Criminology In The Future Essay

This world is constantly changing every day. When the world changes, the people change, and new technology populates, and so does the crime rates. Criminals will try to create new ways to commit crimes. The criminal justice system should pay close attention to these new technologies to keep the people safe. Law officials have to follow the law while using these technologies. Future advancement will allow criminology to determine civil liberty and ethical violations, as technology as and will become more of a vital element for law industry. Technology has always been a reliable source to law officials. Technology has included several tools such as: computers, cameras, maps, DNA systems, and many more that have benefited to law enforcements. New technology will not only solve cases current or conclude why a person murdered a relative of six, but also solve cold cases and also provide a more in-depth look at the causes of people committing murder and how their brains operate. Robots are being used continuously to help law enforcement prevent crimes. Robots are trained machines that operate faster than a human. The thoughts and practices in criminology will further expand as different crime-fighting methodologies and the directions of crime fighting provide different methods of finding criminal activities. New technologies have provided criminals with a whole new class of crimes and have also made it extremely difficult for them to get caught. The problem is with new high-tech crime is that criminals are already ahead of law officials. It fair to the people to know what kind of new technologies will be used in fighting against crimes. Law enforcement should have a more close relationship to their people since these new technologies are keeping them safe. Law enforcements across the globe are developing ways to use more new technology to fight crime. The idea of using these new technologies will  ensure that law enforcers are meeting the demands of fighting crimes. In the future to come, the crime rate should demonstrate a huge difference if these technologies are benefiting law enforcemen t. GPS monitors are becoming an everyday use for law enforcements because it displays how to get the exact location. Law enforcement are now required to use body cameras. Body cameras will display up close actions made by law enforcers and the criminal. If these new technologies do not benefit then the result will be that law enforcement failed to do their job. The government can only provide so much money to aid to law enforcement. These new technologies are very expensive and should be properly used. Law enforcers will not have to put in as much work to investigate crimes. They will not have to stress about having a heavy workload with the existence of these new advancements. Crimes will be solved much faster because of the speed of these new advancement. It is a good idea that more new technologies are becoming popular because people will no longer have to stress about these criminals. With these new technologies existing, law enforcers are figuring out how to outsmart these criminals. Law enforcers will have the chance to probably gain a better relationship with the people living the communities. It would not be beneficial to only rely on technology because the people are also important to prevent crimes. Crime is a product of human behavior and criminals will commit crimes in various categories. Many states have merged agencies and have become more efficient in the way of service, but many more are slow to realize the benefits of merging when it comes to fighting globalized crimes. With the help of the people, and the new advancement in this world the crime rate should drop tremendously. The new advancement should be tested and train to use accurately. Technology is making possible better surveillance and monitoring, as well as more comprehensive and accessible databases, which raise concerns about information security and privacy. Although, no one knows for sure how long the crime rate will remain low, but creating more advancement should solve the problem. Criminals will no longer be able to get away with murder, stealing, or doing anything that is considered a crime. To promote police accountability and to provide more objective evidence of law-breaking, it is necessary that the computers and databases should be accurately setup. These technology specific goals, if coupled with attention to the obstacles and challenges inherent in organizational  technology adoption, could lead to more effective use of technology by law enforcement organizations nationwide which has the potential to contribute significantly to public safety, long-run cost reduction, and justice. If criminals are caught and punished due to these new technologies then law enforcers should feel ecstatic about their new improvement to the criminal justice system.

Was Joseph Conrad a Rascist

Is it fair to call Joseph Conrad a Thoroughgoing Racist? To call someone a thoroughgoing racist is to say that they are a person who completely and knowingly considers one race of humans superior to others. This is precisely what Chinua Achebe is accusing Joseph Conrad of. It is Achebe’s opinion that Conrad wrote his ‘Heart of Darkness’ from a racist point of view intentionally to belittle Africa and its people and to raise up Europe and its people. While I agree that Joseph Conrad may have been a racist and that ‘Heart of Darkness’ certainly has racism in it, I believe it unfair to call Conrad a thoroughgoing racist.Conrad is simply a victim of his time, having lived from 1857-1924 when the racism against Africans was widespread, even considered normal. He was not intentionally trying to be racist. â€Å"It is the desire- one might even say the need- of Western psychology to set up Africa as a foil to Europe, as a place of negations at once remote a nd vaguely familiar, in comparison with which Europe’s own state of spiritual grace will be manifest† (Achebe, 1). In other words, Europeans want to directly compare Africa to Europe in a way that the ‘darkness’ of Africa makes Europe seem lighter.This shows that Conrad may even not have been racist at all. He could be simply writing a novel that the people wanted at that time. Achebe even briefly states this as a possibility: â€Å"It might be contended†¦ that the attitude to the African in ‘Heart of Darkness’ is not Conrad’s but that of his fictional narrator, Marlow, and that far from endorsing it Conrad might indeed be holding it up to irony and criticism† (Achebe, 4). This is my opinion of Conrad. He was not actually a racist. He was a brilliant storyteller of fiction that knew the people who would be reading the book.In that time period, most readers were racist against Africans. That was OK back then. Conrad didnâ€⠄¢t agree with it but he wrote a short novel highlighting it to appease the masses, while subtlety showing how wrong racism is. â€Å"Heat of Darkness projects the image of Africa as â€Å"the other world,† the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization, a place where man’s vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality. The book opens on the River Thames, tranquil, resting, peacefully â€Å"at the decline of day after ages of good service done to the race that peopled its banks. But the actual story will take place on the River Congo, the very antithesis of the Thames. The River Congo is quite decidedly not a River Emeritus. It has rendered no service and enjoys no old-age pension. We are told that â€Å"going up that river was like back to the earliest beginnings of the world. † (Achebe, 2). The Heart of Darkness mentions ‘the race that peopled its banks’ on the River Thames and then later talks about the people who people the banks of the River Congo. â€Å"There you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly and the men were†¦ No they were not inhuman.Well, you know that was the worst of it- this suspicion of their not being inhuman. It would come slowly to one. They howled and leaped and spun and made horrid faces, but what thrilled you, was just the thought of their humanity- like yours- the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar. Ugly. Yes, it was ugly enough, but if you were man enough you would admit to yourself that there was in you just the faintest trace of a response to the terrible frankness of that noise, a dim suspicion of there being a meaning in it which you- you so remote from the night of the first ages- could comprehend. Conrad, 153). This passage is a direct comparison of the â€Å"savages† in Africa to the â€Å"civilized† in Europe. Yet there is a connection, a â€Å"kinship,† between these two beings. Conrad knows that Europeans love to view Africans as these uncivilized brutes in order to make themselves look better; but then he slips in that the two peoples are actually of the same heritage, separated only by the flow of time. Africans may appear to be these black monsters incapable of speech, only a dialect of grunting and screaming; but they are actually the just as human as any one else. Conrad later depicts the African savages as ‘dogs’: And between whiles I had to look after the savage who was fireman. He was an improved specimen; he could fire up a vertical boiler. He was there below me and, upon my word, to look at him was as edifying as seeing a dog in a parody of breeches and a feather hat walking on his hind legs. A few months of training had done for that really fine chap. He squinted at the steam-gauge and at the hot water-gauge with an evident effort of intrepidity- and he had filed his teeth too, the poor devil, and the wool of his pate s haved into queer patterns, and three ornamental scars on each of his cheeks.He ought to have been clapping his hands and stamping his feet on the bank, instead of which he was hard at work, a thrall to strange witchcraft, full of improving knowledge. † (Conrad, 154). This is a very sudden and drastic change from just half of a page earlier when the African savages were â€Å"kin† to the Europeans. Now they’re dogs. Perhaps Conrad really is a thoroughgoing racist. However, one must remember that the Heart of Darkness is a story within a story. It is Conrad writing of a man in London called Marlow who is recounting his experience in Africa on the River Congo.So it is not Conrad who is the racist; his fictional character Marlow is. This is a very different style of storytelling and it is easy to forget whose words we are reading. Sometimes we are reading Conrad’s words when we are on the River Thames; but usually we are reading Marlow’s words. Achebe c ontends, â€Å"Conrad appears to go to considerable pains to set up layers of insulation between himself and the moral universe of his history. He has, for example, a narrator behind a narrator. The primary narrator is Marlow but his account is given to us through the filter of a second, shadowy person† (Achebe, 4).One of Achebe’s main arguments is that â€Å"art is more than just good sentences; this is what makes this situation tragic. The man [Conrad] is a capable artist and as such I expect better from him. I mean, what is his point in that book [Heart of Darkness]? Art is not intended to put people down. If so, then art would ultimately discredit itself† (Phillips, 1). This statement simply isn’t true. Art is not exclusively a happy thing that only raises people up. There is such a thing as depressing art. The Bluest Eye is a great example of this. It too has tones of racism, being about a girl who hates herself because she is black and therefore ugl y.The ending of that story is very sad and the conflict is not resolved. This means that, according to Achebe, The Bluest Eye does not qualify as art. It’s unfair of Achebe to only accept art that is happy and uplifting. The world is not a happy and uplifting place. There is darkness in the world. Conrad is attempting to point this out in the title alone, Heart of Darkness. He even suggests that London was once one of the dark places of the world. Achebe expects Conrad to be one of the artists who is â€Å"bigger than their times† (Phillips, 5). He says that that is what makes you a great artist.Being ahead of your time is not a requirement of great artistry. That’s not to say that there are no great artists who were ahead of their time; but there are plenty of great artists who weren’t. To be bigger than your time takes a highly innovative and rebellious mind, which is a rare thing. All great innovations are mocked upon first arrival. This is why they ar e called innovations; they go against the norm. One cannot expect a writer in a racist world to right a book that speaks out against racism. That being said, it can be argued that Heart of Darkness does speak out against racism from an ironical standpoint.The overreaching question is, what happens when one group of people, supposedly more humane and civilized than another group, attempts to impose itself upon its inferiors? In such circumstances will there always be an individual who, removed from the shackles of civilized behavior, feels compelled to push at the margins of conventional morality? What happens to this one individual who imagines himself to be released from the moral order of society and therefore free to behave as savagely or decently as he deems fit? How does this man respond to chaos? (Phillips, 4). When considering these questions, I am forced to recall the movie â€Å"Three Kings. † This whole movie seems to be based upon these questions. It takes place in Iraq right at the end of the Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm. A group of American soldiers discover a map leading to the Kuwaiti gold stolen by Iraq. One soldier asks â€Å"what is the most important thing in life?†¦ Necessity†¦ As in people do what is most necessary to them at an given moment† (Clooney, Three Kings). This is the answer to Phillips’ question â€Å"how does this man respond to chaos? He does whatever he needs to do, not whatever he wants to do. In Heart of Darkness each man is thrown into his own chaos and they all respond differently, but each man does what he feels is the most necessary. The idea of necessity can be applied to Conrad as well. What was most necessary to a writer living in the early 20th century? For Conrad, it was to stick to the status quo, to write a book that uses Africa as a foil, which portrays Africans as savage beasts. This does not make him a racist, merely a man who is following the trend of society.Assuming that Conrad wasn’t a racist, what if he had written Heart of Darkness without any racism? He would have been mocked, perhaps even cast out or discredited. Today he would be revered as one of the great futuristic minds of his time of course; but he has no way of knowing that. So he took the safe route and wrote Heart of Darkness from a more racist point of view. This does not make Conrad a thoroughgoing racist, as Achebe would accuse him. Arguments could be made either way; that Conrad was racist or that he wasn’t. If he was not a racist at all then that’s the end of it.However, if he was a racist it becomes more complicated. Although due to the time and society in which Conrad was born and raised, his racism is therefore not intentional. He is not a racist in a non-racist society; he is simply another racist just like nearly everyone else. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. â€Å"An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’† Massachu setts Review. 18. 1977. Clooney, George, Perf. â€Å"Three Kings† Warner Bros Pictures. 1999. Film. Conrad, Joseph. â€Å"Heart of Darkness† 1902. Phillips, Caryl and Chinua Achebe. Personal Interview. 21 February 2003.

Introduction & Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction & Conclusion - Essay Example overview of the history of my hometown and some information and trivia of note that helps make the Freetown, Sierra Leone area of West Africa a very interesting place to visit. Not everyone knows that Freetown is the capital city of Sierra Leone and as such, holds the distinction of having the Atlantic Ocean as its major port. This city, with a current population of over 1.2 million has an economy that relies heavily on the harbor for its jobs with the Sierra Leone River providing most income for the population thanks to having the worlds largest natural deep water harbor. As a historical landmark, Freetown is home to the founding history of Sierra Leone. Founded by African - Americans, it once also housed liberated West-Indian and African slaves. All symbolically represented by the Cotton Tree which once stood as the historic symbol of Freetown. Freetown exists with a mostly tropical climate that has only 2 seasons, wet and dry that is enjoyed by the Muslim and Christian residents of the area. All of whom are united by the Krio (Creole language) that is the first language of all Freeportians. English is also spoken widely among the more well educated members of the town society. Comprised of 6 municipalities and governed by a city council, its local government is composed of a typical heirarchy: a mayor with executive authority who also happens to be the city manager, and the elected members of the Freetown City Council who hold their offices for 4 years respectively. It has been led by the All Peoples Congress since the 2004 elections. As a modern 21st century town, Freeport continues to exercise its importance as the economic center of Sierra Leone. With the continued development of the Queen Elizabeth Quay II, the Freetown port is highly capable of receiving a vast number of ocean going vessels in support of the countrys export industry. Industrial developments covering food and beverage processing, fish packing, rice milling, oil refining, diamond

The brand perception impact of advertising for Starbucks Company Essay - 1

The brand perception impact of advertising for Starbucks Company - Essay Example This essay "The brand perception impact of advertising for Starbucks Company" analyze Starbucks's brand personality. Brand perÃ'•onality iÃ'• an attractive and appealing concept in the marketing of today. Aaker deÃ'•cribed it aÃ'• one of the core dimenÃ'•ionÃ'• of the brand identity and perhapÃ'• aÃ'• the cloÃ'•eÃ'•t variable to the conÃ'•umerÃ'•' deciÃ'•ion making proceÃ'•Ã'• on buying. The perÃ'•onality idea reÃ'•pondÃ'• to the tendency in contemporary Ã'•ociety to value perÃ'•onal relationÃ'•hipÃ'•. It alÃ'•o referÃ'• to the idea that relationÃ'•hipÃ'• are important in Ã'•ocial life. In termÃ'• of MaÃ'•low'Ã'• hierarchy of needÃ'•, it trieÃ'• to lift productÃ'• to higher levelÃ'• of need Ã'•atiÃ'•faction, like belongingneÃ'•Ã'•, love and eÃ'•teem. Brand perÃ'•onalitieÃ'• are created in different wayÃ'• and with different toolÃ'•. The creation alwayÃ'• involveÃ'• active communicationÃ'• on t he Ã'•ide of the firm: the perÃ'•onality haÃ'• to be diÃ'•Ã'•eminated to be alive. Brand equity reÃ'•earch iÃ'• an attempt to put a value on the Ã'•trength of a brand in the market, in the Ã'•ame way that the Ã'•hareÃ'•/Ã'•tockÃ'• put a value on the Ã'•trength of the corporation in the eyeÃ'• of the inveÃ'•torÃ'•. Indeed, brand equity reÃ'•earch haÃ'• Ã'•hown that the two are related – the growth in brand equity correlateÃ'• with the growth in Ã'•tock valueÃ'•, and alÃ'•o Ã'•aleÃ'•, profitÃ'•, price premiumÃ'• and employee Ã'•atiÃ'•faction. The brand equity reÃ'•earch haÃ'• two elementÃ'•: brand profiling – where your brand and itÃ'• competitorÃ'• are profiled againÃ'•t a Ã'•et of indicatorÃ'• and attributeÃ'•. The indicatorÃ'• are uÃ'•ually fixed within the model, but attributeÃ'• may be Ã'•pecific to the brand or itÃ'• category.

Reem Al Faisals Dilemma Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reem Al Faisals Dilemma - Case Study Example Reem experienced righteous anger at this humiliation of another, recognizing the injustice; she could have followed her instincts and beliefs and acted to help the young woman, while upholding her own faith and morals. It was clear that the younger woman held a subservient position, yet that did not mean she deserved to be humiliated or treated as less than a person. It was not mere politeness to recognize and respond to another human being and their needs, but a moral obligation to treat them equally. This idea is not only a tenet of Islam, but of many world religions, like Christianity and Buddhism, to name but two. The basic principle of 'do no harm' was violated by the older woman, whose behavior was immoral. Further moral standards include the idea of giving to those who have less than ourselves, to be charitable, and in this case, the differences were obvious; the young woman was poor in comparison to her 'mistress'. In being deprived of courtesy and respect, she was treated as a non person, and in being offered nothing to eat or drink, this status was reinforced. She had no power, nor was her existence considered to have any value. The older woman defined herself by her power and contempt for another human being. She appeared to lack any charitable instincts and instead, set herself above another person in a way that denied that person's human rights. The fee The feelings of the young woman were not explicitly expressed, but Al Faisal recognized them, putting herself in that person's place. She empathized with her, thinking how she herself would feel, watching others eat and drink, while she was singled out as unworthy of such consideration. The happy experience of sharing food and being involved in human interaction was unfairly denied that young woman, for no logical or just reason. While these aspects were taken into account, alongside shyness, politeness, fear of making a fuss, many thoughts and emotions were passing through the onlooker's mind. She was shocked by the lack of basic humanity, and had feelings of shame and "self-contempt" for not having the courage to put right a wrong. More importantly, the realization that to have done nothing was to abandon Islamic belief caused her pain. As she stated: "..if people do not stop an injustice when they see it committed, then God's anger will descend upon them." Reem was angry, not only with the cruel older woman, but with herself for doing nothing. Her anger was righteous, justified, supported by morality, humanity and religious belief. She should have used it to take a stand on behalf of another. On the other hand, the possibility existed that the situation was not quite as it seemed. The full circumstances of the women's relationship were not known; the onlookers could only assume from what they observed, judging by outward appearances. Making assumptions based on what we think is happening can be dangerous. In polite society, it is not acceptable to force one's possibly mistaken views on others. The young woman did not attempt to ask for food or drink, she could have already eaten. She was quiet, but interested in what was going on around her, looking about the place. By transferring one's own feelings and imagination onto the situation, the truth could have been overlooked; perhaps the observer was jumping to the wrong conclusion It is always better to make an informed decision,

Engineering and Construction Issues that Surrounded the Three Gorges Essay

Engineering and Construction Issues that Surrounded the Three Gorges Project - Essay Example Riddled with massive corruption that even worsened the environmental hazards tied to the project, the Three Gorges projects holds the world record for the number of people displaced (Shu, 2012 pg. 14). The most damning yet unthinkable reality is the number of people displaced during the construction of the Dam. From the onset, the dam was intended to be a massive project, little was it known that the effects will be enormous as well. According to available statistics, close to 1.2 million people were ejected out of their dwellings to give room for the project. As if not enough, several cities, towns and villages were flooded. As such, the project led to unimaginable levels of human rights violations. Moreover, the environmental impacts of this initially heroic undertaking are incredible. To make the situation even worse, the environmental effects of this project may continue into the unforeseen future if measures are not taken to mitigate them. As the dam transforms the landscape of the area, so are the weather pattern and ultimately, the climatic conditions. Precisely, while the erosion is likely to cause landslides, the weight of water in the reservoir is likely to cause reservoir-induced seismicity. Also, the model of this dam is likely to develop complications in future, which may in turn add more trouble to the existing string of trouble for the locals. As much as the effects may be blamed on corruption and the engineers, it is also certain that the size of this project may have significantly contributed to the current predicaments facing the dam. Up until now, more and more controversies spring up from engineers concerning the model of the Three Gorges Dam, which, unfortunately, is already being replicated by the Chinese engineers world-over.  

The critique of We are raising a generation of deluded narcissts Essay - 1

The critique of We are raising a generation of deluded narcissts - Essay Example This is often the scenario among families today. Parents willingly give the latest gadgets to their children to express their love, to keep them up-dated or simply for them to have some â€Å"companion† while the parents are busy working. However, with such mentality, parents are actively culturing a generation of deluded narcissists as Dr. Keith Ablow would term it. The aforementioned psychologist discusses the making of such a generation in his article on Fox News. This paper will analyze and critique the idea that a generation of egocentric kids is being molded through the use of social media and computer games. In We are Raising a Generation of Deluded Narcissists, Dr. Keith Ablow talks about how young people are becoming egomaniac these days. He says that a study of college students show that they are more confident about themselves and their successes even though their grades are showing otherwise. Children engaging in computer games tend to associate with the characters of the games and think that they are as good as the real stars. Moreover, with the use of facebook, they can choose the photographs they like in order to project a wonderful story of their lives. They can also block the friends who dislike them, resulting to a delusional friendship which is fed by the reciprocation of desired feedbacks. They tend to see themselves as loveable because of their thousands of friends on facebook and followers on twitter and not realize that they are not even able to really socialize well in real life. With the belief that this is an epidemic, Dr. Ablow concludes with the challenge to combat it. In the aforementioned article, Dr. Ablow brings into the open what is happening among modern children who are playing computer games and using social media everyday as part of their routines. He brings to the reader’s attention the fact that there is a psychological effect of the

ECT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

ECT - Essay Example PLC’s can be utilized as relays and timers which can be utilized in homes to control outputs based on the inputs. For example: they can be used timers for switching of lights based on the customized information they have been provided for the environment in which a household is located. The most commonly used programming language that is utilized for PLC programming is Ladder Logic. This language was not initially used as a form of programming language, but later it evolved for this purpose. This language provides a representation of a particular program and these representations are based on relay logic. The three main components include the processor, power supplier and a section of input as well as output. The processor is referred to as the brain of the PLC which performs various functions such as controlling the process. The power supplier is utilized in transforming input power into voltage that is needed for the internal circuits. The section of input and output is necessary for protection of the CPU against any form of electric

The Fall of Rome Essay Example for Free

The Fall of Rome Essay The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by many things. There were political, social, and economic issues all involved in the fall of Rome. Some issues were bigger than others, but I believe there are some major factors that led to the fall of Rome. I believe that the major factors that led to the fall of Rome were that barbarians knew how to attack the Roman Empire, the economy was going very bad, and Christianity was changing the way people were thinking. The first reason for the fall of Rome was that the barbarians knew how to attack the Roman Empire. Since Rome was running short on men to serve in the army, they needed to pay barbarians to fight in wars. It says on http://www.roman-colosseum.info/roman-empire/causes-for-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire that â€Å"One of the main causes for the Fall of the Roman Empire was the Barbarian Knowledge of Roman Military Tactics. The knowledge that the Barbarians gained of Roman style of warfare and military tactics by serving in the Roman army were eventually turned against the Empire and led to the sack of Rome by the Visigoths led by an ex-army soldier, Alaric.† This tells me that since the barbarians were in the Roman army for a while, they got to understand the way they fought and all their strategies. So when the barbarians attacked Rome, they already knew what Rome was going to do. The reason why they had to hire barbarians for the army was that people didn’t want to fight for their home. They would only do it for the money. The second reason why the Roman Empire fell was that the economy was going very bad. Document 3 says â€Å"First the economic factor†¦ While the empire was expanding, its prosperity was fed by plundered wealth and by new markets in the semi-barbaric provinces. When the empire ceased to expand, however, economic progress soon ceased.† What this tells me is that Rome would always conquer different places all the time. When they would do that, they plundered the cities they conquered and the Empire’s wealth source was made up of all the plunder. So when there was no more land to conquer, then there would be no more plundering. If there was no more plundering, then Rome’s economy would go down and they would have to find another source to get that money they always got from plundering. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find another source of money like that which led to the fall of Rome. The last reason why the Roman Empire fell was because of Christianity. Christianity had to do with the way people saw things in Rome. Christianity affected the people’s outlook on the Empire. According to Document 2, it says â€Å"The introduction . . . of Christianity had some influence on the decline and fall of the Roman empire. The clergy successfully preached the doctrine of patience; the active virtues of society were discouraged; and the last remains of military spirit were buried in the cloister; a large portion of public and private wealth was consecrated to the . . . demands of charity and devotion.† What this tells me is that Christianity helped people not follow the way of society of Rome. This made people not want to fight for their home and resulting of hiring barbarians. Also instead of people putting money toward Rome, they put money for charities and devotions. The Christian way was against the way Rome was heading for which really made a difference. So in conclusion, the reason why the Roman Empire fell was because the barbarians knew how to attack the Roman Empire because they fought in the Roman army, the economy was going down because they couldn’t find a way to make up the money they were getting from plundering cities, and Christianity changed the way people thought of the Roman Empire making them go against the Roman way.

Reading assignment Essay Example for Free

Reading assignment Essay The common house mouse, Mus musculus, is a model organism for human diseases. As such, it has been recently utilized in QTL mapping to see which genes may contribute disproportionately to disease states. Unfortunately, because of its high rate of inbreeding and bottleneck effect when it was first developed as a model organism, it displays a high level of linkage disequilibrium such that QTLs can span 20-40 cM, containing hundreds of genes. This is a problem on two levels: One, while this resolution is great relative to the â€Å"double crossovers† of Morgan’s flies, it leaves much to be desired in terms of quickly discovering traits that contribute to disease states. Two, using inbred lines such as mouse decreases verisimilitude—we’re trying to see how diseases work in humans, we should use animals with same genetic variance as humans. This is especially relevant because mice colonized the world with humans, and as such may show similar patterns of gene evolution and population structure. These authors found that QTL maps can be made to the resolution of 1 cM (about 100 kB in M. musculus) by using the wild conspecifics of these lab mice. In doing so, they also found that wild mice have much lower rates of LD, comparable to humans. They do show a lot of homozygosity, which the authors attribute to some inbreeding and previous bottlenecks. The authors suggest that using wild mice to develop finer mapping resolution for QTLs, especially because they can use the same SNPs that they use for laboratory mice. That is to say, we can use the same tools available to us in lab mice on wild mice for experiments more relevant to populations of humans, as opposed to individuals. Questions: 1) Wild mice have a lot of homozygosity. Would wild mouse populations (new world field mice, etc. ) show less homozygosity, and can we use them in these experiments when homozygosity somehow impedes the resolution of the mapping? 2) The text keeps saying that African populations are in a state of high linkage disequilibrium, and I’m assuming it is because they are in reproductive isolation. If mice are commensal with Africans as they are with other human populations, do they exhibit the same LD? Can we then use them as a model to look at disease states and disease traits in Africans?

The Behaviour Of A Supralittoral Gastropod Biology Essay

The Behaviour Of A Supralittoral Gastropod Biology Essay The species chosen for this experiment (or rather set of experiments) is Melarhaphe neritoides. This is a very common (small) species of snail found distributed along the rocky Maltese shores. It is listed in the Phylum Mollusca (Class Gastropoda) and grows to about just under 1cm. Its sides are flat (unlike the more common rounded shell found amongst molluscs) and has a high pointed spire. An operculum covers an oval aperture and a white periostracum leads to the dark blue/black shell. Its niche is located in a very specific stretch on the shore labelled the supralittoral zone. This is that area located just above the high tide mark. It is not submerged but is frequently splashed by sea spray when it is windy/stormy (in fact it is also known as the splash or spray zone). It is an unforgiving environment and organisms living here must be very well adapted to its instability. The Melarhaphe neritoides snail must be able to withstand; high temperatures, freshwater, salt and brine water , desiccation and exposure to air and of course any shore line animals which might prey upon the snail. In the summer months, the sea round the Maltese islands is very calm and the snails environment is rarely wetted. Also the snail lives in direct contact with the hard rocky surface which reaches high temperatures up to 50 degrees easily (which for most organisms this would be lethal). On the other hand during the winter months, storms are frequent and wave action is very violent on the supralittoral zone. Not only this but when there are no waves, pools of fresh water may form in these rocky patches which for most creatures adapted to a salty (high water potential) environment will cause osmotic problems. As opposed to the summer months, the temperature of the rocks in winter falls drastically some times even below freezing point. In fact as the mollusc is very well adapted to this environment, it is the dominant macro-faunal organism found there. To accommodate such drastic chang es in its environment, Melarhaphe neritoides has many behavioural adaptations. Such adaptations include; becoming inactive, taking refuge in pits/rocky overhangs, aggregating in groups and becoming active only when conditions are suitable. To be able to accurately avoid the harshness of the environment, the mollusc must have some kind of sense as to when to actually begin aestivation periods or when to come out of them, which spot is suitable (offers enough protection) to take refuge in etc. It is these behavioural adaptations that this experiment investigates. A set of different habitats and conditions are prepared and a number of snails tested to see their reaction and preference. Such an experiment must be conducted as accurately as possible as there are many factors which induce errors. In fact the test subjects where freshly caught and a number (10) of individuals were tested with each method to ensure usable and explainable data. Also the individuals tested where seen to be ab out 0.7mm in height. This is the height of juveniles not too young or too old as it is in this part of its life time in which an animal is most probably going to respond as expected in individuals seen in the wild (as old or young specimens may be less active or inhabit different regions of the environment). Procedure: Apparatus Petri dishes Graph paper Plastic aquariums Ruler Timer Acrylic plates (drilled) Measuring cylinder Black bags Glass Rod Gravel Fine Sand Coarse Sand Circular glass trough Materials Calcium Chloride Sea Water Distilled water Vaseline grease Blu-Tack Method Experiment.1 A plastic Petri-dish was partitioned by means of thin plastic into 3 separate parts. One part filled with fine sand, another with coarse sand and the other with gravel. Ten inactive snails were scattered across on these 3 different sabstrates and any movement made noted every 1,2,6,24,36 hrs. Experiment.2 Two identical Petri dishes had their bottom ruled to form a 44 grid at 1 cm intervals. One snail was placed on each grid line intersection. One dish contained a container full of Calcium chloride, whilst the other housed distilled water. Both dishes were sealed and observed over a period of 3 days. A plastic Petri-dish was floated over a pool of water in a circular glass trough. Ten inactive snails were placed in the Petri-dish which was left opened, but the glass trough was covered. After one hour, the cover was removed just enough to get the snails out. These were tapped gently with a glass rod a few times and put back in the trough. The number of active snails after the treatment was noted. Experiment.3 Two identical Petri dishes as in exp.2 (with a 44 grid) were prepared with one inactive snail per intersection. One dish is filled up to about 1mm with sea water, whilst the other one was left dry. Both dishes were sealed with Vaseline grease and observed over a period of one hour. This procedure was repeated only using fresh water instead of sea water. Snails which had been left in dry air for one hour were tapped sharply on the shell and immediately placed in 1cm of sea water. The time taken for the first noticeable movement of the snails operculum was noted. Experiment.4 Two identical measuring cylinders were filled with sea water one to a depth of 5cm and the other to a depth of 20cm. Individual inactive snails were placed in each cylinder, and the time taken for the snail to move 5 cm up the wall in each container was noted. Experiment.5 Two identical measuring cylinders are filled to a depth of 3cm with seawater. Each cylinder was marked at 3 cm intervals starting from the water surface. One cylinder was stoppered tightly whilst the other was left open. The movement of each snail up the cylinder was noted with time. Experiment.6 Two identical plastic aquaria are filled to a depth of 1.5cm with sea water. Regular plastic plates that were drilled with a pattern of regular holes were attached to the walls of one of the aquaria. The aquaria were marked off at 3cm intervals starting from the water surface. Ten inactive snails were placed in each aquarium and covered with a lid. After 3 hours the number of snails at each level was noted. The procedure above was then repeated but instead of the walls, the drilled plate was placed at the bottom of the aquarium. The number of individuals remaining submerged was counted at intervals of 1,2,6,24,36†¦ hours. Experiment.7 The procedure of experiment 5 was repeated only this time both the cylinders were tightly stoppered and with 10 snails in each one. One of the cylinders is placed in an opaque black bag whilst the other one is left in the light. The number of snails at each level for both cylinders at intervals of 1,3,6 and 24 hours was recorded. Precautions Snails that were used for an experiment were not reused but placed separately in a container to note that they have already undergone some treatment. This was done so as not have active snails from a previous experiment ruin the results of the next experiment. The snails were all freshly caught (not more than 2 days) so as to have an accurate result as possible. In most experiments a good number of individuals were used (like 10) and others were possible were replicated. Enough time was left to elapse for results to be collected as the stimuli that activate the snails may be over a long period of time. Snails used were chosen to be of similar size (0.7cm shell height) and handled very gently. Errors Handling of snails from capture site to lab and from tray to the experiment may have activated the snails prior to the actual experiment taking place. Most experiments could have been done only once to the long waiting time, and with a relatively small number of individuals (ten snails may not yield a representative result). The experiment tried to replicate the conditions that the snail would be in the wild. This can never be fully achieved and so the experiment its self is not so accurate. Movement of apparatus or activity on the bench could have changed snail position in other experiments or activating them due to the vibration not to the variable tested. The snails themselves may have moved other snails in experiment 2 and 3 giving errored results. Results Experiment 1 Time / hr Fine sand Gravel Rough sand 0 3 3 4 1 3 3 4 2 3 3 4 6 3 4 3 24 2 5 3 36 2 5 3 48 1 5 4 No snails were noted to have accumulated on the smooth plastic surface of the Petri-dish. Experiment 2 Part 2A: Time/hr RH=0% RH=100% 0 0 0 6 1 2 30 1 2 54 1 3 Part 2B: Snails active: Before tapping After tapping 0 2 Experiment 3: Part 3A: Time/hr Number of snails moved 0 0 1 5 6 12 24 14 32 15 48 16 56 16 Part 3B Time for first discernible movement of operculum after left in: Dry conditions Dry conditions followed by tapping Immersed in seawater 1 40 8 2 2 14 8 3 3 29 20 4 4 33 16 40 5 28 9 20 6 19 7 53 7 8 38 62 8 11 45 1 9 21 14 13 10 12 10 50 Part 3C Time/hr Number of snails moved 0 0 1 0 6 0 24 0 32 0 48 0 56 1 Experiment 4: Replicate 5cm water 20 cm water 1 2340s 4140s(69 mins) 2 2400s 86400s (1day) 3 9000s >2 day 4 9900s >2 day 5 86400s >2 day 6 >2 day >2 day 7 >2 day >2 day 8 >2 day >2 day 9 >2 day >2 day 10 >2 day >2 day Experiment 5: A total of 2 snails were placed in each measuring cylinder. The numbers in the table show the number of snails recorded at each level marked. Closed Open Time/hr 1 2 6 24 32 48 56 1 2 6 24 32 48 56 0-3cm 2 2 2 2 2 2   2 2 2 1 1 0 0   0 3-6cm 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 6-9cm 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 0 1 1 0   1 9-12cm 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 12-15cm 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1   1 15-18cm 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 18-21cm 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 21-24cm 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 24-27cm 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 27-30cm (top) 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Experiment 6 Part 6A After 3 hours: At the bottom of the tank (smooth) In crevices On smooth wall Submerged in seawater 8 0 1 0-3cm above water 0 0 1 3-6cm above water 0 0 0 Part 6B: Time/hr 1 2 6 24 32 48 56 submerged In crevices 6 8 9 9 9 9 9 On smooth wall 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 Above seawater In crevices 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Not in crevices 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 Submerged (the only one required others are extra) 10 9 9 9 9 9 10 Experiment 7: Light Dark Time/hr 1 2 6 24 32 48 56 1 2 6 24 32 48 56 0-3cm 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3-6cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 1 1 6-9cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 1 1 9-12cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 12-15cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 3 3 15-18cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 18-21cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21-24cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 24-27cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 27-30cm (top) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Discussion The results were organized in the form of tables usually with length in movement or number of snails against time. In the first experiment, habitat preference was tested. Rough gravel and fine/coarse sand are the typical supralittoral substrates and snails may have a preference to one and not the other. As observed from the table up to the first few hours, no movement was noted. On the sixth hour a single snail had changed substrate from the fine sand onto the gravel. At the end of the experiment two of the 3 snails placed on the fine sand had moved onto the gravel or coarse sand and one from the coarse sand had moved onto the gravel as well. This indicates that the organisms somewhat dislike a loose substrate such as the fine sand (only 2 remained) but prefer rough gravel (5 snails remained). The coarse sand was somewhat in between the two with 4 snails remaining. This is the expected result as these organisms are found between small rocks and in crevices. The fact that not all of t he travelled to one substrate could have been due to the lack of space as with 5 or 4 snails in one section, the Petri-dish became somewhat crowded. No snails were observed to go onto the smooth Petri-dish surface and this is also explained by the fact that their habitat preference is towards rocky terrain. In the second experiment, the effect of humidity on the inactive snails was observed. In part A which consisted of the two Petri-dishes with the grid, the difference in humidity was created by using calcium chloride (anhydrous). This chemical can absorb the water present in the atmosphere creating dry conditions whilst the other had a tap with water giving the environment 100% relative humidity. In the dry dish 6% of the snails moved whilst in the wet dish, 18% of the snails moved. Although not so many snails moved the difference from dry to wet is already evident with about 3 times the snails moving in the 100% RH than the 0% RH. This shows that although it is not that strong of a stimulus, the relative humidity plays a part in the activation of the sails. In part B of experiment number two, the snails were once again exposed to an atmosphere of 100% RH, but they were also tapped on the shell after one hour and placed back for a few more minutes. The tapping seems to have some effect on the snails as unlike the 100 % RH in part A where the snails took days to move, 20% of the snails in part B after only one hour were noticed to be active (which is roughly the same amount as in part A at 100% RH). This suggests that probably the wave action on the snails combined with the high humidity (as they are wetted) are effective stimuli to activate the snails. Experiment 3 consisted of three parts. In the first part, the Petri-dish had a grid on the bottom where 16 snails were placed. In the one which contained the 1mm of sea water by the second day all the snails had moved. The period where most snails became active was between the 6th and 24th hour. This when compared to the previous experiment where only the humidity was at 100% shows that water is a much stronger activator as all the snails moved (the dry control had no noticeable movement). This would make sense as if there was wave action apart from high humidity and the mechanical force its self (both of which have shown positive results) , the snails would most likely become submersed in little pockets of sea water. Interesting to note that when as in part 3C the water used was fresh water, no snails moved up to 24 hours and only one moved just slightly over the 3 days period (probably due to humidity not the water its self). This is interesting to note. It can probably be explaine d by the fact that if it were to rain over the snails which in August or September (although rare) it might, although the snail would feel the mechanical force, be in an atmosphere of high humidity and covered in water it would not be beneficial to come out of dormancy as the environment would not yet be suitable and so it must be sea water to activate the snail as this would only come ashore from waves (indicating a suitable environment). In part B of experiment 3 the time taken for each snail to become active was noted. Prior to the experiment, they were sharply tapped. This tapping followed by the immersion in sea water instantly brought about a response from the snail which opened its operculum. This was very fast, in fact an average time of 17.5 seconds was recorded between the ten snails tested. This once again replicated wave action only a faster response was obtained due to the fact that actual sea water was used and not high humidity or tapping only (which continues to sugg est that the snail becomes active after summer during the winter storms). Up till experiment 3, sea water was known to bring about a response, the question then was (answered by experiment 4) if more water would bring about a faster reaction. Apparently this is not so as the time taken for the snails to travel a distance of 5cm up the wall of the cylinder containing 5cm of water was less than the cylinder containing 20cm of sea water. This can probably be explained by the fact that the snail is not adapted to live in deep water but it is actually semi-terrestrial only venturing into the sea to lay its eggs. Thus a higher hydrostatic pressure of 20cm would indicate an unsuitable environment and the snail will most likely remain dormant. Therefore only frequent wetting and not submerging (in more than 10cm of water) brings about a response (once again pools brought about by waves are usually not as deep as 20cm in small crevices where the snail aggregates). Experiment 5 was somewhat baffling and probably should not be considered as a representative result. Only a few snails were activated and the snails which travelled most up the cylinder were in the one not stoppered! An expected result based on the other previous experiments and knowledge of the snails habitat preference would be something as follows. Upon introducing the snails to the 3cm of seawater, they would become active and since they would be submerged find a way out which would be to climb onto the cylinders side. Since their habitat lies a fair distance from the sea, the snail should continue to climb up to a good few centimetres. The snails in the stoppered cylinder should reach the top as the high humidity indicates that they are still very close to the water and travel up as far a possible. In the open cylinder having a dryer atmosphere, the snails would probably not move up to the top as they would be under the impression that they are a fair enough distance from the se a located at the bottom. Experiment 6 was an extension of experiment 5 where the upward movement from a submerged place was tested only this time the variable was not humidity but terrain brought about by the drilled plates stuck to the sides of the tank. Again the data was not as expected so much so that the slightly different version experiment part 6B did not have the same results as A but was as expected. The reasons for experiments 5 and 6A being somewhat not accurate could be due to the errors mentioned in the sources of errors section above. If one were to follow the result brought about by experiment 6A it would be concluded that the snails prefer to remain submerged and on smooth surfaces rather than in the crevices. This of course is not the case as the snails prefer crevices in rocks as seen from experiment 1 and also in the wild these are found in crevices not submerged on smooth surfaces. In part B where the drilled plate was placed at the bottom, the snails aggregated in the pits and stayed sub merged. This would indicate that they actually do prefer crevices and pits which offer protection against the elements. The pits were submerged, but the expected result was that despite this the snails should not go out of the water. This is because they were submerged under only 1.5cm and in the wild this would be something common for a snail in a small pit to experience a few mm of sea water. So in the pits and under water the mollusc is actually in its preferred environment. Finally experiment 7 tested if the snail is photosensitive. According to the results obtained, when in light the snails (all 10 of them) became active faster (in the first hour even) and climbed a distance of 3cm, whilst in the covered cylinder half as much became active and over a longer time period. The strange thing was that in the light, the snails did not reach the top and in the dark only 1 did. Considering the high humidity in both, all the snails should have gone up to the top, the only difference (if there is) would be in the time taken. Taking into consideration all the results obtained and considering the concordant data, it is noted that the snails become active via various stimuli. In summer humidity is low and the snail would be in a crevice seeking refuge from the direct sun. When the first storms come along, the crevice the snail would be in becomes wet with sea water and very humid (a sort of micro habitat). The pounding action of the waves also has an effect on the snail. The mollusc is at home under a few centimetres of water and in fact in November to March during high tide the snail travels from its habitat to the Eulittoral zone (which is covered in water during this period of the year) and lays its eggs. The snail is affected by hydrostatic pressure (experiment 4) and so only travels a specific distance into the sea (which would be the optimum place to lay its eggs). It also detects the relative humidity and only ventures up shore a fixed distance (up to the supralittoral zone) from the sea. In this zon e lichens also grow in the winter and spring times. These are a prime source of food for the snail and may be another reason why it aestivates as in summer, this food source dries up. Conclusion Having done the experiments and observed the results, it can be concluded that there are various factors which play a part in activating the snail. Each factor affects the snail to a certain degree and the combination of all of them (humidity, mechanic wave action, sea water etc) brings about a reaction either to be inactive due to their lack or to be activated due to their presence.

Against Proposition 69 and the DNA Fingerprint Act Essay -- DNA Databa

Abstract: California’s Proposition 69 and the DNA Fingerprint Act both expand criminal DNA databases far beyond what is necessary to protect citizens and prosecute violent crime. DNA profiling techniques and databases have developed largely over the last fifteen years, and the recent expansions are only a part of an ongoing trend of ‘function creep’ that characterizes database expansion. Proposition 69 and the DNA Fingerprint Act expand DNA databases originally designed to house DNA samples from violent criminals to include samples from anyone arrested for a felony crime. This is unreasonable because many persons arrested for felonies are ever convicted or even tried, but under these expansions their DNA will be stored in a criminal DNA database alongside convicted rapists, murderers, and other felons. California Proposition 69 and the DNA Fingerprint Act: Considerable Expansions in Criminal DNA Databases Proposition 69, passed last November by voters in California, and the DNA Fingerprint Act, passed recently in Congress, both significantly expand DNA databases designed to house and identify DNA samples from dangerous, violent criminals. These recent expansions are only part are only part of a ‘function creep’ phenomenon that has characterized DNA database expansion since states began keeping DNA profiles on record in the 1990s. Not until recently, however, have the expansions crossed the line between legitimate DNA profiling for law enforcement or forensic purposes and an invasion of privacy. Proposition 69 and the DNA Fingerprint Act do not significantly improve the ability of law enforcement agencies to prosecute violent criminals. Instead, they treat many innocent citizens as criminals, storing their res... ...2048/cgi/content/full/352/26/2669 2Simoncelli, Tania. Steinhardt, Barry. California’s Proposition 69: A dangerous precedent for criminal DNA databases. Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics. [Internet]. [cited 2005 Oct 3]. Available from: http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=17768646 3Rothstein, Mark A. Genetic justice. The New England Journal of Medicine. [Internet]. [cited 2005 Nov 6]. Available from: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/352/26/2667 4Proposition 69: DNA samples, collection, database, funding, initiative statute. California Secretary of State. [Internet]. [cited 2005 Oct 15]. Available from: http://222.ss.ca.gov/elections/bp_nov04/prop_60_entire.pdf Senate reauthorizes violence against women 5 act. Senator Jon Kyl Press Office. [Internet]. [cited 2005 Oct 15]. Available from: http://kyl.senate/gov/record.cfm?id=246925

Servant Leadership Benefits Both Organizationas and Employees Essay

In the traditional view of leadership, service is the job of the follower. However, servant leadership puts the leader at service. In servant leadership, the leader focuses on servicing their followers; they empathize, nurture, and provide attention so that the followers can develop their full personal capacities (Northouse, 2013). Spears (2002) identified 10 servant leader characteristics: Listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, and commitment to the growth of people. Listening involves the interactive process of communication between leaders and followers (Northouse, 2013). In the traditional world of leadership, we think of leaders as instructing, ordering, or ruling. In servant leadership, leaders listen first to understand and acknowledge their followers. Empathy is the ability to put ourselves in someone else’s position and see where they are coming from. This makes the follower feel unique and validated (Northouse, 2013).Healing does not involve mystical powers, however it does involve offering support to followers by overcoming their personal problems and caring about their well-being (Northouse, 2013). Awareness is similar to emotional intelligence in that it includes the understanding of oneself and the impact one has on others through being attune and receptive to one’s physical, social, and political environments (Northouse, 2013). Persuasion, not coercion, is a servant leadership quality. Persuasion involves the use of gentle non judgmental argument, not force-like coercion (Northouse, 2013). Conceptualization and foresight are similar in that they both require a looking into the future. Conceptualization is visualization to help prepare for complex organiza... ...eir followers can result in ethical and efficient leadership.â€Å"When individuals engage in servant leadership, it is likely to improve outcomes at the individual, organizational, and societal levels (PSU, 2014)†.The servant leadership actions of Charlie Kim and Bob Chapman depict how the proper use of servant leadership creates trust, and inspires productivity; benefiting their organization, their employees, and those around them. References Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. PSU WC. (2014). PSYCH 485: Lesson 11, Servant leadership. Retrieved November 8th, https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa14/psych485/001/toc.html Sinek, Simon. (2014, March). Why good leaders make you feel safe [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_ safe#t-627531

Effective Listening

In a monthly marketing meeting, the marketing manager wants 5 of his staffs to conduct a research on market share on 5 different areas. Each staff is assigned a territory. The manager rejects, one month later in the same meeting, one of the 5 reports because the research is on the wrong territory. If we assume the ability of all staffs is the same, then it is obviously a communication breakdown that causes the wrong research was conducted. The consequence of misunderstanding may be costly to a company. Often when a misunderstanding occurs on the job, it is attributed to a lack of communication, which most of time implies that whoever was delivering the message did not do an effective job. But what about the other side, the listener? Listening is important in business because it is the communication skill most often used in human interaction (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.56). Between 45 and 55 percent of people’s communication time will be spent in listening to others (Nichols and Stevens 1957, p.6, Werner 1975, p.26). However, listening is not a skill that most people perform well. Studies show that people do not listen effectively. On an average, people listen only at 25% efficiency (Nichols and Stevens 1957, p.ix). It is difficult to define listening, but generally it can be defined as † a receiver orientation to the communication process; since communication involves both a source and a receiver, listening consist of the roles receivers play in the communication process† (Floyd 1985, p.9). Listening is a process that includes hearing, attending to, understanding, evaluating and responding to spoken messages. (Floyd 1985, p.9) Our own listening habits have been developed since we were born. Such habits are so well established that we perform them without thinking. But unfortunately, such habits are usually undesirable and lead to poor listening. There are numbers of reasons for ineffective listening. These do not apply equally to all listeners and the degree to which they do apply will vary from different situation, speaker, topic and so forth, They represent common and important reasons for ineffective listening: Rehearsing Your whole attention is designing and preparing â€Å"what to say next†. You look interested, but your minds are miles away because you are thinking about the next comment. Judging Negatively labeling people can be extremely limiting. Everyone has biases, but it leads to ineffective listening. For example you hear a speaker discuss an idea that you don’t like, you might stop paying attention to that speaker says, you might distort the message, and therefore failing to understand it because of prejudgment. As a result, your evaluation of the speaker and /or message could be unfair or in error (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.59). So, A basic rule of effective listening is to that judgements should only be made after you have heard and evaluated the content of the message (Johnson). Identifying You take everything people tell you and refer it back to your own experience. They may want to tell you about a car’s braking system, but that reminds you of your car accident. You launch into your story before they can finish theirs (Johnson). Talking rather than listening We too often love to hear our own voice and feel that our comments and ideas are always right (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.58). You are a great problem solver that you do not have to hear more than a few sentences before you begin searching for the right advice. But, while you are coming up with suggestions, you may have missed what is most important. Sometimes, people argue and debate with others who never feel heard because these people are so quick to disagree. In fact these people’s main focus is on finding things to disagree with. Filtering We usually filter out messages and listen only to those topics and materials that we want to hear. We will stop paying attention to those topics that we do not want to hear, such as messages that criticize us. Then we cannot be corrected, and we cannot take suggestions to change (Johnson). Placation As we have been taught to be nice, pleasant and supportive to others, we seldom criticize others especially when others are telling you things that we want to hear. But too hasty acceptance of messages that tells us what we like and want to hear can lead to serious problems (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We may half-listen just enough to get the drift, but not really involved. Instead, we should be careful to pay attention, to comprehend, and then to analyze and evaluate what speakers say (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60) Distraction A distraction is anything that pulls your attention away from that which you want, or need, to pay attention to (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). It is difficult to avoid distraction. There may be distraction in the environment and within you – day dreaming. When we dream, we pretend to listen but we actually drift about in our interior fantasies. Instead of disciplining ourselves to truly concentrate on the input, we turn the channel to a more entertaining subject. We may have missed some important points while we are dreaming. It is the major reason for ineffective listening. Fear of difficult This block applied when we need to listen and understand new materials or subjects that are new, difficult and challenging to us. In such situation, it is difficult to listen (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We always try to avoid or rationalize these subjects and not to listen. It is mainly due to the fear of failing. People does not like failing and try any methods to avoid it. There are numbers of ways to avoid failure. We stop paying attention to the subject and spend our time to somewhere else. Then we may tell ourselves, we are not fail to understand the topic, but refused to deal with it. Rationalization also helps people to avoid failure (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We usually hold someone else responsible for the consequences of not listening or understanding by saying the material is â€Å"boring†, † stupid†, â€Å"nothing to do with my daily work† and so forth. But as a result, we still do not understand the material. Like any other skill, the first step to improve listening is to understand of what you can do or stop doing in order to get better. The second step is to practice the new skill over and over again to make it as your habit. We have examined the blocks for effective listening. Let us move on to the elements to improve effective listening. There are 2 major elements to improve effective listening, namely comprehension and Analysis/Evaluation. Comprehension means that you are able to understand the speaker (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.61). There are some basic ways to improve our ability to understand speakers. The first step towards more effective listening comprehension is paying increased attention (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.61). Attention is your focus to the speaker and his/her material and sustaining the focus. Paying long and well enough attention help you to keep these verbal and nonverbal stimuli into your long-term memory. Then you are able to compare the information with new and old materials. Otherwise, information not stored in long term memory will be lost in a second and you are not able to understand the content because you will bot remember it (Tyson 1982). Everyone can increase attention by realizing its importance, avoid common tendency to day dream, fighting the tendency to give in to external and internal distractions, remove distractions if possible or learn to listen over distraction. We have the ability to listen to and understand speech even when there are severe distraction (Moore 1977, p.239). The second step to improve your ability to understand speaker is to understand the nature of non-verbal communication. Nonverbal communication is any communication expressed not in words but in body motion, paralanguage (how something is said), proxemics (the use of space), artifacts (physical objects), or environment (Knapp 1980, p. 4-11). It serves a variety of functions that to repeat, contradict, substitute, complement, accent, or regulate verbal communication (Knapp 1978, p. 38). However, it does not mean nonverbal communication is more important than verbal communication. In case nonverbal communication is contradicted to verbal communication, it does not always the case that nonverbal communication is more reliable. The third step towards more effective listening is to increase your ability to comprehend verbal symbols, or message (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.63). Although it is the speaker’s responsibility to make himself/herself clear and meaningful, communication is a two way process that listener has the same responsibility to understand speaker’s materials. This task can be accomplished by (1) increasing the quality and quantity of your experience, (2) learning to use context as a mean of increasing your understanding, (3) keeping your bias away, (4) controlling any fear of failure, (5) improve your vocabulary (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.63-64), and (6) feedback to confirm your interpretation. The next element that helps to improve effective listening is analysis and evaluation. Once you have attended to and understood the speaker, you are ready to analyze and evaluate the message. Analysis is to examine the message in order to learn what the meanings are. Evaluation is the rendering of judgement on message to decide the value of the message. Both analytical and evaluative functions require you to examine a speaker’s support and reasoning, such as data, conclusion, reasoning process, examples and statistics. Effective listening will benefit as well as those who work with you. It breaks up the barriers between people and can understand each other more. In workplace, effective listening minimize the losses of potential revenues which may result from shipping the wrong products to customers. Or from miscommunication objectives and priorities among staffs. Or even from time lost because of having to re-communicate a second or third time to get things straightened out. To listen effectively, one must be positive, active, prevent affected by blocks we mentioned earlier, paying and sustain enough attention to the speaker, able to analyze after understanding. It is not an easy skill, but it is the most fundamental and powerful skill we need. When someone is willing to stop talking or thinking and begin truly listening to others, all of their interactions become easier, and communication problems are all but eliminated. Effective Listening In a monthly marketing meeting, the marketing manager wants 5 of his staffs to conduct a research on market share on 5 different areas. Each staff is assigned a territory. The manager rejects, one month later in the same meeting, one of the 5 reports because the research is on the wrong territory. If we assume the ability of all staffs is the same, then it is obviously a communication breakdown that causes the wrong research was conducted. The consequence of misunderstanding may be costly to a company. Often when a misunderstanding occurs on the job, it is attributed to a lack of communication, which most of time implies that whoever was delivering the message did not do an effective job. But what about the other side, the listener? Listening is important in business because it is the communication skill most often used in human interaction (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.56). Between 45 and 55 percent of people’s communication time will be spent in listening to others (Nichols and Stevens 1957, p.6, Werner 1975, p.26). However, listening is not a skill that most people perform well. Studies show that people do not listen effectively. On an average, people listen only at 25% efficiency (Nichols and Stevens 1957, p.ix). It is difficult to define listening, but generally it can be defined as † a receiver orientation to the communication process; since communication involves both a source and a receiver, listening consist of the roles receivers play in the communication process† (Floyd 1985, p.9). Listening is a process that includes hearing, attending to, understanding, evaluating and responding to spoken messages. (Floyd 1985, p.9) Our own listening habits have been developed since we were born. Such habits are so well established that we perform them without thinking. But unfortunately, such habits are usually undesirable and lead to poor listening. There are numbers of reasons for ineffective listening. These do not apply equally to all listeners and the degree to which they do apply will vary from different situation, speaker, topic and so forth, They represent common and important reasons for ineffective listening: Rehearsing Your whole attention is designing and preparing â€Å"what to say next†. You look interested, but your minds are miles away because you are thinking about the next comment. Judging Negatively labeling people can be extremely limiting. Everyone has biases, but it leads to ineffective listening. For example you hear a speaker discuss an idea that you don’t like, you might stop paying attention to that speaker says, you might distort the message, and therefore failing to understand it because of prejudgment. As a result, your evaluation of the speaker and /or message could be unfair or in error (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.59). So, A basic rule of effective listening is to that judgements should only be made after you have heard and evaluated the content of the message (Johnson). Identifying You take everything people tell you and refer it back to your own experience. They may want to tell you about a car’s braking system, but that reminds you of your car accident. You launch into your story before they can finish theirs (Johnson). Talking rather than listening We too often love to hear our own voice and feel that our comments and ideas are always right (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.58). You are a great problem solver that you do not have to hear more than a few sentences before you begin searching for the right advice. But, while you are coming up with suggestions, you may have missed what is most important. Sometimes, people argue and debate with others who never feel heard because these people are so quick to disagree. In fact these people’s main focus is on finding things to disagree with. Filtering We usually filter out messages and listen only to those topics and materials that we want to hear. We will stop paying attention to those topics that we do not want to hear, such as messages that criticize us. Then we cannot be corrected, and we cannot take suggestions to change (Johnson). Placation As we have been taught to be nice, pleasant and supportive to others, we seldom criticize others especially when others are telling you things that we want to hear. But too hasty acceptance of messages that tells us what we like and want to hear can lead to serious problems (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We may half-listen just enough to get the drift, but not really involved. Instead, we should be careful to pay attention, to comprehend, and then to analyze and evaluate what speakers say (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60) Distraction A distraction is anything that pulls your attention away from that which you want, or need, to pay attention to (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). It is difficult to avoid distraction. There may be distraction in the environment and within you – day dreaming. When we dream, we pretend to listen but we actually drift about in our interior fantasies. Instead of disciplining ourselves to truly concentrate on the input, we turn the channel to a more entertaining subject. We may have missed some important points while we are dreaming. It is the major reason for ineffective listening. Fear of difficult This block applied when we need to listen and understand new materials or subjects that are new, difficult and challenging to us. In such situation, it is difficult to listen (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We always try to avoid or rationalize these subjects and not to listen. It is mainly due to the fear of failing. People does not like failing and try any methods to avoid it. There are numbers of ways to avoid failure. We stop paying attention to the subject and spend our time to somewhere else. Then we may tell ourselves, we are not fail to understand the topic, but refused to deal with it. Rationalization also helps people to avoid failure (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We usually hold someone else responsible for the consequences of not listening or understanding by saying the material is â€Å"boring†, † stupid†, â€Å"nothing to do with my daily work† and so forth. But as a result, we still do not understand the material. Like any other skill, the first step to improve listening is to understand of what you can do or stop doing in order to get better. The second step is to practice the new skill over and over again to make it as your habit. We have examined the blocks for effective listening. Let us move on to the elements to improve effective listening. There are 2 major elements to improve effective listening, namely comprehension and Analysis/Evaluation. Comprehension means that you are able to understand the speaker (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.61). There are some basic ways to improve our ability to understand speakers. The first step towards more effective listening comprehension is paying increased attention (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.61). Attention is your focus to the speaker and his/her material and sustaining the focus. Paying long and well enough attention help you to keep these verbal and nonverbal stimuli into your long-term memory. Then you are able to compare the information with new and old materials. Otherwise, information not stored in long term memory will be lost in a second and you are not able to understand the content because you will bot remember it (Tyson 1982). Everyone can increase attention by realizing its importance, avoid common tendency to day dream, fighting the tendency to give in to external and internal distractions, remove distractions if possible or learn to listen over distraction. We have the ability to listen to and understand speech even when there are severe distraction (Moore 1977, p.239). The second step to improve your ability to understand speaker is to understand the nature of non-verbal communication. Nonverbal communication is any communication expressed not in words but in body motion, paralanguage (how something is said), proxemics (the use of space), artifacts (physical objects), or environment (Knapp 1980, p. 4-11). It serves a variety of functions that to repeat, contradict, substitute, complement, accent, or regulate verbal communication (Knapp 1978, p. 38). However, it does not mean nonverbal communication is more important than verbal communication. In case nonverbal communication is contradicted to verbal communication, it does not always the case that nonverbal communication is more reliable. The third step towards more effective listening is to increase your ability to comprehend verbal symbols, or message (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.63). Although it is the speaker’s responsibility to make himself/herself clear and meaningful, communication is a two way process that listener has the same responsibility to understand speaker’s materials. This task can be accomplished by (1) increasing the quality and quantity of your experience, (2) learning to use context as a mean of increasing your understanding, (3) keeping your bias away, (4) controlling any fear of failure, (5) improve your vocabulary (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.63-64), and (6) feedback to confirm your interpretation. The next element that helps to improve effective listening is analysis and evaluation. Once you have attended to and understood the speaker, you are ready to analyze and evaluate the message. Analysis is to examine the message in order to learn what the meanings are. Evaluation is the rendering of judgement on message to decide the value of the message. Both analytical and evaluative functions require you to examine a speaker’s support and reasoning, such as data, conclusion, reasoning process, examples and statistics. Effective listening will benefit as well as those who work with you. It breaks up the barriers between people and can understand each other more. In workplace, effective listening minimize the losses of potential revenues which may result from shipping the wrong products to customers. Or from miscommunication objectives and priorities among staffs. Or even from time lost because of having to re-communicate a second or third time to get things straightened out. To listen effectively, one must be positive, active, prevent affected by blocks we mentioned earlier, paying and sustain enough attention to the speaker, able to analyze after understanding. It is not an easy skill, but it is the most fundamental and powerful skill we need. When someone is willing to stop talking or thinking and begin truly listening to others, all of their interactions become easier, and communication problems are all but eliminated.

Succubus on Top CHAPTER 23

The CPFV meeting didn't get nearly as much press as a hot lesbian affair did, but it still drew a reporter from the Seattle Times, as well as some other media attention. Jody had delivered the speech of a lifetime at the meeting. She'd outlined a fully detailed vision for the CPFV, one that involved dropping the group's current attack on homosexuality. Her plan encouraged outreach to those in need, the same teen mothers and runaways she'd spoken to me about before. Since the CPFV had a national presence, she also wanted the chapters to address local needs in order to have a more meaningful impact and foster a sense of community. Her presentation had been brilliantly thought out and inspiring. The meeting had ended with cheers and applause, as well as a vote that made her the organization's new head. I suspected that, post-ambrosia, she might be a little terrified by what she'd wrought. After all the creative and interesting things she'd done in her life so far, though, I felt confident she could manage. Plus, I had a feeling she'd be happier being involved in some meaningful vocation again after her days in the doldrums as a housebound wife. It occurred to me also that although we might be hellish superstars for our Dana-related actions, Bastien and I hadn't really helped the greater diabolical cause in the end. Really, Dana had been spreading evil and intolerance. Ousting her for Jody had actually brought more good into the world than before. I hoped Jerome never made that connection. He was pretty pleased with me at the moment. The CPFV article was a few days old now, but I kept it on my desk at work because it made me happy during what had otherwise been an unsettling week. Seth hadn't shown at the store at all. â€Å"Did you see that on the Internet?† Doug asked me, noticing the paper. I gave him a blank look. â€Å"Why would I watch something like that?† â€Å"Because it's hot. You're totally missing out.† He sat on the edge of the desk and played with a pen, flipping it in the air. Neither of us were doing the work we should have been. It was just like old times. â€Å"How are you feeling?† I asked. â€Å"Pretty good, I guess.† He knew that I knew about the ambrosia, but he wasn't aware of my role in what had happened. All he knew was that Alec was gone. â€Å"The band's sort of plateaued now. I guess that had to happen. Not having a drummer really doesn't help either.† â€Å"Well, you'll fix that, won't you?† â€Å"Yeah. Just a pain. Gotta have auditions.† He stopped playing with the pen and sighed. â€Å"We were so close, Kincaid. A little bit farther, and we'd have made it.† â€Å"You still will. It'll just take longer. Everything you guys did – that was still you. â€Å" â€Å"Yeah,† he said, not sounding convinced. â€Å"Besides, I'm still your groupie. That's got to count for something, right?† His easy grin returned. â€Å"You bet it does. I think Maddie might be joining your ranks. She won't get out of my apartment.† I laughed. â€Å"Doesn't she have to go back to her job?† â€Å"Womanspeakis run out of Berkeley. She was already telecommuting, so she's just doing more of the same. She says she wants to keep an eye on me.† â€Å"That's sweet.† â€Å"Dude.† Doug gave me a droll look. â€Å"I'm trying to be a rock star, and my sister lives with me. That's not sweet. â€Å" â€Å"Working hard as always, I see,† a smooth voice said. We both looked up from our banter. â€Å"Paige!† I exclaimed delightedly. I would have hugged her, but we'd never exactly had a touchy-feely relationship. Our long-absent manager stood in the doorway. She almost looked casual in loose black slacks and an empire-cut pink maternity blouse. Her stomach had grown even more in the last month, and seeing it made a little fuzzy spot tickle in my chest. I'd been unable to conceive a child while mortal and could not now as an immortal. That knowledge still stung on a personal level, but I never held it against those I knew. I loved pregnant women and babies. I was happy for Paige, happier to see her back and looking well. A smile played on her glossed lips as she took in the two of us. â€Å"Georgina, could you come to Warren's office? We want to talk to you. It won't take long.† â€Å"Sure,† I said standing up. Doug quietly hummed the Jaws theme. Paige, Warren, and I sat down in his office with the door closed. I didn't really think I was in trouble, but being with them like this felt kind of intimidating. Especially since both seemed to be watching me expectantly. â€Å"So,† began Paige, â€Å"we've been looking over all the accounts of what happened while we were gone. We've talked to some people too.† She paused purposefully. â€Å"You've been busy.† I smiled, relaxing. â€Å"It's always busy here. If I wanted a slow store, I'd go down to Foster's.† Warren laughed. â€Å"I heard he offered you a job.† â€Å"Yeah, but don't worry. I'm not going anywhere.† â€Å"That's good,† Paige said crisply, â€Å"because I understand we now have some sort of annual event you've got to plan. Lorelei Biljan sent me e-mail asking to be invited back to next year's Emerald Lit Gala.† â€Å"Fest,† I corrected. â€Å"It's a fest.† â€Å"Whatever. The point is, what you did was remarkable†¦if a little unorthodox. To pull that together so quickly and then turn over such amazing sales stats.† She shook her head. â€Å"It was superhuman.† I squirmed at the adjective. â€Å"It needed to be done.† â€Å"And you did it. Just like you've been doing a number of other remarkable things around here. Things that we're very impressed with.† â€Å"Hey, now,† I said, suddenly uncomfortable with the way they both watched me, â€Å"don't think that was an ordinary day. It was kind of an exception. I can't do that kind of stuff all the time. I was just having a good day, that's all.† â€Å"You've had a lot of good days, Georgina,† Warren spoke up. â€Å"You haven't had a full staff here in weeks. You've come in on your days off. You've run this place when no one else was around to do it. You've handled crisis after crisis – and not just the Fest thing. I'm talking about the whole situation with Doug too.† I sat up straighten â€Å"What are you going to do? You aren't going to fire him, are you? Because it wasn't all him†¦I mean, there were extenuating circumstances. He's better now. He's the best employee you've got.† â€Å"We've spoken to him,† said Paige calmly. â€Å"And he'll stay on for now, although he understands he'll sort of be on probation.† Relief coursed through me. â€Å"Good. That's really good.† â€Å"I'm glad you think so because you'll be the one who's supervising him.† â€Å"I – what?† My train of thought derailed horrifically, and I looked back and forth between their faces, waiting for the punch line. â€Å"This pregnancy is proving more difficult than expected, as you've probably guessed. The baby's healthy, and I'm still on track for a normal delivery, but I need to eliminate certain risk factors. One of them, unfortunately, is working.† I stared. Paige had hired me. She couldn't leave. â€Å"What are you saying?† â€Å"I'm saying that I can't keep working here.† â€Å"But†¦after the baby†¦you could come back, right?† â€Å"I don't know, but I'm not going to put the store on hold while I figure that out. I'm resigning, and we want you to take my place.† â€Å"As manager,† added Warren, like that wasn't perfectly obvious. â€Å"I†¦I don't know what to say.† â€Å"You'd get a salary increase, of course,† she said. â€Å"And then we'd hire someone to fill your old position. You'd take over all of my duties.† I nodded. I knew what her duties were – especially since I'd done them for the last few weeks. They involved more paperwork than sociability, but certainly Paige had worked the floor plenty and interacted with others. The job still involved people, but in a different way. I'd have no peers and no one above me save Warren. It could potentially put a damper on how much I hung out with the staff after work – particularly my goofing off with Doug. The position would entail a whole new set of complications and difficulties. On the other hand, I'd have a lot more freedom and power. Paige planned all of our signings and promotional events, much as I had the Fest. It had been fun. I could do that all the time now. I could experiment with new things. That had appeal – a lot of it. And really, the challenging aspect of it also had its appeal. It would be new and different. I'd lived for centuries, and I knew the dangers of a static lifestyle. I had enough experience and education to take on very prestigious occupations – and I had done so in the past. This time around, I'd chosen a more laid-back job; was I ready to move on now? My decision was made, but when I saw how anxious my silence had made them, I couldn't resist a little teasing. â€Å"Would I get my own office?† They nodded as one, still tense, thinking that was what held me back. â€Å"Oh. Okay. Sold.† I went home that night heady with the knowledge of my new job. I would miss Paige, but the more I thought about it, the more excited I grew about being store manager. Celebration was definitely in order, so I called Hugh and the vampires, and we went out on the town. I had fun with them, but honestly, I wished I could celebrate with someone else. The late night of drinking made me sleep in considerably the next morning. I awoke to Aubrey sprawled across my neck, dangerously close to cutting off my air, in a position only a cat could find comfortable. My clock read noon, and I lay there, warm in the blankets and wondering what I was going to do with myself. The store wasn't open. It was Thanksgiving. My phone rang. I rolled over and grappled for it, just barely avoiding getting Aubrey's claws in my jugular. I stared at Seth's name on the caller ID as if it had magical powers. Taking a deep breath, I answered. â€Å"Happy birthday,† I said, trying to sound cheerful and not utterly petrified. There was a pause and then a small, surprised chuckle. I hadn't known what to expect when he and I finally resumed contact after last week's drama, but his laughter hadn't been a contender. Unless it was bitter laughter while my heart bled onto the floor and I begged for forgiveness. â€Å"Thanks,† he said, his voice sobering a little. â€Å"But, uh, I don't believe you.† â€Å"Believe me what?† â€Å"That you want me to have a happy birthday.† â€Å"I just said I did.† There was a long silence. My anxiety grew with every passing second. â€Å"If you wanted me to have a happy birthday, you'd come over to my party. â€Å" â€Å"Your party,† I repeated flatly. â€Å"Yeah, remember? Andrea invited you?† I remembered. I'd been thinking about it every day this week. â€Å"I didn't think I was still invited.† I hesitated, heart aching. â€Å"I didn't think you'd want me there.† â€Å"Well, I do. So hurry up. You're late.† We hung up, and I just sat there. Seth had called at last. And he wanted to see me. Now. What was going to happen? What should I do? I looked at Aubrey and sighed. â€Å"Guess I should have kept that last pack of ambrosia, huh?†

Mystuf

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE STUDENT INFORMATION MEETING JANUARY 18, 2010, 6:45 P. M. THEATRE I. What is the International Baccalaureate (IB and Pre-IB) II. What is the Nature of the IB Programme? III. The Six Major Areas of Study in the IB and Pre-IB Programmes: Courses Offered at Richmond High IV. Details of the Curriculum V. Choosing and Selecting a Diploma VI. Possible Diploma Options: Examples VII. Why do IB? VIII. What do Students Learn, and What Leads to Success? IX. How do Colleges and Universities Recognize IB Courses and the IB Diploma X. Some Facts and Common Sense Ideas About the IB ProgrammeIBO mission statement The International Baccalaureate Organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the IBO works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigoro us assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. RHS mission statementWe strive to do our best by creating an inclusive learning community through supporting and caring for one another. IB LEARNER PROFILE The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. IB learners strive to be: INQUIRERS: They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.KNOWLEDGEABLE:They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding acro ss a broad and balanced range of disciplines. THINKERS:They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions. COMMUNICATORS:They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with thers. PRINCIPLED:They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them. OPEN-MINDED:They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.CARING:Th ey show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment. RISK-TAKERS:They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs. BALANCED:They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.REFLECTIVE:They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development. I. What is the International Baccalaureate (IB)? †¢ The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) is a rigorous preuniversity programme leading to assessment in six subject areas. †¢ Established in 1968, the IB offers a challenging curriculum noted for its depth and international perspective. †¢ The two-year IB Diploma provides a coherent and demanding educational experience across the full curriculum. Beyond completing college-level courses and examinations, IB students are also required to engage in community service (CAS), individual research (EE), and inquiry into the nature of knowledge (TOK). †¢ The IB Diploma is accepted as an admission credential at universities in 106 countries. †¢ In addition, high scores on IB exams often entitle students to credit or placement at university. In some cases students will get first year credit. †¢ The International Baccalaureate (IB) offers high quality programmes of international education to a worldwide community of schools.There are more than 758,000 IB students at 2,750 schools in 138 countries. II. What is the nature of the IB programme? a. Has the strengths of a traditional and broad c urriculum. b. Three important additional features: 1. Theory of Knowledge (TOK): is an interdisciplinary requirement intended to stimulate critical reflection on the knowledge and experience gained inside and outside the classroom. The course challenges students to question the bases of knowledge, to be aware of subjective and ideological biases and to develop the ability to analyze evidence that is expressed in rational argument.TOK  is a key element in encouraging students to appreciate other cultural perspectives. 2. Creativity, action, service (CAS): The IBO’s goal is to educate the whole person and foster responsible, compassionate citizens. The CAS programme encourages students to share their energy and special talents with others. Students may, for example, participate in theatre or musical productions, sports and community service activities. 3. An extended essay of 4,000 words: Each student has the opportunity to investigate a topic of special interest.The essay re quirement acquaints diploma candidates with the kind of independent research and writing skills expected by universities. The IB Programme leads (to): †¢ interdisciplinary learning †¢ critical reflection †¢ questioning the bases of knowledge †¢ students to an appreciation of other cultural perspectives †¢ an education of the whole person (CAS) †¢ sharing energy and special talents with others †¢ independent research †¢ the demanding writing skills expected by universities III. SIX MAJOR AREAS OF STUDY IN THE IB PROGRAMME: COURSES OFFERED AT RICHMOND HIGH Group 1: Language A1 English A1 (HL) and English A1 (SL) †¢ Several Self-Taught (ST) Languages: Spanish, Yoruba, Chinese, Russian, etc. If a student is fluent (speaking and writing) in a language other than English, she may take a self-taught language. Group 2: Language B †¢ French B (SL) and French B (HL) †¢ Japanese B (SL) and Japanese B (HL) †¢ Mandarin B (SL) and Mandar in B (HL) †¢ Spanish B (SL) and Spanish B (HL) Group 3: Individuals and Societies †¢ Geography (HL) and Geography (SL) †¢ History (of the Americas) (HL) †¢Business and Management (HL and SL) †¢ ITGS (HL, SL) (Pre-requisite: IT 10)Group 4: Experimental Sciences †¢ Biology (HL) and Biology (SL) †¢ Chemistry (HL) and Chemistry (SL) †¢ Physics (SL) Group 5: Mathematics †¢ Mathematical Studies (SL) †¢ Mathematics (SL) †¢ Mathematics (HL) Group 6: The Arts and Electives †¢ Music (SL) and (HL) †¢ Theatre Arts (HL) and Theatre Arts (SL) †¢ Visual Arts (HL) and Visual Arts (SL) IV. DETAILS OF THE CURRICULUM The International Baccalaureate programme consists of courses in six major areas of study. Each course may be offered at the I. Standard level (SL), which involves approximately 200 hours of instruction, r at the II. Higher level (HL), which involves approximately 300 hours of instruction. Universities give credit and/o r placement for HL courses. An HL course is the equivalent of a first year university course. Many of our students get credit/placement for 3 HL courses. Each course credit is worth approximately $700-$800. Upon completion of any individual course the student receives a certificate from IBO and the course is recorded on the provincial graduation certificate with the special designation â€Å"IB†. V. CHOOSING/SELECTING A DIPLOMA In selecting a diploma a student must select a course from each of the six course groups. †¢ The only exception to this is that Group 6 may be skipped, and a second course from any of the other Groups may be chosen instead. †¢ A student may take as many as 4 HL courses, but no fewer than 3. †¢ A student may take as many as 3 SL courses, but no fewer than 2. VI. Programme Options: a. ONE DIPLOMA OPTION English A1 (HL) History (HL) Chemistry (HL) Math Methods (SL) French B (SL) Physics (SL) Extra: Biology (SL) b. ANOTHER DIPLOMA OPTION Man darin B (HL) History (HL) Chemistry (HL)English A1 (SL) Physics (SL) Math Methods (SL) c. ANOTHER DIPLOMA OPTION English A1 (HL) French B(HL) History (HL) Theatre (HL) Biology (SL) Math Studies (SL) d. ANOTHER DIPLOMA OPTION Geography (HL) Biology (HL) Visual Arts (HL) Spanish B (SL) Math Methods (SL) English A1 (SL) e. ANOTHER DIPLOMA OPTION English A1 (HL) Visual Arts (HL) Geography (HL) Spanish ST (SL) Math Studies (SL) Biology (SL) f. ANOTHER DIPLOMA OPTION Mandarin B (HL) Mathematics (HL) English A1 (HL) Geography (HL) Physics (SL) Biology (SL) Extra:ITGS (SL) VII. Why Do IB? A. A High Level of RecognitionUniversities in 102 countries welcome IB Diplomas as well as individual courses for admission, placement, and credit purposes. Individual IB courses are recognized as signifying a student’s rigorous preparation in an academic discipline; the IB Diploma signifies such preparation in all six academic disciplines, service to community, and development of an international p erspective. B. Fair and balance Assessment Using International Standards IB assessment is of many types, occurs several times over the usual two-year duration of IB courses, and includes the classroom teacher as a partner.IB students’ work is assessed by several examiners whose assessments are carefully moderated by an international examining board. IB teachers receive detailed formal feedback on every aspect of their students’ IB assessment each year. C. A Remarkable Degree of Flexibility IB curricula and examinations are available in IBO’s three official languages of English, Spanish, and French. The IB Diploma offers schools a wide variety of courses, teachers a wide choice of topics, and students a wide variety of assessments and areas of specialization. D. Commitment to Authorized SchoolsSchools must undergo an exhaustive application process for authorization to offer courses. Once authorized, schools are required to participate in IB professional developme nt on a regular basis and to be reviewed every five years by the appropriate regional IBO office. VIII. What do students learn, and what leads to success? †¢ self-awareness †¢ self-understanding †¢ self-regulation †¢ personal decision making †¢ managing feelings †¢ handling stress †¢ empathy †¢ communication/participation †¢ personal and social responsibility †¢ group dynamics †¢ conflict resolution individual growth †¢ world citizenship †¢ self-esteem †¢ moral responsibility †¢ self-reflection †¢ personal self-evaluation WHICH LEADS TO †¢ focus/concentration †¢ resourcefulness †¢ flexibility †¢ interest in process and results †¢ pace/steadiness †¢ responsibility/hard work AND †¢ writing skills †¢ thinking skills †¢ oral skills †¢ time-management skills AND †¢ marks IX. How do Colleges and Universities Recognize International Baccalaureate Courses an d the IB Diploma? †¢ IB has largely succeeded in its goal to be a universally recognized admissions credential. Specific agreements are in place with ministries of education and universities in 104 countries that recognize the IB Diploma as a valid means of earning entry to postsecondary study. †¢ The IB Diploma is increasingly being viewed as a strong indicator of academic promise and achievement. †¢ IB students often have an advantage in the admissions process at selective universities. †¢ In addition, IB courses and exams are recognized for the purpose of advanced credit and/or placement at over 900 North American colleges and universities. In fact, over a 100 postsecondary institutions now grant a full year of credit to students who have earned an IB Diploma. For a directory university recognition and policies, please use the following link: http://www. ibo. org/diploma/recognition/directory/index. cfm X. SOME FACTS/COMMON SENSE IDEAS ABOUT THE IB PROGRAMME à ¢â‚¬ ¢ There are three programmes, which are structured as follows: 1. Primary Years Programme:K-Grade 5 2. Middle Years Programme:Grade 6-Grade 10 3. Diploma Programme:Grade 11-Grade 12 †¢ Each of these programmes is an integrated programme. Thus the IB Diploma Programme is an integrated two year programme. A student taking the IB must complete the two years in it, if the student is to get IB credit for a course or for the complete programme. †¢ The IB programme is recognized by the vast majority of North American/world universities. †¢ The IB Diploma score is recognized for admission and entrance to all B. C. universities/most Canadian universities/most American universities. †¢ IB courses are evaluated on a 1-7 scale. Thus, a 7 represents the equivalent of a middle to a high A (90%-100%). †¢ A top score on a Diploma is 45 points.Last year, worldwide, there were well over 20000 diplomas. Approximately 50 of these achieved a perfect 45 points. †¢ A stu dent must achieve a minimum of 24 points to get a diploma. Also, a student must average a score of 4 in his HL courses. THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE AND UBC International Baccalaureate Diploma Students For students who complete the IB Diploma, admission to the university will require a minimum of 24 points, including bonus points. Students who are on a full Diploma programme will get early admission to UBC on the basis of predicted IB scores.IB Diploma students, and IB Certificate students will qualify for Government scholarships on the basis of IB Diploma/Certificate scores. UBC uses an equivalency scale to award a percentage grade based on IB scores. The following grid establishes the equivalency scale: IB Diploma Admission Average Scale Points% 2467 2570 2673 2776 2880 2984 3088 3190 3292 3393 3494 3595 3695 3796 3897 3998 4098 4199 4299. 9 4399. 9 4499. 9 4599. 9 A Diploma student with a predicted score of 30 points will get early admission to SFU. 32 points will provide earl y admission to UBC. International Baccalaureate Certificate StudentsFor students who present results for one or more Higher Level International Baccalaureate certificate courses, admission will be based on the higher of either the school grade or the IB score on equivalent courses. The grade conversion scale that will be used to determine admission is as follows: IBHL Grade% Equivalent 796 690 586 476 370 Credit for equivalent first-year UBC courses will be awarded to students who achieve a grade of at least 5 in Higher Level IB Arts courses, and 6 in Higher Level Science courses. UBC also grants credit for Physics SL. Details are provided in the Undergraduate Information Guide.EARLY ACCEPTANCE SFU, UBC, and UVic give early acceptance, to Diploma holders, on the following basis: 32 point Diploma:$3500 (SFU) 34 point Diploma: $5000 (SFU) UBC will be granting scholarships in 2010 when students get a letter of acceptance to the university. Scholarship money will begin to be offered (mo st likely) at the 33 point level. IBO mission statement The International Baccalaureate Organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.To this end the IBO works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. RHS mission statement We strive to do our best by creating an inclusive learning community through supporting and caring for one another. RHS CORE VALUES These core values were developed through student and staff focus groups.At Richmond High, we endeavour to live by these values. Value 1We value the traditions that recognize, promote, and encourage all members of the RSS co mmunity to feel pride in what they do (e. g. ) academic excellence, artistic expression, technical excellence, athletic achievement, multiculturalism, community involvement, staff cohesiveness, school spirit, school logo and colours. Value 2We value communication among all members of the RSS community that is based on honesty, equality, integrity and mutual respect.Value 3We value an environment where all members of the RSS community feel safe physically, emotionally, intellectually and socially. Value 4We celebrate the differences among people and promote harmony and equality among members of the RSS community. Value 5We value opportunities for all students to be challenged, to excel and succeed at RSS. Value 6We value the diversity of student learning styles, and recognize that a positive environment enhances learning, and that course content must be made relevant to our students. SCHOOL GOALS These school goals were developed by our School Planning Council.Goal 1Social Responsibi lity To continue and further develop a school community where students are involved as leaders, motivators, and mentors and where they are openly looking after, being responsible for, and making positive connections with one another. Goal 2Literacy To improve and emphasize reading skills which are grade specific and applicable in all subjects. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF DOING AN IB DIPLOMA? †¢ IB diploma students qualify for early admission on the basis of IB Diploma points at both UBC (32 points) and SFU (30 points).They also qualify for early admission to other provincial, national, and international universities. †¢ IB Diploma students are in a strong position to get scholarships. A student with 36 points (actual points as confirmed by the exams) is guaranteed to get a scholarship at UBC ($4,000); 32 points gives the students $2000, and 30 points $500. At SFU, 34 points will ensure a $5000 scholarship. †¢ IB Diploma students can get B C Government scholarships on the basis of IB Diploma scores. †¢ IB Diploma applicants have their applications reviewed several times. Less tuition needs to be paid (as long as students meet faculty requirements). †¢ IB Diploma students are treated like scholarship students: they are fast tracked. †¢ Conversion/equivalency has not changed, eg. 32 points is the equivalent of 92% average. †¢ It is easier for a student to achieve 32 points than it is for her to achieve a 92% average. †¢ â€Å"I just hope that when people ask an IB student to explain the differences between the regular provincial program and the IB program, he/she can name the most important aspects: time management skills, analytical skills† (Ricky Pak). In addition to what Ricky says, all representatives mentioned the fact that IB Diploma students have superior research and writing skills, and oral skills. †¢ IB Diploma students have the highest retention rates (in other words, fewer students quit during first yea r) at university(in both the US and Canada). †¢ â€Å"IB students who registered directly into 2nd year courses scored an average of 7% to 12% higher than their classmates. † (From UBC brochure about the IB Diploma) †¢ IB Diploma students may qualify for Broadbased Admission (UBC)/Diverse Qualifications (SFU). GPA based on an IB Diploma is sounder because of the solid academic load; there is no â€Å"fluff† in IB. †¢ An IB Diploma recipient will be in the top 10% of his/her graduating class (High School percentile rank). †¢ Admission Officers at universities know of the high academic quality of IB Diploma graduates. †¢ IB’s examination requirements and assessment procedures validate the integrity of student’s performance; there is less of a need to rely on SAT scores. †¢ The Extended Essay and the TOK essays validate the writing and research skills of IB candidates. Participation in an IB Diploma demonstrates that students ac cept rigorous academic challenges. †¢ Participation in the IB strengthens a student’s confidence, social sophistication, grace, and poise. †¢ CAS provides evidence of the student’s commitment to physical activity, service to the community, and personal creativity. †¢ The IB Diploma assists the student in developing time management, goal setting, and other organizational skills. †¢ Diploma students can get first year credit for up to five courses (at $700 a course, a student could save up to $3500).UVic gives students credit for first year if a student has a 28 point Diploma. †¢ Beginning September 2009, SFU will be granting 30 credits to IB Diploma students who have achieved nothing lower than a 4 in their May IB exams. †¢ Achievement across a range is still thought to be a better indicator of longer term success than A grades in three or four chosen subjects. †¢ Oxford and Cambridge start making offers to IB Diplomas at 38 points. â € ¢ â€Å"I am glad that I chose to pursue and â€Å"stay† in IB diploma. I felt a bit proud for not giving up and writing countless BIG essays! † (IB Diploma Graduate, 2002) ———————–The English programme is international. The perspective of the curriculum is global rather than local. Consequently, students study literature from other continents and languages as they develop their understanding of a literary theme and analyze historical events from a broad geographical perspective. The intention is not only to broaden the student's base of knowledge but also to promote a sense of the universality of learning. This sense of the universality of learning is addressed, in as far as it is possible, in every single course, but particularly so in the TOK and the Language A (English) courses.