The Art of Travel Rheotrical Analysis Essay Example for Free

The Art of Travel Rheotrical Analysis Essay To begin with , every day we are surrounded by art. It dates back to ancient times, when primitive men painted on the rocks and made an instrument of labor. Actually, the meaning of this word from the Greek which means skill, ability and crafts. Apart from this, Hegel identified five great arts: architecture, sculpture, painting, music and poetry. Furthermore, along with them in the modern world there are: the theater and circus, pantomime and dance, cinema and music. According to some sources, art performs a variety of functions, but the most important, tÐ ¾ mÃ'Æ' mind, is the artistic function, which is displayed in the sensuous life and influence on the spiritual world of the man. Ð ¢Ã ¾ mÃ'Æ' way of thinking, the art is a creative interpretation of the world by man. The art has a direct relationship to the creation, accumulation and transfer of cultural values from generation to generation. After all, we are constantly learning from art. It trains our ethics, affects our feelings, will and mind. Moreover, without art, in my opinion, person simply can not exist. It seems to mÐ µ that the Art is one of the human needs. Obviously, this beauty reveals to man the path to perfection and harmony. Immortal beautiful creations of ancient sculptors and architects: Raphael, Michelangelo, Dante, Pushkin and Tolstoy, Mozart, Bach and Tchaikovsky. It will be exciting when you try to cover all created intelligence geniuses, preservation and continuation of their descendants and followers. Of course, art plays an important role in the life of human society, it ennobles people, helps people to discover themselves, to realize their dreams and ideas that enrich human life, provides a spiritual gained experience and aesthetic values. Ð ll in Ð °ll, mastering the art works, the person learns his present and future. Rejection of artistic activity can return to the original state of man, can lead to a drop of morality. If people will not appreciate art, the world is doomed to fail. Therefore, mankind must not only preserve the art, but also restore the broken and create something new, because in the words of L. N. Tolstoy: Art is a means of connecting people.

Organizational Behavior and Team work

Organizational Behavior and Team work Managers are born on job; Leaders are born when they are seven The above statement well is the reflective saying of the basic difference between Management and leadership theory. A managers main task includes organizing, controlling, planning and directing the activities in an organization to produce profitable results. A manager could possess leadership skills and make its use in some scenarios but leadership alone is not efficient for a manager and hence not essential. A manager performs activities as per the rules of the organization while leaders do things based on their own instinct which sometimes does prove more rewarding for the company. Leaders are selected to lead a team of members but sometimes it has a negative impact on the team as well. I would like to draw out some points from an well known leading software company INFOSYS to evaluate as what the best in this organization amongst leadership and management. This Paper will give an understanding of teamwork and the techniques and procedures required to contribute to and lead an effe ctive team. This work then goes on to cover the tools and techniques needed to enables learners to select a process or part for improvement and apply continuous improvement techniques in any organization in this supersonic era. Skills required for Leaders and Managers Have willing followers Get results through other people Use influence Must have authority The right to lead is earned from followers The right to manage is granted by ownership Have personal power and position power Intend to make changes Produce goods and services At any time, a follower can walk away and follow a different leader, or simply stop following The leader with heart and soul and just do what it takes to get by. Leaders cannot impose their vision on anyone or force anyone to follow them. There are informal leaders in every organization. They have no position power, no authority, no title; but they have influence, personal power, and followers. Leadership is not a title or a position; it is the earned right to lead, positively or negatively, by those who follow. If we think back about people with we have enjoyed working with. Were they leaders or Managers? Hopefully we have experienced, and enjoyed, both. Recognizing the Differences, whatever we are, be the best manager or leader we can be. There is a difference INDUSTRY I chosen the Top most Software Company which is adopting world class learning corporate systems giving its best in this supersonic competitive world. Infosys This is one of the leading software companies which have its headquarters in India. It is ranked as the second leading It companies that is present in India. It have spread worldwide and it finds its place in almost 22 countries around the world which includes U.S, U.K, Canada, and Australia and may more. This was founded by Mr.: N. R. Narayana murthy along with his seven of his friends which mainly concentrates on the software development of the company. This concern really increases the economic growth of the country. It also serves the country by eradicating of unemployment crisis, serving the poor and the Orphanage people in the country. Role of Leadership Leadership in Infosys is extensively concerned as one of the companys greatest conspicuous features and its function in forming the organization and its group has been written about significantly. Executive vice-president of human resources Pratik Kumar, at rival Wipro, explains Infosys as a very ambition story. This success, says Kumar has come through its set of leaders with strong values and teamwork. Infosys is also considered as being founder-led by many both inside and beyond the organization. A few months ago, Infosys established a recent policy making council and has produced more non-founders into the core management of the company in order to dispel this notion and to strengthen its next generation of leaders. Performance management Infosys Believes that the most guaranteed way of improving teamwork is to applying the principles of performance management to the groups behaviors They are as follows: Identifying teamwork behaviors will lead to best performance (the TARGET Performance) Analyzing which teamwork behaviors are currently being used (the CURRENT Performance) Practical analysis between target and current teamwork Performance, and taking action to bring current teamwork performance closer to the target. 1. TARGET Performance Recognizing and control of difficulties is likely among them such as, executives and clients. Making it easy to discussion among the working group, and the others beyond the group in order to have better functioning. Broadening the view of working on operational objectives, to their best interest, to make difference in their objectives. 2. Current Performance Present situation The ethics in business The opinions beyond the working group The likeness, chosen by the group There are number of influences Innovative Training process Infosys strongly believe in the innovation training process in making global leaders. This helps to mingle the customers and the company in a productive way. They clearly understand that the company revenue factor increases once if they handle the client with almost care and sincerity. Innovative steps and new ideas are always welcomed by Infosys in making strong team. They believe that Business depends on the operational leaders On the other hand they believe in the faster innovation learning process which helps the industry to grow in a fruitful path. Henceforth they depend upon the increasing speed factors for improving continues skills depending on the challenges. Infosys understands very well that the success is growing only because of the hard work, dedication provided by the employee. Therefore building a strong relationship and helping the team is essential for the concern to keep upon. Infosys mainly focus and take all possible steps to understand the team in all aspects. ha s a fine blend of diverse breeds of employees with different mentalities. Managers task here is to get the best out of these people to acquire optimal results and client recognition. Learning Objectives Achievement by Infosys falls the way of defining the sentient by powerful stages. Infosys chooses that the personnel absorb the tasks at hand and the objectives by 29 percent more incoming of comparing the other firms. (Watson Wyatt Work Study). The staff chooses their tasks to a better figure as 75% as the industrys assignment assay turned of how the executive is performed (workplace 2006 Infosys Employee Insight Survey). To be recognized and respected as one of the premier associations of HR Professionals. (HR Association of Greater Detroit) The individuals concept essay for every personnel may set-in as straight forward of few utterances on paper or more to achieve further as to become contend as part of the team at Infosys. . . Learning Techniques Learn the modern leadership styles. Infosys follow Participative style, Consulting style, Negotiate style, Delegative style, Directive style. As per the recent studies leaders are very comfortable using these styles. Once these styles are achieved by them, then they learn leadership styles. They believe that if we master them all then they can become a better leader. Improving communication skills. They try to spend at least one hour a day talking to team on how they are performing. If staff are doing well, then they are in part doing their job well. Prioritize your time. Providing time to work out and establish them self is the best quality which employees have in Infosys. This does not occur by chance, because they think that the best leaders are organized and prepared for the week and the months and even in further years. This is in identifying both long period strategic planning and short period operational. Sandwich technique Infosys keep on with this technique where they first begin talking to a person in a good way, then put the difficult subject or hard topic in the middle, then also end on a positive suggestion. This seems much better than just mentioning the negative matters to a staff member. Suppose a sandwich or a burger. begin with the bread on the top which is the discussion, then the burger Pattie is the difficult subject, then the lowest part of the burger is the conclusion of another positive declaration about that person. These are the few steps that Infosys follow to build Leaders in a successful team. What makes a good Leader in Infosys? To become a good leader these are the qualities needed experienced knows what to do productive problem solver Open minded listens Supportive challengeable, makes it safe for others to contribute Personal initiative Positive style Problem Solving Technique In Infosys Team Identification of the problem establish a cooperative setting concur on values for discussion Invite all opinions stay fact-based in our verdicts Be durable on the subjects, not on each other Put in reserve any individual memo exterior any supposition and prejudice classify and examine the issues, pertinent proofs, and enhanced replies recognize conceivable resolutions and their benefits and disaffects Solve the single inquiry which is the most wanted resolution? MAJOR CLIENTS They serve Aerospace, Banking and capital markets, Automobile, communication services, education, Health care, Insurance, manufacturing, Retail and utilities. Major IT services are covered by this company. This includes Application services, architecture services. Independent validation service, Infrastructure service, Knowledge services, and system Integration services. TEAM GATHERING Infosys strongly believe in team gathering on every week that is on Friday to discuss the progress of various projects and issues if faced any. Our managers used to be with us for the call. Manager should always present in the office to guide new project and make sure that everything is working smoothly. In this gathering managers will be in conference across the globe to highlight points about the management team and performance. LACKING LEADERSHIP If I talk about every single team in Infosys, the senior members in the team play the role of a team leader. Infosys always welcome fresh talents from IIMs and premier B Schools in India apart from recognizing in house talent. Whenever a fresh manager joins a team, there are chances of role conflicts between manager and the team leader. There is always a problem with existing senior employees to listen to a new leader or manager because they feel that they know the process well than them and could take suitable decisions which is true to some extent at that point of time. Leaders take blame if any issue or problem arises within their team and they give credit where it is due. I would like to write down few instances or observations where I felt leadership team work to be improved Leaders in various teams taking credit for junior developers work, which is not expected of a leader. During major project launches, developers were asked by managers to handle specific tasks within a decide d time frame. Leaders always set new direction for the team but the way of working in a corporate ike Infosys is established. CONCLUSION Taking decisions by Management should be improved for continues learning.Comapany should takes all the facts relating to the employment which emphasis individual task, development of organization, quantitative output and the compliance of employee. Management favors quality, recognition, performance, flexibility and the rights of employment relations. The open management system explored the superiority of human resource and considered it as the backbone of every organization. The business strategy comprise of career development of an individual, relationship among employees, team work and the task. All those severe rules were destroyed for the orientation of the business; achieve proactive measures and the self regulation (Dessler, 2003). Hence duty of a Company became a long-term strategy and it completely resides only for team build up and team performance. (Beardwell, 2004) REFERANCES LaFasto, F. and Larson, C. (2001) When Teams Work Best (Sage Publications) pages 29 and 85 . Greenberg, J.R. Baron, R.A. (2000). Behavior in Organizations, Seventh Edition. Prentice Hall: New Jersey. Laurie.J.Mullins, Management and Organizational Behaviour, Financial Times Management; 5th edition (May 1999) Ancona, Deborah G., Thomas Kochran, John Van Maanen, Maureen Scully and Eleanor Westney,  Managing for the Future: Organizational Behavior and Processes (New York: Southwestern College Publishing, 3rd ed., 2005). Web links www.topnews.in/files/infosys_0.jpgimgrefurl=http://www.topnews.in (Accessed on 7/03/2010) http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4316 (Accessed on 7/03/2010) http://www.infosys.com/pages/index.aspx (Accessed on 8/03/2010) http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/22/weekinreview/ideas-trends-team-work (Accessed on 9/03/2010)

Protein Synthesis Essay -- Protein Synthesis Biology DNA Essays

Protein Synthesis Protein synthesis is one of the most fundamental biological processes. To start off, a protein is made in a ribosome. There are many cellular mechanisms involved with protein synthesis. Before the process of protein synthesis can be described, a person must know what proteins are made out of. There are four basic levels of protein organization. The first is primary structure, followed by secondary structure, then tertiary structure, and the last level is quaternary structure. Once someone understands the makeup of a protein, they can then begin to learn how elements can combine and go from genes to protein. There are two main processes that occur during protein synthesis, or peptide formation. One is transcription and the other is translation. Although these biological processes slightly differ for eukaryotes and prokaryotes, they are the basic mechanisms for which proteins are formed in all living organisms. There are four main levels of a protein, which make up its native conformation. The first level, primary structure, is just the basic order of all the amino acids. The amino acids are held together by strong peptide bonds. The next level of protein organization is the secondary structure. This is where the primary structure is repeated folded so that it takes up less space. There are two types of folding, the first of which is beta-pleated sheets, where the primary structure would resemble continuous spikes forming a horizontal strip. The seco...

The Function of Blogs :: Internet

The Function of Blogs There are so many things one could do with the relatively new medium of blogs. They can be almost anything a person wants: a journal, a compilement of links, a scrapbook of information, or even a discussion board. The only definition I've seen that can encompass it is that they are postings in reverse chronological order. Blogs are the newest Internet craze, but do they serve a purpose? Early on, experienced web users, who knew web-programming language, kept blogs to keep track of their mind’s wanderings. They were like a "Captains log on the quest of discovery" (Brown). For the average Internet surfer, they weeded out sites worth viewing from the rest. Now, sites like blogger.com have taken the work with web languages out of blogging, opening it up to the general public. New age blogs are seen as "vain self publishing" by experienced bloggers (Fitcher). I can see their point, as many inexperienced bloggers seem to ramble on about themselves as if they are to be praised. They only seem to want attention. This has made me wonder, what is the point of personal blogs? All blogs must have some entertainment value; otherwise no one would keep or read them. Entertainment isn’t a very commendable purpose, but it has more value than watching television. It is better to be learning about news events and stating your opinion on it than just hearing it. At least then you’re developing your ideas, and the reading and writing will help develop communication skills. Bloggers learn to put more thought into what they say, or just the act of writing daily can help thoughts flow into words. A blogger’s thoughts may stem from a news article they recently read. In this case they usually link you to the article and state their opinions, or point out different aspects of it. Their comments are kind of a one-way discussion leading you down their train of thoughts. You can usually reply to what the author says, but the time delay in responses may result in the author’s lack of interest to questions posed. Walt Crawford threw an interesting concept my way in his article, Announcing Cubed: Media about Media about Media. Blogs are just another form of media coverage. Our media affects how we think to a great extent. It is always rating other forms of media, and many blogs are no exception (Crawford).

Musical Theatre Essay -- essays research papers

Girl Crazy (#14)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The musical â€Å"Girl Crazy† was about a boy named Danny Churchill who lived in New York. His dad was worried about his way with women so he sent him to Custerville, AZ to get him away from them. Danny was to live on the family dude ranch called â€Å"The Buzzards.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On his way to AZ, Danny rode in a taxi. The driver’s name was Gieber Goldfarb. He was known for his very bad Yiddish jokes. He eventually fell in love with a woman named Patsy West, who was also a nosey telephone operator.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Danny gets to Custerville, he meets the post-girl named Molly Grey. He was in love with her, although he had just left his old girlfriend in New York. Her name was Tess Hardy. Danny had stolen Tess away from her old boyfriend; his name was Sam Mason. Sam was very upset at this, so when he heard of Danny’s whereabouts, he came to take Molly from him. It worked for a little while, until Molly realized she should be with Danny.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were also two people named Slick and Kate Fothergill. Slick managed the gambling room at â€Å"The Buzzards† that Danny opened to make the place somewhat of a party house. Kate was a nightclub singer that sang in Danny’s club.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were two other people in the story that made it interesting and comical. Their names were Lank and Pete. They were the town villains and local thugs. At the end, these boys end up in jail. Holly Conant Of Thee I Sing (#16)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the musical â€Å"Of Thee I Sing,† there were many characters. The lead was probably John P. Wintergreen. It is a story of Wintergreen running for president and all the mishaps he had with women. There were a few people on his political committee. Their names were Louis Lippman, Francis X. Gilhooley, Sen. Robert Lyons, Sen. Carver Jones, and Matthew Arnold Fulton, the chairman of the committee. Alexander Throttlebottom was the vice-president.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story was about a national beauty contest and the winner got to be the first lady. Just before the winner was announced, John met a girl named Mary Turner. Mary was the secretary for the beauty contest. The two immediately fell in love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The winner of the contest was Diana Devereaux. After the winner was announced, ... ...II, Scene IV, there is a lot of prayer and singing, trying to drown out the sound of the wind and storm. Clara is very scared for Jake. All of the sudden, they hear a knock at the door and it’s Crown. Bess and Porgy had thought he had died in the storm. He come in and starts saying bad things about God. He tells Bess that she will be with him forever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bess sees Jakes boat outside the window. Clara gives her baby to Bess and runs to Jake. Crown, after being challenged, goes after Clara.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This began Act III. It was in the setting of a funeral. It was being held for Jake, Clara, and Crown. But Crown isn’t dead! Porgy knows this and hides so he can attack him and kill him. He does eventually, after a long struggle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The detectives take Porgy in (in Scene II) to identify Crown’s body. While he is gone, Sporting Life offers himself to Bess (as well as his drugs). When Porgy comes back, a week later, he was rich from playing dice in jail. He looks all over for Bess, only to find that she had taken Sporting Life up on his offer and she’s in New York. Porgy vows that he will find her†¦and the story ends. Musical Theatre Essay -- essays research papers Girl Crazy (#14)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The musical â€Å"Girl Crazy† was about a boy named Danny Churchill who lived in New York. His dad was worried about his way with women so he sent him to Custerville, AZ to get him away from them. Danny was to live on the family dude ranch called â€Å"The Buzzards.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On his way to AZ, Danny rode in a taxi. The driver’s name was Gieber Goldfarb. He was known for his very bad Yiddish jokes. He eventually fell in love with a woman named Patsy West, who was also a nosey telephone operator.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Danny gets to Custerville, he meets the post-girl named Molly Grey. He was in love with her, although he had just left his old girlfriend in New York. Her name was Tess Hardy. Danny had stolen Tess away from her old boyfriend; his name was Sam Mason. Sam was very upset at this, so when he heard of Danny’s whereabouts, he came to take Molly from him. It worked for a little while, until Molly realized she should be with Danny.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were also two people named Slick and Kate Fothergill. Slick managed the gambling room at â€Å"The Buzzards† that Danny opened to make the place somewhat of a party house. Kate was a nightclub singer that sang in Danny’s club.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were two other people in the story that made it interesting and comical. Their names were Lank and Pete. They were the town villains and local thugs. At the end, these boys end up in jail. Holly Conant Of Thee I Sing (#16)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the musical â€Å"Of Thee I Sing,† there were many characters. The lead was probably John P. Wintergreen. It is a story of Wintergreen running for president and all the mishaps he had with women. There were a few people on his political committee. Their names were Louis Lippman, Francis X. Gilhooley, Sen. Robert Lyons, Sen. Carver Jones, and Matthew Arnold Fulton, the chairman of the committee. Alexander Throttlebottom was the vice-president.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story was about a national beauty contest and the winner got to be the first lady. Just before the winner was announced, John met a girl named Mary Turner. Mary was the secretary for the beauty contest. The two immediately fell in love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The winner of the contest was Diana Devereaux. After the winner was announced, ... ...II, Scene IV, there is a lot of prayer and singing, trying to drown out the sound of the wind and storm. Clara is very scared for Jake. All of the sudden, they hear a knock at the door and it’s Crown. Bess and Porgy had thought he had died in the storm. He come in and starts saying bad things about God. He tells Bess that she will be with him forever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bess sees Jakes boat outside the window. Clara gives her baby to Bess and runs to Jake. Crown, after being challenged, goes after Clara.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This began Act III. It was in the setting of a funeral. It was being held for Jake, Clara, and Crown. But Crown isn’t dead! Porgy knows this and hides so he can attack him and kill him. He does eventually, after a long struggle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The detectives take Porgy in (in Scene II) to identify Crown’s body. While he is gone, Sporting Life offers himself to Bess (as well as his drugs). When Porgy comes back, a week later, he was rich from playing dice in jail. He looks all over for Bess, only to find that she had taken Sporting Life up on his offer and she’s in New York. Porgy vows that he will find her†¦and the story ends.

Does the Media Dictate Our Life? Essay

They will view all the notifications first before doing anything else. Such is the situation today where people are very dependent on Social media. Media can be classified into two main types old and new media. Where the old media consist mainly of newspaper while the new media consists of the television and the social media etc. While some may argue that Social media may not be dictating our lives, it is indeed true that it has taken control of our lives in many aspects from our behaviour, perceptions, culture, fashion and more. Thus I strongly believe that media plays an important role in dictating our way of living. Some may argue that media does not dictate our life to a very large extent today mainly due to the fact that people have the ability to categorize what is true and what is not such that they do not easily get influenced by what is shown in the media. Due to people’s ability to critically evaluate all that is shown on the media their lives are not dictated by the media alone but instead, they also have a say in deciding what is important for themselves. However, in reality, it is true that the media does dictate a large portion of our life today. Media plays a deciding role in many aspects of our lives starting from our perception, culture, advocacies, behaviour, environmental awareness as well as political believes. Media plays a vital role in influencing our perceptions of the public as well as the celebrities as the Media chooses what it wished to portray to the public based on what it believes the public would wish to see example Tabloid News about the latest celebrity gossips. In this process, the media has the ability to change the information that they release in order to make it more appealing to the general public. As a result, this causes people to believe the false information that is given in the media mainly because of the fact that people do not truly intent to cross check with other sources. This prevents them from being able to fully distinguish between what is and what is not reality. Moreover, since the media only focuses on sensationalising the news and not merely portraying the message to the public, it leads to the public conjuring up the wrong image about certain people or events. This proves that the media does indeed play a vital role in dictating people’s perceptions on various aspects. Also, the media has now allowed for different culture to spread around the world and has led more people to find out about the popular culture of others around the world . This has now allowed people to embrace the traditions and popular culture that is followed by people in other countries and so influencing people’s willingness and ability to embrace other cultures. For example, Korean Pop also known as K-pop is famous world wide mainly due to the Media. Media paved the way for this popular culture to travel around the world allowing people across the globe to know about it. It is not uncommon to identify a Shinee (a K-Pop band) fan among people not only in Korea but around the world. That is the extent to which media has now allowed people to learn more about others cultures. At the same time, it has also allowed people to understand more about their own culture and roots so that their own heritage is not forgotten. Anyone who wishes to find out more about their own heritage only have to type into google or youtube and they will be bombarded by various information both in terms of articles as well as videos which they could use to improve their knowledge about their own heritage. Thus media plays a vital role in allowing people to understand their own culture and also embrace the culture in other countries The media also plays a vital role in dictating peoples lives due to the fact that it is a platform for governments to spread messages to the public and it is also the platform for people to voice their opinions and raise awareness about the other political systems. Media serves as the basis through which governments may engage in propagation so as to brainwash people into believing that their ruling is the best and they could also influence people into believing that they are happy mainly through censorship where people are not aware of what is actually happening around them. An example pertinent to this would be what is happening in North Korea whether the government is engaging in propagation by controlling the censorship such that it decided what the people should view. During World War II the government decided to portray to the public to the image that the soldiers were doing well though in reality they were not doing very well. As a result, this led people having a false hope and belief that they were doing well and thus affecting their perception of what is happening around them. As a result, people were misinformed about the actual situation yet they were unaware of it as they had fully trusted what was shown in the media. Therefore, it is true that the media completely dictates people’s lives in terms of the information that they receive and thus the type of image that is being portrayed to them Also, the media is responsible for changes in people’s behaviors as well. Media in terms of television, internet, constantly portrays image of celebrities dressed in a particular way and this does to a large extent influence people to follow the same trends as they conjure up the image that that is the latest fashion. Thus results in their changing taste and preference for certain goods and services. This proves that people’s taste and preference is influenced more by what is shown on the television rather than just what they actually like. Moreover, the media can also influence people in terms of their behaviour example, media is one of the main factors for the changing crime rates, violence, sexuality and more. For example, there was a case in India where a student had stabbed his teacher as his teacher had complained to his parents that his proficiency in Hindi was poor and that he had to do something to improve it. When asked what had actually motivated him to do so, the boy had mentioned that he was influenced by a recent Bollywood film called ‘Agneepath’ which had a lot of violent scenes. He mentioned that it was only after watching that movie that he was inclined to stab his teacher. This indeed serves as evidence to show the extent to which the media in its various forms could influence people into believing that certain deeds are fine to do though in reality it may not be therefore causing them to engage in the wrong behaviour In conclusion, it is true that while people choose what to believe and what not to believe, the media ultimately plays a large role in influencing people in various aspects of their lives. It thus becomes a necessity for people to be cautious of what they should believe and what they should take with a pinch of salt. It is of great importance that people do not just blindly believe what is shown in the media but instead practice some critical thinking to decide what is really true and what is not.

Inclusive Learning Essay

XXXXXX XXXXXX is a registered charity offering work based learning programmes to young adults. Within my role as Advanced Teaching Practitioner, I am responsible for curriculum design, monitoring teaching, staff training and mentoring, quality assurance and learner achievement in addition to my role as a Basic Skills Tutor. Before analysing current practices, I have gained the consent from those directly involved. In order to assess current inclusive learning principles and practices of the organisation, I need to increase my understanding of inclusive learning for my own Continued Professional Development (CPD). I need to reflect of my own practices and the practices of others and evaluate the service provided. Findings What is Inclusive Learning? Inclusive learning can be defined as ‘the greatest degree of match or fit between the individual learners’ requirements and the provision that is made for them’ (FEFC, 1996, p2). Inclusive teaching means recognising, accommodating and meeting the learning needs of all students and being aware of their individual needs. It is about identifying the reasonable adjustment that can be made without it having a negative impact of the teaching and learning of others. Open University Press (2006) defines inclusive learning as ‘acknowledging your students have a range of individual needs and are members of diverse communities. Inclusive teaching avoids pigeonholing students into specific groups with predictable and fixed approaches to learning’. It is important to consider the need to be proactive as opposed to being reactive. To practice inclusive learning, actions need to be taken prior to students commencing the process. The Tomlinson report 1996 states: ‘Re-designing learning, assessment and organisations to fit objectives and learning styles may mean introducing new content to courses, adapting access or both. This approach is quite different from offering courses and then giving students with difficulties some additional human or physical aids to participate. ’ Under the Special Education Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) 2001, all educational establishments must not treat students less favourably than others and make reasonable adjustments to ensure that their learners are not substantially disadvantaged. Learning Environment An accessible and safe learning environment is vital for inclusive learning to take place. The premises that XXXXXX XXXXXX occupy are located on the second and third floor of a listed building. There are no lifts and there is a staircase leading up to the main reception. Under the Disability Discrimination Act, there is a requirement to make reasonable adjustment to be able to ensure those students with a mobility disability are not excluded. XXXXXXhave made contingency plans whereby they use the premises within a local college as and when required. SENDA 2001 states that students should be able to access all services provided for other students. In this case, the local college offers all the facilities and services we offer our students. Taking this into consideration, reasonable adjustments have been made. Access for all In order to give strategic direction to inclusive learning, Smith and Armstrong (2005, p1) state ‘providers need to adopt a co-ordinated approach to inclusive learning, working with different groups, genders and levels of learners’. These is achieved ongoing within XXXXXX XXXXX. There is no discrimination on the grounds of gender or sexual orientation within XXXXXX XXXXXX and therefore XXXXXXcomply with all aspects of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. Our learners come from mixed race, religion and in order to ensure that we accommodate these learners, all staff receive multifaith calendars to ensure that they can manage their learning over religious or cultural holidays. As we are funded for a 14-19 age provision, we cannot offer learning to anyone outside this age range. This is a limitation by DCELLS. Should anyone outside this age range require the same type of education and training, there are other training providers where they can be signposted. McGivney (2003) guidelines suggest that people with disabilities, ex-offenders, low paid unqualified workers, male manual workers, unemployed groups, rural residents, women with young children, homeless and those from ethnic minority groups may have problems in participating in organised learning activities. (DCSF, 2008) states ‘9% of young people aged 16-19 are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). As part of the ‘Every Child Matters Agenda’ their aim is to break down the barriers to achievement and provide opportunities for those disengaged from learning. This agenda intends to ensure that programmes have been set up to identify children and young adults at risk and promote early intervention. According to the 14-19 Education and Skills White Paper ‘those with learning difficulties are twice as likely to become NEET’. XXXXXX XXXXXX have recently established street based youth work teams; across communities in south Wales, working with partner organisations to engage some of the hardest to reach young people; And to progress them onto positive development opportunities in their own communities. The current teams are a pilot and are hoping to expand the project into other geographic and sector communities. XXXXXX XXXXXX are also establishing links to deliver full and part time extended curriculum services in schools for 14-18 year olds across Wales, providing support for young people in the youth justice system; establishing a youth drop in facilities at many centres and expanding the street based youth work. XXXXXXare also in community cohesion work particularly in areas with a large European migrant youth communities and those with a migrant non-welsh speaking community within Welsh speaking indigenous communities. XXXXXXis piloting development of youth volunteering in under-represented groups. Taking all this into consideration, it shows the effort that is being made in order to provide inclusive learning to those students who are at risk of becoming NEET. Inclusive Learning in Initial Assessment According to Green and Bartram 1998, p7) ‘Early and effective assessment of students’ requirements is critical to the concept of inclusive learning. There are three stages to the initial assessment process within the organisation. Prior to a learner joining they go through an initial assessment process. This begins with an informal interview following an endorsement from Careers Wales. In this interview, it allows the organisation time to carry out an informal assessment and identify individual learning needs. On entry, basic skills initial assessments and a VARK learning styles questionnaire are completed. From this process, an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is written that is specific to the needs of the learner which will identify individual goals. Green and Bartram (1998. p10) outline that in order to achieve best practice; there should be ‘a common and shared understanding of the purpose of initial assessment’. Through discussion with staff and observations of the initial assessment process, it is evident that this there is a thorough initial assessment process which allows many opportunities to identify any individual needs and preferences. Following this process, if a learner is identified as having a literacy or numeracy need, diagnostic assessment is carried out. Learners have the opportunity to do these either by paper based methods or using Information Technology (IT). The results of this assessment then produce an Individual Learning Plan that is specific to the learners literacy and/or numeracy needs and takes into consideration any special arrangements that may be required. Inclusive learning in the classroom If there has been an individual need identified through initial assessment, it is at this point XXXXXX XXXXXX are reactive as appose to being proactive. For those with physical disabilities, arrangements are made to support them. As previously discussed there is a lack of facilities within the centres to support learners with a disability affecting mobility and this is taken into consideration when careers signpost learners. Apart from this, Rooms are bright, well ventilated and are small enough to be able to accommodate those with minor hearing or visual impairments. When considering students who are deaf and hard of hearing, XXXXXXdo not have a strategy in place for dealing with those who require specialist support including lip speakers, sign language interpreters and speech to text reporters. Although many learners who require this support often plan their own support requirements. To ensure inclusion in the classroom, it should be considered when planning lessons. Once the aims and objectives have been decided, it is then important to consider the needs and previous experiences of the learners’. At this stage, you can consider if there are any adjustments that can be made to ensure that the lesson is inclusive Open University Press (2006). This could be large print handouts, varied teaching strategies, practical tasks as appose to written, aural or visual methods and where possible, taking into account multi sensory learning. When carrying out questioning in the classroom, there was very good use of reinforcement techniques to consolidate learning. Although tutors encouraged all members of the group to participate, this was done in such a way that no learners felt uncomfortable. When this was necessary (e. g. a speaking and listening task) it was managed in a positive way to recognise individual needs. If learners need support with basic skills, subject specific tutors (NVQ, Key Skills) liaise with the Basic Skills Tutor to organise extra support in addition to their literacy and/or numeracy classes. If the learner has a learning difficulty that affects concentration, extra comfort breaks can be given and short activities should also be planned that vary in teaching strategy to keep learners engaged. At present, DCELLS are working towards converged basic and key skills. This initiative should have encourage a more standard approach as qualifications will be delivered in a different training and staff will be required to update their CPD. Practices vary depending on the experience of individual tutors within XXXXXX XXXXXX. When observing a key skills session, a tutor suggested to her group that it would be advantage to take notes whilst completing practical activities. On her lesson plan, she had shown inclusive practices by suggesting a Basic Skills Tutor could offer support with both reading and note taking if required. In terms of the use of classroom assistants or support workers, this is the only instance that in class support is offered due to staffing levels within the organisation. The majority of tutors promote equal opportunities practices by having notes available at the end of the lesson for all learners. Others show inclusive learning techniques by issuing gapped handouts at the beginning of the lesson to support those with individual needs. This later method allows those learners who have lack of confidence in groups, those with hearing difficulties or partial sight a greater chance of achieving the objectives set from the lesson. Experienced staff uses assistive technology in the classroom such as coloured acetate, worksheets on coloured paper or magnifying equipment to support learners when reading books, but once again staff training is needed to ensure consistency throughout the organisation. Smith and Armstrong (2005) suggest providers should make sure that CPD and staff training supports structures and systems implemented to deliver the inclusive learning agenda. Through discussion with staff, it is evident that staff members have little knowledge of how to support learners with Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and other learning and behavioural needs. Therefore staff CPD needs to be updated and staff training offered. Having observed a selection of basic skills sessions, I have seen differentiation being managed very well within the classroom. There are isolated cases where worksheets have been the main teaching strategy due to the diverse nature of the group but the main reason for this is the need for staff development and training. Within sessions, individuals show good inclusive learning techniques when giving feedback. They are constructive and give praise for what has been done well and avoid being negative to learners. For those who have physical disabilities, there is IT equipment available such as specialist mouse and the ability to increase the font size on the majority of programmes used. If there is a need for out of class support, this is also available from the training assessors responsible for the individual learners. Individual training assessors are encouraged to spend time with all learners to build a rapport and encourage them to discuss any individual learning needs. These persons are trained to signpost for guidance and counselling if required. Assessment Once learning has taken place, there are various methods of assessment that are used. Within basic skills, learners are given a choice of completing assignments which are paper based or tests that can be taken using IT. For those who have to submit a portfolio, they are given the option of using IT to produce their work. There are also dictaphones available to record case studies, professional discussions or oral questioning as appose to written questions. These strategies in place show differentiation for individual needs are being considered. As well as the usual methods of assessment, learners also get a review which is carried out every four weeks. In this review, their progress is monitored and feedback is given on their performance. The Tomlinson Report (1996) shows us that monitoring progress and providing effective feedback contributes to effective inclusive teaching. Within their basic skills support sessions, further feedback is also given as part of their literacy/numeracy ILP. All learners at the end of their visits are given a Training And Support Log (TASL) which gives them feedback on any work produced. Conclusion Following this investigation, I have reached the conclusion that the organisation is reactive as appose to proactive with regard to inclusive learning. As a training provider, XXXXXX XXXXXX are genuinely non-selective about the learners who complete a programme. Many of the learners face a number of obstacles to engaging in learning including low educational attainment, a lack of basic and/or personal skills, caring obligations, homelessness, lack of self belief, confidence and self worth. Despite this, over 70% of the young people that are supported leave with a positive outcome. The 14-19 Education and Skills White Paper state that 12. 5% of the NEET group have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. If XXXXXXtraining wishes to continue aiming to offer inclusive learning and reduce this NEET cohort, there is a need to train staff by offering CPD in inclusive learning and ways of developing an inclusive learning strategy within the learner process. There are different teaching approaches within the organisation. (Tilstone et al. ,1998, p. 6) states ‘a key issue in promoting inclusive practice must be a reappraisal of the training provided to teachers and other professionals’ From my observations, I feel that this is an accurate assumption to make. I have been able to observe many sessions over a period of time and have seen that tutors need training on how to incorporate inclusive learning strategies within their lesson plan. Smith and Armstrong (2005) also discuss how providers should establish a strategy for sharing best practice within an organisation. XXXXXXhave meetings for every subject route on a quarterly basis. Although this is an excellent way of sharing best practice, inclusive learning should be listed as an agenda item to ensure that it gets the attention it requires. Although everything is done during the learner process to ensure that equal opportunities and diversity are managed, XXXXXXhave a bullying and harassment procedure in place and also a grievance procedure that prospective, current and past learners can instigate if they wish. From carrying out research into inclusive learning within XXXXXX XXXXXX, it has been shown that on the whole, a lot of work goes in to meeting the individual needs of the learner and offering a positive learner experience. Having now completed this research, it has made me aware of the financial restraints of the organisation. I feel that I will carry out my role as ATP differently when training staff and mentoring. When working towards curriculum design, I will also ask myself the question â€Å" How can I make it more inclusive? † and from this, I feel that this has played a big part in my CPD. Bibliography †¢ACCESS UNIT. (2006, December 18). Access Unit – Making Information Accessible to Disabled Students. 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