Position of Prefect

The King John School Prefect Application Form ————————————————- Surname: Hay First Names: Harry Charles Title: Mr Tutor group: 10-10 Personal Statement You should consider me to be a prefect, as I am a very hardworking, enthusiastic, organised and punctual student who is honest and mature and would love the position of representing the school. I think that all of my achievements which I have received throughout my time at King John, outlines what sort of student I am.I believe that my academic achievements and extra-curricular awards will give me great success if I was to become a prefect. I have received various awards such as prize-giving awards for academic success, sporting achievements, The Jack Petchey award, for my mannerism, politeness, personality and my helpful and courteous attitude towards staff. Last year I gave up my time after school, to help organise a year 10 parents evening. I have also collected achievements such as the 100% attendance award during school, and the student of the term award. My most recent award, is the Duke of Edinburgh award at Bronze level.I am currently working towards my Silver award, which is a two year course. All of my awards I have received academically, and outside of school, I am very proud of. I am always working hard, reaching my potential in everything I do. One example of this is me taking advantage of my lunch and breaktimes, by completing homework, learning with the resources available, and revising for subject examinations, so that after school, during weekends and during school holidays, I can take time to socialise, relax, do extra revision, and fit in any plans I may have, such as training sessions for my Triathlon club.I believe that my positive approach and attitude to learning will help me take up the role of being a prefect. Qualifications Subject| Target Grade| Maths| B| English| C| Science| B| Media| pass| French| C| History| C| ICT| pass| P. E| N/A| Relevant experience The responsibilities I’ve had and have include: * Helping out at a local church club called Anchor Boy’s, by being a leader. I encourage, supervise and help young children to learn every week on a Friday, in various activities including art and craft, games and reading and listening skills. During my role as club captain for my triathlon club, I’ve again given support to people above and below my age. I have presented awards, and made sure the club is running smoothly by organising club sessions, being a marshal for club races, and taking charge of stretches at the beginning and at the end of training sessions. By being part of my triathlon club, I have learnt how to work in a team, and individually. * I have been selected to be a prefect at my previous school, and have been part of the play leading scheme at my junior school.By being both a prefect and a play leader, I’ve h ad to monitor other pupil’s behaviour, and I made sure the students were meeting the requirements of the school rules. This is something I will definitely take into account if I was to become a prefect. Hobbies and Interests 1. Triathlon – I believe that this will support my application, as it promotes my self-esteem. It has made me develop time management skills, learn about adversity and determination. I also learn about goal setting for not only sport, but it also allows me to apply goals circularly. 2.Boy’s Brigade- In this weekly club, I advance habits of obedience, reverence, discipline and self-respect. I think that this will support my application, as it shows my commitment, and personal qualities. 3. Canoeing/kayaking-Whilst learning skills for this sport, I also develop individuality and the ability to work in a team. The role of being a prefect * I see the role of being a prefect as responding to unacceptable behaviour made by students, and reporting it to a teacher if necessary. Prefects respond to incidents which occur, and deal with the matter sensibly.If students; * Intimidate anyone, * Are abusive to anyone, * Damage the property of anyone including School property, * Persistently break School rules, * And are personally disrespectful, Then it should be dealt with, as it is unacceptable behaviour. Prefects are pupils who have more authority than other pupils. They are usually responsible and well-behaved. They are to help the teachers out by spotting trouble and helping students and others around the school that have issues, for example they may direct students, new members of staff or visitors where to go.Prefects will over-look bullying, and refer the pupils to a member of staff. On parents evenings, open days and award nights, and other school related events, prefects should be there, ready to assist anyone. For example; giving out and pouring drinks, directing parents/visitors/students in the right direction, and if nee d be, stay with them. Prefects should be well behaved and good role models towards the school, by being punctual, having a good attitude and wearing the correct uniform smartly. How could the prefect application process be improved?Personally, I think that the layout of the application should be improved, to a more formal standard. I thought the questions listed on the form, are very good, as you can receive a lot of detail from students. I think that the boxes should be expanded to a larger size, as I do not think that there is enough room to fit in lots of content, in some cases. Tutor statement Signed: | Declaration: I confirm to the best of my knowledge that the information given on this form is accurate and that I have not omitted any facts, which may have a bearing on my application. Signed:| Date:|

Male Character Essay

Masculine roles have effective power in recent movies. In the chapter, the author who is Kenneth Mackinnon talks about ‘masculinity in movies’ by variety ways. He not only considers about the different kinds of movie genres, individual movies and those male movie stars in general, but also introduces the hard body and soft body contrastively for audience. Moreover, Mackinnon mentions about the disadvantages of masculinity in the films and provides three recent illustrations in 2000 to answer the questions of masculinity clearly. The evidence which author selected is widespread but all come from the main idea of masculinity such as technological advances, the homoeroticism and heterosexuals, the feminism and masculinity and even the culture and history about masculinity in movies. At the beginning of the chapter, Mackinnon introduces the different genres about masculinity in movies by using lots of examples. There are variety of movie types such as action genres, bond movies, westerns, war films, slasher movies, sports movies and something else. One of the most important types is action movie. As Mackinnon said, action movie is †a version of heroism was promoted in these movies that depended on visual evidence of physical strength and might. †(P294) For this reason, the publishers pay much money to superstars in order to get the extraordinary effects in action films. For example, Sylvester Stallone in ‘make rampage’ movie. Similarly, bond movie, as an action series, depicted a new type of masculinity, which found in †Gentleman Chivalry† from 1962 to the present. The kind of movie continues to execute the heroism, which is popular among audience. For instance, the famous identities of 007 are James Bond and his ‘bond girl’. However, there is too much â€Å"technological excess† and special effects in recent years. That’s captured audience’s attention negatively. The author has also stated the westerns, which are â€Å"the supreme genre for the depiction of traditional, laconic, dominating masculinity. † (P297)The protagonists are usually cowboys in Hollywood film. The consequence of those boys usually be alone. Moreover, western movie allows violence, homosociality and â€Å"evasion of domestication†. The author’s opinion of masculinity in sports movies is that they provide a kind of lifestyle, which is a pure physical machismo for audience. In other words, it is â€Å"a highly stylized version of traditional masculinity†(P300) people have chance to watch a â€Å"natural† masculinity in sports movie. (i. e. Field of Dreams). Another genre has been mentioned is comedy. It’s a different side of masculinity. Comedy always shows audience the irony of traditional masculinity, especially in vulnerable side. They focused more on conflicts from fatherhood rather than motherhood. In order to understand the masculinity movie deeply, the author selected a few individual movies such as Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Ringers, The Crying Game and The Full Monty. The protagonist of Born on the Fourth of July is Don Kunz who acts as a â€Å"heroic masculine ideal† in the movie. He thinks winning is the most important thing. â€Å"to win, others must be losers†(p304)make him full of physical strength. He is a typical figure of masculine in movie. Male stars are also an important factor for masculinity movie, because female audience, even some of male audience will follow the movie stars. In the chapter, Mackinnon introduce male stars such as Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson.

Oxford City Council Research Proposal Essay

Oxford City Council (OCC) provides a range of recycling services, including kerbside collection services and recycling sites where residents can deposit items for recycling. Such schemes enable OCC to recycle approaching 40% of Oxford household waste currently. However, the UK government want to establish a recycling culture and continue to set increasing targets for household recycling, with an aim of reaching 50% by 2020. Following a recent (DEFRA) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs initiative to allow the use of financial incentives for household waste minimisation and recycling, OCC is considering the introduction of a pilot scheme in selected postcodes areas. This would involve the introduction of bins fitted with microchips to monitor how much recycling and other waste a household produces, leading to refunds from local taxation bills for a good recycling performance or additional charges for a poor recycling performance. OCC is keen to understand likely reactions of residents to such a scheme and the overall impact that this might have on household recycling rates. OCC has invited the marketing research agency, Research Solutions to provide a proposal for marketing research to inform decision making. What is the research objective? A research objective is basically the main objective of the research i. e. the purpose of carrying out the research forms the research objective. The research objective is basically formed on the basis of the background of the research that is being conducted. (Creswell 2008). In this case, the main issue is recycling. This is due to the increasing population in the UK due to which the wastes have been increasing with a higher percentage. However, it is not a wise idea to leave the wastes just like that and it would be a very good option to recycle the waste so that it can be utilized again as the resources we own in the world today are limited but the demands of the people are unlimited. Therefore, it is always a good idea to save as much as possible so that we can save our future generations from suffering. The research objective of this research is that the UK government wants to establish a recycling culture and continue to set increasing targets for household recycling, with an aim of reaching 50% by 2020 in order to improve the previous targets. Previously, Oxford City Council provided a range of recycling services, including kerbside collection services and recycling sites where residents could deposit items for recycling and this enabled Oxford City Council to reduce the household waste by 40%. The idea now is to increase this percentage by 10% and to make it 50%. Problem Statement Before the research team assigned to solve the problem starts their job, a problem statement needs to be defined and to be presented to them and the problem statement should answer three main questions i. e. to define the problem and the reason why the team is required to solve this problem, the client who needs a solution to the problem and the scope as well as the limitations of the problem in terms of various issues such as time, money and other resources. Moreover, it is also important for the problem statement to address all the W’s i. e. to answer what, how, where, when, why, and who. (Denzin & Lincoln 2005). Referring to this case, due to the increasing need of recycling, the government of UK plans to increase recycling of the household wastes to 50% by 2020 i. e. an increase by 10% from today. This aim has been defined basically to serve the households and to meet their demand of recycling household wastes; however there are certain limitations that are coming in the way to meet this requirement of the government of UK. In order to solve this problem, we, a research team from a marketing research agency, Research Solutions has been assigned to work out and to know the likely reactions of residents to such a scheme and the overall impact that this might have on household recycling rates. For this purpose, What methods will be used? Following a recent (DEFRA) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs initiative to allow the use of financial incentives for household waste minimisation and recycling, OCC is considering the introduction of a pilot scheme in selected postcodes areas. This would involve the introduction of bins fitted with microchips to monitor how much recycling and other waste a household produces, however this will involve a certain cost as Oxford City Council will have to make refunds from local taxation bills for a good recycling performance or to pay additional charges for a poor recycling performance. (Patton 2002). We will use both primary as well as secondary data to conduct our research as well as both qualitative and quantitative data. Once we have gathered the secondary data, we will then seek for primary data for which we will prepare a set of 200 questionnaires. The questionnaire, we have planed will consist of around 20 open and close ended questions. We will get these questionnaires filled and will also interview people in Oxford from different age groups especially the women as the issue is basically related to household recycling so the housewives would be the best option to interview. Data analysis The process of gathering, modeling and transforming data aiming to make the important information prominent, to suggest conclusions as well as to support the decision making is called data analysis. There are various approaches and techniques that can be used for this purpose under different domains. (Spatz & Kardas 2007). As Oxford City Council has been asked to increase recycling of household wastes by 10%, they now have to plan everything to achieve this goal but for this it is essential for the Oxford City Council to collect all the important information and to transform it. Therefore, to understand the likely reactions of residents to such a scheme and the overall impact that this might have on household recycling rates. A time schedule The government of UK wants the goal of an increase in the recycling of household wastes to be achieved by an increase of 10% by 2020 and this gives Oxford City Council more than a decade to achieve this aim. The Oxford City Council should plan out seriously and work on the aim that is to be met but before finally starting the work, it is always essential to conduct research in order to know whether the plans they have made will be successful of not and also to know the reaction of the people in the UK after the introduction of the pilot scheme in selected postcodes areas and before the plan can be executed, marketing research will be conducted whose timing is mentioned below. (Pan 2004). The time schedule will not just provide a timeframe but it will also help us meet the deadlines. As we have been assigned one month to conduct this research, we have accordingly divided the time to meet our goals in an efficient manner. In the first week, we plan to conduct desk research followed by qualitative fieldwork in the second week as well as to prepare a qualitative desk research report. On the first day of the third week, we aim to prepare questionnaires that will follow the quantitative stage, coding and data preparation. In the fourth week, that is also the last week, we will do the analysis, prepare a presentation and on the last day we will present a final report. Bibliography: Creswell, J. W. (2008). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 3rd edn. Sage Publications. Denzin, N. K. , & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). The Sage handbook of qualitative research. 3rd edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Pan, M. L. (2004). Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. 2nd edn. Los Angeles: Pyrezak. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Spatz,C. & Kardas,E. P. (2007). Research Methods in Psychology: Ideas, Techniques, and Reports. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, Hardcover.

Managing Data Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managing Data Assignment - Essay Example In the task, we listened to a short BBC Radio 4 programme segment entitled ‘More or Less’. The show is a series about statistics. It discusses the use and abuse of statistics in modern applications. In the show modern media of news communications like; TV news, radio news and newspapers, are looked at by people. It majorly tackles statistics involved in these news communication media and after listening to the segment we were required to carry out a number of tasks. First was to listen to the segment attentively and make notes on information we got from it. It had no particular area where we had to make notes on, but we were required to put down anything important that we retained from the show. This was important since questions from the subject being talked about in the show would be asked. Taking enough and accurate points from the show was, therefore, important since it would determine how one performed on the questions asked after the show. At the end of the show, the class was presented with a couple of questions based on the subject on the segment. One was required to answer in accordance to what we heard and put down notes on from the show. The topic was on low energy light bulbs, and we were required to answer questions on the subject: By the end of the workshop, the student was to be able to precisely describe the construction of the table in full. Also, to outline why the table’s author combined discrete pieces of data found in the table. The student was to be able to explain why data collection was done in the first place and what the hypothesis being tested (Ras, 2009).The first task of the workshop was that we were required to form two or three groups depending on the class size. Then, in each of groups formed we select one student who would work on describing the tabular data. The other members of the group would

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic Management - Assignment Example Every component of the strategy works together for the development of the organization. In the business scenario, the management formulates the overall strategy, which is to be followed by the smaller units like the different departments of the organization. Evaluating the market and the aspects of the company arrives at the choice of the strategy. There are different tools in assessing the market conditions and the features of the company like the SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, Five Forces, STP etc. These evaluation techniques give a detailed picture of the market conditions and the features of the company. This helps in the formation of the strategy by the management. The main aim of the company is to increase the sales of the company and the strategies underline this notion. After the evaluation of the features of the market and the company, the management selects a strategy that will pertain to the development of the company. (Strategy, n.d.; What is strategy, n.d.; Applied Strate gic Technologies, n.d.; Jenkins, Ambrosini and Collier: 2-4) In this paper, two companies have been taken through which a detailed analysis will be undertaken in the case of the strategic management. The companies in question will be Pepsi and Coca Cola. Pepsi and Coca Cola share a traditional rivalry in the soft drinks market and are the two biggest players in the market. The development of the companies has been possible because of the visions of the management in setting up of the strategies of the companies. Strategy is perhaps the most important functions of the management. The performance of the companies depends on the strategies undertaken by the management to a major extent. As the importance of strategy has been underlined so far, a question rises – What is strategy? Strategy can be comprehensively defined as follows: "Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term: which

Chiquita Brands Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chiquita Brands Inc - Essay Example The company operates in three divisions or segments – Bananas, Salads and Healthy Snacks, and Other Produce. The Bananas segment originates, transports and distributes bananas to retailers, wholesalers and chain stores; it also cultivates and produces its own bananas through its plantations. The Salads and Healthy Snacks segment carries snacks under the Fresh Express labels, aside from distributing fresh vegetables and food ingredients. It distributes fresh vegetables to food retailers, foodservice distributors and restaurants. The Other Produce sources and distributes fresh fruits, other than bananas, in Europe and North America (Chiquita Brands website). Chiquita is the company that succeeded United Fruit Company, then the leader in banana production and transport operations throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, in 1984 and moved its headquarters to Ohio after it was bought by Cincinnati billionaire Carl Lindner Jr. who named himself the CEO. The company adopted the na me Chiquita Brands in 2002 after the company exited from a prepackaged Chapter 11 debt structuring plan and acquiring several fruit processing companies and distributors and expanded outside of banana sales to marketing and distributing other fresh and processed fruits and vegetables (Chiquita Brands website). Chiquita Brands has two main business units: Chiquita Fresh and Chiquita Global Logistics. Chiquita Fresh is responsible for the production, distribution and marketing of fresh fruits and vegetables around the globe, with Chiquita bananas as the signature product symbolizing its commitment for fresh and nutritious food. Chiquita Fresh’s website offers these data about the company: $1.5 Billion in revenues; 23,000 employees; 130 Million boxes of bananas sold annually representing 67% of total mother company’s revenues. Chiquita Fresh also operates 115 banana plantations in Latin America and one farm in Africa that produce half of all bananas sold, the other half c oming from independent producers in Latin America and the Philippines (Chiquita Brands website). Chiquita Global Logistics handles the supply flow of products and information in 19 countries via their network of cargo ships and other supplier facilities. Global Logistics has 11 modern ships and contracts 13 more to complement its Great White Fleet to undertake the delivery of bananas and other produce to Europe and North America. Aside from this, Global Logistics is also involved in commercial cargo operation in the US, Europe and Latin America. The website has the following information about Global Logistics: 430 employees;$160 Million in assets; 40,000 cargo containers moved annually; 2.9 Million nautical miles covered per year (SourceWatch website). In its 2010 annual report, Chiquita Brands cited the following data: 21,000 employees in nearly 70 countries; $3.2 Billion in net sales, generating $57 Million net income. The annual report boasted of a consistently positive operating net income from operation for the last three years from 2008 despite that the period covered the height of the recession. Issues Besetting Chiquita Brands In that annual report, the chief executive officer Fernando Aguirre reported on the progress relating to several issues from past operations that have affected Chiquita Brands in some ways. Violations of EC Competition Laws One of these issues pertained to some reported past violations of European competition laws by former employees of the company.

Quantitative Finance 203 Speech or Presentation

Quantitative Finance 203 - Speech or Presentation Example urtosis is given as 4.496>3, this implies that we have a Leptokurtic distribution, sharper than a normal distribution, with values concentrated around the mean and thicker tails. This means high probability for extreme values. In the case of Return on AUD per USD, the kurtosis is given as 8.277>3, this implies that we have a Leptokurtic distribution, sharper than a normal distribution, with values concentrated around the mean and thicker tails. This means high probability for extreme values. In the case of Rateturn onTB Rate, the kurtosis is given as 156.85>3, this implies that we have a Leptokurtic distribution, sharper than a normal distribution, with values concentrated around the mean and thicker tails. This means high probability for extreme values. 5. Under the assumption that the returns of each asset are drawn from an independently and identically distributed normal distribution, are the expected returns statistically different from zero for each asset? State clearly the null and alternative hypothesis in each case. Based on the correlation matrix table given in question 6 above, we can conclude that the assumption of independence is not realistic. There is a positive relationship between Return on AUD per Yen and Return on AUD per UKP; Return on AUD per Yen and Return on AUD per USD and Return on AUD per UKP and Return on AUD per

Puerto Rico History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Puerto Rico History - Essay Example The most significant among such encounters were the wars fought between Spanish territorial invaders and Americans (History). The continual aggression of these forces resulted in the slow elimination of Tainos culture by the end of 16th century. By the end of 19th century, the continually fought Spanish-American wars concluded with Americans claiming the control of Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico). The control of Puerto Rico by Americans started bringing considerable changes to the socio-economic and political conditions of Puerto Ricans. The stage was set for modernization and started creating a congenial atmosphere of American commercial growth plans. The initial step in this direction was rationalization of currency of Puerto Rico(Puerto Rico). The development and implementation of uniform polices for the government employees which included stipulated working hours of eight hours a day, along with the enforcement of freedom of assembly, speech, press and religion. In addition, steps to improve the educational system was initiated by starting public school and extended the US postal service to this island (Puerto Rico). The better transportation was planned, highways extended and bridges constructed across major rivers and canals to enhance the development. The better health care systems started reducing the child mortality rates and controlled various endemic diseases. The period also showed creation of new political parties - Republican Party and American Federal party (Puerto Rico). In order to get more democratic rights a new political party called Nationalist party was founded in the year 1922 (History). Being more politically aggressive, Nationalist party started intensifying its protests by boycotting the various collective political exercises. This resulted in distancing the party from the existing authorities. This led to the incident

Health Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Health Economics - Essay Example The healthcare system consists of all the people and the action they undertake, whose primary effort is to improve citizens’ health of a particular state. The potential scope of a healthcare system may include the public and private sectors as well as a spectrum of providers as well as funders who may improve health. A full range of organizational form is more likely to be visible in a developed world healthcare delivery system (Aspalter, Uchida & Gauld, 2012, p.2). Modern healthcare systems are not all about delivering personal healthcare. The institutions that govern the provision of healthcare are concerned with mechanisms in which the individuals can access healthcare such as the earned insurance settlements and the social citizenship. They are also concerned with the mechanisms responsible for deciding the amount of resources allocated to financing the provision of health care services such as setting regulatory frameworks as well as governing via public management. Institutions governing the provision of healthcare include mechanisms for regulating hospitals such as a mix of differently owned hospitals and the amount of public regulation as well as regulation of doctors. This is especially different forms of private interest government (Giarelli, 2010). This is a reflection of the centrality of hospitals and doctors when it comes to the provision of healthcare (Giarelli, 2010, p.189). All the modern healthcare systems face common challenges. These challenges are due to globalization, rapid technological advancements, medical progress and changes in demography. Consequently, these systems have no option but to change the organization in the way they it is governed and provide healthcare (Walshe & Smith, 2011, p.145). The health care system in the UK initially followed an insurance health model introduced in 1911 by Lloyd George (Walshe & Smith, 2011). At the time, many systems covered only the industrial workers and

The Power of Persuasion Essay Example for Free

The Power of Persuasion Essay I. â€Å"If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather than intellect.† These are wise words spoken by Benjamin Franklin, whom we all know for his roles in American History as a writer, scientist and politician. II. In this quote, Benjamin Franklin speaks of how to persuade. But why would it be important to know how to persuade? III. I always have to ask my child to pick up his toys after he done playing with them and my husband to take out the trash. Of course, they never want to do it so I must persuade them into doing so. At some point in life, we all have to persuade someone into doing something. IV. Tonight, I will tell you about the how powerful persuasion is, techniques for persuasion, how to not be persuaded. Body I. One could say that most of the things that people do, they do them on their own free will. Up to certain point this is true; many individuals act and do things based upon their needs and wants, others need to be persuaded, or if you will, motivated into doing something. a.Persuasion is a skill that most business people such as, marketers, salespeople and advertisers must have or acquire in order to succeed in today’s business world. b.For example, a company like launches a new line of hair care products that promise to do wonders for your hair, but you have been using a type of shampoo and conditioner for as long as you can remember, because it works for your hair. c. You have developed brand loyalty for these products and probably you wouldn’t think of changing to a new line of products. d. But this company’s campaign and offers of free samples for you to try are so alluring that you decide to try and after trying you decide to switch. e.You have not only been persuaded to change products, but your perception of the products you used for years has also changed. (Transition: This case illustrates one of the â€Å"six basic tendencies of human behavior that Robert B. Cialdini mentions In his article â€Å"The Science of Persuasion†, published in the Scientific America: Mind magazine in 2001.) II. The following tendencies play an important role in the decision making process of an individual and lead to the use of persuasion techniques based on each of them are: a.Reciprocation: one could also refer to this as â€Å"quid pro quo† or â€Å"this for that.† Most individuals agree to do or contribute to a number of things if they see a profit or a benefit from it in most cases, in other cases they might do it just for goodwill. Technique: Free samples at food stores, free at home inspections from exterminators, free workout sessions with gym membership. Customers are exposed to the product or service and also indebted. b.Consistency: â€Å"public commitments, even seemingly minor ones, direct future actions.† Technique: Restaurants ask customers who make reservations to call and cancel if they have a change of plans. This simple request asks the customers to make a public commitment. c.Social validation: society has also an impact on an individual’s actions and decisions, because actions and tendencies that have a positive impact in society are most likely to be replicated. Technique: A fund raiser shows home owners a list of the neighbors that contributed to the building of a new library; the longer the list, the greater the effect. d.Liking: â€Å"people prefer to say yes to those they like† Whether a product, an individual or an organization, individuals tend to act and make decisions upon what they like. Technique: Companies that offer at home parties like Tupperware, Mary Kay and Pampered Chef are a success because people buy from a familiar person â€Å"a liked friend† rather than an unknown salesperson. e.Authority: â€Å"we usually want the opinions of true authorities. Their insights help us choose quickly and well.† One could say that this tendency goes hand to hand with social validation and recognition. The opinions of those who have dedicated years to study and explore a specific filed often influence an individual’s decision. Technique: Phrases like â€Å"Four out of five doctors recommend†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Dentists’ favorite toothpaste†¦Ã¢â‚¬  attempt to harness the power of authority. f.Scarcity: â€Å"a great deal of evidence shows that items and opportunities become more desirable to us as they become unavailable† Technique: Often in store one sees â€Å"limited time† and â€Å"limited supplies† offers but in most of these occasions, this is nothing more than a marketing strategy. (Transition: These tendencies and techniques can persuade individual into doing or acquiring a number of things.) II. Unfortunately, there are some people who use unethical persuasion techniques. Some of these are: a. The â€Å"by all means necessary† approach to obtain the results they want; they usually violate businesses ethic codes. b.An example of these are the well known pyramid scheme, vapor advertising (advertising of a product that does not exist) and scams, all of these are based upon making individuals buy or commit to do things they wouldn’t normally buy or do. c.Another well known form of persuasion is â€Å"peer pressure.† d.It is possible that at some point in one’s life, one has done something due to peer pressure. e.This is commonly seen among high school and college students where one of the needs of the students is to be liked and socially recognized on campus. f.It can also be seen within organization; among employees. g.A moderate amount of peer pressure can be beneficiary for an individual when it motivates the individuals to act toward becoming a better student, employee, or just a better person in general. h.Peer pressure can be dangerous when the only goal is to be socially accepted; in this case most individuals would do â€Å"whatever it takes† to be accepted. Conclusion Persuasion is a powerful tool that can be used to motivate individuals to do good things for society and for themselves, but it can also be used to do harm. Based on the tendencies upon which people act and make decisions, it is up to the individual to determine when and how they allow themselves to be persuaded, because as strong and powerful as persuasion can be, there is also another powerful tool that individuals tend to lean on when they have to make a decision and that is intuition.

Pros and Cons of the Quebec Separation Issue

Pros and Cons of the Quebec Separation Issue The separation of Quebec is a very controversial issue in Canada, but why? Some people, such as those who live in Quebec believe Quebec should separate from Canada. They believe that their province would be better off on its own as its own country. Others, mainly those from other parts of the country, but still some from Quebec believe that Quebec should stay, that Quebec is a big part of Canada and would not be the same without it. If Quebec stays, Canada maintains its large piece of land on the map, the history that goes along with it, and the millions of people living there, but if Quebec separates, Canada would get rid of a large chunk of its debt (which would go to Quebec). This raises two very important arguments between for and those against the separation of Quebec from Canada. There are several benefits of Quebec separating from Canada. If Quebec were to separate, there would be no more disputes over the French and English languages that are spoken in Canada. Canada could have its bilingualism, and Quebec could become its own strictly French nation with no English spoken anywhere. Canada is a bilingual country; French is even mandatory in English schools up to and including grade 9. It isnt right if Quebec is only going to offer a French education to its children. Quebec is already separate in a way from Canada. They have their own civil laws, and their street signs only read in French. In 1980 there was a referendum to separate Quebec from Canada. This referendum was defeated when 41.5% of the people voted yes and 56.5% voted no. But the Quebecers were still fed up. Many people still did not want to be part of Canada, so they decided to try again. This time, it seemby a 50.58 % to 49.42 % margin, the closest in the history of Canada.ed to have more suppor t than ever before, even from people that didnt live in Quebec (although people who didnt live in Quebec werent involved in the vote.) It took place in 1995, and the motion to pursue independence was again narrowly defeated Whenever there are pros to an issue, the cons are never far behind. There is a big downside to Quebec separating from Canada. Canada is a bilingual country, the worlds first in fact and despite the fact that Quebec likes to be called strictly French, it is still a huge part of its bilingualism. Almost every person who lives in Quebec knows some form of French, and anyone who doesnt is probably in the process of learning it. People who are visiting from French-speaking countries may be attracted to the Quebec area because of its French-speaking nature. This is good for the tourism industry and can bring in some extra bucks to help pay off Canadas debt. Canada is also country that has a population of 30 million plus, that number growing each day. We are also the second largest country in the world as far as actual land goes. If Quebec were to separate from Canada, we would lose all of this. Out population would shrink by 7.4 million people, and the size of our country would fall down almost 16 percent. And just think if you took Quebec off of the map. There would be a massive whole in Canada. Would it still be possible for Canada to survive? Would the east and the west be able to survive or would they be forced to join the United States? Quebec has flourished in Canada and proven it doesnt have to leave to achieve its needs.   It made French its official language by passing Law 101. Despite the rising increase in English-speaking, it has raised the number of Francophones in the province to the highest level ever. We sometimes fail to realize that Francophones have jumped on top of the Quebec economy to produced some of Canadas and the worlds leading technologies, companies and financial institutions like Bombardier (snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles, military aircraft, trains), Hydro Quebec, and le Cirque du Soleil. If Quebec ever separated, it would no longer be a part of NAFTA and would be forced to pay heavy duties on imports and exports of their goods. This would then cause them to raise the price of their merchandise which would eventually stop selling because of the availability of cheaper goods elsewhere. Does all of this mean something? Why does Quebec keep trying to separate? Obviously they dont want to be a part of Canada, so they should become a country of their own. Now some may say that the reason these referendums have not gone through is because people are scared of becoming independent. They are scared of the thought of their province, Quebec, not being a part of Canada. Does this make sense? Not at all. If you want to separate from something, then do it. If you want to stay with that something, then stay with it. But dont try and do both, that will get you nowhere and the fights will continue to plague the whole country. The real reason for this is that the people who vote for Quebec to stay a part of Canada are mostly middle aged people while the people that want Quebec to separate from Canada are the younger people and the older people. According to the website crave.com, Eventually, the young will be a majority and the yes vote side will win. It will end with them leaving , but not before more and more conflicts between the two sides, so they might as well go now. Another reason why Quebec should separate is that Canada has a large debt of over 150 billion dollars. This debt has been accumulating over the years, but Canada is slowly starting to come out of it. 25% of this debt would be the sole responsibility of Quebec if they were to separate which would make Canada at least 35 billion dollars further out of that debt. Although we will have lost a bit of our economy through the separation, this money would surely make up it for that loss. This would give Quebecers a nice discrepancy in their bank account to start off their country and eventually, they would have to start borrowing money from Canada. Over the years Quebec would start to pay the money back, with interest, and Canadas debt would be almost cut in half. The separation of Quebec from Canada is a very controversial issue. Should it happen or shouldnt it? Those for would like to see it happen so Canada can get rid of the French language all together, and to stop all the fighting and arguing that is constantly going on between both sides. They would also like them to separate for the sake of money that they would be paying to Canada. Others do not want Quebec to separate from Canada because they believe that it is a very important part of the Country. It connects the west to the east, the east to the west. Without it, there would be a very big hole right in the middle of the country and the rest of Canada would probably be forced to join the United States. I myself would not like to see Quebec separate from Canada for a few reasons. If they did separate, Nova Scotia would most likely join the U.S. Now although I do like to visit the country, I would never want to be a part of it. Another reason is that I enjoy shopping in Quebec and dri ving through Quebec. Its a fun place to be and the shopping never ends. Canada is just not the same without Quebec. As long as these two sides continue to fight and argue, the separation of Quebec will remain a very controversial issue in Canada. http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2006/1/30/214331/583

The risk factors for breast cancer

The risk factors for breast cancer INTRODUCTION Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in Malaysia with an overall age-standardized incidence (ASR) of 46.2 per 100,000 population [1]. The incidence of breast cancer differs among Malaysia states; it is the most common cancer among women in Penang, followed by Sabah [2]. However, there is no previous study on risk factors associated done in Penang before. Determining the risk factors of breast cancer helps to identify women who may benefit most from screening or other preventive measures, also offers hopeful promise of modifying those factors, thus preventing breast cancer occurrence. Many risk factors of breast cancer have been found and many of them have been recognized as established factors. Advancing age is one of the most important factors [3]. Reproductive factors like timing of menarche and menopause, parity play a major role in breast cancer incidence [4, 5] . Also, lifestyle factors like alcohol consumption [6-9], high fat diet [10-14] and smoking [15-17] have been identified by many studies as risk factors for breast cancer. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the socio-demographic factors, family history, reproductive factors, the life-style factors and external factors with the occurrence of the breast cancer among the study population. MATERIAL AND METHODS Study design A matched case-control study was conducted in Penang General Hospital, Penang Island, Malaysia between 20th November 2009 and 22th January 2010 using a standardized questionnaire that designed into two languages: English and Malay. Both cases and controls were matched by age group and ethnicity. Sample size was calculated according to that reported by CARIF-UM (Release New Malaysian Breast Cancer Genetic Study) which stated that 14% of breast cancer patients in Malaysia who have family history of breast cancer [18] and the relative risk for strong family history ranging from 2.5 to 4.5 [19] , the minimum sample size was 149 patients per group. Ethical Approval Our study was approved by Clinical Research Centre and Medical Research Ethic Committee of Ministry of Health Malaysia. Considering the ethical issues, written consent was signed by each case and verbal agreement for interview participation was obtained from all control subjects. All the personal information collected was considered confidential. Data Collection The cases were recruited from a convenience sample of prevalent breast cancer women who attended the oncology clinic, day-care chemotherapy center, oncology ward, and the surgical ward during the period of conducting this research. Women with confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer histologically regardless of the stage and met the following criteria; above 20 years old, non-pregnancy, without any gynecological problems (e.g., artificial menopause by hysterectomy), hormonal and psychological problems, were called for interview. Only one patient refused to participate. Our controls were non-breast cancer women who attended the outpatient clinics and outpatient pharmacy during the same period. Women who are non-pregnant, matched by age group and ethnicity to the cases recruited, without any malignancies, gynological, hormonal and endocrine, and psychological problems are eligible to be our controls. Statistical Analysis All data entry and analyses were conducted using SPSS version 15 Microsoft program. Descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviations (SD) for continuous variables, frequencies and percentages for categorical variables were used to describe the study population. Crude ORs with 95% CI were calculated using simple logistic regression models that examined the association between breast cancer status and risk factors. Significant independent variables with P values RESULTS In all, 300 women within two groups were interviewed; 150 women with breast cancer and 150 control women without breast cancer. The means  ± SD age of cases and controls were 52.81  ± 11.13 years (range 23-83 years) and 52.40  ± 11.52 years (range 22-78 years), respectively. Statistically, there is no significant difference between cases and controls in term of age (P value= 0.75) and race frequency (P value= 1.00). Among each cases and controls group, 34.7 % were Malay, 50.7 % were Chinese, 14.0 % were Indian and 0.7 % were other races. Socio-demographic Risk Factors The results of socio-demographic risk factors obtained from univariate logistic regression analysis summarized in Table 1 showed that lower educational level and occupation were significantly related to breast cancer risk (P Family History Family history of first degree relative with other types of cancer (nasopharyngeal, ovarian, Lung, bladder, stomach, or colon cancers) increased the risk significantly (P Reproductive Risk Factors According to the reproductive factors (Table 3), women with late ages at menopauses (= 55 years old) (OR=2.8, 95%CI: 1.18 6.67), or history of menstrual irregularity (OR= 3.2, 95%CI: 1.00 10.08) or who had never breastfed (OR= 1.74, 95%CI=: 1.09 2.76) were more likely to have breast cancer. The protective effect of breastfeeding found to be a duration dependent; women who had breastfed for only few months had a higher risk by 1.51 ( 95%CI: 0.83 2.77) compared to breastfed women for a total of more than 1 year, and the risk increased in non-breastfed women to 2.08 (95%CI= 1.22 3.57). Nevertheless, no statistically significant association were observed between breast cancer and the age at menarche, number of children (parity), age at first full term pregnancy, number of abortions and menopausal status. Life Style and External Risk Factors Breast cancer risk ratios were higher for women who had a history of benign breast disease (OR=2.8, 95%CI: 1.13 6.88) and who had never practiced low fat diet (white meat, white fish, skinless chicken and avoid deep fried food) (OR=1.81, 95%CI: 1.14 2.86). However, other lifestyle factors like; smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index (BMI = 25 kg/m2) and external hormone use, like OCP and HRT were not significant statistically to be risks for breast cancer. Multivariate Results Among all factors included in the multivariable model (Table 5), occupation, breastfeeding and practicing low-fat diet play important protective roles against breast cancer; unemployed women (adjusted OR= 2.7, 95%CI: 1.59 4.61), never breastfed women (adjusted OR= 1.94, 95%CI: 1.15 3.27) and never practiced low-fat diet (adjusted OR = 1.97, 95%CI: 1.18 3.27) were found to be associated with breast cancer risk as statistically significant independent factors. Other factors contributing to breast cancer risk were: family history of distant relatives with breast cancer (adjusted OR= 3.70, 95%CI: 1.48 -9.20) and first degree relatives with other cancers (adjusted OR= 5.27, 95%CI: 1.38 20.1). Also, women with histories of benign breast disease (adjusted OR= 3.14, 95%CI: 1.17 8.40) and menstrual cycle irregularity (adjusted OR= 4.94, 95% CI: 1.42 17.26) were more likely to have breast cancer. OCP use was significantly related to breast cancer risks; however, this was not related to the duration. While using OCP for 5 years increased the risk by only 3 times (95% CI: 1.02 9.00). DISCUSSION In a pooled analysis of 150 breast cancer cases and 150 non-breast cancer controls, associations between breast cancer and various demographic, reproductive, and lifestyle factors were examined. Both cases and controls were chosen intentionally from the same hospital during the same study period. The risk of breast cancer has been reported to be associated with socio-demographic status [24-26]. Age is a very important risk factor; it was found that breast cancer incidence generally increases with age. The mean age at diagnosis for all breast cancer patients is 50.7  ± 11.0 years. The peak age reaches between 40 and 49 and thereafter the number of breast cancer patients decreases quite dramatically with only 4.0% above 70 years old (Figure 1). Also, only 2.0% of cases were diagnosed below the age of 30 which is consistent with Singletary findings [3]. According to the other socio-demographic factors studied, higher level of education has a protective effect (P Occupation status also plays an important role as a protection factor against breast cancer in both univariate and multivariate analysis (P Family history is an important factor in our population; an adjusted OR of 3.7 (95%CI = 1.48 9.2) was found for women with a distant relative with breast cancer, which is within the OR range reported by previous literature [19, 37] and higher than that reported by others [3, 38]. However, having first degree-relatives with breast cancer is not significantly related to the breast cancer risk (P > 0.05). This may be explained partially because of the high frequency of controls (7 of 150 controls vs. 16 of 150 cases) that had first-degree relatives with breast cancer. Such a high number of family histories in controls may result in an underestimation of increased risk due to the family history. Furthermore, history of first degree relatives with other cancer (gastric, pancreatic, colon, lung carcinoma.etc) is significantly more frequent in patients than in controls with the adjusted odd ratio of 5.27 (95% CI= 1.38 20.1). Recently, it has been discovered that clustering of first degree cases of breast, pancreas and stomach carcinomas in a family has been associated with mutations in the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2 [39]. Breastfeeding is an important protective factor among our population; women who had never breastfed their baby have a 1.74 (95%CI: 1.09 2.76) higher risk of getting breast cancer and the adjusted odd ratio is 1.94 (ever versus never, 95%CI = 1.15 3.27) in the multivariate analysis. Our finding is in agreement with these studies [40-48], however, others failed to find any association [31, 36, 49-52]. Moreover, the duration of breastfeeding has also an important effect; found that the longer the lactation period, the least the risk of breast cancer. This inverse relationship between the duration of breastfeeding and the risk of breast cancer have been suggested by other studies [46, 53-60], however, other revealed that this is mainly confined to women diagnosed before the age of 40 with a weak trend for older patients [61]. History of irregular menstrual cycle (Polymenorrhea, Oligomenorrhea, or Amenorrhea) had an increased risk; the OR range (3.17- 4.94) and this supports the Turkish study [62] which found that menstrual irregularity increased the risk by 1.61 (95% CI 1.05-2.49). Others [55, 63, 64] did not find any significant relation between menstrual irregularity and breast cancer risk. However, it has been reported that menstrual irregularity decreased the risk [65] This study detected a significant association between oral contraceptive use and breast cancer, consistent with other local studies [27, 36, 66] and other international studies [46, 67]. Whereas we could not find any relationship between the duration of OCP used and the risk of breast cancer, so our study does not support the growing body of evidence that long-term use of oral contraceptives, especially during certain parts of reproductive life, is associated with a modest increase in breast cancer risk [46, 68]. However, most studies found no or weak association of OCP use with the risk of breast cancer [34, 69-71]. The association between OCP use and breast cancer is also related to the duration, dosage, type of OCP and the age of first use [72]. Previous history of benign breast disease is highly significant in the present study (P Practicing low-fat diet (take only white meat, white fish, and skinless chicken and avoid deep fried food) exhibited an inverse association with the risk of breast cancer, which is significant in both univariate and multivariate analysis (crude OR 1.81, 95%CI= 1.14 2.86) and (adjusted OR: 1.96, 95%CI=1.18 3.27) respectively for women who had never practicing low fat diet. Red and fried meat consumption and fatty foods were suggested as important risk factors for breast cancer [11, 73]. For each additional 100 g (3.5 oz) daily of meat consumption the risk of breast cancer increased risk by 56% in a French case-control study [13]. Another cohort study [74] reported a significant relative risk (RR) of 1.7 for women who reported eating the skin on poultry. Null high consumptions of fatty forms, namely fried fish and chicken with skin were associated with an increase of breast cancer risk [75]. Other case-control studies reported a protective effect of poultry and fish against the devel opment of breast cancer [76]. Also, there was no evidence for a positive association between total dietary fat intake and risk of breast cancer and no reduction in the risk even among women whose energy intake from fat was less than 20 percent of the total energy intake [77]. Some case-control studies and cohort studies have shown weak and inconsistent associations between high intake of dietary fat and poultry with the occurrence of breast cancer [14, 78]. Other well-established factors that have been studied; smoking cigarettes, alcohol intake, regular use of HRT, pre and post-menopausal body mass index (BMI), marital status and the level of monthly income , age at menarche, age at first full-term pregnancy, number of abortions, menopausal status and parity were found not to be significant in this study (P > 0.05). Strength and Limitation To our own knowledge, the present study is the first case-control study of breast cancer to investigate the risk factor in Penang Island, Malaysia. Both cases and control were matched by age group and ethnicity which add some strength to our study. This research studied almost all the socio-demographic, reproductive, lifestyle and external risk factors, so the confounding effects of all of these factors had been taken into consideration when getting our result by multivariate analysis. Furthermore, the questionnaire was designed into two languages (English and Malay), hence most of the three main ethnic groups in Penang (Chinese, Malay, and Indian) are fluent in either or both of them. As other case-control studies, our work has some limitations. The question regarding menstrual history (age at menarche, age at menopause) of the respondent are likely to be affected by recall bias. There was a chance of error in recall especially for age at menarche that had been many decades earlier and this may have affected the results. We tried to minimize this bias through assisting the memory of subjects. Some of the Chinese cases were excluded due to the language barrier (they cannot speak Malay or English), that may cause some selection bias. Finally, generalizability of our findings may be precluded by our population features; they have high mean ages, low educational level and belong to a mid socioeconomic class, also by the difference in the ethnicity distribution among different Malaysia states. CONCLUSION In summarily, family history with breast cancer or other cancer, history of benign breast disease, menstrual irregularity, and oral contraceptive used were found to be significantly associated with increased breast cancer risk, whereas breastfeeding, occupation and practicing low fat diet have protective effects against breast cancer. Late age at menopause and education level are significant risk factor only in the univaraite analysis. REFERENCES Lim, G. and Y. Halimah, Second report of the national cancer registry cancer incidence in Malaysia 2003. National Cancer Registry, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, 2004. Rosemawati, A. and A. Sallehudin, Cancer registration in Malaysia. 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Free Narrative Essays - Trip Through The Soft Soft Sand :: Personal Narrative Essays

Trip Through The Soft Soft Sand It was a warm, dry summers day in the great bowl of Nevada's desert when I made my grave error. We learn from our errors, so in some cases it doesn't hurt to make them provided there is not a permanent repercussion from your mistake. I have a rock that reminds me of this incident and I would like to tell you how this rock resembles my experience. Jamie(my girlfriend) and I were returning on a Sunday afternoon from a very successful and safe caving trip to the Great Basin National Park. The weather was just right for traveling and we were reminiscing about all of the beautiful natural formations we saw underground. Caving is a very exciting sport, upon entering a cave you leave the mundane world behind and enter a wonderful wonderland. From the commonly known stalactites and stalagmites to the lesser known soda straws and cave bacon. After a few days of exploring caves in the park we were ready to head home. With tired muscles and dusty bodies we were ready for warm showers and soft beds. Upon exiting the park and traveling along the long strait path of the highway home we spotted a dark hole in a rock formation along the side of the road. Being true cavers and adventurous types we decided we had to poke our heads in to take a look around. I veered off the road in started heading in the direction of the rock formation. Unfortunately although driving along what seemed to be tracks I was getting myself deeper and deeper into very soft sand. This was my mistake, traveling along a path that was untested and the whereabouts of the destination unknown. "Are you sure you know what you are doing" said Jamie as the tires began to spin more and more in the soft particles of sand. "Sure, don't you see the tracks in the sand? Others have been this way, and hey, if they can do it, why can't we?" I said this half heatedly based on the fact that I was moving slower and slower as we progressed. Seeing that we were close enough to the precipice I stopped the car

Point Paper :: essays research papers

10 point plan to improve oversight of financial reporting process. 10 point plan to improve oversight of financial reporting process The New York Stock Exchange and The Blue Ribbon Committee saw a need for improvement in corporate auditing. They released a report of IO far-reaching recommendations intended to improve the quality of corporate financial reporting, Point # 1. Revise the definition of independent director. They say the definition should read as follows * Members of the audit committee should be independent and have no relationship with the corporation that may interfere with the exercise of their independence from management and the corporation. Point # 2 Require an independent audit committee. This point states that * (NYSE) and the (NASD) Should require companies meeting the size criteria (large) should have an audit committee made up of independent directors. Point # 3 Mandate minimum audit committee sizes and increased financial literacy. Companies that meet the size criteria (large) should have an audit committee comprised of a min imum of three directors. Furthermore, at least one of the members should have accounting or related financial management expertise, Point # 4 Mandate written charter detailing responsibilities and duties. Adopt a formal written charter approved by the full board of directors that specifies the scope of the committee's responsibilities, and to review and reassess the adequacy of the audit committee charter on an annual basis. Point # 5 Mandate annual i3ublic disclosure of audit committee activities The (SEC) should require proof from the committee that it has adopted a formal written charter, and to see if the committee satisfied it responsibilities under the charter. These findings also should be disclosed in the annual report to the stockholders. Point # 6 Clarify oversight responsibility for outside auditors. It should be specified that the outside auditor is ultimately accountable to the board of directors and the audit committee as representatives of the shareholders. Point # 7 Mandate discussion with outside auditor regarding independence. The rules should require that the audit committee is responsible for ensuring the receipt from the outside auditor of a formal written statement delineating all relationships between the auditor and the company, that is consistent with (ISBS) And to make sure there is no foul play. Point # 8 Require outside auditor to discuss quality of financial reporting-. (GAAS) Should require that a company's outside auditor discuss with the audit committee the auditor's judgments about the quality.