Sun Yat-Sen University Essay Example

Sun Yat-Sen University Essay This article was downloaded by: [Sun Yat-Sen University] On: 02 June 2013, At: 05:15 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Accounting Education: An International Journal Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www. tandfonline. com/loi/raed20 Personal skills development in the accounting curriculum Bob Gammie , Elizabeth Gammie Erica Cargill Published online: 05 Oct 2010. To cite this article: Bob Gammie , Elizabeth Gammie Erica Cargill (2002): Personal skills development in the accounting curriculum, Accounting Education: An International Journal, 11:1, 63-78 To link to this article: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1080/09639280210153272 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www. tandfonline. com/page/termsand-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. 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Accounting Education 11 (1), 63–78 (2002) We will write a custom essay sample on Sun Yat-Sen University specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Sun Yat-Sen University specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Sun Yat-Sen University specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Personal skills development in the accounting curriculum B OB G A M M I E* , E LI Z A BE TH G A M M I E and ER I C A CA R G I LL The Robert Gordon University, Scotland Received: July 2001 Revised: September 2001 Accepted: October 2001 Abstract Downloaded by [Sun Yat-Sen University] at 05:15 02 June 2013 Today’s challenging economic situation means that it is no longer suf cient for a new graduate to have knowledge of an academic subject; increasingly it is necessary for students to gain those skills which will enhance their prospects of employment. For over a decade, a number of employers have been sounding warnings to the higher education sector that a ‘skills gap’ was emerging at the employer/graduate interface. This paper highlights one strategy that attempts to facilitate the development of transferable and managerial skills in an undergraduate accounting degree. Using a stakeholder approach the adequacy of current in-house provision, and a comparison of this with best practice in the sector, was undertaken. Analysis of the ndings resulted in the conclusion that skills development using an embedded delivery approach was insuf cient. Likewise, a dedicated skills module in Year 1 was also inadequate and an appropriate course needed to be developed and incorporated as a core module in Year 2 of the programme. The result of this has been the creation of a module entitled Business Enterprise Skills. Keywords: graduate skills, dedicated module Introduction and relevant literature Today’s challenging economic situation means that it is no longer suf cient for a new graduate to have knowledge of an academic subject; increasingly it is necessary for students to gain those skills which will enhance their prospects of employment. Graduates are being asked to display far more than subject-speci c knowledge. They need to provide evidence that skills development activity has occurred during their higher education experience. Harvey et al. (1997), concluded that: . . . employers . . . no longer recruit simply on the basis of degree status. A degree might be necessary or desirable but employers are looking for a range of other attributes when employing and retaining graduates. (Harvey et al. , 1997, p. 63) The UK Government has also acknowledged the requirement for graduate skills. The National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education reported in 1997 that all institutions should, over the medium term, identify opportunities to increase the extent to which programmes help students become familiar with work and help them re ect on such experience (Dearing Committee, 1997). The Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) (1997) has identi ed that employers frequently emphasize the importance of key * Address for correspondence: Bob Gammie, Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen, AB10 7QE, UK. E-mail: r. [emailprotected] ac. u k Accounting Education ISSN 0963–9284 print/ISSN 1468–4489 online  © 2002 Taylor Francis Ltd http://www. tandf. co. uk/journals DOI: 10. 1080/0963928021015327 2 64 Gammie et al. Downloaded by [Sun Yat-Sen University] at 05:15 02 June 2013 skills in preparing people to be part of a exible and adaptable workforce. They further emphasize the part they have to play in the employability of individuals throughout their working lives. It is evident that the nature of accounting has changed considerably, largely because the organizational, economic and technological context in which this type of work is conducted has changed, in many cases, beyond recognition (Cooper, 1998; Adamson et al. , 1998). This is set to continue, and will manifest itself in many ways, perhaps most obviously through intensi cation of work practices. This has already radically changed the skills that accountants need in order to be effective in the changed context in which they have to operate. Worrall and Cooper (1997; 1998; 2001) argue that individual and business survival, and business and national competitiveness, will depend on how quickly and how well UK decision-makers develop new skills. A key question in this type of research is – who is the best judge of what future skills accounting graduates are likely to need? Nationally, and internationally, a number of studies have been performed to ascertain exactly what skills the employers want to see included in the graduate pro le (e. g. Nicholson and Moss, 1990; Abbott, 1993; AGR, 1995; CAES, 1997; O’Brien, 1997; Williams and Owen, 1997; Fallows and Steven, 2000). The overall feedback suggests that the following ‘groups’ of skills were the most sought after; communication, problem-solving, personal and interpersonal skills, responsibility and organizational ability. Williams and Owen (1997) found that the most common perceived graduate qualities are an ability to learn, intelligence, ideas and imagination, and good communication skills. Lewis and Gill (1999) further articulate much of the current thinking in this area: Transferable skills and key skills are simply code words for the kind of capability now being sought; ‘adaptability’ and ‘ exibility’ are indications of the kinds of disposition now required. These meta-skills . . . enable persons to deploy effectively a repertoire of generic and more speci c skills (Lewis and Gill, 1999, p. 1). Essentially employers have stated that they want students to be able to think laterally (Holmes, 1995a). They require students familiar with a problem-based approach to a situation and to take with them into employment the ability to come up with creative and original solutions. Personal and interpersonal skills encompass both communications and team work dynamics, thus the requirement for team players, as well as team-leaders (Holmes, 1995b). The ability of an individual to work successfully as an individual, or as a member of a group, forms an integral part of the graduate skills pro le (Rozien and Jepson, 1985). Graduates are expected to have a sense of ‘appropriateness’ for the ways in which they respond to people and to the tasks in hand. Employers desire graduates who are ‘self-con dent but recognize their own limitations’ (Harvey and Bowes, 1998). In a survey of small- and medium-sized enterprises, Harvey and Bowes (1998) noted that ‘employers want graduates to make an early contribution when starting employment’. This ability to handle responsibility and exhibit leadership potential is a widely sought after skill on a national level. Harvey and Bowes’ (1998) ndings indicated a preference for individuals who can display that they have the potential for leadership in a work environment. Previous effective leadership experience intimates a good team-worker, listener and motivator, and someone who has already shown himself to be worthy of the respect of his team. Organizational ability, for example, time keeping, effective planning Personal skills development 65 Downloaded by [Sun Yat-Sen University] at 05:15 02 June 2013 and strategic thinking are mandatory for the competitive graduate marketplace. Along with foreign language skills and ICT competencies these ‘meta-skills’ (Barnett, 1998) constitute the reported areas of skill de cit within the modern graduate pro le. The arguments put forward in relation to the demands and requirements of employers should not be accepted unchallenged. It is perhaps stating the obvious to make the point that all recruiters would like the graduates they take on to be as ready to contribute to the pro tability of the organization in as short a time period as possible. The logic is straightforward, the more ready the HE sector makes the individual to achieve work competency, the less time and resource the organization need to devote to achieving this. There is obviously a balance to be struck and it is equally evident that the more that the HE sector provides then the greater the extent to which the prospective employers will ask for. Indeed, the HE sector has a far wider remit than providing students with work-based skills, and it has to satisfy a range of stakeholders (Stewart and Knowles, 2001). Thus, feedback from employers must be analysed in this light; they are a group that is potentially never satis ed. Indeed, their requirements may be transient in nature as business conditions alter. It is important to consider in this light which skills should be incorporated within the education process and which should be facilitated outside the academic curriculum (Nabi and Begley, 1998). As Stewart and Knowles (2000) and Gubbay (1994) point out, universities are not surrogate employment and training agencies and, in an already squeezed curriculum, the clear bene ts of skills development have to be identi ed to substantiate their inclusion. Notwithstanding the above, it is evident from the literature that a range of transferable skills are essential for students leaving university and entering the world of work. Thus, part of the HE function in producing graduates is to provide them with the attributes necessary to be able to operate professionally within the environment required for the ‘learning age’ or ‘learning society’. This is entirely consistent with the Dearing Committee (1997) which noted that: . . . institutions of higher education [should] begin immediately to develop, for each programme they offer, a ‘programme speci cation’ which . . gives the intended outcomes of the programme in terms of: c the knowledge and understanding that a student will be expected to have on completion; c key skills: communication, numeracy, the use of information technology and learning how to learn; c cognitive skills, such as an understanding of methodologies or ability in critical analysis; c subject speci c skills. ’ Aim and context The aim of this paper is to examine from the perspective of relevant stakeholders a number of issues. It will examine the current provision in relation to skills development, question whether further development is required and, if so, what is the most appropriate model to facilitate this. The research has been undertaken within Aberdeen Business School (ABS), part of The Robert Gordon University. ABS maintains close links with industry, commerce and the 66 Gammie et al. Downloaded by [Sun Yat-Sen University] at 05:15 02 June 2013 public sector, the intention being to ensure, as far as possible, that the courses offered are tailored to the needs of graduate employers. In addition, the operation of thick sandwich degree programmes are central to the School’s portfolio, with students on the Accounting and Finance degree undertaking 12 months paid placement within an accounting environment during the third year of their studies. Current provision takes the form of a dedicated module in Year 1 of the undergraduate accounting degree. This is core to the programme and is awarded credit points accordingly. This is consistent with other provision across the sector where skills development falls almost exclusively within the boundaries of the rst year of degree studies. The question that has been posed in relation to this asks – is it realistic to expect students at the end of Year 1, to have reached a point where they take full responsibility for their skills development? Stewart and Knowles (2000) also suggested that consideration should be given to examining the requirement for modules at a higher level which dealt both academically and practically with the notions of careers, career planning and career development. This is a key feature of this paper: it looks beyond rst year studies and attempts to clarify and construct a model for skills development and enhancement in students’ second year of study. Methodological approach There is a number of stakeholders involved in this area and, if substantive progress is to be made in the development of enhanced skill levels, appropriate research needs to be undertaken to nd out what needs to be done and how this is best achieved. A number of groups were identi ed as being relevant – graduate employers, placement employers, Year 4 students who have completed a placement in the third year of their degree, current placement students, current provision elsewhere, and nally the views of the Course Team. Thus, a multifaceted approach was taken in an attempt to generate meaningful data from all the relevant parties. Approaches included a discussion forum, interviews and questionnaires. The intention here was to inform the argument from as many perspectives as possible to avoid simply appearing to be at the call of graduate employers and meeting their every demand. It is clear that their opinion is of relevance but this cannot be allowed to overshadow all others. Thus, in data analysis the Course Team was very much aware of the need for a balanced analysis and to take cognisance of all perspectives. Graduate and placement employers An examination of employers’ requirements needed to be contextualized within the environment in which the university is situated. Thus, although a number of generic skills have been identi ed, it was believed to be important to engage as many employers in the dialogue as possible. To this end a debate incorporating graduate and placement employers entitled ‘Graduates of the Future’ was held with the general aim being to elicit views on the potential for undergraduate course improvement. More speci cally, we sought to try and determine the changing requirements of accounting graduates, from the view of those who have in the past recruited Business School students – be it at graduate level, or for the one year period of industrial placement. The latter is often a student’s rst noncasual work experience; hence it is important that students possess suf cient knowledge and skills to operate in the current business environment described above. Personal skills development 67 During the discussions, frequent use was made of terms such as ‘practical skills’, ‘transferable skills’ and ‘nous’. It became evident that the main area in which employers felt there was room for improvement in our degree programmes was in the development of these ‘softer skills’. The focus was on skills that make new graduates immediately productive in the work environment and which are therefore most attractive to potential employers. Post-placement students Feedback was generated from students via post-placement questionnaires. Views were sought from 66 Year 4 undergraduate students on, inter alia, how well prepared they felt themselves to be when entering the work environment. The results con rmed the employers’ views: that although students believed they had the theoretical skills required at this stage, they felt ill-equipped in transferring these skills into the practical work situation. Provision within other universities Before embarking upon a possible solution to the above issues, information was sought from other UK Business Schools eliciting information on the teaching of the skills identi ed above, with a view to drawing on examples of best practice. A questionnaire was designed and distributed, using the BABSIP (British Association for Business Studies Industrial Placements) mailbase, to which 18 member institutions responded. The questionnaire examined current methods of placement preparation and teaching practical business skills, the adequacy of any provision, together with examples of good practice. (i) Current methods of placement preparation The majority of the respondents (67%, n 5 12) prepared students for their rst work experience with time slotted into the curriculum, with only 28% (n 5 5) of the sample running a speci c module for the purpose. The remaining respondent did not provide any preparation for placement within the curriculum, although it did undertake some extracurricular activities. Although 56% of respondents (n 5 10) felt that they had suf cient time allocated to them within the timetable to provide adequate preparation for placement, the number of hours of preparation considered suf cient by these respondents varied enormously from 10 hours to 150 hours of preparation. The 8 respondents who did not think they had suf cient time for placement preparation cited between 0–12 hours for this purpose. It is also interesting to note that all the respondents who indicated that they do not have suf cient time allocated to adequately prepare their students are dealing with over 150 students annually. In contrast, ve of the ten respondents who consider themselves to have adequate preparation time are dealing with fewer than 150 students, with two of these in the 0–50 students category. This may suggest that co-ordinating a successful programme becomes less manageable as student numbers increase – an important point in the context of the Aberdeen Business School provision, where annual student placement numbers exceed 250. Downloaded by [Sun Yat-Sen University] at 05:15 02 June 2013 68 Gammie et al. Downloaded by [Sun Yat-Sen University] at 05:15 02 June 2013 (ii) Teaching of practical business skills There appears to be a variety of teaching methods used for the development of practical business skills and preparation for placement by other Business Schools. The vast majority of institutions (77%, n 5 14) used one-to-one interviews, although two respondents admitted there was insuf cient time to see every student on a one-to-one basis and that interviews tended to be by request only. Other delivery techniques were used to supplement these interviews. One-third (n 5 6) of the respondents simply used lectures for the delivery of material and it is unsurprising that each of these respondents also stated that they had insuf cient time for placement preparation. The remaining respondents who undertook some preparation of students (n 5 11) used a combination of lectures and seminars. The ‘other’ methods cited by four respondents included: presentations by returning students, mock assessment centre, drop in sessions, video interviews with feedback provided. (iii) Examples of good ractice Several examples of good practice were offered and this generated some interesting ideas including: c c c c c use of professionally produced videos to teach interview techniques use of role-play involving groups of students carrying out mock interviews mock interviews conducted by post-graduate or 4th year students specializing in Personnel Management full day dedicated to placement preparation with visiting employers, former placement students, placement staff and academic staff all offering input focus groups to polish applications to certain companies, career-planning assignment, using the Careers Service produced ‘PROSPECT’ interactive computer package One BABSIP member admitted that a business skills module had been piloted this year but that it was unlikely this would be implemented due to a lack of resources. Table 1 further splits the analysis into those respondents who felt that they had adequately prepared students for placement, with those who did not. The table reveals that the majority of respondents are covering each of the identi ed skills. However, only 56% (n 5 10) of the respondents covered all of the skill areas highlighted and these were in fact the same group who were of the opinion that their placement preparation was adequate. These were predominantly covered within the hours timetabled for placement preparation but, if not, were covered elsewhere in the curriculum. This nding would appear to add weight to the argument for running a dedicated placement preparation/skills development module. The remaining 44% (n 5 8) all covered CV writing and interview skills within their speci c placement preparation but the remainder of the skills, if covered at all, tended to be covered on an ad hoc basis through the rest of the curriculum. Course team analysis of in-house placement preparation and skills development The Course Team also critically examined the current provision of skills development, and the preparation provided for the students about to undertake their rst working experience. Four areas (Table 2) that are central to the education of an undergraduate student were identi ed. Each of these areas requires development throughout the entire undergraduate Personal skills development Table 1. Skills identi cation Adequate (10) Skill CV writing Interview skills Job search skills Time Management Writing in business Practical research skills Presentation skills Team Working/dynamics Using IT in business Career planning Company culture Oral communication skills Health Safety Placement* 10 10 10 4 3 3 4 6 1 8 4 1 10 Curriculum – – – 6 7 7 6 4 9 2 6 9 – Not Adequate (8) Placement* 7 8 6 – – – 0 – – – – – 2 Curriculum – – – 2 0 2 – 4 3 – – 2 1 69 Total 17 18 16 12 10 12 10 14 13 10 10 12 13 Downloaded by [Sun Yat-Sen University] at 05:15 02 June 2013 Includes extra-curricular activities. experience. It was evident that the development of ‘softer’ skills was a central theme. Considerable effort had already been made by the Course Team to embed into the curriculum, throughout the duration of the programme, activities that would develop these skills. In addition students received speci c placement preparation activities which were extracurricular but compulsory for all students embarking on a placement. This included lectures from the Placement Director on the role of the placement within the respective degrees, together with the requirements for the completion of the relevant placement documentation. A Placement Away Day was also organized with advice on CV and interview preparation, and at which employers and post-placement students provided feedback on their experiences. Finally each student had a one-to-one interview with a member of the placement unit to discuss his/her career aspirations. Current placement student views Once analysis of the BABSIP questionnaire had taken place, one-to-one discussions with selected students followed up on some of the ideas generated. Five students who were currently out on placement were interviewed. The purpose of these interviews was to address some of the issues, which arose from the BABSIP questionnaire and to seek the students’ views on what they believed would improve their work performance and subsequent employability. Current Year 3 Undergraduate placement students were interviewed as the authors were of the view that they would easily recall their feelings of six months earlier when they commenced employment. They should therefore have opinions as to the skills they needed at that time but which perhaps they did not have. The students chosen to take part were all working in positions considered by the authors to be particularly demanding and challenging. The interviews took place on a one-to-one basis in the course of routine placement visits. Each student was asked the same set of questions although the interviews were informal and discussion was encouraged. 70 Table 2. Programme level learning outcomes Speci cation of the set of knowledge and understanding to be acquired in a particular programme at each level Key transferable Communication process skills that and presentation students are skills expected to develop Higher-cognitive Application (use skills that of knowledge and students are understanding in expected to actual situations) develop Knowledge and understanding that the students are expected to develop Knowledge (description of facts; criteria; de nitions; classi cation; data organizations; principles and theories) Numeracy and IT skills Understanding (preparation and demonstration of understanding of knowledge) Gammie et al. Learning skills Interactive and group skills Downloaded by [Sun Yat-Sen University] at 05:15 02 June 2013 Analysis (breaking down complex situations into component parts) Synthesis (combining elements to form new, coherent systems) Evaluation and problem solving (forming value judgements based on clear criteria and formulating solutions to actual problem situations) Subject-speci c skills that students are expected to develop Speci cation of the subject/ discipline related skills that students are expected to develop over the course of the programme of their studies The initial discussions focussed on the 13 skill areas examined in the questionnaire in an attempt to identify where the current preparation programme is strong and where it is weak. All ve students mentioned interview skills, career planning, oral communication skills and business writing as areas in which they would have bene tted from more assistance prior to entering the work environment. In discussions as to how these skills may be taught, the students favoured interactive sessions in addition to lectures and this was reinforced by the fact that they had little memory of their own pre-placement preparation which consisted of two one-hour lectures. Three of the students suggested that presentations by employers would have given them more information about what employers were looking for and what to expect once in the work environment. All the students agreed that they had not been fully aware of the career options available to them prior to their placement year and they felt that more information about types of organization and career options would be useful to students in the future. Finally, the Personal skills development 71 students were asked how long they had been working before they considered themselves more of a help than a hindrance to their employer. The responses ranged from three to six months, which is in line with the research undertaken in the AGR (1995) Report. Although a light-hearted question, the guidelines provided by the students can be used as a benchmark against which future course developments can be evaluated. The way forward The evidence from the above research provided a balanced view from a number of stakeholders. It appeared that the Business School was not doing enough to repare students for their rst work experience. It suggested that a dedicated module in this area was the most app ropriate way to facilitate student development. There was a strong view that, for the module to be seen as integral to the overall degree, it should form part of the curriculum, be formally assessed and receive the appropriate academic credit. The module entitled Business Enterprise Skills was therefore introduced as one of eight core subjects within the second year of the four-year Scottish degree programme. This module therefore had to replace a module that was already offered as the maximum number of modules in any one year is restricted to eight. After lengthy consideration it was decided to sacri ce the second year economics module as it was felt that one year of economics study was probably suf cient for accounting students. The paper will now outline how the development of the module proceeded. Initial development concentrated on an analysis of the Level Learning Outcomes, which are one level down from the Programme Level Learning Outcomes contained for the Accounting and Finance course in Table 2. The purpose of this was to identify exactly what the degree was attempting to achieve. The next phase was to locate where in the course these outcomes were being achieved. Subsequent to this it was clear to the development team what skills were not being fully addressed and where gaps were evident. Thus, the creation of the Business Enterprise Skills module had a clear vision at the outset of exactly the issues it was attempting to resolve. Thirteen themes were identi ed and are listed below and in Table 1. A number of studies (DfEE, 1997; Nabi and Begley, 1998; CAES, 1997) have attempted to classify skills into certain categories. The attribution of labels to a group of skills did not seem particularly relevant in this context, and no weighting was given to each to suggest a hierarchy of importance. c c c c c c c c c c c CV writing interview skills job search skills time management writing in business practical research skills presentation skills team working using IT in business career planning oral communication skills Downloaded by [Sun Yat-Sen University] at 05:15 02 June 2013 72 c c health and safety company culture Gammie et al. Downloaded by [Sun Yat-Sen University] at 05:15 02 June 2013 The rst stage in the creation of the module itself was to identify the aim of the module. In this particular context this can be subdivided into the short-term, which in this instance is to prepare students for their rst work experience, usually the placement, and also as a basis for further training and re ection within the student’s placement organization. It is envisaged that skills should be continually developed through on the job training and planned organizational experience. Indeed, the development of business skills is seen as a continual ongoing process throughout the career of the current day professional. Thus, if solid foundations can be laid at an early stage, this can only be for the bene t of the individual and future employers. An important point to note at this juncture is the underpinning that all students will have in this area before they arrive in Year 2 of the respective programmes. It is evident that the Business Skills module in Year 1 has been a success, based on feedback received. However, as we have seen from the research undertaken above, it has left students a little short in a number of key areas. Identi cation of the learning objectives of such a module is an imperative task if a coherent framework is to be created. The intention was to address the 13 key skill areas identi ed. However, to provide a pragmatic and transparent set of achievable learning outcomes, the Course Team restricted the learning outcomes to a total of ve. A consequence of this is that the learning outcomes had to be suf ciently broadly framed to cover the key skill areas but detailed enough to ensure that the objectives are speci c, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound (Ellington and Earl, 1996). A summary of the Business Enterprise Skills module can be found in Table 3. The rst column identi es the skills that the course team highlighted as requiring attention within the module. The second column then maps how the course content addresses each of these requirements, with the third column indicating how the content is delivered to the students. The nal column focuses on how each of the necessary skills is assessed. Student contact and delivery The student interviews and questionnaire suggested that interactive seminars and workshops would be more effective than lecture situations. However, consideration must also be given to the constraints upon academic modules imposed by the university. This means that a balance must be struck between formal delivery of information in lecture format and participative classes. The university standard is for each module to be allocated 150 hours in total, although this is t

My Sisters Keeper Essays

My Sisters Keeper Essays My Sisters Keeper Paper My Sisters Keeper Paper Introduction, and Thesis: Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) to provide a genetically matched donor for an older sick child and to use the organs of the younger to the medical benefit of the elder is not morally justifiable using rule utilitarian ethical theory. This principle is not justifiable due to both the nature of the proposed rule regarding PGD and, primarily, to the nature of utilitarian ethical philosophy in general. Arguments Supporting Thesis: Rule utilitarianism is a moral philosophy holding that general rules for moral guidance should be developed that will act as an aid in making ethical decisions. For example, one such rule might by that one ought to keep promises. Given this general rule, when faced with a moral decision, an individual should look at the list of rules and see if any of these rules apply to the current situation. Using the above example, if the situation involves keeping a promise or not, then one should keep the promise. According to this philosophy, even if the consequences of a particular act of promise keeping are bad, the person behaving in accordance with the established utilitarian rule is morally not at fault. However in an attempt to establish a new utilitarian moral rule, each individual event will affect the attempt to establish a moral rule. This ethical theory requires development of rules of action based on the potential rules likelihood to bring about the most good for the most people. For the purposes of this discussion a reasonable rule would be: parents should use PGD to provide a genetically matched donor for an older child and use the expendable organs of the younger child to repair life threatening medical conditions of the older. For the sake of argument, this paper assumes that any procedures that would necessarily result in the death of the younger child would not be performed. For example, if the elder child needs a heart transplant, this rule could not be used to justify the death of the younger by removing the younger siblings heart and transplanting it into the elder. The suggested rule makes use of other, more fundamental utilitarian rules such as one shouldnt cause pain or one should prevent pain. Neither of these rules in itself is sufficient to establish the more specific utilitarian rule suggested in the preceding paragraph. To determine if this potential utilitarian rule should be adopted, some cases, using Picoults novel My Sisters Keeper as a springboard should be examined. The first case to examine is the simplest case. If the proposed rule proves inadequate for a simple application, it is unlikely that more complex, and more realistic scenarios will be adequately served by the proposed rule. The simplest case within this context would be the case originally conceived of by Kates parents, Sara and Brian Fitzgerald. In this scenario Sara and Brian had two children, the elder, Jesse, is approximately seven years old. His little sister, Kate is a about two years old when she is diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Since Jesse is not a compatible donor, her parents elect to use PGD to produce a genetically compatible donor as a potential solution for their daughters health problem. Initially, the younger daughter, Anna, is to be used to donate blood cells from the umbilical cord to provide needed blood cells for Kate. Theoretically, these cells would put Kates APL into remission and that would be the end of medical treatment. All three children would be healthy, have little or no memories of the procedure and the Fitzgerald family would live happily ever after. Does this scenario provide the greatest good for the most people? Although others are involved in My Sisters Keeper, such as the nurses, surgeons, and hospital staff, it is reasonable to consider just the impact of the Fitzgerald family. It appears that the most people have received the greatest good. Kate has her normal life expectancy back, Jesse now has not one, but two little sisters to tease and torment, while Sara and Brian have three happy, healthy children. It appears to be a winning situation for everyone. This scenario provides support that the proposed rule may be a viable utilitarian rule, at least in this simplified situation. Unfortunately, all the cases this proposed rule are to be applied to arent this simple. The Fitzgeralds experiences provide an example where the simple case doesnt prevail and the situation is complicated by other events. Initially in My Sisters Keeper, it appears the umbilical cord blood cells take at Annas birth have done the job. Kate goes into remission for five years. However, at this point Kates APL flairs up and lymphocytes are drawn from Anna three times and inserted into Kate. Again this appears to work for the short term, but ultimately, the procedure fails. For the next eight years the process is repeated over and over again; Kate becomes ill, Anna donates something which should help her get better, the treatment works for a while but then stops working and a new, more invasive and painful donation and treatment is attempted. The situation during this period is not so simple and clear-cut. In the process, everyone in the family suffers: physically, emotionally, financially, and/or socially within the family and outside the home. Both Kate and Anna suffer physical pain with each procedure. Jesse begins to act up in an attempt to get attention from both his parents. The relationship between the parents suffers as Sara becomes more and more obsessed about the physical needs of Kate. The family is not the happy unit anticipated in the simpler case. In fact, at the time of Anna filing the lawsuit for medical emancipation, the only good that has resulted is that Kates life as been extended for twelve or thirteen years. All of the benefits of the Kates continuing to live have come at the expense of the rest of the family and of Kate herself, who suffers considerable pain during the process. In these more complicated circumstances it is not so easy to determine the net good or the net harm. It is no longer so clear that a rule utilitarian imperative can be established to justify PGD and the subsequent harvesting of organs. As long as the medical procedure works, it is more easily justified on a rule utilitarian basis. When the procedure fails, the amount of good, if any doesnt appear to outweigh the amount of harm. This points out a fundamental weakness in moral rule utilitarianism as an ethical theory. It does not have much utility. First, calculating the potential harm and the potential good resulting from a proposed medical procedure is difficult, perhaps even impossible, to calculate. In the simple case, it is easy to calculate the net good because only two people are involved in the process: Anna the donor doesnt suffer at all, and Kate has her pain relieved for five years. It is clear that more good than harm results from the PGD, birth of Anna, and Kates used of the cord blood cells from Anna is a good thing on an utilitarian basis. However, with every additional complication, the calculation of net good becomes more difficult. When lymphocytes are drawn from Anna three times at the age of five, it is clear she feels pain and is at some amount of risk of life due to the use of general anesthesia. It is also clear that Kate receives some benefit from the donated cells. What isnt clear is how much physical pain Anna suffers and how much benefit Kate receives. There are no clearly quantifiable measures of pain. There are scales of pain used by physicians to try and measure pain, but they are estimations by the patient and extremely subjective. Suppose, to salvage the utilitarian principle, one were able to establish a unit measure of pain and relief of pain. Suppose Anna reports that she has pain at a level three for twelve hours for a total of thirty-six pain hours, level two for six hours for twelve pain hours and pain level one for 3 hours for three pain hours. This gives Anna a total of fifty-one pain hours. Presumably, on Kates side, if one assumes a one for one exchange of pain values between Anna and Kate, as long as her net relief of pain is greater than fifty-one pain hours the procedure is justifiable from a rule utilitarian point of view. This result is remarkably similar to the conclusion above in that as long as the medical procedure is successful, the performing of the procedure add credence to the establishment of a new moral rule. This is not a satisfactory moral principle. It fails to consider far too many aspects of the entire situation and bases the moral evaluation purely on the result. For example, as any medical provider knows from personal experience, sometimes people die regardless of the treatment they have received. In the above case, suppose that Kate, after receiving the lymphocytes, and despite the fact that the medical team is well qualified and performed the procedure in accordance with the best established procedures, dies shortly after the procedure. Autopsy and postmortem investigation finds no particular reason for the death. For all intents and purposes, Kate randomly dies when she was expected to live. According to rule utilitarian ethics, this procedure was a failure and should not be used to support a potential rule for future behavior and presumably should count against the potential rule. However this wasnt the fault of the procedure and, intuitively, shouldnt count against PGD and the subsequent use of donor tissues. A second objection to utilitarian rules is that it is unclear when a new rule becomes established. Except for fundamental rules which lack substance, such as truth telling is good, loyalty is good, promise keeping is good that are already established, when does a proposed rule have enough evidence to be a new moral imperative. There isnt a Governing Board of Utilitarian Theory (GOUT) that meets periodically and either approves or denies potential utilitarian rules of ethics. One wonders then if a utilitarian rule can ever be established beyond basic, fundamental rules such as those mentioned above. It is counterintuitive to think that an ethical rule can only be established when it has been tested a sufficient number of times. The whole point of ethical rules is to give people ethical guidance. If one is forced to rely on only the more basic rules such as causing pain is bad and relieving pain is good until the new rule has been established with sufficient data, one is often at a loss since such rules are extremely general and can be, and often are, contradictory. In the case of My Sisters Keeper to relieve Kates pain, Anna must be caused pain. This is essentially a wash that really leaves one with no answer at all. Objections that Rule Utilitarian Cannot Justify PGD: The biggest objection to the conclusion that rule utilitarianism cannot justify using PGD to provide a potential donor for a critically ill child is that if feels like one should be able to use rule utilitarianism to make this decision. One ought to be able to look at this issue and say yes it is moral to provide a potential donor for a child using PGD or no, it is not moral do so. If one cannot use rule utilitarianism to help make a decision what good is it? Response to Objection: That is precisely the point. Rule utilitarianism, in fact even act utilitarianism as well, is inherently flawed. Instead of looking at the entire issue of is it moral to perform an act it shifts the focus to will performing such an act result in a net positive value instead of dealing with the social issue the person who posed the ethical question, utilitarianism deals with an unwieldy ethical system of bookkeeping. This is unsatisfactory because it skirts the real issue. Human ethics is not bookkeeping. Results of an act are important in evaluating the morality of an act, but this is only one part of the entire equations. Equally important, and oftentimes more important are other factors that ought to be considered: motive of the people involved, capabilities of those involved and the rights of those involved are essential ingredients in making ethical decisions and rule utilitarianism makes no allowance for these vital concerns. In fact, it is the question of the rights of Anna Fitzgerald that is central to this novel. It is these other factors that are most revealing and the most interesting from an ethical and sociological point of view. Summary of Paper: Rule utilitarian ethics is unable to establish the rule that using a PGD child to provide a transplant source for an older, critically ill child. This is due to rule utilitarianism ethics not being a particularly viable ethical system. The unwieldiness of trying to calculate the net good or bad makes rule utilitarianism impractical. In addition, rule utilitarianism fails to account for anything other than the results which are a small, uninteresting part of any ethical dilemma. This bookkeeping approach to ethics is inadequate. A moral dilemma is not easily solved and is never solved without considering, the agent, the act and the reasonably expect consequences of the act. It is for this reason that utilitarianism cannot, in fact, justify itself as an ethical system.

Writing Flash Fiction

Writing Flash Fiction Flash fiction is to short story writing much as haiku is to poetry. It’s an even more condensed form of an already condensed storytelling method, requiring the author to choose words carefully to ensure each syllable makes a meaningful contribution to the whole. Flash fiction is also experiencing a surge in popularity as magazines and collections spring up dedicated to this form. Maybe it’s because readers’ attention spans are shorter, but flash fiction seems to have never been more popular. Locally, we even have a theater group that performs flash fiction on stage. What Is Flash Fiction? Flash fiction is a very short short story. Guidelines generally place any story under a thousand words into the flash category, though some prefer even shorter pieces. Six-word stories or 140-character Twitter shorts are other subgroups. How to Write Flash Fiction When I write a piece this short, I often think in terms of a â€Å"punch line.† Not necessarily a funny ending like the punchline of a joke, but a tight conclusion that either neatly ties everything up or creates a reversal so the reader realizes something is not what he initially thought it to be. The more surprising the ending, the better. Ideally, I’ll have this punch line set in my head before I sit down to write the story. That way everything I write can lead up to that moment, creating exactly the experience I want for my reader. In this way, flash fiction is very much like any other type of fiction writing. You find an idea, develop that idea, then hone it until every word contributes something to the story, giving it the most power the story can carry. Lengths of Flash Fiction Stories Most flash fiction markets state a thousand words or less. Others go a bit higher or want shorter pieces. Since the definition of the form varies so widely, keep a close eye on your submission guidelines. There’s no point sending a thousand-word story to a collection of 140-character Twitter tales, after all. Markets for Flash Fiction Markets for flash fiction can be disappointingly low-paying, and unfortunately a good number of the markets don’t pay at all. But there are markets that offer decent pay. They’re usually flat rates, so I make sure to work out the per-word rate before deciding to submit. After all, $5 for a short-short can seem fair, but when you do the math, it’s only a penny a word for a 500-word story. So do your due diligence before submitting. Some good markets for flash fiction include: Vestal Review: http://vestalreview.net/About.html. Publishes only flash fiction. Pays 3-10 cents/word. All genres except children’s stories and hard SF. Nanoism: http://nanoism.net/submit/. This is a Twitter market. Stories cannot exceed 140 characters, or the maximum length of one tweet. Pay is $1.50 per storythat’s a bit over a penny per character or roughly $.05/word. Prefers literary fiction and also accepts serial stories. Previously published tweets will be considered, but pay at $1/story. Electric Spec: electricspec.com/submissions/submitting-fiction/ Speculative fiction. Not an exclusively flash fiction market, but will accept stories as short as 250 words. Pay is $20 per story, so the shorter the better as far as your per-word rate. Note issue-specific deadlines. A For more flash fiction markets as well as additional information on the form, how to write it, and examples: flash-fiction-world.com/writers-market.html or everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/flash-markets-2/

Critical discussion of the roles and responsibilities of the newly Essay

Critical discussion of the roles and responsibilities of the newly qualified nurse including Patient Group Directions and its ap - Essay Example This discussion will essentially focus on the role of a newly qualified nurse in regard to delegation of responsibilities, and Patient Group Direction (PGD). Delegation in essence is the ability to pass to a willing and available second party the authority and responsibility to undertake a given task. As defined by the NPC, Patient Group Direction refers to administration or supply of licensed medicine in definite medical situations certified by a pharmacist, doctor or dentist. The essence of this study is to explore the connotations, significance and implications of these responsibilities of nurses while providing realistic and practical illustrations in professional practice. Of critical significance in health care provision are the associated professional, legal and ethical implications, of which this paper seeks to provide a comprehensive overview before arriving at a conclusive summary on prospects and professional development of a newly qualified nurse. Critical discussion on t he roles of the newly qualified nurse The transition from college to professional practice presents a dramatic shift in experience and expectations. This then demands deliberate and timely skill and psychological preparedness to make a successful transition into professional practice. ... These are prerequisites and indicators of the commitment and initiative of the nurse in both professional practice and personal development (Ellis and Abbott, 2010). In practice, a qualified nurse becomes part of intricate relationships involving colleagues, patients and the leadership of the institutions that employs them. The success of newly qualified nurses in professional and personal development is largely dependent on how the nurses handle their personal and professional relationships (Northcott, 1999). Healthcare care provision presents major responsibilities and challenges that demand not only professional competence but also excellent interpersonal abilities that enhance a mutually supportive and professionally enabling work environment (DOH, 2007). To be registered by NMC, the requirement is that a nurse be able to demonstrate the above skills and competencies with minimal supervision. It has, however, been acknowledged that newly qualified nurses may lack in practical exp erience and confidence to deal with the enormous challenges presented in health care provision (Glasper, 2010). To this end, the NMC acknowledges that new nurses should receive mentorship and supervision for at least four months in a transitional programme. The challenge faced by newly qualified nurses, as observed by Kennedy (2008), is further compounded by the unprecedented assumptions and expectations from older nurses that new nurses have what it takes in skill and expertise to meet the challenges of their new roles. Of more practical significance in a reflective and realistic perspective is that new nurses develop the ability to adopt and learn faster on the job. As acknowledged by Darley (2002), personal initiative and accountability of

E-waste Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

E-waste - Essay Example The technology that has been manufactured for the betterment of the society is now posing a threat as it is being dumped in larger quantities (Luther) This essay will revolve around the concept of E-Waste and how measures are being taken in order to minimize the threat that it poses to the world. E Waste is generally considered a part of the solid waste and is disposed off in the municipal solid waste along with the necessary precautions that need to be taken when disposing it off. This disposal creates a hazard for the society as these gadgets are made up of components that can be hazardous to the health of the individuals (Luther 1-3). The waste that is being disposed off consists of lead, mercury, selenium and other components which are known to be hazardous (Johri 3-4). As these products are being disposed off, the hazardous nature of E-Waste is taking a new leap and the state affairs are taking a keen interest in the aspect of recycling this waste. Many states have already implemented a strategy that forces the concerned authorities to recycle this waste rather than disposing it off. However this recycling has also caused an irk amongst the scholars as the products are being recycled and sent to the developing countries where the hazards of such material increases even further (Luther 1-3). E Waste forms around 0.01% to 1% of municipal solid waste in the developing countries. Televisions and computers that were being built previously consisted of an overwhelming amount of lead. If these computers and televisions are discarded at a ground, these dangerous elements can leak out in the soil and cause havoc. The computer chips and other circuitry are made up of other poisons that can contaminate the soil and this includes mercury which is known to be a cancer causing agent. It is thus very important for the concerned authorities to review the process of dumping this waste and

Thomson Additional Scanners Essay Example for Free

Thomson Additional Scanners Essay Our training partnership and scanner promotion has been a great success. To date, 19,987 Retail Sales Associates have enrolled in the training program. The program can be completed in just four hours with a 98% completion rate.   In line with this, we would like to enlist your help on a subsequent project. As you can recall, the initial promotion was to give away scanners to the first 500 RSAs to complete the training. Due to an error in our email notification system, we inadvertently notified 1,000 RSAs that they would receive scanners. I assure you that the system has been repaired and no further notifications have been sent out.   In order to immediately repair this problem, we are seeking your professional help to determine how we can provide additional scanners in a timely manner and at a minimal cost. Please contact me as soon as possible with: Order details and requirements . Cost estimates and rebates you can offer us . Delivery time frame estimates Bob OBrien and Sheila Gallagher have been informed about the situation and both agreed that we can work together on a solution.   If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at 702-458-8316. In the last meeting, we have tackled the problem about the mix up in the promotion of scanners. We have discussed the cause which was a technological lapse in the automatic response email system. As a consequence, 1,000 RSAs were notified that they will be given free scanners through the promotional endeavor of our company and Thomson. However, the IT manager assured the company that the email notification system has been fixed and that it is currently functioning well. In addition, the head of the IT department ensures that this kind of incident would not happen again. More so, you have also requested the formulation of suggestions on how to deal with the problem and to resolve the dilemma of providing an additional $500 scanners at a lesser cost.    Recommendations The following were the recommendations and options discussed during the meeting: Purchase 500 scanners from Thomson and distribute it to the the other RSAs who were notified. Through this, the possibility of having strained relations with the retail partners or RSAs will be prevented because the company has complied with its promo. Also, the good reputation of the company would be maintained. Creating an e-mail that would inform the 500 RSAs that there have been an error with the companys email notifications system that wrongly notified them about the free scanners. As a consolation, the company could send a token of consolation for sending a wrong message regarding the scanner promo. This approach could prevent the influx of calls from dissatisfied RSAs and even litigation by the RSAs. Request the Thomson company if they could give away free scanners since the partnership and the promotion have been successful. By doing this, the company would comply with its promise of giving free scanners to RSAs and at the same time satisfy them with an excellent. Based on my own opinion, I would suggest buying the extra 500 scanners to the RSAs as indicated in the promo. To minimize the cost, we should ask Thomson for a bulk discount or   if they can shoulder some of the expenses of the scanners since we already have established a strong business relationship with them. This mix up with the promotion was an honest mistake and there was no intention at all in our part to ruin the promotion. So I think Thomson would understand our predicament and hopefully they would help us with our problem. In the end, we can assure our business partners and clients that we would continue to provide   first-rate services.

Oedipus The King :: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles

The play begins with a request to Oedipus by the townspeople to rid Thebes of the plague, since he had so heroically solved the riddle of the Sphinx in the past. He sends Creon, his brother-in-law and uncle, to the oracles at Delphi. Creon returns with the cause for the plague; the murderer of the former King Laius was never punished for his crime. So Oedipus pledges himself to seek the killer and punish him as the gods wish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oedipus summons the people of Thebes and demands that the killer, or whoever had knowledge of the killer, reveal himself. He threatens them with the punishment of banishment. Some members of the group suggest consulting Tiresias, the blind prophet. When he comes, he proves to be useless with his intransigent silence. So Oedipus accuses Tiresias of being an accomplice to the murderer, forcing him to speak. Tiresias then charges Oedipus of the murder, which infuriates him, and also preludes to his “shameful intimacy.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oedipus then draws upon his solving of the riddle of the Sphinx to undermine the blind prophet, convinced that he, in alliance with Creon, was plotting against him. Creon’s modest rebuttal consisted only of a threat to himself- that if Oedipus’ claim against him were true, then let him not live out the rest of his days. Later, in a conversation with Oedipus, he justifies his denial of the charge that Oedipus had placed against him by illustrating the irrelevance of attempting to dethrone the king. When Jocasta enters, she sides with Creon and respects his oath to the gods. But later, when Oedipus says the claim against him is based on prophecy, she reasons with him since she does not believe in prophetic power. She explains how the prophecy of Laius’ son killing him never came true. Then Oedipus realizes that it was he that had slain Laius and that there was a chance Tiresias was right after all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oedipus pursues his search for his origin through several occasions. A Corinthian messenger is the first. He is the one that was given Oedipus with ankles pinned and in turn gave him to Polybus. The messenger plays an important role in revealing this as well as the fact that Polybus and Merope were not Oedipus’ real parents.

Living Together Without Married

What are the advantages and disadvantages of living together without marriage There are many advantages and disadvantages in living together before marriage. Today there are many couples living together before marriage. Sometimes these kinds of relationships ‘living together before marriage' end up with success and sometimes they are unsuccessful. Some of the advantages of living together before marriage are such as getting to know your partner, learning about one's abilities if he/she can satisfy your expectations and more.Also, there are some disadvantages in living together before marriage and they are such as religious and family values, parenting problems and more. I think there are more advantages then disadvantages in living together before marriage, because sometimes disadvantages in this kind of relationship are avoidable. One of the advantages of living together before marriage is getting to know a person that you might marry with. It is important for a person to know almost everything about the other person that he/she is going to get marry with.However, it can’t be accomplish without living together for a while before getting married. People need to know how a person is handling his/her life from all aspects such as behavior, mental, financial and others before a person decides to get married with. This cannot be completed in a few days, therefore, it is important to live together for a while before deciding whether to get married or now. First of all,cohabitation will be a trial period before marriage.We encounter with divorces in our daily lives because of couples who do not know enough about each other. They do not know other's home life or disturbing behaviours during the relationship. These are realized when they get married and start to live together. In addition some marriage decisions are given in 2 or 3 months after they met first. At this period,having an assumption about each other is very difficult. Cauples can be aware of o ther's special life and behaviours in cohabitation.They can make a step to a strong marriage with living together before marriage. Secondly,in cohabitation there will be financial independence and no legal obligations for spouse. When the couples start to live together,they will just share rent,money of pills and basic needs of home such as shopping,cooking and cleaning. Except for these,they will continue to their daily lives like living alone. When woman want to buy new shoes,she does not need to think what her partner will say. She buys them and does not have obligation for her spouse.Couples will be independence their personal needs. At this point,cohabitation is more alluring than marriage. Finally,it is argued that living together without marriage is against moral standarts at the society. Although there are many people who think so,I believe that moral values can not affect how people make a decision. They do not live for maral values. They live for their happiness. If we get married immediately with our partner who we fall in love without information about her/him , a divorce is inevitable.At this point,moral values do not help to save our marriage. To sum up,cohabitation is a experiment before marriage for couples who want to get married at the end or a life style for couples who love each other without legal obligations and regulations. For most people cohabitation might seem against to moral values or lack of legal regulations. However,I firmly believe that happiness is more important than these values and legal regulations. Therefore,we should give up to integrate and affect people's decisions. They have to live how they want. Living Together Without Married What are the advantages and disadvantages of living together without marriage There are many advantages and disadvantages in living together before marriage. Today there are many couples living together before marriage. Sometimes these kinds of relationships ‘living together before marriage' end up with success and sometimes they are unsuccessful. Some of the advantages of living together before marriage are such as getting to know your partner, learning about one's abilities if he/she can satisfy your expectations and more.Also, there are some disadvantages in living together before marriage and they are such as religious and family values, parenting problems and more. I think there are more advantages then disadvantages in living together before marriage, because sometimes disadvantages in this kind of relationship are avoidable. One of the advantages of living together before marriage is getting to know a person that you might marry with. It is important for a person to know almost everything about the other person that he/she is going to get marry with.However, it can’t be accomplish without living together for a while before getting married. People need to know how a person is handling his/her life from all aspects such as behavior, mental, financial and others before a person decides to get married with. This cannot be completed in a few days, therefore, it is important to live together for a while before deciding whether to get married or now. First of all,cohabitation will be a trial period before marriage.We encounter with divorces in our daily lives because of couples who do not know enough about each other. They do not know other's home life or disturbing behaviours during the relationship. These are realized when they get married and start to live together. In addition some marriage decisions are given in 2 or 3 months after they met first. At this period,having an assumption about each other is very difficult. Cauples can be aware of o ther's special life and behaviours in cohabitation.They can make a step to a strong marriage with living together before marriage. Secondly,in cohabitation there will be financial independence and no legal obligations for spouse. When the couples start to live together,they will just share rent,money of pills and basic needs of home such as shopping,cooking and cleaning. Except for these,they will continue to their daily lives like living alone. When woman want to buy new shoes,she does not need to think what her partner will say. She buys them and does not have obligation for her spouse.Couples will be independence their personal needs. At this point,cohabitation is more alluring than marriage. Finally,it is argued that living together without marriage is against moral standarts at the society. Although there are many people who think so,I believe that moral values can not affect how people make a decision. They do not live for maral values. They live for their happiness. If we get married immediately with our partner who we fall in love without information about her/him , a divorce is inevitable.At this point,moral values do not help to save our marriage. To sum up,cohabitation is a experiment before marriage for couples who want to get married at the end or a life style for couples who love each other without legal obligations and regulations. For most people cohabitation might seem against to moral values or lack of legal regulations. However,I firmly believe that happiness is more important than these values and legal regulations. Therefore,we should give up to integrate and affect people's decisions. They have to live how they want.

Pip’s conversation with Biddy Essay

Pip’s change whilst being in London, has meant he sees wealth as everything. â€Å"If I could have kept him away by paying money, I certainly would have paid money.† Showing that firstly, he’d do anything to stop Joe’s visit, and also he can buy anything, and that money can solve anything.  Pip feels embarrassed, he doesn’t want to be seen with Joe, â€Å"my greatest reassurance was, that he was coming to Barnards Inn,† showing he doesn’t want to be associated with someone of Joe’s status. Joe himself realises the change in Pip, † you wont find half so much fault in me if you think of me in my forge dress.† This displays Joe’s uncomfortableness, and unease, he realises Pip has change, and doesn’t see Joe the same as before. However Pip also becomes conscious of his change, â€Å"if I had been easier with Joe, Joe would have been easier with me.† Showing Pip’s tension, and impatience with Joe. Pip makes Joe feel uneasy, † us two now being now alone Sir.† The key word is ‘Sir’, Joe sees the change in Pip and feels obliged to call him Sir. As Pip has ‘grown accustomed’ to his great expectations, he has noted the change in himself. â€Å"I had insensibly begun to notice their effect upon myself,† showing he realises the effect people have had on him, which has caused him to change during the course of his ‘expectations.’ He recognizes this effect is not all positive, â€Å"I knew very well that it was not all good,† screening he has accredited the change within him. We see Pip build a sense of guilt, towards Joe and Biddy, â€Å"I lived in a state of chronic uneasiness respecting my behaviour to Joe.† â€Å"My conscience was not by any means comfortable about Biddy.† He has realised his mistreatment toward them.  Upon hearing the death of his sister Pip, starts to notice her, in ‘his world.’ â€Å"In my rooms too, with which she had never been at all associated, there was at once the blankness of death.† Showing the effect of her death within him.  Biddy tells Pip she is leaving the forge, he replies with: † I am not going to leave poor Joe alone,† showing his fondness of Joe, which is a drastic change, from their previous meeting in London. Even whilst at the forge and with Biddy, Pip still relates to wealth, â€Å"I would spend any money,† showing his continuous thought of money, which is such a change from his young childhood.  Pip changes towards Joe, â€Å"good-bye, dear Joe!- no don’t wipe it off- for God’s sake give me your blackened hand. This shows he respects Joe and likes him for who he is â€Å"man he was.† Pip realises he prefers London, he thinks Joe and Biddy knows he does, he thinks they believe he wont come back, his response is a â€Å"they were quite right to.† This is a clear representation of his change since his younger years. When Pip sees Magwitch, and learns that he is in fact his benefactor, he is disturbed, he is positively repulsed to find, Magwitch is the person who has raised him to become a gentlemen. â€Å"The abhorrence in which I held the man, the dread I had of him, the repungance with which I shrank from him, could not have been exceeded if he had been some terrible beast.† Dickens choice of words, illustrate Pip’s horror and hatred towards Magwitch, â€Å"abhorrence,† â€Å"repungance,† and â€Å"dread.† He uses animal imagery to convey his pure displeasure that Magwitch is in fact his benefactor. We see the change Magwitch brings about in Pip, † O, that he had never come! That he had left me at the forge-far from contented, yet, by comparison, happy.† For the first time since being in London, Pip’s views of the forge, have changed. He reconsiders his current position in London.  Pip doesn’t want anything to do with Magwitch, † he laid his hand upon my shoulder. I shuddered at he thought that for anything I knew, his hand might be stained with blood.† He sees Magwitch as dirty, he sees the money to be untrue and dirty also, which is a change, as before the money was everything to him. When pip finally reconsiders his situation, he is thoroughly disheartened: â€Å"It was not until I began to think, that I began fully to know how wrecked I was, and how the ship in which I has sailed was gone to pieces.† Showing that he believes his, ambitions, aspirations and hopes are all shattered.  Pip regrets his mistreatment of Joe and Biddy, â€Å"worthless conduct,† he sees how bad he’s been. He sums his emotions up at the end of the chapter, â€Å"thick black darkness,† this is how he sees his life after his changing reunion with Magwitch. Within chapter 40, Pip is still demoralised by finding Magwitch to be his benefactor, † I was greatly dejected and distressed.† Showing the change Magwitch has had on Pip since he made himself recognized. Pip analyses Magwitch, â€Å"he ate in a ravenous way, that was very disagreeable.† This is a sign of his change, he notes his manners, and sees his etiquette as wrong. Dickens used the word ‘disagreeable,’ which, represents, that its disagreeable to Pip, in his new found hierarchy. Dickens again uses animal imagery to convey Pip’s feelings towards Magwitch , â€Å"he looked terribly like a hungry old dog.† This represents Pip’s dislike for Magwitch. Pip is desperate to know how long Magwitch will stay, â€Å"in a frenzy of fear and dislike†¦. I want to know how you are to be kept out of danger, how long you are going to stay.† The key words are: ‘fear’ and ‘dislike,’ these are clear depiction of his disgust towards Magwitch.  We notice a huge change within Pip. He now recognises his affection toward Magwitch. He believes he should do right by Magwitch before he dies, â€Å"it became the first duty of my life to say to him, and read to him, what I knew he ought to hear.† Showing his consideration of compassion for Magwitch. Pip informs Magwitch about Estella, â€Å"she is living now. She is a lady and very beautiful. And I love her† He feels his duty, is to complement Magwitch on Estella. The change in Pip is that he inevitably forgives and pardons Magwitch, he wishes the best for him. â€Å"O, lord be merciful.† This is a drastic change to his initial thoughts towards him, when he discovered he was his benefactor.  Within chapter 57, as Pip comes out of his fever, we observe a change in him. Pip again worships Joe, â€Å"O, God bless him! O, God bless this gentle Christian man!† Showing his repentance. Pip changes his view of the word ‘wealth.’ â€Å"Wealth of his good nature,† showing his new appreciation of wealth, he has realised that, wealth in money terms doesn’t make a gentlemen, where as wealth in nature, and kindness does. Pip’s change is shown with: â€Å"I went towards them slowly, for my limbs were weak, but with a sense of increasing relief as I drew nearer to them, and a sense of leaving arrogance and untruthfulness further and further behind.† This shows he believes he’s leaving his ‘arrogance’ and ‘untruthfulness’ behind him, these are the factors of a gentlemen he now perceives to be appalling. Pip’s appreciation of Joe is exposed with, â€Å"my first thought was one of great thankfulness, that I had never breathed this last baffled hope to Joe.† He’s so happy he didn’t destroy Joe. This is a change in his feelings for Joe. His further appreciation of Joe is shown within Pip’s conversation with Biddy. â€Å"Dear Biddy, you have the best husband in the whole world, and if you could have seen him by my bed you would have-But no, you couldn’t love him better than you do.† This shows his sheer delight with both Joe and Biddy. He both recognises Joe and Biddy as good natured people, but also he recognises his mistakes. â€Å"You were both so good and true.† â€Å"To grow up a much better man than I did.† He identifies his life wasn’t all good, and he acknowledges his mistakes.  In conclusion, Pip has changed his depiction of the word, ‘gentlemen.’ He no longer sees it to revolve around education, wealth and social standing. Due to the positive effect that Joe has upheld within Pip, Pip appreciation of a ‘gentlemen’ is to be concerned with, faithfulness, generosity and goodness. Pip lost everything whilst in London, he now however has gained so much more, with respect and understanding, of not only himself but others also.

Charles Lamb “Thoughtless Cruelty” Essay Essays

Charles Lamb â€Å"Thoughtless Cruelty† Essay Essays Charles Lamb â€Å"Thoughtless Cruelty† Essay Paper Charles Lamb â€Å"Thoughtless Cruelty† Essay Paper Most people. at some point of their lives. have tortured inferior insects whether it be drawing the wings off a fly or oppressing an emmet. In the verse form â€Å"Thoughtless Cruelty† by Charles Lamb the reader can see that the writer is so angry about such a thing. The writer uses the poetic devices such as enunciation. rime. and item to depict his attitude toward those who perform such â€Å"Thoughtless Cruelty† . The writer first directs his attending to â€Å"Robert† that has â€Å"kill’d that fly† . The writer so says the adult male was â€Å"devoid Of idea and sense† to hold killed the fly. Here. the writer is connoting that â€Å"Robert† must hold been stupid for killing the guiltless animal. The writer goes on speaking about natural decease as a bird â€Å"devours† it or a â€Å"cold blast in the night† will take its life. By depicting the natural causes of the insect’s decease. Lamb sympathizes for the animal because of its unnatural decease. Lamb continues discoursing that hurting exists in even â€Å"The greatest being† . and even the â€Å"smallest 1s possess† the feeling of decease and hurting experienced before. The writer goes on with more item in the piece about the petroleum wit in the creature’s atrocious decease. Lamb explains. â€Å"The life you’ve taken to provide. You could non make it† that the life â€Å"Robert† has taken can non be restored. no affair how hard he tries. The writer tries to do â€Å"Robert† experience guilty by edifying him. â€Å"A thing which no manner you annoy’d – You’ll one twenty-four hours repent it† . proposing that one twenty-four hours he will recognize his inhuman treatment and morn the decease of the fly. â€Å"The bird but seeks his proper food†¦ May merely take [ its life ] † . Here Lamb goes into more item about the natural decease the fly may hold experienced. â€Å"A life by Nature made so short. Less ground is that you for athletics Should shorter do it. † Lamb once more tries to weigh more guilt upon â€Å"Robert† . â€Å"Although their frame and construction less Escape our seeing. † they still experience hurting and its horrors. Though the rhyme strategy of AAAB. Charles Lamb starts to utilize the poetic device of rime to besides show his attitude. In the first stanza. he talks about how â€Å"Robert. killed that â€Å"fly† . but non count how difficult he may â€Å"try† to â€Å"supply† the life he has taken. he could neer â€Å"do it† . In the 2nd stanza Lamb writes that â€Å"Robert† must hold been â€Å"devoid† of believing to hold â€Å"destroy’d† the fly that he neer â€Å"annoy’d† . and will one twenty-four hours â€Å"rue it† . showing negativeness by sympathising for the guiltless animal. The writer so goes into the natural decease by exemplifying the bird seeking its â€Å"food† . that destiny whose power â€Å"endu’d† the fly thinks the clip is â€Å"good† will take â€Å"it† . Finally. the writer to the full expresses himself when he explains the hurting â€Å"The greatest being† can hold with its â€Å"flesh† that even the fly may â€Å"possess† . little and construction â€Å"less† may get away our â€Å"seeing† . All in all. the writer uses many poetic devices such as enunciation. item. and rime to show his attitude toward. what seems tragic to the writer. event. Even the rubric â€Å"Thoughtless Cruelty† expresses the writers feelings. Thingss may be different now. when you see a fly. drawing the wings off a fly may non look the same.

What Is Model UN 4 Reasons to Join

What Is Model UN 4 Reasons to Join SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you interested in politics or international relations and looking for a club that lets you do you hands-on activities?Have you heard of Model UN but aren’t sure exactly what it is? Read this guide to learn everything you need to know about what Model UN is, what participants in it do, and how to decide if it’s the right extracurricular for you to join. What Is Model UN? Model United Nations, often referred to as Model UN or MUN, is an extracurricular most commonly for high school students, but also available to college and middle school students. Model UN is a simulation of UN organizations such as theUN General Assembly, UN Security Council, UNICEF, and others. Its participants take the roles of ambassadors from various countries anddebate current issues.Model UNwas developed in the 1950s as a way to give students hands-on learningininternational relations, diplomacy, and the United Nations.Over 400,000 students around the world participate in Model UN each year. What Do Model UN Participants Do? The core of Model UN is its simulations of UN conferences where students (known as Model UN delegates) role playas UN ambassadors and delegates. If you join Model UN, you will be doing a variety of activities, includingresearching,debating, andcoming up with solutions with members of other countries.These simulations occur at Model UN conferences, which can be regional, national, or international. Conferencescan have anywhere from 30 to over 3,000 participants. When your Model UN team joins a conference, your team will be assigned a country and an issue relevant to that country that is currently being discussed in the UN. You can request a certain country, but you are not guaranteed to get it. Forexample, you may be chosen to represent Nicaragua at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). At the conference you attend, you will have to convince the other delegates to make decisions in your country’s favor. If you have a larger Model UN team, you may be assigned multiple countries or issues, and the team will break into smaller groups to cover each one.Conferences occur throughout the year, but you will be given at least a few weeks, and usually several months, to prepare your position before you attend the conference. Before theConference: In order to prepare for conferences, delegates must study the country and the issue they have been assignedandbecome well-informed on both.Most conferences require you to write a position paper that outlines your country’s position on the topic as well as suggestions you have for how to resolve the issue. If you’re representing Nicaragua for the ECLAC, you will need to research topics such as what sectors have the largest impact on the country’s economy, long-term and short-term economic trends in Nicaragua, if there are groups largely excluded from contributing to the economy (such as women or certain ethnic groups), who Nicaragua’s primary trade partners are, what the countryimports and exports, and multiple other topics. After discussing these issues in the position paper, you will have to come up with ways to improve Nicaragua’s economic situation. UN General AssemblyHall in New York City During theConference: Students will be organized based on the committees or councils they are part of, so all the members of the ECLAC would meet together. Each group will have a chair who will moderate the discussions. The chair is often an older student or adult. Delegates then give a speech outlining their country’s position on the issues and offering possible solutions. Most of this information will come from your position paper.After each delegate has presented their country’s position and potential solutions, there are question and answer sessions and debates (known as â€Å"caucusing†). The main goal during the conference is for your committee to develop a written resolution. After you have discussed different countries’ viewpoints, debated, and agreed on solutions, the entire group will work together to writethe resolution. The resolution will explain the issue your committee is focusing on and give a series of guidelinesin order to solve it. After the resolution is written, the committee will vote on it. If your resolution passes, that is a mark of your committee’s ability to work together and compromise well.Awards are also often given out at conferences to top delegates in each committee. These are often delegates who had well-designed position papers, debated effectively, worked well with other members, and took an active role in developing the written resolution. How CanYou Start a Model UN Group at Your School? If your school already has a Model UN group, you can probably join it the way you would join any other school club. If there is no Model UN club at your school, then you can also start your own. We have a guide that gives step-by-step instructions on how to start your own club, and we also have some specific tips for starting a Model UN club below. First, you’ll need a teacher to act as the adviserfor your Model UN club. When you apply to start a Model UN team, your school may assign a teacher, but, if not, consider asking a social studies teacher who likely has a strong background in the issues that Model UN discusses. After you have recruited members and set up meeting times, the next step is to choose which conference(s) to attend. Currently, over 400 conferences take place all over the world. You can search online for conferences, and a list of larger conferences is also available here. For new clubs, you may want to choose a conference that is close to your school in order to make traveling easier and less expensive. It’s possible for a Model UN team to sign up for multipleconferences, butif your team is just starting out, you may want to begin with only one or two conferences a year to make sure members aren't overwhelmed with work. Also, because new teams usually don't get first pick for what country they'd like to represent, if you'd like to represent a larger country like China or the US, you have a better chance of getting your first choice at a smaller conference. Be aware though that representing a larger country often requires more research and preparation. Once you have a conference selected, your team will be assigned at least one country and committee to represent.You can now divide up roles and begin researching. What Are the Benefits of Joining Model UN? Now that you know what Model UN is, what are the benefits of joining it? Model UN can be a great addition to a resume or college application, and I've discussed four of itsmost important benefits below. Benefit #1: Hands-On Experience in Politics, International Relations, and Current Events If you are planning a career in international relations, politics, or you’re simply really interested in these topics, Model UN is one of the best extracurriculars you can join because it gives you hands-on experience in these areas.Most of the time, students interested in these subjectscan only learn about them in class or by reading on their own.While this is a great way to get more information, itusually isn’t a very interactive experience. Model UN involves many of the same activities that actual UN delegates participate in, which is a great way to learn how different countries and committees work together to solve problems.Model UN conferences also focus on current issues, so you will be learning about relevant current events that are likely being discussed and debated around the world. Hands-on experience can makeunderstanding ideas and concepts easier, looks stronger on college applications because it requires more work, and is often more fun to participate in as well. Benefit #2: Improve Public Speaking and Debate Skills During a Model UN conference, you will spend a lot of yourtime giving speeches and debating with other delegates, which can really improve your skills in these areas. Public speaking and debate skills are useful for almost every career, so no matter what kind of job you want in the future, boosting your skills in these areas will likely benefit you down the line. Benefit #3: Learn Teamwork Skills Every step of Model UN requires teamwork, whether it’s dividing up research assignments, writing a position paper, orcreating a speech. At the conference, teamwork becomes even more important because you must work with the other delegates to come up with solutions that everyone is happy with and write a resolution paper together. Model UN delegates often gain experience in conflict resolution, consensus building, and negotiations, which are teamwork experiences many other clubs don’t offer. Strong teamwork skills are very important to colleges because they want to admit students who will work well with their classmates and other students on campus. Having strong teamwork experiences such as the ones you can get through Model UN can help strengthen your college applications. Benefit #4: Possibility of Travel If you participate in Model UN, there is also the possibility of traveling to new cities or even new countries.Model UN conferences are held around the world, and if your team can afford to travel to a foreign conference, you can get the added benefits of exploring a new placeand culture, as well as meeting students from other countries. If you join Model UN, you may get to travel to some exciting places for conferences. Soshould you join Model UN? If you have enough time in your schedule and are at all interested in international relations, politics, debating, or public speaking, then Model UN can be a great extracurricular to get involved in because it includes a lot of hands-on, relevant work and can be a strong addition tocollege applications. If you're still unsure, drop by a meeting at your school to get a sense of what joining the club would be like. Summary Model UN is a club for middle school, high school, or college students whose members simulate UN committees. Model UN members are assigned at least one country and committee. They research the country and the relevant issues to prepare for a conference. At the conference, students representing many countries and issues come together to debate their positions and agree on solutions. Model UN is a great extracurricular for students looking to learn more about politics, current events, or international relations and for students who want to improve their public speaking or debate skills. You can learn more about Model UN here. What's Next? Looking for other after-school activities? We have a list of over 200 extracurricular ideas, and it's sure to include something that interests you! Considering community service or volunteer work? We have a guide to the nine best places to do community service! Interested in more opportunities for travel? Read our guide on volunteer abroad programs and learn if they're really the best option for you. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Western civ (Greeks Vs, Hebrews) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Western civ (Greeks Vs, Hebrews) - Essay Example Consequently, the Greek system prepared individuals to serve the state while the Hebrew system prepared individuals to serve God. There is little question that religion played an important part in the social lives of both civilizations but dogmatic religious practices are more readily associated with the Hebrew tradition. In similar fashion, the political realities of the day reflected the intrusion of religion into the affairs of the state. The Hebrews believed that God would hold everyone accountable one day so the ruler was expected to be accountable to God alone. In contrast, the Greek system of personal accountability relied on philosophy and on the discretion of fellow men. Hence, the Greek ruler was accountable to his fellow men more than his accountability to any gods. This increased accountability paved for the world’s first democracy in Athens (Blainey). The achievements of various Athenians such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Thucydides, Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle among others laid the foundation for the modern Western civilization. The move to democracy strengthened the Greek quest for knowledge. Furthermore, the Greeks had managed to disassociate divinity with exploration of things around them. Even after Athens was subsumed into the larger Greek civilization, the traditions of learning and development continued unabated. The epistemological drive of the Greeks led to developments in science, architecture, law, philosophy, commerce and numerous other fields. A rich scientific tradition can be traced back to the Greeks with names such as Archimedes, Hero of Alexandria, Galen and others appearing in scientific discussions to this day (Thornton). In contrast, the Hebrew tradition kept God intact with learning limitations. God was seen as the center of the universe in the literal sense and ideas upheld by the scripture were unquestionable. The strength of the Hebrew tradition of