Reflective Essay

Hour w hen I first arrived Into the walls of Northwestern High School as a freshman, It was a new experience for me. Adapting to a new atmosphere was a big change In my life. From being use to Elementary, and Junior High Schools standards I had to critique my whole lifestyle. In doing this, I had to change the way I thought, my morals, values, timing, academics, and most of all my behavior. I can actually sit back and remember my first day of school like it was yesterday.Like trying to find my classes, finding a place to sit in the lunch room, wondering if I'm going to make any friends and the list goes on and on. This thing called â€Å"High School† was a new and major beginning in my life. After being adapted to the customs of this new school: like homework, essays, reports, and exams. My only stress relief was from extracurricular activities. I always look towards It being Like my little balm In Gilead. By growing up in a house of athletes, I always was Involved in some typ e of sport.Whether It be tennis, baseball, oddball, or even a game of amateur soccer, I was Just so grateful to be away from school work. As I still wander the halls of Northwestern, I often reflect back on my life, and how far I've come to this point that I'm at today. I can say that my work ethic never caught up until my junior year. That's when â€Å"life† really dawned on me. Over the past four years throughout High School I've learned that you shouldn't ask what the future holds because, you define it. You can control your destiny by the decisions you make, the manner in how you conduct yourself, and how you treat others.But, I can see the growth that I've achieved over the years. Not just my growth in school but as an individual. I no longer have the same goals as I once did; my standards and expectations are higher. In such a huge school where almost everyone knows everyone and their cousin, I can say that Eve made so many friends. Like my friends since the 9th Grade M s. Allan Williams a. K. A â€Å"Lana Pooh†, Chanted Fletcher, Kevin Chisholm, and Shannon Grant are Just a few whom Eve known almost the past four years. I can also that I've made quite a few enemies here and there to be honest.I rule can say that when you're trying to do your best, some people just get jealous which is saddens me but, I have to keep on rolling. My friends and I have gone through a lot of things emotionally, physically, and spiritually. But, we didn't let those things stop our determination to get through school. I can say Northwestern High School has provided me with leadership principles that I couldn't get anywhere else. From the social aspects of life, communication, mentoring, and guidance, these have put me in a position to where I can go into college with a ready and stable mind.I went from being Just â€Å"Anthony' to â€Å"Mr.. Anthony N. Houston† In Northwestern. I can't receive this type of recognition without thanking God first. I also hav e grown spiritually stronger while maturing In high school. Overall NEWS has equip and provided an ambiance which allowed me to transform from a boy Into a young man. Things that will be used in college but, most importantly in my future. Some things I might not come across in my following years nevertheless, I can say that Eve enjoyed every minute in high school.As a student, I have some regrets but, I let those be me a membranes, and my testimony. These few and short years have taught me a lot about myself, and the world around me. I know that these â€Å"once in a lifetime† experiences will never be forgotten and it will serve as a path to success in my near and great future. As for my fellow class mates, I wish you all the very best in the future. I hate to say goodbye on graduation day, so it'll Just be a simple â€Å"See you later† to keep us encouraged. I hope that their experiences will make them better and most of all wealthy in their future. Reflective essay I have been pursuing English as a subject consequently learning the importance of brainstorming, aspects of organizing prior to writing, revising and collaborating in writing. The subject has provided a gateway through which I have learnt the art of expressing myself, literature, grammar as well as the language Itself. However, this did not come without its challenges.English being my second language, it took me a while to learn the ropes and comprehend the language as well as writing it. The English subject has endowed me with organization skills in the art of essay writing through imparting the use of thesis statements, topic sentences, Introduction and conclusion paragraphs; as well as coherence techniques. Thesis statements are Introductory statements at the beginning of the essay with the information aimed at guiding the reader on what the essay is on and the scope it aims to cover.A topic sentence is found at the beginning of a paragraph and encompasses points to be covered In the entire body of the paragraph. I learnt the Important of coherence techniques In organizing as It ranges ideas into a logical and systematic order for example through the use of transitional terms as in the statement: The English language firstly teaches organization skills, secondly, grammar and finally sentence structure. In this case, transitional terms firstly, ‘secondly ‘and ‘finally' have been used for coherence.I was also able to learn how to use the introductory and conclusion sentences in writing; where I learnt that introduction sentences are used to introduce the stem ideas in an essay while a conclusion statement is used for providing a summary of all the ideas hat have been explained in the essay. Development skills were also Impacted whereby the use of specific details and use of explanation In stones as evidence to support the statements was learnt.The details and the evidence together with the examples provide a basis for the development of an id ea with the evidence being clearly Introduced and Its source being indicated. It may be followed up by an explanation or evaluative statement to further support the argument. As I participated in this class, I got a chance to sharpen my skills in the MALL citation quince that comprises in-text citation and bibliography. An example of in-text citation: Achilles is described as â€Å"wolf, a violator of every law of gods and men,† (Mallow, 58) with the work cited as Mallow.David. Ransom. Knops: Random House, 2009. Print. The use of quotations which are similar to the initial source of the statement can also be applied but should be attributed to the author though paraphrasing which can also be used involves putting a statement extract in your own words. The provision of credentials of experts cited Is also a necessity in the citations. Learning the subject gave me an opportunity to explore into other areas of research such as the internet.The website can be used as a source of current and up to date information. Use of website references ought to also be stated in the references Including the complete address for the site. The use local databases have also been helpful In providing access to reliable and verified scholarly articles and journals. As I look back on my graded essays, I realized that sentence grammar and 1 OFF The errors mostly appeared as sentence structures major comprising of run-on ententes.A run-on is a sentence comprising several main clauses that can stand as their own independent clauses but are strung together with improper punctuation appearing as a single sentence. An example: The student understood the presentation well (independent clause) the teacher was impressed (independent clause). The two can form a run-on statement: The student understood the presentation well the teacher was impressed. This can be corrected through the use of appropriate punctuation as: The student understood the presentation well. The teacher was impress ed.I am impressed that throughout my semester I have shown progressive improvement in eliminating the errors. I look forward to Joining the English IA class and I feel that I am ready to be successful in the class as it aims to enable students communicate effectively by emphasizing the importance of analytical reading and writing. I also believe that this class will enable me obtain different skills of writing from pre-writing, organizing, writing, revising and editing; all of which I have been introduced to in this class thus providing a solid foundation to learning English. Reflective Essay During the lessons taught in the past weeks, the most attention-grabbing topic covered to me was the four lenses temperament lesson. Taking the four color lenses test has made me see what type of temperament person I am and why I have been making some of the decisions I have. As my primary color being green, I now see that I am more abstract, independent, and research-oriented person. As I look at my other classmates, I also see how they act based on their lenses color.Knowing and realizing he different lenses colors, also gives me a basis on how to motivate the different temperaments. When dealing with an orange temperament I should expect to be challenged or debated. In which case I need to be flexible and adaptable so that tasked assigned can be accomplished. I think I can take this to my work center and understand why some of my subordinates act the way they do. Being mainly a green temperament, I am an independent thinker and don't accept things at face value which find me in a constant state of analysis to figure out how things work.Although being this type of temperament Is not a bad thing, I have also discover that I have a blind spot. Being that blue temperament is my blind spot, it makes me a little sightless to a person whose temperament are blue. These individuals are more sympathetic, sensitive, and compassionate. Recognizing and understanding what type of color lenses my subordinates fall under will give me a better comprehension on how to motivate the different temperaments and overall allow me makes the work environment more productive. Reflective Essay If I were to ask my subordinates what type of leader I am, they would probably say that I am a very task-oriented, down to business, pursue what I set out to do. Additionally, you would probably get some remarks about how I'm not afraid of the manual work and that I am always the first in and last out during the duty day. If you were to ask my supervisor about how I am as a follower, he would undoubtedly say that I'm dependable, goal oriented. He would say I'm a hard-worker and see through all tasks that I'm assigned, some of which may take some outside-the-box thinking.The leadership style I use is a mix of authoritarian and participative leadership. This is an effective style due to the nature of my work. If something has to be done quickly and without thought of others, I tend to be very authoritarian so they are able to focus on what actually needs to be done and not get caught up in trying to decide what the best course of action is. On the contrary, if there is time for decisio ns to be made, and, especially if the decision is one that will affect more than myself, I try and get input from everyone to get their thoughts. This this is the best way to get people to take a bit of ownership with it.I consider myself to be a good NCO. I am entrusted supervising and developing my subordinates. Although I consider myself a good NCO it does not mean I still don't have room for improvement. My supervisor can depend on me to do what needs to be done effectively. I ensure that the Job gets done in a timely and productive manner. I consider my task-oriented leadership a strength because it focuses me on the task at hand. It ensures that deadlines are met and jobs are completed. As far as my essence I see myself as being open minded, someone who wants to see the end result on any task. I always try to put 100 percent to everything I do. Reflective Essay By ensuring that we have a clear understanding of what we ant to achieve and how we will measure the success of the change† (â€Å"Implementation,† 2011, p. 1). The steps for implementing a policy. Plan Planning involves detailed research about what the policy is to accomplish and achieve. This happens on both the legislative side by creating a law that has beneficial and desired outcomes and on the organizational side by planning the responses the organization will make that are directly related to the policy.Having a solid understanding and a good plan in place is the first step for implementing a policy. Do The ‘Do' step of PADS involves design a plan to implement the policy into action. One key point is addressing the behaviors of the people who are likely to hold back or move away from the new policy and address them directly. There are always transformation, transition, and development stages to work through as part of the ‘Do' stage. Study In the study phase the results of the ‘Do' stage will be analyzed and measured for surprises, failures, successes, and consequences.In the study phase it is good to review the results and compare them to the predicted outcomes and establish modifications that will make the policy better from what was learned. Act In the ‘Act† stage you will take the information and data collected from the first three stages and make the appropriate changes. The policy may just need to be adapted with slight modifications. The policy may need to be adopted and changes made within the organization.The policy may need to be abandoned, completely changes and the PADS cycle started again. Role of major stakeholders in the process. The role of stakeholders is to participate in discussion that prioritize and describe the policy and how it is intended to be implemented. What can cause a policy to fail? A committee assignment can cause a policy to fail. If the committee has a Chair that does not suppor t the policy then it is likely to fail because it will not be put near the top of the agenda. Reflective Essay Katrina Wright Reflective Paper February 27, 2010 PDC-111 â€Å"Discovering Yourself† The topic â€Å"Discovering Yourself† was about the many different learning styles. This topic also was about how different individuals use various learning styles. My favorite assignments that I completed when this topic was covered are the Discovery Wheel and the Learning Style Inventory. The Discovery Wheel weighed strengthens and weaknesses of self- discovery, career planning, time, reading, notes, and tests. The Learning Style Inventory measured the importance of things From â€Å"Discovering Yourself† I gained knowledge about how to become a better learner and utilize the skills in school and in the workplace. I also feel this topic was beneficial because it taught me things I never knew about myself. I never realized that I needed to practice time management skills. I learned that I am a good career planner and a good note taker. I also learned that I must practice managing time and taking tests. I discovered that some people learn better by hearing, others by seeing, and others by doing. Additionally, I learned I am a visual learner. This topic means a lot to me because it helped me find myself. Discovering Yourself† has helped me be successful in college by showing me skills I need to practice. I can apply the knowledge I gained from the assignments completed on this topic to school and at work. I can apply what I learned from this chapter in school by acknowledging that I am a visual learner. For example, if something is said durin g a class lecture instead of relying on memory, I will write it down to better understand. I can apply practicing time management to the work field. For instance, if my boss says there is a meeting on the second Friday of every month, I would write it in a planner to help me better manage my time. Tests† The topic â€Å"Tests† was about how to become a better test taker and what to do before and during a test. This chapter covered memory techniques for taking test. Additionally, this topic was about why you should not cheat on tests. My favorite assignments that I completed in this chapter were journal entries16 and 18. In journal entry 16, I was instructed to look back on a time I had difficulties taking a test. In journal entry 18, I was instructed to make a list of excuses I make to avoid taking a test. From the chapter â€Å"Tests† I gained knowledge about how to become a better test taker. This topic was beneficial because I feel it entailed valuable information that is important for now and in the future. I learned that the key to mastering a test is study, study, study. I also was taught that if you are relaxed you retain text quickly and remember it more accurately. Furthermore, I learned to use mnemonic devices to remember things. This topic means a lot to me because it is important in everyday life. In my opinion, â€Å"Tests† will help me in college because it has taught me how to do well on test, which will improve my grades. I can apply the knowledge I gained from this chapter’s assignments to work and school. I can apply what I learned about being relaxed to work. For example, if I were given an assessment at work about what was covered at training; I would know to be calm so I could recall events the events at training. I can also apply mnemonic devices to work. For instance, if I was a grade school teacher I could use the mnemonic device Roy G. Biv to help children learn their colors. I can utilize mnemonic devices in school while taking a math test. I would use PEMDAS. (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally) to remember the order of operations. â€Å"Time† The topic â€Å"Time† is about how to stop procrastination, organizing time, and managing time. It is also about how to use a long-term planner. My favorite assignments that I completed in this chapter were journal entry 8 and critical thinking exercise 14. Journal entry 8 instructed me to think about a time I waited until the last minute to complete an assignment and the repercussions of procrastination. Critical thinking 14 directed me to complete a planner for a whole week’s activity. From the chapter â€Å"Time† I gained knowledge on how to spend time productively. This chapter taught me not to procrastinate and to plan for future. This chapter was beneficial to me it had important information about how to use time. Time† means a lot to me because it taught me not to let life pass me by. I feel this chapter will help me succeed in college because it showed me the importance of planning, which will make planning to complete assignments easier. I can apply the knowledge I gained from this chapter’s assignments to work and school. I can apply not pro crastination to school. For example, if I were given an assignment two weeks before it was due I would do it in advance to ensure quality. I can also apply not procrastinating to work. For instance, if I wanted to become a police officer I would start getting in shape now to do well on the physical health test. Reflective Essay If I were to ask my subordinates what type of leader I am, they would probably say that I am a very task-oriented, down to business, pursue what I set out to do. Additionally, you would probably get some remarks about how I'm not afraid of the manual work and that I am always the first in and last out during the duty day. If you were to ask my supervisor about how I am as a follower, he would undoubtedly say that I'm dependable, goal oriented. He would say I'm a hard-worker and see through all tasks that I'm assigned, some of which may take some outside-the-box thinking.The leadership style I use is a mix of authoritarian and participative leadership. This is an effective style due to the nature of my work. If something has to be done quickly and without thought of others, I tend to be very authoritarian so they are able to focus on what actually needs to be done and not get caught up in trying to decide what the best course of action is. On the contrary, if there is time for decisio ns to be made, and, especially if the decision is one that will affect more than myself, I try and get input from everyone to get their thoughts. This this is the best way to get people to take a bit of ownership with it.I consider myself to be a good NCO. I am entrusted supervising and developing my subordinates. Although I consider myself a good NCO it does not mean I still don't have room for improvement. My supervisor can depend on me to do what needs to be done effectively. I ensure that the Job gets done in a timely and productive manner. I consider my task-oriented leadership a strength because it focuses me on the task at hand. It ensures that deadlines are met and jobs are completed. As far as my essence I see myself as being open minded, someone who wants to see the end result on any task. I always try to put 100 percent to everything I do. Reflective Essay A REFLECTIVE ESSAY This is a reflective essay based on a event which took place in a hospital setting. The aim of this essay is to explore how members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) worked together and communicate with each other to achieve the best patients outcome. Reflection is an everyday process and is very personal matter. Jasper (2003) suggests that reflection is one of the key ways in which we can learn from our experiences. Reflective practice can be defined as process of making sense of events, situations and actions that occur in the workplace (Oelofsen, 2012). There are a different models of reflection.One of them is Johns (1994) model of reflection, this model is based on five cue questions: description, reflection, influencing factors, alternative strategies and learning. That enable practitioner to break down his/her experience. Gibbs (1988) is another common model of reflection which consists of six stages: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. The structure allows the reflection to be written in a clear way. In accordance with the NMC (2008) code of professional conduct, confidentiality should be maintain and all names will be anonymous.Ii this essay I will use Gibbs (1988) model as a guide for my reflection. The first stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection requires a description of event. On the beginning of one of my shifts, my mentor informed me that I can participate in Multidisciplinary Team meeting. A Multidisciplinary Team meeting is a meeting of the group of professions from one or more clinical disciplines who together make decision regarding recommended treatment of individual patients (NHS 2012). I work on the ward on which these meetings are held every day.On that day the meeting was attended by medical doctors, deputy sister, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, discharge coordinator, social worker and community nurse. Order of the meeting was as follows: at the outset a brief descript ion of the patient was given by deputy sister. Then one of the doctors presented the patient current medical situation. At the end the other members of the team have time to take voice. They discussed medical and social situation of each individual patient. The team focused on planning and reviewing patients' goals, they also made a joint decision about discharge plans and destinations.I was given the opportunity to observe multidisciplinary team members working together and participated in the discussion about patients whom I took care of. The second stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection is a discussion about my thoughts and feelings. My feelings at the time were mixed. I felt welcome and accepted within the MDT meeting. Many of the professionals who took part in the meeting,I knew from my daily work, and this made me feel comfortable. The MDT listened to my opinion and asked further questions. I always thought of myself as a confident person.However, when I stood and spoke in front of more qualified people then myself, my confidence vanished. I had no experience in speaking in front of large group and I was very nervous. For this reason my speech was not always consistent. In such a case, my mentor supported me and helped me by asking additional question that lead me to the right way. I found it very interesting to see how MDT cooperate and communicate well with each other . I am going to enter the third stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection which is evaluation.There are many positive aspects of the MDT meeting. One of them is that the health professionals of different specialities are working as a team to achieve the same goals. The team members have different skills and knowledge. Their roles and responsibilities vary and are based on their professional experience. Thurgood et al. (2011) suggests that this skill mix is one of the most important benefits of working in MDT. Works in a team allows to collect informations from all its members which ens ures that no important information about the patient will be ignored or missed.Another big advantage of these meetings is that they are carried out every day. According to Whyte et al. ((2007) the most frequently team members meet face to face and have the chance to discuss issues and work together, the better communication will be. However, if effective communication among the team is not achieved, errors may occur. It is the major disadvantages of the MDT. The National Patient Safety Agency (2007) communication difficulties identified as a main factor influencing patient outcomes.Stage four of Gibbs(1988) model is an analysis of the event. Communication is defined as a process that involves a meaningful exchange between at least two people to convey facts, needs, opinions, thoughts, feelings or other information through both verbal and non-verbal means, including face to face exchanges and the written word (DH 2010). For the MDT is important to effectively communicate with each ot her and overcome all communication barriers that may arise because poor communication among health professionals can negatively impact patient care.Atmosphere during the meeting was friendly and thank to this that all team members knew each other from daily meetings effective communication was easily achieved. However, there was a few problems. A noticeable issue was that medical abbreviation used by the doctor were not understood by others members of the team. This led to interruption of his speech to find out about their mining. This is mainly related to the fact that different health care workers have different training and education. Another factor who had significant influence on the MDT meeting and extended it was partially not updated handover from previous shift.The team had to correct the informations contained in it. In this case the handover missed its intended purpose because it was originally designed to transfer information concerning an individual patient with outstan ding task from the outgoing to the incoming teams (Farhan et al. 2012). I think that I did well by participating in this meeting. As a student but also as a front line worker I could learn a lot from other professionals and I was able to inform the members of the team about the patients, whom I looked after, progress.This is important because as a front line worker I interact more with patients during their hospital stay then any other health professional in the MDT ( Hamilton, Martin, 2007). If I had not given my opinion on the patients care, they could not benefit from the MDT as much as they did. Conclusion is the fifth stage of Gibbs (1988) cycle. The MDT give me the opportunity to work closely with other health professionals and better understanding their roles. I could clearly see that effective communication encourages collaboration, help prevent errors and can influence the success or failure of the patient care and treatment.This experience helped me to learn the importance of sharing of skills and professional experience with others for the benefit of patient outcomes. This will help me to work effectively with others team members in the future. This situation showed me straights and weaknesses in my communication skills. As communication is a key building the relationship with others I need to continuously develop this knowledge. I also realized that speaking in front of large group of people is hard for me and this is the area which I have to improve. The final stage of Gibbs(1988) model of reflection is action plan.If I find myself in this type of situation again I would be more confident in discussing about the patients and their needs. Communication is a skill that can be learned and continually improver (Webb, 2011). For this purpose I created an action plan that will help me to improved my this skills and gain self-confidence. The first objective in my action plan is to meet my mentor in order to discuses the whole situation and obtain feedbac k. The next point is to research further the appropriate literature to gain new informations and develop my knowledge.I also want to attend a conflict resolution study day to learn how to resolve conflicts. Communication with others can be challenging (Webb, 2011) and conflicts may arise at any time, not only between team members but also between health professionals and patients or their families. Summarizing, reflection on this experience allowed me to identify gaps in my knowledge and establish my own learning needs. Gibbs (1988) model of reflection given me the chance to explore my thoughts and feelings, analyse the situation and draw conclusion for the future. This essay also enabled me to connect theory and practice. Reflective Essay Katrina Wright Reflective Paper February 27, 2010 PDC-111 â€Å"Discovering Yourself† The topic â€Å"Discovering Yourself† was about the many different learning styles. This topic also was about how different individuals use various learning styles. My favorite assignments that I completed when this topic was covered are the Discovery Wheel and the Learning Style Inventory. The Discovery Wheel weighed strengthens and weaknesses of self- discovery, career planning, time, reading, notes, and tests. The Learning Style Inventory measured the importance of things From â€Å"Discovering Yourself† I gained knowledge about how to become a better learner and utilize the skills in school and in the workplace. I also feel this topic was beneficial because it taught me things I never knew about myself. I never realized that I needed to practice time management skills. I learned that I am a good career planner and a good note taker. I also learned that I must practice managing time and taking tests. I discovered that some people learn better by hearing, others by seeing, and others by doing. Additionally, I learned I am a visual learner. This topic means a lot to me because it helped me find myself. Discovering Yourself† has helped me be successful in college by showing me skills I need to practice. I can apply the knowledge I gained from the assignments completed on this topic to school and at work. I can apply what I learned from this chapter in school by acknowledging that I am a visual learner. For example, if something is said durin g a class lecture instead of relying on memory, I will write it down to better understand. I can apply practicing time management to the work field. For instance, if my boss says there is a meeting on the second Friday of every month, I would write it in a planner to help me better manage my time. Tests† The topic â€Å"Tests† was about how to become a better test taker and what to do before and during a test. This chapter covered memory techniques for taking test. Additionally, this topic was about why you should not cheat on tests. My favorite assignments that I completed in this chapter were journal entries16 and 18. In journal entry 16, I was instructed to look back on a time I had difficulties taking a test. In journal entry 18, I was instructed to make a list of excuses I make to avoid taking a test. From the chapter â€Å"Tests† I gained knowledge about how to become a better test taker. This topic was beneficial because I feel it entailed valuable information that is important for now and in the future. I learned that the key to mastering a test is study, study, study. I also was taught that if you are relaxed you retain text quickly and remember it more accurately. Furthermore, I learned to use mnemonic devices to remember things. This topic means a lot to me because it is important in everyday life. In my opinion, â€Å"Tests† will help me in college because it has taught me how to do well on test, which will improve my grades. I can apply the knowledge I gained from this chapter’s assignments to work and school. I can apply what I learned about being relaxed to work. For example, if I were given an assessment at work about what was covered at training; I would know to be calm so I could recall events the events at training. I can also apply mnemonic devices to work. For instance, if I was a grade school teacher I could use the mnemonic device Roy G. Biv to help children learn their colors. I can utilize mnemonic devices in school while taking a math test. I would use PEMDAS. (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally) to remember the order of operations. â€Å"Time† The topic â€Å"Time† is about how to stop procrastination, organizing time, and managing time. It is also about how to use a long-term planner. My favorite assignments that I completed in this chapter were journal entry 8 and critical thinking exercise 14. Journal entry 8 instructed me to think about a time I waited until the last minute to complete an assignment and the repercussions of procrastination. Critical thinking 14 directed me to complete a planner for a whole week’s activity. From the chapter â€Å"Time† I gained knowledge on how to spend time productively. This chapter taught me not to procrastinate and to plan for future. This chapter was beneficial to me it had important information about how to use time. Time† means a lot to me because it taught me not to let life pass me by. I feel this chapter will help me succeed in college because it showed me the importance of planning, which will make planning to complete assignments easier. I can apply the knowledge I gained from this chapter’s assignments to work and school. I can apply not pro crastination to school. For example, if I were given an assignment two weeks before it was due I would do it in advance to ensure quality. I can also apply not procrastinating to work. For instance, if I wanted to become a police officer I would start getting in shape now to do well on the physical health test. Reflective Essay Katrina Wright Reflective Paper February 27, 2010 PDC-111 â€Å"Discovering Yourself† The topic â€Å"Discovering Yourself† was about the many different learning styles. This topic also was about how different individuals use various learning styles. My favorite assignments that I completed when this topic was covered are the Discovery Wheel and the Learning Style Inventory. The Discovery Wheel weighed strengthens and weaknesses of self- discovery, career planning, time, reading, notes, and tests. The Learning Style Inventory measured the importance of things From â€Å"Discovering Yourself† I gained knowledge about how to become a better learner and utilize the skills in school and in the workplace. I also feel this topic was beneficial because it taught me things I never knew about myself. I never realized that I needed to practice time management skills. I learned that I am a good career planner and a good note taker. I also learned that I must practice managing time and taking tests. I discovered that some people learn better by hearing, others by seeing, and others by doing. Additionally, I learned I am a visual learner. This topic means a lot to me because it helped me find myself. Discovering Yourself† has helped me be successful in college by showing me skills I need to practice. I can apply the knowledge I gained from the assignments completed on this topic to school and at work. I can apply what I learned from this chapter in school by acknowledging that I am a visual learner. For example, if something is said durin g a class lecture instead of relying on memory, I will write it down to better understand. I can apply practicing time management to the work field. For instance, if my boss says there is a meeting on the second Friday of every month, I would write it in a planner to help me better manage my time. Tests† The topic â€Å"Tests† was about how to become a better test taker and what to do before and during a test. This chapter covered memory techniques for taking test. Additionally, this topic was about why you should not cheat on tests. My favorite assignments that I completed in this chapter were journal entries16 and 18. In journal entry 16, I was instructed to look back on a time I had difficulties taking a test. In journal entry 18, I was instructed to make a list of excuses I make to avoid taking a test. From the chapter â€Å"Tests† I gained knowledge about how to become a better test taker. This topic was beneficial because I feel it entailed valuable information that is important for now and in the future. I learned that the key to mastering a test is study, study, study. I also was taught that if you are relaxed you retain text quickly and remember it more accurately. Furthermore, I learned to use mnemonic devices to remember things. This topic means a lot to me because it is important in everyday life. In my opinion, â€Å"Tests† will help me in college because it has taught me how to do well on test, which will improve my grades. I can apply the knowledge I gained from this chapter’s assignments to work and school. I can apply what I learned about being relaxed to work. For example, if I were given an assessment at work about what was covered at training; I would know to be calm so I could recall events the events at training. I can also apply mnemonic devices to work. For instance, if I was a grade school teacher I could use the mnemonic device Roy G. Biv to help children learn their colors. I can utilize mnemonic devices in school while taking a math test. I would use PEMDAS. (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally) to remember the order of operations. â€Å"Time† The topic â€Å"Time† is about how to stop procrastination, organizing time, and managing time. It is also about how to use a long-term planner. My favorite assignments that I completed in this chapter were journal entry 8 and critical thinking exercise 14. Journal entry 8 instructed me to think about a time I waited until the last minute to complete an assignment and the repercussions of procrastination. Critical thinking 14 directed me to complete a planner for a whole week’s activity. From the chapter â€Å"Time† I gained knowledge on how to spend time productively. This chapter taught me not to procrastinate and to plan for future. This chapter was beneficial to me it had important information about how to use time. Time† means a lot to me because it taught me not to let life pass me by. I feel this chapter will help me succeed in college because it showed me the importance of planning, which will make planning to complete assignments easier. I can apply the knowledge I gained from this chapter’s assignments to work and school. I can apply not pro crastination to school. For example, if I were given an assignment two weeks before it was due I would do it in advance to ensure quality. I can also apply not procrastinating to work. For instance, if I wanted to become a police officer I would start getting in shape now to do well on the physical health test. Reflective Essay By ensuring that we have a clear understanding of what we ant to achieve and how we will measure the success of the change† (â€Å"Implementation,† 2011, p. 1). The steps for implementing a policy. Plan Planning involves detailed research about what the policy is to accomplish and achieve. This happens on both the legislative side by creating a law that has beneficial and desired outcomes and on the organizational side by planning the responses the organization will make that are directly related to the policy.Having a solid understanding and a good plan in place is the first step for implementing a policy. Do The ‘Do' step of PADS involves design a plan to implement the policy into action. One key point is addressing the behaviors of the people who are likely to hold back or move away from the new policy and address them directly. There are always transformation, transition, and development stages to work through as part of the ‘Do' stage. Study In the study phase the results of the ‘Do' stage will be analyzed and measured for surprises, failures, successes, and consequences.In the study phase it is good to review the results and compare them to the predicted outcomes and establish modifications that will make the policy better from what was learned. Act In the ‘Act† stage you will take the information and data collected from the first three stages and make the appropriate changes. The policy may just need to be adapted with slight modifications. The policy may need to be adopted and changes made within the organization.The policy may need to be abandoned, completely changes and the PADS cycle started again. Role of major stakeholders in the process. The role of stakeholders is to participate in discussion that prioritize and describe the policy and how it is intended to be implemented. What can cause a policy to fail? A committee assignment can cause a policy to fail. If the committee has a Chair that does not suppor t the policy then it is likely to fail because it will not be put near the top of the agenda. Reflective Essay A REFLECTIVE ESSAY This is a reflective essay based on a event which took place in a hospital setting. The aim of this essay is to explore how members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) worked together and communicate with each other to achieve the best patients outcome. Reflection is an everyday process and is very personal matter. Jasper (2003) suggests that reflection is one of the key ways in which we can learn from our experiences. Reflective practice can be defined as process of making sense of events, situations and actions that occur in the workplace (Oelofsen, 2012). There are a different models of reflection.One of them is Johns (1994) model of reflection, this model is based on five cue questions: description, reflection, influencing factors, alternative strategies and learning. That enable practitioner to break down his/her experience. Gibbs (1988) is another common model of reflection which consists of six stages: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. The structure allows the reflection to be written in a clear way. In accordance with the NMC (2008) code of professional conduct, confidentiality should be maintain and all names will be anonymous.Ii this essay I will use Gibbs (1988) model as a guide for my reflection. The first stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection requires a description of event. On the beginning of one of my shifts, my mentor informed me that I can participate in Multidisciplinary Team meeting. A Multidisciplinary Team meeting is a meeting of the group of professions from one or more clinical disciplines who together make decision regarding recommended treatment of individual patients (NHS 2012). I work on the ward on which these meetings are held every day.On that day the meeting was attended by medical doctors, deputy sister, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, discharge coordinator, social worker and community nurse. Order of the meeting was as follows: at the outset a brief descript ion of the patient was given by deputy sister. Then one of the doctors presented the patient current medical situation. At the end the other members of the team have time to take voice. They discussed medical and social situation of each individual patient. The team focused on planning and reviewing patients' goals, they also made a joint decision about discharge plans and destinations.I was given the opportunity to observe multidisciplinary team members working together and participated in the discussion about patients whom I took care of. The second stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection is a discussion about my thoughts and feelings. My feelings at the time were mixed. I felt welcome and accepted within the MDT meeting. Many of the professionals who took part in the meeting,I knew from my daily work, and this made me feel comfortable. The MDT listened to my opinion and asked further questions. I always thought of myself as a confident person.However, when I stood and spoke in front of more qualified people then myself, my confidence vanished. I had no experience in speaking in front of large group and I was very nervous. For this reason my speech was not always consistent. In such a case, my mentor supported me and helped me by asking additional question that lead me to the right way. I found it very interesting to see how MDT cooperate and communicate well with each other . I am going to enter the third stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection which is evaluation.There are many positive aspects of the MDT meeting. One of them is that the health professionals of different specialities are working as a team to achieve the same goals. The team members have different skills and knowledge. Their roles and responsibilities vary and are based on their professional experience. Thurgood et al. (2011) suggests that this skill mix is one of the most important benefits of working in MDT. Works in a team allows to collect informations from all its members which ens ures that no important information about the patient will be ignored or missed.Another big advantage of these meetings is that they are carried out every day. According to Whyte et al. ((2007) the most frequently team members meet face to face and have the chance to discuss issues and work together, the better communication will be. However, if effective communication among the team is not achieved, errors may occur. It is the major disadvantages of the MDT. The National Patient Safety Agency (2007) communication difficulties identified as a main factor influencing patient outcomes.Stage four of Gibbs(1988) model is an analysis of the event. Communication is defined as a process that involves a meaningful exchange between at least two people to convey facts, needs, opinions, thoughts, feelings or other information through both verbal and non-verbal means, including face to face exchanges and the written word (DH 2010). For the MDT is important to effectively communicate with each ot her and overcome all communication barriers that may arise because poor communication among health professionals can negatively impact patient care.Atmosphere during the meeting was friendly and thank to this that all team members knew each other from daily meetings effective communication was easily achieved. However, there was a few problems. A noticeable issue was that medical abbreviation used by the doctor were not understood by others members of the team. This led to interruption of his speech to find out about their mining. This is mainly related to the fact that different health care workers have different training and education. Another factor who had significant influence on the MDT meeting and extended it was partially not updated handover from previous shift.The team had to correct the informations contained in it. In this case the handover missed its intended purpose because it was originally designed to transfer information concerning an individual patient with outstan ding task from the outgoing to the incoming teams (Farhan et al. 2012). I think that I did well by participating in this meeting. As a student but also as a front line worker I could learn a lot from other professionals and I was able to inform the members of the team about the patients, whom I looked after, progress.This is important because as a front line worker I interact more with patients during their hospital stay then any other health professional in the MDT ( Hamilton, Martin, 2007). If I had not given my opinion on the patients care, they could not benefit from the MDT as much as they did. Conclusion is the fifth stage of Gibbs (1988) cycle. The MDT give me the opportunity to work closely with other health professionals and better understanding their roles. I could clearly see that effective communication encourages collaboration, help prevent errors and can influence the success or failure of the patient care and treatment.This experience helped me to learn the importance of sharing of skills and professional experience with others for the benefit of patient outcomes. This will help me to work effectively with others team members in the future. This situation showed me straights and weaknesses in my communication skills. As communication is a key building the relationship with others I need to continuously develop this knowledge. I also realized that speaking in front of large group of people is hard for me and this is the area which I have to improve. The final stage of Gibbs(1988) model of reflection is action plan.If I find myself in this type of situation again I would be more confident in discussing about the patients and their needs. Communication is a skill that can be learned and continually improver (Webb, 2011). For this purpose I created an action plan that will help me to improved my this skills and gain self-confidence. The first objective in my action plan is to meet my mentor in order to discuses the whole situation and obtain feedbac k. The next point is to research further the appropriate literature to gain new informations and develop my knowledge.I also want to attend a conflict resolution study day to learn how to resolve conflicts. Communication with others can be challenging (Webb, 2011) and conflicts may arise at any time, not only between team members but also between health professionals and patients or their families. Summarizing, reflection on this experience allowed me to identify gaps in my knowledge and establish my own learning needs. Gibbs (1988) model of reflection given me the chance to explore my thoughts and feelings, analyse the situation and draw conclusion for the future. This essay also enabled me to connect theory and practice. Reflective Essay A REFLECTIVE ESSAY This is a reflective essay based on a event which took place in a hospital setting. The aim of this essay is to explore how members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) worked together and communicate with each other to achieve the best patients outcome. Reflection is an everyday process and is very personal matter. Jasper (2003) suggests that reflection is one of the key ways in which we can learn from our experiences. Reflective practice can be defined as process of making sense of events, situations and actions that occur in the workplace (Oelofsen, 2012). There are a different models of reflection.One of them is Johns (1994) model of reflection, this model is based on five cue questions: description, reflection, influencing factors, alternative strategies and learning. That enable practitioner to break down his/her experience. Gibbs (1988) is another common model of reflection which consists of six stages: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. The structure allows the reflection to be written in a clear way. In accordance with the NMC (2008) code of professional conduct, confidentiality should be maintain and all names will be anonymous.Ii this essay I will use Gibbs (1988) model as a guide for my reflection. The first stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection requires a description of event. On the beginning of one of my shifts, my mentor informed me that I can participate in Multidisciplinary Team meeting. A Multidisciplinary Team meeting is a meeting of the group of professions from one or more clinical disciplines who together make decision regarding recommended treatment of individual patients (NHS 2012). I work on the ward on which these meetings are held every day.On that day the meeting was attended by medical doctors, deputy sister, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, discharge coordinator, social worker and community nurse. Order of the meeting was as follows: at the outset a brief descript ion of the patient was given by deputy sister. Then one of the doctors presented the patient current medical situation. At the end the other members of the team have time to take voice. They discussed medical and social situation of each individual patient. The team focused on planning and reviewing patients' goals, they also made a joint decision about discharge plans and destinations.I was given the opportunity to observe multidisciplinary team members working together and participated in the discussion about patients whom I took care of. The second stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection is a discussion about my thoughts and feelings. My feelings at the time were mixed. I felt welcome and accepted within the MDT meeting. Many of the professionals who took part in the meeting,I knew from my daily work, and this made me feel comfortable. The MDT listened to my opinion and asked further questions. I always thought of myself as a confident person.However, when I stood and spoke in front of more qualified people then myself, my confidence vanished. I had no experience in speaking in front of large group and I was very nervous. For this reason my speech was not always consistent. In such a case, my mentor supported me and helped me by asking additional question that lead me to the right way. I found it very interesting to see how MDT cooperate and communicate well with each other . I am going to enter the third stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection which is evaluation.There are many positive aspects of the MDT meeting. One of them is that the health professionals of different specialities are working as a team to achieve the same goals. The team members have different skills and knowledge. Their roles and responsibilities vary and are based on their professional experience. Thurgood et al. (2011) suggests that this skill mix is one of the most important benefits of working in MDT. Works in a team allows to collect informations from all its members which ens ures that no important information about the patient will be ignored or missed.Another big advantage of these meetings is that they are carried out every day. According to Whyte et al. ((2007) the most frequently team members meet face to face and have the chance to discuss issues and work together, the better communication will be. However, if effective communication among the team is not achieved, errors may occur. It is the major disadvantages of the MDT. The National Patient Safety Agency (2007) communication difficulties identified as a main factor influencing patient outcomes.Stage four of Gibbs(1988) model is an analysis of the event. Communication is defined as a process that involves a meaningful exchange between at least two people to convey facts, needs, opinions, thoughts, feelings or other information through both verbal and non-verbal means, including face to face exchanges and the written word (DH 2010). For the MDT is important to effectively communicate with each ot her and overcome all communication barriers that may arise because poor communication among health professionals can negatively impact patient care.Atmosphere during the meeting was friendly and thank to this that all team members knew each other from daily meetings effective communication was easily achieved. However, there was a few problems. A noticeable issue was that medical abbreviation used by the doctor were not understood by others members of the team. This led to interruption of his speech to find out about their mining. This is mainly related to the fact that different health care workers have different training and education. Another factor who had significant influence on the MDT meeting and extended it was partially not updated handover from previous shift.The team had to correct the informations contained in it. In this case the handover missed its intended purpose because it was originally designed to transfer information concerning an individual patient with outstan ding task from the outgoing to the incoming teams (Farhan et al. 2012). I think that I did well by participating in this meeting. As a student but also as a front line worker I could learn a lot from other professionals and I was able to inform the members of the team about the patients, whom I looked after, progress.This is important because as a front line worker I interact more with patients during their hospital stay then any other health professional in the MDT ( Hamilton, Martin, 2007). If I had not given my opinion on the patients care, they could not benefit from the MDT as much as they did. Conclusion is the fifth stage of Gibbs (1988) cycle. The MDT give me the opportunity to work closely with other health professionals and better understanding their roles. I could clearly see that effective communication encourages collaboration, help prevent errors and can influence the success or failure of the patient care and treatment.This experience helped me to learn the importance of sharing of skills and professional experience with others for the benefit of patient outcomes. This will help me to work effectively with others team members in the future. This situation showed me straights and weaknesses in my communication skills. As communication is a key building the relationship with others I need to continuously develop this knowledge. I also realized that speaking in front of large group of people is hard for me and this is the area which I have to improve. The final stage of Gibbs(1988) model of reflection is action plan.If I find myself in this type of situation again I would be more confident in discussing about the patients and their needs. Communication is a skill that can be learned and continually improver (Webb, 2011). For this purpose I created an action plan that will help me to improved my this skills and gain self-confidence. The first objective in my action plan is to meet my mentor in order to discuses the whole situation and obtain feedbac k. The next point is to research further the appropriate literature to gain new informations and develop my knowledge.I also want to attend a conflict resolution study day to learn how to resolve conflicts. Communication with others can be challenging (Webb, 2011) and conflicts may arise at any time, not only between team members but also between health professionals and patients or their families. Summarizing, reflection on this experience allowed me to identify gaps in my knowledge and establish my own learning needs. Gibbs (1988) model of reflection given me the chance to explore my thoughts and feelings, analyse the situation and draw conclusion for the future. This essay also enabled me to connect theory and practice.

Disruptive technology Essay

The first innovation that was mentioned in this case was that of an Incremental Innovation. An incremental innovation is a series of small improvements to an existing product or product line that usually helps maintain or improve its competitive position over time. Incremental innovation is regularly used within the high technology business by companies that need to continue to improve their products to include new features increasingly desired by consumers. The case describes that the old way of selling â€Å"hard copy† music, movies, and games could shift to providing new ‘e-tailing’ channels through which you can obtain the latest CD of your preference – for example, from Amazon.com or CD-Now or 100 other websites. These innovations increase the choice and tailoring of the music purchasing service and demonstrate some of the ‘richness/reach’ economic shifts of the new Internet game. This is not a drastic change in marketing to sell hard copies of these products; it is simply a shift from the brick and mortar to an online option. It does not shift the way these products are produced, but is however an incremental change in the way it is distributed. The second innovation which was described was a Discontinuous innovation. Discontinuous innovations cause a paradigm shift in science or technology and/or the market structure of an industry. As they are entirely new-to-the world products, made to perform a function for which no product has previously existed, discontinuous innovation requires a good deal of learning for the incumbent organization and its value network, including the user. This Discontinuous innovation is described in the ways in which music is created and distributed, and in the business model on which the whole music industry is currently predicated. Discontinuous innovations also disrupt established routine and may even require a very different set of capabilities and new behavior patterns. The notion of novelty is relative so a discontinuous innovation for one organization might be an incremental one for another. As the case describes, aspiring musicians no longer need to depend on being picked up by A&R staff from major companies who can bear the costs of recording and production of a physical CD. Instead they can use home recording software and either produce a CD themselves or else go straight to MP3 – and then distribute the product globally via newsgroups, chat rooms, etc. In the process they effectively create a parallel and much more direct music industry which leaves existing players and artists on the sidelines. Napster posed a huge threat to the established music business since it involved no payment of royalties. There are now many other sites emulating and extending what Napster started – sites such as Gnutella, Kazaa, Limewire took the P2P idea further and enabled exchange of many different file formats – text, video, etc. In Napster’s own case the phenomenally successful site concluded a deal with entertainment giant Bertelsman which paved the way for subscription-based services which provide some revenue stream to deal with the royalty issue. Apple was another company who saw the need for change, and successfully implemented discontinu ous innovation to shake up the music industry. With the launch of their successful iPod personal MP3 player they opened a site called iTunes which offered users a choice of thousands of tracks for download at 99c each. In its first weeks of operation it recorded 1 million hits and in February 2006. Over 1 billion songs have now been legally purchased and downloaded around the globe, representing a major force against music piracy and the future of music distribution as we move from CDs to the Internet. Works Cited discontinuous innovation. (2013, September 7). Retrieved from Lexicon: http://lexicon.ft.com/term?term=discontinuous-innovation Incremental innovation. (2013, September 7). Retrieved from Business Dictionary: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/incremental-innovation.html#ixzz2eE7EGEmb

Practice Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Practice Study - Essay Example Recently the client was diagnosed with fronto-temporal lobe dementia. Client denies his mental illness condition and allegations. During the study the focus had been in the theories of social work, medical studies, psychology and others to gain knowledge to guide our understanding to understand the reaction pattern of the client and help him. The study also has an objective to understand its contribution to the development of the student of social work. Various theories of social work have been studied. Based on the background and medical history of the client and inputs from various working professionals like supervisor, GP, psychologist and others the appropriate theories have been practiced. The client would be referred as BM to preserve the confidentiality under Data Protection Act 1970. The involvement in the case of BM was due to the eighty-day placement requirement of the study. To understand background of the client the first requirement was to study his recorded file. The information from this source can be grouped in: BM belongs to the senior citizen group. His age is 73 years. He is of the Caribbean origin. BM is originally from Jamaica. He had come to UK in 1956. He lives alone. BM case is a good example of race and ethnicity. He is being treated equally and getting the proper care and support by the professionals irrespective of their age, sex, community or race. With the prior experience in first placement and knowledge expansion the priority was to understand the background and specifications about the client to apply any practice theory. Among these the most important factor here was client’s physical and mental health. Client has a divorced life and has been in touch with his son. Family support for the client was the minimum. He has a lonely life. In December 2004, BM was admitted under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983. The

Classroom Assessment Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Classroom Assessment - Research Paper Example There are five types of teacher made tests available, the first is the Multiple Choice Type. The test consists of items, which posses three or more plausible answer options available. This test is one of the best forms of testing. The test is objective and flexible a, therefore, preferred for that. â€Å"Multiple-choice items are the most popular, most flexible, and most widely used of the traditional items† (Catherine, 2005, p. 192). This test is applicable in the test of vocabulary, interpretation of graphs, relationship, formulas, and tables, reading comprehension and drawing inferences from a set of data. The second type is an analogy. It consists of items of a pair of terms, which relates to one another. The designation is to evaluate the ability of the children to match the pair in the relationship between the first groups to the second one. The relationship between the two groups may be according to cause and effect or purpose (John, 2005). The third type is the rearran gement type, which consists of multiple options and requires logical or chronological rank. The fifth type is the matching type, which has two columns in which correct observation of two related things. The task here is matching the first column with column two. It has two types that include the balanced and the unbalanced. The balanced type has an equal number on both sides while the latter consist of a large number of items on one side. â€Å"If students can figure out the answer to an item or question because of clues in the item or the test or because of problematic item formats, then you will not know what students truly understand† (Catherine, 2005, p. 191). Objectives and goals At the completion of the class, the child among other things should be able to describe the life cycle of animals, which is from birth all the way to death including reproduction. The child should also be in a position to compare life cycles of different animals. The child will also learn about the weather its changes and the effects on the environment and the tools used in the measurement of the weather. The next objective of the subject will be to enable the child to develop an understanding of the three states of matter and the changes in the states because of heating and cooling. The other goal of the lesson includes the concept of sound, its production transmission, and a change in frequency. In essence, the children should have acquired knowledge on the life cycles of animals, the animals’ habitats, and what they eat. The children should also be conversant with the basic elements of the environment, which include matter. Lesson plan Topic one: physical science Solid classification on terms of the materials used to make them, classification of liquids using their physical appearance and describing the observable properties of liquids. This also includes the identification of substances in solid mixtures, and ways of separating them. Show how moving objects exhi bit different types of motion. Predict effects of a magnet on other objects. Differentiate the various pitches of sound. Topic two: life science The children should learn the classification of plants according to their differences and similarities, to classify human beings and animals according to their differences and similarities. Description of the plant life cycles especially flowering plants. The children sho

The Glory of Living Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Glory of Living - Essay Example The play questions the models of a family that are held up as the standard in society. Despite having a mother, Lisa is unable to have a normal childhood. The disintegration of the family is complete in the family of Lisa and Clint as the couple seeks to seduce young girls into a lurid kind of death. The sterility of this kind of an existence is repeatedly held up by the author as symbolic of the fact that such forms of life are unsustainable. The playwright, Rebecca Gilman, makes it clear that such instances of sterility do not represent the modes of sterility that were characteristic of ancient civilizations where it was a phase that would be followed by a regeneration. The two children that Clint and Lisa have only serve to heighten the disturbing mood of the play as the presence of a pedophile in the family makes the situation of the children complicated. They are moreover, placed not in the care The play’s pessimism regarding the state of affairs that modern life presents is a very postmodernist one, where it has become impossible for human beings to peel away the layers of life to reveal its true essence. Here, people wander through life; performing functions that they are aware do not possess any meaning. In this sense, the play also addresses existential issues that the modern man faces and has to deal with. The importance of the existential problems that the play poses is demonstrated by the absolute lack of meaning that Lisa, the anti-heroine of the play, puts into her actions. The main aspect of the play, however, remains the fact of the development of children. The life of children whereby they are at the complete mercy of their parent’s actions is demonstrated skillfully by Gilman’s play. The play, right from the scene where Lisa is charmed by Clint into a marriage that would lead her into a much more dissipated life than her mother, to the one where she discloses her dark secrets to the authorities, is a long series of events that displays the problems of a traumatic childhood. This childhood of hers is affected by the fact that her mother was a prostitute. The fact that Clint is a person who comes with a person, who may or may not have been a client of his future mother-in-law, is one of the most disturbing aspects of the play (Gilman). The guilt that Lisa feels at the end of the play is something that stems from the fact that she has not matured emotionally. The actions that she takes at various points in the play have no rational explanation. This fact is also the result of her dissociation from the real world where events follow a more or less rational course. The union of the grotesque and the real in the life of Lisa is another aspect of the play that is interesting and significant, dramatically. The grotesque events that are related in the play are a part of the life of Lisa. They are an everyday reality for her and this results in a disturbing atmosphere in the play. The grotesque becomes the nor m for Lisa when she arranges prey for her husband. The grotesque becoming the norm points to the development of the person. The abnormal childhood that was led by Lisa, where she was deprived of attention on the part of her mother. The negative influences of her husband too, become a reason as to why Lisa becomes what she becomes. The play offers no reason as to why Clint is the way he is, portraying

CMC Midterm Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CMC Midterm - Article Example The benefit of having an online outlet is that one can vent one’s frustrations with certain social issues and so forth. The online factor is helpful because it shields one from the verbal barbs that might come with face-to-face parlance. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ No, I don’t think this has anything to do with gender. Just the format of these various sites did not appeal to me at all, and I don’t necessarily think it had anything to do with the gendering of the sites or not. SecondLife is very colorful and filled with a lot of images (especially of women) that use a lot of bright colors, while Twitter seems more geared towards men. Twitter’s homepage is blue, which many people typically associate with the male gender. Visuals include colors. For example, brighter colors are gendered towards women, since, in olden times women had to have better color vision than men in order to complete the task of food-gathering. Women are also appealed to by text-based cues like pretty or girly fonts, whilst men are appealed to by the usage of simple fonts and basic colors. I would say that the color blue most closely resonates with everyone, not just men. Blue is most peoples’ favorite color, and so it would make sense, for example, that Twitter’s homepage would use blue as its primary

Investigate the ways in which the film Inception both uses and Essay

Investigate the ways in which the film Inception both uses and subverts the genre conventions - Essay Example Origin is in view of the essential motivation that a solitary thought in a singulars psyche can be either the most significant resource or the most perilous weapon (McConachie, 2008). The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, who in the motion picture takes data from the psyches of his victimized people amid dreams. The last employment which Cobs is given, and which is the inside of the motion picture includes execution of an initiation so that Cobbs could recover his past life and have the capacity to visit his youngsters. The film largely got exceptional acclaim as an imaginative shrewd story and numerous commentators issued its positive surveys. Spoiled tomatoes for the case gave this film a normal score of 8/10 in view of more than two hundred and fifty surveys and reported that up to 86% of pundits gave this motion picture a positive review (Rottentomatoes.com, 2015). Particularly applauded in this film is the maker, executive or author, Mr. Nolan, who got numerous positive notification and compliments even from the best commentators. Case in point, a remarkable pundit, Peter Travers from the Rolling Stone magazine complimented this motion picture and Mr. Nolan expressing that it was similar to a keen chess amusement. Justing Chang who said that the essayist connected the best ability to distinctively portray the procedural point of interest of sub-awareness, very much a surrealists thriller which gave all the viewers a major test to investigate the unpredictable and profound working of the psyche , has commended the authors aptitude (Carson, 2008). The class of this motion picture is broadly translated. Some perspective it as riddle and anticipation, while different people classify it as Drama, activity, or experience (Carson, 2008). Much the same as whatever other motion picture, the issue of such a kind has been liable to the different

McDonald's Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

McDonald's - Case Study Example This is in line with its strategy of product re-imaging. McDonald’s know that at some point in time, products have a life cycle. In terms of pricing, McDonald’s is careful on setting the price for its product, as they consider the customer’s perception of value. Their philosophy behind this is that when their food is priced too low, customers may think that low price is indicative of low quality. Promotions play an important role in the marketing strategy of McDonalds. Most commonly used are TV, billboards, and a mix of marketing tools to get people’s attention, be interested, desire for the food and finally to act and buy. As to place, McDonald’s can be found in almost all areas around the world, which are 32,748 as of 2009. Location is part of re-imaging policy of the company. The bonus compensation plan of McDonald’s is the share-based compensation plan that grants executives various equity-based incentives that includes stock options and restricted stock units (McDonald’s Annual Report 2009) One of the problems of stock options is the upside and downward risk of price of stocks. Stock options have vesting time so that when stock option vests, the executive exercises option whether to buy the stock or not.

Biology Questions Essay Example for Free

Biology Questions Essay Q: Summarize the steps of the scientific method. Describe an experiment of your choice, which demonstrates the basic considerations that must be taken in the design of a good, manipulative experiment. Now that you know some details of how scientists solve problems, how might you apply that knowledge to your daily life? A: The scientific method is one of the most if not the most important method that scientists use to learn about the earth. The goal is to apply the scientific method to determine a cause and effect relationship. The scientific method is made up of five detailed steps, these steps are: I. Make an observation A scientist sees something that he cannot explain, but is very interested and would like to explain the phenomenon. II. Ask Questions After the observation is seen, the scientist comes up with a group of questions such as who, what, where, why, and how. These questions significantly help the scientist narrow down the effects of the phenomenon. III. Develop a Hypothesis A hypothesis is a proposition set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts. This hypothesis must have the ability to be either true, or false. IV. Make Predictions If the hypothesis is correct, scientists will make a prediction on how they think the experiment will end. This helps them have a starting point if the hypothesis is correct. V. Test the Predictions Experimental tests may lead to the confirmation of the prediction, or to the corruption of a prediction. If the hypothesis is not correct, the scientific method requires that the hypothesis must be modified. The prediction must agree with the experiment to believe that it is a valid description of nature. A great experiment that demonstrates the basic considerations that must be taken in the design of a good, manipulative experiment is Galileo’s leaning tower of Pisa experiment. Galileo had two balls of different masses, one heavy, and one light, and dropped them at the same time off of the leaning tower of Pisa. Galileo used the scientific method to make and prediction that their time of descent was independent of their mass. He found out that the objects fell at the same acceleration, proving hid hypothesis to be true, and also proving Aristotle’s theory of gravity to be false. I will apply the scientific method to my daily life in many ways. When I see an interesting observation that I do not know of, I will now create a mini hypothesis that applies to the observation. I will then ask some questions as in what is it? Or how does it do that? Etc. I will then either research the task at hand, or create my own demonstration on the phenomenon. If my hypothesis does not agree with the conclusion, I will re apply a new hypothesis and begin again. I enjoy learning new information and think this will be very amusing. Q: Describe the difference between anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism. Tell which of these positions your views of the environment most closely approximate. Why? A: Anthropocentrism is the tendency that human beings regarding themselves as the most significant entities in the universe. While Biocentrism is an ethical point of view that extends value to non-human species. Ecocentrism is used to regard a nature-centered system of values, as opposed to human and non-human centered. The position that I deem approximate to my view would be the Ecocentrism system of values. The reason I chose Ecocentrism is because in my opinion, a nature-centered sustem of values is very safe and rewarding. Too many people are human-centered and only care about themselves in this world. The Anthropocentrism people are destroying our environment on this planet by not caring about preserving this earth. If we are all nature-centered and do our best everyday to help preserve this earth, we can all change the world together and keep the air clean, the ground picked up, and the streets worry free for our future generation.

Disease Prevention Measures among African Americans Living in the United States Essay Example for Free

Disease Prevention Measures among African Americans Living in the United States Essay My research explores race-based medicine. Specifically, my research will focus on what preventative measures are available for African American women living in the United States. Among minorities African American women have a higher number of health disparities; psychological and disease oriented. What percentages of minorities take advantage of preventative medicine? What percentage of African Americans are aware of resources made available to them? The growing number of obesity related diseases among African American women has increased more than 23% from 2010 (Nickens, H. W., 2006). Failure to use preventative measures has sparked much concern surrounding the implications and scientific evidence of race-based medicine. Race-based medicine focuses on the current system of public health services because now more than ever. Due to the increasing number of deaths within the African American community there is an expectation from the larger medical community on how to improve medical services that will work more efficiently for African American women. The concern about preventative measures among minority groups focuses on three things; 1) that it meets the needs of the individual, 2) that the service will be free at point of delivery and 3) that once service is received the individual will continue to utilize the service which will increase preventative measures for African American women. Preventative measures of obesity related diseases for African American women are lacking in several areas. Awareness about health systems and services offered are sometimes misinterpreted and therefore discourages African American women to utilize health information and facilities offered to the general public. References Anand, Sonia S. Using Ethnicity as a Classification Variable in Health Research. Ethnicity and Health 4:4 (2003): 241-244. Braun, Lundy. Race, Ethnicity, and Health. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 45: 2 (2009): 159-74. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2006). Recommendations to improve preconception health and health care-United States. The Center for Disease Control, Morbidity and Mortality World Report. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2010). Obesity: Maternal and infant health research in pregnancy complications. Retrieved from website: http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/MaternalInfantHealth/PregComplications.htm Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2009, October 2). Quickstats: Prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 years, by race/ethnicity and sex-national health and nutrition examination survey, united states, 2003-2006. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5838a6.htm Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2011). Black or African American populations. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/omhd/Populations/BAA/BAA.htm Institute of Medicine (IOM). (2009). Weight gain du ring pregnancy: Reexamining the guidelines. Retrieved from The National Academy of Sciences website: http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2009/Weight-Gain-During-Pregnancy-Reexamining-the-Guidelines.aspx Nickens, N. W. (2006). Health Affairs: Health promotion and disease prevention among Minorities. Vol (9), no. 2: 133-143. Doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.9.2.133 Siega-Riz, A. M., King, J. (2009). American Dietetic Position Paper. Obesity, reproduction, and pregnancy. Journal of American Dietetic Association, 109 (4), 918-927. Stothard, K., Tennant, P., Bell, R., Rankin, J. (2009). Maternal overweight and obesity and the risk of congenital anomalies: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA, 301(6), 636-650. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (2011). Maternal, infant and child health. Retrieved from website: http://healthypeople.gov/2020/LHI/micHealth.aspx Weiss, J., Malone, F., Emig, D., Ball, R., Nyberg, D., Comstock, C. (2004). Obesity, obstetric complications and cesarean delivery rate: A population-based screening study. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 190(4), 1091-1097.

Media Framing And Construction Of Reality Media Essay

Media Framing And Construction Of Reality Media Essay Over the twentieth century, the dominant position among scholars was that media and journalism should be governed by the values of detachment and objectivity, and so they could be credible (Schudson, 1990 cited in Watkins, 2001: 83). Nevertheless, this notion has been challenged by the researchers of critical studies of news media who have developed the view that media are not passive mirrors of society (Gitlin, 2003: 49), but, on the contrary, they play active and significant role in the social construction of reality (Kruse, 2001: 68). In other words, media do not just report news, but they socially construct them, namely they give a specific meaning to these events (Kruse, 2001: 67-68). The theory of social constructionism, which supports that what we know about world and ourselves is the result of social processes (Cromby and Nightingale, 1999: 4 cited in Johnson-Cartee, 2005: 2), has affected media studies to a significant extent. In this context, plenty of scholars (Brodyn and Page, 1975; Kraus and Davis, 1976; McCombs, 1979 cited in Johnson-Cartee, 2005: 2) believe that media provide us with the mosaics from which we build our own perceptions and accordingly, they might have significant effects on public and society. According to McQuail (1994), the whole study of mass communication has been founded on the assertion that media have important effects. However, the concept of media effects was not always the same, as there were significant variations from period to period and among different scholars. Additionally, there are studies that did not identify any significant media effect at all (Kingdon, 1984; Pritchard and Berkowitz, 1993; Walker, 1977; Wanta and Foot e, 1994 cited in Walgrave et al. 2008: 817). The social construction of news is achieved through the development and employment of frames (Kruse, 2001: 68). Gamson and Modigliani (1987: 143) have defined the frame as a central theme, an organizing idea or a story line that provides meaning to an unfolding strip of events, weaving a connection between them. As for the employment of frames by media, Entman (1993: 52) has stated that adopting certain frames means that media select some aspects of perceived reality and make them more salient, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation and treatment recommendation for the item described. As far as protest coverage is concerned, the literature shows that when media portray demonstrations and other protest events, they indeed employ certain frames (Brasted, 2005). The types of frames that are used and the factors that determine and influence the selection of these frames are described below. As far as the effects of protest coverage are concerned, there are studies that demonstrate that media portrayal of protests has significant effects on audience (McLeod, 1995; McLeod and Detenber, 1999). According to these studies, different frames of protest stories and different levels of intensity with which they are presented are likely to affect how audience perceives protest issues. However, according to Detenber et al (2007), these effects are weaker when media cover more familiar to the audience issues, because of pre-existing knowledge of public. Affecting the perceptions of audience, media coverage of protests may have an influence on the success of the movement itself, a s well. For instance, a positive coverage may encourage the involvement of people, while a negative coverage may lead to opposite results and may undermine a social movement (Entman and Rojecki, 1993). However, certain conditions may be required so that media mobilize people. According to Walgrave and Manssens (2000), media are more likely to mobilize public, if they are not polarized and have high rates of trust among the audience. In addition, in cases of simple and non-political causes and goals, media can achieve peoples mobilization (Walgrave and Manssens, 2000). 2.2 Relationship between media and social movements Over the last decades, significant studies have been conducted on the coverage of protest events by mass media. Based mainly on content or discourse analyses, scholars tried to describe how media portrayed various protest events and explain why specific patterns were used in the coverage. However, the relevant literature is mostly based on USA and UK studies and it is something that we have to take into account as in diverse settings the results may be different. It is important to consider the differences of Greek setting in terms of the media system and the political culture, as well as the particularities of the case that is under examination. Firstly, in order to approach the issue of protest coverage, it is basic to examine the literature about the relationship between media and social movements, in general. Although the case that is under examination, namely the December 2008 protest events in Greece, cannot be simply included in typical cases of social movements (protests were not organized by specific social movement organizations with clear and specific agenda, like in cases of anti-war or labour protests), the examination of the relevant literature is considered helpful. Baylor (1996) has supported that media and social movements have interdependent relationship. That is to say, on the one hand social movements need media and publicity to communicate their goals, to inform and motivate the public, as well as to gain supporters (Baylor, 1996). On the other hand, media search for copy and they are interested about stories that provide drama, conflict, action, colourful copy and photo opportunities, (Baylor, 1996). Soc ial movements and the actions that they choose to adopt, like demonstrations, provide that kind of stories. However, it has been supported that this and this relationship can be sometimes symbiotic and other times antagonistic, because media and movements need each other, but for different reasons (Gitlin, 2003). Gitlins study (2003) demonstrated that this relationship has undergone many changes. Sometimes, media might ignore a movement or might conflict with it, and other times, they might present it in a patterned way, or even cooperate with it (Gitlin, 2003). Many factors explain why media treat social movements and protest events in a specific way and they are analyzed below. The interaction between movements and media has also been considered asymmetric, which means that the relationship is not equal and generally, media are much more powerful than movements (Gamson and Wolfsfeld, 1993). For instance, the fact that a demonstration without media coverage is considered non-event, reveals the great power and supremacy of media nowadays (Gamson andWolfsfeld, 1993). Social movements do not have the power to control the media process, so even if they gain media coverage, they do not have much power over how media will represent their agendas (Brasted, 2005). In many cases, media coverage can result in distortion of movement agendas and goals (Baylor, 1996). Generally, critical media scholars share the view that media tend to marginalize or trivialize critical social movements and suppress critical voices, while social movement organizations do not have the power to ensure useful news access (Gitlin, 2003). This approach to movement-media relationship is highly connected with hegemonic thesis, introduced by Gramsci (1971 cited in Carragee, 1993: 330), according to which dominant classes struggle to preserve their ideological hegemony within the capitalist system and medias role in the maintenance of legitimacy of existing political, social and economic order is considered of high importance. This thesis has affected media scholars significantly, and until now, there are studies that show that media tend to delegitimize voices that challenge capitalist system and the leadership of dominant groups. Media hegemonic model has met a lot of criticism. Carragee (1993) tried to evaluate the debates around the media hegemony thesis and gave an overview of the main critiques around the issue. According to him , the basic challenging views of the model can be divided into two categories; according to liberal-pluralist perspective, media hegemony thesis is cancelled by the existence of diverse and opposing discourses in news content; according to neo-conservative approach, the model is questioned by the fact that there are oppositional and critical to political and market order, media. Hallin (1986 and 1984 cited in Carragee, 1993: 341), tried to refute the latter argument, demonstrating that for instance, media coverage of Vietnam War started to become critical, only when political elites in America stopped to indicate their consent. Finally, as for media-movement relationship, Barker-Plummer (1996) claimed that today this relationship has become much more complex and proposed the dialogic model instead of hegemonic. According to Barker-Plummer (1996), social movements are dynamic and not stable identities and they are characterized by contextual changes that hegemony model does not take into account. Movements and media interact each other and their discourses can affect each other as well (Barker-Plummer, 1996). Therefore, we cannot assure that media will always marginalize social movements. 2.3 Protest coverage As has already been mentioned, media adopt certain frames, when they report news stories. The selection of specific frames and patterns of coverage is influenced by numerous factors. As far as the protest reporting is concerned, it has been supported that media coverage is subject to selection and description bias (Smith et al., 2001). This means that media do not cover all protests that take place but they select to report some of them, besides they select to describe the selected events in a specific way. According to Smith et al. (2001), media cover only a small proportion of protests. Furthermore, their study demonstrates that even if a protest event receives media attention, media usually neutralize or distort its agenda and goals (Smith, et al. 2001). A plenty of researchers (Shoemaker, 1984; Beamish, Molotch, and Flacks, 1995; Husting, 1999; McLeod and Hertog, 1999) have showed that media commonly choose to cover protests in ways that marginalize the events, their participants and their causes. Particularly in cases in which protesters deviate from the norms and values of society and challenge the status quo, media try to delegitimize them (Shoemaker, 1984; McLeod and Hertog, 1992). There are various devices and techniques that are used for the marginalization of protest events (see below). In order to understand how media bias affects the selection and portrayal of news stories, and specifically protest stories, we should examine the basic factors that influence media framing. Smith et al. (2001) have emphasized the role of institutional logic of media organizations in adoption of frames. Analytically, the routine nature of newsgathering (namely, whether the events can be integrated into media organizational routines) and the reliance on official sources affect media selection and description of events (Baylor, 1996). The main reason why they use official sources extensively is the fact that these sources provide news stories with credibility and legitimacy, as well enhance the objectivity of news, or at least they create this illusion (McLeod and Hertog, 1999). Also, it has to do with issues of cost as well, because if media rely on sources that are considered credible, they do not need to invest much money for searching information (Herman and Chomsky, 1994). When of ficials, institutions, government, and other authorities like police are the dominant sources, then official definitions are highlighted (McLeod and Hertog, 1999). An idea that has influenced significantly the area of news production is the propaganda model, developed by Herman and Chomsky (1994), which has received hostile criticism, though. According to this model (Herman and Chomsky, 1994), the choice and the content of news are affected by a series of filters. Analytically, media ownership and their profit orientation, their close ties with political and economic elites, their dependence on advertising as a basic income source, as well as the heavy reliance of media on official sources influence what and how it will be reported (Herman and Chomsky, 1994). Herman and Chomsky (1994) paid particular attention to the role of money and power in the construction of news. In cases of protest coverage, these filters could play important role. Similarly, Smith et al (2001) have supported that media, as integral part of capitalist system, work in favour of powerful economic and political interests and they select and interpret the events in such a wa y as to reproduce ideas that support the broader power relationships of society. Accordingly, media are unlikely to cover sympathetically movements and protests that challenge the interests of the elites (Lee and Solomon, 1990). These ideas are highly connected with the hegemonic thesis that was described above. As far as the debates over Chomsky and Hermans ideas are concerned, Hallin (1994) has demonstrated that propaganda model contains failures. That is to say, according to him (Hallin, 1994), the model does not take into account other forces that could work in different direction from that of the described filters, for instance journalistic professionalism and objectivity. However, it is important to mention that according to Hallin and Mancini (2004), journalism in Greece is characterized by low levels of professionalization, besides it is common for Greek journalists to express their views and their comments along with the presentation of facts, and so it is difficult to discern their opinions from the facts. Additionally, propaganda model has been criticized for taking ruling class interests for granted and considering them homogenous (Knight cited in Klaehn, 2003: 363). This means, that media do not take diverse interests and conflicts, which might exist among elites, into consideration. In response to that, Herman and Chomsky (1988) have stated that media present elite controversy and debates, but only when elites disagree on specific tactics and not on fundamental ideas. Based on these ideas, the indication of literature (Boyle et al. 2004) that media are more likely to marginalize deviant protest groups that criticize the foundations of capitalism than groups with less radical goals seems rational. Other scholars have challenged propaganda model, claiming that media are pluralistic (Doyle, Elliot, and Tindall, 1997), while Hacket (1991 cited in Klaehn, 2003: 366) have demonstrated that media, under certain conditions, can express oppositional and different views. For instance, if a v iew challenges individual state policies and does not suggest significant and wide alternatives, then it can be expressed by the media (Hackett, 1991: 281 cited in Klaehn, 2003: 366). So, Hackett seems to agree with Chomsky and Herman on that media do not express discourses that challenge the fundamental principles of capitalism. Although Chomsky and Hermans ideas were an area of great debate among scholars, literature shows that a great number of media scholars share the opinion that media play a central role in the maintenance of social order. McFarlane and Hay (2003) have claimed that media act as gatekeepers and supporter of the existing power structures. According to McLeod and Hertog (1999), media, are important agents of social control and thus, they convey social control messages, through which they reinforce the norms and mainstream values of society while they isolate and damn deviant actions and viewpoints. Various studies (Entman and Rojecki, 1993; Smith et al. 2001) have demonstrated that media tend to marginalize groups, actions, and viewpoints that challenge and criticize the existing power structures and political and social order. As a result, media will ignore or they will unfavourably cover protests with goals and agendas that challenge and criticize the economic system on which media rely heavily, as well as ideas that can destabilize market and capitalist order (Smith et al. 2001). However, it is important to mention that nowadays there is a significant trend toward rising of protests and generally of unconventional forms of political engagement (Milne, 2005). This trend can be attributed to the fact that more and more citizens are questioning government policies and elites, as well as to the decrease of participation in ordinary forms of politics, like elections (Dalton, 2004) and to the decline of political attachment (Whiteley, 2003). So, it has been supported that protests have partly become an accepted form of political involvement (Milne, 2005). That might have some effects on media coverage of these events. Milne (2005) has supported that sometimes media, and specifically print media (due to fact that they have been facing problems of reduced circulation numbers and facing a strong competition from internet), can have a positive attitude towards these unconventional forms of political involvement. Additionally, according to Milne (2005), newspapers can u se social movements and protest events as a tool to undermine some politicians or political parties, and therefore they may cover them positively. For instance, a newspaper, which is affiliated with a party that is in opposition, might support a demonstration that challenges the government and its policies. Consequently, in these cases media seem to be pluralistic and not hegemonic. Yet, it is important to examine whether media cover positively groups that challenge fundamental principles of the capitalist system, or they just question specific policies and tactics. Generally, literature has demonstrated that media have never supported radical protest groups that called into question the capitalism itself. Finally, it is important to take into account the particularities of Greek media system, because they might influence the way that media cover events like demonstrations. According to Hallin and Mancini (2004), media system in Greece belongs to the Mediterranean or Polarized model. That is to say, it is characterized by high political parallelism and low professionalization (Hallin and Mancini, 2004). Papathanasopoulos (2001) has claimed that despite the commercialization and market-orientation of Greek media, (the majority of media are private-owned, apart from the public broadcaster, ERT), their political instrumentalization is still dominant, that is to say there are outside political actors that control them. However, he has highlighted that nowadays media owners are much more powerful than politicians are, using media as a tool for political profits (Papathanassopoulos, 2001). So, Greek media cannot be considered neutral, but on the contrary, unabashedly partisan, sensational an d political (Zaharopoulos and Paraschos, 1993: 96). 2.4 Marginalization techniques As has already been mentioned, in many cases literature shows that media tend to cover negatively and marginalize protest events. The devices and techniques, which are usually employed for that purpose are described analytically below. Tone of headlines and articles Firstly, through the tone of headlines and the nature of articles, journalist can express their support or criticism against a protest group (Boyle at al. 2004). A protest story is covered negatively, when headlines pay particular attention to violent actions, to conflicts between protesters and police, as well as to arrests (McLeod and Hertog, 1999). Negative nature of a protest article can be indicated through many ways, for instance by focusing on cases of legal violations by the protest group and by emphasizing negative actions of protesters and more extreme aspects of them (McLeod and Hertog, 1992). According to Husting (1999), media commonly use the us versus them scenario in the coverage of radical protests. In other words, on the one side it is the society, the public opinion, all of us and on the other side the protesters, them. Furthermore, according to McLeod and Hertog (1999), journalists tend to use the episodic framing when they cover groups that deviate from the status quo, namely they focus on events and actions of protesters (e.g. violent acts, arrests, destructions) instead of presenting the issues raised by the group, like their agenda and their goals. The use of episodic frames contributes to the marginalization of protests because this way, protesters are performed just as acting and their acts are not linked with any cause, or any political context (Boyle et al. 2004: 49). It is important to mention that there are two important reasons that can explain why media choose that type of coverage. Firstly, because of pressure that deadlines and other limitations of media organization exert, there is not much time for reporters to investigate and analyze complicated issues that have to do with the goals of protesters and it is easier to focus on events (Boyle et al. 2004). Furthermore, protest events a nd actions are interesting and good news, for instance violent events and property destructions interest journalists significantly (Boyle et al. 2004). Story framing Mcleod and Hertog (1999) have identified several types of frames that tend to marginalize protest events and their participants. Firstly, the violent crime story is the most frequent frame and focuses on the violent acts of protesters. Journalists tend to highlight clashes between police and protesters and generally, they focus on the extreme aspects of the protest group; the ignorance of peaceful actions is also common phenomenon (McLeod, 1995). Secondly, the property crime story emphasizes the property destructions, for instances cases of vandalism (burning cars and buildings, breaking shop windows etc.). There is also the Riot frame that is quite similar to the above-mentioned frames and present protests as riots without any political context. An additional frame that marginalizes protests is the carnival frame, which represents protesters as performers within a spectacle who act without any political cause. Furthermore, the freak show frame focuses on appearance and other odd cha racteristics of protesters, like piercing, nudity etc. By making comments about the appearance, media manage to trivialize the goals and the political framework of protesters (Gitlin, 2003). There is also the Romper Room frame that presents protesters as engaging in immature and childish actions and the moral decay that presents protest events as an indication of the general decay of society. Lastly, the storm watch frame highlights the fact that protest groups may threaten the mainstream society significantly. What is interesting and at the same time contradictory is the fact that on the one hand, media seek to diminish the effectiveness of protest groups, but on the other hand, they exaggerate the threats that these groups may pose to society (McLeod, 1995). Reliance on official sources The reliance on official sources in the media coverage of protests contributes to the marginalization and delegitimization of the protest group, because official sources tend to support status quo and question the legitimacy of groups that challenge it (McLeod and Hertog, 1999). Furthermore, when media cover radical protests, they are unlikely to use members of the protest group as sources (Boyle et al, 2004). In this case, they are interested in dealing with actions, violence, and conflicts in order to delegitimate them, while they want to ignore issues raised by protesters (Boyle et al. 2004: 50). However, even if protesters are used as sources, then journalists usually paraphrase and distort their views, in order to delegitimize them (McLeod and Hertog, 1999: 319). Invocation of public opinion In cases of protests coverage, media invoke public opinion extensively in order to isolate and marginalize protest groups (McLeod Hertog, 1992). Media depiction of public opinion can take many forms. Journalists can make generalizations by providing general statements about public opinion, and showing that people are against protesters; phrases such as the national mood or most people feel, are common (McLeod and Hertog, 1992; McLeod and Hertog, 1999: 316). Another form of invocation of public opinion, but rarely used, is through opinion polls, (McLeod and Hertog, 1992; McLeod and Hertog, 1999). It has been claimed that if opinion polls demonstrate that the majority of people agree with the goals of protesters, then media may ignore or marginalize them (Entman and Rojecki, 1993). Whats more, media commonly invoke social norms, in order to show that protest groups and their actions deviate from these norms (McLeod and Hertog, 1992; McLeod and Hertog, 1999). The communication of norm violations is achieved by focusing on violent behaviour of protesters, on their non-conventional or strange appearance etc. (McLeod and Hertog, 1992; McLeod and Hertog, 1999). Media may also focus on legal violations (McLeod and Hertog, 1999). That is to say, legal issues and violations are highlighted, and protesters are represented as criminals. Media can also invoke public opinion by using bystanders who are either indifferent to protests or hostile (McLeod and Hertog, 1999). The application of the above-mentioned techniques depends mainly on the type and the goals of protests (Boyle et al, 2004). For instance, the extent to which a protest group challenges the status quo and the existing system determines whether and to what degree media will apply the marginalization devices in their coverage (McLeod and Hertog, 1999). It has been claimed that anti-war protests are more likely to receive negative and radical coverage than the labour or police protests, because anti-war protests call into question the social system (Boyle et al. 2004). Finally, it is important to note an important contradiction. As has been mentioned above, media are based on official sources largely because the credibility and the status of those sources help journalist to be objective. The use of episodic framing can satisfy the same goal. That is to say, media report events and actions that indeed took place, without expressing their views, so they can support that they are objective. But, on the other hand, it has been demonstrated that framing in terms of events as well as adoption of official definitions contribute to the marginalization of protests, which means that finally media are not so objective. Summary In general, the main arguments about media coverage of protest events are highly connected with the hegemonic thesis that supports that media play an important role in the maintenance of status quo. Although this idea has received a lot of criticism, it has affected media studies to a significant extent. Several studies have demonstrated that media have a tendency to delegitimize and trivialize groups that challenge capitalist system and the leadership of dominant groups. In cases of protest events, literature showed that media tend to ignore them and generally cover a limited number of them, while even if a demonstration gain attention, media choose to describe it in negative way, trying to marginalize it. This is more common in cases of radical protests, namely when they have radical goals and agenda and challenge the foundations of capitalism. The marginalization is achieved with the employment of various devices and specific frames. Nevertheless, the findings of the specific study demonstrated that, under certain circumstances, media can use a variety of frames and not only the negative ones and generally be more balanced, even if they cover some radical demonstrations. Particularities in terms of the nature of protest events, specific elements of media system, as well as some political circumstances can have significant influence on media portrayal of protests.