Dont get me started on… Valentine s Day

Valentine’ s Day is trying to abduct me into a fake world where everything is glorious and perfect, a world we all wish to be living in. February 14th is the date I most dread every year. Couples get loved up and forget about the important things in life, such as working nine to five to pay the enormous bills that are piled in a drawer or scattered in the living room. Using Valentine’s Day as a runaway from bills isn’t going to make things better. Running away from Valentine’s Day sounds more appealing, it stop’s us from meeting women like these: 1) The hopefuls: These are women who get excited on Valentine’s Day because they believe their special person is out there somewhere, and loneliness isn’t an option. 2) The women who know love only exists in fairytales. These women would sit alone watching a romantic movie. They would cry, curled up on the sofa, every time there’s a romantic scene, while their full mug of hot chocolate gently warms the palms of their hands. Valentines Day is an excuse to advertise couples kissing and holding hands in public. Why would you want to advertise kissing? Which leads to interaction, which surely leads to†¦ yeah, you get my point? It’s not the best example for kids now-a-days is it? Wherever you go, even at the local shop, you’re reminded of this day with hearts, cupids and silly poems on the front of handmade cards. Believe it or not, I caught the bus and I went to town for a small portion of chips with sausage in batter, My FAVOURITE. And on the standing notice board, written in red chalk was: VALENTINES DAY OFFER, small portion of chips and sausage in batter,  £2.99 only. What a massive bargain. I’d never thought I’d hate to love the meal I always devour, little did I know.  £2.99 was a bargain, but I turned away and went in the nearby corner shop, to pick up some cheese and onion crisps instead. At least I could enjoy eating without the reminder of Valentine’s Day on my back. We all know when it’s coming, we’re not stupid. Living close to cinemas, restaurants, shopping centres, bowling alleys and night-clubs could be perceived to be an incredible place to live; everything is close by (except the chip shop). I guess it’s convenient as I’m quite out going, but it is the worse place to live on February 14th. Why? Because the whole area is full of teenagers drunk with fatigue, and middle-aged couples walking tall and ecstatic as if they are The bee’s knees. The only people with class on this irritating day are old people, they are respectful and they don’t go out with the hundred-and -something year old partner. They keep to themselves, like everyone should. Right? People that go out on Valentine’s Day are not paying attention to others feelings, now how selfish is that? Husbands and wives become immediately closer in 24 hours however, after 24 hours it was like they never were. Love is unconditional and is â€Å"life-long† if you love the person. But Valentine’s Day only lasts 24 hours. So, what about the other 364 days? We don’t have love your pet day, because you’re supposed to do that anyway. New years and Christmas are two good reasons for going out and celebrating. A new year is a day where we all are overwhelmed for the year to coming, while Christmas is celebrating Jesus’ birthday. And then there’s Valentine’s Day†¦ An interesting way for the government to continue making a ridiculous amount of money – which would probably be spent on single parents benefits. This makes me think. Government= a greedy bunch of people who needs money to operate. So that’s it. Valentine’s Day is just a day the government make money, they don’t care about lovers. People are not thinking outside the box and why there really is a valentine’s day, it’s all a part of the government’s evil and sick plan.

Ibn Sina/Avicenna

‘Ibn Sina’s renown brought him the title ‘the leading eminent scholar’ (al-Shayk al Ra’is). Discuss the significance of his philosophical ideas with special focus on his distinction between his essence and existence, and its role in his proof for God as the necessary existent. Ibn Sina, or Avicenna, born 980 AD, was a leading polymath of many subjects; many of his theories are still renowned today; 240 of (approximately) 450 works can authentically be attributed to him, contributing to mainly medicine and philosophy, but also astronomy, physics, psychology, geology and even poetry. A devout Muslim and child prodigy, he had memorised the Qur’an by the age of ten, and quickly surpassed his teachers of the Hanafi Sunni school, and by the age of 16 was fully learned in the sciences of his time.After studying medicine, he turned his attention to physics and metaphysics, reading Aristotle’s Metaphysics forty times, until he had memorised it, y et he could not grasp its meaning until reading al-Farabi’s commentary which enlightened his problems of understanding. He began writing his own discourse on this topic and many others on his travels to Isfahan whilst working as a physician to Kings and other important figures, gaining prestige in medical matters and his knowledge of philosophy, theology and metaphysics was widely recognised.Even after his death in 1038 AD, his works have continued to influence philosophical and medical thought; his ‘canon of medicine’ served as the highest medical authority for 600 years, and the translation of kitab al-Shifa (Book of Healing) into Latin served as the starting point for many other prestigious thinkers, such as Aquinas, and this discourse will be further looked at here.Avicenna is considered â€Å"the most famous and influential of the philosopher-scientists of the Islamic world† There are many other Islamic philosophers that have attempted to address meta physics, but Ibn Sina’s works alone systematically and consistently focus on both ontological and cosmological arguments that are not self-contradictory and address the underlying issue of reconciling the Islamic faith with philosophy. â€Å"Before Avicenna, falsafa (Arabic Aristotelian and Neoplatonic philosophy) and kalam (Islamic doctrinal theology) were distinct strands of thought, even though a good deal of cross-fertilization took place between them.After Avicenna, by contrast, the two strands fused together and post-Avicennan kalam emerged as a truly Islamic philosophy, a synthesis of Avicenna’s metaphysics and Muslim doctrine. † This is the primary reason for his lasting prestige; his ideas in the Book of Healing concentrated not on medicine, but on the healing of the soul and body, and held two key fundamental ideas; the distinction between essence and existence, and God as the necessary existent, a doctrine that has previously not been merged successfu lly.The doctrine of a ‘thing’ (shay’) proved difficult to define for the Mu’tazilis, as although they differentiated that a ‘thing’ can either be existent or non-existent; they struggled to define where the non-existent entities lay. Using the Qur’anic verse of creation: â€Å"our statement to a thing, when we wish it [to be], consist merely in our saying â€Å"Be! † and then it is. † (The Holy Qur'an 16:40), we can identify that something can exist in mentality before it exists in actuality; God thought of a ‘thing’ then willed it into being by saying â€Å"be! and it was. This shows that the idea of the ‘thing’ existed before its reality, meaning that the Mu’tazilis were able to conceive of the ‘thingness’ of contingent entities, and their universality (of thingness) can either exist in reality or in mentality. They could not address the idea of non-existent things, (ma†™dum) such as a square circle, as their impossibility cannot even exist in the mind. This idea opposes the Sunni theological perspective, where they hold that ‘thingness’ and existence are one and the same.They hold the idea of co-extensiveness (where all things are existents, and all existents are things) as they believe that this idea solves the problem of creatio ex nihilo; they did not want to give any flexibility to the idea that things existed before creation, or held eternality alongside God. They held that a ‘thing’ was the sum of all its predicates, one of which was existence; a thing could not be without it existing. However, this poses problems for the existence of things that can only occur in the mind, for example, a unicorn.There is a split in Sunni philosophy where some believe that a thing can either be considered as extra-mentally existent, (and so exist just as much as they would in actuality) or some believe a thing that only exists in the mind simply does not exist whatsoever. This is problematic, as we can all conceive of a unicorn, despite its non-reality, (therefore it cannot simply not exist at all), yet we cannot think of a unicorn existing in the mind on the same level as our own existence. Ibn Sina draws upon al-Farabi’s identification that ‘thing’ and ‘existence’ cannot be used as the same copula; you cannot ubstitute ‘thing’ for ‘exists’ in a sentence in a way that can make sense; for example, one can easily identify that the statement ‘Zayd exists as a man’ to be appropriate, but one cannot say ‘Zayd thing as a man’, as it is nonsensical. Therefore, Ibn Sina concludes that there is a distinction between ‘thing’ and ‘existence’, and also makes the distinction between existents and non-existents. For Avicenna, â€Å"there are four kinds of scientific questions. 1) One is a question about the â⠂¬Ëœexistence’ or ‘non-existence’ of things. 2) Another is about the ‘whatness’ of things. 3) And another is about the ‘whichness or ‘thatness’ of things. ) Also, there is the question about the ‘cause’ of things. † His distinction between essence and existence not only addresses the problem of the Sunni theologians, but, in his mind, satisfies what a ‘thing’ is, and that its ‘existence’ is not a predicate of thingness, and this argument can prove the existence of God as necessary. For Ibn Sina, existence adds to an essence specific determination external to the essence of a thing; existence adds to essence, an essence can be without existing, for example, the demonstration of the unicorn; its essence is separate from its existence as we can conceive of it without its actuality.He further explains this with categorising the necessary (wajib) and the possible/contingent (mumkir). Avicenna makes three distinctions: concrete existent, a mental existent and that which is neither of these two. A concrete existent is that which adds existence to its essence: that is to say that it, as an essence, also has existence. A mental existent is that which has essence, but not existence (such as a unicorn – it has essence because we can think of it).That which is neither is that which is logically impossible to exist even in the mind, such as a square circle; as it is impossible to conceive of such a thing, this does not even have essence. This solves the problem faced by Sunni philosophers, as it highlights the difference between mental essences without existence and concrete essences with existence. Avicenna continues to demonstrate three further aspects of essences: necessary, possible or impossible. Those that are impossible are those that it is illogical to think about, such as square circles, and as we have already shown, these do not have essence OR existence.That w hich is necessary is so because it’s very essence implies existence; its denial would involve a contradiction, (which we will further explain later). The possible is that which has essence that has potential to exist; it can either exist, or not exist. This is what contingent beings are categorised as; they have the potentiality to exist, through the cause of another; it cannot exist through itself, as otherwise it would be necessary, and it cannot not exist, as otherwise it would be impossible. Once actualised (through another), concrete existence is added to the essence.Avicenna would argue that mental essences are not concrete existents because they have not been brought into existence by another, so remain as potential essences that could exist, but do not in actuality. So far then, it has been demonstrated that Ibn Sina made the distinction of essences between that which cannot exist, that what can exist if brought into being by another, and that which exists through its own definition of its essence. When a possible essence is actualised through another, and becomes a concrete existent, it becomes ‘necessary through another’ – it must be caused by a cause external to itself.This in turn, must also be caused by another previous external cause, and so on. However, these causes cannot continue ad infinitum- there must be an external cause that itself is not caused by any other being external to itself, that is to say, that the cause is contained within itself, what Avicenna calls necessary through itself. There cannot be an infinite regress of causes, but must be one cause that can sustain and contain all possible causes, but itself need not be caused, as its essence itself contains existence, the Necessary Existent; God.So then, we have tackled the question previously posed of the existence or non-existence of things, what they are (possible/necessary), and the ‘thatness’ (whether it is necessary through another or i tself) – in turn answering the fourth question set out by Ibn Sina of the cause of things. Proof of God’s existence from this argument stems from the cosmological argument; an idea from Aristotle that there must be a First Cause in order to bring about the causes that cause others.However, Ibn Sina improves this argument by recognising that what something is differs from the fact that it is. â€Å"Ibn Sina’s way of making his point is to say that esse [fact of a things existence] is an accidental property of things – that is a quality it may or may not possess, without changing what it is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Previously, philosophers such as Aristotle had only considered the nature of things, rather than setting them apart from their physical realisation. The distinction Avicenna makes between physical and mental existence is one that Aristotle had trouble in combatting. The most important text of this kind is Avicenna’s al-Shifa? ’ (The Healing, namely from ignorance). The title was wrongly (but aptly) translated into Latin as Sufficientia, as if Avicenna’s single comprehensive work was a sufficient replacement for the several books of Aristotle† This distinction was so important that every philosopher after Ibn Sina had to respond; the question was now apparent that there must be primacy of either essence or existence, as he had distinguished that they were not one and the same.Debate has followed Ibn Sina’s argument, that has mainly taken two paths; Suhrawardi decides that essence is prior to existence, whereas Ibn Arabi believes that only existence is real and essences are how existence presents itself to us. Thus, it has been demonstrated that Ibn Sina was successful in using an argument from reason that signifies God as the one creator, First to cause others, from which we could not possibly exist if it were not for His necessary existence through Himself.This was so profound for his time, as it had only been remarked that there previously lay a difference between the necessary and possible. Avicenna’s distinction between ‘through itself’ and ‘through another’ led to the reconciliation of Islamic thought and philosophical reason; there lies no contradiction between our own existence as concrete and God’s existence as wholly other, beyond our conception of contingent.This argument was so influential on both later thinkers due to his ability to draw upon early philosophical ideas and his faith brought together Aristotelian and neo-Platonic philosophy and Islamic theology in a way that made the distinction between theoretical and practical knowledge; logically acknowledging that the first cause as a necessary existent can only be a monotheistic God, as all predicates, including that of existence are perfectly contained within the very definition of His essence.This theory is reconcilable with Islamic thought as it signals disenchantment wit h neo-Platonic thought, developing a more personal philosophy that argues for our own necessary existence (through another), whilst still acknowledging that God is unattainably necessary through Himself. â€Å"[Ibn Sina] envisaged a world resting on two pillars: a) Greek philosophy and b) Qu’ranic revelation and the virtues of man†¦Ibn Sina was a highly spiritual and ethical person, considering that, for him, teaching and learning should lead also to rooting in faith deeply in the soul of the individual. This meant that each individual had meaning for their own life, which they could relate back to God, personally having their own cause rooted in the Divine Necessary Existent. Bibliography * Avicenna ; Farhang Zabeeh, ( Ed. Trans. ) Avicenna’s Treatise on Logic: Part One of Danesh-Name Alai (a Concise Philosophical Encyclopaedia and autobiography) (Martinus Nijoff, the Hague, 1971) * Charles Burnett, â€Å"Arabic into Latin: the reception of Arabic philosophy in to Western Europe† in The Cambridge Companion to Arabic philosophy, ed.Peter Adamson and Richard C Taylor (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005) * F. C. Bauerschmidt, Holy Teaching: Introducing the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas (Michigan, Brazos Press, 2005) * Robert Wisnovsky, â€Å"Avicenna and the Avicennan Tradition† in The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy, ed. Peter Adamson and Richard C Taylor (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005) * Sebastian Gunther, â€Å"Be Masters in That You Teach and Continue to Learn: Medieval Muslim Thinkers on Educational theory† in Comparative Education Review, Vol. 0, No. 3, (August 2006) Article DOI: 10. 1086/503881 Web Resources: * Encyclop? dia Britannica Online, s. v. â€Å"Avicenna,† accessed December 11, 2011, http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/45755/Avicenna * http://quran. com/ accessed 15/12/11 —————————— ————– [ 1 ]. Encyclop? dia Britannica Online, s. v. â€Å"Avicenna,† accessed December 11, 2011, http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/45755/Avicenna. [ 2 ]. Robert Wisnovsky, â€Å"Avicenna and the Avicennan Tradition† in The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy, ed.Peter Adamson and Richard C Taylor (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005) p. 92 [ 3 ]. The Holy Qur’an 16:40 as cited from http://quran. com/16/40 (Sahih International Translation) accessed on 15/12/11 [ 4 ]. Robert Wisnovsky, â€Å"Avicenna and the Avicennan Tradition† in The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy pp. 106-107 [ 5 ]. Avicenna & Farhang Zabeeh (Ed. Trans. ) Avicenna’s Treatise on Logic Part One of Danesh-Name Alai (a Concise PhilosophicalEncyclopaedia and autobiography) (Martinus Nijoff, the Hague, 1971) p. 5 [ 6 ]. F. C. Bauerschmidt, Holy Teaching: Introducing the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas (Michigan, B razos Press, 2005) p. 57 [ 7 ]. Charles Burnett, â€Å"Arabic into Latin: the reception of Arabic philosophy into Western Europe† in The Cambridge Companion to Arabic philosophy, p. 371 [ 8 ]. Sebastian Gunther, â€Å"Be Masters in That You Teach and Continue to Learn: Medieval Muslim Thinkers on Educational theory† in Comparative Education Review, Vol. 50, No. 3, (August 2006) pp. 376 – 377 Article DOI: 10. 1086/503881

Factors of Bullying

Bullying: The identify technique and its major risk factors Dr. Kasetchai Laeheem1, Dr. Metta Kuning2, Dr. Nittaya McNeil2 1. Department of Educational Foundation, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University 2. Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Prince of Songkla University. Abstract The purpose of this study was to study the technique for identifying bullying outcomes, and to investigate the risk factors associated with bullying behaviour at Pattani primary schools, southern Thailand. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,440 students.Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-squared test, and logistic regression were used for data analysis. In this study, factor analysis and standardized score techniques were used to identify bullying outcome. It was found that 301 (20. 9%) students could be identified as a bully. Witnessing parental physical abuse and preference for action cartoons were major risk factor for bu llying others. Students having parental physical abuse experiences were more likely to bully others than were those who had never witnessed parental physical abuse (odds ratio 7. 11, 95% confidence intervals 5. 6-9. 60). Students who preferred action cartoons tended to bully more than did students who preferred comedy cartoons (odds ratio 2. 96, 95% confidence intervals 1. 99-4. 43). Key words: bullying, cartoon, factor analysis, parental physical abuse, risk factors The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 1 1. Background and significance of problem Bullying behaviour in primary schools is well-known to students, parents, teachers and educational personnel.School bullying is a serious problem which affects students’ quality of life, inflicting psychological, emotional, and physical damage and occurs throughout the world. School b ullying can be defined as any negative actions repeatedly inflicted by a stronger student or student gang toward another student (Olweus, 1999). This negative action must be deliberate and carried out with the intent of causing harm to the victim (Farrington, 1993). Bullying might be classified in a variety of ways including physical assaults and psychological or emotional or verbal harassment.Beale (2001) explained that physical bullying is action oriented and intended to intimidate or physically hurt the victim through pinching, pushing, kicking, and hitting, while verbal bullying is using words to humiliate or hurt someone’s feelings through teasing, insulting, or threatening behaviour. The major reasons that children bully others are to enjoy exercising power and status over their victims, boredom, jealousy, attention seeking, showing off, anger, revenge, and selfprotection (Besag, 2006). In this way, bullying eases the way for children to be drawn into a path of delinque ncy, vandalism and criminality (Junger, 1996).The targets or victims of school bullying are at risk of a variety of negative outcomes. They are more likely than nonvictimized children to become anxious, insecure, lonely, depressed, to be rejected by their peers, drop out of school, feud, or decide to protect themselves by carrying guns/weapons to school (Craig, 1998). There are many causes of bullying, such as domestic violence (Baldry, 2003), preferring cartoon violence (Blumberg, et al, 2008), older students (Wolke et al, 2001), and boys (Mouttapa et al, 2004).Studies have indicated that 38% of students in Netherlands (Veenstra, 2005), 30% in Nigeria (Egbochuku, 2007), 22% in Italy (Gini, 2008), 21% in Canada (Hawkins et al, 2001), 20% in Malaysia (Wan Salwina et al, 2009) and 42% in Thailand (Tapanya 2006). This study aims to study the technique for identifying bullying outcomes, to investigate the prevalence of bullying and the risk factors associated with bullying in Pattani pr imary schools, southern Thailand.By identifying students who are likely to bully others, educational authorities can introduce better strategies for reducing and preventing this problem. 2. Objectives 2. 1 To study the technique for identifying bullying outcomes 2. 2 To estimate the prevalence of bullies at primary schools in Pattani, southern Thailand 2. 3 To analyze the risk factors associated with bullying, in Pattani primary schools 3. Technical terms The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 â€Å"Bullying† has traditionally referred to a person’s actions to cause physical or psychological harm to another person. Physical bullying is the most visible and easily identifiable form of bullying. It might take the form of a kick, hit, bite, push, throw of something at someone, bite, or pinch. Psychological bullying includes name-calling, insulting the victim’s name, appearance, economic status, academic achievement, or parent’s occupation, or making negative statements about a victim’s physical disability. 4.Framework of the study Determinants School factors School type School location Demographic factors Gender Age group Environment factors Parental physical abuse Preference of cartoon type Number of close friends Outcome Bullying behaviour 5. Research methodology 5. 1 Study design and sampling technique This study used a cross-sectional study design involving interviews and surveys of primary school students attending school between November 1, 2005 and March 31, 2006. The participants were selected by using a multi-stage sampling method.The first stage involved selecting school location by using purposive sampling, with the criterion being a cluster of four types of school (public school of Basic Education Office (B. E. O. ), public school of municipalities, Islamic private scho ol, and Chinese private school). Pattani City was selected as the urban location and Saiburi district as the rural one, because these were the only two districts that met the school-type cluster criterion. In the second stage, public schools were selected by simple random sampling and private schools were selected by purposive ampling (there was only one of each such school in each district). Finally, participants in each school grade were selected by using a systematic sampling technique which was done proportionate to population size across each class; choosing every 4th seat number where there was a single class in a grade and every 6th seat number where there was more than one class in a grade. Sample size calculations followed an Italian study of bullying (Baldry, 2003) and were based on the main outcome and exposure to parental violence and non-exposure to parental violence.The prevalence of bullying by the Italian primary school students in the ‘nonThe 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 3 exposure to parental violence’ group was 45. 7%. This information was then used to calculate the required sample size for this study, obtaining an estimate by substituting ? = 0. 05, 1-? = 0. 2, OR = 1. 344 so Z? /2 and Z? are 1. 96 and 0. 84 respectively, r = 1 (ratio of non bully to bully subjects), p2 = 0. 6 (prevalence of bullying in non exposure to parental violence group), p = 0. 50, p1 = 0. 53, into a formula for sample size given by the following (McNeil, 1996), namely ? ? Z? / 2 ? ? 1 ? 1? + Z? ?1 + ? ? r ? p (1 ? p ) ? 1 1 ? + p1 (1 ? p1 ) rp 2 (1 ? p 2 ) ? ? 2 n1 = (InOR) 2 Where p1 = p2 p + rp2 , and p = 1 p2 + (1 ? p2 ) / OR 1+ r This gives n1 = n2 = 719. It was thereby concluded that a minimum sample size of 1,438 was required for this study. 5. 2 Data collection Verbal consent to participate in the study was obtained from students after assurance of confidentiality was given to individuals and group administered.The collection assistants were teachers in target schools, who volunteered to participate and were studying for a Graduate Diploma in Professional Teaching at Yala Islamic University. These teachers were trained in the interviewing techniques and the details of the questionnaire. They were asked to take care not to rush through the questionnaire and also to record responses accurately. The teachers interviewed students in the classroom after permission was granted by the school principal. Each individual was interviewed with grades 1 to 3 students. Interviewed lasted approximately 20 to 30 minutes.Group administered (narrated) surveys of grades 4 to 6 students took approximately 40 to 60 minutes. With older students, the interviewer read the instructions to them and then allowed the student to write their own responses. Most of these responses were uncomplicated a nd involved just ticking a box. 5. 3 Data management and statistical analysis The data were analyzed using Webstat (a set of programs for graphical and statistical analysis of data stored in an SQL database, written in HTML and VBScript), and R program Factor analysis was first conducted to identify possible factors for future analysis.Descriptive statistics were calculated as measures of the prevalence of bulling. Pearson’s chi-squared test was used to assess the associations between the outcome and the various categorical determinants. Logistic regression was used to estimate the relative odds of having bullied others, for risk factors. 6. Conclusions The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 4 6. Identifying bullying outcome The technique for identifying bullying outcome in this study is using statistical method; factor analysis and standardized score as follows. The first method involved an exploratory factor analyses using maximum likelihood method with varimax rotation, eigenvalue greater than one, and item loadings greater than 0. 30. Factor analysis resulted in the identification of four types of bullying: a serious physical bullying factor comprising ‘kick’, ‘hit’, and ‘bite’, a minor hysical bullying factor comprising ‘push’, ‘throw something at’, ‘beat’, ‘pinch’ and ‘scold’, a psychological bullying by maligning a parent factor comprising ‘insult parent’s occupation’, and ‘insult parent’s name’, and a psychological bullying by maligning the student factor comprising ‘insult students appearance’ and ‘insult students economic status’, as listed in Table 1. In the second method, the new scores for four types of bullying were calculate d by using discrete scores to compare with the criteria that were adapted from a Likert rating scale: loadings 0. 00-0. 25 scored as 0, 0. 26-0. 50 scored as 1, 0. 51-0. 5 scored as 2, and 0. 76-1. 00 scored as 3. The resulting new scores were thus as follows: kick, hit, and bite: 3, 3 and 1, respectively; push, throw something at, beat, pinch and scold: 3, 2, 2, 1 and 1, respectively; insult parent’s occupation: 3 and insult parent’s name: 1; and insulting students appearance is 3 and insulting students economic status: 1. The resulting new scores are listed in Table 1. Factor loading Psychological Bullying behaviour categories Serious Minor bullying (Maligning physical Physical parent) bullying bullying Kick 0. 822 (3) Hit 0. 825 (3) Bite 0. 380 (1) Pinch 0. 783 (3) Beat 0. 587 (2) Throw something at 0. 07 (2) Push 0. 458 (1) Scold/ name-calling 0. 366 (1) Insult parent’s occupation 0. 878 (3) Insult parent’s name 0. 399 (1) Insult economic status Insul t appearance Eigenvalue 1. 85 1. 77 1. 21 Variance explained 15. 4% 14. 7% 10. 1% Note: Number in the ( ) is resulting new scores for each type of bullying Psychological bullying (Maligning student) 0. 765 (1) 0. 448 (1) 1. 01 8. 4% Table 1: Factor loading scores and resulting new scores for each type of bullying The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 In the third method, the total scores for each type of bullying were calculated by using new scores for four types of bullying. The resulting total scores are thus as follows: serious physical bullying (scores 0-7): (3*hit) + (3*kick) + bite; minor physical bullying (scores 0-9): (3*pinch) + (2*beat) + (2*throw something at) + push + scold; psychological bullying by maligning a parent (scores 0-4): (3*insult parent’s occupations) + insult parent’s names; and psychological bu llying by maligning the student (scores 0-4): (3*insult students economic status) + insult students appearance.In the fourth method, the bullying scores were analyzed by combining the total scores for each type of bullying: serious physical bullying (scores 0-7) + minor physical bullying (scores 0-9) + psychological bullying by maligning a parent (scores 0-4) + psychological bullying by maligning the student. The fifth method, transform the bullying scores into Z-scores (standardized to a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1). Finally, the students were identified into two categories for bullying, ‘bullied’ or ‘not bullied’. The students who had a standardized score greater than 1 were identified as a bully. 6. Descriptive statistics of bullying and risk factors The distributions of seven determinants in this study involved half of students being from an urban school, 72. 2% were from public school, and 55. 4% were female. Slightly more than one third (3 4. 5%) were 8 years or less of age, 34. 0% were aged 9-10 years, and 31. 5% were 11 years old or more. Most of students (79. 7%) reported that they had not witnessed physical abuse between their parents. Nearly half (48. 2%) of the students preferred ‘mystery’ cartoons type, 26. 0% preferred ‘action’ and 25. 8% ‘comedy’. Regarding number of close friends, 41. % had 3-5 close friends, 32. 2% had two close friends or fewer and 26. 4% had six close friends or more. In this study, bullying outcome was identified as a dichotomous variables; ‘not bullied others’ (1,139 students) and ‘bullied others’ (301 students). The percentage of students reporting that they had bullied others in school was 20. 9%. 6. 3 Associations between bullying and risk factors The associations between the outcome and the seven study determinants are shown in Table 2. Bullied behaviour Determinants School type Private Public School location Urban Rur al Not bullied (1,139) 78. 2 80. 0 82. 5 77. Had bullied (301) 21. 8 20. 0 17. 5 22. 2 Total (1,440) 50. 0 50. 0 0. 7 27. 8 72. 2 0. 399 Chisquared 3. 9 p-value 0. 049* The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 6 Gender Female Male Age group 8 yrs or less 9-10 yrs 11 yrs or more Parental physical abuse Not witnessed Witnessed Cartoon type preference Comedy Action Mystery Number of close friends 2 persons or less 3-5 persons 6 persons or more 31. 1 84. 5 72. 4 82. 9 79. 6 74. 4 87. 0 48. 1 86. 5 64. 5 83. 0 80. 6 80. 7 74. 7 15. 5 27. 17. 1 20. 4 25. 6 13. 0 51. 9 13. 5 35. 5 17. 0 19. 4 19. 3 25. 3 55. 4 44. 6 10. 3 34. 5 34. 0 31. 5 213. 5 79. 7 20. 3 66. 9 25. 8 26. 0 48. 2 5. 9 32. 2 41. 4 26. 4 0. 000** 0. 006** 0. 000** 0. 000** 0. 051 * p-value < 0. 05 ** p-value < 0. 01 Table 2: Associations between bullying and study determinants Table 2 shows that school type, gender, age group, parental physical abuse, and cartoon type were strongly associated with bullying. Odds ratio plots of bullying categorized by five different risk factors are shown in Figures 1. Bullying behaviour (Bullying/Not bullying) (Public/ Private) (Male/ Female) School type Witness/ Not witness) Gender Parental physical abuse Years Favorites cartoon type Age (group) Cartoon type Figure 1: Odds ratio plots of bullying categorized by four different risk factors The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 7 Figures 1 shows that the students from public schools reported bullying others significantly more often than did students from private schools (OR 1. 35, 95% CI 1. 01-1. 82). More males than females reported that they bullying others (OR 2. 07, 95% CI 1. 59-2. 69).The students who had witnessed phys ical abuse between their parents were more likely to be a bully than did those who had never witnessed physical abuse between their parents (OR 7. 22, 95% CI 5. 39-9. 67). The students aged 11 years or more were more likely to bully others than students aged 9-10 years and 8 years or less, (OR 1. 49, 95% CI 1. 13-1. 95). The students who preferred action cartoons tended to bully more than students who preferred mystery or comedy cartoons (OR 2. 93, 95% CI 5. 39-9. 67). 6. 4 Logistic regression analysis of bullying Logistic regression was used to examine the association between bullying and risk factors.The results are shown in Table 3 and Figure 2. Table 3 shows the results of the logistic regression analysis after omitting determinants with p-values more than 0. 05 using backward elimination. In this reduced model the four factors least significantly associated with the bullying are omitted. The smallest p-values indicate the factors most strongly associated with the bullying were gender, age group, parental physical abuse and cartoon type. Determinant Gender Female Male Age group 8 yrs or less 9-10 yrs 11 yrs or more Parental physical abuse Not witnessed Witnessed Cartoon type preference Comedy Action MysteryOR 0 1. 87 0 1. 29 1. 89 0 7. 11 0 2. 96 1. 33 (95% CI) p-value 0. 000 (1. 40,2. 50) 0. 000 0. 001 0. 160 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 000 0. 147 (0. 90,1. 85) (1. 33,2. 69) (5. 26,9. 60) (1. 99,4. 43) (0. 90,1. 96) Table 3: Reduced model of association between bullying and risk factors Figure 2 shows the odds ratio plot of the results from fitting the final logistic regression model. It was found that witnessing parental physical abuse was clearly the most strongly associated determinant for bullying others.Students having witnessed parental physical abuse were more likely 7. 11 times to bully others than were those who had never witnessed parental physical The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 8 abuse (95% CI 5. 26-9. 60). Preference for action cartoons was also a major risk factor for bullying others; students who preferred action cartoons tended to bully more than did students who preferred comedy cartoons (OR 2. 6, 95% CI 1. 99-4. 43). Among the age groups studied, older students (11+ years) were more likely to be a bully than did younger students (8 years or less); 1. 89 times (95% CI 1. 33-2. 69). Males were 1. 87 times (95% CI 1. 40-2. 50) more likely to have reported having bullied others than were females. Bullying others mystery Cartoon type action comedy Parental physical abuse yes no 11+ Age group 9-10 -8 boy Gender girl 1/8 1/4 1 2 4 8 Odds Ratio Figure 2: Risk factors of bullying in logistic regression; final model 7.Discussion In this study, factor analysis and standardized score techniques were used to identify bullying outcome; a student with a standardized score more than 1 was identified as a bully. Using an exploratory factor analysis for divided type of bullying is in accordance with a study by Parada et al (2005) in which six factors were found of 36 items. Beran (2005) found four factors of 21 items. Carlyle and Steinman (2007) found two factors. Using a standardized score for identifying bullying in which a student with a standardized score more than 1 was identified as a bully (Scholte et al, 2007; Gini, 2008).In this study, the identifying techniques led to findings that witnessing parental physical abuse and cartoon type were major risk factors for bullying. Witnessing parental physical abuse was clearly the most strongly associated determinant linked to bullying than those who had never witnessed parental physical abuse (7. 11 times more likely). Exposure to parental family violence has been found to be related to negative behaviours of students; the students who had witnessed parental physical abuse were more likely to bully othe rs, when compared to those who had not itnessed parental physical abuse. This is in accordance with the studies of Herrera et al (2001) and Baldry (2003) who all reported that parental modeling of aggression The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 9 and violence promotes the development of a child’s negative behaviour; the child might copy the parent’s physical actions and might then become a bully to gain success in their own social interactions.Preference for action cartoons was also highly associated with bullying (2. 96 times more likely). This finding shows that the children who watch action cartoons or cartoon with superhero images were more likely to display aggressive or bullying behaviour. This was consistent with the studies of Kirsch (2006) and Blumberg et al (2008), who argued that cartoon violence may also inf luence young viewers to transfer violent acts from programs to realworld situations and has a significant additional effect in predicting bullying others.Students often copy the physical actions of parents or of action cartoon characters and so through their life experiences learn to be aggressive. By personally observing others acting aggressively to achieve some goal the children might learn to act aggressively. With this modeling, the child might then become a bully to gain success in his or her own social interactions. This explanation is in line with finding by Larson (2003) and Williams (2007) who found that children use the same aggressive tactics that they observe; they learn to act aggressively when they model the behaviour of violent acts.The children are more likely to copy someone they are looking at, and children have a greater tendency to imitate the modeling of those with whom they have the most contact (Cooke, 1993; Kirsch, 2006). 8. Recommendations 8. 1 Implications of the study This study showed that bullying is a serious problem in Pattani primary schools. Witnessing parental physical abuse and preferring action cartoons were the highest risk factors associated with bullying. Parents are the most important persons in providing leadership and direction for the successful prevention and intervention of bullying.They should provide close attention and talk regularly with their children about their feelings and relationships with friends at school. They should work in partnership with the school to encourage positive behaviour. Moreover, they must have patience, try to avoid using violence, and closely advise and control the cartoon program viewing of their children. Findings from this study should help in the development of prevention and intervention policies in the primary schools and assist educational authorities to introduce better strategies for reducing the problem.School administrators and teachers are the next most important persons fo r preventing the prevalence of bullying in schools. The school environment should be safe, orderly, and bullyfree. Teachers have to provide positive and mature role-modeling in techniques to students and teach them how to interact with one another. They should develop a program that teaches The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 0 students about the dangers of bullying, develop school personnel in teaching bully-free practices and teach students about all forms of bullying: verbal, emotional, psychological, and physical, as well as teach students about disadvantages of cartoon violence viewing and physical abuse between parents. 8. 2 Recommendations for future studies Results of our study reveal the extent of bullying in primary schools within Pattani province to be a serious problem.Future research could focus on comparing prevalence rates among different types of schools or in one specific type of school across districts within Pattani province or nearby provinces, such as Yala, Naratiwat, and Songkhla provinces. Results may give the necessary information to teachers and administrators responsible for improving existing awareness programs, as well as continuing to educate our children in the safest and best learning environment possible.In order for bullying to be prevented or decreased in our schools, school personnel need to commit to the ideal that bullying is unacceptable, is serious, and should not be tolerated. Bullying is not a rite of passage that students must work out for themselves. When one incident of bullying occurs it is serious. Silence from students does not imply acceptance. Teachers need training that will help them to identify students who suffer in silence. The training needs to include strategies for victims as well as bullies. School personnel need to intervene appropriately in order to g ain the confidence of the students.To gain that confidence, teachers need to be aware that victims of bullying who remain silent will rarely take the initiative to tell teachers they are being bullied and would benefit from having someone pro-active and notice their circumstance and offer them help. There is also a large, silent majority of bystanders in our schools. These students are usually well-developed socially but they do not know how to reclaim the power from the bullies. Some of these students may be afraid to confront the issue and thus ignore or avoid bullying situations.If we can tap into this silent majority and teach these students the skills they need, we can create a positive school climate with this silent majority holding the power and helping to make the school safe and secure for all. Further research should examine specific teacher referrals after bullying incidents and whether there is a consistent method of reporting these incidents throughout the grade levels and among all teachers. The administration of disciplinary actions, when dealing with the types of bullying incidents should consistent throughout the school.An increase in student learning is an overall goal of this study. If students feel safe at school, if they are not worried about the atmosphere in which they learn, then greater student achievements will be likely to The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 11 exist. In order to create and maintain a safe and orderly school environment, all stakeholders must take an active role in combating the bullying problem in Pattani primary schools today. . References Baldry, A. C. 2003. Bullying in schools and exposure to domestic violence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 713–732. Beale, A. 2001. â€Å"Bully busters†: Using drama to empower students to take a stand against bullying behaviour. Professional School Counseling, 4, 300-306. Beran, T. 2005. A new perspective on managing school bullying: Pre-service teachers’ attitudes. Journal of Social Science, 8: 43-49. Besag, V. E. 2006. Understanding girls’ friendships, fights and feuds: A practical approach to girls’ bullying. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.Blumberg, F. C. , Bierwirth, K. P. 2008. Schwartz AJ. Does Cartoon Violence Beget Aggressive Behavior in Real Life? An Opposing View. Early Childhood Educ J. 2008; 36:101–104. Carlyle, K. E. , and Steinman, K. J. 2007. Demographic differences in the prevalence, cooccurrence, and correlates of adolescent bullying at school. Journal of School Health, 77: 623-629. Cooke, P. 1993. TV causes violence? Says Who?. The New York Times. Craig, W. 1998. The relationship among bullying, victimization, depression, anxiety and aggression in elementary children.Personality and Individual Differences, 24, 123-130. Egbochuku, E. O. 2007. Bul lying in Nigerian schools: Prevalence study and implications for counselling, J. Soc. Sci. , 14(1): 65-71. Farrington, D. P. 1993. Understanding and preventing bullying. In M. Tonry & N. Morris (Eds. ), Crime and Justice (Vol. 17). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Gini, G. 2008. Associations between bullying behaviour, psychosomatic complaints, emotional and behavioural problems. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. 44: 492– 497. Hawkins, D. L. , Pepler D. J. , and Craig, W. M. 001. Naturalistic observations of peer interventions in bullying. Social Development, 10 (4): 512-527. Herrera, V. M. , and McCloskey, L. A. 2001. Gender differences in the risk for delinquency among youth exposed to family violence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25: 1037–1051. Junger, T. J. 1996. Youth and violence in Europe. Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention, 5(1): 31-58. The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince o f Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 12 Kirsch, S. 2006.Cartoon violence and aggression in youth. Aggression and Violent Behavior. 11: 547–557. Larson, M. S. 2003. Gender, Race, and Aggression in Television Commercials That Feature Children. Sex Roles. 48: 67-75. McNeil, D. 1996. Epidemiological research methods. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Mouttapa, M. , Valente, T. , Gallaher, P. , Rohrbach, L. A. , and Unger, J. B. 2004. Social network predictors of bullying and victimization. Adolescence, 39: 315-336. Olweus, D. 1999. The nature of school bullying: A cross-national perspective. London: Routledge. Parada, R. H. , Marsh, H. W. and Craven, R. G. 2005. There and back again from bully to victim and victim to bully: A reciprocal effects model of bullying behaviours in schools. Sydney, Australia: SELF Research Centre, University of Western Sydney. Scholte, R. J. , Engels, R. E. , Overbeek, G. , Kemp, R. T. , and Haselager, G. T. 2007. Stabilit y in Bullying and Victimization and its Association. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35: 217-228. Tapanya, S. 2006. A survey of bullying problem of students in Thailand. Chiang-Mai: Faculty of Medicine, Chiang-Mai University. Veenstra, R. , Lindenberg, S. Oldehinkel, A. J. , De Winter, A. F. , Verhulst, F. C. , and Ormel, J. 2005. Bullying and victimization in elementary schools: A comparison of bullies, victims, bully/victims, and uninvolved preadolescents. Developmental Psychology, 41: 672-682. Wan Salwina, W. I. , Susan, M. K. , Nik Ruzyanei, N. J. , Tuti Iryani, M. D. , Syamsul, S. , Aniza, A. , and Zasmani, S. 2009. School bullying amongst standard students attending primary national schools in the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur: The prevalence and associated socio demographic factors, Malaysian Journal of Psychiatry, 18(1): 5-12.Williams, G. 2007. Gabriel Tarde and the Imitation of Deviance. Available at: http://www. criminology. fsu. edu/crimtheory/ tarde. htm. [Acce ssed date: September 21, 2007]. Wolke, D. , Woods, S. , Stanford, K. , and Schulz, H. 2001. Bullying and victimization of primary school children in England and Germany: Prevalence and school factors. British Journal of Psychology. 92: 673–696. The 2nd International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences April 10th, 2010 Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University Beliefs – Literature – Lifestyle_002 13

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Long-range planning is nowdays seen as an academic exercise - Essay Example It must be understood that planning is done to achieve certain goals. Long term goals can specify where the organization would like to be a few years in the future. Goals are stated as the intention of the organization that are specific, measurable, cover key result areas, challenging, and should have defined time periods. For individuals and workers at a given company, the goals may be linked to rewards (Welch, 2005). At the same time, planning specifies the means for achieving the organization’s goals (Daft, 2000). However today’s businesses operate in a highly volatile environment and managers are concentrating more and more on short term results. The statement given at World Economic Forum correctly suggests that ‘Long-range planning is nowadays seen as an academic exercise’ and this is fast becoming a widely accepted truth. Nevertheless in the interest of business as a going concern, the validity of the statement and legitimacy of long range planning needs to be re-evaluated. This paper focuses on discussing the merits and demerits of long range planning and aims to answer if it still is a necessary exercise or merely an academic exercise which can be ignored if other functions of management continue to perform at or better than expected levels. Before such an analysis is undertaken, it is important to know why the focus on the short term results is so predominant. Long term planning is getting more difficult and focus is shifting from it due to basic reason of increased volatility in the worldwide corporate as well as business environment. On top of that, the present financial community including stock/company analysts and mutual fund managers often evaluate the performance of many securities based on short term results. This means that a company presenting strong short term results can have its stock be given better performance reviews by peers. For individuals within the company, rewards such as bonuses, promotions and the like could

Dance is a sport Essay Example for Free

Dance is a sport Essay I. Introduction: a) Attention Getter: What is the definition of a sport? A game played with a ball? Is it people in tight pants running around? How about â€Å"an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature†? That sounds more like it. Football, baseball, and track fit those definitions, but so does another recreational activity that is not typically considered a sport: dance. b) Personal Statement: I myself am a dancer and have been dancing my whole life. Being a dancer, one of the worst things anyone can say is that dance is not a sport and I want to prove them wrong. Transition: Dance fits all those requirements. An athletic activity? Oh yeah! Requiring skill or physical prowess? Definitely! Often of a competitive nature? You bet! Dance is even recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee. Then why is this â€Å"fine art† not considered a sport? II. Dance is an athletic activity. a) The sport of dance takes years of training and hard work to perfect. Yes, I said sport. Although some believe that dancing is nothing more than tutus and twirling, it is a mentally engaging and physically demanding activity. b) Dance is actually quite similar to one of the most popular sports in the United States: football. In both activities, athletes are assigned specific jobs, roles, or positions. Each follows choreographed plays. Both types of athletes travel using certain steps or passes. Similar, right? III. Dance requires skill or physical prowess. a) One difference between dance and most sports is the way the athletes present themselves. During a tennis match, the players grunt and groan when hitting the ball to show everyone how hard they are working. However, dancers must always look graceful and light as a feather. The best dancers can make the most difficult moves look effortless. It takes lots of practice to perfect those moves and make them look easy. This is why dance is a mental sport as well. b) Dr. Jill McNitt-Gray, a professor in kinesiology (the scientific study of movement) at the University of Southern California, has worked with national champions and Olympic gold medalists. Through her work with professional ballroom dancers, she found that a dancer doing the jive can reach foot speeds of 15 miles an hour. In addition, a dancer can spin up to 180 times in a minute – four times faster than a record player! c) Balance is a vital part of dance. Dancers must have strong core muscles. Men need strong shoulders for lifts, since they must not only support their own body weight but also their partners. â€Å"Dancers are some of the toughest athletes in the world,† claims Dr. McNitt-Gray. IV. Dance is a competitive nature. a) Many ask, â€Å"How can dance be a sport? You cant judge on time and the scoring is subjective! † Just like figure skaters, competitive dancers are judged on many criteria: technique, posture, timing, line, hold, poise, togetherness, expression, presentation, power, and foot or leg action. Dancers have a lot on their minds while performing. They are constantly asking themselves, am I extending correctly? Is my technique right? Is my head facing the right direction? b) Some people think dance involves less endurance than sports like cross-country running. However, these runners exert forces in only one direction but, as Dr. McNitt-Gray said, in dance, your hands, legs, and head are exerting forces in different directions all at the same time. c) Dance is a cardiovascular, aerobic, and challenging sport. Many professional athletes, including former Pittsburgh Steeler wide receiver Lynn Swann, dance to improve their flexibility. Dance fits all the requirements of a sport, and has the physical and mental challenges of a sport, as well. V. Conclusion: a) Main Points: Just like any other sport, dance is an athletic activity that requires skill or physical prowess and is often a competitive nature. b) Ending Statement: If you are shaking your head thinking, this girls crazy, get up off your chair and try it yourself. Meanwhile, I look forward to the day I might be able to stand on that Olympic platform and receive a gold medal for the sport of dance. Sources and References 1. Professor of Kinesiology, Jill McNitt-Gray. University of South California http://www.worlddancesport. org/About/All/Fit_Through_Dance 2. Pittsburgh Steeler wide receiver Lynn Swann, By Joe Horrigan. Courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame http://www. profootballresearchers. org/Coffin_Corner/23-03-895. pdf 3. The Mayo Clinic, a published medical journal. The Health Benefits of Dancing Including Specific Benefits of Different Dances. http://www. sixwise. com/newsletters/05/11/02/the_health_benefits_of_dancing__including_specific_benefits_of_different_dances. htm 4. Santa Rosa High, The Press Democrat. The great debate: is dance a sport? http://teenlife. blogs. pressdemocrat. com/11749/the-great-debate-is-dance-a-sport/.

Communication Opinion Essay Example for Free

Communication Opinion Essay Effective communication plays a significant role in providing proper care for patients. According to Cheesebro, O’Connor, and Rios (2010) â€Å"Communication is sometimes defined as the process of sending and receiving messages† (para. 14). For the communication to be effective both the sender, and the receiver must understand the message. The way individuals communicate is altered according to their audience or environment. For example if an instructor is communicating through small talk his or her tone and vocabulary would differ from communicating through informational talk. The same goes for when an individual communicates with children or adults. Even though the tone and style of communication may be altered to fit the audience, the process of communication has to stay the same to be effective. Effective communication allows health care professionals to gain trust in a reluctant consumer and handle cultural differences among patients. The four basic elements of the communication process include a sender, message, receiver, and feedback. In effective communication the sender constructs a message that is appropriate for the receiver(s). According to Haycock (2003) there are three elements called the ‘3Ts’ that the sender should consider when constructing an effective message. The ‘3Ts’ are tone, tools (computer, video, note, etc. ), and tactics. It is important to think the message through before sending it to be sure it is as clear and concise as possible. In effective communication the receiver should be able to understand the message completely. The receiver may have to decode the message to gain full understanding. If he or she still does not understand the message, the receiver should use feedback to ask the sender for clarification. Feedback is an important part of effective communication because the sender learns if the receiver understood the message or not. If the receiver did not understand the message feedback allows the sender the opportunity to elucidate the message. â€Å"In short, feedback is the primary means of increasing personal awareness and establishing a shared understanding. You should give and get as much feedback as possible† (Cheesebro, et. al. , 2010, para. 23). Health care communication encompasses the four basic elements of communication. However, the basic rules of health care communication are a little more complex. According to du Pre (2005) â€Å"People are actively involved in health communication. They are not passive recipients of information† (pg. 9). Providers specifically focus on the tone and presentation of the message to ensure patients’ satisfaction. The ultimate goal in health care communication is to develop and maintain a shared understanding between health care professionals and patients. Physicians may use the biomedical or biopsychosocial model when communicating with patients. With the biomedical model, physicians use short and to-the-point questions or statements. This limits the patient input, which can cause the patient to feel dissatisfied with the care or diagnosis. The advantage of using the biomedical model is that it will save time. Although the biopsychosocial model does not save time, it is more effective when communicating in the health care setting because it focuses more on patient’s feelings. This reduces the risk of malpractice lawsuits, therefore saving money in the end. Whether health care professionals use the biomedical or biopsychosocial model, they will still encounter reluctant consumers. A provider may encourage a reluctant consumer to communicate candidly by validating the patient’s concerns, uphold complete honesty, and share plenty of ideas or information. When a consumer is reluctant, he or she can have a bad attitude and less willingness to listen. To encourage the reluctant consumer to communicate candidly it is extremely important that the provider maintains patience yet remain slightly persistent. The tone and presentation delivered by the provider makes a significant difference when persuading consumers to communicate openly. A patient may be reluctant to share open communication with a provider because of cultural differences. Some individuals feel extremely strong about their cultural beliefs, which can make it difficult for physicians to discuss cultural differences with patients. Providers generally share the same main goal, which is to help improve patient’s health. When the patient’s cultural beliefs go against certain tests and treatments it can sometimes prevent providers from doing reaching this goal. When providers cannot help improve patient’s health it an be very difficult. However, providers must respect patient’s wishes. â€Å"To be effective, health communicators must be concerned enough to pay close attention to people’s behavior and knowledgeable enough to recognize cultural and personal preferences that make people different† (du Pre, 2005, pg. 8). Barriers can arise in health care because of reluctant consumers or patients with strong cultural beliefs. Effective communication through the sender, message, receiver, and feedback can aid in breaking down these barriers. Once patients and providers can break down barriers it permits more open discussions and proper health care. Communication, especially in health care should be thought out, sensitive to feeling, clear, concise, and appropriate. According to du Pre (2005) â€Å"Communication, then, is an ongoing process of sharing and creating meaning. The challenge is not merely to put thoughts into words, but to cooperate with others in developing a shared understanding of what is happening and what it means† (pg. 10).

A Tourism Comparison Of Malaysia

A Tourism Comparison Of Malaysia Using various websites / internet sources, compare Malaysias performance with Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. Malaysia made up of Peninsular Malaysia and two states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo. Peninsular Malaysia is separated from Sabah and Sarawak by the South China Sea. In the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia lies Thailand and in the south, neighbouring Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak are bounded by Indonesia while Sarawak also shares borders with Brunei. Malaysia Tourism Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, tourism associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Malaysias tourism industry. Tourism Sector Tourist shows the robust performance. Looking at the most recent data from Immigration Department, the country welcomed 15.38mn tourists over the January-August 2009 period, which means an increase of 4.4% year on year. August itself was a particularly strong month with tourist arrivals up by 10.4% at 2.03mn. Although the major contributors to the economy profile in Malaysia are manufacturing and primary commodities, but travel and tourism has a highly important part of the Malaysian economy too. The tourism accommodation and air transportation sectors have growth. For example, AirAsia, the countrys premium low cost carrier, has expanded its operations and now offers many more routes within and outside the country and is regarded as a significant regional player. The hotel segment has been growing particularly rapidly, with the popularity of top-end boutique hotels continuing to increase. This can testify by Malaysia has gain the tourism awards 2008/2009 at the PICC, Putrajaya on 9 Jan 2010 from hon. deputy prime minister of Malaysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Hj Mohd Yassin. Not only that, The premier awards and merit awards got innovation homestay, innovative tourist attraction, innovative tour programme, best foreign tour operator, best tourism guide and hotel services, innovative restaurant and tourism publication. The Malaysian tourism will continues to grow rapidly because the government have hold many progress to promote tourism, For example one of Malaysia programme used to promote tourism is My Second Home, which is organised and launched by the Malaysian Government to allow foreigners who fulfil certain criteria to stay in Malaysia for as long as possible on a multiple-entry social visit pass. This could encourage them to stay in Malaysia. And the benefits are the social visit pass is initially for a period of ten years and is renewable. The promotion of education tourism also continues to be expanded to the development of Malaysia as a preferred destination for international students. The project foreign exchange earnings are estimated at RM 900 Million by 2010. Not only that, The Minister of Health, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, said that health tourism generated about US$85mn in revenue in 2008 and treated 370,000 foreign patients. Focus on Health Tourism in June 2009, state news agency Bernama reported that the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board is embarking on a three year project seeks to increase the number of people visiting the country for medical treatment. Have a preferred medical tourism destination and politically stable, Malaysia has become a more profitable tourism industry. As a visitor to Malaysia, they can have the opportunity to experience and appreciate its rich historic and cultural heritage, exotic culinary delights, shopping splendours, nature-based adventures and fun-filled activities. The enjoyable and hospitable nature of its people will make the foreigner come to Malaysia. Thailand Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia are important sources of visitors for Malaysia. By contraries, Malaysia, Japan, and Korea are the important destinations from where the large amounts of visitors come to Thailand. Apart from ASEAN countries, tourist arrivals from China and India will remain influential throughout the forecast period (2007-2011). Thailand its shape and geography divide into four natural regions; the mountains and forests of the North; the vast rice fields of the Central Plains; the semi-arid farm lands of the Northeast plateau; and the tropical islands and long coastline of the peninsula south. Bangkok is the capital city and centre of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities. It is also the seat of Thailands revered Royal Family. Tourism is a major economic factor in Thailand, its contributing an estimated 6.7% to Thailands GDP in 2007. It is also expected that inbound tourist expenditure per head will increase by around 10.49% in 2011 as compared to 2006. The Thai tourism industry is projected to end the year with a total of 13.8 million international visitor arrivals in 2006. Revenue earnings from tourism are now projected at 486 billion baht. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has targeted 14.8 million international visitor arrivals in 2007 with estimated target revenues of 547.5 billion baht. Unfortunately, H1N1 incident make reflect on Thai tourism industry in 2009 decrease, further discouraged visitor arrivals. Tourist arrivals have fallen sharply in the first half of 2009. Figures released by the Office of Tourism Development (OTD) showed that tourist arrivals fell by 16.2% year on year to arrivals of only 6.6mn. This followed a decline of 2% as a whole, with Thailand being one of the first countries with affected by the global economic downturn. But these tribulations no daunt to Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has worked hard to overcome difficulties and obstacles and bring forward the prosperity of Thailands tourism to meet international standards. Until now, Thailand has gained popularity from tourists all over the world for its quality and variety of tourist attractions. Thailand is also regarded as the premier shopping venue and ranked the topmost value-for-money tourist destination. Besides attracting more quality international tourists to visit Thailand, the TAT has also promoting tourism by conduct many campaigns to attract tourist. For an example, Thailand has been promoting its healthcare tourism, where it is providing the visitors with private healthcare facilities. It is expected that the tourist arrival for the purpose of medical treatment will reach two Million by 2010. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is now preparing for the 8th Thailand Tourism Awards 2010, which aims to promote and sustain the Thai tourism industry with an international standard. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will host the 8th Thailand Tourism Awards 2010, which aims to promote and sustain international standards in the Thai tourism industry. The Thailand Tourism Awards helps ensure Thailands popularity as well as increase credibility among both domestic and international tourists. Thailand Tourism Awards project was initiated by TAT since 1996. The awards are divided into five categories including Tourist Attractions, Tourist Accommodation, Tour Programmes, Tourism Development and Promotion Organisations and Medical Tourism. Singapore The Republic of Singapore is an independent nation in Southeast Asia. Located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, separated only by the narrow Strait of Johor from the mainland, it is a prosperous nation whose people enjoy one of the highest standards of living in Asia. Singapore may be small, but packs in quite a punch. It is Only about 655 square kilometers in area, it is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with about 6430 people per square kilometer. Although it is one of the 20 smallest countries in the world, its economy is a world leader. Singapore is a vibrant and colourful city where one can find a harmonious blend of culture, cuisine, art and architecture. And tourism in Singapore is a major industry and attracts millions of tourists each year. Singapore has always been his charming tropical scenery and hospitality and attracted visitors from all over the world tourists. Singapore is one of the most visiting tourist destinations in the world. It offers numerous travel attractions, natural as well as man-made marvels. Its cultural attraction can be attributed to its cultural diversity that reflects its colonial history and Chinese, Malay, Indian and Arab ethnicities. It is also environmentally friendly, and maintains natural and heritage conservation programs. Tourism is one of the largest service sectors of Singapore. As of 2009, the tourism industry was estimated to reach S$6.4 billion and visitor arrivals to Singapore reached 4.5 million. This clearly shows the important role tourism industry plays in Singapores economy. And the country performance is Tourism receipts from visitors from Hong Kong (+11.3%) registered growth from January to June 2009. Visitor arrivals from Vietnam (+13.4%), the Philippines (+3.0%), Malaysia (+1.8%) and Germany (+1.3%) registered growth in the first half of 2009 versus the same period last year. In additions, Singapore is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia-Pacific region and the tourism industry in Singapore is growing very rapidly for the past several years. This is because strengthening by the infrastructure developments, various events and the countries strategic location in the heart of region. And the projected ranges for 2009 full-year tourism receipts and visitor arrivals of S$12.0 to S$12.5 billion and 9.0 to 9.5 million respectively remain unchanged, with travellers expected to stay cautious as uncertainties continue around Influenza A(H1N1-2009) and the general economic environment. Indonesia About the performance tourism in Indonesia, Tourism is an important component of the Indonesian economy as well as a significant source of foreign exchange revenues. With a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, the second longest shoreline in the world, over 700 languages and tropical climate, nature and culture are both major components of Indonesian tourism. The number of tourist arrivals in Indonesia in the first half of 2009 rose 2.61 percent to 2.97 million from the same period last year, a tourist official said. Indonesia tourist arrivals rose in 2009 but spending declined. More foreign tourists visited Indonesia last year than in 2008, but they spent less, resulting in a sharp decline in total tourism revenue, In June 2009 alone, the number of tourist arrivals rose 4.06 percent from a year earlier, Domestic Promotion Director at the Culture and Tourism Ministry Fathul Bahri said. Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) show the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia in June 2009 reached around 550,600, up 4.07 percent from June 2008, or 5.53 percent from May 2009. The number of foreign tourist arrivals through the country`s 11 main entry gates in June 2009 went up 4.95 percent to 466,900 from 444,900 in June 2008. The figure is promising now that the number of tourist arrivals in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore recorded negative growth, he said. In addition, he remained optimistic that the country would be able to achieve its tourist arrival target of 6.5 million for 2009. However, tourism development had sometimes clashed with local people, they have created criticism over Indonesias tourism industry. Most of the disputes were related over land possession, local traditions and the impact of tourism development to the local people. In another area, tourism industry in Indonesia faces major threats. Since 2002, several warnings have been issued by some countries over terrorist threats and ethnic or religious conflicts in some areas, which significantly reduce the number of foreign visitors. Visit Indonesia is a good program but it lacks proper implementation which is said by Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, an economist from state-owned PT Danareksa Sekuritas. After comparison with Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, the conclusion can made is Malaysia has better performance that the three country. Like compare to Indonesia, it miss their target that set before and still lags far behind its smaller neighbours in terms of tourist numbers. Malaysia is welcomed 15.38 million foreign tourists during the first eight months of 2009 alone, while Singapore saw 4.51 million tourist arrivals in the first half the year. However, these three country also have their own strategic or technique to retrieval the tourism or to promote their tourism more. Planning is importing, lacking a more effective long-term strategy, the countrys tourism would likely only grow in line with the global economy.

Ancient Greece :: Ancient Greece Essays fc

Ancient Greece   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ancient Greece is a peninsula located off the Mediterranean Sea, and is surrounded by several islands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ancient Greece was made up of different types of government. There were two types of city states an oligarchy , which is ruled by a small group of citizens and a direct democracy ruled by the people . All citizens could make speeches and vote at the Assembly. The Council made up of 500 citizens made new laws which were debated in the Assembly . Only citizens could vote ,women , foreigners, slaves did not have the right to vote Religion and myths were very important in Greek citizens lives . They used Gods and Goddess to explain things which happened in science and everyday life . They built temples to honor their Gods and Goddess and held the Olympics in honor of the king of the gods Zeus . The Parthenon was a temple built to honor the Goddess Athena . The people believed the Gods and Goddess would favor you if you gave them offerings such as gold ,silver ,and the fruit of the harvest .A few of the Gods and Goddess were Zeus king of the gods ,Athena Goddess of wisdom, warfare, and the city , Apollo , god of the sun , light ,truth , music and , prophecy , Hades brother of Zeus and king of the under world and afterlife , and Poseidon, ruler of the seas . All of the gods and goddess lived at Mount Olympus the highest mountain in Greece . The Greeks had many occupations , traders , merchants , architects , philosophers, dramatists , sculptors , doctors , poets , astronomers and , physicists however ; each citizen protected the city state . Every citizen had a duty to defend the state as a hoplite, which is a heavily equipped warrior .They operated in a large rectangular formation of thousands of men all equal in rank .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Greeks influenced the way we live today .The educated Greeks wanted explanations for the world and things around them . they made observations and came up with theories . These people were known as philosophers which means â€Å"the love of wisdom † Socrates , Plato , and Aristotle were famous philosophers .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hippocrates is known as the father of medicines today doctors take the Hippocratic Oath , †named after him , which requires them to act ethically and morally . Anaxagras , an astronomer explained that a solar eclipse is caused by the moon passing between the earth and the sun blocking out the suns light .

Internet Usage :: Essays Papers

Internet Usage Are Mainstream Scientific Researchers Using the Internet to its full Multimedia Potential? As a research presentation medium, the Internet has been designed to offer vastly more to publishers than easy text access. It's astoundingly simple to incorporate photographs, diagrams, illustrations, sounds, animations, movies and all kinds of non-text content into a website using today's user-friendly web development software. This subject, Networks and Multimedia in Science and Technology, has been designed to open its students' eyes to the exciting multimedia possibilities available that can communicate research findings more accessibly, effectively and concisely than plain text. A look through some of the research presented by many of these students, found linked to the NAMIST CONFERENCE PAGE, makes it clear that well-designed web sites can make even the most potentially boring topics (statistics? butterflies?) attractive and interesting through the use of intuitive structures and appropriate multimedia. However, a browse through the web site of Australia's principal government-funded Scientific organisation, the CSIRO AUSTRALIA page, reveals myriads of research papers published almost exclusively in text-only format. The http://www.nobel.se/announcement-98/physics98.html official 1998 Nobel Prize award announcement for the field of Physics includes some diagrams, but nothing one would not find in a 1970's textbook. Many of the links from american science organisation www.Sigmaxi.org's science resource page, http://www.sigmaxi.org/scienceresources/scienceresources.htm, have a small amount of graphical content, but only one site I found, http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/ - a site dedicated to volcano research - made consistent use of movie files, sounds and animation, and this site was filed under "fun for kids" on sigmaxi's resource list. I believe there are many reasons for the scientific community's apparent dislike for multimedia. Not a small factor could be the possible perception that research that is presented in a flashy, colourful way is lacking in substance, that researchers who spend large amounts of time on presentation are compromising the research itself. The traditional presentation of research has been through publication in scientific journals, not renowned for their attention to visual appeal, and the use of extensive visual or multimedia assistance to focus the reader's attention could be viewed as condescending. Furthermore, making use of the available technology, whilst relatively easy using today's advanced, user-friendly development software, is nonetheless far more time-consuming than the use of simple text. In the context of a scientific report, visual cues are far more labour intensive to include than equivalent textual explanations in most cases. Furthermore many researchers are unfamiliar with the techniques required to produce them, and more willing to attempt written explanations than commission graphic artworks.

Weight Management Essay examples -- essays research papers

Weight management has been thought of as only weight loss by many. Weight management covers all aspects of attaining and maintaining optimum weight for a healthy lifestyle. Health professionals now realize that prevention of weight gain as well as weight loss and improving health status are important goals. These goals must be individualized for success. At the outset of treatment, the patient and health care provider should discuss and agree upon goals. The goals must take into account the food habits, exercise behaviors, psychological outlook and support systems of the individual. Realistic expectations, short- and long-term, may be promoted by a discussion of a healthy weight versus an ideal body weight. Features of weight management interventions may include behavior modification, dietary principles, energy balance components, and a sound food plan. In order to create a behavior modification plan that will be successful for the individual, identifying cues, responses and consequences of eating behaviors is necessary. Control of eating behavior, physical activity, emotional, social, and psychological health must all be analyzed and interventions applied. Behaviors related to problems with intake and expenditure of energy must be specifically defined. Recording and analyzing eating and exercise behaviors to develop strategies aimed at learning new behaviors are essential. Dietetic practice in weight management is complex and challenging. Assessment of weight and health should guide weight management goals and outcomes. The weight and dieting history should include age of onset of weight problems, number and types of diets, exercise history, possible triggers to weight gains and losses, and an appropriate range of weight change. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is considered the standard measurement for weight status. The BMI is estimated by weight (kg) divided by height (m2). A BMI of 25 – 29 is considered overweight and some weight loss is recommended. There is debate surrounding how much weight loss should be attained. In considering a weight management plan, it is necessary to incorporate each of the following: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  realistic goals (weight loss average of  ½ to 1 pound per week); †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  energy intake limits related to the energy output of the individual (the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) + activity level shoul... ...he obesity epidemic. Science. 1998;280:1371-1374. 2. Willett WC, Dietz WH, Colditz GA. Primary Care: Guidelines for healthy weight. New England Journal of Medicine. 1999;341:427-434. 3. National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity, National Institutes of Health. Very low-calorie diets. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1993;270:967-974. 4. Stein K. High-protein, low carbohydrate diets: Do they work? Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2000,100:760-761. 5. Jeffery RW, Drewnowski A, Epstein LH, Stunkard AJ, Wilson GT, Wing RR, Hill DR. Long-term maintenance of weight loss: current status. Health Psychology. 2000;1(Suppl):5-16. 6. Byfield C. A lifestyle physical activity intervention for obese sedentary women: Effect on cardiovascular disease risk factors. American College of Sports Med: Indianapolis IN; 2000. 7. Rosen JC. Improving body image in obesity. In: Thompson, JK, ed. Body Image, Eating Disorders and Obesity. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 1996: 425-550. 8. Nix S. Basic Nutrition & Diet Therapy, 12th edition. 2005: 268-287. 9. Martini F. Fundamentals of Anatomy & Physiology, 6th edition. 2004: 928-964.