Teaching Literacy in the Primary School

All elements of literacy are inter-related. This essay will examine the reading process and how the teaching of speaking, listening, writing and reading all influence pupils’ development in many ways. One pupil’s language and literacy development will be explored in this context, with a particular emphasis on his reading progression. Literacy is the ability to use language to communicate one’s ideas expressively, through speaking and writing and receptively, through listening and reading. (Palmer, S 2003). The Department for Education (2012) explains that pupils’ acquisition of language allows them to access learning across the curriculum.Notably, reading aids pupil’s development culturally, emotionally, spiritually and socially. Since 1988 and the introduction of the National Curriculum, the government have overseen the teaching of English and literacy in schools. It was not until the publication of The Rose Review in 2006 however, that a standard strategy for teaching reading was devised. In his report, Rose reviewed the way early reading was taught and advised that all children should have a secure foundation of phonics knowledge so that they are able to link graphemes to phonemes and blend these into words.As a result, it became statutory for schools to use a daily, systematic, synthetic style of teaching phonics. To help schools instigate this new teaching style, the Communication, Language and Literacy Development Plan (CLLD) was introduced in 2006. Local authorities were given trained consultants, often teachers, who could model high quality phonics teaching and ensure the findings of the Rose Review were implemented effectively.Ofsted (2010) reported, that several schools, from a sample demonstrating ‘outstanding’ practice in their teaching of early literacy, used a scheme such as ‘Letters and Sounds’, published by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in 2007. These schemes initially teach phonemes alongside their written representation (graphemes), followed by the skill of blending and segmenting graphemes to write and decode individual words. It is widely recognised that the teaching of phonics enables children to decode words, but does not teach an understanding of vocabulary. The skill of decoding is not enough to enable children to read effectively.Rose (2006) also observed this in his review, â€Å"Different kinds of teaching are needed to develop word recognition skills from those that are needed to foster the comprehension of written and spoken language. † Wyse and Parker (2010), cited by the Institute of Education (2012), argue in favour of â€Å"contextualised teaching†, which begins by looking at whole texts that pupils can relate to, thus motivating them to read independently. They claim that although important, the teaching of phonics, in a way where it is exaggerated above all other elements, comes with serious risk and that children ’s language skills develop best through classroom talk.Until recently, the importance of Speaking and Listening was overlooked by many schools. Ofsted (2005) reported that the teaching of speaking and listening had been neglected and the range of contexts in which children are given the opportunity to converse with their peers was constrained. It is crucial to understand that as each strand of literacy is equally important, a child who struggles to communicate verbally will have difficulty in communicating or understanding concepts in written form. Douglas (2009) observes, â€Å"†¦Speaking and listening skills underpin all learning and are the start of all other literacy skills.†Rose (2006) observed, â€Å"Schools provide massive opportunities and unique advantages for developing speaking and listening skills. † Activities such as talking partners develop children’s vocabulary by getting them to share their ideas about set questions in short bursts, throughout the lesson. This technique can be integrated into the teaching of any concept across the curriculum, meaning the opportunities to acquire new language are infinite. Drama is part of the Speaking and Listening strand of the National Literacy Strategy.McMaster (1998) explains that it is an invaluable tool as it supports every aspect of literacy development. Drama can extend vocabulary; develop decoding and conversational skills; and improve understanding of syntax, as well as metacognitive knowledge. Drama also aids personal, social and emotional development (PSED). By engaging in situations as if they were real, children build the confidence to express themselves and develop creativity and empathy. These attributes are closely associated with reading development, as they facilitate comprehension and response (Wagner, B.  1988; Vygotsky, S. 1976 cited by McMaster, J. 1998)Poetry is also a useful tool to improve pupils’ personal, social and emotional development (PS ED). Children should be encouraged to believe that poetry is a normal human activity, a very intense one and an activity that people often resort to at crucial times in their lives†¦ which shows its central importance. (Longley, M. 2008 cited by McLeish, J. 2008) In Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 1, learning nursery rhymes and other simple poems and songs assists the development of phonological awareness.The repeated rhythm and rhyme patterns develop an understanding of how words can be broken into syllables. The next stage is to understand that each syllable is made up of a structure of sounds, onsets (the initial phoneme) and rimes (the remaining sound in the syllable. ) Wilson (2005) believes this is a fundamental skill to develop if a child is to blend and segment efficiently. Sharing poetry and re-telling stories provide the basis for the â€Å"Talk for Writing† initiative, developed by The National Strategies (2010), in conjunction with Pie Corbe tt.The National Strategies explain â€Å"†¦good readers learn about the skills of writing from their reading and draw (consciously or unconsciously) upon its models in their own work†¦. † Reciting poetry and rhymes, and re-telling stories enable children to internalise language (referred to as imitation) so that it can later be reused in their own writing automatically. Once this skill is mastered, children can continue to change parts of the story (innovation) using aids such as story maps and shared writing. The final stage is invention, at this point pupils use the language and writing styles they acquired to create their own pieces of writing.In his early workshops, Corbett (2008) stated that these approaches to learning also work extremely well when teaching children to write in a non-fictional context. The use of speaking and listening is also an invaluable tool when teaching children with special educational needs (SEN). Corbett (2004) states â€Å"Many chil dren with special needs have succeeded using this multi-sensory, oral strategy to developing composition. † These children need as many opportunities as possible to internalise new vocabulary and writing styles that may be unfamiliar.The same is applicable to pupils who are learning English as an additional language (EAL). These children have the extra hurdle of comprehending vocabulary and writing styles that may differ greatly to that found in their first language. Cummins (1999) explains, â€Å"There are clear differences in acquisition and developmental patterns between conversational language and academic language, or BICS (basic interpersonal communicative skills) and CALP (cognitive academic language proficiency). † Children generally develop BICS within two years of immersion in the target language, providing they spend much of their time in  school interacting with native speakers.However, it typically takes children between five and seven years to develop CA LP and therefore be working at a linguistic level similar to their native speaking peers. It is therefore vital to provide a wide, varied range of opportunities for students to converse. The DFES (2004) explains, â€Å"Bilingualism is an asset, and the first language has a continuing and significant role in identity, learning and the acquisition of additional languages. † Children who are truly bilingual will often work at a higher academic level than those who speak one language.Child C is a six year old boy. He is a native English speaker, although he does have developmental problems with his speech and is currently seeing a speech therapist. He lives with both his parents and his two brothers, aged seven and two. The following information has been sourced from interviews with his teachers and mother, his speech and language reports and his records of attainment. Permission from C’s parents and school were sought in order to include him in this study, and for reasons of confidentiality his anonymity will be respected throughout. C was born nine days late with no issues at birth.C refused solid food until about 10 months of age, and his mother explained that he has always expressed a dislike for food that requires a lot of chewing. It was suggested to C’s parents that this may be a contributing factor to his speech difficulties. C started ‘babbling’ at about 22 months, experimenting with sounds and a few words. His mother was able to understand his attempts to communicate by around 3 years of age, although other members of his family and the practitioners at his nursery school struggled to understand him, this caused C to become greatly frustrated and stressed when trying to express his wants and needs.It was at this point that C was referred for speech therapy. He was also referred for hearing tests which did not uncover any auditory problems. C and his older brother have shared books with their parents before bedtime since C was 2 years old. His mother explained that neither of the boys demonstrated a strong interest for books and requests to be read to, apart from before bed, were infrequent. C’s lack of interest was also observed by his EYFS teacher, as a result C was initially only given one book a week to share at home, as more than this tended to overwhelm him and generate a refusal read at all.It was also noted in the early months of EYFS, C disliked contributing to group discussion or conversing extensively with his peers as a result of insecurity about his speech problems. He felt much more confident talking to adults on a one to one basis. C left EYFS with a reading level higher than the national average for his age group, although lower than that of most of his classmates. His ability to blend and segment graphemes was good, meaning he was able to read and write a range of simple words.His ability to form particular cluster sounds orally remains an issue, but his confidence to communi cate with his peers and contribute to group work has improved significantly. As a result, his range of vocabulary and comprehension has also improved. C has continued with his speech therapy in KS1 and he receives daily interventions with a teaching assistant to help with his sound formation. C’s current class teacher has observed that his reading has significantly improved recently; C will now read quite complex sentences with some expression, using a range of decoding techniques such as segmenting and looking at accompanying pictures.C recently read a short passage to the rest of his class, demonstrating his improved reading skills and confidence levels. In conclusion, speaking, listening, reading and writing are all of equal importance. The strategies, tools and initiatives explored in this essay help children develop their reading skills. Each strand can be built upon each other to develop a pupil’s literacy development as a whole. Being literate is essential if a child is to access all areas across the curriculum.

Focus Group Guide Essay

Lenora Lubega Introduction Hello, my name is Lenora Lubega and I would like to welcome all of you to our focus discussion group. I will be the moderator. Our purpose for meeting today is to discuss ‘hands-free’ cellular telephone use while driving in the State of Tennessee, and to get your feedback on how you feel about the driving while using a cellular device. This focus group’s intent is to openly and discuss the question: â€Å"Should the State of Tennessee require ‘hands-free’ cellular phone use in automobiles? Everyone here this evening is an automobile driver living in the State of Tennessee. This will be a short discussion that will require an hour and thirty minutes of your time to complete. Our time will be very limited; and we will not take a break. The restrooms are conveniently located at either end of the hall. I would like to remind you that this session is highly confidential. Once this session ends, no one’s name will be used in any way outside of this group. Everyone signed consent forms to participate in tonight’s discussion. If there is anyone here that has not signed a consent form, please do so before we began tonight’s discussion or you will not be allowed to participate in this discussion group. For transcription purposes of the discussion there will be an audio recording. I will listen to the recording and prepare my final summary of our focus group accordingly. This will be an informal discussion group. You are encouraged to ask any questions or make any comments that you feel are pertinent to our discussion. Please speak freely, and if anything is unclear, please ask. The intent of this focus group is to ask, listen, and observe. As stated in the consent, please keep everyone’s identities and response confidential once you leave the group. We want to encourage oneness and honesty for everyone involved. We will begin this discussion by finding out a little bit more about each another. If I could have everyone give their name or a nickname, your occupation, and the type of cell phone that you own. I will go first and we will proceed to my right. Data Collection Warm-up Discussion: If you could take out a piece of paper and write a short paragraph on an experience you have had in dealing with drivers who are distracted by the use of a cell phone. Next I will like to ask if you, yourself us a hands free device with your cell phone? Have you used any of the newer apps that allow you to talk and text? Is it burdensome or easy to do? Does your car have a synchronizing device? How often do you us it? Secondary Research: An estimated 3,092 traffic fatalities in 2010 were blamed on distracted drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. More than one in six drivers send text messages while driving, and nearly half of drivers less than 25 years old are doing it, according to a NHTSA survey released last week. â€Å"This is becoming the new DUI,† said Robert Sumwalt, a member of the safety board. â€Å"It’s becoming an epidemic. † The District of Columbia and 35 states ban text messaging for all drivers, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. They should be made to us a hands free device or something of the like Tasha Fider: I would create a standardized audio output jack, not unlike the one available for iPods and iPhones today (which is actually a data jack), and mandate that all mobile phone manufacturers have it on each new phone that is created. Moreover, I would mandate that all future automobiles have a docking system that is adaptable to any kind of phone whatsoever. I would even mandate that current cars still on the line right now be fitted for such a docking system. I know it would be a hassle, and would put a few more dollars on everyone’s monthly car note, but I am considering the safety of our future. Anything that saves lives is worth the effort as well as the money invested into creating the technology. Renee Partida: my opinion is simple, there is no need to be using your cell phone whether text or calling or face booking while driving. I think people should us a hands-free devices they were made for that reason. I’ve seen too many people hurt while driving using their cell phones. I was in the car with a girl that dropped her’s and while driving tried to pick it up. Ruth Ellen Galgano: Once I was driving down 65 north bound and saw this lady on her phone. She was clam but as soon as the kids started fighting she became very distracted with driving. There are so many things that can and will distract driving we don’t need to have one more and cells phones are adding another problem to the long list that already exist. I would love to see the law changed on this issue. Jessica McClanahan I use to live in NY, all use of cell phones while driving is against the law including calling and text. I just honestly want to be allowed to slap idiots that know it’s against the law yet do so and I see them make several driving mistakes that only underage drivers should make like cutting someone off and not making a complete stop at stop signs. They should get their licenses revoked and cell phones stomped on! Tabitha Jerome: (She did not show up. We waited for ? hour but she never came) Specific Discussion Richard Johnson 1. How do you currently view driving while talking on the cell phone without a hands-free device? Yes, I was planning to by one but have not gotten around to it. 2. Does talking on a phone while driving seem safe, or can it lead to low driving performance? Not all the time. Why? When I am dialing the number I often find that I am not in my lane and have come very close to having an accident from time to time. Why not? 3. Of the different things involved with making or receiving a call, which task contributes most to bad driving? Making the call. You must look at the phone to dial the number and that causes your attention to be taken off the road. 4. Is it searching for the phone? Not for me, I often have my phone in the middle of the car. What about dialing? Yes, that is my biggest issue. Talking? No, I use speaker phone. Is it hanging up? No I simply let the other person hang up and my phone will hang up automattly. Or receiving the call? Sometime. 5. How do you feel the state of Tennessee should respond? Laws must be made and enforced. The issue is most driving laws are never enforced here. 6. Should the state mandate hands-free devices for driving? Why do you feel the way you do? Yes, but the phone companies need to do something to help with the cost to the customer. 7. Do you think a hands-free device would make a difference in road safety? Not really. How so? Most people will not use it if it is user friendly. Tasha Fider 1. How do you currently view driving while talking on the cell phone without a hands-free device? Dangerous 2. Does talking on a phone while driving seem safe, or can it lead to low driving performance? No *she did not give any more info, she did not seem to want to be here* 3. Of the different things involved with making or receiving a call, which task contributes most to bad driving? Both 4. Is it searching for the phone? Yes What about dialing? Yes, I think so. Talking? Yes, for sure. Is it hanging up? Yes it can be. Or receiving the call? No 5. How do you feel the state of Tennessee should respond? It is hard to say, I don’t agree with making laws to do so. We are force to do everything. I think we should be able to drive safe. 6. Should the state mandate hands-free devices for driving? Why do you feel the way you do? No they should not. I don’t like the government telling me what I can or cannot do. 7. Do you think a hands-free device would make a difference in road safety? How so? Yes, it could help but only if it is used. Renee Partida 1. How do you currently view driving while talking on the cell phone without a hands-free device? I view it as a health hazard 2. Does talking on a phone while driving seem safe, or can it lead to low driving performance? It is not safe. It can and has killed people and I think a person doing it should be charged with murder. It is not safe. Why? It kills. Why not? 3. Of the different things involved with making or receiving a call, which task contributes most to bad driving? Making the call, although, answering the phone can be just as dangerous. 4. Is it searching for the phone? Yes What about dialing? Yes Talking? Yes Is it hanging up? Yes Or receiving the call? Yes, all these things contribute to unsafe driving. 5. How do you feel the state of Tennessee should respond? Laws need to be enforced. 6. Should the state mandate hands-free devices for driving? Why do you feel the way you do? Yes they should. I hate to see people killed by stupid things people do that are so very avoidable. 7. Do you think a hands-free device would make a difference in road safety? How so? I do. If people use them the danger would be lessened. Ruth Ellen Galgano 1. How do you currently view driving while talking on the cell phone without a hands-free device? I find that if a person is responsible they can do it without any issues. The problem comes in when you have people who are not responsible. Most of the time, I find that people will do one of two things, ignore the call or take it. If they take it, they will cause an accident. 2. Does talking on a phone while driving seem safe, or can it lead to low driving performance? Why? Why not? It seems safe as long as the person is paying attention to the road and not the call. A lot of what we do on the phone is for fun, it is only when the call is serious that it can be a problem. Their attention is turned to the call and not the road. 3. Of the different things involved with making or receiving a call, which task contributes most to bad driving? I would have to say, making the call. 4. Is it searching for the phone? Not really What about dialing? Yes, that is the big problem. You cannot watch the road and dial a number at the same time. Talking? Not really. Is it hanging up? I don’t think so. Or receiving the call? It can really be hard to take a call while driving. Sometime the phone can fall on the floor of the car and you try to pick it up. 5. How do you feel the state of Tennessee should respond? I think we should allow people to do what’s right and not make any new laws at this time. Although the statistic show more people die from using the phone I think it would be safe if we just use caution. 6. Should the state mandate hands-free devices for driving? No Why do you feel the way you do? I just don’t like it when I am told, by law, what to do. 7. Do you think a hands-free device would make a difference in road safety? It might if the person uses. How so? If the person never uses it what would be the point? Jessica McClanahan 1. How do you currently view driving while talking on the cell phone without a hands-free device? It is a dangerous practice, to say the least. I know different states are different, but I think TN says it is not legal to do it without a hands-free device. 2. Does talking on a phone while driving seem safe, or can it lead to low driving performance? Why? Why not? It does not seem safe, and it can lead to low driving performance, since full attention is not given to all the hands and foot motion of driving (not to mention attention to the surroundings) 3. Of the different things involved with making or receiving a call, which task contributes most to bad driving? I think making a call contributes most to bad driving 4. Is it searching for the phone? What about dialing? Talking? Is it hanging up? Or receiving the call? Dialing 5. How do you feel the state of Tennessee should respond? The state should mandate mobile phone manufacturers to make a safety modification to all new phones 6. Should the state mandate hands-free devices for driving? Why do you feel the way you do? Yes. It should also impose stiff penalties for those who do not comply. The state is responsible for the safety of its citizens. 7. Do you think a hands-free device would make a difference in road safety? How so? Yes I do. It would save lives. Tabitha Jerome (She did not show up. We waited for ? hour but she never came) 1. How do you currently view driving while talking on the cell phone without a hands-free device? 2. Does talking on a phone while driving seem safe, or can it lead to low driving performance? Why? Why not? 3. Of the different things involved with making or receiving a call, which task contributes most to bad driving? 4. Is it searching for the phone? What about dialing? Talking? Is it hanging up? Or receiving the call? 5. How do you feel the state of Tennessee should respond? 6. Should the state mandate hands-free devices for driving? Why do you feel the way you do? 7. Do you think a hands-free device would make a difference in road safety? How so? Summary We are at the end of our discussion. Today we have shared our personal views in detail on this topic. With all our newly acquired information, together with our personal feelings, let us imagine the president of AAA entering this room. Let us each give 30 seconds of advice his company should consider regarding support of a law requiring hands-free devices for cell phones while driving in the state of Tennessee. If in favor of the law, state what elements of law you think should be included in the law and which should not. If opposed to the law, do likewise, and give personal reasons why. Now is your chance to make a big difference in something you believe in. Please write this brief statement to AAA. Include what you think of legislation and the specific elements of law that should be involved. If against it, please speak out. List reasons either way. This legislation could make all the difference for you or your family, so please answer honestly. Summary of Metting Our focus group was held at the La Vergne, TN public library. The date was Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 4 p. m. Most of the participants arrived on time, but one did not come at all. Another one arrived extremely late, and with an irritable attitude. Refreshments were served. Everyone seemed okay with the idea of being there, and light, friendly chit chatter occurred. The meeting was called to order, and everyone eagerly participated. Ideas flowed freely. There were opinions the entire spectrum. Some were in agreement with the state of Tennessee coming up with moderate laws governing cellular phone usage while driving. Others were diabolically opposed to the idea. One person became feisty and almost bellicose in her expression of her view. She said she had a ‘real problem’ with the government trying to ‘run her life’. We all understood what she meant. When we were able to calm her down, the discussion continued without incident. Each person felt that something was needed but no one really could agree on what that â€Å"something† should be. It seems that much more discussion is needed on the topic. I would recommend that the state fund more groups meetings and have a smaller group to find a solution to the matter. It is my recommendation that we all meet again in a month to see if any opinions have changed. The meeting was closed, and everyone politely bid each other adieu, and we went home.

A world without Law would be a world without Sin Essay

According to one of the Holy Books, the Bible, when God created the first man and woman, He knew as the author and finisher of man that he has mind, a conscience which is 2-sided. It could be destructive or constructive, it could embrace good or shun evil, it could love or hate based on the outline that he knows what is wrong and or right. That was the basic reason why God warned them or gave a strict Law against the act that lead to the very first sin, which is the eating of the fruit of knowledge. Hence, if there wasn’t any Law, the first and subsequent sins wouldn’t have existed. A car, an example of mechanical robot, will have no idea why it was created, which is a reason why a manual will be attached to it by the manufacturer for the use of the possible user[s]. We are all created for a purpose but the significant difference between Man and Machine is the choice and will power. These two tools can be shaped with Law[s] to guide man from being a weapon of personal and group calamity. And when there is no Law[s], then man can do whatever and anything he likes to suit his personal desire at the expense of others which would mean â€Å"No-Sin†. †¦At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. —- Aristotle It can be said man would be reckless, irresponsible, wild, thoughtless, uncontrolled or careless in a world without law. He would be pitiless when the taste for pleasure clouds his sense of reasoning. The mentality that anything he does is not wrong; just-do-it lingers in the mind of man in a world without Laws because there will not be any form of punishment. It would be a world of no hope for the poor. Government which is supposed to organize the society would not be in existence; there would not be anything like the Legislature to make laws, Executive to administer the laws and Judiciary to interpret the laws. Since the germane objective of Law is to maintain order in a society, the government agencies to carry out crime investigations and the professionals called Lawyers would have no space in a world without laws. Therefore, there will be a paradigm shift where jungle justice takes over the expected capacity of law. Discoveries and inventions will set the world in a state of entropy. Classified experiments such as cloning, stem cell growth and Nuclear weapons would know no limit. The world would be overpopulated for their will not be birth control regulations; strange diseases would be epidemic and pandemic. I can conveniently conclude that the world will fall apart without the law [which is tantamount to a world without sin].

Memsitors, the new kid on the block Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Memsitors, the new kid on the block - Essay Example For example, when Bell telephone laboratories announced to the world the invention of the transistor in 1948, the press of the day announced that more than hundred could be held in the palm of the hand (Hayes, 2011). Today with the current technologies more than a 100 billion of these can be held at the palm of the hand. What is more interesting was that the transistors even cost less than dollar per a billion today. They are therefore the most abundant and cheapest electronic gadgets in the human history. Currently the trinity fundamental components in electronics that consist of the resistor, the transistor and the capacitor are well known in the electronic field. In 1971 an Engineer in the university of California Berkeley, predicted that there should be a fourth element; a memory resistor, or memristor though no one seemed aware of it or how to build one (Williams, 2008). 37 years later in 2008 the field of electronics got small enough to reveal the identity and the nature of the fourth element to complete the above set as was predicted by the engineer. Hewlett Packard researchers revealed in the journal nature of the fourth component; the memristor, which is the new kid on the block in the electronics field. The story behind memristor dates back to about 40 years ago from the insight by IEEE Fellow and nonlinear circuit theory pioneer Leon Chua (Adee, 2008). Chua when examining the relationship between the flux resistors and charge in resistors, capacitors and inductors in a 1971 paper, he postulated the existence of a fourth element called the memory resistor. According to Chua such a device once discovered would provide similar relationship and proportions between the magnetic flux and charge the same that a resistor gives between voltage and current. Therefore, Chua argued that the memory resistor would act like a resistor whose value could be able to vary according to the current passing through it and that could remember the value long after the curre nt disappears (Adee, 2008). This was to be realized more than 30 years later, when Stanley Williams a HP senior fellow and his group were critically analyzing and working on molecular electronics when they noticed strange behavior in their devices. It was after critically examining the theoretical works and especially the work of Chua that Williams noticed that the strange phenomena that they observed were actually as a result of memristors. One important aspect of memristors is that it proves right the suspicion that many researchers had for a long time that detailed that artificial intelligence was not possible with the traditional hardware due to its rigid use of the Boolean logic and the vast separation that exist between the memory and processing (Versace & Chandler, 2010). It was in 2008 when the HP researchers built the new class of electronic device; the memristor. Before this invention, it would have been impossible to create a new circuit with the memory structure of a bra in, the instantaneous internal communications and the low power requirements. Form the invention of the memristor, it was evident that the three components could be coaxed and trained to behave just a like a normal brain with more emphasis with form that was termed to be a major fusion in this set up. Generally, memristors are small, cheap and most efficient to fill this gap in the electronics industry. They might be explained to have characteristics that resemble those of synapses in normal humans,

Data mining approach for smoking cessation management system using Research Paper

Data mining approach for smoking cessation management system using M-health - Research Paper Example Available programs are expensive and do not met the standard of common citizen. Development of a cheap and more avoidable mean, using readily available material like mobile phones will assist smokers who want to quit smoking (Abroms, Padmanabhan, Thaweethai & Phillips, 2011, p-279). Data mining is process of extracting valuable information on given subject from data store. The information will then be used to give conclusion on subject matter. Different variables of smokers like age, sex are extracted using different techniques like classification, recognition and clustering. It is then used to monitor smoking cessation process. The m-health system will guide smoker quit smoking by providing online help and assistance through use of mobile technology this is accessible to almost everyone (Abroms, Padmanabhan, Thaweethai & Phillips, 2011, p-280). The system will assist smokers cheaply quit smoking using m-health and data mining technique. The program was motivated by the consequences of smoking on the public health and economy of the country, and will be targeting smoking in Saudi Arabia. (Bassiony,

Compare and Contrast Antigone and Creon from the play 'Antigone' by Essay

Compare and Contrast Antigone and Creon from the play 'Antigone' by Jean Anouilh - Essay Example Thus Antigone is mainly a play about the perennial human conflict between the thirst for expression and the wrath of the state for defying submission. Although the story of Antigone is part of the Oedipus legend on the curse on the house of Labdacus, like all true literature it transforms itself into our own story, our own curse. The character of Antigone reminds one of Emerson's famous dictum: Trust thyself. Every heart vibrates to that iron spring. Or, more appropriately: To be great is to be misunderstood. She is a sensible, resolute character. Her resolve is her strongest muscle. The decision to bury her brother is not born out of contemplation or debate, but out of sheer self-knowledge that the burial shall be done come what may. The entire play revolves around this fatal decision and how each of the characters respond to it also reveals their own philosophy of life. Antigone's iron will is contrasted with the submissive nature of Ismene, her sister. While Ismene is all obedience to the state and wants to lead a normal life, Antigone is always doubtful of dreadful normalcy. She admires her sister both for her complacency and compliance. She is even jealous of her womanly features that make Ismene fell men. May be it is the combination of fragility and resilience that defines Antigone as a woman of all t imes. Audiences have likened her to Joan of Arc, as another figure of French Resistance. She, like Joan, is alone in her fight against state power. The mix of politics, relationships, morality and religion brings a sense of poignant pathos to her mission. The character of Antigone comes out best in her confrontation with King Creon. This is not a battle of a subject with its ruler. It is a battle of wits between the resourcefulness of a woman and the mediocrity of the state. Creon advises her to be obedient because she too happens to be the daughter of a king. He persuades her to marry, have children and lead a good life. Creon uses several strategies to dissuade Antigone from disobedience. Antigone's arguments born on the premise that she was conceived to love and not to hate disarms the king. Her act of defiance - the burial of her brother who has been declared the enemy of the state - invites punishment of live entombment. She accepts penalty with the same smile that she had when she buried her brother. When her lover too joins her in the tomb she is neither hopeful nor ecstatic. Antigone is the very opposite of the melodramatic heroine. Her death and its aftermath teach us more than any history of proper conduct. King Creon is Antigone's uncle. His main concern is the rule of the state. He does not understand the power of intellectual resistance. There are several instances in the play when he confesses the drudgery of administration and laments how heavily the throne sits on him. There are also streaks of compassion in the king. His pleadings with Antigone and the instinctual shock on hearing the death of his son and the queen are all proofs of the human traits lying dormant in the poor ruler. But the tragedy is that Creon considers his kingship above all and

Aviation Unions And The Aviation Industry Essay

Aviation Unions And The Aviation Industry - Essay Example The trip took about 20 minutes, and the one-way fare was $5. The service ceased at the end of Florida's winter tourist season, but it was the first such venture that indicated scheduled air service could be commercially viable. Similar passenger services in the United States and Europe soon followed. The world wars triggered great revolutions in aircraft's capability and use. At the end of the First World War enterprising commercial air carriers took advantage of the disabled ground transportation system and the large surplus of aircraft and pilots in Europe. By 1930s government-sponsored airlines were operating well beyond Europe to the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and even Latin America. In the United Sates commercial aviation in the private sector was enabled by two historic laws in the mid-1920s: The technological impetus in aircraft capability and manufacturing capacity made enormous strides during World War II. At the end of the war all these efforts were directed towards commercial aviation. Governments around the world regulated the air transport industry primarily because of the nature of safety and security concerns involved. In 1978 U S deregulated the aviation industry. This allowed air carriers to serve any domestic market and charge whatever they thought the market could bear. Airline deregulation was intended to foster competition in the air transport market and bring better service and lower costs. The air transport industry has grown enormously in the second half of the 20th century. The number of passengers worldwide grew from 177 million in 1965 to an estimated 3.3 billion in 2000. The number of U.S. airline passengers for the same period increased from 103 million in 1965 to an estimated 666 million in 2000. Aviation industry experienced an upheaval after Sep tember 11. The world wide economic downturn had already affected the industry very badly and September 11 was the final nail on the coffin. With the sustainability of industry coming under strain new concepts of cooperation and understanding between airline companies started evolving. For airline carriers, deregulation created both opportunities and dangers. During the 1980s many new airlines were launched and most of them bombed when existing carriers intensified competition by expanding into markets they had not previously served. Mergers and acquisitions followed as carriers vied for greater share of the pie. To retain profitability airlines resorted to the 'outsourcing mantra.' The savings achieved through outsourcing were very attractive to ignore. Therefore, outsourcing has become an accepted and established form of cost savings mechanism not only in aviation industry but in many other sectors also. Although the organized labor is generally against the concept of outsourcing, they are forced to accept it in the overall interest of the company's survival. Professor Peter Turnbull (1) of Cardiff University Business School, who conducted a study on behalf of International Labor Organization, says that evidence suggests "the global economic slowdown was already

Intrusion Detection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intrusion Detection - Essay Example There are different evils also associated to these network structures also. Personal information theft, business information hacking and virus attacks are the contemporary problems organizations are facing nowadays in the network communication and data transfer areas (Frederick, 2002). Because of the rising amount of intrusions and since the local networks and Internet have turned out to be so ubiquitous, businesses more and more applying a variety of systems that monitor Information Technology security breaches (Sans, 2009). Network Intrusion as its name represents, attempts to identify attempted or applied intrusions into network and to establish suitable actions for the intrusions. Intrusion detection includes an extensive collection of methods that differ on several axes. A few of these axes comprise: (Silberschatz, Galvin, & Gagne, 2004): The types of input inspected to identify intrusive action. These could comprise user shell commands, process system calls, as well as network packet headers or contents. Several types of intrusions might be identified only by correlating information from various such sources. The variety of action capabilities. Basic and straightforward types of actions consist of changing an administrator of the possible intrusion or in some way halting the potentially intrusive action, for instance, killing a course of action engaged in actually intrusive activity. In a complicated type of action, a system might clearly redirect an intruder’s action to a trap. A false resource exposed to the attacker with the aim of observing and gaining information about the attack; to the attacker, the resource appears real. These levels of freedom in the design of space for detecting intrusions in systems have brought an extensive variety of solutions acknowledged as intrusions detection systems (IDS) (Silberschatz, Galvin, & Gagne, 2004). The

Taming Disability, Mastering Minds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Taming Disability, Mastering Minds - Essay Example I don’t wish to call him disabled, because he had a distinctive ability to mimic the teachers and almost all of the popular figures. He was rather short and pudgy when he was a little young boy and his growth was challenged by dwarfism in an early age of eight years. Jestin was excellent as a student and his ability to learn mathematics and physics was always a reference to all of us. He liked to play games with us; most of them were power demanding and involving a lot of athletic abilities. When he walked, it was a curious sight to new people. I met him when I was in the elementary school. Our teacher – Julie – introduced him, told us to look after him and then assigned me as his partner to sit together. He walks towards me, I then realized why Julie told us to look after him – he is disabled. I stared at him with a strange face – I have never been with a disabled person this close before. I think he knew I was staring, but he pretend like he did n ot know. Maybe he was used to strange people’s attention in public, maybe he is just do not want to look at me in the eye and see something he did not want to see – pity. He had his short limbs which were spectacular when he attempted running or boarding the school bus. We always observed him as different existence and that worried him a lot; someone occasionally called him names of goblins and teased him a lot. He was teachers’ pet as he used to be the most punctual and one of the most brilliant students in the school. Though his brain was sharp, his hands were too small to handle the writing board in the classroom and so, he was denied the opportunity of being the leader of the class. Altogether, â€Å"the link between his biological construction and inner self† was established that way (Mossman, 15). His small body contained much appetite and he used to eat a lot. The lunch hour of the school was seemingly inspiring to him as he would eat from a lunch box rather disproportionate to his size. While he attempted opening the lid of the lunch box, it was an amusing scene for other people to watch. The short hands grabbed a lot of food and rhythmically forced it inside his mouth in a rapid phase – he was interesting. I always observed him with absolute attention to understand how his body reacted to his requirements to cope up with the challenges of mingling with classmates and doing experiments in the science lab. He was never discouraged; rather, he developed the habit of exploring the secret abilities that differentiated from normal people. Dwarfism was a curse to him when he liked to play on field games; therefore, he managed to settle himself into mind games and excelled in the feats. His eye contact and the facial expressions were very mature, but they were not supported by his short limbs to give him a perfect identity. Most noticeable fact of his mannerism was the style he used in arguing with someone who is very tall; he would poke and punch the stomach of the contender and make him silly with his witty expressions. As I grow up, I realized that there are so many people who need help, and there is no way I could help them all. The other thing I realized is that there are so many fake beggars and they are just faking it so people would give them money. I have decided to not look at them in the eye when I pass by and continue to walk my way. I used to watch him working so hard on his homework, using his left hand –

Performance Levels of iPhone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Performance Levels of iPhone - Essay Example The present research has identified that Apple Company was incorporated in the year 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The duo brought on board a vision of transforming the way people viewed computers. Jobs and Wozniak had a key objective of making computers portable in order for people to have them in their homes or offices. Apart from venturing into the computer market, the Apple has also diversified into iPod and media player software. These two products have also seen good days in the market as they have become very popular across the age divide. The latest to be introduced in the company is the iPhone, a cellular phone, and the Apple TV into the market. For the sake of this study, it is important to mention that before the entrance of the Apple Company, Smartphone industry was dominated by the Canadian giant Research in Motion. The company had penetrated the market very well until the Apple emerged, and quickly overturned the tables. The major competitor of Apple’s iPh one is the Google products such as the Android operating system (OS) that is incorporated in a majority of non-Apple gadgets produced by Samsung, Huawei, Sony, HTC, Lenovo, and others. Philip defines the marketing mix as a business tool used in marketing. The tool facilitates a deep analysis of various aspects of a product so as to appeal to potential clients. Through the adoption of the marketing mix, the performance of the iPhone has increased significantly. Its assimilation in for the purpose of sales and marketing can explain the tremendous profitability, efficiency and the increased sales of a phone in the recent past. The marketing mix concept is illustrated in the paper.

Analysis of the film <Requiem for a Dream (2000) > Research Paper

Analysis of the film - Research Paper Example It speaks of several forms of drug addictions and their consequences. The importance of the film also lies in its ability to understand the ways in which family ties and bonds are severed irreparably through the use of drugs. The ability of the movie to manoeuver through the technical aspects of filmmaking is also brilliant. The movie is noteworthy not only for its deft handling of the theme but also for the team’s ability to use sound and lighting to weave itself into the story. The movie is not a long one and its runtime is just one hundred and one minutes. This means that the story is told without any additional frills. It stands on its own and this is thanks to the excellent editing that was performed on it. The scenes that are shown in the edited version of the movie reveals how details are squeezed into every frame in order to keep the runtime short and the pace quick. The pace of the movie varies according to the mood that its protagonists are in. Given that this is a movie that speaks of the metal states and social positions of drug addicts, there are several changes of pace that the movie undergoes. This is significant as it makes it possible for the viewer to understand better exactly what the mental conditions of the protagonists are. They are also able to understand better the situations that drug addicts put themselves through once they are deprived of what comes to become their lifeblood. This irony is what the changes of pace are able to conve y in the movie without taking the viewer on an unnecessary roller-coaster ride that may have degenerated into melodrama. The movie’s slick editing makes it possible for the viewer to retain the message of the movie without the movie having to be preachy in its tone. This, according to many was one of the major victories of the movie. The lighting of any movie is something that complements its

Developmental Psychology Essay Example for Free

Developmental Psychology Essay 1.1. Nature – nurture Nature refers to the inherited (genetic) characteristics and tendencies that influence development. It is the abilities that are present at birth, as well as any abilities determined by genes. On the other hand, nurture is the processes caused by our environment that influences our development. Everything is learned through our interactions with our environment and as a result of our experiences. In the past, hereditary and environmental factors were considered to be operating separately from each other. It was one or the other nature (hereditary) or nurture (environment). Today it is generally agreed that hereditary and environment are both important factors; development is a combination of both. Example: Average longevity is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. To increase your chances of a long life you need to come from a family with a history of individuals who lived to a ripe age (genetic factors). Environmental factors; such as diseases, toxins, lifestyle and social class are also important factors that influence longevity. A person who makes poor lifestyle choices and live in an impoverished area will decrease his/her chances of a long life. Therefore it can be said that both nature and nurture play a role in a person living to a ripe age. 1.2. Stability – change The stability versus change concept explores how much of ones behaviour is consistent and how much is changeable over a lifespan. Simply put, we can ask whether development is best characterized by stability (for example, does a behaviour or trait such as shyness stay stable in its expression over time?) or change (could a persons degree of shyness fluctuate across the life span?). Stability at a basic level is vital for us to recognize that we are still the same person as we grow older. But we also like to believe that our characteristics are not set in stone, that we can change ourselves if we want to. Psychoanalysts believe that personality traits developed in the first 5 years predict adult personality. Change theorists argue that personalities are modified by interactions with family, experiences at school, and acculturation. Example: Costa and McCrae (1994; 1997) have investigated whether the traits that make up the five-factor model remain stable across adulthood and came to the general conclusion that personality traits remain stable after age 30. If a 30 year old woman worried excessively about whether or not her husbands salary was enough to make mortgage payments, then she also is likely to be worried about having saved enough for her childrens college tuition when she is 45 and is likely to be worried about the adequacy of her husbands pension income at age 70. Since Costa and McCrae suggest that personality traits remain stable through adulthood a high degree of neuroticism, as reflected by a consistent and excessive level of anxiety and worry, is likely to persist and find new focal points over time. However, there is evidence that change can be found in personality trait development across the adult life span. Allemand et al. (2008) found that the way people differ in their personality becomes more pronounced with older age. Furthermore, other studies (Donnellan Lucas, 2008) found that extraversion and openness decrease with age whereas agreeableness increases with age (Blanchard-Fields Cavanaugh, 2011, p. 321). 1.3. Continuity – discontinuity The continuity versus discontinuity controversy deals with the question of whether development is a gradual, smooth progression from conception to death (continuity), or a series of distinct and abrupt shifts (discontinuity). Continuity focuses on quantitative changes in number or amount, such as changes in height and weight. Discontinuity focuses on qualitative changes in kind, structure, or organization. An example of continuity is: Infants who have satisfying emotional relationships with their parents typically become children with satisfying peer relationships. And they will eventually become adults with satisfying relationships with others. An example of discontinuity: After spending most of adulthood trying to ensure the success of the next generation and to leave a legacy, older adults turn to evaluating their own lives in search of closure and a sense that what they have accomplished has been meaningful. 1.4. Universal versus context-specific development This concerns whether or not there is one path of development or several. Example: David Schmitt and colleagues (2004) investigated whether one’s attachment style may have a major influence on how one forms romantic relationships. The results showed that 79% of the cultural groups studied demonstrated secure romantic attachments, but that North American cultures tended to be dismissive and East Asian cultures tended to be high on preoccupied romantic attachment. Overall, Schmitt and colleagues concluded that although the same attachment pattern holds across most cultures, no one pattern holds across all of them. East Asian cultures in particular tend to fit a pattern in which people report that others do not get as emotionally close as the respondent would like, and that respondents find it difficult to trust others or to depend on them.

Organizational change management

Organizational change management ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT Assessment Part A: Section 1: Introduction to the report: The forthcoming budget of 2013 is expected to open a financial trouble of  £153 million. Such high deficit is indeed threatening the council from the viewpoint of its strategic handling. The current newsletter that has been published by the council’s CEO, Andrea Hill clearly points out the organization’s drawback to effectively implement its developed policy: ‘A New Strategic Direction’ to tide over the impending financial crunch. Even the staffs is not paying enough heed to potential threat thinking that Louisiana would be one’s to be affected and not them. However, as the latter case is not to happen, the council acknowledged the significance to opt for job redundancies. Although the latter provision might seem to prevent the council from suffering such considerable financial trouble, yet in real the council could only save  £55m out of the total  £153m. Now, as a solution to the current issue, the council have planned to opt for strategies t hat would facilitate in: addressing and meeting the root cause of the root cause of the social problems and build social capital to make the social communities independent enough. However, the latter potential strategy was vehemently turned down by the opposition leader on the note that is actually an irrational judgement to switch off the service demand. The latter leader even criticised the way the council operated and rather deemed the necessity to alter its working pattern. Andrea Hill however, considered the latter leader’s comments to be true and thus deemed that change of the working pattern from slow and risk diverse to innovative, creative and leaner. Although, the council considered the importance to practise lean management, there is an impending danger of facing high job cuts. However, the job cuts are not considered to be a strategic solution to the financial trouble. Nevertheless, the redundancy solution is considered to reduce the potential cash deficit by at least a bare minimum ( £55m). Besides this, the potential resolution that the council intends to practise even involves pitfall in the process that it is not possible to switch over the service demand. However, the latter lean management practise seems to be effective in face of preventing excess cash outflow in the face of such trouble. Also the potential thought of altering the current work pattern of the council would help in gaining substantial profit from such activity. The purpose of the proposal is to critically analyse the current actions of the case study council. Though the council have opted for policies to tide over the impending financial trouble, concerns could be raised as to its actual effectiveness in real situation. In order to meet the potential deficit of  £153 million, the council would require opting for huge turnover that in real seems to be quiet an irrational judgement. However, to overcome the cash shortage, the proposed policy of the council seems to be near to rational yet having certain drawbacks. The proposed action to alter the current operating policies however seems to be quiet an effective solution. The report would thus detail the practise of lean management, effective service chain management and determine the need for the council to practise smaller, cheaper and innovative approach at workplace. The current study would thus detail the possible recommended policies for the council that is deemed to be effective to fa ce the potential financial threat of 2013. The entire study has been fragmented into three sections: background, limitations and recommendations. Within the background section, the researcher intends to subdivide the steps in two parts: problem findings and solution focus. The potential budget deficit issue would be highlighted in the problem section and subsequent solutions would be offered in the latter segment. The limitations of the proposed solution would analyse in section three: conclusion. In other words, the adverse impact of change on the performance and mindset of the staff would be detailed in the current section. As a strategic response to the limitations, the author would offer recommendations that might consider the effective usage of leadership development programs at the council’s workplace. Section Two: Background Problems: Findings As have already been discussed in the above report that Suffolk County Council is experiencing serious financial dearth as high as  £153m. The proposed job cuts even does not seem to redeem the issue as this specific council could be able to save only  £55m. The latest newsletter that stated that the council wishes to identify and fix the root cause of the social problems and build social capital to strengthen communities to be independent themselves, even is not considered to be rationale enough. Thus, in the face of being slow, risk averse and complex structure, the need arises to develop a coalition and convince the people that change is truly necessary. Kotter’s 8step change step model is basically a sequential step that facilitates in undertaking successful change within the organization (author). In face of the current financial trouble and the complex issue threatening the job sustainability of its staff, a step to form a powerful guiding coalition is required to be practised at workplace. The leader of the opposition as well as Mrs. Hill have already criticised the laid back attitude of the council staffs and have even identified that the council is yet not working on effective business lines. (Author) stated that framing powerful guiding coalition allows development of strong leadership to further the change process. However, the change could only be successfully brought about if there is viable support by some noted people of the organization. Unlike following the key traditional hierarchy mechanism, the coalition mechanism assist in integrating the apt people to forward the change process and even manage the change ini tiative to successfully attain the objective (author). Thus, in absence of member’s involvement within the coalition process, organizations undertaking change might not be able to attain desired benefit from the process. The following steps are required to be a part of the framing a coalition team in SSC: Recruiting a Coalition members: (Author) determined that the initial and an essential step in framing a collation group are to extend formal invitation to the leaders who would be able to carry forward the change process. However, the potential change managers are required to be told the exact reason behind the proposed change process. Also the reason for change should boost the morale and encourage the leaders to undertake the process. (Author) even added the coalition group should have a good mix of both experienced and fresh personnel. As a recommended action, the group should involve members that having prior experience in the activity and are able to identify others who could be effective leaders as well. Thus the team of SSC members vested to undertake the change should thus constitute efficient leaders having sound knowledge on the current activity. Developing a charter: Unlike the process of following the traditional hierarchy process, the coalition team building approach necessitates following top down and bottom up approach (author). Thus, post forming a team of efficient change leaders, the current step involves deciding a chairperson who would guide other’s activities and even vest separates roles and responsibilities to the members. (Author) added that in absence of a formalised structured of efforts, staffs are often not able to maintain an integrative approach towards work resulting in non-fulfilment of the change goal. Thus the responsible authority of SSC is required to frame a charter that would include team length, individual roles and an efficient chair-person. The chair-person is even required to offer leadership to the group and ensure ownership of the work. Frame a coalition team: After having completed the activity of developing a steering team and their respective roles and responsibilities, the present need is to support the group to become productive in nature (website). The provision for external support to the group would encourage confidence and morale so that the same is able to successfully further the change process. The team of SSC staffs who are the change managers of the business are required to set strategies that would prevent any occasion of deviation from the core purpose and attain failure as a result of issues within the system. (author) pointed out that planning a kick-off celebration is an effective way to build creativity and group cohesion at workplace. Besides involving in latter type of celebration, the council members of SSC could even brainstorm to identify the purpose and structure of the group. Staff involvement within the group development process would help in building conflict resolution and effective decision making approaches. Ensure stakeholder involvement: (author) pointed out that it is necessary to ensure involvement of all stakeholders within the change initiative process. Besides encouraging suggestions from the members who are not directly involved within the group, the need arises to vest the responsibilities of fulfilling discrete projects to rest of the staffs. The task to carry forward with the change efforts could even be furthered by the inclusion of the external governing body or taking help of the agency skills. The internal stakeholders of SSC could frequent in asking suggestions and opinions from the stakeholders on aspects of bettering the change and handle the current issues on financial dearth and in-appropriate operational procedure. The effective solutions could be practised at work. The latter strategies would thus serve as an effective approach to guide coalition to align the top down and bottom up change approach at SSC. Solutions: Considering that the operational success for organizations is dependent on several internal and external factors, the need arises to frequent the change management process over time. (author) attributed that change management process furthers the scope to undertake organizational development that is required to suit its operations as per the changing market and current business scenario. In the face of the impending financial threat and change issues that SC is currently facing, the same could follow the following two activities at workplace: Future Search: (Author) pointed out that the concept of future search relates to the activity of involving all the stakeholders to identify the issue, offer roles, develop action plans and vest separate roles and responsibilities to attain the venture. On occasion of current financial and change management issues currently hindering the progress and threatening the job sustainability of the staff of SSC, future search option of organizational development would assist in involving all the stakeholders in developing future strategic course of action that would successfully alter the current operational policy of the concern. During the course of six months time interval, the change managers of SSC could: Meet for conference Clearly outline and present the financial, job cuts and change management issues currently threatening them Try to develop a positive attitude towards settlement of the issue through framing constructive policies and Vest and engage all its members to fulfil their respective job performances. (author) mentioned that the future search strategy of organizational development goes beyond the traditional problem-solving approach instead ensure wider stakeholder involvement to carry forward with the course of constructive action. Within the proposed time interval of six months, the authorities of SSC could facilitate participation of members across all departments or key constituent groups. The current solution strategy is quiet effective to eradicate hierarchical issues instead be able to involve almost the entire organization in acknowledging the change requirement from global perspectives (author). Thus, the stakeholders of SSC would be able to invest their minds over dealing with current global perspective of financial budget on the proposed financial dearth of the business. By encouraging the participants to have a wider or global view of the present issue, they often develop greater commitment towards even better performnace. Likewise, the future search strategy of SSC would facilitate the stakeholders to feel encouraged to arrive at a common ground on determining the tools that would help in preventing job cuts, undertake require operational change and face financial dearth. Open Space method: (Author) stated that the open space initiative or organizational change and development are an effective tool to involve the appropriate skill set towards fulfilment of the issues. Following the current process, the responsible officials would be able to effectively utilise the collective wisdom and energy of its staff towards developing effective action plans to overcome the current issues. In order to maximise the involvement of all the staff of SSC, open space method could be employed at workplace. As the current strategy cannot be practised simultaneously with future search strategy, it could be used only after the practising the latter policy. Even considering the fact that the current policy involves sequential steps for performnace, SSC would allot another four months time frame to complete the process. Within this allotted four months time frame, the authorities of SSC would require to break the entire sessions into: Pre-design sessions Segment the group based on the expected responsibility Follow up and action plans (author). Within the pre-design sessions, the change authorities of the concern are required to identify the theme of the sessions and develop norms for the meetings. The current financial deficit that the council is facing as well as the operational inefficiency would be clearly outlined for the purpose of the arriving at a strategic solution. Post identifying the current issues, the group now requires breaking down the task in segmented portions and allotting specific responsibilities as per the expectations of the group. (author) acknowledged that the work segmentation and allotting specific responsibilities based on the likings of the staff would motivate them to better and faster solve the issue. The solutions of each group would then be analysed by maintaining a follow up of the activity. By maintaining a follow up, the change members of SSC would be able to be aware of the progress made to overcome the issue. Ultimately the most liable and rationale solution to the current trouble would be decided upon through joint consensus. Thus, through the process of coordinating the activity through information posting, the change leaders and staffs would be able to resolve the current critical issues and nurture improved level of team and personal responsibility. Section Three: Conclusions: Section four: Recommendations: The open strategy method and the future search solution mentioned above require tactful implementation process. In absence of having a proper course of undertaking solution action, SSC would not be able to involve all its stakeholders within the change activity and be able to volunteer joint response on the subject. (Author) pointed out the following process to effectively practise and implement future search at work: Step 1: integrating the entire stakeholders in a certain place, especially the ones who do not meet often. Step 2: clearly outline the current issue impacting successful operation of the organization Step 3: Identify possible strategic solutions rather than focus on past conflicts Step 4: Vest separate responsibilities to individuals. Following the above change management process, the stakeholders of SSC would be able to brainstorm to arrive an effective and strategic solution to the change management, financial dearth and staff turnover issues threatening the business. Open Space management process of the undertaking change could be undertaken following the under mentioned process: Step 1: Determine the issue, develop the norms and plan ways to undertake the sessions. Step 2: Segment the group on critical issues and appoint responsibility to each individual based on their desired preferability Step 3: Develop an action plan to undertake the process, volunteer suggestions and accept opinions (website). By conglomerating the opinions of the change managers and staff, SSC would be able to decide upon an effective and strategic change solution mechanism to facilitate in undertaking the process at workplace. The following change management programs could even be practised at workplace: Employee Assistance Program: (Author) reflected that it is basically work based program offering short term counselling sessions and follow-up of services to organizational staffs suffering from certain work related issues. Considering that the staffs of SSC is threatened from potential job loss and operational changes, EAP procedure would assist in addressing their issues and offer effective solutions. The managers could even gain knowledge as to ways to further the change process by making the staff accept its necessity and facilitate in its smoother undertaking. External Consultants and Envoys: (author) acknowledged that envoys are specialised management service firms that provides advice and training on aspects issues affecting the organization. SSC could appoint a specialised envoy having knowledge to effectively handle similar situations. With its appointment, the authorities of SSC would be able to optimally utilise their specialised knowledge on aspects to prevent from such massive financial trouble, job cuts and effectively undertake change to face the situation. Team working/building: SCC could even decide upon developing groups (basically T group structure) to ensure that it staff acknowledge the flow of information down the hierarchy and involve in an integrative approach to change. (Author) noted that staff often feels comfortable in a group and are motivated to involve even better performnace. The group work structure in SCC would thus drive the staff to work for innovation, product development, resolving issues and smoothen the change process. Management accounting frameworks: (author) elaborated that management accounting framework such as balance scorecard facilitates in the keeping a check on the progress of the current activities. In order to make sure that the leadership and people management practices are performed as expected, the authorities of SCC could periodically use balance scorecard approach to judge change such as leadership and people management. 1

Youth Mental Health Issues

Youth Mental Health Issues Mental and substance use disorders are among the most important health issues facing Australians. They are a key health issue for young people in their teenage years and early 20s and, if these disorders persist, the constraints, distress and disability they cause can last for decades (McGorry et al., 2007). Associated with mental disorders among youth are high rates of enduring disability, including school failure, impaired or unstable employment, and poor family and social functioning. These problems lead to spirals of dysfunction and disadvantage that are difficult to reverse. (McGorry et al., 2007). As over 75% of mental disorders commence before the age of 25 years, reducing the economic, geographical, attitudinal and service organisation barriers for adolescents and young adults is an essential first step in addressing mental health problems (Hickie and McGorry, 2007). In Australia, rates of mental illness among young people is higher than for any other population group and represented the major burden of disease for young people with depression making the greatest contribution to this burden. In addition, youth suicide and self-harm have both steadily increased during the 1990s (Williams et al., 2005). 60% of all health-related disability costs in 15 34-year-olds are attributable to mental health problems, and of the total disability years lived in Australia, 27% is attributable to mental disorders. Although most common mental disorders commence before 18 years of age, people aged 25 44 years and 45 64 years are more than twice as likely as those aged under 25 years to receive an active treatment when seen in general practice (Hickie et al., 2005). Research has indicated that some mental health problems can be prevented through appropriate early intervention, and that the impact of existing mental illness can be mitigated through the early provision of appropriate services (Mental Health Policy and Planning Unit, ACT, 2006). It has been estimated that up to 60% of cases of alcohol or other substance misuse could be prevented by earlier treatment of common mental health problems (Hickie et al., 2005). Despite the enthusiastic efforts of many clinicians around Australia, progress in service reform has plateaued, remains piecemeal and is frustratingly slow in contrast to what has been achieved in other countries, many of which began by emulating Australia. In addition, the specialist mental health system is seriously under-funded (McGorry and Yung, 2003). While Australia s national health spending continues to grow past $72 billion the total recurrent mental health spending has consistently remained below 7% of this figure (Hickie et al., 2005). The need for coordinated national health and welfare services for people with mental health and substance misuse problems has been recognised by all Australian governments, but insufficient investment, lack of accountability, divided systems of government and changing health care demands resulted in a very patchy set of reforms (Hickie and McGorry, 2007; Vimpani, 2005). Statistics regarding the problem Close to one in five people in Australia were affected by a mental health problem within a 12-month period, according to the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Young adults were particularly affected, with more than one-quarter of Australians aged 18 to 24 years suffering from at least one mental disorder over a 12-month period (Mental Health Policy and Planning Unit, ACT, 2006). In Australia, the prevalence of mental health problems among children aged 4 12 years lies between 7% and 14%, rises to 19% among adolescents aged 13 17 years, and increases again to 27% among young adults aged 18 24. Therefore, up to one in four young people in Australia are likely to be suffering from a mental health problem, with substance misuse or dependency, depression or anxiety disorder, or some combination of these the most common issues (McGorry et al., 2007). It is therefore more likely that mental health problems will develop between the ages of 12 and 26 than in any other stage of life (Orygen Youth Health, 2009). This situation also exists among Australian Indigenous communities, where the continuing grief and trauma resulting from the loss of traditional lands and cultural practices as a result of colonization, past policies of child removal and the destruction of traditional governance arrangements within Aboriginal communities, are an ever-present cultural reality that plays out in some of the worst developmental health and well-being outcomes in advanced industrial society (Vimpani, 2005). Risk taking by young people Studies show that psychosocial issues form a great burden of disease for young people, including intentional and unintentional injuries, mental disorders, tobacco, alcohol and other substance misuse, and unprotected sexual intercourse (Tylee et al., 2007). The pathways to substance misuse in young people involve complex interplay between individual biological and psychological vulnerability, familial factors and broader societal influences. The impact on family and society is often painful, destructive and expensive (Vimpani, 2005). In 2005, nearly half of all deaths of young men and a third of young women aged 15 34 years in NSW were due to suicide, transport accidents or accidental drug overdoses (418 persons; ABS, 2008b). In 2007, amongst young men in the age group 15-24 in NSW, the average age for first consumption of alcohol was around 15, and amongst women of the same age group, the average age for first use of alcohol was around 17 years. In addition to its potential direct health consequences, risky or high risk drinking can increase the likelihood of a person falling, or being involved in an accident or violence (ABS, 2008a). 71% of persons aged 14-19 and 89.4% of persons aged 20-29 were current drinkers. 27.6% of persons aged 14-19 (40.5% at the age of 20-29) were at risk of short term harm, while 10% (14.7% at the age of 20-29) were at risk of long term harm. Around 90% of Australian youth (aged 18 24 years) have drinking patterns that place them at high risk of acute harm (Lubmen et al., 2007). On av erage, 25 percent of hospitalisations of 15-24 year olds occur as a result of alcohol consumption (Prime Minister of Australia, 2008). Almost one-quarter (23%) of people aged 15 24 years in Australia reported using illicit drugs during the last 12 months, around twice as high as the proportion of people aged 25 years and over (11%). Marijuana/cannabis was the most common drug used by 15 24 year olds (18%), followed by ecstasy (9%), and meth/amphetamines and pharmaceuticals (both 4%). Barriers to provision and use of health services Primary-care health services are sometimes still not available. They may be inaccessible for a variety of reasons such as cost, lack of convenience or lack of publicity and visibility. Health services might not be acceptable to young people, however, even if available and accessible. Fear about lack of confidentiality (particularly from parents) is a major reason for young people s reluctance to seek help, as well as possible stigma, fear of difficult questions. In addition, health professionals might not be trained in communicating with young people. If and when young people seek help, some may be unhappy with the consultation and determine not to go back. To ensure prevention and early intervention efforts, clinicians and public-health workers are increasingly recognising the pressing need to overcome the many barriers that hinder the provision and use of health services by young people, and to transform the negative image of health facilities to one of welcoming user-friendly sett ings (Tylee et al., 2007). Spending in the area remains poor, and service access and tenure are actively withheld in most specialist mental health and substance misuse service systems until high levels of risk or danger are reached, or severe illness, sustained disability and chronicity are entrenched. Thus, just when mental health services are most needed by young people and their families, they are often inaccessible or unacceptable in design, style and quality. Moreover, numerous young people with distressing and disabling mental health difficulties struggle to find age-appropriate assistance. Young people with moderately severe non-psychotic disorders (eg, depression, anxiety disorders and personality disorders), and those with comorbid substance use and mental health issues, are particularly vulnerable. For many of these young people, if they survive (and many do not), their difficulties eventually become chronic and disabling (McGorry et al., 2007). Another barrier is related to the manners in which young people seek help when they have a mental problem. The most recent national survey data for Australia show that only 29% of children and adolescents with a mental health problem had been in contact with a professional service of any type in a 12-month period. Some subgroups, such as young males, young Indigenous Australians and migrants may be even less likely to voluntarily seek professional help when needed. If young people want to talk to anyone, it is generally someone they know and trust and when they do seek professional help, it is from the more familiar sources family doctors and school-based counsellors. However, many young people at high risk of mental health problems do not have links to work, school, or even a family doctor (Rickwood, Deane and Wilson, 2007). Furthermore, mental disorders are not well recognized by the public. The initial Australian survey of mental health literacy showed that many people cannot give the correct psychiatric label to a disorder portrayed in a depression or schizophrenia vignette. There is also a gap in beliefs about treatment between the public and mental-health professionals: the biggest gap is in beliefs about medication for both depression and schizophrenia, and admission to a psychiatric ward for schizophrenia (Jorm et al., 2006). Existing resources: Knowledge, policy and programs Existing knowledge: Manners of interventions Prevention and early intervention programs are normally classified into four types: universal programs are presented to all regardless of symptoms; selective programs target children and adolescents who are at risk of developing a disorder by virtue of particular risk factors, such as being children of a depressed parent; indicated programs are delivered to students with early or mild symptoms of a disorder; and treatment programs are provided for those diagnosed with the disorder (Neil Christensen, 2007). Universal prevention programs target all young people in the community regardless of their level of risk, and include economic measures, social marketing, and regulatory control and law enforcement initiatives, as well as a range of psychosocial programs (Lubmen et al., 2007). In addition, interventions can be divided between promotion and prevention programs. Mental health promotion refers to activity designed to enhance emotional wellbeing, or increase public understanding of mental health issues and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. Prevention of mental illness may focus on at risk groups or sectors of the whole population. (Mental Health Policy and Planning Unit, ACT, 2006). Source: Mental Health Policy and Planning Unit, ACT (2006). Finally, collaborative care is typically described as a multifaceted intervention involving combinations of distinct professionals working collaboratively within the primary care setting. Collaborative care not only improves depression outcomes in months, but has been found to show benefits for up to 5 years (Hickie and McGorry, 2007). The importance of early intervention In the last two decades research demonstrated the high importance of early intervention to promote youth mental health and cope with mental disorders and substance misuse. Early intervention is required to minimise the impact of mental illness on a young person s learning, growth and development, thus improving the health outcome of those affected by mental illness. (Orygen Youth Health, 2009). It was found that the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) could be dramatically reduced by providing community education and mobile detection teams in an experimental study (McGorry, Killackey Yung, 2007; McGorry et al., 2007). On the other hand, delayed treatment and prolonged duration of untreated psychosis is correlated with poorer response to treatment and worse outcomes. Thus, first-episode psychosis should be viewed as a psychiatric emergency and immediate treatment sought as a matter of urgency (McGorry and Yung, 2003). The existing evidence also highlights the importance of prevention and early intervention programs on substance abuse. Such programs focus on delaying the age of onset of drug experimentation; reducing the number of young people who progress to regular or problem use; and encouraging current users to minimise or reduce risky patterns of use. Universal school-based drug education programs have been found to be effective in preventing and delaying the onset of drug use and reducing drug consumption (Lubmen et al., 2007). Early andeffective intervention, targeting young people aged 12 25 years, is a community priority. A robust focus on young people s mental health has the capacity to generate greater personal, social and economic benefits than similar intervention in other age groups, and is therefore one of the best buys for future reforms (McGorry et al., 2007). Importance of other players During the early phases of a mental disorder, members of a person s social network (including parents, peers and GPs) can play an important role in providing support and encouraging appropriate help-seeking. For mental-health problems, young people tend to seek help from friends and family rather than health services. In developing countries, young people are even less willing to seek professional help for more sensitive matters (Tylee et al., 2007). As friends and family are often consulted first by young people, they constitute and important part of the pathway to professional mental health services (Rickwood, Deane and Wilson, 2007). In a survey with young Australians and their parents, it was found that the most common response was to listen, talk or support the person, followed by listen, talk orsupport family and encourage professional help-seeking. Counsellor and GP/doctor/medical were the most frequently mentioned types of professional help that would be encouraged, but when young people were asked open ended questions about how they would help a peer, only a minority mentioned that they would encourage professional help. Among parents, encouraging professional help was a common response both in open-ended and direct questions (Jorm, Wright and Morgan, 2007). General practice is essential to young people s mental health and is often the point of initial contact with professional services. However, there is a need to improve the ability of GPs to recognise mental health problems in young people As well asensuring privacy and clearly explaining confidentiality. Finally, GPs can provide reassurance that it is common to feel distress at times, and that symptoms can be a normal response to stressful events (Rickwood et al., 2007). Schools For the small percentage of youth who do receive service, this typically occurs in a school setting. School-based mental health (SBMH) programs and services not only enhance access to services for youth, but also reduce stigma for help seeking, increase opportunities to promote generalization and enhance capacity for mental health promotion and problem prevention efforts (Paternite, 2005). There is compelling evidence of the effectiveness of a range of school-based interventions in primary and secondary schools for children and young people at risk of substance abuse (Vimpani, 2005). One study found that participation in a school-based intervention beginning in preschool was associated with a wide range of positive outcomes, including less depressive symptoms (Reynolds et al., 2009). Best elements for SBMH include: (a) school family community agency partnerships, (b) commitment to a full continuum of mental health education, mental health promotion, assessment, problem prevention, early intervention, and treatment, and (c) services for all youth, including those in general and special education. A strong connection between schools and other community agencies and programs also assists in moving a community toward a system of care, and promotes opportunities for developing more comprehensive and responsive programs and services (Paternite, 2005). Government policy There are a number of examples of governmental policy and program to enhance youth mental health. The new Medicare-based scheme now includes a suite of measures designed to increase access to appropriate and affordable forms of evidence-based psychological care. Unfortunately, it largely reverts to traditional individual fee-for-service structures. There are no requirements for geographical distribution of services, despite the evidence of gross mal-distribution of mental health specialist services in Australia and the proven contribution of lack of mental health services to increased suicide rates in rural and regional communities (Hickie and McGorry, 2007). Transformation is also occurring in primary care in Australia. GPs are increasing their skills, providing new evidence-based medication and psychological treatments, and beginning to emphasise long term functional outcomes rather than short-term relief of symptoms. Early-intervention paradigms depend on earlier presentation for treatment. Future progress now depends on development of an effective and accessible youth-health and related primary care network. (Hickie et al., 2005). As for substance abuse, The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (now known as the National Drug Strategy) was established in 1985. It is an inter-governmental and strategic approach based on national and state government cooperation and planning. The campaign has been adopted to bring together research and practice relevant to the treatment and prevention to protect the healthy development of children and youth (Williams et al., 2005). Existing programs There are several existing programs which address youth mental health and substance abuse. Knowing which programs exist may help us in understanding existing resources and knowledge, learning best practices, and recognising what else needs to be done. Australian programs: * The National Youth Mental Health Foundation headspace: providing mental and health wellbeing support, information and services to young people aged 12 to 25 years and their families across Australia. www.headspace.org.au * MindMatters is a national mental health initiative funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. It is a professional development program supporting Australian secondary schools in promoting and protecting the mental health, social and emotional wellbeing of all the members of school communities. www.mindmatters.edu.au * Mindframe: a national Australian Governments program aimed at improving media reporting on mental health issues, providing access to accurate information about suicide and mental illness and portraying these issues in the news media and on stage and screen in Australia. www.mindframe-media.info * The Personal Assessment and Crises Evaluation (PACE) clinic provides treatment for young people who are identified as being at ultra high risk. It involves facilitated groups using adult learning principles based on a curriculum addressing adolescent communication, conflict resolution and adolescent development. http://cp.oyh.org.au/ClinicalPrograms/pace * The Gatehouse Project has been developed in Australia as an enhancement program for use in the secondary school environment. It incorporates professional training for teachers and an emotional competence curriculum for students and is designed to make changes in the social and learning environments of the school as well as promoting change at the individual level. www.rch.org.au/gatehouseproject * Pathways to Prevention: a universal, early intervention , developmental prevention project focused on the transition to school in one of the most disadvantaged urban areas in Queensland. * The Positive Parenting Program (Triple P), which has been implemented widely in Australia and elsewhere for parents of preschool children, has also been implemented for parents of primary school-aged children. http://www1.triplep.net * The Family Partnerships training program, now established in several Australian states and already incorporated into maternal and child health and home visitor training, is designed to improve the establishment of an effective respectful partnership between health workers and their clients. Other international programs: * ARC (Availability, Responsiveness and Continuity): an organizational and community intervention model that was designed to support the improvement of social and mental health services for children. The ARC model incorporates intervention components from organizational development, inter-organizational domain development, the diffusion of innovation, and technology transfer that target social, strategic, and technological factors in effective children s services. * Preparing for the Drug Free Years (PDFY) is a universal prevention programme targeted at parents of pre-adolescents (aged 8 -14 years) that has been subjected to several large-scale dissemination and effectiveness studies across 30 states of the United States and Canada involving 120000 families. Future directions This paper suggests that despite a wealth of knowledge and information on appropriate interventional methods, services to address youth mental health in Australia are not consistently provided and are often under-funded. New evidence is continuously available for professionals; however this knowledge has often failed to filter through to the community and those in need. As Bertolote McGorry (2005) asserted, despite the availability of interventions that can reduce relapses by more than 50%, not all affected individuals have access to them, and when they do, it is not always in a timely and sustained way. The major health problems for young people are largely preventable. Access to primary-health services is seen as an important component of care, including preventive health for young people. Young people need services that are sensitive to their unique stage of biological, cognitive, and psychosocial transition into adulthood, and an impression of how health services can be made more youth-friendly has emerged (Tylee et al., 2007). Existing and new extended community networks, including business, schools, sporting bodies, government sectors, community agencies and the broader community are asked to play their part in mental health promotion and illness prevention. These networks will: * bring together all service sectors and the broader community in closer collaboration in the promotion of mental health; * exchange information about, and increase understanding of existing activities, and encourage new ones; * develop and strengthen the mental health promoting aspects of existing activities; develop greater mental health promotion skills right across the community; and * encourage an environment that fosters and welcomes new ideas, and supports adaptation and innovation to respond to a new environment (Mental Health Policy and Planning Unit, ACT, 2006). As for substance misuse, despite acknowledgement of the substantial costs associated with alcohol misuse within Australia, there have not been serious attempts to reduce alcohol harm using the major levers of mass-marketing campaigns, accompanied by significant changes to alcohol price and regulatory controls. Young people continue to be given conflicting messages regarding the social acceptability of consuming alcohol (Lubmen et al., 2007). According to the Mental Health Policy and Planning Unit (2006), ideas about the best strategies for supporting the mental health of the community are undergoing great change in Australia and internationally, with a growing focus on preventative approaches. Mental health promotion and prevention are roles for the whole community and all sectors of government. Although Australia has slipped behind in early intervention reform, it is now emerging that the situation can improve and that Australia can again be at the forefront of early intervention work. Here are some proposals as to how this can best be achieved: 1. Guaranteed access to specialist mental health services for a minimum period of 3 years post-diagnosis for all young people aged 15 25 with a first-episode of psychosis. New funding is clearly required to support this. 2. Such funding must be quarantined into new structures, programmes and teams. 3. The child versus adult psychiatry service model split is a serious flaw for early intervention and for modern and appropriate developmental psychiatry models. It needs to be transcended by proactive youth-orientated models. Early detection and engagement can be radically improved through such reforms and specialist mental health care can also be delivered in a less salient and stigmatized manner. McGorry et al. (2007) suggested four service levels that are required to fully manage mental illness among young people: 1. Improving community capacity to deal with mental health problems in young people through e-health, provision of information, first aid training and self-care initiatives; 2. Primary care services provided by general practitioners and other frontline service providers, such as school counsellors, community health workers, and non-government agency youth workers; 3. Enhanced primary care services provided by GPs (ideally working in collaboration with specialist mental health service providers in co-located multidisciplinary service centres) as well as team-based virtual networks; 4. Specialist youth-specific (12 25 years) mental health services providing comprehensive assessment, treatment and social and vocational recovery services (McGorry et al., 2007). Elements of successful programs (best practices) Revising the vast research on preventing mental disorders and promoting mental health among youth, particularly in Australia, as well as examining some of the successful and effective programs in the field, the following items summarise elements of current best practice: 1. Holistic approaches and community engagement: a. Adopt holistic approaches which integrate mental health promotion with other aspects of community and individual wellbeing b. Balance between universal and targeted programmes and their relative cost-effectiveness. c. Engage young people, the community and youth support services in working together to build the resilience of young people, and encourage early help and help seeking when problems occur d. Community engagement with the youth, and youth engagement with the community e. Outreach workers, selected community members and young people themselves are involved in reaching out with health services to young people in the community f. Promote community-based health facility: including stand-alone units (which are generally run by non-governmental organisations or by private individuals or institutions), and units that are an integral part of a district or municipal health system (that are run by the government). 2. Access to services and information: a. Make services more accessible to youth by collaborating with schools, GPs, parents etc. b. Social marketing to reduce stigma and make information more accessible c. Have more information online for young people with mental health issues, their families and peers. Promote understanding among community members of the benefits that young people will gain by obtaining health services a. Reduce costs b. Improve convenience of point of delivery working hours and locations 3. Assure youth-friendly primary-care services a. Have other players in the community involved in promotion of youth mental health, such as schools, GPs, and community centres b. Practitioners training c. Ensure confidentiality and privacy (including discreet entrance) d. Addressing inequities (including gender inequities) and easing the respect, protection, and fulfilment of human rights 4. Inter-sectoral and inter-organisational collaboration: a. Enable organisations to work in partnership towards shared goals b. Lead to multi agency, client centred service delivery and care 5. Research and support: a. Provide support such as information and training for the community and for mental health carers and consumers to plan and participate in mental health promotion activity b. Acknowledge formal and informal knowledge 6. Policy: a. Promoting a whole-of-government response to support optimal development health and well-being outcomes b. Policies and procedures are in place that ensure health services that are either free or affordable to all young people