (Rosberg, 2006). The cartoon showed ironic remarks by one viewer asking if the representative of U.S.A. is demonstrating symptomatic behavior of a schizophrenic, but another remarked that he’s much more of exhibiting a Borderline Personality Disorder, which is manifested by his anti-social behavior towards others as demonstrated by the warnings against illegal immigration, yet offering job opportunities for non-U.S. citizens. Cartoon #3 shows the effort of a man to cross the Rio Grande to reach the American dream of securing a job. He even dodged the sight of an official patrolling the border just to be told that there’s no job available since most of the jobs are given to Mexico. The dominant theme found on the three (3) cartoons is the current social standing of the U.S. government in dealing with illegal immigration, more specifically among Mexicans who crosses the border. Mexico is currently experiencing lack of job opportunities and most of its people seek answer in adjoining country, specifically the U.S. However, the fence representing the border between the two adjoining country is a physical barrier that can easily be broken by persevering individuals who wishes to reach their American dream. But the U.S. government, despite campaigns of stopping

MANAGING INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ENVIRONMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MANAGING INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ENVIRONMENT - Essay Example The civil law system is based on a detailed set of legal codes and is adopted in many countries including Japan, France, Germany, among other countries. There is less flexibility in the application of the law because, unlike in the case of the common law system, the judge is limited to applying the provisions of the law as embodied in written codes. It must be noted, however, that the decisions of the courts form part of the jurisprudence of these countries and are also applied in the individual cases brought before the court. The Islamic law system is the most widely applied legal system of theocratic law in the world, and governs nearly all aspects of life in Islamic countries. Its application to business is most commonly known to be in the realm of lending where interest is considered illegal land outlawed by the Koran. The exporter must come to grips with evolving and designing contracts applicable to his commercial situation. Where common law prevails, contracts have to be very detailed with all contingencies spelled out because no written codes can be referenced. However, in civil law systems, contracts can be shorter because many issues covered in such contracts are already covered in the civil code. The exporter has to be sensitive to the differences of legal systems in countries where he exports his goods because in case of a contract dispute, the strength of his position in court can be affected depending on the legal system that obtains. Where international trade transactions result in a dispute, the question raised is always that of which countrys laws apply. For some countries the issue has been resolved with the establishment of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), which was adopted in 1980 by ll countries, including the United States, and took effect in 1988. The CISG establishes a

Business Cycle Properties and Marco Forecasting of the Australian Essay

Business Cycle Properties and Marco Forecasting of the Australian Economy - Essay Example Unemployment is a countercyclical variable but may also perform as a leading indicator of GDP. The prospects for Australia are encouraging. The country’s economy has sustained one of the longest, most progressive runs in the world as cited by the IMF, and despite the recent slump in housing prices, a slight rise in exports and relative weakness in the Australian dollar, the prospects appear encouraging for the country as its macroeconomic variables show stability even through the global economic crisis. Although interest rates had risen somewhat in the past, the government intends to continue lowering interest rates to encourage consumption spending, which according to this study will likely spur continued economic expansion. Introduction The health of the economy of any country is dependent upon the insightful and timely application of the appropriate economic policies by the governing authority. However, deciding on which policy to adopt and the manner in which it should be implemented are not easily discernible by mere intuition. Reliance on the measurement of certain macroeconomic variables is crucial to forecasting the possible directions the economy may take, whether the implemented policies are helpful in propelling the economy towards the desired goal, or whether they are detrimental to the economic welfare of the nation. This report provides a cursory examination of Australia’s macroeconomic variables and their behaviour, with the aim of determining their usefulness in providing insight into the future directions of the Australian economy, as well as their effectiveness as tools in discerning the appropriate economic policy to be adopted to ensure progress. Ten variables are specified consisting of productivity, investment, expenditure, and nominal variables, so as to determine their relationship to GDP as the measure of economic health and viability. During the course of the correlational studies, the nominal variables including broad mo ney supply, inflation, long-term and short-term interest rates, and currency exchange rates, were tested and found uncorrelated with GDP. As a modification of the original study by Fisher, Otto and Voss (1996), this study further sought to correlate the four aforementioned monetary variables with M3 in an attempt to determine whether or not they exerted any influence upon each other. It will be noted that interest rates and currency exchange rates were tools of monetary policy, while inflation rate is a vital price indicator, all of which are related in theory to money supply. The supporting graphs showing superimposed correlated variables are shown in the Appendices A to J, for both the quarter-to-quarter growth rates as well as the quarterly year-on-year (YOY) growth rates. Macroeconomic variables, their cyclicality and indicator properties Several macroeconomic and monetary variables exhibit cyclicalities as a result of their being correlated with the output. The following table shows the resulting correlational coefficients of each of the variables with their respective output. The first set of variables consists of monetary variables which are the subject of monetary policy employed by the government to control the money supply in the market, which in turn determines the inflation rate. Too much money chasing too few products usually results in accelerated

Development and classification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Development and classification - Essay Example Frist and foremost, the first factor that has served to shape the financial reporting of Italy is the availability of the capital to invest. On the same note, it is evident that the financial organization have drastically improved, in other words expands as compared to the earlier years. In addition, to that, the adoptions of the new ideas which have served to promote the business activities in the country have also served to boost the financial reporting. Apparently, this has served to improve the financial status of the country through the generation of income which has contributed to the shaping of the report. Moreover, the existence of good competent leaders has also played a huge role in the financial reporting in Italy. Essentially, these leaders were characterized by the type of policies that they championed which were mandated with the task of boosting the financial activity and consequently increase the revenue. In conclusion, it is evident that there are numerous factors that have contributed to the shaping and the growth of the financial report. To this end it is critical to study this factor in a bid to understand the financial and the business organization of

Variations on the Modern Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Variations on the Modern - Essay Example The aim of this study is to discuss different versions of modern architecture movements in Italy and Scandinavia in order to show how modern architecture responded to the political and cultural subtexts. Modern architecture was flourished later in both Italy and Scandinavia than Germany, Holland, France and Russia. William J. Curtis notes that Modernism's influence was slight in Scandinavia in the 1920s1 and it formed relatively late in Italy2. Furthermore, both Scandinavia and Italy brought their own interpretation to the â€Å"international style†. However, their similarities end here; since their political, cultural and also ecological conditions were extremely different. While modern architecture emerged in Fascist Italy ruled by a dictator, democratic welfare states prevailed in Scandinavia at that time; hence, there was a stark difference between the political climates of Italy and Scandinavia. Their cultures also differed; whereas nationalistic tendencies and nostalgia for the Roman heritage were predominant in Italy, communal values were strong in Scandinavia. In line with their differences, they both developed a different variation of Modernism. While Italian Modernism highlighted nationalism and magnanimous Roman heritage; Scandinavia adopted a modernism with a human face stressing organic and natural life. As a matter of fact, in Italy, modernism grew in two directions: Noveconto and Italian Rationalism. The Classical Novecento movement, represented by Giovanni Muzio, paved the way for the development of Italian Rationalism represented by â€Å"gruppo 7†3. Sebastian Larco, Guido, Frette, Carlo Enrico Raba, Adalberto, Luigi Figini, Gino Pollini and Guiseppe Terragni formed Gruppo 7 in 19264. Throughout the 1930's, both Novecento and Italian Rationalism coexisted as alternative variations of modernism. Although Novecento, originated in Milan, used modern technology of concrete construction, it was highly committed to the traditional Itali an house. Gio Ponti, the famous architect and editor of the magazine of the Italian house Domus, described Italian house as setting for Italian life as follows: â€Å"the place that we have chosen for enjoying our life†5. Ponti's description highlights the stark difference between Novecento and Le Corbusier's â€Å"international style†, since Le Corbusier defined the house as â€Å"a machine for living in†. While Ponti's approach stressed the organic and humanist aspect of the house, Le Corbusier's definition was more mechanistic. Furthermore the Novecento houses were more decorative and furnished in Italian taste, while â€Å"the international style† was against any ornaments. Indeed, modern Milan houses incorporated common features of traditional Italian chimneys and sundials6. Although Italian Rationalism could be regarded as more radical than Novecento and closer to the spirit of machine civilization, it was still â€Å"fully contextual as well, rela ting to historical Italian culture†7. Besides Italian culture, Italian Rationalism was also intertwined with Fascist nationalism. It was not just Italian Rationalists were ardent fascists, but their work also reflected the Fascist ideology; although The Italian Fascist Party's relation to Italian Rationalism was ambivalent. Giuseppe Terragni's Casa del Fascio could

The Term Mass Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Term Mass Culture - Essay Example Spread of Mass Culture Culture, particularly the mass culture, has spread rapidly with the passage of time. There was a time when there was little or no globalization in the world. Even the concept of national culture was non-existent in a vast majority of countries because of the fact that regional differences dominated. Within the same country, people belonging to different regions had possession of different kinds of regional resources. This gave rise to the development of subcultures in the same nation wherein people were classified into different communities with distinct values, norms, and principles. Regional culture was stronger than the national culture and the mass culture was non-existent. This was predominantly the time till the mid 19th century. The onset of industrial revolution brought a change in the trend and national culture started to gain dominance over the regional cultures. With the development of technology and the identification of new opportunities of employm ent and business, people developed acceptability towards external cultures. As technological trade amongst countries improved, consumers in different countries started using same products. This trend continued over the centuries. People from the underdeveloped countries started migrating towards the developed countries in large numbers in search of better opportunities of employment. The technological exchange was followed by the cultural integration and unification across nations. This happened since the start of the industrial revolution till the late 1900s. Then came the era of massive exchange of cultures; particularly the 21st century. While all kinds of technologies contributed towards the development of mass culture, one technology that played the most important role in the spread of mass culture was the Internet. Internet provided people with the opportunities to communicate with one another almost free of cost from different parts of the world. Many of the brick and mortar businesses also got transformed into virtual businesses because of the reduced costs and increased profitability of businesses. The development and introduction of the social media websites aided in the creation of a virtual self of their users. Today, a vast majority of the people all over the world have similar lifestyles in that they use same products, are the employees of same organizations irrespective of geographic variations, speak same languages, and understand and respect one another’s values. This is what has fundamentally promoted the mass culture. There is a very small percentage of people who have not merged into the mass culture. Mass Culture and Popular Culture People sometimes use mass culture and popular culture interchangeably. â€Å"The development of the idea of popular culture is linked to arguments about meaning and interpretation which predate but become strikingly evident in the debates over mass culture† (Strinati, 1995, p. 3). There is a very thin line of distinction between the mass culture and the popular culture. The popular culture is the totality of the norms, values, and perspectives of a given culture. â€Å"Popular culture is made from within and below, not imposed from without or above as mass cultural theorists would have it† (Fiske, 1991, p. 2). Mass culture can be considered popular culture in a vast majority of cases, though mass culture is not necessarily always popular,

Creons Downfall Essay Example for Free

Creons Downfall Essay It is clear that Creon’s tragic flaw was his pride, arrogance and beliefs of a leader that cause his downfall. His downfall began when he denied the burial of Polyneices and was firm when he condemned Antigone for her objection to his law. Creon represents the laws of the land and the divine ruler of society. He remains loyal in upholding his laws and trying to overpower the laws of the gods, until the end when he realizes that the divine laws are stronger than his own. His regards for the laws of the city cause him to abandon all other beliefs. He feels that all should obey the rules set forth by him, even if other beliefs, moral or religious, state otherwise. This is proven when he says, â€Å"As long as I am King, no traitor is going to be honored with the loyal man. But whoever shows by word and deed that he is on the side of the State-he shall have my respect while he is living and my reverence when he is dead† (pp. 40) This proves that no one should disobey his rules even if the people that he rules for thinks his morals are wrong. But no one wants to speak out or stand up to Creon because they all fear him and afraid to loose their life going against his words. Creon showed his stubbornness by not wanting to be proved wrong because of pride. He did not want to listen to the people of Thebes who tried to tell him that Antigone did the right thing, but for fear of him, they could not really say anything. Creon thought by making an example of Antigone’s execution, everybody would get scared and won’t try to break his laws. He abused his power by thinking that he can change or break the laws of the god’s and not allowing other people to break his laws. He did not want to burry Polyneices’ body, but one of the god’s law was that every human deserves to be buried after death not depending on what that certain person did in his lifetime. Creon caused fear among his people by making a public announcement that nobody is allowed to burry Polyneices. He said that the state of Thebes consists of only him, and that there are no other laws than his. The major actions that Creon took to cause the downfall of Thebes are that he did not want to burry Polyneices nor did allow any body to do it. He broke the burial law of the god’s and punished Antigone for following their laws. The people of Thebes knew that Creon made a mistake but still were too afraid to speak up. Antigone thought that she should get honored for that what she did, but Creon did not think that way. Conclusion The downfall of Thebes was caused by Creon’s stubbornness and abuse of power. He thought by being King he can do whatever he pleases and have everything going his way. Creon’s role as a King made him believe that he has the right to brake the laws of god’s and makeup his own. He caused the corruption of Thebes by trying to measure his powers with the powers of the god’s which Teiresias foreshadowed that it won’t have a good ending. References Antigone: Creon’s Flaws. Dec 2004.

How the economy was affected by the bubonic plague.

How the economy was affected by the bubonic plague. Medieval people called the catastrophe of the l4th century the Great Pestilence. The Black Death is the name later given to the epidemic of plague that took Europe by storm, between 1347andl35l (C. Warren Hollister). The Black Death is categorized into three specific types of plague: bubonic plague (infection in the lymph nodes, or buboes), pneumonic plague(the infection in the lungs),and septicemic plague(the infection in the blood and the most deadly of the three). Scientists and historians at the beginning of the 20th century assumed that the Black Death was an outbreak of the same diseases, caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis and spread by fleas with the help of Animals like the black rat. Once infected by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, Death could be very quick for the weaker victims. It is estimated that victims would die within three to seven days(Knox). However, this view has recently been questioned by some scientists and historians, (Kelly)and some researchers believe that the illness was, in fact, a viral hemorrhagic fever based on epidemiological interpretation of historical records of the spread of disease. (Lavelle) The plague affected every part of life. Depopulation and shortage of labor rushed changes already built into the rural economy; the substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social stratification became less rigid (Knox). Psychological illness affected the arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy gravely Reduced the churchs hold. [n less than four years the disease carved a path of death Through Asia, Italy, France, North Africa, Spain and Normandy, made its way over the Alps into Switzerland, and continued eastward into Hungary(C. Warren Hollister). After a small break, the plague continued crossing the channel into England, Scotland, and Ireland, and eventually made its way into the northern countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and even as far north as Greenland. In other words, the plague touched almost the entire known world. (C. Warren Hollister) So much death could not help but tear economic and social structures apart. Figures for the death toll vary widely by area and from source to source as new research and discoveries come to light. It killed an estimated 75-2OO million people in the l4th century (Philipkoski). Lack of peasants and laborers sent wages soaring, and the value of land took a serious downfall. For the first time in history the odds were against wealthy landlords as peasants and serfs gained more bargaining power. Without architects, masons and artisans, great cathedrals and castles remained unfinished for hundreds of years. Governments, lacking officials, floundered in their attempts to create order out of chaos.(Knox) Those that were still alive lost all sense of morality and justice, and a new attitude toward the church surfaced. Many saw the plague as a form of punishment from God. Medieval people could find no Divine reason for the four-year nightmare, and dissatisfaction with the church was the driving force to reform movements that, in the end, broke apart the amalgamation of the Catholic Church.(Knox) The middle l4th century was not a good time for Europe. The European economy was already seeing hardships. It was inching towards the limits of expansion, both on its frontiers and in regaining land from forest and swamp (Knox).The entry of the Mongols and the Ottomans caused confusion in trade routes, and certain areas of Europe were on the verge of depression. The Church was also in poor shape. The popes resided at Avignon, not at Rome, to the scandal of many. Blasphemy could be found in England and Bohemia and southern France, and the Church seemed unable to control it. (Kelly) The Holy Land had been lost in the 1290s and efforts to recover it had been Dismal failures. The Black Death intensified the strains of war and a tightened economy. (Knox) There is a relationship here, of course. The effects of the plague were made worse because of these other problems. And the problems themselves were redoubled because of the plague. The Jewish population was another problem. In multiple villages, the common people placed the blame on the Jewish community. Hundreds of Jews were accused of poisoning wells and put to the question, medieval code for torture, and burned. When the Black Death raged through the German lands between 1348 and 1352, over 300 Jewish communities were either destroyed or expelled from their homelands. (class lecture) There was a substantial change in Europes demography because of the Black Death. Birth rates were also at an all time low. The net result was that by 1400, Europes population was half what it had been in 1345. Many medieval church, census, and tax records that have survived show some accuracy of this. Europes population took about six generations to recover.(Knox) The cities were really affected by the plague. Financial business was disrupted as those who borrow died, their creditors have no one to pay them back. There was simply no one to collect from. Construction projects stopped for a time or were abandoned altogether. Guilds lost their craftsmen and could not replace them. There was no industry unaffected by the plague.(Knox) The most immediate effect of the plague here was the severe shortage in labor, consequently, wages rose. Because of the mortality, there was an oversupply of goods, and so prices dropped. As a result the standard of living rose for those still living. With the post-Plague labor shortage, many nobles tried to reverse the process in order to keep their land under cultivation and their income up. Free tenants were taking advantage of the labor shortage to demand better terms from their landlords and that the nobles were reluctant to see their incomes but the labor reduced. Governments tried to fix wages, shortage was irresistible. (The plague video) The Plague caused many peasants to demand a restructuring of society, often religious based. Democracy was in high demand and with it a limit of aristocratic rights and privileges. When ideas of democracy were dismissed, many commoners rose in rebellion. All of the rebellions were unsuccessful A land rent system, with the freedom of the peasants was organized. This system still exists in many parts of Europe, although the desire of peasants to own their land eventually led to migration to places like Russia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas centuries later. Never was there enough land, and dividing it among the sons soon led to economic situations that were left unattended to.(Lavelle) Governments also had to adapt. Land was abandoned, rents were not paid, and tax Revenue declined. This had a drastic effect on the war, as the wages of mercenary soldiers increased while available tax revenue decreased by more than 50 percent. There was fewer trained soldiers available and those that were still around wanted a lot more money or simply had better financial prospects doing something else.(C. Warren Hollister) As a result of the Plague, the French converted to a system of paid, professional, army, whereas the English had been there and done that for quite sometime. Smaller armies were a result of lower taxes. The world after the plague was one of with more opportunity for the creative and capable individuals. While the Black Death killed off medieval society, it gave birth to the beginnings of our own industrialized consumer society.

Dystocia in Sheep: Causes and Treatment

Dystocia in Sheep: Causes and Treatment Introduction: Dystocia in sheep means that they have difficulty giving birth. Dystocia is extremely common in sheep and causes the death of many lambs and ewes. A study conducted in New Zealand showed that dystocia accounted for 50% of deaths among new-born lambs. When lambing takes more than one hour after rupture of the foetal membranes it is classed as dystocia (D. Lunau, 2011). Obesity and lack of exercise during late pregnancy increase the chances of dystocia in sheep. Noticing and interfering with dystocia early will result in a satisfactory outcome for both ewe and the lamb. Yearling mothers are much more susceptible to problems than animals that have previously given birth. It was reported that more than 60% of dystocia was diagnosed in yearlings (Z. B. Ismail, 2016). Causes of Dystocia: There are many causes of dystocia. Dystocia in sheep can be caused by either maternal or foetal factors. The main causes include foetal postural abnormalities, incomplete dilation of the cervix and cervicovaginal prolapse. The foetal postural abnormalities include head deviation, forelimb flexion, breech presentation and dog sitting position. The main maternal cause was the failure of full cervical dilation (causes 30% of dystocia cases in sheep). Oversized foetus (large head, wide shoulders or just a large foetus in general) and narrow pelvis are huge factors related to dystocia. Common mistakes when dealing with dystocia include allowing the ewe to be in labour too long before intervening, trying to deliver a lamb that is in an abnormal position and applying too much force. If a ewe is in labour (i.e. Stage 2) for thirty-forty minutes with no progress, then intervention is advised. If they are in labour too long it can lead to a haemorrhage, shock, infection and a dead lamb. The bi rth canal of a sheep is very small. So it should be ensured that the lamb is positioned properly before it enters the birth canal, as it is very difficult to manipulate the position in the birth canal. Correcting the position of the lamb must be done so before trying to remove the lamb. The correct position of a lamb is the head and front legs coming first through the birth canal, right-side up. It should never be attempted to remove a lamb that is in an abnormal position. Many ewes die because of prolonged manipulation of lambs in the birth canal. It is emphasized by all veterinary professionals that extensive attempts at manual delivery of the foetus are associated with poorer outcomes in relation to the survival of both the ewe and the new-born. Excessive force can result in shock, haemorrhage, infection, fertility problems, and a prolapse of the vagina and uterus is also possible. The force used when assisting with the lambing process should be minimal. The cervix should never b e forced open! It will dilate as much as it can naturally. Causing extra unnecessary pain should be avoided. Basically, simple assistance should be provided if the assistance doesnt help make progress then a caesarean section must be performed. A delayed delivery can result in a dead lamb and an injured ewe (A.H.M. Ali, 2011). Dystocia shouldnt cause problems in the future however if the above mistakes are made then serious problems may be encountered. Caesarean Section: A caesarean section is performed on 1 in 5 ewes (L. Wilson, 2007). Early intervention for performing a caesarean section results in the delivery of live lambs and much healthier ewes. The most common complication after performing a caesarean is a retained placenta, which is more likely to occur in ewes that received prolonged assistance. Vaginal or uterine tears are common when surgical intervention was delayed. Surgery is done on the right side of the ewe. The reason behind this is that the uterus is easily accessible on the right side, it is right under the skin. If it was done on the left side, then the intestines and many other organs must be removed to get to the uterus. The ewe should be placed on some straw bedding in right lateral recumbency. The legs and head are tied to stop the ewe from moving. Sedation may or may not be administered to the ewe, to help with positioning of ewe for surgery. However, sedation is not advised if it is expected to deliver a live lamb because of possible severe cardiopulmonary and nervous depression. Most of the left side is clipped, the skin is scrubbed with some warm water and an iodine is applied, to ensure the area is as clean as possible. The line of incision is numbed with local anaesthetic (e.g. 1% lidocaine). The incision should be made vertically down the left paralumbar fossa or low flank and at 20cm in length. When making the incision, care s hould be taken to ensure the rumen wall isnt cut into. This is easily done as the muscle layers are very thin. The uterus is pulled externally, to prevent the spillage of foetal fluid into the abdominal cavity, and an incision is made along the greater curvature. It should start between the hooves of the foetus, to avoid cutting the foetus. A sterile scissors should be used to cut the uterus along the leg, starting from the incision made at the hooves. The amniotic fluid pours out of the uterus and the lamb is pulled out. The lamb is then passed on to an assistant. The assistant must swing the lamb upside down to clear the fluid from its nose. The lamb should be rubbed dry with a towel and their breathing should be stimulated. The uterus is then sutured using a double layer of suture pattern with a non-synthetic absorbable suture material. The abdominal cavity is washed out with sterile saline in case some amniotic fluid dripped in. The peritoneum and muscle layers are the closed us ing absorbable suture material in a simple continuous pattern. The skin is closed using non-absorbable sutures in a simple uninterrupted pattern and cleaned. Post-operative antibiotics (e.g. meloxicam or Flunixine meglumine) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are administered once the ewe is cleaned up and these must continue for 5 to 7 days. The skin sutures are removed within 10-14 days. (A. OBrien, 2015, Z.B. Ismail, 2016). Conclusion: It is obvious that timing is important when dealing with a case of dystocia. If a sheep is in labour too long, the outcome is usually a dead lamb and an extremely injured ewe, or possibly even a dead ewe also. Primiparous mothers are commonly diagnosed with dystocia, so extra care should be taken with these ewes when they start lambing. The survival of both the ewe and the lamb is hugely influenced by the time delay between the start of labour and the presentation for a caesarean section. Dystocia is a common problem but extra care should be taken to ensure other problems arent encountered when assisting the animal. Dystocia shouldnt affect the health of the sheep in the future. The main points to remember when dealing with dystocia is: use minimal force, never try to deliver a lamb in an abnormal position and never allow a ewe to be in labour for too long (30-40 minutes in Stage 2) before intervening.

Creating a Vending Machine with Lego Mindstorm :: Robotics

Creating a Vending Machine with Lego Mindstorm Abstract: Vending machines have come a long way, since their introduction to human society thousands of years ago. Although the basic concept of a vending machine has not changed, modern day technology has significantly enhanced them. Our vending machine is no different. Although our vending machine is not top of the line, it is also not such a bad one either. We started out with building the five main components of a vending machine: the dispenser, trough, selection device, and payment reader entirely out of LEGOs. We decided on a door like dispenser and buttons as a selection device. The payment we decided to accept were barcodes. The only component that was actually giving us trouble was the dispenser. Our first dispenser design was severely flawed. After coming up with a door like mechanism, the dispenser was easily fixed. Although we did prove our hypothesis to be correct, there are still many improvements that we could make such as improving the design to make it easier to maintain. Question: Is it possible to create an operational candy machine with only LEGOs? Purpose: To build a candy machine that is capable of:  · Reading a barcode  · Detecting if it is a fake or not  · Sending a signal to the other RCX to allow to user to: 1) Select the candy 2) While making sure that the machine remains stationary Background: The History of Counterfeiting the US Currency The counterfeiting of money is one of the oldest crimes in history. Therefore I needed to find out the ways I could use a LEGO RCX to recognize a correct bill and reject it if it is fake. The History: During the American Revolution, the British counterfeited U.S. currency in such large amounts that the Continental currency soon became worthless. "Not worth a Continental" became a popular expression that is still heard today. During the Civil War, one-third to one-half of the currency in circulation was counterfeit. At that time, approximately 1,600 state banks designed and printed their own bills. Each bill carried a different design, making it difficult to detect counterfeit bills from the 7,000 varieties of real bills. A national currency was adopted in 1862 to resolve the counterfeiting problem. However, the national currency was soon counterfeited and circulated so extensively that it became necessary to take enforcement measures. Therefore, on July 5, 1865, the United States Secret Service was established to suppress the wide-spread counterfeiting of this nation's currency. Although the counterfeiting of money was substantially suppressed after the establishment of the Secret Service, this crime still represents a potential danger to the Nation's economy.

Free Essays - Tale of Two Cities :: Tale Two Cities Essays

Tale of Two Cities The main purpose of this book is to show the contrasts between the peaceful city of London and the city of Paris, tearing itself apart in revolution. This is apparent in the very first line of the book, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." This is a contrast of the two cities, London, the tranquil home of Mr. Lorry and the Darnays'; and Paris, the center of a bloody revolution. The author shows gentleness in these violent times in the persons of Dr. and Lucie Mannette, both gentle and peaceful. He also characterizes the evil side of the revolution in the apathetic and depraved Misuser and Mademoiselle Defarge, who go about their business while death carts roll-- as do heads-- through the streets of Paris. He does though, depict a ray of light amongst all this evil; the heroic Carton, who gave his life for his friend and a woman he knew he would never have. The biggest contrast of all, is in the person of Misuser Darnay, the gentle English family man, who is also related to the evil Marquis Evremonde. I personally like stories that use historical events as backdrops because it brings these seemingly distant events closer to us. This book definitely offers insight into life in the two cities at the time of the French Revolution. I think it does an excellent job of depicting just how totally involved some people became in the revolution. It shows how people were blinded by the desire for freedom from their former oppressors, so much so, that they attacked anyone and anything that was even remotely related to their past rulers. I think this was effectively done by excellent characterization, using each character to depict a different aspect of society, then contrasting them by making them rivals. I really took away a different view of that time period. Some of the language he used was definitely outdated. The language was exactly what you would expect for a novel of that time period. I was able to follow the story pretty well, although there were a few times, in switching back and forth between cities, that I got a little lost Still on the whole I liked the way the story flowed. Unlike some stories of that time, there wasn't really any profanity or taking of God's name in vain, which is always good to see.

Spartan Women: Sarah B Pomery

A Critical Book Review: Spartan Women by: Sarah B. Pomeroy It goes without saying that during the time of Ancient Greeks, the lives of human beings and the things considered important vary greatly compared to those living today. More heavily centered on male-dominance and government, the land of Sparta was very different from its surrounding Greek counterparts. It was known for not only its great warriors, but also for its unusual treatment of women. By unusual, I don’t mean treatment of inequality or lack of superiority compared to men, because women were just as valued as men, if not more; for they bared the gift of life. Spartan Women† takes an inside look of the personal lives of Spartans, and in particular, Spartan women living during this era. From the very first moment a Spartan woman is born, her treatment was incomparable to that of other Greek women. She is valued, because she brings the gift of life. Throughout the book, Pomeroy examines the differences betwee n the lives of females paralleled to males. If we were to compare a female infant to a male infant born into Sparta, it was much more stressful to be a male. At birth, Spartans practiced infanticide on male infants, and deformed or weak babies would be thrown into a chasm on Mount Taygetos.This is a form of eugenics, according to Pomeroy, and it ensured a strong military for the state, by only allowing physically strong infants the gift of being reared. Although every male was entitled to owning land and receiving an education, they must first pass the physical test put on by the state that classified a physically fit male. Not all male babies were capable of being warriors, but as long as it didn’t have obvious deformities, it passed the test. Female babies were not scrutinized in the same fashion as males were, since their main objective wasn’t to be warriors.They were still valued, because even â€Å"weak† females could still grow into mothers of warriors. Pr ogressing further into childhood, males are taught from the very start how to become strong warriors, and females are taught how to become mothers of strong warriors. Because their state revolved around the physical superiority of their military, children are taught a variety of athletic skills. The training girls participated in was similar to boys, but less extreme. During puberty, girls participated in trials of strength that included racing, hurling the javelin, wrestling, and discus throwing.Girls were trained just as much as boys because it was believed that by having two parents that were physically healthy, the odds of producing even healthier offspring were greater. Along with training in sports, girls were also thoroughly educated. In other Greek states, women did not have nearly as much free time as Spartan women did. Since the men of Sparta began warrior training at age 7, girls started their education around the same time. They were cultured in the arts, in areas such a s dancing, singing, and playing instruments.Spartan women also were granted the privilege of becoming literate. They were said to write letters to their sons away at war. Although most Spartan women were married by the age of 18, some today would consider this rather young, other Greek women were married even younger. The sole duty in the society of Sparta for women was to grow up physically healthy, become educated, get married, and rear healthy children, in particular, healthy warriors. Newly married Spartan couples would not live together until they passed the age of 30, because it was believed that absence made the heart grow stronger.Stronger passions between each other resulted in a physically stronger child. Being a mother was the highest honor for women, and being a mother of a brave warrior was even better. Pomeroy states many activities and roles women played in Spartan society, but the main running theme is that they lived in the shadow of men. From birth, they were evalu ated and examined to determine if they’d be fit for motherhood. Growing up, they’re physically trained to rear strong children. They then are married at a young age, and produce children for the rest of their days.Granted, Spartan women had much more of a say on who they married and whether or not to bear children compared to other Greek women, but a women did not stand very high in society if she was not married to a man, or a mother. The author’s thesis is not clearly stated at first, but after reading a few chapters, it is easy to connect the running theme of motherhood. She consistently talks about girls striving to attract mates, and obtaining marital status in order to bear children. For example, when girls and boys practiced their sports together, the girls were said to have been promiscuous and flirty in hopes of grabbing the boys’ attention.Girls would participate in nude Olympics, so that potential partners could come and observe. After marriage , a girl is bedded with her husband the very first night; some would call a little eager to become pregnant. And throughout adulthood, a woman plays the sole role of a mother who rears strong children to play out the same pattern. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I have always taken an interest to Ancient Greek civilizations, and in particular, Sparta. The beginning of the book flowed pretty smoothly, until the author started to reference works that only ancient historians would be able to relate to.I am not fully familiar with the Spartan timeline or history, so when she referenced to certain wars, philosophers or works of poetry, I would just skim over those parts and keep reading. Before reading the book, I hoped to learn the social roles women played in Spartan society, as well as what went on in their personal lives. I feel that this was accomplished after reading, and I gained valuable insight on what it was like to be a woman during that time period. I found m yself talking to other people about the topics I was reading, because it blew me away how male-dominated their society was.Today, getting married and having children is only one of a million options a woman can choose to pursue. There are more things that I wish I could learn further, such as the thoughts and feelings of Spartan women. Although they portrayed a strong exterior similar to their male warrior counterparts, I wonder if deep down they were really unhappy with their status in society. This is not something that could possibly be easily figured out though, so I do not blame Pomeroy for excluding this kind of information. I have already recommended this book to others, and will continue to do so for those that are interested in Ancient Greek history.

Care of a Dying Patient

My own perceptions about quality of life and health promotion might affect my care for a dying patient with a lingering illness such as cancer because the patient and I may have a different definition or outlook on what quality of life means. To me this would mean making the best of what little time the patient has left to live. Most importantly is to keep the patient comfortable which may include positioning the patient in bed, giving a gentle massage and administering pain medications if necessary. It is also very important to provide the patient and the family with emotional support.It seems as Mrs. Thomas’s children are somewhat distant at her time of need because they are upset about her condition and probably in denial because they know what her outcome will be. It would play a very crucial part in improving the quality of life for Mrs. Thomas if her children and their families would come to visit her in person. I know that this will be difficult for the children to see their mother suffering but her family should play an important role in emotional support. I think a visit from her children and their families would really uplift her spirits.Mrs. Thomas does not want take any pain medication because she does not want to become addicted to it but it should be explained to Mrs. Thomas that since she is truly in pain she will not become addicted to it. By Mrs. Thomas taking the pain medication it would not only help control her pain but it would also make Mr. Thomas feel more at ease knowing that she is comfortable and not suffering. Mr. Thomas is depressed because of Mrs. Thomas’s condition and he is not managing it very well and this is making Mrs. Thomas very sad.I think that getting a behavioral health specialist involved and providing the family with counseling with also improve the quality of life for Mrs. Thomas. I think that it would put Mrs. Thomas’s mind at ease knowing that Mr. Thomas is dealing with his depression professiona lly. Talking about their feelings to a professional with also help both of them better understand and cope with Mrs. Thomas’s condition. According to American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA), holistic nursing is an â€Å"all nursing practice that has healing the whole person as its goal. A holistic nurse will not simply attempt to treat the physical symptoms of a disease or condition, but will consider the totality of the person being treated: mental, emotional, spiritual, social, cultural, relational, contextual and environmental aspects. Treating Mrs. Thomas holistically may not only help Mrs. Thomas but Mr. Thomas as well. As the community health nurse I would allow for Mr. Thomas to assist with Mrs. Thomas’s care when he is able to. At an institution where I once worked at offered â€Å"healing touch. During this time of healing touch the room would be made rather dark for calmness and comfort and soft calming music would be played. This is what I would recomm end starting with under my holistic care with Mrs. Thomas and Mr. Thomas may be present as well. During this time a light massage may also be preformed to assist with comforting Mrs. Thomas and hopefully assist with managing her pain. A way to assist Mrs. Thomas to optimize her functional ability would be to use range of motion (ROM) on her, which is when the nurse would mildly exercise her joints to minimize stiffness and Mr.Thomas may be taught how do range of motion as well. If Mrs. Thomas is not strong enough to walk to the bathroom I can assist in getting a bedside commode delivered to her home. I can also teach her how to transfer herself safely to the commode if she is strong enough or if she is unable to transfer herself I can also teach Mr. Thomas how to safely transfer herself and I could assist as well. As the community health nurse I could assist Mrs. Thomas with everyday care such as feeding, bathing and dressing herself. I would allow Mrs.Thomas to do as much as she ca n for herself. During the bed bath is a great time to apply lotion to her back and extremities and apply a gentle massage for comfort. I could also assist Mrs. Thomas with turning and positioning her in bed every 2 hours for comfort and to prevent skin breakdown. Mr. Thomas and I could assist her to complete feeding, bathing and dressing herself if she is unable to. Allowing her to perform as much tasks as she is able to will optimize her functional ability. According to Higuera, chronic depression can affect every aspect of a person’s life.The symptoms vary, but people with chronic depression often feel intense sadness and hopelessness. They have a negative outlook on life. As the community health nurse I could assist Mr. Thomas with his chronic depression by assisting him with getting in touch with a behavioral health specialist for one on one counseling. I could also assist Mr. Thomas with coming up with a medication plan that would work for him so that he can take his dep ression medications on a regular basis and hopefully not forget. I could also sit with Mr. Thomas and we could do some quiet relaxing breathing exercises together.I would also convince Mr. Thomas to take short and relaxing walks to clear his mind. I could also assist Mr. Thomas with checking with his employer to see if he could be relieved of some of his duties temporarily or take some time off from work. Although taking some time off from work may put a financial burden on their family but is may be best mentally and physically for both Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. One Mr. Thomas’s depression is managed appropriately then he can spend some quality time with Mrs. Thomas and enjoy just enjoy each other’s company.

Psychodynamic Theory and Person Centerd Counselling Essay

Counselling takes place when a counsellor sees a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty a client is having, distress they may be experiencing or perhaps their dissatisfaction with life, or loss of a sense of direction and purpose. It is always at the request of the client as no one can properly be ‘sent’ for counselling. (Counselling central) By listening the counsellor can begin to perceive the difficulties from the client’s point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, possibly from a different perspective. Counselling is a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion. It does not involve giving advice or directing a client to take a particular course of action. Counsellors do not judge or exploit their clients in any way. ’(Counselling central). The two main therpaies within counselling that I will focus on comparing on contrasting are person centerd counselling. PCT is a form of talk-psychotherapy  developed by  psychologist  Carl Rogers  in the 1940s and 1950s. The goal of PCT is to provide clients with an opportunity to develop a sense of self wherein they can realize how their attitudes, feelings and behavior are being negatively affected and make an effort to find their true positive potential  In this technique, therapists create a comfortable, non-judgmental  environment  by demonstrating  congruence  (genuineness),  empathy, and unconditional positive regard toward their clients while using a non-directive approach. This aids clients in finding their own solutions to their problems. Secondly Psychoanalysis  is a  psychological  and  psychotherapeutic  theory conceived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud’s colleagues and students, such as  Alfred Adler,  Carl Gustav Jung  and  Wilhelm Reich, and later by neo-Freudians such as  Erich Fromm,  Karen Horney,  Harry Stack Sullivan  and  Jacques Lacan. The basic tenets of psychoanalytic therapy include the following beside the inherited constitution of personality, a person’s development is determined by events in early childhood, human behaviour, experience, and cognition are largely determined by irrational drives, those drives are said to be largely  unconscious. This main aim of this assignment will be taking both person centred and psychoanalytic therapy and critically comparing them I will do this by giving an overview of the two therapies how they were developed, the principles they lie upon, what their relationships are based on. We will then look at how they are similar and also how they differ by looking at the skills used and how they work as therapies to come to both do the same thing which is to help a client overcome an issue in their life. Person centred therapy is based on the idea that humans have a drive to grow towards their potential and will act with the best interest to themselves, if they are provided the right atmosphere (Mcleod,2008). The direction of therapy is guided by the client with the support of the therapist. The client is always the expert on themselves if they are provided with the right atmosphere for self-actualisation to occur. The central component being the client knows best the client knows where it hurts the most. The counsellors main motive is to relate to the client in such a way that he or she can find there sense of self direction. Carl Rodgers was the founder of person centred therapy. The development stemmed from Rodgers experiences of being a client and working as a counsellor (casemore) Rodgers didn’t like the view of behaviourist that humans were organisms that react to stimuli and developed habits from learned experiences. Therefor in his work as a counsellor became increasingly uncomfortable with being â€Å"the expert† so began to develop a different view of what clients needed to experience in counselling, empathy congruence and unconditional positive regard. Rodgers proposed that human beings were always in the process of becoming rather than being in a fixed state. As humans we have the captivity to develop in a basically positive direction given the right conditions. That’s not to say that he thought people are not sometimes cruel or hurtful but every person has the tendencies towords strong positive direction. Rodgers proposed that when the conditions were growth promoting an individual could develop into a fully functioning person. Rodgers described his approach as a basic philosophy rather than a simple technique which empowers the individual and leads to personal and social transformation, grounded in empathic understanding being non-judgemental and congruent. For this reason the person centred approach is often seen as touchy feel relation and seen as soft skilled that lacks structure, sometimes said as a way of preparing the road for real therapy. However it does have a clear theory of self, the creation of distrees and the tehraputic process. It’s aims are transformational and asks the counsellor to be a human and transparent â€Å"be real†(langridge). Freud is regarded as the founder of modern psychology, developing psychoanalysis. The therapy is based on the idea that a great deal of the individual behavior are not within conscious control. Therefor the main emphasis is to help the client get to the deep root of the problem often thought, to stem from childhood. Based on the principle that childhood experiences effect our behavior as adults and effect out thinking processe, Freud belived that these thoughts and feelings can become repressed and may manifest themselves as depression or other negative symptoms. The client is able to reveal unconscious thought by talking freely aboput thought that enter their mind the analysis will attempt to interpratate and make sence of the clients experiances. Deeply burtied experiances are expressed and the opportunity to share tehase thoughts and feelings can help the client work through thease problems. Clients are asked to try and transfer thougts and feelings they have towords people in their life on the analyst this process is called transfernace the success depends on how the analysats and client work together. Psychoanalysis can be life changing if successful howver around 7 years of therpay is needed to discover the full unconcious mind . regular sessions provide a setting to explore there thoughts and make sence of them. Psychoanalytic therapy is based on freuds work of pychoanalysis but less intensive it is found to be bennaficial for clients who want to understand more about tehmselves and useful to people who feel tehir problems have affcted them for a long period of time and need reliving of emotional disstress. Through deep exploration client and therapist try to understand the inner life of the client. Uncovering the uncocncious needs and thoughts may help the client understand how their past experiances affect their life today. It can also help them to work out how they can live a more fulfilling life. Person centred counselling and psychoanalytic therapy are both off springs of two great minded people Sigmund Freud and carl Rodgers the originators of these two approaches. Freud based his framework on his medical background , Rodgers was influenced by excistential phillosphy were the person is there central role in their growth and change. Some similarities can be drawn from a comparison betwewen the two models they both want to widen the concioussness but this is done in different means. Psychonalsis aims to make the unconscious conscious and by doing this helps the person gain controle over their thought and feelings. And the person cneterd approach helps the client to overcome a state of incongruence whilst psychoanalytic objective is two seek the repressed childhood experiances. The person centerd works through the concioussness by focusing on the here and now. Kahn (1985) compares the term incongruence with psychoanalytic defence mechanism repression. To him both are the same thing but different versions. Both prevent the person from being aware of his their own feelings the onluy diffrnece being that Rodgers belives by imputing the core conditions of Two persons are in Psychological contact, The first, whom we shall term the client, is in a state of incongruence, being vulnerable or anxious,The second person, whom we shall term the therapist is congruence or integrated in the relationship,The therapist experiences unconditional positive regard for the client. The therapist experiences an empathic understanding of the clients internal frame of reference and endeavours to communicate this experience to the client. The communication to the client of the therapist’s empathic understanding and unconditional positive regard is to a minimal degree achieved. Then if thease are imputed incongruence will be shifted and psychoanalytic belive through interpretation of childhoon events repression can be acchived. Both psychoanalytic and person centred involve empathy that is applied to client and therapist, enabling the client to gain new understanding and move away from distress and towards harmony with self and others. Therefor potentially both try to increase insight and strength towards the self. Other areas that overlap are also evident simple areas such as setting bounderies, along with assessment for therapy. From the first minuite of contact both persons become aware of their own and others aims, values and lifestyle by empathic attending. Both types of therapist are warm and open minded and accepting. In both therapies the therapist is bidden to provide a non judgemental respectful attitude towords the client. Both also share a commitment to the use of silence beliving it is an effective tool for therapy commiting to listening without impediment. The similarities are strongly guided by personal growth and development both have the interest of promoting self-reflection of the client. Their interest is to promote self-reflection of the clirnt. The relationship is very important in both and the main reason for this is to gain a beter insight and clearer understanding of the client. The aim is to build a relationship built on trust honesty and reliance on one another. The relationship is crucial in both therpays as without a tight relationship there is no ground work in place for the client to feel safe to explore. Both models encourage the client to relase emotions and it is through tehase that empathy can be experienced. On the other hand psychoanalytic theory stresses the importance of unconscious procedures and sexuality as the key terms for a deep understanding of the human pychopathology. Freud thought that dreams were the best way to explore the unconscious since they are disquised as the id whishes repressed by the ego in order to escape from awareness. The goal of counselling to Rodgers is the congruence of personality acchived when the self gains access to a variety of experiances. he need for self actualization can only be atteneded to once counsellor creates an atmosphere of unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding. There are considerable diffrences between the two approaches ialthough stated that they both create a strong knitted relationship between client ancd counsellor . person centers counselling the counsellor takes on a non directice role more like a companio n rather than a leader and the client takes lead of the session were as psychodynamic counsellors take more of an authority figure in the relationship. Person centred firmly believes that the 6 core condition are necessary for change. Hoewever psychodynamic use of transference is to make interpretation to the client for effective change. Person centred would see using transference would not create a genuine relationship between counsellor and client. One of the central themes in person centred is the emphasis on the present behaviours of the client. Psychodynamic focuses on the past and how it determines the present behaviours. Pychodyanmic counsellors choose to remain neutral during a session as this encourages transference a major tool in psychodynamic therapy. McLeod (2004) points out that in person centered counselling, questions are only asked to clients when necessary and may also answer questions if asked by clients, as this was supports to create the quality of the relationship. This again differs to the way Psychodynamic counsellors’ work; as asking questions are pivotal during therapy as this elps to explore and build up relevant material, furthermore, it would be unlikely for a psychodynamic counsellor to answer any personal questions by the client and instead try to figure out why the question is important. Although both see the relationship as crucial each therapy maintains a diferent way to responding to the client attitudes and values. for instance defences and transferance excist in both forms but handled in different ways. For person centerdit is a requirement that the core condition s are stimuiltaneous for the therapist thease core conditions repersent an openess to self experience and to the experience of another. Rodgers belived counsellors should be egalitarian in their meetings with clinets and a major diffrence concerns pychodynamic interpretations. Appearing as all knowing and going beyond what is un-concious based mostly on theory rather than a clients spacific experiances. Thorne (1996) states that â€Å"pychodynamic therpay may go to early in interpratation to make sence to clients† Pychodynamic interpratation specifically concerns the naming of the unconcious for causeing problems that the clinet may be having. Only in the hermanutic meaning does the word interpratation make sence of things Hermeneutics applies to all persons who make sense of all situations, whereas psychodynamic interpretation in the narrow sense is the most specific ingredient of psychodynamic therapy’s efforts to make positive changes for clients. All in all psychodynamic approaches are based on freuds work based on the unconscious of the ID ego and superego which emphasis on sexual aggression. Person centerd is based on the belief that humans have unique qualities for freedom and growth beliving that we are beyond being controlled by ID ego and superego not controlled by sexual urges. The similarities between both approaches promote and guide the idea of progress and development. There main interest to promote self reflection and awarenss for the client in order to do this they effectively use communication. Both approaches are the result of hypothesis the main diffrences lie at the foundations and what is belived to work best however sometimes they meet for what may be the best too to use at the time of hearapy. prehaps what makes any thrapy work is the belief that they can work if the client wants it to work there emotional needs and expectataions I belive that theory used does play a a very important role but it is the client who has the ability to change which ever root of therapy they take they can change no matter how they recive therapy weather it be in a humanistic approach or psychodynamic because if they expect it to work it will so maybe I am more for the person cneterd view as I belive that self actualisation and awarenss is very important to be able to facilitate growth.

Financial assets are made up of securities

Financial assets are made up of securities, stocks and derivatives. These are claims to the cash flow generated by real, tangible assets which are the lands, buildings and machineries we use. These pieces of paper are how citizens of highly developed countries increase their wealth. Wealth generation involves risk, for no business activity is certain to provide returns. Financial markets allow investors to participate in money-making ventures without being physically present in the project site.Most risk tolerant individuals prefer stocks, for it has the potential to yield very high returns, while conservative ones go for bonds which provides a steady, fixed income. In this activity, stock trading is the main focus. Objectives Just like any investor, generating cash flow was the primary goal. The amount of cash to be gained from trading should compensate the risk undertaken. The goal was to achieve steady growth. The expected was return is 40%. After setting the required return, a po rtfolio strategy was chosen.Assets were then selected which would comprise the efficient portfolio– provides the highest return for a given level of risk. Fundamental analysis was the method used to pick the stocks. Diversification was another tactic used to maximize return while spreading the risk. Construct a portfolio Portfolio construction was a tedious task. I had to weigh the risk and returns, and sometimes, to trust my gut feel. Stock prices, as studies have shown follow a random walk movement. The approach used was a top-down portfolio construction. A portfolio is basically a collection of investment assets.The type of assets to be held was first determined. It was then followed by security analysis to pick out the stocks deemed profitable. Diversification was one principle used in choosing the stocks. It simply meant that equities from different industries were held in the portfolio so that risk exposure was limited. Shares from the software industry (RIMM, JAVA), ar ms(SWHC), pharmaceutical (GERN), computer (PALM), insurance (HUM), health care(HMA), power (FL), SAM, metals and mining(AUY, AA) ,oil and gas(IEO), index fund(SWPIX), cement(CX),AXP Asset Analysis Fundamental analysis was mainly used in the decisions undertaken.This approach uses earnings and dividend prospects of the firm, expectations of future interest rates, and risk evaluation of the firm to determine proper stock prices. It relies on the company's financial health indicators. The stocks’ annual growth rate, quarterly earnings records, and P/E (price-to-earnings) ratios were measured. Historical data was also used. One such statistic is the EPS, or earnings-per-share ranking. PALM stocks were bought since the firm’s return on investment was stated at 2470. 70%. Also, on the day that it was traded, it was lower priced. Smith and Weson, SWHC had a P/E ratio of 5. 50%, an ROE of 19.7%. Thus, a total of 4000 shares of SWCH were bought. Alcoa, or AA’s ROE was 16 . 20%. Its EBITDA was 5. 45 B. Meanwhile, its P/E ratio was 11. 60 and its annual dividend was at . 68 per share. Alcoa looks financially healthy, but was expensive, so only 1000 shares were purchased. Similarly, FPL’s ROE was 14. 6%. Its P/E ratio was 12. 7%. Its EBITDA was 4. 47 B. The market values FPL shares highly. But, I found it unsmart to invest in highly valued stocks, because market perceptions fluctuate wildly. Thus, I only acquired 700 shares of FPL. RIMM had an ROE of 30. 60%. Its P/E ratio was 50%. For me, RIMM shares were really costly.In fact, it was has the highest cost per share in my portfolio. But I was attracted to its financial forecast. Furthermore, its 52 week high was at $148 so I found the $80 per share enticing. I thus bought 1000 shares from RIMM. HUM had an ROE of 19. 9% and a P/E ratio of 18. 00. It was quite overpriced, so I only bought 1000 shares. HMA was the lowest priced stock in my portfolio. But, I decided to purchase it believing that dem and for health care services will increase in the near future. CX, compared with its competitor, Heidelberg cement had higher earnings and historically displayed returns higher than the market average.I bought 1000 shares. I also bought SWPIX, an index fund as a comparison for the return of my trading activities. Event Selection One of the most remarkable news was the launching of PALM’s Pre. With the belief that the Pre will be hot in the market, just like Apple’s I-pod, I bought 4,000 shares from PALM. I deem that the future value of PALM will increase more than two-fold once the Pre is introduced. The hype will push the price of its stock. Thereafter, I can sold my shares at a profit. In addition, the popularity of smart phones, or phones which serve more than just talking devices was forecasted to increase steadily in the near future.Aside from purchasing PALM stocks, I decided to buy shares from BlackBerry’s maker, RIMM. News of the global swine flu outbrea k prompted me to purchase HMA shares. HMA , a healthcare provider would have more profits if the flu would become widespread. In addition, Citigroup upgraded HMA shares from hold to buy. Meanwhile, the news on the pending sale of JAVA drove me to sell my 1000 shares. Monster stocks which were identified two weeks in a row included AUY. The information urged me to buy 3000 shares of AUY.