Critique of Selected Epidemiological Research Article Paper

Critique of Selected Epidemiological Article - Research Paper Example trated by what the authors did, which was to evaluate whether there was an association between older age and going back to a clinic in the Cardiovascular Health Study. The authors also sought to find the extent to which age and other factors measured and differed by the type of visits. The study reports two hypotheses, which were stated candidly. The authors theorized that the type of visit would have an association with key demographics namely lifestyle, health and function characteristics. The second hypothesis was that the oldest participants would have the worst retention for in-person clinic visits. The design of the research study conducted by Strotmeyer et al. (2011) is a longitudinal epidemiological study. There was no intervention in the study because such investigations entail the following up of subjects over a protracted period, which is characterized by constant observation of various risk factors as well as health outcomes. Conducting a longitudinal epidemiological study is a vital step in investigating the relationships between exposure to recognized or supposed causes of disease and the ensuing morbidity or mortality. This is the most appropriate research deign for the objectives in this study because it enables the tracing of same people for a long period (Jewel & Hubbard, 2006). Consequently, the variations aspects observed in the people are less likely to have the interference of cultural disparities over different age group. Due to these reasons, longitudinal studies obtain accurate results. The power analysis procedure was neither used to estimate the sample size requirements prior to undertaking the study nor to find the likelihood of committing a Type II error. The presence of a power analysis enables the determination of the sample size required for the study based on information from previous research. It also used to verify whether the non-significant outcomes are due to the lack of association in the samples or the lack of statistical

Crime and Punishment Essay Example for Free

Crime and Punishment Essay The themes of sacrifices and egoism are usual in his works. He believes that egoism became that reason that destroyed earlier civilizations and made a threat to contemporary societies. Despite the fact that he saw nothing wrong in the wish to self-perfection, he blamed those, who tried to oppose their â€Å"I† to the rest of the world and considered only their own needs and desires. Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Crime and Punishment is severely punished for his extreme egoism and daring to take the decision about human lives. For example in The Brothers Karamazov Zosima worries about moral responsibility for all actions, committed by the person. Ivan doubts his views and states that responsibility is nothing but abstract notion and without God it becomes impossible to talk about any limits to the behavior of an individual. In the poem Ivan declaims to his brother in the cafe he expresses his view on the free will. The Inquisitor blames Jesus for giving people free will, which has become a hard burden and the reason of misery. The feeling of guilt becomes Ivan’s price for an attempt to express his free will. Dostoevsky does not agree or disagree with any opinion discussed but he constructs the plot of the story in such a way that the readers get an opportunity to get the proofs of ideas, expressed by Zosima. (Dostoevsky) The characters of Dostoesky are haunted by their past. In many his stories people cross the limit and take excessive responsibility to make the decision for other people and get severe punishment for it. In contrast to Borges, whose characters exist in present, and to Tolstoy, who regarded human history as a reason for all the events, which happen to us, Dostoevsky made the past the reason of suffering and misery. His characters are haunted by the ghosts from the past and can not find their place in present. For Dostoevsky the conflicts between free will and determination, and between egoism and responsibility become driving force and a source for creativity. All three authors use literature not only as means to bring their messages for the readers, but also as a way to resolve their inner conflicts. Art is always a personal experience for both – creator and those, who perceive it, and Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Borges make their art serve one ultimate purpose a quest for the meaning of life. Sources Dostoevsky, Feodor (1992). Crime and Punishment. Pevear, R. and Volokhonsky, L. transl. New York: Alfred Knopf. Dostoevsky, Feodor (1992). The Brothers Karamazov. , Pevear, R. and Volokhonsky, L. transl. New York: Alfred Knopf. Dostoevsky, Fyodor translation by Pevear, Richard and Volokhonsky, Larissa (1990). The Brothers Karamazov. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Tolstoy, Leo (1969). War and Peace , transl. Rosemary Edmonds, Penguin. Borges, Jorge Luis (1998). Collected Fictions(translated by Andrew Hurley), Viking Penguin

My Leadership Style

My Leadership Style According to my results, it indicates that my leadership style is predominately Participative, which means that I am capable of working with group members who understand the objectives and their role in the task. My biggest strength is hard work, sharing the sense of responsibility, punctuality, time management and the ability to meet deadlines. I am a very trustworthy person with an ability to work as a team player or as an individual which helps me to survive under different kind of environments. According to my past experienced, my supervisor came over and praised me for my hard work for the past five weeks and he also informed me that they will offer me a team leader job once I finished my course. My Weakness is that I get hurt very quickly if someone disregards my sincere efforts, or accuse me of being guilty of a mistake which I never did, this does results in a mental stress which ultimately effects my performance .Secondly sometimes I get emotional. This is what I think are my biggest strength and weaknesses. And I need to improve this strength and weaknesses. Leadership theories Leadership is a way of leading others to get the desired results. There are many theories presented by different author and I am going to discuss some of the theories which are as follow: Situational leadership theory It is developed by Hersey and Blanchard, is based on the premise that leaders need to alter their behaviours depending on one major situational factor-the readiness of followers. It focuses on two behaviours: task behaviour and relationship behaviour. Task behaviour is the leaders tendency to spell out duties and responsibilities of the group. Relationship behaviour is the leaders tendency to use two-way or multi-way communication To determine which combination of behaviour is appropriate for a given situation, a leader must access the follower readiness. Follower readiness means followers willingness and ability to accomplish a task. The following are the leadership style that might be used: Telling- giving specific task directions and closely supervising work; a high task , low-relationship style Selling- explaining task directions in a supportive and persuasive way; a high task, low-relationship style. Participating- emphasizing shared ideas and participative decisions on task directions; a low task, high-relationship style. Delegating- allowing the group to take responsibility for task decisions; a low task, low-relationship style. In using this situational leadership theory, leaders decide the task areas they want to influence assess the individuals readiness level, select the leadership style corresponding to that level. Path-goal theory It explains how leader behaviour can positively influence the motivation and job satisfaction of subordinates. It is closely associated with expectancy theory; it is focused on the way leaders influence subordinates perception of work goals and paths to achieve both work and personal goals. This theory argues that the perception of subordinates is affected by the following leader behaviours. Directive leader behaviour- letting subordinates know what is expected of them, providing guidance about work methods, developing work schedules, identifying work evaluation standards, and indicating the basis for outcomes or rewards. Supportive leader behaviour- entails showing concern for the status ,wellbeing and needs of subordinates; doing small things to make work more pleasant; and being friendly and approachable. Participative leader behaviour- it is characterised by consulting with subordinates, encouraging their suggestions, and carefully considering their ideas when making decisions Achievement-oriented leader behaviour- involves setting challenging goals, expecting subordinates to perform at their highest level, and conveying a high degree of confidence in subordinates. Leaders should also consider two important situational factors: subordinate and context characteristics. Normative leadership model The Normative leadership model developed by Vroom and Yetton helps leaders assess critical situational factors affecting the extent to which they should involve subordinates in particular decisions. In this model, decisions made by managers in relation to group problems are identified as belonging to one of five basics groups. A1: the leader makes the decisions using available information. A2: the leader obtains necessary information from subordinates then makes the decision. C1: the leader shares the problem with relevant subordinates, individually then makes the decision. C2: the leader obtains information and an idea from subordinates in a group session then makes the decision. G2: The leaders share the problem with the group and coordinate their efforts to devise a solution. The model includes a number of questions the manager can ask about the decision or problem, which may help him/her to decide which method is most appropriate given the situation. Transformational and transactional leadership Transformational leaders motivates individuals to perform beyond normal expectations by inspiring subordinates to focus on broader missions transcending their own immediate self-interest, to concentrate on intrinsic higher-level goals rather than extrinsic lower level goals, and to have confidence in their abilities to achieve the extraordinary missions articulated by the leader. Transformational leadership is supplementary to transactional leadership; it does not replace it. Transformational leadership includes three important factors: Charisma is a leadership factors comprising the leaders ability to inspire pride, faith and respect. To recognise what is important. Individual consideration is a leadership where leaders pays attention to the individual followers needs and treat every individual as equal. Intellectual stimulation is a leadership factor involving offering new ideas to stimulate followers to rethink old ways of doing things, encouraging followers to look at problems from multiple vantage points. Transactional leaders are leaders who motivates subordinates to perform at expected levels by helping them recognise task responsibilities, identify goals, acquire confidence about meeting desired performance levels, and understand how their needs and the rewards they desire are linked to goal achievement. leadership role model/s Leadership means different things to different people. It refers to the process of influencing others to achieve organisational goals. There are many leaders who have proven themselves in front of others such as Manmohan Singh, Adolf Hitler. They change the future of whole world by their leadership styles. I have chosen two political leaders to compare and contrast their leadership theory and styles. The First political leader is a current Prime-minister of India (Dr.Manmohan Singh) and the second one is ex: President of Libya (Muammar Gaddafi). Leadership profiles Manmohan Singh was born in 26 September 1932 in Goha village, Punjab But after Indias partition now this village is in Pakistan. His family was migrated to Amritsar sahib, India during partition in 1947. He was very intelligent and bright student from the starting of his study career. He was always come first to learn something new. After the partition he starts his study in Hindu college. In 1952 1954 he got his bachelors and masters degree. He stands first in his whole academic career. He receives a Wren bury scholarship as well. He finishes his study from university Oxford in 1962. After receive doctorate in economics from Oxford University, he worked for United Nations and after this he began his bureaucratic career. He works as an advisor in the ministry of foreign trade with Lalit Narayan Mishra. After this he handled so many posts for government of India like Chief Economic Advisor (1972-76), Governor of reserve bank (1982-85) and head of planning commission (1985-87). In 22 may 2004 He selected as a 13th Prime-Minister of India. Manhohan Singh follows participative and bureaucratic leadership style in his whole career. He is the in charge of every action related to development of a country. He takes other ideas into consideration while placing any step further towards the development. He follows the rules and regulations and ensures that other people follow the rules and regulations consistently and accurately. From the starting of his Prime-minister career he set up many rules for the people of India to decrease the bribe and poverty in country and Increase the economy of country. Muammar Gaddafi was born on 7th June 1942 in Libya. Initially he was ruler of Libyan Arab Republic till 1977 and then Brother Leader of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya till his last breath. He was considered as an Autocratic leader. He took the Libyan politics to a new height where he defined ideal autocratic style. He ruled the country with his power for a long period of time. He closed American and British military bases immediately when he came to power. He expelled Italian settlers in 1970 when he saw western imperialism battling against Arab nations. A lot of similar activities were introduced during his rule but it made a negative impact on the public of Libya. People never recognized him as a leader but because of his power nobody took a step forward to compete with him. (2008) It is clear that both the leaders were going in a different direction. Manmohan Singh was a well educated economist and Gaddafi was not qualified. Manmhohan Singh has never tried to bring his successors to politics whereas Gaddafi has used his power to bring his successors in different professions. Manmohan Singh was prime minister of independent India and got elected with co-operation from political parties. He was working as an employee of the country rather than ruling it and any decision made by him was agreed by rest of the party members. On the other hand, Gaddafi took the country in his hands and introduced new rules according to Arab believes and thoughts. He never took suggestions from anybody and has always been against western nations. In summary, even though both the leaders were a lot different from each other in terms of commanding but there were some similarities as well. For the growth of countrys economy Gaddafi introduced new taxes for oil companies. Manmohan Singh has always focused on growth of Indian economy and was an advantage because he worked previously as finance minister of India. Change Management The many complications of change in organisation begin with human nature. People tend to act habitually and in stable ways over time. They may not want to change even when circumstances require it. In order to keep them up to date and be acceptable for change both the leaders need to use kurt lewin model of change management. There are three stages in that unfreezing, changing, refreezing. Unfreezing is the stage in which a situation is prepared for change and felt needs for change are developed first both have to unfreeze the situation. Changing is the phase where a planned change actually takes place. In this both can put their change planning into action. Refreezing is the phase at which change is stability. By using these both can evaluate results and give feedback. Benchmarking criteria Leadership is the most important part of an organisation. Because organisation growth depends on leadership, it means how leader perform well with their group to gain productivity and trustful environment which make their business do well with maximum support. Leadership is the way of leading others and creating role model for follower to follow as an example. Lots of qualities make a leader perfect in leadership. There are many qualities that a leader should have but I am only going to discuss few of them: Creativity- a leaders should be creative in ideas to be productive. Creativity makes a person to think outside of the box to get the desired results. It is the magic wand that helps leaders to achieve organisation goal and overcome of barriers. Openness- leader should always be open to new ideas and listen other point of view. Openness means creating good relation with other by listening their views and encouraging their work. It builds trust and mutual understanding among leaders and followers. Dedication- means having a can do attitude towards the task. Getting task done by using maximum energy, to set an example for follower to do the same. Followers always look up to their leader so it is important to set an example by accomplishing the goals by giving full dedication to the work. Honesty- it makes a person trustworthy among others. Leader should be honest to their follower to build trustful relation with them to achieve required goals. Because honesty is the best policy. Well known to code of Ethics- leader should follow code of ethics so the follower can also do the same. Code of ethics is rules and regulation that an organisation brings for everyone to behave ethically according to the law by treating everyone as equal. It keeps the sensibility of deciding what is right and what is wrong. Keep high standards- it is the responsibility of leader to keep high standards by having regular meetings. Keep up the morale of the employees by motivating them and by giving them feedback on their performance. Collaborative- being collaborative means to work in a team with maximum effort. Collaborative makes teams productive and attainable. Responsibility- it is important for a leader to understand the responsibility of the leadership to lead the team. A leader should run the organisation by organising effective and productive team meetings. Confident- leader should demonstrate integrity and personal commitment and be confident to take several decisions. He/she should be confident to lead the team by creating friendly environment and should use the appropriate decision-making style for specific issues. If the leader is confident it is easy for him/her to gain trust of others. Communication skills: it is important for a leader to have communication skills to interact with other. Leader must have the knowledge of several cultures. If a leader lack this skill then it will be very difficult for leader to lead the group. All the qualities in a good leader are useless without this communication skill. Section 2: self assessment 2.1 benchmarking Creativity- creativity is something that relates with thinking. I have creativity in myself for generating ideas and it is proven because I have completed my applied management case study in which I did think out of the box to generate possible solution to the problem. Openness- I always get excited about group task because it gives us opportunity to listen other point of view and share views with each other. I am a very open person I always admire other ideas and point of view because it lead us to success. Dedication- I always give my full dedication to the task that has been assigned to me for example at my workplace they have weekly audit regarding performance of employees, in that audit I always score 99% or 100% out of 100%.it shows how much dedicated I am towards my goals. Honesty- in the school times I learn honesty is the best policy and I always use to follow that in my life. Be honest; be reliable so that other can trust you under any circumstances. Well known to code of ethics- code of ethics is set of rules and regulation that each individual needs to follow. I follow every rule at my job such as we need to be in professional dress, always speak in English so that other can also understand and no one can do others clock in or clock out. Keep high standard- at my work place they always keep their standard high. Sometime I rate myself by doing my own audit at work so that I can also understand where I stand. I always come to college as organised always have my folder of notes with me, so that I can perform well while lecture or task. Collaborative- I am very collaborative because I perform well in group discussion. Being collaborative means gaining knowledge through others. Responsibility- I am a responsible person as I already mention that I always come prepared to college with my notes. I use take responsibility if anything goes wrong. Confident- I am a confident person because it help us to achieve our goals and I always be confident about my work at job because I know what I have to do to score well in audit. Communication skills- it is an important factor of leadership because it helps us to communicate with other whether they belong to different nationality. I am good in communicating because I like to learn other languages like in brazil if we have to say welcome then we have to say oi. This criteria show how I rate myself in relation to these qualities of leadership. The rating is from 0 to 9, where 9 is highest and 0 is lowest. Quality Rating Creativity 5 Openness 6 Dedication 7 Honesty 8 Well known to Code of Ethics 7 keep high standards 8 Collaborative 7 Responsibility 5 Confident 6 Communication skills 5 Rationale I have rate myself according to where I stands. 0-6 means low and average and I need to improve that. 7 9 means highest and it shows my effort. I have shown this rating according to my performance at job, what I believe, how I perform at work and what I am doing in my day to day life. My creativity and communication skills are low and I need to work on it to develop myself according to the business situation because sometimes I lack this skills. I need to gain some more confident and openness so that I can achieve my goals. Dedication, honesty, collaborative makes me perform well in every task. 2.2 Reflection I am discussed above about my strength, weakness, opportunity and threat. These I have found where I am working now. My Manager promotes me as a Supervisor in his company. He told me that he have got trust and have confident about me. What I am wanted from my follower, they do the same thing to reach the goals and meet expectations for organisation. I am listening to everybody from my team, what they want to innovate for new things and if they have got the new idea then I am also implement that idea and give reward to the team to get new ideas. Personal cultural context is a persons primary source of how he or she would form their identity. It is a source for defining a person, expression, and the sense of group needed by all humans. I am belonging to Sikh religion and I have got my cultural things from my parents. In our culture we respect to everybody and we do not call elders by their first name. My short term goals are to get information about the business, improve the communication, daily updates in my vocabulary, and finish the tasks to get the work done. I am learning the business leadership qualities from my teacher and implement these qualities in my real life. Implement the new leadership strategy at work so that I will be a good leader for my followers. My long terms are to establish a business organisation and serve the people and community and earn some money from it so that it will be cover up my all living expenses. Apart of that, I want to also do side business in my life. My dream is to design Aircraft from my own hands and establish big industry for Airlines in New Zealand. What I needs to establish this company is money and that I will be earn from my business organisation. Section 3: Personal Development Plan Opportunities There are following opportunities that I look in myself. These are as follow: Short Term Opportunity: Confident: I need to be confident for whatever I want to achieve. I need to develop myself so that I can accept any change and achieve goals. I need to be competitive at all times. I am not afraid of any challenges I really like when anybody challenges me because it gives me an opportunity to prove myself. Barriers will come in my life but I need to have a potential to face any challenges in my life. Team player: I want to become more collaborative with others to build trust and understanding to face any challenges with maximum cooperation. Without being collaborative I cannot become a good leader and cannot achieve my goals. Productive : I am very dedicated person but I want to developed this ability a little bit more because I am enthusiastic person and every time when anybody assign me any task I give my full effort to accomplish that task. I have high energy levels that seem to go on forever and it becomes my passion to achieve the goals. Being collaborative means is also a very important leadership skill. I am ready to do any kind of effort to accomplish my goals and lead my followers as an example. Rationale: Long term opportunity: Become team leader: my boss already offered me a job to become team leader in the company. And I am pursuing this course to accomplish my goal. I have dream about this job when I join this company. Improve English: I need to improve my English to become a good leader so that my follower can admire my effort. Sometimes the words dont come out in fluently on lips. So I have to work more on communication skills. Because this goal is very essential to be achievable in business and in personal life as well. Settled down in New Zealand: It was my dream to come to New Zealand and settled down in New Zealand. Now I am here in New Zealand, one part of my dream I s fulfilled and I want rest will also come true. But for that I need to work hard and learn the criteria of getting settled down in New Zealand. Rationale I have chosen these short term and long term opportunity that I need to improve in myself for future. I have found the less communication skills in myself when I talk to another person. I cannot speak the words correctly so that why I think I need to improve these skills to read the newspapers, websites, improve in vocabulary, and speak up in front of mirror. I really have to confident when I start conversation to other person. Its very tough to be a good competitor in my field. But I need to try a lot to get adequate knowledge. I have seen at work that the two another person who has a good knowledge and the boss has only discussed with them. But when the boss asks me something then I cannot answer him properly. Then I thought I need to get insufficient information about the work. I have to really improve for short term goal as well. These goals I am very hard working in my field. But I need to build the relationship with people so that I can improve my interpersonal skills. Everyone should have ability to make relation with customer and the community. Because of if we need something then they can help us to make our business easier and best. I want to be assertive in my field. I found some difficulties at my work. Some of the other staff asking me question and sometimes they want to be share their ideas with me but all the time i ignored to them. So I need to become more assertive so that I can help them and become a good leader. Once I have stuck some difficult situation at job. One day I have very tired and feeling weakness and my performance was reducing to some extent. When my manager review me and he said your weekly performance has go down. So in that area I need to improve my strength and be a hard worker all the time. I had desire to become a GM in any organisation after the Business Management course. This is my long term goal and I have to complete it within the time. I need to be more qualitative and confident to become part of good management. I have to go through the any material that I need to use for a General Manager. Strategies I want to use the strategy to develop my communication skills. First I will record my voice on a digital recorder and play back to hear what I just said. Determine whether my sound confident and assured and I understood what I just said. Be willing to listen to what others have to say in all environments; at work, at school and with my friends. I want to have good and right attitude when doing conversation to others. Because good attitude can take me further where I want to go otherwise people can ignore me. I want to be a punctual in my life. To become a good competitor I need to be go through every learning material that improve my skills in future. This can be getting by to read the books and go to the internet. Everything I can find in the Google. There are various techniques to use these skills in business. Timeframe I have set the time to improve these skills for my future. I have set all the short time goal and long term goals that I need to use in the future. I need to be 1 year time (1/09/2013) to improve my all skills including short term plans. This can only be done by me to use the various methods. Long term plans need the 4 years by (1/09/2017) time so that I can learn everything including short term goals. In the one year, I have to improve my skills and short term goals to go further in future and set the long term goals. I need four years to set up my business and then I will go for further to set the short term and long term goals after get these goals. This way I can fulfil my dreams. I need to implement the strategy to develop my skills for next four months. For this I have select the date (5/05/2013). This strategy I can be writing and implement till this date. After that I can reach on these short term and long term goals. Measures I can measure these objectives when I have got the knowledge about everything and I have prepare for everything that I need to go further and set business in future. Skills I can measure it from if I will confident to do something because the person who have skills and he have the knowledge about everything then he is the confident to do anything because he knows all the things what and where can it happens. The second I can measure it from the society, if I have the good communication skills and have can do attitude rather than the other people then I can forecast that I achieved my objectives that I need to use in the future. Resourcing According to my short term goals and long term goals and the skills and objectives that I need to accomplish these goals. I need the internet resource so that I can go everything to learn and get adequate and advance knowledge. Google and Wikipedia sites have everything that I can help and learn easily my skills and objectives. I can found the survey online and give paper online to compete myself to the whole world. I need the training from my company. I can get help from my leader to improve these skills and goals. My manager can give me the training about the leadership from where I work now. I can get various knowledge from my team members and followers. I want to go through with the volunteer work. I need to read through the books, magazines and newspapers. Everything has mention in the newspaper and we can learn from our politician. I can also improve these things from TV. Because TV has run various channel like discovery and other channels so I can get my knowledge from these channels.

Essay --

The Economy, Monetary Policy, and Monopolies Alesia E. Davis Strayer University Eco-100 Dr. Shadrack Koros December 6, 2013 Analyze the current economic situation in the U.S. as compared to five (5) years ago. Include interest rates, inflation, and unemployment in your analysis. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal posted on the 6th of December 2013, employers in the United States have continued to increase jobs at a fixed pace and the unemployment rate fell in November, a sign of stronger economic growth that may intensify debate within the Federal Reserve about reducing central bank bond purchases as early as this month. (Wall Street Journal, 2013) U.S. payrolls rose by 203,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 7.0%, the lowest level in five years. (Wall Street Journal, 2013) Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast nonfarm payrolls would rise by 180,000 and the unemployment rate would tick down to 7.2%. Payroll numbers in September and October were reviewed up by a combined 8,000. Friday's report may strengthen expectations that the Fed will soon slow the pace of its $85 billion a month in bond purchases. At their October meeting, officials were looking to end the program "in coming months." The Fed's program, started in September 2012, is designed to keep long-term interest rates low, boost investment and spur hiring. (Wall Street Journal, 2013, New York Times, 2013) In October of 2013, the US inflation rate eased for the third straight month to 1 percent, the lowest rate since October of 2009. Primarily due to a drop in gasoline prices in September, the price dropped to ... ...t possible competitors from entering the market. (O'Sullivan, A., Sheffrin, S., & Perez, S. (2012)) â€Æ' The Wall Street Journal - Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News & Video - Wall Street Journal - Wsj.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://wsj.com The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://NYT.com Interest rates: The big freeze - Jan. 22, 2013. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/01/news/economy/interest-rates.moneymag/ O'Sullivan, A., Sheffrin, S., & Perez, S. (2012). Survey of economics: Principles, applications, and tools (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall. Job Creation. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://useconomy.about.com/od/Employment/tp/Job-Creation.htm The Bell System| History| AT&T. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.corp.att.com/history/history3.html

Diversion Programs Essay

Diversion programs are usually misunderstood by society, and in some cases is believe that they do not work. However research conducted by different organizations has found that they in fact do reduce recidivism amongst juveniles diverted V. those that were not. Diversion as described refers to â€Å"the attempt to divert, or channel out, youthful offenders from the juvenile justice system† (Bynum and Thompson, 1996:430). In this paper it will be discuss what are the causes of juvenile criminal behavior, and what goals does the two different diversion programs have to combat those behaviors and rehabilitate juveniles. Also it will discuss what service do they provide and witch one is the most effective. First of all when talking about juvenile delinquency research has found that no single cause of behavior accounts for all delinquency, however that study is inconclusive since the study has not been confirmed 100%. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is sponsoring the research and is focusing in serious delinquency and drug abuse as those two have been found to be the leading causeways of juvenile criminal behavior. OJJDP has conducted causes and correlation studies designed to improve the understanding of violence and drug abuse, they have looked at how a youth develops within the context of family, school, peers and their respective community. One of the challenges is to determine the longitudinal investigation since some times this juvenile’s turn into what society determines as adulthood, and the investigation is no longer valid. The way they have conducted this searches is by sampling youths in a six to nine months period one example is: Denver youth includes 1,527 youths ages vary from seven to 15, and they all come from different backgrounds but pronominally from â€Å"high risk neighborhoods† The key participants for this programs as described above are juveniles that  their age ranges from seven to 15 years of age, as per the report published by the OJJDP in September, 1999 2.8 million juveniles were arrested, since then that number has declined one of the causes for this is the improvement in diversion programs. As one of the analysts puts it â€Å"Diverting appropriate youthful offenders from detention can pay dividends for youth who are not a danger to themselves and for those remaining in detention. It also alleviates overcrowding†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bilchik S, 1999) This paper is exanimating two different diversion programs in the Dallas area; the â€Å"Dallas County Juvenile Department believes that for certain youth, treatment rather than punishment alone is the most effective strategy in avoiding future involvement with the juvenile justice system. Diversion programs offer youth an opportunity to agree on voluntary conditions that closely resemble probation, but are imposed by the probation officer instead of the Court. First time offenders with minor offenses and indicate certain criminal behavior risk factors may be eligible for specific diversion programs. Successful completion of the agreed conditions allows these youth to avoid appearing in Court, and prevent them from permeating into the juvenile system.† (DCJV, 2014) With all that said the two diversions programs used are one is the â€Å"Diversion Male Court (D.M.C.) targets minority males with first time and minor referrals. Using community-based alternatives to empower the youth and family, D.M.C. aims to reduce the disproportionate representation of minority male youth in the juvenile justice system. Community service providers in conjunction with the probation officer focus on issues which predispose the identified minority male youth to delinquent behavior.† (DCJV, 2014) And the other is the Drug Diversion Court that; â€Å"identifies and intervenes with youth who have a history of substance abuse. Youth involved in the program participate in community-based drug treatment programs, attend weekly court sessions, submit to regular drug testing, and consistently report to their probation officer. They receive the tools and support needed to live a drug-free life and remain out of the justice system.† (DCJV, 2014) As of 2013 drug related offenses involving juveniles in the Dallas county area went up from the previous year; in 2002 there were 94 and in 2013 there were 111. As far as assaults they were down from 2012 to 2013 from 244 to 229. Trying to identify the effectiveness of these programs is complicated since they are involving two different offenses, however more often than not they are related. Assaults and drug offenses are closely tied together in the juvenile criminal world. But their goal is the same in both cases to reduce the number of youth in detention and to provide them with some sort of community based program, in order to keep them occupied and help to rehabilitate them, and in return this will reduce recidivism amongst juveniles. If we were to look at just numbers I will say that the Drug Diversion Court has had more success in the Dallas area with its programs, however that can be disproportional because the amount of offenses. In conclusion this paper covered what is diversion, how it is applied and how it does work for two different programs in the Dallas county area. It is important to remember that this as effective as it might be in the Dallas area is not the same in other areas, disproportion on the studies and in the way that some ethnicities are group, and not to forget the age, makes it hard for this studies to be 100% accurate. References: Bynum, J.E., and Thompson, W.E. 1996. Juvenile Delinquency: A Sociological Approach. 3d ed. Bullington, B., Sprowls, J., Katkin, D., and Phillips, M. 1978. Critique of diversionary juvenile justice. Crime and Delinquency 24(1):59-71. Dallas County Juvenile Department (DCJV, 2014) extracted information from www.dallascounty.org/department/juvenile/drug_diversion.php

118 Great Questions to Ask on a College Tour

8 Great Questions to Ask on a College Tour SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Touring your prospective colleges is a great opportunity to learnfrom thepeople who study, work, and teach on campus. By keeping your eyes and ears open, you can gain a strong sense of a school and its culture, far beyond the facts and figures on its website. To make the most of your visits, you should prepare thoughtful questions to ask on a college tour. This guide will provide you with a comprehensive college visit checklist of questions for your tour guide, current students, admissions officers, financial aid officers, and professors. Plus, we’ll offer some advice on what not to ask. Before breaking out the list of college tour questions, let’s review the point of campusvisits in the first place. Why Are College Tours Important? If you have the means and time to do so, you should definitely take advantage of campus tours. They’re an invaluable opportunity to explore your prospective college campuses, as well as their surrounding areas, in person. You can check out the school’s facilities, like the library, dorms, dining halls, gym, and science labs, as well as branch out to see its surrounding city or, if you’re aiming for rural, dairy farms. Gathering your impressions of your college’s campus and beyond will help you gain a much stronger sense of whether or not it’s a place you’d like to live and learn for four years. If you have an amazing visit, then you might feel that much more empowered to put together a stellar application. If not, then you might save an application fee and cross that school off your list. Besides sampling the dining food or hanging out on the quad, you can also learn a lot about the student experience from your tour guide, usually a current student, and other students that you meet. You might arrange to stay overnight in a dorm or set up meetings to speak with admissions officers, financial aid officers, and/or professors. All of these people can offer their unique perspectives and experiences, especially if you ask meaningful college tour questions that lead tobroader conversations. As everyone reading this will have different goals, keep in mind that you shouldpick and choose based on your specific interests.If a question asks about popular classes in general, for instance, you can adapt it to ask specifically about popular classes in, say, the Biology Department. Besides customizing to your interests, you also would be well served to prepare different questions for different people.This first group of good questions to ask on a college tour would be best suited to your tour guide or other current students of the college. Find out what students have to say about their college experience. Questions to Ask Your Tour Guide or Other Current Students Most college tour guides are big fans of their colleges and are enthusiastic to share why. They tend to know lots of history and fun facts about the school, butyou shouldn’t necessarily expect them to rattle off specific data and statistics about graduation rates and financial aid packages (save those kinds of questions for administrative officers). Apart from knowing a lot about the college, tour guides are usually current students, so they can also speak to their personal experience. Remember, they were in your shoes just a few years before! Let’s consider what questions would be appropriate for tour guides, divided up by academics, support resources, internships, study abroad programs, extracurriculars, residential life, and general culture. Finally, we’ll suggest some personal questions for your tour guide. As you read, consider which questions you’d like answered, and how you might customize them to meet your specific interests and needs! Academics Are some majors or departments considered stronger or more popular than others? How large are the classes? Are the classes more lecture-based or discussion-based? Would you describe any classes as especially innovative or project-based? How many of the classes are taught by a professor, and how many are taught by a teaching assistant? Are the professors accessible outside of class? What kind of classes have smaller section meetings? What are they like? Are there any especially popular classes or must-have professors? How much freedom do freshmen havein choosing courses? Are students usually able to take their first choice courses? How’s the Wi-Fi? How are freshman advisors assigned? Is it easy to change your major? How would you describe the freshman experience, in terms of advising or any classes that everyone has to take? Do the professors hold office hours? How often can students interact with professors outside of class? Can undergraduates work with professors on research? Are there honors programs or capstone classes? If so, what are they like? How many hours of class do students typically have each week? How much homework outside of class? Are finals more exam-based or project / essay-based? Where are the best places to study on campus? What are the hours for the library? Do these change during reading periods or exam weeks? Are there any research methods or databases I should learn about for my classes? Do any majors require seniors to write a thesis or complete a senior project? As mentioned above, you might alter some of these questions to refer to a specific major or class. An intro science lecture, for instance, might contain hundreds of students, while a literature class could be discussion-based and limited to twelve students. Keep this in mind as you check out the rest of the questions on thiscollege visit checklist. Like the fearless owner of this rainbow Beetle, don't be afraid to customize your college visit questions. Academic and Social-Emotional Support Can you get help from professors outside of the classroom? Is there free academic support or tutoring? Is it effective? What kind of resources are there for international student support and orientation? What kind of learning disability resources does the school offer? Is there a writing center to help with essays and research papers? Are academic advisers accessible and effective? Do the librarians help with research? Do students organize study groups or online discussion forums? Are there computer labs? How accessible and helpful is health services? Do students or administrators organize conversations for students to talk about their feelings on important issues and events? Are there social orientation programs for freshmen? Are they enjoyable? Is there career counseling? Is it helpful? Research, Internship, and Study Abroad Opportunities What kind of opportunities exist for undergraduates to work on research or academic projects with professors? What kind of internships are available? Do a lot of students get internships? Are any departments known for their contribution to research? Do any majors prepare students to continue as researchers in a Master’s or doctoral program? Are study abroad programs popular? Any ones in particular? Do most students study abroad on a program through the school or an external program? Do students of certain majors, like engineers, find it difficult tostudy abroad? Are there internship opportunities abroad? Are there opportunities through the school for summer internships or research? Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Extracurriculars What are some of the most popular extracurriculars and why? What clubs or other opportunities exist for community service? Do sports play a large role on campus? What divisions are the sports teams? What about intramurals or exercise classes? Can you talk about the fill-in-the-blankclub? (Examples might include the student newspaper, student magazine, international relations clubs, art groups, science clubs, musical performances, plays, bands, ensembles...whatever you’re interested in!) In what ways do students connect with and volunteer in the surrounding community? How many students do they really squeeze into those dorm rooms? Residence Life What are the dorms like? Are there lounges, laundry, and kitchens? Sharedor private restrooms? Do certain dorms appeal to students with different interests, like a â€Å"healthy living† dorm? Do most students live in the dorms? What about after sophomore or junior year? If they move off campus, do they live in apartments or shared houses? Are any students placed in triples? How are the resident counselors? Do they plan social events for freshmen to get to know one another? Do most students get along with their randomly assigned roommates? What would I do in case of a conflict or need for a room switch? Is that possible? What kind of food does the dining hall serve? Are there different options? How is it, really? Does the dining hall accommodate special dietary restrictions? Are there any aspiring chefs on campus who host occasional exclusive gourmet pop-up dinners? (This question may be exclusive to this kidand this kid. So cool!) Campus Culture and Surrounding Area Where do students tend to hang out on and off campus? Are there movie theaters and concert venues? What about good cafes for getting work done or finding the perfect pumpkin spice latte? How would you describe the presence of Greek life? Do a lot of students belong to fraternities or sororities? How ethnically diverse is the campus? How many international students are there? What countries do they come from? Do students stick around or go home on weekends? What’s the party scene like? (This might be a question to ask current students away from the group tour.) Have there been any recent student protests? What were they protesting, and how did staff and faculty respond? What are some big campus events, like homecoming or alumni weekend? Is it easy to get around campus or get off campus without a car? What transportation options are there around campus? Is it a safe area to walk around at night? What kind of safety measures are in place? Do many students work on or off campus? How easy is it to find a part-time job? You don't want to put your tour guide too much on the spot, but you should feel free to ask about her experience at college! Personal Questions As mentioned above, tour guides are typically current students who went through the same college application process just a few years earlier! Most tour guides are also, presumably, happy about their choice to attend. I wouldn’t recommend prying into their high school grades and test scores, but there are other personal questions that are fair game, like the following: What’s your favorite class and why? What’s it like to study in your major? How helpful did you find your freshman year advisor? What do you wish you had known going into freshman year? What do you wish you had asked on a campus tour when you were in my place? What’s a typical weekday like for you? What surprised you about campus life here? Is there anything you wish you had done differently to improve your experience here? Are there any things you’d like to change about the school? What would be your most important advice for freshman? What’s your favorite spot you’ve discovered on campus since arriving? Your tour guide, along with any other current students you meet, isa great resource for honest, firsthand feedback about the student experience. As students, they’re likely to have similar experiences and concerns as you, and they can give you a sense of what’s in store if you're accepted and decide to enroll in the college. For more technical information on admissions policies and financial aid offers, you might set up meetings with the relevant offices. Read on for questions to ask the administrative staff. Boldly go where no collegestudent really has to go again once she's accepted. Questions to Ask an Admissions Officer Making contact with the admissions office can not only get your questions answered. It can also get your â€Å"demonstrated interest† on file, which may help when it comes time to review your application. Rather than appearing as an anonymous applicant, admissions officers may recognize you from a meeting, email, or other records of contact. Not all schools keep track of this, but for some, establishing some kind of relationship may help show your enthusiasm for the school and thereby give you a bit of an edge. If you want to meet with an admissions officer, make sure to set up a meeting via email or calling beforehand. If it’s application season, usually March and April, try to schedule this a few weeks early to make sure they’re not too busy to meet with prospective students. Then have your list of questions ready to show that you prepared and are ready tomake the most of your conversation. Here are a few questions you might ask. What's unique about this college? What leads most students to choose this college? What qualities and experiences are you looking for in applicants? Can you tell me more about the application evaluation process? How large of a role do SAT scores play in admissions? Do you have any advice for applicants? Does this differ for early versus regular decision applications? What percentage of students graduate in four years? What are the college’s most important values, and how does it demonstrate this to students? What sort of student would succeed here? What sort of student might not be happy here? Can you tell me about career placements or grad school acceptances for graduates? How do you help students prepare for post-grad employment? Do you have an active alumni network? Just as the admissions office will have lots of facts and advice about the admissions process, the financial aid office can walk you through your financial application. The next section covers questions you might have for them. All of these are good topics to discuss witha financial aid officer. Questions to Ask a Financial Aid Officer Most schools offer a good deal of information about the cost of tuition, room and board, books, and other fees online, as well as the steps to take to apply forfinancial aid. If financial aid’s an important factor for you, it could be helpful to meet with an officer and make sure you’re doing everything you can to get your financial needs met. I would suggest researching the school's financial aid website first, so you’re not asking about info that’s readily available online. Then you can use that base knowledge as a stepping off point for other queries, like the ones below: What kind of need-based financial aid do you offer? Do you meet 100% of demonstrated financial need? What information do you require besides the FAFSA? How many students receive merit-based scholarships? How much is offered? Are there other scholarships that students can apply for at the time of application? How much do students typically owe after graduating? Can I renegotiate my offer if it’s lower than I expected? What are some opportunities for work-study? The financial aid office is the best place for any and all your money-related questions. If you get the chance to meet with a professor, then you can shift back into academic mode. Tell me, Professor McGonagall, how serious are you about deadlines? Questions to Ask a Professor Finally, meeting with a professor could be a great way to make contact and learn about a department and class, especially if you have a strong sense of what you want to study. You can learn about her teaching style, the department’s approach, and any opportunities for independent projects or research. What are your expectations for students in your class? How can students succeed in your class? What are typical requirements, like exams, papers, or presentations in a semester? What kind of materials would I use in your class? What skills or knowledge would you consider to be prerequisites? Do you offer any opportunities for students to do research? What other opportunities are available outside of the classroom to reinforce my learning, like cultural clubs or festivals? How often do you meet with or mentor students outside of class? What are the strengths of your program? Department? What’s the community of students who major in this program like? Do they act as peer mentors, collaborate on projects, or form study groups? What could I do to prepare for further research at the graduate level? Would I be required or able to write a senior thesis or do a capstone project? How much flexibility would I have in shaping my major or taking an interdisciplinary approach? As you can see, there’s a wide rangeof questions you could prepare to ask tour guides, admissions officers, financial aid officers, and professors. In addition to knowing what to ask, it can also be useful to know what not to ask. Are there any questions you shouldn't askon your campus tours? This question, for example, would be less than ideal. Questions to Avoid on College Visits I know, I know, they say there are no dumb questions - but there may be some worth keeping to yourself on your college visits. For instance, I mentioned above that it would probably be inappropriate to ask your tour guide to recite her high school resume to see how your grades, scores, and involvements stack up. While she can talk about her experiences applying and attending, asking for specific info like that would probably cross the line from curious to prying. You should also avoid asking questions that are overly personaland not helpful to others in the group when you’re on your tours.For example, I wouldn’t advise sharing your life story and then asking your tour guide (or a professor, for that matter) to speculate about your admissions chances. She probably can’t speak to highly specific concerns, and your fellow tour group members won’t find it helpful either. If your question feels likeTMI for a group setting, then cross it off your list. A final good rule of thumb to follow is to avoid asking basic questions that can be easily answered via Google or a quick search of the school’s website. For instance, questions like the following fall into that category: Do you have a psychology major? When was the school founded? How many students are in the freshman class? What was last year’s rate of acceptance? Based on these guidelines and suggestions, you probably have a sense of the kind of questions to ask on a college tour that will help you make the most of your campus visits. Most are prompts that may open into a more in-depth discussion. That being said, how can you use these questions to prepare for your college tours? Start gathering your tastiestcollege tourquestions. How to Prepare for Your College Tours Your first step is scheduling and signing up online for your college tours, as well as any other meetings or overnight stays. The best time to tour is when classes are in session so you can get the truest sense of the college in action. Since you should prepare questions and take notes on the answers, I recommend writing them down and bringing a notebook (paper or electronic) to take notes. You’ll be getting a lot of information, along with walking around and seeing everything, so it will be useful to have a record to which you can refer at the end of the day. You certainly don’t need to go overboard with the college tour questions. I would suggest preparing five to ten of your most important questions for each person (student, admissions officer, professor, etc). You may find you should choose about three during your tour, while you may be able to ask a lot more during a one on one conversation or meeting. Better to over-prepare than under-prepare, and you could list your highest priority questions at the top to make sure you get to them first. In addition to asking questions and jotting down notes on the responses, you should take the time to observe everything going on around you. Beyond viewing the facilities, try to notice how the staff responds to you or how students interact with one another. Perhaps most importantly, is it a place where you’d feel comfortable? Finally, spend some time writing and reflecting after your visit. Does the school seem like a good fit with your personality, interests, and goals? Do you feel excited about the prospect of attending? At the end of the day, you must save the final questions for yourself. What's Next? Are you in the midst of researching colleges and narrowing down your college list? This guide has some seriously helpful suggestions for figuring out what you want and choosing the colleges that best match your goals. Once you’ve found some exciting schools, head on over here to learn when to apply. This comprehensive guide goes over the various application deadlinesyou need to know, along with some examples of regular and early deadlines for popular schools. Finally, check out this guide on all the steps to apply to college, starting with choosing the best high school classes as early as freshman year and finishing with submitting your college apps! Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: