Planning, Delivering and Evaluating Teaching Session

Planning, Delivering and Evaluating Teaching Session A portfolio of evidence and in-depth critical reflection on the planning, preparation, delivery and evaluation of a teaching session. Introduction The title of the teaching session chosen was: â€Å"Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment.† I have performed an in-depth critical reflection of the whole process of undertaking the teaching session and the details of this are presented below. I reflected upon factors (personal, interpersonal, contextual) that might have influenced the effectiveness of the teaching and learning utilising support and evidence from the literature. In particular I incorporated theories of teaching and learning including learning styles. The purpose behind this exercise was primarily for me, as a teacher, to become a more effective teacher. An added benefit was the teaching session provided which supplemented nurse education on an important topic which is likely to make a difference to the students (Clark 2005) and one which is incorporated into the process of clinical governance. There are a variety of learning styles and one of these – activist (Honey, 1982) – learns most effectively from actually performing the task. However performance of the task is relevant as a learning exercise for individuals with different learning styles. To improve the benefit gained, to me as a learner, from the teaching episode I have identified the key areas integral to the teaching session and have then reflected upon them. I have read and reflected upon theories of education with particular focus on how adults learn and have utilised some of this theory to enhance the usefulness of my reflection into how the teaching session took place. The portfolio of evidence follows in appendices. These are copies of the actual documents used. These are referenced within the reflective elements of the exercise presented below. The process follows a flexible but focussed teaching plan through the delivery of the teaching episode to feedback culminating in refection on feedback and subsequent plans for improvement in subsequent sessions. Rationale for choice of teaching session The topic was â€Å"Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment.† This was chosen for the following reasons: It is an important area It has a high incidence. In a study in 1991 4.03% of admissions developed pressure sores. In orthopaedic wards 10.3% developed sores (Clark and Watts, 1994). Patients also develop pressure sores in the community; a study by Richardson (1993) found 284 patients out of 1 021 presented with a sore on admission to hospital. Once a pressure ulcer develops it is difficult to treat and care is costly both within medical and surgical specialities (Beckrich and Aronovitch 1999). In the Netherlands the cost of treating pressure sores is third after cancer and cardiovascular disease (Health Council of the Netherlands, 1999). Pressure ulcers are distressing to patients. They adversely influence length of stay which is one of the clinical governance outcome measures Increasing length of stay blocks beds and has the ultimate effect of lengthening waiting times for elective surgical procedures This has financial implications for the Trust Scare NHS resources are diverted away for treating pre-existing diseases The are medico legal effects (Moody, 1997) Pressure sore are largely preventable (Stephen-Haynes). Nursing on pressure relieving mattresses can be effective (Hofman et al, 1994) However treating everyone prophylactically can incur greater financial cost than treating the sores themselves (Touche Ross 1993) We can effectively predict which patients are at high risk although the Waterlow score does not perform well in the community (Edwards M (1996) and there are also concerns about its performance within the hospital setting (Schoonhoven,2006). We can target preventative treatment at those at high risk Prevention measures in the high risk group can make a difference (Cooper and gray, 2002) The risk factors need to be understood by all nursing staff on the ward (Moody et al, 1988). It is important to keep up to date with new ideas in the topic Planning based on a Teaching Plan (Quinn 2000) The purpose of the teaching plan is to be of assistance to the students. It helps to ensure that important information is not omitted. The teaching plan is different from the teacher’s notes. A copy of the teaching plan is presented in appendix 2. The aim of the teaching session was â€Å"to develop an understanding of the principles of pressure ulcer risk assessment.† The learning outcomes were â€Å"At the end of this teaching session students should be able to: Define the term ‘pressure ulcer’ and explain rationales for risk assessment. Understand the importance of clinical governance in relation to pressure ulcer risk assessment. Understand principles of presure ulcer risk assessment tool (Waterlow scale) (Waterlow, 1985, 1988, 2005). The seven learners were student nurses from the first to the third year of study. A written plan was set out as shown in appendix 2. This detailed the sequence and process of the session. Approximate timings were given in the first column. The content column detailed six items for teaching. The two remaining columns detailed teacher and student activity for each of the six items. For the first two items; definition of pressure ulcer and rationale for risk assessment consisted of teacher activity questioning students. The teacher, according to the session plan, explained and read from handouts the relationship between pressure ulcer risk assessment and Clinical Governance. For the Waterlow risk assessment scale the teacher activity planned was questioning the students and clarifying subsections and reading from handouts. In the conclusion the teacher activity according to the plan was summarising. The sequencing of the teaching points loosely corresponded to the Herbatian (Quinn, 2000) principles whereby the simplest concepts are dealt with first and there is progress on to newer more complex material. Preparation of self, subject material, students environment Self I ensured that I had no other commitments at the time of the teaching session and no other commitments in the session immediately before that could overrun. I ensured that my colleagues knew this portion of my time was committed to teaching. I ensured that there would be no interruptions for myself and also that I was not working the night before the teaching session. My advance preparation utilised time management skills. I went over the teaching material the day before the session. I was aware of the policy within the hospital about screening for pressure sore risk and subsequent management so that the contents of the presentation were likely to be appropriate in the day to day working context. Subject material I had thoroughly read up about the subject from a variety of resources including paper backed and electronic journals, National Electronic Library for Health and Internet websites. I had predicted some questions and formulated some draft answers to them. Students I already knew who they were and at what stage in their training they were. In advance of the teaching session I asked a number of them about what they already knew about the topic, what teaching they had already had on it and what they felt their learning needs were. I advertised the teaching session to the students beforehand. I choose a time and location which was convenient for the students as well as for myself. I considered how much preparation the students might do beforehand and I chose not to give out detailed information ahead of the teaching session in case only a proportion of the students would have more detailed knowledge and it would then make the group less homogenous which I thought would be more difficult to teach – some students may not follow what was going on whereas others may be bored. Environment A teaching room was obtained. The chairs were arranged in a semi-circular pattern in order for students and mentor to sit and face the teacher and overhead projector. I ensured that there was a clock an overhead projector and I took acetates and a portable table. I also ensured that there was no telephone in the room which might interrupt the session. I checked the temperature of the room beforehand and the means available of adjusting the temperature in the room during the teaching session. The room seemed overly hot and so I took a portable fan to the session. Delivery the process of undertaking the session The total time allocated for this teaching session was 20 minutes. The delivery of the teaching session was largely interactive although some of the students did not participate in the discussion. I utilised presentation skills (Power presentation info) and was already aware that appearance and body language affect the audience much more that does speech tone which in turn affects an audience more than the particular words spoken. I was already aware that the audience judges a speaker very early on in the presentation. I took account of the attributes of a good teacher (gp-training.net) incorporating the following aspects; Clarity of objectives and priorities Knowledge of the subject Knowledge of educational theory Communication skills Motivation The teaching was interactive because I asked the students questions whilst teaching to assess their knowledge and understandings about the topic. I used my awareness of what constitutes a good questioning style by asking open questions, starting at a more basic level and going onto questions which were reflective and probing. I tried to be clear and succinct in my explanations avoiding repetition. Overall I had in mind to make the session learner-centred. I used cue cards so that I did not need detailed notes. I gave out and used handouts in such a way that the students would not be distracted by looking at them. The process was not a lecture since I spent some time explaining the contents of some of the handouts. Some of the questions were combinations of closed and open questions such as, â€Å"what is †¦..?†, â€Å"can anybody explain or tell me what this†¦.. means please?†, â€Å"what do you understand by the term †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦?† I spent a preponderance of the available time asking questions, explaining and clarifying. Some students responded accurately to most of the questions whilst others just kept quiet or just watched me.Most of the time, they either responded to questions, studying their handouts, whispering or listening. I spent one occasion on one to one interaction with one of the students trying to explain how to calculate the BMI whilst others worked in pairs during this time. I was surprised that only one or two questions were asked by the students. Evaluation decisions relating to the process of evaluation and preparing evaluation materials I prepared beforehand an evaluation form. At the end of the session I gave each student an evaluation form and asked if they would complete it and then put them all together in a pile. I explained to the students that the purpose of the evaluation form was to get feedback from them which would be used to improve future teaching. In doing this I planned to convey my enthusiasm and trust in the process that it is the valued feedback from the students that is a very powerful driver for the continuous improvement in education. In advance I had already considered that it would be important to try and get a completed feedback form from all of the students. If students did not complete and return a form it might be because they did not gain anything from the teaching session and it would be the views of these people that it would be important to obtain. My strategy for achieving 100% return of the forms was to wait until the forms were handed back (I counted them) before giving out the attendance register to sign. I explained to the students that the session would be finished once the feedback forms and attendance register had been dealt with. The summary of the completed forms is shown in the appendix. The forms included an area for free text comments. However I appreciated that the feedback form was just one aspect of the feedback from this session (de Cossart and Fish, 2005). Once the session was drawing to a close and the feedback forms were being completed it was really too late to utilise any feedback from the forms for that session. The students would therefore give their feedback in such a way that they knew that they were not so likely to be taught me again in the near future therefore they could not make specific requests of me. This may lead to their feedback being of a much more general nature and hence less immediately useful for enhancing my own personal teaching style. To try and counteract this I attempted to gain some feedback during the session itself. I observed the body language of the students and also asked them whether they felt what they were learning was relevant and which aspects they would to concentrate on, I then tried to modify someway towards this without detracting too widely from the session plan. Feedback response to evaluation feedback (from learners/students) and self-evaluation Response to feedback from the students Self evaluation I felt that I had performed well in some areas. I felt I was proceeding at a pace that was appropriate for the students. I did feel slightly nervous whilst teaching although I do not think that this affected my tone of voice by making it too high. I felt that my interaction with the students was probably good. I felt that the topic was an appropriate one for most of the students. I had provided the students with a reference list for further reading and although I felt this was a good idea since according to educational theory adult learners need to be given direction and motivation to seek things out for themselves I felt that I had provided the direction but not so much of the motivation. I felt that there were some weak areas which could benefit from further action. I felt that the main disadvantage was that the students might not have achieved their learning outcomes due to the time constraint of the session only being 20 minutes and the small size of the room. I felt relieved at the end of the teaching session because the room was too small, the students were beginning to loose concentration, there was so much needing to be covered on the topic but the time was insufficient. Initially I felt strongly that I need to negotiate for a larger teaching room and more time to achieve better outcomes in the future. However on further reflection I now appreciate that I should not have to negotiate for a bigger teaching room I just need to state what the requirements of the room size are for the students. Certain resources are necessary in order for students to be taught. In retrospect it would have probably been advantageous to include on the evaluation form for the students a section on the teaching environment. Deficiencies in the physical space would probably have been highlighted by the students indicating the need for the location problem to be addressed by the allocater of rooms. More time will not necessarily improve effectiveness of teaching it may be necessary to make the subject matter fit the available time. Feedback from the students The feedback from the students contains combinations of both negatives and positive remarks.I felt overwhelmed about the large response but had mixed feelings about individual feedbacks. In addition the assessor gave me positive feedback after the teaching but was more critical about the whole teaching in private. Reflective practice (Schà ¶n, 1987) consists of two elements: reflection in action, this occurred at the time of the teaching session reflection on action, occurred following the session and involved thinking about what happened, what contributed to it and whether the actions were appropriate and how they might be improved. Action plan for future practice identify key points for future development Learn and utilise techniques for dealing with the students who are quiet (e.g. asking a generalised question). Assess my own learning style and adapt learning episodes to fit in with this. (Honey, 1982). Have a written teaching plan with space for my comments so these can be filled in immediately whilst still fresh in my mind. These notes can then be useful for the reflective process (Quinn, 2001). Have a space on the evaluation form for comments on the environment. Use photographs and pictures. Get the students to actually use the scale. Do less reading of handouts. Find out at the end what they know. According to Knowles (1984) it is a basic principle that adults learn best if they diagnose their own learning needs and this triggers their motivation to learn. Utilising the andragogy (Knowles, 1984) which is defined as the art and science of helping adults learn but now accepted more as guidance than a theory (Kaufman, 2003) adults value learning that integrates with their every day needs and are more interested in a problem centred approach therefore an interactive problem solving approach will be used for the teaching session in future. Consider a practical basis to the session for instance get the students to actually use the risk scoring system by applying it to examples. According to Knowles (1984) it is a basic principle that adult learning is facilitated by encouraging learners to identify resources and ways of using these to fulfil their learning needs. Direct them to how to search the literature for relevant information rather than providing a list of resources. Improving performance includes preparing well in advance, ensure appropriate room bookings, or choose a topic that is not too broad but enough to covered within the timeframe. Use of electronic resources saves on time, photocopying and subsequent student storage. Explore the use of the intranet for this. Conclusion It is now going to be particularly important to repeat the exercise without delay. It would probably be helpful to teach the same group of students for 20 minutes in a larger room on a topic of their choice. I could perhaps invite them to choose from a number of topics that I propose but they could also add suggestions of their own. It is going to be a worthwhile exercise for my own learning experience as a teacher to then perform the same evaluation exercise as done here to plan subsequent improvements since the process of teaching effectively can always be improved. It is going to be valuable to develop some effective means of archiving information with learning points and proposals for change. It would also be helpful to have some aspects of the teaching readily available at all times on a memory stick when an impromptu ten minute presentation could be given for instance if there is a delay in an audit meeting. Such action would add to my teaching experience and probably be much appreciated by the department. In the future evaluation of student feedback might be analysed statistically if it is obtained as a continuous variable for instance on a visual analogue scale which can then be converted to percentages. This would enable some measure of, hopefully, improvement to be readily apparent which will further motivate me as a teacher. Finally this exercise has very clearly demonstrated the cycle of think, plan, do, reflect which is integral to the learning cycle described by Cheek (2005) of a learner centred approach. References Beckrich K Aronovitch SA 1999 Hospital acquired pressure ulcers: a comparison of costs in medical vs. surgical patients. Nurs Econ 17:263-271 Cheek B 2005 The learning cycle in http://www.gp-training.net/training/restrain.htm accessed 10 March 2006 Clark M Watts S 1994 The incidence of pressure sores within a National Health Service Trust hospital during 1991. Journal of Advanced Nursing 1994 20 33-6. Clark M 2005 Enhancing the effectiveness of the teaching and learning of core clinical skills Hilton PA Pollard CL Nurse Education in Practice 5 289-95 Cooper P and Gray D 2002 Best practice statement for the prevention of pressure ulcers. British Journal of Nursing Supplement Vol 11 No 12 S38-48 de Cossart L and Fish D 2005 Cultivating a thinking surgeon. TFM Publishing Shrewsbury Edwards M (1996) Pressure sore risk: validating an assessment tool British Journal of Community Health Nursing Vol 1, No 5 282-8 Health Council of the Netherlands. Pressure ulcers. The Hague: The Health Council of the Netherlands, 1999. (Publication No 1999/23.) Hofman A Geelkerken RH Wille J et al 1994 Pressure sores and pressure-decreasing mattresses: controlled clinical trial Lancet.5;343(8897):568-71. Honey P 1982 The Manual of Learning Styles, Honey and Mumford, Maidenhead Peter Honey Learning. About the learning styles questionnaire. www.peterhoney.com/ls80/ accessed 9 March 2006 Kaufman D 2003 Applying educational theory in practice British Medical Journal 326:213-216 Knowles MS 1984 Andragogy in action: applying modern principles of adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Moody BL Finale JE Thompson M et al 1988 Impact of staff education on pressure sore development in elderly hospitalised patients Archives Internal Medicine 148(10) :22412243 Moody M 1997 Fighting against pressure sores and a rise in legal suits British Journal of Health Care Management. 3(1): 41-41. Morrall P 2005 Quality assurance in nurse education- the social context of learning. Nurse education today vol 25 issue 8 620-4 Power presentation info http://www.powerpresentation.info/ accessed 10 March 2006 Quinn, F.N. (2000). Principles and practice of nurse education. 4th Edition. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Richardson B (1993) Hospital versus community-acquired pressure sores. Should prevalence rates be separated? Journal of Tissue Viability 3(1): 13-15 Schà ¶n DA 1987 Educating the reflective practitioner: toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Schoonhoven L Haalboom, JREBousema MT et al 2006 Prospective cohort study of routine use of risk assessment scales for prediction of pressure ulcers BMJ 2002;325:797 Stephen-Haynes J Pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention British Journal of Community Nursing Vol 9, No 12 540-44 The attributes of a good teacher http://www.gp-training.net/training/intending_trainers_course/atttea.htm  Accessed 10 March 2006 Touche Ross 1993 Report to the Department of Health on the cost of  pressure sores to the Health Service. In: Department of Health Guidance Pressure Sores: A Key Quality Indicator. Health Publications Unit, Heywood Lancs Walsh K 2006 Are you a globalist or an analyst? BMJ2006;332:524 Waterlow J (2005) Pressure sores – Symptom (online). Available: http://www.judy-waterlow.co.uk/pressure-sore-symptoms.htm accessed 8 March 2006 Waterlow J (1985) A risk assessment card. Nursing Times 81: 48-55 Waterlow J (1988) Prevention is cheaper than cure. Nursing Times 84: 25

White Collar And Its Impact On The Society Criminology Essay

White Collar And Its Impact On The Society Criminology Essay Sutherland defined white collar crime as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his or her occupation (Benson, 2009). According to Siegel (2012), this definition and the subsequent works of Sutherland constitute great milestone in the history of criminology. However, he notes inadequacies in this scope since it focuses on corporate criminality with emphasis on the rich and powerful members of the society. As such, definition of white collar crimes has taken a much broader perspective of the society to include corporate titans and middle-income Americans. Today, white collar crimes include credit card fraud, bankruptcy o credit frauds among others. Forms of white collar crimes White-Collar Client Fraud Common white-collar frauds include Credit card fraud, bank fraud, Health care fraud and tax evasion. Credit card fraud involves any unauthorized use of a credit card to purchase merchandise or services. There are several ways a criminal can go about committing this crime. The thief can do it the old-fashioned way and pick someones pocket. Before the victim realizes his wallet is gone, the thief can buy thousands of dollars worth of merchandise number by sending a fake e-mail asking for it. Some thieves even go through garbage looking for carbon copies of credit card transactions, just to steal the number (Benson, 2009). Finally, a criminal could commit credit card fraud by obtaining a real credit card through false pretenses. The law allows those who are hopelessly in debt to be relieved of that debt by declaring bankruptcy, that is, an official promise not to borrow any more money for a set period of time. White-collar criminals can exploit these laws to get out of paying debts, and then change their identity so that new loans can be secured. According to Siegel (2009), bank fraud may include cheque forgery, check kitting, sale of stolen cheques, presentation of false statements on loan application and unauthorized use of ATMs. In the U.S, bank fraud attracts a penalty of $1 million fine or imprisonment of up to 30 years (Benson, 2009). Health care fraud occurs when people take advantage of health care providers, health insurance companies, or government health care programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare, to wrongfully gain money. The number-one type of health care fraud involves billing patterns. Doctors will perform a small task for a patient, such as treat them for a cold, but will bill the insurance company for some-thing more serious, such as setting a broken leg. In some billing fraud cases, every bill sent from the fraudulent doctors office to an insurance company was exaggerated in some way. Other types of health care fraud include kickbacks la sum of money paid illegally in exchange for favors), billing a premium rate for services performed by a person less qualified than the billing doctor, and billing for unnecessary equipment (Friedrich, 2010). Law enforcement has found significant health care fraud going on at all types of health care facilities: hospitals, doctors offices, ambulance services, laboratories, drug stores, medical equipment suppliers, and nursing homes. These frauds lead to misappropriate of government revenue resources and is likely to compromise health cover programs (Benson, 2009). Low income earners stand to suffer more in the event of collapse of such medical covers. The government may be forced to increase taxes to sustain the inflated health budgets this subjects a heavier tax burden to the public. Tax evasion is also another form of white collar client fraud in which errant taxpayers evades paying part or sum of taxes on the money earned. In this crime, the direct victim is the government while the general public is the indirect victim. According to Benson (2009), tax evasion is a challenging issue for criminological studies since many U.S citizens and organizations report cooked books of account. Unfortunately, it is difficult to draw a line between accountancy errors and tax evasion strategies. It is important to note that taxes collected by the government are used to finance public projects including education, health and infrastructure among others. Therefore, tax evasion has a long term impact on the general public as the government fails to collect enough or budgeted revenues to finance such projects. White-Collar Influence Peddling In this type of crime, individuals holding influential institutional positions sell their influence to outsiders who have interest in information about the institution or influencing the activities of the organization. Crimes in this category include organizational or government employees taking bribes from contractors in order to award them contracts they could have otherwise won on merit. Such practices compromise the quality of service delivered since in most cases, candidates unlikely to secure contracts on merit are awarded contracts. It is also compromises the ethical process of procurement in institutions (Benson, 2009). White-Collar Chiseling White-Collar chiseling involves deceit or deception by organizations or people. Chiseling schemes normally involve overcharging or billing for items never received by customers. For instance: a garage billing a customer for auto repairs that were never performed or required. It can also entail substituting cheap brand goods for expensive brands or altering product measurements with a motive of depriving customers. According to White (2008), chiseling schemes deny customers fair treatment by bending laws of familiar and reasonable business practice. For example; Robert Courtney, a Kansas City pharmacist sold diluted mixtures of cancer medication commonly used in treatment of AIDS related diseases, lung, pancreatic, advanced ovarian and breast cancers. His criminal activities had involved 98,000 prescriptions and harmed over 4,200 patients (Siegel, 2012). It is worrying that some individuals in very sensitive professions like Mr. Courtney can willfully sacrifice lives of patients for p ersonal gains. Corporate Crime Corporate crime is a form of white-collar crime in which large and influential organizations or their agents intentionally breach the laws that require them to do social good or restrain them from doing social harm. Siegel (2012) defines corporate crime as all those injurious acts committed by people in control of large companies to further their business interests. In this case, the perpetrator of the crime is a legal entity; the corporation, and as such, the law does not lift the corporate veil to hold its agents liable. Examples of crimes in this category include false claim advertising, deceptive pricing, illegal restraint of trade and worker safety violation. In false claim advertising, firms reveal certain appealing or unique information about their products or services with the purpose of luring customers in to buying them. Such firms may not reveal dangerous information about their products. In long run, the folly nature of consumers may lead to harm such as product side effects and death among others. In illegal restraint of trade, firms are involved in conspiracy with the purpose of stifling competition by creating monopolies or maintaining their set prices. In deceptive pricing, corporations communicate misleading information to potential buyers. Collectively, these malpractices enable such corporations to deprive large sums of money from the public (Siegel, 2012). Worker safety violation involves organizations poor or unsafe working conditions which are likely to harm employees. According to Benson (2009), it has been estimated that over 20 million people in the world are currently exposed to hazardous materials or work situations. Accordingly, averages of 4 million workers are injured and 4000 die on the job each year. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has played a central position in controlling workers safety by setting standards for use of dangerous chemicals such as lead, coke, benzene and arsenic among others. Violation of these standards amounts to criminal acts. White-collar swindles This form of crimes involves an individual (purportedly a criminal) using his or her ongoing business or institutional position to fraudulently trick other parties out of their property or money. Typical crimes in this category involve investment frauds in which some corporations engage in unethical investment practices to fraud the investors. For example: in the 1929 economic depression, allegedly caused by overpricing of stocks, led to collapse of the U.S stock market. Some days before the collapse of the stock market, top investor concealed the information and sold off their holdings. The collapse left masses of the American population in extreme poverty. Other investment schemes which affected economies include the Ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme and the Prime bank scheme among others (Siegel, 2012). Green Crime and its Impact on the Society and Environment According to Siegel (2012), definition of green crime can be approached from three perspectives including; legalistic, environmental justice and Bio-centric. From the legalistic perspective, environmental crimes entail all those activities that violate existing criminal laws designed to protect the environment and/or people. This stretches to include occupational health and safety, and environmental management crimes (Siegel, 2012). According to environmental justice perspective, some organizational or government activities may have a very great impact on the environment, yet such institutions may have substantial powers to manipulate environmental laws. Therefore, this approach advocates for a broader view of green crimes and not only the laws. Bio-centric view perceives environmental crime as any human activity that has the potential to disrupt a bio-system and /or destroy animal and plant life (Siegel, 2012). This is a more thorough approach since it would criminalize any human ac tivity whether as a result of negligent or intentional or manipulation that is likely to cause harm on the earths natural resources. Forms of Green Crime and their Impact Illegal logging This crime involves harvesting, processing and transporting wood products or timber in violation of existing treaties and laws. According to Siegel (2012), it is a universal activity in timber producing countries where law enforcement is lax; especially 3rd world countries. Violations in this category include evading export duties payable on transportation of logs, ignoring legally established logging quotas, processing logs without licenses and explored legally restricted forest quotas like national parks among others. These illegal logging practices generate huge profits than legally prescribed means (Cohen, 2002). According to Siegel (2012), illegal logging has a severe impact on the environment and the society. It destroys forests, which are habitats for wildlife and thus makes some animal and plant species extinct. For example: in central Africa, illegal logging has destroyed wildlife habitat and threatened wildlife including chimpanzees and Great apes. Destruction of forests leaves the surface bare. This condition is likely to result in landslides and flash floods which have in the past killed and displaced thousands of people around the worlds. Deforestation reduces the absorption rate of carbon emissions, thus significantly contributing to global warming. Illegal wildlife Exports This involves illicit movement of wildlife commodities and contrabands across national boundaries for trade purposes. Wildlife commodities include elephant ivory, rhino horns, tiger parts, exotic reptiles and birds and tiger parts among others. Wildlife contrabands include cultural artifacts, hunting trophies, traditional medicines, live pets and wild meat among others. Poaching endangers certain animal species and threatens their extinction. Illegal wildlife exports also present a risk of spreading pests and diseases to unaffected places. Non-native species can harm the receiving habitats. For instance; in Florida, non-native species imported as pets such as Pythons were abandoned in the wild and as a result, this specie has overrun its own Everglades (Gupta, 2012). In the US, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Lacey Act are some of the laws that the congress passed to protect plant and animal life. These laws established criminal and civil penalties for violation involving illegal export of wildlife. The laws also established guidelines and authorities for wildlife trade inspection at entry ports (Cohen, 2002). Illegal fishing Unlicensed and illegal fishing practices are also another form of lucrative green crime. Illegal fishing may take the form of huge factory ships operating on seas, catching thousands of tons of fish or locally operated ships confined on national waters (Siegel, 2012). This crime occurs when such ships sign on their domestic rules but proceed to operate beyond the stipulated boundaries and scope, or operate without a permit in a countrys water. Illegal fishing evades regulatory bodies and consequently, it becomes difficult for a government to monitor consumption of certain species of fishes. Lack of required equipments such standard nets, and access prohibited zones can damage an ecosystem. Therefore, this practices places some species at risk of extinction. Illegal dumping Illegal dumping involves violation of federal, state or local restrictions on dumping hazardous material in the environment. These green-collar criminals dispose of dangerous wastes in illegal dump sites because they want to avoid disposal fees. Dumped materials may include construction site wastes, used motor, oil, used machinery and e-waste among others. According to Cohen (2002), chemical compounds contain in some of these wastes attracts higher disposal fees and therefore criminals look for alternative ways of disposals. Many organizations have found a way to dispose of such stocks by dumping them in developing countries for recycling. Within relatively shorter durations, such stocks become unusable and are dumped carelessly on the environment. The chemical compounds contained in these wastes such as lead and mercury, are extremely dangerous to human. Generally, such wastes degrade the environment and affect agriculture. Illegal pollution Illegal contamination of the environment involves negligent or intentional discharge of contaminated or toxic substances likely to affect the life or natural environment adversely, into a bio-system. Common dangerous chemical compounds include mercury, asbestos, Kepone, aerosols, vinyl chloride, hydro-chlorofluorocarbons, methane, nitrogen oxide refrigerants and chlorofluorocarbons among others. Water pollutants degrade the quality of water, making it inconsumable by human and animals or to affects plant life. The Gulf of Mexico and the Exxon Valdez oil disasters are good examples of illegal pollutions that greatly affected ecosystems. Hundredths of thousands of sea animals were killed besides impairing plant life (Gupta, 2012). Exposure of the aforementioned chemical compounds into the environment collectively contribute to the ozone problem and subsequent global warming which have had an impact on global weather patterns and further threatened human and plant life.

Molecule may be key to nicotine addiction :: essays research papers

A single molecule may be partly to blame for nicotine’s addictive allure, a finding that researchers say could lead to potential therapies to help millions of smokers quit a life-threatening habit. More than 4 million people around the globe — 440,000 of them Americans — die from smoking-related causes each year. And, the nicotine-laced smoke damages more than just their lungs. The California researchers not only pinpointed a molecule responsible for nicotine addiction, they also created specialized mice to make it easier to search for other molecules impacted by nicotine addiction. The research team started by fiddling with a single gene to create mice that were hypersensitive to nicotine. The genetically engineered mice were tripped up by the tiniest exposure to nicotine — a concentration 1/50th of the strength of nicotine coursing through a typical smoker’s blood. Once hooked, the mice experienced classic signs of nicotine dependence that keep smokers puffing, the research team reports Friday in the journal Science. â€Å"Dependence-related behaviors, including reward, tolerance, and sensitization, occur strongly and at remarkably low nicotine doses† in the mice, the research team wrote. In humans, reward arrives as a pleasant little jolt of dopamine, a calming brain chemical unleashed by nicotine. The body’s tolerance for the drug leads to more smoking. Sensitization means not feeling good without a nicotine fix, said Henry Lester, a biology professor at the California Institute of Technology who was among the paper’s 10 authors. In mice, researchers saw reward when mice chose nicotine hits over salt, changed body temperatures as evidence of tolerance and more running around among sensitized mice. Other researchers praised the study. The findings â€Å"not only provide direct evidence of how nicotine promotes dependence, but also raise fundamental questions about the genetics of addiction,† researchers at the Centre Medical Universitaire, in Geneva, Switzerland, wrote in a companion piece. Could drugs fight addiction? If the findings in mice hold true for humans, the work points to a specific target for a new drug to attack, others suggest. People become dependent on nicotine when it parks in nerve cell receptors designed for the chemical acetylcholine. Once nicotine fills that space, dopamine is released. By knowing the specific parking place where nicotine can exact a high toll, a drug could be fashioned to fill it. â€Å"The power lies in the ability to be so specific. In being so specific, you can treat the cause without the ramifications of the side effects,† said Stephen L.

Internet Marketing and Promotion Strategy Essay -- Internet Marketing

Broad Markets Goals (monthly) Exposures Conversion Rate Conversions ATV 900K .1% 4 $750 Top 3 Sites Website Impressions Traffic Visitor Profile Demographic Segmenting Facebook.com 100,000 About 124M Methodical Spontaneous -18-52 years old -Male & Female Twitter.com 100,000 About 27M -College student or graduate -Income $28-$100k+ -Any ethnicity -Interested in starting a business or developing business marketing Linkedin.com 100,000 About 60M Ad Formats The ad format for broad marketing will be static images. All three websites will use the same image for branding consistency and so that each campaign can be easily calculated. The image will have a brand heading, message describing the promotion (10% off), and the same call to action. These variables will be changed monthly to calculate the effectiveness. The imagery will be simple and the text will target startup and small to medium sized businesses. Messaging Strategy The messages’ main objective is to spread brand awareness and to present WebCom Marketing’s website and design solutions, along with a promotion, and a call to action. The solutions will include: marketing management, online advertising, and marketing agency solutions. The messaging will target methodical visitors by emphasizing WebCom Marketing’s as an alternative solution to having in-house marketing costs, and WebCom Marketing’s expertise. Separate messages will target spontaneous visitors by providing last minute solutions for businesses. Main Goals of Ad Exposures The main goal of the ad exposure is to consistently create similar brand awareness across each broad marke... ...isitors are more likely to search for more universal terms than non-brand specific terms. Once the visitor has landed on the landing page, they are now considered a conversion. Other results that will be measured are the landing page’s ability to retain the visitor, the call to action’s ability to capture the visitor, and other notes about the visitor’s behavior. Special Offers and Incentives SEO discounts will be similar to the other campaigns’ 10%, initially, and it will be recorded by the means of number of clicks, and filling out the specific form, or providing the promo number over the phone. The offers on the landing pages and mediums used will include a expiration term to support acting quickly. Visitors Conversions Revenue Cost Discounting Percent Cost/Revenue Ratio 675 7 $5,063 $3,500 10% 79.14% Summary of Projected Revenue and Costs (monthly)

Historical Criticism of Mans Fate :: essays papers

Historical Criticism of Mans Fate Man’s Fate is a fictional story based on the 1927 Chinese revolution in Shanghai. The main characters, Ch’en, Kyo, May, Katov, and Old Gisors represent different facets of Malraux’s belief system and personality. The story opens where Ch’en is in the room of a sleeping man who he’s about to assassinate. The assassination of the businessman can be seen as the destruction of the capitalism Malraux saw as the cause of the â€Å"oppressed and exploited Chinese† (Greenlee 59). Malraux came from a broken home and had great empathy for the working class. As Ch’en is holding the dagger, he focuses on his victim’s foot because he is about to destroy a living thing. Ch’en is conflicted â€Å"†¦torn by anguish: he was sure of himself, yet at the moment he could feel nothing but bewilderment † (3). We can see Malraux’s own conflict here. In 1923, Malraux made a trip to Cambodia where he and his wife, Clara, â€Å"...were arrested by the Surete and charged with archaeological theft a moral failure that Malraux now at last recognized in himself† (Lebovics) Assassination and violence were a common occurrence in China during the revolutionary years. The peasants were abused by the wealthy citizens and landowners,...it was from among their relatives and protà ©gà ©s that those who oppressed and lived off the peasantry were recruited: the bailiffs and stewards who not only collected the rents and debts due to their masters, but also took a substantial cut for their own benefit; the tax-gatherers in whose registers the landlords’ holdings were on an authorized ‘special list’, allowing them to pay taxes in inverse proportion to their wealth, or not at all. (Chesneaux 81-82). Malraux wants his readers to understand the reasons behind the revolt. Time and again, Malraux draws vivid scenes of violence and deprivation. The meeting place to which Ch’en flees after the assassination is that of a poor European shopkeeper, Hemmelrich. â€Å"At last a squalid shop † (11). Kyo is the main character in the story; he is determined to do everything in his power to lead the Shanghai revolt. â€Å"Kyo was one of the organizers of the insurrection, the Central Committee had confidence in him.† (14). Kyo wanted to see fairness for the proletariats. Likewise, Malraux was involved in leftist politics.

Researched on magazines Essay

My magazine is called â€Å"Flava† and it is aimed at teenagers, as when I researched on magazines I found this one was quite popular. I spent 4 weeks on my magazine and put a lot of effort into it. Before I started to produce my magazine I planned out how I was going to set it out and what type of things I was going to include in it. I chose the above features, as they are the basic things included in a teenage magazine. I used Microsoft Publisher for the majority of it but I also used Microsoft word for things such as my real life stories. I found Publisher better because you get a wide variety of different backgrounds and formats whereas in Microsoft Word it is more basic. I used a number of different formats and fonts. I did a lot of research on the Internet using Yahoo and Google. I worked with another pupil in my class, Khiley Williams, and we both came up with our own ideas. The pages I produced was the, â€Å"Dear Angel† problem page, the album review of Christina Aguilera’s Stripped, dish of the day page, the real life story of â€Å"How I coped with Anorexia†, the front cover, the celebrity page (all the celebs dressed in black), and the whats hot and whats not page. The page which required the most research was the real life story but I also put a lot of effort into the front cover as I wanted to make it eye catching and interesting. I used Christina Aguilera on my front cover as she is hot and sexy and catches peoples eye as they look at the magazine. She is also a role model for a lot of young people so they would want to read anything that they see her on. The front of my magazine is bright pink as this also helps to draw people’s attention to it and would hopefully be intrigued as to what is inside it once they start looking over the cover. I used the band â€Å"Busted†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœs logo on my front cover as well as there is a feature on them inside the magazine. To get the logo I went onto the Official Busted website, www. busted. com, and had to cut, copy and paste it onto publisher. I then had to fill in its original red background with pink to match the background of my front cover. Also on the front cover, I have included the price, a barcode and a logo, â€Å"Girls with taste get Flava†. For my barcode I used the search engine â€Å"Google† and typed in barcodes. I found one and cut copied and pasted again.

Peculiar Institution

lervns CH APT ER 8 The Peculiar Institution, Slaves Tell Their Own invention ii THE PROBLEM With the establishment of its nelw presidential term in 1789, ihe United States became a r. irtual rnagaet for foieign traveiers, peradventure never more so than during the triad Cecades immediately preceding our Civil lVar. Niddle to up_ per class, interesied in some(prenominal)thing from political relation to prison crystalise to botanical specimens to the position of women in Ameri shtup society, these cu_ rious travelers fanrred out across the United States, and nigh all wrote some their observ-ations in ieLters, pamphlets, anci books widej-v bear witness orr both sides of rhe ocean.Regardlcss of their special interests, ho*. ever, ferv travelers f. itled to nonice-an. d comment on-the peciiliar instrtution, of -fri finish Anre, rican slal,e,-v. As rlere narl-v nineteenth-cenlurr. onterr writers, English agent Har_ i*t inter_ riet Martineau was especiaily tc tap female siave s sexually, a practice that frequently produced mulatto children born into buckle d admitry. The young Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville came to study the Ameri_ can penitentiary corpse and stayed to investigate politics and society.In his book Democracy in the States (1g42), Tocqueville geted his belief that American knuckle d hands had completelr. bem accustomd their . drican cuiture-their custorns. lariguages, religions, ancl tear d give birth ihe memories of their countries. An Eng_ ish novelist rvho 4/as enor. moLr_. lv poprrlar in the p16 Srrtr. -.. t-,. ested in those aspects of American so_ ciety that affected women and chil_ dren. She was scandalise by the slave organization, believing ii degadcd mar_ riage by aliowing grey face c curingh rnen 1791 ,ll . (ul,lAIt 3ftr1loN .rrls 1lll,l, ,tElR ON .+,r()ltY gray Charles the Tempter, also visited in 1842. He spent very little time in the South but collected (and published) advertisemenis lor blowout slaves th at contained gruesome descriptions of their burns, brandings, scars, and iron culfs and collars. As Dickens departed for a steamboat trip to bhe West. he wrote that he left with a glateful sum total that I was non doomed to receive where thraldom was, and had never had my s nses blunted to its wrongs and horrors in a slave-rocked cradle. I mer wrote to her baby that they ar ugly, but appear for the some part cheerful and vigorous-fed. 2 Her resultant trips to the plar. lations of the th gir m( stz backcountry, however, increased her sympalhy for slaves and her distrust of neat southerlyers assertions that slaves are the happiest people in the world. l In fact, by the end o. her stay, Bremer was praising ihe slaves morality, patience, la,cnts, and religior,s practices. to tht m( sla alc ev( gio m3 1850s, Fredrika Bremer, a Swedish novelist, traveled throughoul the United States for devil vears and spent considerable time in Soulh Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana.After her first encounters with African Americans in Charieston, Bre- In the turbulent These traveiers-and many an(prenominal) moreadded their opinions to the growing liteiature nigh the nature of American slavery and its effects. moreover the over- sla dot pr( whelming majority of this literature was indite by smock people. What did the slaves themselves think? How did they express their find oneselfings about the peculiar institulion of slavery? mi iio sla (aI SIn sla inc I it BACKGROUND JI F the wh 3i cilLBy the time of the American Revolution, rvhat haci begrrn in 1619 as a trick-le of Africans intended to attachment the farm tote of inderrtured servants from Engiano had sweiled to a slave population of approrimateiy 500,000 people, the majority concentrated on tobacco, rice. and cotton piantations in the South. Moreover, as the African American population greu, rvhat apparenuly had been a fairly- ioose and unregimented labor s-r. stem gradually evoived into an increasingly harsh , rigrd. and complete Charies Dickens. Anteri-can Notes desiccated Picrrres ircn 1lol-y rLcnCon Oxlold Unrversit. v Press. 1957), p. 3?. system of chattel slavery that tried to say-so neariy every aspect of the slaves iives. By 1775, African Ameiican slavery had operate a pregnant (some wouki have said indispensable) part of southern iife. The American Revoiution did nct reverse those trends. Although northern states in which African American slavery was nol so deeply rocted began instituting graduai emancipation, after the Revolution, the slave systemas well as its harshness-increased in the pio the Vir wh wh sec sor_ tha mo his no1 ag( 2. Fredrika Brenrer, ,nttri,ctt ol the Fi. fties i. Letters of Fredriha Brenier. cd. Adolph B.Benson (Nerv York melicrrr ,Scandinavian Foundation, I92-1r. p. 96. I e 3 ibid , p. 1r. t0 f1801 ITAOKGROUND the South. The invention ofthe cotton gin, which enabled seeds to be withdraw from the easily grown short stapie cotton, permitted southerners to cultivat,e collon on the uplands, scale, and sell-preservation other. . . . in the t the Lay, moOUS iftcan ,er- tire did drd t,he thereby spurring the westward movement of the piantation system anci slavery. As-a result, slaverv expanded along , with settlement into nigh bverv area of the South the . Gulf region, Tennessee, Kentucky, and uitimately Texas.Simulianeously, the slave population burge 1d, roughly doubling every thirty years (from approximately 700,000 in 1790 to 1. 5 million in 1820 to morethan 3. 2 mitiion in 1850). Because importation of slaves from Africa was banned in 1808 (although there was some iilegal slave smuggiing), to the highest degree further gains in the By this time, ho*ever, Jelferson was nearly alone among rvhite southerners. Most did not question the assertion that siaver-i as a necessity, that it was gooti for both the slave and the owrlrr, and that it nrusr be preserved at nny cost. Ir ofen has been pointed oul that lhe majority of rvhite south erners did not own slaves.In fact, the proportion of white southern families who did own slaves was actualiy declining in the nineteenth century, from one- lnt 1e) rot han an ef- southern pcpulation, and ihose siave fight backers with iarge plantations and But as the sla. re popuiation grew, the fears and anxieties of southern hundreds of slaves were an exceedingiy small group. whites grew correspondingly. Il 1793, How, then, did the pecuiiar institua slave insubordination in the Caribbean tion oi slavery, as one southerner caused dreadful consternation in the white South. Rurrrors of uprisings called it. become so embeddeci in the piotted by slaves were numerous. _nd superannuated South? Firsr. regular(a) though wholly a the actual rebeilion of Nat Turner in minority of southern whires owned Virginia in 1831 (in which fifty-five slaves, nearly all southern whites whites were killed, many of them were somehorv touched(p) by the instit. rtion of slavery. Fear of b pretermit r_i prisings r,rhile asieep) provided increased white inpiorrrpred many nonsiaveholders to securities and dread. In response, support an increasingly rigrd slave southern states passed a series oflaws that make the system of siavery even system that include night patrols, more restrictive.Toward the end of rvritten passes for slaves arvay fi-om his life, doubting Thomas Jefferson (r. iho did plantations. supenised religious servnot live to see Nat Turners uprising) ices for slales, larr,s prohibiting precept slaves to read or rvrite. and other hurt measLlres to keep slares ignorant, ciePitdeltt. ttrd ar,ar undt thr ,,J. pi 1,1 But as it rs. r, e lrrve hc rvolf bv rho rr lrit,s. 1lrny nonlavehuicl,. r. t. ears, and we can neither hold him, nor rtere ah5id ttat emancipation rvoulci safel-v let hirr go. iustice is in one hling rherrr nto dilect nc,,n,,n. ,. (. (,nrincrease. slave population were frorn natural rird in 1830 to roughly one-fourth b-v 1860. Moreover, nearly three-fourths o f these slaveholders owned fewer than ten slaves. Slaveholders, then, lvere a distinct minorrty of the white f1811 t ,EuLlAll fTloN TEI,I, S ,IR OWN fr)til can Americans partly be on the limitation of rights and emancipations for nally, although large planters repre- southern whites as well. l sented oniy a lraction of the white But how did the slaes reacL to population, they virtuaily controlled irn economic and affable system that the econopnic. ocial, and political in- meanL that neither they nor their chilstilutionsftnd were not about to injure dren would ever realize freedom? either thcmselves or their post bv Most while southerners assumed that eliminating. the slave. syslem that es- slaves were blissful and content. Northsentiallv supporred thern. , ern abolitionists (a minority of the po interpret their peculiar institurion, ivhite population) believed that slaves rvhite southerners constructed a re- continually yearned for I edom. Both markabiy compleie and ciiverse sel of groups used oceans of ink to explain arguments.Siavery, they retained, and support their claims. But evidence was actuaily a far more humane svs- of hor+ the slaves mat and thcught is tem than northern capitaiism. After woefuliy sparse. Given the restrictiie ail, slaves s/ere fed, clothed, shelrered, nature of the slave syltem (which incared for *hen they rvere ill, and sup- cluded enforced analphabetism among ported in their old age, rvhereas north- slaves), this pitiful lack of evidence is ern factory workers were gainful pitifully hardiy surprising. lorv rvages, used, dnd then discarded IIow, then, cail we learn horv slaves when no longer usefui. Iur+. ernrore, feit, and ihought about the pecuiiar inmany . ,rhite southeiners maintained stitution? Slave uprisings were few, that slavery was a controlling good be- but does that mean nigh(prenominal) slaves were cause ir had introduced the barba- happy with their lot? Runa slipway were rous Africans to civilized Americ ah. common, and some, such as Frederick ways and, rnore importantiy, to Chris- Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, actuaily tianitl. Other southern rvhites reached the North and wrote about stressei rvhat they believed lvas the their experiences as slaves. Yet how childirke. ciependent nature of African typical were their experiences?Most Americans, insisting that they could slaves were born, lived, and died in neyer cope with iife outside the pater- servitude. did not introduce in organnaiistic and benevolent institution ized revoits, and did not run awaS. oi iiavri-. in si_ich zin atmorphere, in Fiow ciid they feel about the system of rvhich many of the white southern in- slavery? tellectr,ral efforts rvent into the defense Aithough about slaves did not read or of slaven. , ciissent anci freedom of wrile, did not participate in nonionic thought rvere not welcome. Hence revolts, and did not attempt to run those rrhite southerners rvho dis- away. hey did leave a remarkable agreed anci m ight have challenged the amount of evidence thal can athletic supporter us unScuths ciependence on siarery re- derstand their thoughts and leeiings. mained siient. *ere hushed up, or de- Yet we must be imagrnative in horl. rve cided rcr lear. e rhe region. In man,r, approach and use that evidence. wa,vs. ihen, the enslavement of Afri- peiition with blacks who, it was assumed, would drive down wages. Fi- In that birti size, fortf ordir bn t, tion. help who eCOnl the p of th exiting I and evide sout,l ing r trave much ore Nort the them gand ecdot rich tives r iave Ligat, pecur Histr awar denc, most eight older thev 182 THFI ilEilol) rl- JM? /Ii i. re tves iolh +iA, , r rJi ,ltcc iis iive inong eis ves inere ere ick illv vallecula nii in a-v. In an earlier chapter, you observed (about births, deaths, age at marriage, farm size, inheritance, valuate . rolls, and so forth) can reveal a great deal about workaday people, such. as the colonists on the eve of the American Revolution. Such demographic evidence can help the. historian form a picture of who these people were and the socioeconomic trends of the time, even if the people themselves . ere not aware of those trends. In this exercise, you go forth tre using another configuration of evidence and asking different questions. Your eviCence will not . come fom white southerners (rvhose stake in maintaining slavery was enormous), foreiga travelers (wh-ose own cultural biases often influenced ,vhai they reported), or even white abolitionists in the North (whcse pressing need to eradicate the sin of slavery sometimes led them to gross exaggerations for propaganda purposes). You will be using anecdotes, stories, and songs froia the rich orai tradition of African American slaves, supplemente