A Modern Day Liberal Arts Program

If there is one major lesson that we can learn living in this world, it is the fact of impermanence of everything. The world is constantly in a flux, forever fluid, as well as the reality that humanity must face in his day to day battle to live a decent, comfortable life. Everything is changing. If we would borrow a cliche to describe it, the appropriate one is time is achanging. And during this time when a lot of changes are taking place, there is the importance and need that the programs in our colleges to keep abreast with these changes.Failure to do so will only lead to another failure which is a shortcoming in educating our students to prepare then to face the realities of the outside world. In the case of Liberal Arts Programs, the issue stated above is more than appropriate. Lest we forget, Liberal Arts was founded by scholars whose aim is to maximize and develop the intellectual capacity of its students. The word Liberal in latin means libera which means free. The goal of lib eral arts then is to free its student from the bondage of ignorance.This is the reason why in the basic curriculum in any liberal arts program subjects like language, literature, philosophy and mathematics are included. The reason for this is to enhance the higher faculty of its students and nurture their ability to be well-verse with the outside world and at the same time of the possibilities of what role they will play in society. The role of Liberal Arts program in general under a setting of a democratic system is the fulfillment of every man’s intellectual potential for growth and development.Understanding that the democratic system bestows on man his rights for equality, liberty and freedom, the part played by Liberal Arts colleges towards these goals is to empower the individual to exercise these innate rights given to him by the form of this political setup. Through the programs offered by Liberal Arts, an individual is given the right tools to have the capacity to thi nk and express his ideas that is beneficial in his pursuit of personal development and progress.The result of the process then is that it uplifts the spirit of the person as an individual and simultaneously shapes him to be a productive participant in the society that he will be a part of. At the same time the effect of this on the society at large is the encouragement on the whole organization to advance in its ability to think. Advancement in the way the society think will bring an outcome where the society can find resolution to the challenges it faces in the fast changing world.Nevertheless, the question that lingers in the face of an ever-changing world is: Is the curriculum offered by Liberal Arts programs enough to keep students prepared to realize their potential once they leave the confine of campus life? The answer to this is very obvious. Though the basic curriculum that is included in the program gives the student the basic skills in cerebral endeavor and basic knowledge to participate effectively in society, there is still the need for it to be flexible and open to other disciplines to make it relevant to the changing world.In today’s changing terrain of realities, there are two points that students of this Liberal Arts Program will have to deal with in order to grow and be equipped with the right tools for them to function and participate in the outside world. One is communication and the other one is technology. Why communication and technology. On a cursory look the two seems wide apart. The first one is almost intangible while the latter is concrete and definite. One may even conclude that technology is far from the aim and mission of any liberal arts curriculum.Yet, on a closer look the two complement with each other. There is a need to master the basics of communication thorough which technology will be used as the tool to convey it. What then are the benefits of program for the student and to the society at large? One, the vision whi ch the program has set for each student is for him to be an all-around person who can participate in the outside world with right tools to keep at pace with the changing world, especially in this age of Information Revolution.As for the society at large, the benefit it can derive from this program is the actualization of everything that was taught in liberal arts classroom to be performed by its student in the outside world. Society can sow the fruits of labor of every student of the program. In a gist, this Liberal Arts Program will aim on what Knoblauch says about the uses of literacy, that it never stands alone, that it is always used for something – â€Å"for professional competence in the technological world, for civic responsibility and the preservation of heritage, for personal growth and self fulfillment, for social and political change† (220).Communication The main goal as to the focus of the program towards communication is obviously the intent of propagating literacy among young people. If we follow what Hirsch said in his study, the literacy rate in United States is only around 66% (2). It is therefore right to conclude that that there are basically one third of the population of the country who are illiterate. The program then will aim at equipping the students with skills that can make them speak well, write well and understand how to convey and relay their thoughts and ideas to others and to the society they are part of. How can these ends be met through the program?In the program under the light of communication, a curriculum which will include subjects on right speech and writing will be designed. These issues can be addressed by the inclusion of speech subjects with the objective of training the students in the right manner of being an effective communicator. Speech. There are already in some Liberal Arts programs that include this subject of speech in their curriculum. In this program the same will be applied but with a new phi losophy in treating the subject so that the maximum potential of the student can be reached as soon as possible in the course of the program.The approach would be the utilization of 95% of the class hours in the honing and speech practices to be given to the students. The pattern of teaching then would be breathing exercises during the start of the class. After this and throughout the long duration of the semester, the students will be called to present a prepared speech in front of the class, a speech with the duration of five minutes. This will happen throughout the course. Applying this method of teaching how to speak properly in front of an audience will develop at the same time the confidence of the student to fight stage fright.Meanwhile, the final examination for the course will be an extemporaneous speech by which each student, gaining already the confidence to stand in front of an audience, will be taught the experience of speaking their minds out in a comprehensible and st ructured format. The grading for this course will be unlike in any other speech subject. Since the usual gauge of the instructor in this case is lumping the whole class into one and giving the highest grade to the one who stand out among the rest, this will not be the system for this subject.Since the instructor is observing and sitting at the back of the classroom most of the time, he will grade each student according to his progress in the curriculum. Since a semester is long enough for a student to take several times to stand in front of the class to speak, the basis whether the student passes the subject is whether he has improved in his speaking skills. Writing. It is well known that in every Liberal Arts program there entails an intensive training for writing.It is even said that without focus on this aspect of such a program is a sure doom for the whole curriculum altogether. Writing is the most difficult form of communication since it takes a lot of practice and discipline i n order to put what one has in mind into written words. Many have tried to design different approaches on how to address this and how to imbue it as a college experience for students. There are a hundred methods applied to teach writing in school and so far there are only a handful or a small percentage of those who are taught who came out as good writer.In this program concerning writing, there will only be two types of writing skills that will be given priority and importance. One is essay writing and the second one is creative writing. Essay Writing. As I have said there are many approaches tried on this subject to attain the goal that the students gain the skill of writing well. There are many colleges which tried to start-up the writing development of student by applying the formula of instructing their students to put their ideas into writing. But in this program, the approach will be different.Part of the syllabus will be for each student to write different kinds of essays. T hese are assignments that will be scheduled for the students to submit to the professor during the course of the semester. This scheme is only the tip of the iceberg in teaching the students how to write. First, to let the student feel the words and see how his ideas are transformed into written texts, part of the daily activity of the students in this subject is the creation of what you called a â€Å"morning page† paper.This paper will be written continuously for half an hour with the instruction to the student to write everything he thinks or sees or smells or anything that comes to his mind during that session. Grammar, systax, punctuation and sentences structure in this activity are not considered. There are no right tenses here or correct English. The point of the exercise is to make the student flex his writing muscles. Another part of the activity that will be included in this course is the creation of a journal by every student.It must be clear to the student that to learn how to write one must practice it as regular as possible. And there is no regular activity that will force to the student to write by keeping a journal. Creative Writing. As part of the growth of the student a creative writing class will be designed to encourage him to use his creativity in expressing himself. They say the most difficult kind of writing is the creative one. So why then torture these students of the program to undergo a rigorous writing training that would make their nose bleed?The answer to this question is the simple learning process that the brain adjusts to the difficulty of the task and keeps at par with it. The analogy that I will use for this case is the simple game of playing chess against a computer. If the player would start at the most difficult and professional level of the chess game, it is of course expected that the a notice player will lose hundreds of times. Yet, at the same time this failure to beat the computer in a chess game will give the player hints and samples of how to play the game decisively.Sooner or later the player will adapt to the playing style of the computer and will experience his first win. Used to playing with the highest level the computer can offer, the player then will find it easy to play the lower level skill of the computer. Applied in the case of writing and considering that creative writing is the most difficult style of writing, if the student learns to use his language to write a creative piece, it is conclusive to say that any form of writing then will be easy on his part since he has already mastered the most difficult one.It is like sparring out with a heavyweight then fighting a featherweight will then be easy. This course will take two semesters to complete, during the Fall and Spring semester. Part of the activities here will be on the sport story writing exercises, several sessions of rewriting a previous written assignment. And for the final examination of the students, a short story that runs in 15 pages will be submitted to the professor for evaluation on the progress of the student. Also, as part of the curriculum, the students will be given reading list for the two semesters.This reading list will be novels of classic and contemporary writers of fiction. The genre for the novels does not matter. It may be a pulp fiction, speculative fiction, modernist novels or any other types. From this list the students will choose which they wanted to read for their development in writing a short story. There are three objectives by which this course is chosen and included in the curriculum. First is for the student to learn how to handle his language, second is for him to express himself creatively and the third is for him to write better.Technology Since one of the changes that are fast shaping the terrain of reality and the human society at large is the advent of the Information Revolution, it is appropriate that the curriculum being offered by Liberal Arts includes c ourses that will enhance the ability of the students to keep abreast with this innovation in technology. Right now, the role played by information technology has encroached on almost every aspect of everyday lives of the modern man.Since the core objective of any Liberal Arts program is to free the students from the bondage of ignorance and prepare him with the realities of the outside world, inclusion of technology in the curriculum is not at all unexpected. Instead, it is totally anticipated to be the course of action of every program. One of the subjects that will fall under this category of technology in the curriculum of this specific Liberal Arts Program is the basic introduction on computer technology. Most colleges have incorporated in their curriculum the use of computer to their students, like how to use word processor, spreadsheets and slide presentation.But this approach under the light of the fast integration of information technology in the lives of the modern man is a lready passe if not outdated altogether. Teaching a student how to use the computer right now is like teaching him how to operate his television set. It is already given that young people who are going into colleges are well adept with the use of computer. The role that the Liberal Arts Program will take is to push the knowledge of the student beyond from what is already known about information technology.The program then will include in its curriculum basic knowledge on computer hardware like repair and troubleshooting. Included also in the curriculum is the study of how to use the most popular software as of the present time. I said present time since this subject in computer software should be flexible to change at any given time to adjust to the fast pace innovations in information technology. Applying the popular Moore’s Law that the rate of progress of technology is rapid (ebrary Inc, 28) in this equation is appropriate.Computers are expected to perform calculations tha t doubles every two years, it must be anticipated that what is useful now will be passe and outdate in a couple of years. Grading System There have been many debates regarding the best grading system that ought to be applied in gauging the intellectual progress of every student. In this program, the grading system that will be followed by the instructors and the professors will sit on the foundation that the best gauge of intellectual capacity and development of the student is the progress he shows in the class and in the array of activities designed in the curriculum.It must be understood that the maturity of learning capacity of each student varies from each other considering students are different in their intellectual levels. The role that instructors and professors in the program then will be demanding and laborious since the process and discernment of what grade should get will be on their total evaluation of the student’s progress in their subjects. This grading system will be applied principally in the two major concerns of this program: communication and technology. This kind of grading system is specifically appropriate to be applied in the speech and writing classes.Since these skills take time to be developed, it will be proper if the grading system is according to the progress that the student is making in the course. Take as an example the subject of writing essays. Though everybody in the class is taking the subject for the first time, some may have already an experience in writing that can give them an edge in earning a higher grade. To give each student the chance to get a good grade on the subject, each will be graded according to the development and how fast the student has instilled in himself the craft of writing.Moreover, grading each student according to his progress will put the focus of on imbuing the skill rather than merely getting a high mark for the course. The advantage of this grading scheme is the fact that the priority o f the student is how to improve his skills in the art of writing. When the goal of the course is focused on the improvement of the student in learning the craft rather than merely getting a good grade, the effect or result of this is the continuance of learning experience even if the course is already over.Since the student is oriented towards the goal of improving his skills and not just on the temporary and limited goal of earning a good mark, the writing experience is expected to continue until the student is already out of the campus. Knowing for a fact that writing better and effectively per se cannot be taught in a single or couple of semester, one of the main goal then of the course is for the student to continue putting effort to hone his skills in the endeavor of writing until his older and professional years.Though this scheme somewhat will be applied sparingly in the course of subjects concerning technology. Since the subjects are more concrete and mechanic in nature, the progress alone of the student in the curriculum will not suffice to gauge his effort in trying to learn the course. Conclusion The objective of any Liberal Arts program is to bring to freedom from ignorance each student that will take the course. At the same time, the program is designed with the primary goal of giving the student tools with which to face and participate in the outside world of the campus.These tools take the forms of skills like effective speech and deftness in writing craft and knowledge in the new technology abundant in the present age of ours. These skills will help the student be a better player and participant in the society once he is already outside the campus. The good about the program is that it complements the setup in a democratic society where each individual is given his right to pursue equality, liberty and freedom from ignorance. The curriculum that this program will focus on will be communication and technology since these two disciplines also com plement each other.Skills in speech and writing will be given the great emphasis while technology through the instruction of how computer works will also be given an importance. The grading system also by which the student will be evaluated will sit on the foundation of looking on the progress of the student rather than meeting the expectation of the instructor or professor. The advantage of this grading scheme is the re-alignment of priority for the student to look at the curriculum as a means to enhance his skills rather than merely getting high marks.Another point of this is the fact that the skills and discipline that the student may imbue on the whole program will be continued to be practiced even if he is already outside the boundary of the campus. Work Cited ebrary, Inc. Computer Science: Reflections on the Field, Reflections from the Field. Washington, DC, National Academies Press, 2004 Knoblauch, C. H. â€Å"Literacy and the Politics of Education†. Composing Knowledg e. Ed:Rolf Norgaard. Boston, New York. Bedford/St. Martin, 2007. pp. (198-209). Hirsch, E. D. â€Å"Cultural Literacy†. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987 Annotated Bibliographyebrary, Inc. Computer Science: Reflections on the Field, Reflections from the Field. Washington, DC, National Academies Press, 2004 This book basically tackled the progress in information technology. In the paper, there is a need for it to be cited since the discussion is the fast pace development in this modern technology. The importance of the idea is to present that the reasoning of the writer in saying that there should be flexibility in the creation of curriculum concerning computer literacy. Knoblauch, C. H. â€Å"Literacy and the Politics of Education†. Composing Knowledge. Ed:Rolf Norgaard.Boston, New York. Bedford/St. Martin, 2007. pp. (198-209). The underlying argument for the reason of the use of what Knoblauch said is to present the fact that literacy has its used in society. Sin ce literacy is one of the objectives of Liberal Arts, it is important to cite his text to show what will be the function of being a literate in society. Hirsch, E. D. â€Å"Cultural Literacy†. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987 The function of the information given by Hirsh in his book is to present the problem that is besetting the American population. There is a need for what the author said

Shadow Kiss Chapter 3

Three â€Å"WHY SO GLUM, LITTLE DHAMPIR?† I was heading across the quad, toward the commons, when I detected the scent of clove cigarettes. I sighed. â€Å"Adrian, you are the last person I want to see right now.† Adrian Ivashkov hurried up beside me, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air that of course drifted right toward me. I waved it off and made a great show of exaggerated coughing. Adrian was a royal Moroi we'd â€Å"acquired† on our recent ski trip. He was a few years older than me and had come back to St. Vladimir's to work on learning spirit with Lissa. So far, he was the only other spirit user we knew of. He was arrogant and spoiled and spent a lot of his time indulging in cigarettes, alcohol, and women. He also had a crush on me – or at least wanted to get me into bed. â€Å"Apparently,† he said. â€Å"I've hardly seen you at all since we got back. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were avoiding me.† â€Å"I am avoiding you.† He exhaled loudly and raked a hand through the sable brown hair he always kept stylishly messy. â€Å"Look, Rose. You don't have to keep up with the hard-to-get thing. You've already got me.† Adrian knew perfectly well I wasn't playing hard-to-get, but he always took a particular delight in teasing me. â€Å"I'm really not in the mood for your so-called charm today.† â€Å"What happened, then? You're stomping through every puddle you can find and look like you're going to punch the first person you see.† â€Å"Why are you hanging around, then? Aren't you worried about getting hit?† â€Å"Aw, you'd never hurt me. My face is too pretty.† â€Å"Not pretty enough to make up for the gross, carcinogenic smoke blowing in my face. How can you do that? Smoking's not allowed on campus. Abby Badica got two weeks' detention when she got caught.† â€Å"I'm above the rules, Rose. I'm neither student nor staff, merely a free spirit wandering your fair school as I will.† â€Å"Maybe you should go do some wandering now.† â€Å"You want to get rid of me, you tell me what's going on.† There was no avoiding it. Besides, he'd know soon enough. Everyone would know. â€Å"I got assigned to Christian for my field experience.† There was a pause, and then Adrian burst out laughing. â€Å"Wow. Now I understand. In light of that, you actually seem remarkably calm.† â€Å"I was supposed to have Lissa,† I growled. â€Å"I can't believe they did this to me.† â€Å"Why did they do it? Is there some chance you might not be with her when you graduate?† â€Å"No. They just all seem to think this is going to help me train better now. Dimitri and I will still be her real guardians later.† Adrian gave me a sidelong glance. â€Å"Oh, I'm sure that'll be quite the hardship for you.† It had to be one of the weirdest things in the universe that Lissa had never come close to suspecting my feelings for Dimitri but that Adrian had figured it out. â€Å"Like I said, your commentary isn't appreciated today.† He apparently didn't agree. I had a suspicious feeling he'd been drinking already, and it was barely even lunchtime. â€Å"What's the problem? Christian'll be with Lissa all the time anyway.† Adrian had a point. Not that I'd have admitted it. Then, in that short-attention-span way of his, he switched subjects just as we neared the building. â€Å"Have I mentioned your aura to you?† he asked suddenly. There was a strange note to his voice. Hesitant. Curious. It was very uncharacteristic. Everything he usually said was mocking. â€Å"I don't know. Yeah, once. You said it was dark or something. Why?† Auras were fields of light that surrounded every person. Their colors and brightness were allegedly linked to a person's personality and energy. Only spirit users could see them. Adrian had been doing it for as long as he could remember, but Lissa was still learning. â€Å"Hard to explain. Maybe it's nothing.† He came to a stop near the door and inhaled deeply on his cigarette. He went out of his way to blow a cloud of smoke away from me, but the wind carried it back. â€Å"Auras are strange. They ebb and flow and change colors and brightness. Some are vivid, some are pale. Every once in a while, someone's will settle and burn with such a pure color that you can†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He tipped his head back, staring into the sky. I recognized the signs of that weird â€Å"unhinged† state he sometimes fell into. â€Å"You can instantly grasp what it means. It's like seeing into their soul.† I smiled. â€Å"But you haven't figured mine out, huh? Or what any of these colors mean?† He shrugged. â€Å"I'm figuring it out. You talk to enough people, get a feel for what they're like and then start to see the same kinds of people with the same kinds of colors†¦. After a while, the colors start to mean something.† â€Å"What's mine look like right now?† He glanced over at me. â€Å"Eh, I can't quite get a fix on it today.† â€Å"I knew it. You've been drinking.† Substances, like alcohol or certain medications, numbed spirit's effects. â€Å"Just enough to chase the chill away. I can guess what your aura's like, though. It's usually like the others, sort of those swirling colors – it's just kind of edged in darkness. Like you've always got a shadow following you.† Something in his voice made me shiver. Although I'd heard him and Lissa talk about auras a lot, I'd never really thought of them as anything I needed to worry about. They were more like some kind of stage trick – a cool thing with little substance. â€Å"That's so cheerful,† I said. â€Å"You ever think about motivational speaking?† His scattered look faded, and his normal mirth returned. â€Å"Don't worry, little dhampir. You might be surrounded by clouds, but you'll always be like sunshine to me.† I rolled my eyes. He dropped his cigarette onto the sidewalk and put it out with his foot. â€Å"Gotta go. See you later.† He swept me a gallant bow and started walking away toward guest housing. â€Å"You just littered!† I yelled. â€Å"Above the rules, Rose,† he called back. â€Å"Above the rules.† Shaking my head, I picked up the now-cold cigarette butt and took it to a garbage can that was outside the building. When I entered, the warmth inside was a welcome change as I shook off the slush on my boots. Down in the cafeteria, I found lunch wrapping up for the afternoon. Here, dhampirs sat side by side with Moroi, providing a study in contrasts. Dhampirs, with our half-human blood, were bigger – though not taller – and more solidly built. The girl novices were curvier than the ultra-slim Moroi girls, the boy novices far more muscular than their vampire counterparts. The Moroi complexions were pale and delicate, like porcelain, while ours were tanned from being outside in the sun so much. Lissa sat at a table by herself, looking serene and angelic in a white sweater. Her pale blond hair cascaded over her shoulders. She glanced up at my approach, and welcoming feelings flowed to me through our bond. She grinned. â€Å"Oh, look at your face. It's true, isn't it? You really are assigned to Christian.† I glared. â€Å"Would it kill you to be a little less miserable?† She gave me a censuring yet amused look as she licked the last of her strawberry yogurt off her spoon. â€Å"I mean, he's my boyfriend, after all. I hang out with him all the time. It's not that bad.† â€Å"You have the patience of a saint,† I grumbled, slouching into a chair. â€Å"And besides, you don't hang out with him 24/7.† â€Å"Neither will you. It's only 24/6.† â€Å"Same difference. It might as well be 24/10.† She frowned. â€Å"That doesn't make any sense.† I waved off my idiotic remark and stared blankly around the lunchroom. The room was buzzing with news of the impending field exercise, which would kick off as soon as lunch ended. Camille's best friend had gotten assigned to Ryan's best friend, and the four of them huddled gleefully together, looking as though they were about to embark on a six-week double date. At least someone would enjoy all this. I sighed. Christian, my soon-to-be charge, was off with the feeders – humans who willingly donated blood to Moroi. Through our bond, I sensed Lissa wanting to tell me something. She was holding off because she was worried about my bad mood and wanted to make sure I got enough support. I smiled. â€Å"Stop worrying about me. What's up?† She smiled back, her pink-glossed lips hiding her fangs. â€Å"I got permission.† â€Å"Permission for – ?† The answer flitted from her mind faster than she could have voiced it. â€Å"What?† I exclaimed. â€Å"You're going to stop your meds?† Spirit was an amazing power, one whose cool abilities we were just starting to figure out. It had a very nasty side effect, however: It could lead to depression and insanity. Part of the reason Adrian indulged in drinking so much (aside from his party nature) was to numb himself against these side effects. Lissa had a much healthier way of doing it. She took antidepressants, which completely cut her off from the magic altogether. She hated not being able to work with spirit anymore, but that was an acceptable trade-off for not going crazy. Well, I thought it was. She apparently disagreed if she was considering this insane experiment. I knew she'd been wanting to try the magic again, but I hadn't really thought she'd go through with it – or that anyone would let her. â€Å"I have to check in with Ms. Carmack every day and regularly talk to a counselor.† Lissa made a face at this last part, but her overall feelings were still quite upbeat. â€Å"I can't wait to see what I can do with Adrian.† â€Å"Adrian's a bad influence.† â€Å"He didn't make me do this, Rose. I chose it.† When I didn't answer, she lightly touched my arm. â€Å"Hey, listen. Don't worry. I've been so much better, and lots of people are going to have my back.† â€Å"Everyone except me,† I told her wistfully. Across the room, Christian entered through a set of double doors and approached us. The clock read five minutes until the end of lunch. â€Å"Oh man. The zero hour is almost here.† Christian pulled up a chair at our table and flipped it backwards, letting his chin rest on its slatted back. He brushed his black hair away from his blue eyes and gave us a smug smile. I felt Lissa's heart lighten at his presence. â€Å"I can't wait until this show gets on the road,† he said. â€Å"You and me are going to have so much fun, Rose. Picking out curtains, doing each other's hair, telling ghost stories â€Å" The reference to â€Å"ghost stories† hit a little closer to home than I was comfortable with. Not that choosing curtains or brushing Christian's hair was much more appealing. I shook my head in exasperation and stood up. â€Å"I'll leave you two alone for your last few private moments.† They laughed. I walked over to the lunch line, hoping to find some leftover doughnuts from breakfast. So far, I could see croissants, quiche, and poached pears. It must have been highbrow day at the cafeteria. Was deep-fried dough really too much to ask for? Eddie stood in front of me. His face turned apologetic as soon as he saw me. â€Å"Rose, I'm really sorry – â€Å" I put up a hand to stop him. â€Å"Don't worry. It's not your fault. Just promise me you'll do a good job protecting her.† It was a silly sentiment since she was in no real danger, but I could never really stop worrying about her – particularly in light of this new development with her medication. Eddie stayed serious, apparently not thinking my request was silly at all. He was one of the few who knew about Lissa's abilities – and their downsides, which was probably why he'd been selected to guard her. â€Å"I won't let anything happen to her. I mean it.† I couldn't help a smile, in spite of my glum mood. His experiences with the Strigoi made him take all of this more seriously than almost any other novice. Aside from me, he was probably the best choice to guard her. â€Å"Rose, is it true you punched Guardian Petrov?† I turned and looked into the faces of two Moroi, Jesse Zeklos and Ralf Sarcozy. They'd just stepped in line behind Eddie and me and looked more self-satisfied and annoying than usual. Jesse was all bronzed good looks and quick thinking. Ralf was his slightly less attractive and slightly less intelligent sidekick. They were quite possibly the two people I hated most at this school, mainly due to some nasty rumors they'd spread about me doing some very explicit things with them. It was Mason's strong-arming that had forced them to tell the truth to the school, and I don't think they'd ever forgiven me for that. â€Å"Punch Alberta? Hardly.† I started to turn around, but Ralf kept talking. â€Å"We heard you threw a big hissy fit in the gym when you found out who you were with.† â€Å"‘Hissy fit'? What are you, sixty? All I did was – † I paused and carefully chose my words. † – register my opinion.† â€Å"Well,† said Jesse. â€Å"I suppose if anyone's going to keep an eye on that Strigoi wannabe, it might as well be you. You're the biggest badass around here.† The grudging tone in his voice made it sound like he was complimenting me. I didn't see it that way at all. Before he could utter another word, I was standing right in front of him, with barely any space between us. In what I considered a true sign of discipline, I didn't put my hand around his throat. His eyes widened in surprise. â€Å"Christian has nothing to do with any Strigoi,† I said in a low voice. â€Å"His parents – â€Å" â€Å"Are his parents. And he's Christian. Don't confuse them.† Jesse had been on the wrong side of my anger before. He was clearly remembering that, and his fear warred with his desire to trash-talk Christian in front of me. Surprisingly, the latter won out. â€Å"Earlier you acted like being with him was the end of the world, and now you're defending him? You know how he is – he breaks rules all the time. Are you saying you seriously don't believe there's any chance at all he might turn Strigoi like his parents?† â€Å"None,† I said. â€Å"Absolutely none. Christian's more willing to take a stand against Strigoi than probably any other Moroi here.† Jesse's eyes flicked curiously toward Ralf before returning to me. â€Å"He even helped me fight against those ones in Spokane. There is no chance of him ever, ever turning Strigoi.† I racked my brain, trying to recall who had been assigned to Jesse for the field experience. â€Å"And if I hear you spreading that crap around, Dean isn't going to be able to save you from me.† â€Å"Or me,† added Eddie, who had come to stand right beside me. Jesse swallowed and took a step back. â€Å"You're such a liar. You can't lay a hand on me. If you get suspended now, you'll never graduate.† He was right, of course, but I smiled anyway. â€Å"Might be worth it. We'll have to see, huh?† It was at that point that Jesse and Ralf decided they didn't want anything from the lunch line after all. They stalked off, and I heard something that sounded suspiciously like â€Å"crazy bitch.† â€Å"Jerks,† I muttered. Then I brightened. â€Å"Oh, hey. Doughnuts.† I got a chocolate-glazed, and then Eddie and I hurried off to find our Moroi and get to class. He grinned at me. â€Å"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you just defended Christian's honor. Isn't he a pain in the ass?† â€Å"Yes,† I said, licking icing off my fingers. â€Å"He is. But for the next six weeks, he's my pain in the ass.†

JetBlue Airways & Organizational Development: Partners for Change Essay

This is a case of an effective partnership of Jet Blue Airways and Organizational Development. In the airline business with an unpredictable environment, Jet blue forged a partnership with the Organizational Development (OD) team and JetBlue University (the airlines centralized learning group). From this berthed the Systems Operations Center (SOC) which is the heart of the airline – the epicenter where effective decision making, communication, teamwork, and leadership are critical to ensure crewmembers are able to meet and exceed customer needs (Dennnison, 2007). This case study covers the four general models of planned change which are entering and contracting; diagnosis; planning and implementing; and evaluating and institutionalizing change (Cummings & Worley, 2009). All interventions applied were carefully developed as they interpret the diagnosis of the operations of JetBlue. And as it progress you will see that the key element on making this a successful and effective OD is the  involvement of all the employees and their buy in from the top down management. As you will see that not only that they have implemented the interventions which greatly enhanced the company’s success, it has also institutionalized the changes they have adapted and on On June 8, 2011, JetBlue ranked ‘Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Low Cost Carriers in North America’ by J.D. Power and Associates, a customer satisfaction recognition received for the seventh year in a row.they were awarded they are the number one (Article, 2011). Introduction JetBlue has an impressive and effective partnership with the Organizational Development Team. This is one of the success stories on how to effectively apply and OD Intervention within a company. They have established and institutionalized the process of OD within their business system. The four processes namely: Entering and contacting; diagnosis; planning and implementing; and evaluating and institutionalizing were properly managed and executed. The foundation was set correctly and the shifting of the change concept was embedded in the JetBlue culture. All JetBlue employees are involved and are aware on how OD interventions are applied and how it works. The foundation of the OD intervention is solid and any new interventions that are applied as long as it is carefully reviewed and agreed is flawless. My approach for this case study as an OD practitioner is to review, diagnose, and analyze what the OD practitioner have accomplished and make any changes and recommendations that I beli eve will further enhance the effectiveness of the OD intervention. I will apply the four model of planned change as I review and/or come up with any additional intervention for the company. Stage 1 – Entering and Contracting The OD team did not have a hard time entering into this business contract with JetBlue. All the factors I read in this case study are all in their side. The key concept that is very positive for this intervention is that JetBlue’s organizational culture is that they embrace change. This resulted the decision to help the SOC continuously improve was supported by all within the department and the whole organization. They have implemented an  ideal and perfect approach for entering and contracting. Their realization that tomorrow’s operating environment will look very different. They are treating each flight as a different case and they do not base their assumption on old data but always plan for the latest information for each flight. A comprehensive contract was developed by JetBlue and OD team. Both internal and external SOC stakeholders are engaged for this contracting. Their process is flawless and what they call a progressive company that embraces intervention as p ositive. They have developed a comprehensive contract that outlined the scope of work and established clear roles and expectations. Both sides have agreed on the contract, they will then proceed to the planning process. Recommended change/addition Upon reviewing Exhibit A, my recommended change is that the SVP of the SOC should be less involved on with the SOC operations. All the key elements are already identified and they have developed a process on how to enter and develop a contract. The stakeholders are already onboard with the OD program and in fact embraced the concept of OD so they should empower the OD team on changes and directly apply to the SOC with stakeholders getting an updated interventions being implemented. They should decentralize this tasking with the SOC, OD team and the crewmembers. By doing this, SVP and stakeholders can focus more on their bigger tasking and responsibilities by projecting and planning for the future of the company. The effectiveness of the Entering and Contracting stage is also apparent in eliminating or planning a course of action on taking out most of the â€Å"red flags† such as insufficient level of commitment, resistance or opposition by major stockholders, lack of power or influence and client’s desire to manipulate the consultant. These potential â€Å"red flags† were all addressed and resolved (Mitchell, 2006). It will also be cost effective if they will establish their internal OD team. By having a dedicated team, they will be more focus on the progress of the company. OD is already developed and more than likely, only minor interventions will be implemented to adapt in the ever growing and changing innovation of the global environment. During contracting, there were no specific goals identified by JetBlue but only to look â€Å"under the hood†. I believe the OD approached this as an Organizational process for their plans. Although the contract covered the scope of work, established their respective roles and responsibilities, they have not covered the estimated time needed that is devoted solely for the OD process. They might have missed this step because of the total buy in of JetBlue with change. But the issue might rise if the cost will start escalating or even the timeframe gets extended. Stage 2 – Diagnosis This is one of the pivotal areas that OD practitioners should be keen in identifying the relevant issues gathered on all data. Obtaining an updated and current data is needed in this ever changing global market. They also have covered this stage as you will read on the case study that they are branded as progressive company which means that they constantly strive for change. Exhibit A if you notice that they added a planning stage on how the intervention will be approached. A thorough data collection will be created as one of the tools to diagnose and approach an intervention. Exhibit B is the Denison Leadership Development Survey that was used and you can see the positive quantitative results that they have increased their scores in four key areas within eight months of implementation. Summarizing the information captured from the Denison Organizational Culture survey, focus groups and interviews, the OD team came up with five key themes for the company’s strategy development and culture change. The OD consultant also stresses to the leadership team that focusing on a few relevant areas was much more effective which I also totally agree. Recommended change/addition This case study mentioned that 40 interviews and focus groups were done to gain insight. I would increase the interviews to at least 50% of each division of the company to have a better data analysis on where the top strengths and weaknesses are. I will also make a two to three day session to interpret the data to come up with a more viable and acceptable hypothesis on identifying the themes for the company. The Denison Model gave a quantitative measure of the organizations status. It addressed and  identified the two strengths and two weaknesses of the company. And from that diagnosis, coupled with the 40 interviews and focus groups, they have come up with viable goals. Goals that are derived and interpreted from the data they have gathered. Recommended change/addition If I was the OD practitioner, I would also add questionnaires for the customers, observation and unobtrusive measures. My questionnaires will be designed solely for the customer satisfaction. This is your main business for the company. This is a key factor in increasing your market shares. I would design the questionnaire to draw out what can be improved and any innovative ideas that they want to see what JetBlue can offer. I will focus it on differentiation which will make JetBlue unique from other airlines. This will be a very strong intervention once applied because it directly affects the customers (Kabra, 2006). On my observations, I will be staging some observation sites at the tarmac, ticket counter, customer service, and other key areas of the business. We will observe the people on how they work, how long they work and the conditions on where they work will be some of the factors we will observe. By performing observations, you will witness the actual things that are happeni ng during the operations of the company. There are a lot of different divisions that makes up an airline business. The crewmembers each have different area of expertise such as stewardess, baggers, pilots, etc. It is very diverse and you need to collect data on all areas. I will also perform unobtrusive measures and study the current structure of the company’s organization and see if we are utilizing and maximizing all the skills, knowledge and abilities of all our crewmembers. From here I will define a benchmark and see what is our competitive edge compared to other airlines. I will also apply unobtrusive measure and establish a benchmark for both internal and external part of the company. This will give me a better approach and measure on what is the real status of the company and you can project stretch goals since this company embraces changes. A challenging and achievable goal for them will be ideal. By applying more measures on Data gathering, you will come up with a better conclusive strengths and weaknesses o f the company. You will diagnose and compare your data analysis and strategize a pattern and conclusive evidence that supports each type of data analysis you collected. Stage 3 – Planning  and Implementing This is the crucial stage of the OD process intervention. The critical analysis of the date gathered was thoroughly researched on this project. The planning stage was very effective as they have come up with a strategic approach to achieve their goals. As they OD practitioner finished the strategy, they were able to communicate the strategy to key leaders of the company (Lunenberg, 2010). I agree with the OD team on what happened after the data collection and goal setting. Meetings on each member of the SOC team were held and they were educated on what will be their roles during the intervention. They have minimized the people’s natural reaction on resistance to change. All five themes they came up were communicated effectively throughout the organization. An extensive weekly meeting for the first month was implemented. This is a carefully planned and well executed plan and implantation stage of the OD practitioner. This is a well thought of process that the OD team have cover ed all the interventions and each goal were further identified with a detailed plan of action of what are the steps needed for the achievement of their goal. And the key for this step by step procedure is the constant meetings and progress check to see how the intervention needs any adjustments or they are within their target goals. The OD practitioner is very well educated and approached this stage strategically. Recommended change/addition The two things I would add for the implementation change is the award system and stretch goals. They have instilled the intrinsic rewards for the crewmembers as the OD practitioner came up with an intervention that each crewmember are part of the changes that is happening as they have the quantitative measure of their goal they are achieving. The empowerment was placed with the crewmembers. Adding an extrinsic award system such a Employee of the month, cash bonus, etc., will only reinforce and encouraged each crewmembers for the success of the business. I believe with the buy in of all JetBlue employees, stretch goals for the directors and make it a competitive but friendly approach of stretching the goals for each department/division will not hurt since the culture of the company embraces  change. Stage 4 – Evaluating and Institutionalizing This is a success OD intervention from start to end. The evaluation process was impressive as you can see the success rate of the company. I believe that they have institutionalized the change and they made the OD a part of the company’s culture. They have achieved the OD intervention and as you can see, it has been decentralized and it is now at the lowest level of management. The success of the JetBlue and OD practitioner is evident because of the foundation it has set. You will see that they have accepted this intervention as a new way of doing business. And they even avoided the sense of complacency by having a Culture Change Monitor Survey and a bi-weekly working sessions to execute the plan. They applied the Denison Organizational Culture Survey to assess their strengths and weaknesses. You can see the evidence by having a good foundation and structure on the start of any OD intervention. It will follow a smooth transition from each phase. As you can see that the company was just transitioning from each phase of the OD process and as they evaluate the interventions, all the stakeholders are onboard and willing to improve the company as it is very evident as you read the case study. Institutionalizing it as you will read is also successful. From the start as the company embraces change, the company and the OD have transitioned change as a norm in their crewmembers view. They look all the changes as a philosophy in their culture that the success and development of their company can only be achieved through continuous improvement. Recommended change/addition The things I will add on this are annual get together, and recommend new survey system. By having an annual get together, I will implement a banquet type with key speaker to encourage the crewmember and have achievement awards with different categories. This will definitely encourage each crewmember to give their best every time they work. I would recommend another survey to replace the Denison Organizational Culture Survey in the next two years. Having the same survey yearly might create complacency and over familiarity of the survey. But if you give them a different survey, they will be able to look at it on a different perspective ad will pay more attention. I would review the current innovation, global market, benchmark the airline business, and their own. I will select and recommend an ideal survey based on the current data gathering I collected. Conclusion This is a success story of an OD intervention process. Ad JetBlue have embraced the changes, careful planning by the OD team as they enter the contracting was very effective. It is a very effective approach as they have identified almost all of the requirements to enter a contract. Data gathering and analysis have resulted in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the company. Goals were derived from the weaknesses and step by step approach designed to achieve each goal. Communication is evident as the key factor on the planning and implementation change. Each key leader are involved and updated on the planned intervention. All crewmembers that were involved were trained, educated, and made aware of what’s the plan and how will it be implemented. The empowerment were correctly applied which in my opinion is pivotal for their success. Evaluation and institutionalization is already evident as you read the case study that it was a continuous process that their company has embraced. They have the system set in place and monitoring was in place to ensure upward progress is tracked. I can find no other way to conclude the success of this OD intervention but to quote the case study verbatim â€Å"the case study states as follows â€Å"The SOC leadership team owns the process and the culture of the department, making the OD team’s involvement very low and leadership’s involvement very high. No longer is the kind of work that resulted from this project considered additional duties that leadership â€Å"must† perform. Because the OD consultant set the foundation from the beginning by delegating key tasks to stakeholders, having clear sponsorship and having responsible leaders, a mindset shift has occurred – the idea that creating a high performing culture is part of every leader’s job.à ¢â‚¬  As an OD, this should always be the ultimate goal on all your interventions. Exhibit A – Project Overview Exhibit B – Denison Leadership Development Survey Exhibit C – Changes over Time Exhibit D – JetBlue Airways & Organizational Development: Partners for Change Bibliography Cummings, G., Worley C.G., (2009). Organizational Development and Change. Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Dennison consulting, (2007, Jun). JetBlue Airways & Organizational Development: Partners for Change. Retrieved from http://www.denisonconsulting.com/Libraries/Resources/CS-2007-JetBlue-System-Operations.sflb.ashx JetBlue Airways, (2011, June). JetBlue Awarded Seventh Consecutive Customer Satisfaction J.D. Power and Associates Honor. Retrieved from http://blog.jetblue.com/index.php/2011/06/08/jetblue-awarded-seventh-consecutive-customer-satisfaction-j-d-power-and-associates-honor/ Mitchell, R.C., (2006, July). Model of the Organization Development Process. Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~hfmgt001/odmodel.htm Kabra, R., (2006, September). Virgin Atlantic – Gap Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/public-relations-management/6928-virgin-atlantic-gap-analysis.html Lunenberg, F. C., (2010, November). Organizational Development: Implementin g Planned Change. Retrieved from http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Lunenburg,%20Fred%20C.%20Organizational%20Development%20Implementing%20Planned%20Change%20IJMBA,%20V13%20N1%202010.pdf

Interpersonal communication Essay

The book basically talks about the different ways on how to win friends and become popular. Dale Carnegie gives different tips on how to make different people like you, and how to make others accept and believe in what you are thinking. Carnegie basically makes it easier for readers to understand more effective relationship styles. Carnegie used to teach general public speaking. However, he realized that such wasn’t enough for effective business and felt that his students lacked the skill of simply making friends with new people, which is why he made a book on how to make new friends and other relational issues. Dale Carnegie also felt that he lacked such skills himself. So this is a two way experience for him, both teaching and learning at the same time. Digging in to the deeper purpose of creating such book, the Carnegie Institute of Technology made a study which showed that a financial successful person owes 15 percent to their technical knowledge and the rest to â€Å"skill in human engineering-to personality and the ability to lead people† (Carnegie, 1964). Another reason was that, it is easy to find applicants who had the perfect skills for their jobs- engineering, medicine, accounting, you name it, there are plenty of skilled professionals out there. However, there are not a lot who possess such skills and at the same time have the ability to have effective interpersonal communication and relational skills, which is why Dale Carnegie developed a book which serves as a manual for those who lack such skills. Lastly, there is a need for a book which basically serves as a guide for dummies on how to get other people to like them and how to find more friends. Becoming an effective leader is also a part of what the book teaches, and is what readers will get out of reading it. During the first part of Dale Carnegie’s â€Å"How to Win Friends and Influence People†, he talks about the basic styles and techniques that you can handle people. He basically had three principles in this topic. The first principle is to work with people without criticizing, condemning or complaining. It is important for aspiring leaders to omit such acts because people will not follow a leader who does not listen to what they are saying. The second principle says to â€Å"give honest and sincere appreciation† (Carnegie, 1964). According to Carnegie, flattery is always effective. Of course, everybody wants to feel good. It is so effective in fact that â€Å"Even Queen Victoria was susceptible to flattery† (Carnegie, 1964). However, the negative thing with flattery is that, it is fake and insincere. What Carnegie suggests is for us to give out something positive and honest- which is called appreciation. There is always something positive in everybody, and that is what every effective leader needs to look for. The last principle is to get from other people the â€Å"eager want†. Carnegie mentioned that, we should not talk about what we want, because nobody else will listen to us. Instead, we should talk about something we know others would like to talk about. This will definitely get them interested, especially in doing something for you. Part two of the book discusses the different ways to get people to like you. The first principle tells us to become genuinely interested in other people. Carnegie used his dog as an example or even just dogs generally. They did not study psychology to know how people could like them. They simply liked people genuinely, which is why people liked them back. If you like someone, it becomes almost impossible to resist liking you back. If you genuinely like other people, then you will be welcome anywhere you go (Carnegie, 1964). The next principle is fairly easy and sounds quite simple. However, it is forgotten most of the time, and people forget the magic that it does. One word: Smile. Carnegie mentioned that the smile that people wear on their faces is far more important than what clothes they wear. And the saying â€Å"actions speak louder than words† is very true. Smiles are very important because they say â€Å"I like you, you make me happy. I am glad to see you. † (Carnegie, 1964). This can be proven when babies smile and everybody around them melts. It is the same thing with adults, as long as smiles are genuine. Third principle for people to like you is the simple gesture of remembering the names of the people you meet. It always isn’t a good impression to ask for people’s names the second time around, much more the third. Remembering names are so important in fact that when you â€Å"Remember that name and call it easily, and you have paid a subtle and very effective compliment† (Carnegie, 1964). However, when you forget one name, it will give you a bad impression and will work to your disadvantage. The last three principles of the second part of Carnegie’s work are all connected to each other. First is to â€Å"be a good listener and encourage other to talk about themselves†, next is to talk about the other person’s likes and interests and not talk about you. And the last, is to â€Å"make the other person feel important, sincerely†. These three are very important because if you only care about yourself and talk only about what you feel is interesting, and act like you are the only important person in the world, then no one will want to neither talk nor work with you. In fact, no one will even want to see you. Being egotistic and self centered will not do a person any good in this world. (Carnegie, 1964) Part three of dale Carnegie’s book is How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking. Principle one talks about arguments. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it†, this is what Carnegie (1964) thinks about arguments. This is very true as, while you think you are good in winning arguments, you will never know when you might find someone who is better than you. And people always admire those who walk away from trouble. To sum the third part up, it simply says that you are to respect the way others think, a nd acknowledge their opinions. Even though you do not believe in what they are saying, you must let them speak out, because your opinion is not the only important one. Others should feel like they have a say in things, before they will believe in what you are saying. It is just a matter of reciprocity. â€Å"If we know we are going to be rebuked anyhow, isn’t it far better to beat the other person to it and do it ourselves? † (Carnegie, 1964) It is always good to admit your mistakes. Owning up to your mistakes makes people admire you more, and believe that you are actually human. In the same way that you are never to tell someone that they are wrong just because they do not agree to what you think and they have their own opinions. The first thing that you will need to get from others is respect, and the only way to get that is by showing respect to them first. For the last principles, it just says that in order to get people to believe in the way you think, you must believe in theirs as well. So in conclusion for the third part of the book, it simply means that you have to respect other people’s views, opinions and ideas in order to get them to believe yours as well. Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment. This is the last part of Dale Carnegie’s book. Being a leader is never easy. It may look like the easiest part of a job because you get to tell others to do the job for you. However, more responsibilities come with being a leader, such as all the different decisions that should be made. Carnegie mentions that a leader should develop an attitude that praises and appreciates the people that work for him. Another major thing that leaders should develop is before telling others what they have done wrong, tell something that they have done right first because â€Å"It is always easier to listen to unpleasant things after we have heard some praise of our good points. † (Carnegie, 1964). One more important thing for leaders to do is to â€Å"talk about your mistakes before criticizing the other person† (Carnegie, 1964). This is important, as it will not make the others feel so inferior to you as a leader. Leaders should be more humble than the rest because once superiority complex works its way in, the system will stop working. Becoming an example is another one of the most important things that a leader should follow. Encouragements are also one of the best things to do, most especially after some criticisms. I used to believe that I could communicate to others fairly well. I had a lot of friends and people liked to be around me. But after reading Dale Carnegie’s book, I have realized that I was not that effective and that there are still a lot of areas that I need to improve in. First of all, I criticize, condemn and complain a lot. I lack giving out appreciations as well. Most of the time I am self centered and whenever there are conversations I engage in, I mostly talk about topics that I prefer without even considering whether or not the one I’m conversing with is interested with what we are talking about. I also lack the heart of admitting my mistakes quickly. I sometimes tell people that they’re wrong directly, even just for not sharing the same opinion as I do. I even have the tendency to always get into arguments, even when I have the chance to avoid or get out of it. I am not comfortable in talking about my mistakes as I feel embarrassed and want to bury them in the past. One of the things that I know I am strong at is remembering a person’s name. Carnegie has mentioned that this will make people feel very important, which means I have made a lot of people important already, just by this gesture. Although I talk a lot, I make it a point to let others talk as well. I believe I am a good listener, which makes people look for me when they need someone to talk to. I am very free in giving out encouragements, as long as I feel the people are down in whatever they are doing. Even in the littlest improvement a person makes or adjusts, I notice it and give them praise. I give out constructive criticism as well, and is open to taking some for myself from others. So all in all, I have a lot more to work on, even though I have some positive traits that I already carry with me. Reading on will definitely help me improve in different aspects. I have asked my father, brother and mother to give me a peer analysis in my communication skills and my different ways of dealing with other people. They have more or less the same answers and I will only generalize and summarize the answers that they have given. They have mentioned that I criticize and condemn other people a lot may it be directly or even behind their backs. My brother told me that I judge immediately anything I see that does not pass my so called standards. Carnegie believes that this should be avoided in order to find more people to like you, to have more friends. One thing that they appreciate about me is that I give a lot of encouragements to people. They feel that this is when I am most effective when dealing with people. Even my father told me that he appreciates it when he sees me encourage different people. He also mentioned that he has seen how this affects the different people I am dealing with, and can see the changes that such encouragements have brought about. My mother mentioned that I do not easily admit my mistakes. She said that I even reason out to my actions, even if I already know that what I did was wrong. As much as I hate to admit this, it is nothing but the truth. I find it hard for me to say that I was wrong, mostly because of pride. They all agreed to one thing however, and that is I only like to talk about things that I like, and that I do not even ask them what they want to talk about or what they are interested in. This is one of the things Carnegie has mentioned that should not be around when we want to have more friends or when we want people to like us. Again, I can see that there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to relationships and communication. The first thing that I want to remove from my negative attitude is the inability to admit when I am wrong or I have made a mistake. I think this is the first thing that would turn other people off from wanting to talk or become friends. I believe for me to be able to do this, I must lower down my pride. This will not be easy, and will take a lot of time. But if I want to improve my lifestyle, then this will definitely have to be the first thing off my negative list. The next thing I must make a move on is towards removing the act of always criticizing other people. It has almost become automatic for me to do this, as I easily judge people even at the first look or impression. This has cost me a lot of friends and friendships that might have started. I think the way to start taking this negative act from me is by always thinking positively and giving other people a chance- a chance to show their true selves. Being judgmental has always been a problem and will be a bigger problem if I do not act up on it immediately. Being less self centered and egotistic will be very important if I want to start new and stronger relationships with other people. These are only some of the things that I think I need to change. Dale Carnegie has helped me realize a lot of things. His work has definitely taught me a lot of things; things that are essential in day to day living. After all, no one can live alone. Friends and relationships with people will help us live more harmoniously and Dale Carnegie’s â€Å"How to Win Friends and Influence People† has taught me how I can have more friends and develop friends a lot easier.

Illustrating your answer with specific examples, evaluate the impact Essay

Illustrating your answer with specific examples, evaluate the impact of structural adjustment programmes on agriculture in southern Africa - Essay Example They encourage balanced budgets by increasing taxes and reducing government spending on essential services like education, health and elimination of subsidies. They also encourage production of goods for export as opposed to consumption and also imports. The market is controlled by demand and supply and not the government even where intervention is required in order to stabilize prices. These structural policies were supposed to develop the economies of developing countries but less or no achievements have been made. They have discouraged private investors or made them to be monopolies hence straining the poor. The standard of living of member states has deteriorated due to high prices as a result of currency devaluation and lack of price controls. It has also contributed to poverty, unemployment due to reduced investments, and environmental degradation due to overemphasis on cash crop production among others (Holden, 1997). Environmental degradation is a hindrance to agricultural development. Agriculture has further been hindered by removal of subsidies on inputs such as fertilizer and entrance of subsidized imports from European markets as well as lack of credit for agriculture expansion. This paper is a critique of the impact of structural adjustment programmes on agriculture in Southern Africa. Agriculture is the backbone of most economies in Africa. Many countries engage in food crop production for subsistence, livestock farming and cash crop farming as a foreign exchange earner. Bryceson (1995) observes that agriculture is mostly considered as the practice for women and children as men engage in formal careers or sometimes cash crop production. Many factors affect agricultural activities leading to poor yields, hunger and malnutrition. These include; climate change, cost of farm inputs like fertilizer, market accessibility, land tenure, land degradation and health of workers among others. The southern African

Stem cells is a scientific breakthrough that's revolutionizing Essay

Stem cells is a scientific breakthrough that's revolutionizing the health care industry - Essay Example Major breakthroughs in stem cell research include developing nervous tissue and dealing with spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke. In fact, stem cell research is a scientific breakthrough thats revolutionizing the health care industry. Since they are derived in the embryonic stages, these stem cells are often called as embryonic stem cells or just ES. The role played by ES in health care industry today is solely dependent on their cultures derived in laboratories. It is well known that stem cell cultures can be maintained and proliferated in the presence of bovine serum. The cultures allow blastomeres or ES cells to be subjected to differential treatment such as nuclear disintegration of cells, nuclear injection into de-nucleated blastomeres and so on to derive the desired tissue. It has been observed that by such differential treatments, the blastomeres differentiate into the tissue of the nucleus donor cells. Thus, any damaged organ of the body can be recreated through ES cultures and differentiation. The main applicability of ES cell research is the creation of fresh organ tissue that can be inserted in the damaged area in the human or animal body to replenish the organ and restore its functions. This has been successfully conducted in treating spinal cord injuries, strokes and functional diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Yet there is a long way to go. For starters, the biggest limitation of stem cell therapy is that it is restricted to creation of commonly occurring and specific tissue masses and cannot be used to replace or regenerate an entire organ. Therefore, through systematic stem cell culture, the endoderm, mesoderm or ectoderm can be recreated to be replaced in damaged organs, but in no way can an entire organ like a heart be constructed through regenerated tissue sets. Other

Biology - Prader-Willi Syndrome Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biology - Prader-Willi Syndrome - Research Paper Example It was first described by Andrea Prader and Heinrich Willi in 1956. It is a rare genetic disorder in which seven genes or some subsets are deleted, translocated or unexpressed on the paternal chromosome 15. For the genes affected in PWS, the paternal copy is expressed while the maternal one is silenced. The PWS genes are maternally imprinted making the copy inherited from the father active. With this copy absent in PWS due to chromosomal translocation, both copies are imprinted in the maternal realm making the normal genes absent. Therefore people with PWS have a working and a non-working copy. The characteristics of PWS are stunted development in the intellectual functioning same as those associated with intellectual disability. A chronic feeling of hunger that can lead to excessive hunger and life –threatening obesity arises. Then there is a likelihood of strange behavior or complications that may have effect on ones quality life or on the family members negatively. These ch aracteristics draw the quest for scientific research because the genes which are not expressed and thought to be responsible for the disorder are imprinted. PWS is an example that shows the function of imprinted genes in development. This knowledge has led to extensive research about imprinted genes, their occurrence and process of imprinting. There are two different genotypes for PWS which ultimately lead to two phenotypes, causing the need to understand the causes of the phenotypic differences, identifying the gene and their products and discern whether they are imprinted or no (Butler 12). However, the effects of the syndrome vary from individual to individual and on different factors. This has made the exact nature of the abnormality and whether one or more genes are involved to be unknown. Some physical and behavioral features are inherently present while others are not. The syndrome poses major implications for the developing baby in the uterus and throughout the personâ€℠¢s life. At birth there is extreme floppiness and subsequent cognitive, physical and behavioral abnormalities that eventually lead to widespread medical and social needs. Information on the disorder is got from parents whose children have ever developed it, or medical practitioners who have had such a case. The following are clinical features and signs of PWS at different levels of development: In utero, there is decrease in fetal movement, frequent abnormal fetal position and seldom excessive amniotic fluid, a condition known as polyhydramnios. At birth, there is often caesarian births, difficulties in feeding due to poor muscle tone affecting the sucking process, and respiratory difficulties. At infancy level, the difficulties in feeding advances, oversleeping is evident, crossed eyes and delay in intellectual development. At childhood there are notable delays in speech production, overeating from the age of 2-4 years leading to excessive weight gain and sleeping problems. At adol escence, puberty delays, obesity sets in followed by extreme flexibility and a short physique. In adulthood, infertility is common in males and females, vulnerability to diabetes mellitus, learning disabilities, obesity and reduced growth of pubic hair. The general physical appearance of a PWS adult victim comprise the following characteristics: incomplete sexual development, excess fat on the central part of the body, high, narrow forehead, small hands and feet, light skin and hair unlike other family members, and delayed motor development (Waters 85). Cognitively, PWS patients have low or below average intelligent quotient that is generally unusual. Children portray a high visual and perception capacity on reading and writing with poor articulatory and understanding processes. Coordinating received information word by word is relatively hard for them as well as poor arithmetic skills, leading to memory lapses and auditory retention span. Abnormal behavioral patterns include insati able appetite resulting in increased obesity. The cause for