Learning English Essay Example for Free

Learning English Essay Life long learning is the concept that it is never too soon or too late for learning. Lifelong learning is attitudinished that one should be open to the new ideas, decisions, skills or behaviours. English is neccessity of life and the same as lifelong learning when you want to live in the real world; English is very important and neccessity in your life. For example, when I was young I could not speak any language and then after I grew up my parents, my teachers; they tried to teach Thai language to me because they knew if I cannot understand Thai language it would be very difficult to live with another people when I grew up where I studied my teacher taught English to our students because he knew English is very important in the world, but I did not know why at that time I did not study hard. Sometime, English was boring; this is the reason why I did not have interest to study it, perhaps I think, I am lazy and it is not good for me. English is important key to success. If you want to do anything in the world such as, to study, to do your business, to make a new friends, to go aboard etc. Especially when you go aboard to study another course. It is teach in English and then when you graduate and want to get a good job, it is very important for you to do anything in your business. You can use it to make new friends from all over the countrys in the world for your business. It has an adventure over than somebody cannot use English. Your business has a good chance for your success. The real world has a lot of business competitors if you cannot use English maybe you get someone who want to do business with you and may decieve you and then your business may fail or bankrupt. Whatever English enlightens us about how to succeed in the real world eventually I want to study English, but according to my chance when I live in India. My disere is simutnious about studying English and to write research proposal an apply to study in some course at the university because i will hope it would be good for me to improve my English and I will finish maybe it has been good. When I have finished. I will get a good job and I can communicate or contact with foriegners who give a good chance and good work for me. Though I will achieve good things or bad experiences but I think, English is meaningful and worthwhile to study. I will want to study all the time, it cannot stop to learn probably if i will study for a long time, it will help me to succeed in anything. I am hopeful it can improve my life although it is very difficult and very complicated for me, but I will want to try and study. It  has worthiness or worthless it depends on you. If you think and do in the right way it is good for you and anybody, but on the other hand it is good for you only and then it can destroy someone.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Ernest Hemingway probably summed it up best when he said, All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn (source). We’re dealing with quite a book here. Published in 1885, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain’s follow-up to the Adventures of Tom Sawyer, carved new territory into the American literary landscape in several ways. As one of the first novels to use a specific region’s vernacular in its narration, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn set a precedent for many other distinctly American works to follow. Some readers didn’t exactly get this new colloquial style, however. Accustomed to the proper prose of Hawthorne, Thoreau, and Emerson, some readers didn’t know what to do with Huck’s particular way of storytelling. Aside from the novel’s new style of writing, Twain’s decision to use thirteen-year-old Huck as the narrator allowed him to include certain content that a more civilized narrator probably would have left out. At first, Twain’s novel was labeled crass by some readers. The book was even banned in schools for its use of the n-word which is ironic, given that the novel is up in arms over slavery. Even today, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn makes Banned Books lists. Look more:Â  social satire essay Twain’s novel jumped head first into one of the biggest issues of its day: racism. Although the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed over two decades before Huckleberry Finn’s original publication date, African-Americans everywhere were still victims of oppression and racism. They were technically free, but often by name only in Reconstruction-era America. Many southerners were bitter about the outcome of the Civil War. By guiding his characters through several states of the Confederacy, Twain was able to reveal the hypocrisy of many pre-war southern communities. As a southerner himself, Twain had first-hand experiences to draw on, and he was able to walk the fine line between realistic depiction and ironic farce. Not to mention, Twain created the now-iconic character of Jim, a runaway slave who convinces Huck that African-Americans are deserving of freedom, and that equality is a goal for which we all should be fighting. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is now considered to be one of the Great American Novels, mostly due to how it so heartily champions the American ideals of freedom, independence, and rugged individualism. Huck’s dedication to his own moral standards and his bold sense of adventure and self-sufficiency have earned him a place in the All-American Hall of Fame. In addition, Twain is a hilarious storyteller, and the plot of this novel is a roller-coaster ride of moral dilemmas – so trust us when we say that if you haven’t taken the ride yet, you probably should. Why Should I Care? Mark Twain wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn twenty years after the American Civil War. Slavery had been abolished, and the North and South were making up (albeit with some residual anger). So why publish a highly moralistic tale about a system that was no longer in place? Weren’t race issues a moot point once slavery was out of the picture? Hardly. Freedom didn’t mean equality by any means – not legally, socially, or practically. (See Shmoop Historys Jim Crow in America for more.) Actually, come to think of it, this isn’t an outdated notion at all. Rules and laws often don’t accurately reflect what’s really going on. From a legal standpoint today, we have equality of race; yet racism is still a problem. Men and women are equal, yet many still see a glass ceiling for women in the workplace, meaning they often have invisible boundaries to advancement. That doesn’t mean laws are useless. Laws may not immediately effect change, but we’ve seen that they do precede change. While laws can affect how people act, it takes more to change the way we think. We can’t rely on laws alone. That’s where The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn comes back into the picture. We need people like Mark Twain to remind us not to be self-congratulatory for starting a process in motion, but instead to realize that greater change is always necessary.

The definition of value action gap

The definition of value action gap Value-action Gap The value-action gap is a term used to describe the gap that can occur when the values or attitudes of an individual do not correlate to their actions. More generally, it is the difference between what people say and what people do. This discrepancy is most associated within environmental geography, as usually attitudes affect behavior; however the opposite often seems to be the case with regard to environmental attitudes and behaviors (Blake 1999; Barr 2004). The outcome is that there is a disparity between the value placed on the natural environment and the level of action taken by individuals to counter environmental problems. This has been termed the ‘value-action gap, or occasionally, it is referred to as the ‘attitude-behavior gap (Kollmuss and Agyeman 2002). Debates surrounding the issue of the value-action gap have mainly taken place within environmental and social psychology. Research is often based within cognitive theories of how attitudes are formed and how this affects individuals behavior (Blake 1999). This aims to explain why those with a high regard for environmental issues do not translate this into their behavior. The research suggests that there are many internal and external factors that affect behavior and the reasons behind consumer choices. Therefore, it can be difficult to identify the exact reasons for why this gap exists. When purchasing a product for example, many attributes are assessed when making decisions and these affect the reasons behind buying behavior such as; price, quality, convenience, and brand familiarity (Dickson 2001). Therefore, environmental or ethical considerations are often not taken into account, regardless of attitudes people have regarding the environment. Therefore, it is not a change in attitudes that is required, but a fundamental shift in behavior towards the environment and individuals use of natural resources, to ensure sustainable development and conservation of the environment. The rest of the page will outline the usage of the term in the literature, and examples in various studies. The final part will summarize the key debates surrounding why a value-action gap exists, starting with the most influential. 1. Development of the term: Summary: Theories regarding reasoned action state how attitudes shape and influence behavioral intention, which in term shape actions. The theory of reasoned action states that behavioral intention is dependent on attitudes surrounding that behavior and social norms (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975).   This means that a person acts or behaves in a way that correlates to their attitudes towards that behavior. Therefore, a persons voluntary behavior can be predicted by his/her attitudes and values on that behavior (Kaiser et al 1999). Homer and Kahle (1988) argue that attitudes influence behaviors and therefore values can explain the reasons behind human behavior. However, the opposite appears to be the case for certain actions, especially those related to environmental or ethical actions. In recent decades, public support for environmental protection measures has grown and, according to Barr (2004), there has also been a growing interest in ethical consumption. This has been fuelled by pressure groups, consumer groups, and even businesses (Young et al 2010).Furthermore, increased media coverage of environmental disasters and social problems has also resulted in a heightened concern of such issues. This was given a political boost by the publication of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change (Stern 2006). Therefore, people are more aware of environmental issues, such as global warming or climate change. It is often reported that many people have a high concern for environmental issues and ethical consumption, for example, Dunlap (2002) used survey date which states that 54% of Americans agreed environmental protection was a key priority, even if economic growth was restricted. Furthermore, Banerjee and Solomon (2003) also argue that the general support for Ecolabels and ethical foods is high among the US public. With these studies in mine, it is expected that there would be an increase in pro-environmental behavior, such as recycling, or limiting energy usage (Flynn et al 2010). However, these positive attitudes have not translated into a large increase these behaviors and ethical consumption is still relatively low (Aguiar et al 2009). Thus, attitudes are not always a clear prediction of behavior, resulting in the ‘value-action gap. This is shown within the market share for ethical goods, which is low in comparison to other goods. According to Young et al (2010) the market share of ethical foods is only 5% of total food sales in the UK. Even well known, high-profile ethical products still have a small percentage of the market share. Ronchi (2006) reports that the global sales of Fairtrade were over US$83 million in 2003, yet the total value of Fairtrade sales accounts for little over 0.01% of global trade. Thus, consumers buying behavior does not reflect their positive attitudes towar d ethical products (De Pelsmacker et al 2006). This means that other factors are more significant that values relating to the environment. This environmental value-action gap is of key importance to environmental policy, as it is prevalent across scales, and finding ways to overcome it should increase the effectiveness of policies. 2. Application (Further explanation and examples): Even though many support ethical trade in principle, this is often not taken into consideration as a purchase criterion. Cohen and Murphy (2001) argue that for around 40% of consumers the environmental friendliness of a product will never be a factor in purchasing decisions regardless of positive attitudes towards ethical consumption. There are many studies which support the existence of a value-action gap. Mostly these can be found within the field of environmental geography. Lane and Potter (2007) found a discrepancy between attitudes and behavior regarding the adoption of cleaner vehicles. They reported that concern for the environmental impact of cars did not result in behavioral changes at the individual level. Thus, what consumers reported as their intended actions or concerns often did not translate into their actual behavior. Furthermore, Vermeir and Verbeke (2006) also found that positive consumer attitudes towards sustainability were not consistent with their behavioral patterns. They found that even when attitudes were positive towards sustainable dairy products, intentions to buy these products was low. They also found that peoples perceptions of the availability of sustainable dairy products was low, which might explain why intentions to buy was low.   Additionally, evidence of this gap has been found with organic food as illustrated by Hughner et al (2007) who show that despite 46-67% of the population expressing favorable attitudes for organic food, the actual purchase behavior is only 4-10% of different product ranges. 3. Key debates: The main debates surrounding the issue of the value action gap are described below: Factors that affect behavior: The key issue is why our attitudes often fail to materialize into concrete actions (Barr 2004). There are many factors that lead to an individuals behavior, and therefore it is not just personal values that affect behavior.   Peoples values are not fixed and are negotiated, and sometimes, contradictory. Cognitive factors alone will not adequately explain environmental action (Chung and Leung 2007). The decision-making process is hard to predict as positive attitudes are not followed by positive intentions. Attitudes alone are a poor predictor of intentional behavior as there are many more factors that influence pro-environmental behavior (Kollmuss and Agyeman 2002). In models of behavior, information generates knowledge, which then shapes attitudes, leading to behavior. However, what shapes behavior is a complex process. The result is that attitudes are not necessarily a clear determinant of behavior. Blake (1999) argues that the relationship between attitudes and behaviors is moderated by the structure of personal attitudes themselves; and external or situational constraints. He argues that if attitudes are based on direct experience then they are more likely to be predictors of behavior and behaviors often result from social norms. External or situational constraints refer to restrictions outside the individuals control, such as economic of political factors. Young et al (2010) argue point out that the gap can be due to â€Å"brand strength; culture, finance; habit; lack of information; lifestyles; personalities; or, trading off between different ethical factors† (p22). Moreover, time or convenience can often be the major determinant of consumer behavior, and therefore the value-action gap in understandable for environmental and ethical products. Vermeir and Verbeke (2006) argue that consumers are passive with regard to sustainable consumption, and work within their budget rather than following their values. Furthermore, behavior is often based on habit and therefore values concerning the environment are usually not taken into consideration. People act impulsively and in ways that do not correspond to their declared evaluations and goals (Boulstridge and Carrigan, (2000). Therefore, this can account for the low market share of sustainable products (Minteer et al 2004). There are also many different theories regarding how consumers make decisions. These can be applied to try and explain why there is a value-action gap for some behaviors. For example, microeconomic theory (consumer theory) states that, â€Å"humans make decisions that maximize their utility† (Sammer and Wà ¼stenhagen 2006:188). Therefore, if buying ethical or environmental products does not maximize their utility then they will not purchase them, regardless of their attitudes towards these issues. Making these decisions requires a comparison of the costs and benefits of alternative actions, rather than about certain values, within their budgetary constraint. This means other factors, such as price or quality, are still more important. Moreover, Chatzidakis et al (2007) argue that consumers use neutralization techniques to justify pursuing their more selfish goals instead of purchasing environmental friendly or ethical products. Therefore, environmental values are usually less dominant in the decision-making. Thus, the main motivations for actions are self-interest rather than altruistic (McEachern and McClean 2002). Therefore, Ajzen and Fishbein (1975) point out that in order to find a high correlation between values and actions, the researcher has to measure the attitude toward that particular behavior. (The factors involved in making people willing to reduce environmental damage are fundamentally different from the factors involved in making people take active steps to reduce damage and to improve the environment.) Information deficit: One key explanation for the discrepancy between attitudes and buying behavior is the lack of information on certain issues (Dickson 2000). This is considered a significant barrier to ethical behavior. The most effective means to overcome the value-action gap is to translate environmental concern into pro-environmental behavior. Many argue this can be achieved by increasing information. Blake (1999) identifies that the core assumption regarding the value-action gap is that the main barrier between environmental concern and action is the lack of appropriate information. Eden (1996) argues that polices fail to understand the gap between information and action. She argues that understanding of issues creates awareness and it is this understanding that is the cause of behavior.   Hence, it is often considered that one of the most effective ways to encourage pro-environmental behavior is to highlight important facts around the issues. Environmental education is one way in which these environmental messages can be delivered, and therefore filling the value-action gap with information should help to change public behaviors (Gale 2008, Burgess et al., 1998). Furthermore, Owens (2000: 1142) argues that â€Å"if people had more information about environmental risks, they would become more virtuous†. Traditional thinking supported this idea that increased knowledge tended to encourage favorable attitudes which, in turn, lead to pro-environmental action. Burgess et al (1998) called this the ‘information deficit model. Many Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) still base their campaigns around increasing awareness, on the assumption that this will led to action (Kollmuss and Agyeman 2002). Some argue that to increase environmental action there needs to be educational marketing campaigns on the ethical and environmental issues to change peoples attitudes towards these issues, and thus change their behavior (McEachern and McClean 2002). Many environmental policies are based around this ‘information deficit model as policy-makers assume that environmental education will lead people to act in order to meet policy objectives (Blake 1999). Owens (2000) points out that governments often aim to encourage action by increasing awareness and knowledge about certain issues. For ex ample the UK governments ‘Are You Doing Your Bit? campaign which was launched in 1998 aimed to develop public understanding of sustainable development, and thus, to encourage a change in behavior of individuals. However, the effect of increasing information on behavioral change is debatable. Different people will respond and interpret the same environmental information in various ways and sometimes it is interpreted in an opposite way to what is expected (Myers Macnaghten, 1998). Barr and Gilg (2002) argue that just increasing information will not lead to a behavior change that would close this gap, and information-intensive campaigns are likely to be unproductive. Due to the increased media attention surrounding environmental issues, and products such as Fairtrade having a high profile, it could be argued that there is already a lot of information on these issues, and it is considered that in the West, general awareness on environmental issues is high (Thornton 2009). Sammer and Wà ¼stenhagen (2006) point out that while people may be aware of ethical and environmental issues, this does not necessarily mean that it plays a major role in their actions. The result is that overall environmentally responsible behavior is low. These findings suggest that the value-action gap cannot be overcome simply by using an information deficit model of individual participation. Increasing information does not itself guarantee action at the individual level and information campaigns around raising awareness are not are effective as some may suppose (Jackson 2005). Even if values are high few people take environmental actions which involve changes to their lifestyle and often environmental actions that are taken are unrelated to particular concerns an individual may have.   This relates to broader issues surrounding methods of environmental governance. The value-action gap can be considered evidence against the use of non-state market driven (NSMD) form of governance which rely on consumers to create change.   If our attitudes are not translating into behavior then these methods are essentially flawed. This would suggest that other methods are more appropriate to encourage environmental action, such as regulation and economic incentives (taxes and grants)   (Retallack et al 2007) Attempts by government to affect public behavior have traditionally been based on providing knowledge through big publicity campaigns and changing behavior through Barriers to behavior: It is widely considered that there are many other barriers, besides a lack of information, which inhibit ethical behavior causing a value-action gap to exist. Numerous barriers can constrain motivations for action. Jackson (2005) uses the concept of ‘bounded rationality to explain how, even when individuals are pursuing utility, their decision making processes are ‘bounded by psychological and environmental constraints. Blake (1999) points out that various models of behavior are flawed in that they fail to take into consideration the social, individual and institutional constraints. Various conditions, institutions and personal day-to-day responsibilities constrain actions that can be regarded as ethical (Myers Macnaghten, 1998). Thus the cause of the value-action gap can be explained in terms of personal, social and structural barriers to action. Blake identifies that this gap is filled with barriers that block the progress from values to action. In his model, action is blocked by many factors intruding into the process, rather than just a lack of information. Moreover, barriers often overlap and are combined which limits behavioral change. Blake (1999) identifies three different categories of obstacles that exist between the sphere of concern and that of action: individuality; responsibility and practicality. However, which factors are important will vary for different individuals and environmental actions. * Individual barriers refer to environmental concerns being outweighed by other conflicting attitudes. People may perceive themselves as the wrong type of person to carry out ethical actions. * Responsibility barriers refers to the idea that people may not act despite supporting environmental action, because they believe it is not their responsibility to help solve environmental problems. Jackson (2005) identifies that the acceptance of personal responsibility for ones actions and an awareness of their consequences is the basis for the intention to perform a pro-environmental or pro-social behavior. ( Lack of trust) * Finally, practical constraints prevent people from adopting pro-environmental action, regardless of their attitudes or intentions. These include lack of time, money, physical storage space (in the case of recycling), as well as lack of information, encouragement and pro-environmental facilities such as recycling and adequate public transport provision. Some people may also be physically unable to carry out some environmental actions. There will be some overlaps between different barriers and the reasons why people do not engage in pro-environmental action. Therefore, Blake argues that policies need to tackle these barriers, not just provide more information or recycling facilities. Retallack et al (2007) also identifies other barriers such as uncertainty, skepticism about the issue and distrust of national governments and organizations. organizations that are trusted more by the public, such as environmental NGOs, are likely to be most successful. Attitude-Behaviour-Constraint (ABC) Model of Paul Stern (2000) Market-based mechanisms. Solutions: Criticism: * 4 See also Attitudes, behavior, cognitive psychology, social psychology, theory of planned behavior, social marketing Commentary: I chose this topic because the gap between attitudes and behaviors is something that really interests me.   I find it interesting that people can have values on something but then not act upon them. This is something I wanted to explore further, and try to tease out what the barriers to action were, leading to a value-action gap. The term value-action gap did not have a page so   I thought it was appropriate to create one, furthermore there is very little on the whole of Wikipedia on this topic as other key terms, such as the ‘information-deficit model did not have a page. However, this also made it more difficult writing my own page as I could not hyperlink these terms, meaning I had to add more explanation. I created the page by adding a short summary on the value-action gap, then going into a more detailed explanation of the term. The article then goes on to explore some of the key debates surrounding the issue. Both for and against arguments are explored in order to maintain neutrality to the page. Therefore, writing neutral while still being critical.   I followed the structure of other pages relating to environmental geography to ensure coherence within Wikipedia. The three schools of thought start with the earliest/most influential. In comparison to the length of other essays written this year, I found this assignment difficult due to the limited space allocated to explore the topic. This meant that some points were not as detailed as I would have liked and there were other points I would have liked to have included.   Therefore, I chose to narrow to page down to a few detailed points and focus on a specific topic. I wanted to ensure the individual sections were not too long as on Wikipedia many articles are split into quite small sections. Also due to the layout of the website, even 500 words can look like a lot. The phrase ‘value-action gap is rarely a topic itself in the literature, therefore writing a neutral page explaining the term was difficult. I wanted to make sure that anyone could understand it, even if they had to prior knowledge to environmental issues. The idea of the value-action gap is also something that can potentially affect everyone, and therefore I thought it would be a good topic for Wikipedia, as anyone can understand and relate to the issues in hand. I also purposely used clear and concise language to ensure anyone; especially people without academic knowledge could also understand the topic. Reflection on the feedback from the last assignment was to include lots of information and academic resources.   To ensure a clear structure and identify the key characteristics. This is because it is also important to show the theoretical side. The changes represent a broader theoretical perspective that hopefully others will find useful. Moreover, certain words have been linked to other Wikipedia pages, such as ‘network governance so I dont have to go into more depth on definitions of phrases, and readers can choose to further explore these terms. It was also interesting to write for an audience and exciting to know that if a Google search is done for the term, then something I have written will be one of the first articles. Tried to remember the audience is potentially global. What I have learnt about Wikipedia in general is that it can often be a very useful source of knowledge, especially for background information on a topic. Many of the pages are actually quite long and packed with sources and information, which means the reader can usually gain a good overview of the topic. Therefore, a number of entries are a lot more academic than some may suppose. This suggests that Wikipedia is more reliable than most realise as many of the pages are written by academics. Furthermore, something I did not realize was how well the site is analyzed and checked by many members, which ensure that false information cannot be put up. Made me realise how many more pages still need to be created. the ‘Value Action Gap. It basically describes those situations where a person holds values that are inconsistent with their behaviour. Its particularly evident in peoples attitudes towards the environment- we have the knowledge but when it comes to actually doing something about it, other factors take greater presidence e.g. economic. Smoking†¦ The value-action gap is a term used in environmental geography. It describes the gap between the high value of the environment and seriousness of the problem of damaging it, and the relatively low level of action taken by the population to counter the problem. It is often agreed that there are numerous barriers of motivation for individual and collective environmental action, and that the factors involved in making people willing to reduce environmental damage are fundamentally different from the factors involved in making people actually take active steps to reduce damage and to improve the environment[1]. It is therefore argued that a fundamental shift in the attitudes held by individual citizens towards the environment and their use of natural resources is needed to ensure sustainable development.

A Comparison of Practical and Principled Nonviolent Action Theories Ess

A Comparison of Practical and Principled Nonviolent Action Theories Introduction The phrase "nonviolent action" brings to mind a wide variety of sometimes conflicting images. The image of a Chinese student at Tiananmen Square standing in the way of a tank was portrayed around the world, along with the stories of those who were shot and run over by those tanks. Indian participants pressed forward undauntedly in columns and then in groups to the salt depot at Dharasana while being beaten back with clubs by police forces who were infuriated by the nonresistance of the people. Individual Danes sneaked onto the Nazi occupied airfields at night to sabotage their own planes to prevent them from being used against the Allies and the Danish people. Polish workers during the Solidarity movement refused to vote even though it was illegal and succeeded in preventing the election of unwanted single ticket politicians. Though widely varied, these images all accurately represent nonviolent social change movements of the last century. Two theories have dominated the recorded history of the nonviolent social change movement as motivation for keeping the movements nonviolent: pragmatism and principle. A pragmatic approach has led to what is called practical nonviolent action--action based either on the lack of violent options or on the direct efficiency of nonviolence. Action based on a theory of moral, ethical, or religious principles is known as principled nonviolent action. Both theories have motivated successful campaigns and both have spawned actions in which the goals of the movement were not accomplished. A number of authors in recent years have carefully examined and articulated both theories along with the case studies of moveme... ... 1989. Douglas, James. Lightning East to West: Jesus, Gandhi, and the nuclear age. New York: Crossroad, 1983. Gandhi, Mahatma K. Satyagraha. Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House 1958. King, Mary. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr: The Power of Nonviolent Action. Paris: UNESCO Publishing, 1999. Powers, . Protest, Power and Change. Roberts, Adam. Civilian Resistance as National Defense. Schell, Orville. "Children of Tiananmen." Rolling Stone. December 14-28, 1989: 185-8+. Sharp, Gene. The Politics of Nonviolent Action volume 1. Boston: P. Sargen, 1973. Touraine, Alain. Solidarity: The Analysis of a Social Movement. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983. Walesa, Lech. A Way of Hope. New York: H. Holt, 1987. Yi, Mu. Crisis at Tiananmen: Reform and Reality in Modern China. San Francisco, CA: China Books & Periodicals, c1989

Time For Americans To Be A Family :: essays research papers

Time for Americans To Be A Family By D.C. Burch It seems to be a time for Americans to try and be a family again. Maybe a quarrelsome and restless family not entirely happy with each member all of the time, but a family nonetheless. OK, I admit it. I am confused and perplexed by the storm of political correctness sweeping throughout the nation, raising dust-devils and tempests; leaving destruction and chaos in its wake. The English language is being transmogrified to quell and satisfy members of the American society who feel they should somehow, be special; apart from our citizenry. Thus my confusion. I've been called a privileged white-boy by some, honky by others, and cracker by others still. All this because I grew up in a middle class family in Toledo, Ohio? I've never considered myself to be anything special, certainly never superior to anyone or anything by virtue of my ancestry, just your basic, run- of-the-mill guy who wants to do the right thing. From the time I was little boy, I have seen one particular group called colored, Negro, black, and now, African-American. I can't seem to find a consensus out there in any media, one moment the reference is to blacks, and the next to African-Americans, when they are referring to the same group of people. I'm not knocking what people want to call themselves, it's the mixed messages I'm getting and the inaccuracy of the terminology that frustrates me. Look around and you will see there is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Black Muslims, and African-Americans. All of these terms are used to refer to members of one group of people. Is it any wonder I'm confused? I have particular problems with the term African-American, a misnomer which would lead me to believe these people somehow hold dual citizenship with another country, or even worse, lead everyone to believe all those who use that term to describe themselves are of African origin and are exclusively black in color. As we all know, there are white Africans, too. Should they choose to come to the U.S., they too, would be eligible for the label African-American, which would further confuse the issue. Enter the U.S. Census Bureau. Rather than help clear up the mess, they perpetuate it by requesting racial information and make-up of families that does nothing more than perpetuate the lies we tell one another. At least with the Census Bureau, their are Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Other, and Whites. I don't know about you folks but, I was born here in the U.

Troy, Truth in the Myth? Essay -- Ancient History

The ancient city of Troy, a legendary city in classical literature and Hollywood films alike, has been an attraction to visit for at least twenty-five centuries. Visitors such as Alexander the Great, who stopped at Troy in 334 BC while on route east to conquer Asia, came to Troy looking for the city immortalized in Homer's Iliad. Presently, archaeologists visit Hisarlik, a site in northwest Turkey, as it is believed to be the location of the ancient city. Alexander must have been puzzled when he had arrived in Ilion, the name of the city at the time of his visit. Ilion was a small colony founded centuries after the Trojan War supposedly took place; Alexander and his men must have had a similar reaction to what they saw as many a tourist does today. Visiting the site today, you will find no grand buildings, just broken marble blocks everywhere, and stubs of stone protruding from the ground at every possible angle. To the ancient Greeks, the Iliad was the fountain of Western civi lization. Troy, to the Romans, was the birthplace of Aeneas, who escaped the burning city to found Rome. So what is the real story of this city? Is the Iliad a true account of history, or just a tale that has been passed down through the generations, for the sole entertainment of its audiences? These are questions that classics experts, archaeologists, and even palaeontologists have studied for many years. The Iliad can never be seen as pure history as the work predates, by three centuries, the concept of history as a sourced analysis of past events. But by studying the stories, as well as the physical evidence left behind today, we can find clues to the reality in this myth. A German archaeologist from the University of Tubingen, Manfre... ...of battles in the Late Bronze Age and that some lasted for a long time due to the sophisticated defences of the city. When the Iliad was composed, several centuries later, all these elements could have been compressed into one war against one opponent." Bibliography Burgess, Jonathan S. The Tradition of The Trojan War in Homer & the Epic Cycle Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001 Cairns, Douglas L. Homer's Iliad New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001 Fischman, Josh. "The Real Trojan War." US News & World Report 136.18 (2004): 54-60 Fleischman, John. "The Riddle of Troy." The Sciences Mar.-Apr. 1994: 32-38 Mayor, Adrienne. "A Time of Giants and Monsters." Archaeology 53.2 (2000): 58-62 Shear, Ione M. Tales of Heroes-The Origins of the Homeric Texts Crestwood, NY: Melissa International Publications Ltd., 2000.

Cost, Access, and Quality Essay

*Access to care may be defined as the timely use of needed, affordable, convenient, acceptable, and effective personal health services. Accessibility refers to the fit between the location of a provider and the location of patients. *Administrative costs are costs associated with the management of the financing, insurance, delivery, and payment functions. These costs include management of the enrollment process, setting up contracts with providers, claims processing, utilization monitoring, denials and appeals, and marketing and promotional expenses. *An all-payer system requires the participation of all major health care payers in a nationwide cost-containment program. APG stands for ambulatory patient groups, which are based on a patient classification and payment system designed to identify and explain the amount and type of resources used in an ambulatory visit. Patients in an APG have similar clinical characteristics, similar resource use, and similar cost. *Clinical practice guidelines (also called â€Å"medical practice guidelines†) are explicit descriptions representing preferred clinical processes. They are standardized guidelines in the form of scientifically established protocols designed to guide physicians’ clinical decisions. *Competition refers to rivalry among sellers for customers. In health care delivery, it means that providers of health care services would try to attract patients who have the ability to choose from several different providers. Although competition more commonly refers to price competition, it may also be based on technical quality, amenities, access, or other factors. *Cost-efficiency evaluates the relationship between increasing medical expenditures/risks and improvements in health levels. A service is cost-efficient when the benefit received is greater than the cost incurred in providing the service or the potential health risks from additional services. *Cost shifting refers to the ability of providers to make up for lost revenues in one area by increasing utilization or charging higher prices in other areas. *Critical pathways are case specific plans of medical care that identify along a time line w ho will provide what interventions and what the expected outcomes would be. *Demand-side incentives refer to the cost-sharing mechanisms that place a larger cost burden on consumers, thus encouraging consumers to be more cost conscious in selecting the insurance plan that best serves their needs and more judicious in their utilization. *Defensive medicine is the practice of medicine that involves prescribing tests and services that are not medically justified but are likely to protect physicians against possible malpractice lawsuits. *Fraud involves a knowing disregard for the truth. It generally occurs when billing claims or cost reports are intentionally falsified. It includes pro vision of ser vices that are not medically necessary and billing for ser vices that were not provided. *Outcome is the end result obtained from utilizing the structure and processes of health care delivery. Outcomes are often viewed as the bottom-line measure of the effectiveness of the health care delivery system. *Overutilization occurs when the costs or risks of treatment outweigh the benefits and yet additional care is delivered. *The term peer review refers to the general process of medical review of utilization and quality w hen it is carried out directly or under the supervision of physicians. *PRO stands for peer review organization. PROs are state-wide private organizations composed of practicing physicians and other health care professionals who are paid by the federal government to review the care provided to Medicare beneficiaries to determine whether care is reasonable, necessary, and provided in the most appropriate setting. *Quality has been defined as the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge. *Quality assessment refers to the measurement of quality against an established standard. *Quality assurance is a step beyond quality assessment and is synonymous with quality improvement. It is the process of institutionalizing quality through ongoing assessment and using the results of assessment for continuous quality improvement (CQI). *Reliability reflects the extent to which the same results occur from repeated applications of a measure. *Risk management consists of proactive efforts to prevent adverse events related to clinical care and facilities operations and is especially focused on avoiding medical malpractice. *Small area variations refer to the unexplained variations in the treatment patterns for similar patients and health conditions in different parts of the country. *Supply-side regulation typically refers to antitrust laws in the U.S., which  prohibit business practices that stifle competition among providers, such as price fixing, price discrimination, exclusive contracting arrangements, and mergers deemed anticompetitive by the Department of Justice. *A top-down control over total health expenditures establishes budgets for entire sectors of the health care delivery system. Funds are distributed to providers in accordance with these global budgets. Thus, total spending remains within pre-established budget limits. The downside to this approach is that, under fixed budgets, providers are not as responsive to patient needs, and the system provides little incentive to be efficient in the delivery of services. Once budgets are expended, providers are forced to cut back services, particularly for illnesses that are not life-threatening or do not represent an emergency. *TQM stands for total quality management and is synonymous with continuous quality improvement (CQI). It is an integrative management concept of continuously improving the quality of delivered goods and services through the participation of all levels and functions of the organization to meet the needs and expectations of the customer. *Underutilization occurs when the benefits of an intervention outweigh the risks or costs, yet the intervention is not used. *The validity of a scale is the extent to which it actually assesses what it purports to measure. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What are the two main objectives of this chapter? 2. What are the three major cornerstones of health care delivery? 3. What is meant by the term â€Å"health care costs†? Describe the three different meanings of the term ‘cost.’ 4. Why should the United States control the rising costs of health care? 5. Name and describe the 9 major factors contributing to the high costs of health care. 6. What is a third-party payment/reimbursement? 7. Explain how, under imperfect market conditions, both prices and quantity of health care are higher than they would be in a highly competitive market. 8. Discuss price controls and their effectiveness in controlling health care expenditures. 9. Discuss the role of PROs (peer review organizations) in cost containment. 10. What are the two competition-based cost-containment strategies? 11. What does access to care mean? 12. What are the implications of access for health and healthcare delivery? 13. What is the role of enabling and predisposing factors in access to care? 14. What are some of the implications of the definition of quality proposed by the Institute of Medicine? In what way is the definition incomplete? 15. Discuss the dimensions of quality from the micro- and macro-perspectives. 16. Discuss the main developments in process improvement that have occurred in recent years.