Beginning A Business Letter with First Person Singular

Beginning A Business Letter with First Person Singular Beginning A Business Letter with First Person Singular Beginning A Business Letter with First Person Singular By Maeve Maddox A reader wonders about beginning a letter with the first person pronoun: I was taught never to begin a letter (business or personal) with the word â€Å"I.†Ã‚  This must certainly have to do with the mostly outdated concept of humility being a virtue.  However, I continue to believe that humility is a virtue and that the root cause of much evil is egocentrism.  This rule does cause me to rewrite the beginning of many letters to comply with this admonition.   Like the reader, I was also taught not to begin a letter with â€Å"I† and often find myself struggling to avoid doing so. I even go back and take out the first person pronoun in the body of a letter if there seem to be too many. Apparently many of us were taught this â€Å"rule,† but as far I can discover, it isn’t and never was a rule. I possess an assortment of grammar books and style guides with various publication dates. The closest thing to a rule that I’ve found is this comment from a text published in 1907: Free use may be made of the personal pronouns [in correspondence], even of the First Person Singular; though it is better not to begin many sentences with â€Å"I.† The best practice is to choose the first word of a business letter according to the purpose of the letter. A sales letter might appropriately begin with you, while a letter of application might benefit from beginning with I. A University of Washington letter-writing guide offers five sample application letters. Each one begins with the first person singular pronoun. The caveat against beginning a business letter with I belongs with those other cherished grammar superstitions like â€Å"never end a sentence with a preposition.† Writers can choose to avoid doing it when possible, but there’s no need to suffer pangs of guilt when we can’t think of an alternative. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. HadAwoken or Awakened?5 Tips to Understand Hyphenated Words

Analysis Of The Opening Scene Of American Beauty (1999) essays

Analysis Of The Opening Scene Of American Beauty (1999) essays I decided to analyze the opening section of American Beauty. The film starts straight into Jane being filmed by her neighbour who she is having a conversation with. By starting the film with the use of a hand held video camera effect, it makes the film seem much more authentic. Jane is lying on a bed and does not show the whole of her body; this may suggest that she is not the main character but a significant player in the main characters life. She is dressed in black and blue colours, which suggests her character to be quite dark and mysterious. The lighting is dark and muted, which expresses a melancholic mood. Her make up is plain and there is no emphasis on particular features. Jane is staring into the camera, which is meant to engage the audience. The scene then cuts to the title of the film in red text on a black background that are colours associated with death. The next scene is showing the whole neighbourhood in which the family live. The lighting is bright and real, in contrast to the scene before. The camera does not give a focus on any particular house yet, as it is trying to come across as though this is an average family from an ordinary suburb. The next scene is of Lester lying in bed and the camera is looking down on him as to when the camera was at level with his daughter in the previous scenes. This shows how the character is interpreted by sections of society whereas many people would be on literally the same level as Jane, many people would look down on Lester. The camera shows the whole bed and there is nobody lying next to Lester. This shows that even in the beginning of the film that the relationship between him and his partner is not that close. However, the arrogant body language that he has shows that he does not care about the relationship. The lighting of this scene is convincing because it is real daylight. This emp hasizes the fact that the props and setting is genuine. In bed, Les...

The effect that war has on soldiers mentality Research Paper

The effect that war has on soldiers mentality - Research Paper Example This study therefore attempts to explore the effects that war has on a soldier’s mentality, or what some scholars refer to as the emotional or psychological effects of war on soldiers. Studies carried out by psychologists’ indicate that soldiers ideally face psychological disorders associated with wars. In the novel ‘yellow birds’ by Kevin Powers, a story is told of a 21 year old soldier who went to war in Iraq and lost a friend ,Murph ,during combat. The soldier narrates his ordeal during the war and its aftermath in his life on now he’s faced with legal, emotional and psychological battles that he needs to cope up with forever (Powers 10).Below is a discussion on the various metal disorders soldiers are prone to, not exclusively from Powers’ narrative piece, but also from the voices of other scholars in this field. The experiences in the battlefield-in most cases after combat- does leave soldiers with unpleasant physical and mental ‘injuries’ that they have to nurse upon coming back home, or long after the war has ended. The mental injuries normally present themselves in the form of mental illnesses. Martinez et al, (73) enumerates the various forms of mental illnesses that soldiers are prone to. They include; the post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, and alcohol or substance abuse. The living evidence of these is to be seen in the lives of surviving war veterans. The post emotional effect of war in them is distressing and hurting, not just for them but their families’ alike. Each of these mental disorders is discussed below. One of the main effects of war on the mental health of soldiers is the Post-traumatic stress. It occurs after one does experience or witness a life threatening event like the scenes in a military combat. Key symptoms of this illness include nightmares,

Strategic Covert Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategic Covert Action - Essay Example Having the aforementioned accurate information will help a state to identify a point of priority and to respond accurately and appropriately [by for instance funding, making legislation, using diplomacy, and/ or engaging in military combat or proxy war] (Loch, 1989, 75). In the event that an intelligence agency is the same that uses secret information to carry-out executive decisions to engage in covert action, there is likely to be an absence of accountability. Again, the conflict that this trend is likely to herald is the usurpation of the roles of the foreign affairs docket and its offices. When an intelligence agency uses secret information to carry-out executive decisions to engage in covert action other important aspects such as accountability and oversight are easily bypassed and excesses become a reality. There is a strong and clear point of convergence between the use of covert action support the practice of state-craft and the use of covert action to carry out actions to further security, military, economic, and business interests. This makes it impossible to disassociate the use of covert action from supporting the practice of state-craft and furtherance of security, military, economic, and business interests. This is because covert action supports the practice of state-craft [achieving, consolidating and wielding power to control outcomes, actors, issues and events in international relations]. Indisputably, this power is also used to consolidate and perpetuate a state’s security, military, economic, and business interests. The specific subject of covert action has suffered a lack of serious and in-depth study because of the failure to produce theoretical concepts to explain instruments of foreign policy such as diplomacy, trade and force. It is because of this failure to address the theoretical concepts to explain instruments of foreign policy that the

PUBLIC RELATIONS PLAN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

PUBLIC RELATIONS PLAN - Essay Example Though we have already come a long way in such a short time, to the point that we are already at the top of our league, we believe that this is still not yet the end of the road. As long as we are rising up, we are gaining more time to live and grow. There is so much to do and still many roads to take. There are still a lot of orders to deliver and cakes to invent. Moreover, our world is growing large, leaving us with a lot of areas to explore. Our expansion program which concerns growing weed killer resistant wheat crop in Derbyshire is a type of road that is put forth to us, and it is up to us whether or not to take it. It is entirely a different league compared to what we have been doing these past six years. During those times, our world is only limited in the kitchen, accepting orders and baking different kinds of fresh and delicious cakes. We never ventured outside our comfort zone until this point. Thus, there are a series of things that we need to consider in order to make sure we are making the right move. Major Issues Involved In this bold move of the company, there are a lot of areas that should be tackled. Covering these issues is important especially since this an expansion program is a novel venture for our company. Some of the major issues are the following: 1. The location where the wheat shall be grown. 2. The land where the wheat shall be planted. 3. The reaction of the Derbyshire locals regarding weed killer-resistant wheat.

Evaluating Verbal Nonverbal And Barriers To Communication Nursing Essay

Evaluating Verbal Nonverbal And Barriers To Communication Nursing Essay INTRODUCTION Communication is a process and has many aspects to it. Communication is a dynamic process by which information is shared between individuals (Sheldon 2005). This process requires three components (Linear model Appendix figure 1.1), the sender, the receiver and the message (Alder 2003). Communication would not be possible if any of these components are absent. While Peate (2006) has suggested that communication is done every day through a linear process, Spouse (2008) argues that it is not so simple and does not follow such a linear process. He explains that due to messages being sent at the same time through verbal and non- verbal avenues, it is expected the receiver is able to understand the way this is communicated. Effective communication needs knowledge of good verbal and non-verbal communication techniques and the possible barriers that may affect good communication. The Nursing and Midwifery council (2008) states that a nurse has effective communication skills before they can register as its seen as an essential part of a nurses delivery of care. (WAG 2003) Reflecting on communication in practice will also enforce the theory behind communication and allow a nurse to look at bad and good communication in different situations. This will then enforce the use of good communication techniques in a variety of situations allowing for a more interpersonal and therapeutic nurse patient relationship. This assignment discusses health care communication and why it is important in nursing by: Exploring verbal and non-verbal communication and possible barriers By exploring the fundamentals of care set out by the Welsh assembly and the nurse and midwifery councils code of conduct a better understanding of the importance of communication is gained. Reflecting in practice using a scenario from a community posting. VERBAL COMMUNICATION Verbal communication comes in the form of spoken language; it can be formal or informal in its delivery. Verbal Language is one of the main ways in which we communicate and is a good way to gather information through a question (an integral part of communication) and answer process (Berry 2007; Hawkins and Power 1999). Therefore verbal communication in nursing should be seen as a primary process and a powerful tool in the assessment of a patient. There are two main types of questioning, open-ended questions or closed questions (Stevenson 2004). Open-ended questions tend to warrant more than a one word response and generally start with what, who, where, when, why and how. It invites the patient to talk more around their condition and how they may be feeling and provoke a more detailed assessment to be obtained (Stevenson 2004). The use open-ended questions make the patient feel they have the attention of the nurse and they are being listened too (Grover 2005). It allows for a psychological focus to be given, this feeling of interest in all aspects of the patients care allows for a therapeutic relationship to develop (Dougherty 2008). Closed questions looks for very specific information about the patient (Dougherty 2008). They are very good at ascertaining factual information in a short space of time (Baillie 2005). There are two types of closed questions: the focused and the multiple choice questions. Focused questions tend to acquire information about a particular clinical situation (e.g. asking a patient who is been prescribed Ibuprofen, are you asthmatic?) whereas multiple choice questions tend to be more based on the nurses understanding of the condition being assessed. It can be used as a tool to help the patient describe for example the pain they feel e.g. is the pain dull, sharp, throbbing etc (Stevenson 2004). For verbal communication to be effective, good listening skills are essential. Sharing information, concerns and feelings becomes difficult, if the person being spoken to doesnt look interested (Andrews 2001). Good active listening can lead to a better understanding of the patients most recent health issues (Sheldon 2005). Poor listening could be as a result of message overload, physical noise, poor effort and psychological noise. Therefore being prepared to listen and putting the effort and time are essential in a nurses role (Grover 2005). NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION This type of communication does not involve spoken language and can sometimes be more effective than words that are spoken. About 60 65 per cent of communication between people is through non verbal behaviours and that these behaviours can give clues to feelings and emotions the patient may be experiencing (Foley 2010, p. 38). Non-verbal communication adds depth to speech; to re affirm verbal communication; to control the flow of communication; to convey emotions; to help define relationships and a way of giving feedback. The integration between verbal language and paralanguage (vocal), can affect communication received (Spouse 2008) Berry (2007, pg18) highlights the depth of verbal language due to the use of paralinguistic language. The way we ask a question, the tone, and pitch, volume and speed all have an integral part to play in non verbal communication. In his opinion, personality is shown in the way that paralanguage is used as well as adding depth of meaning in the presentation of the message been communicated. Foley (2010) identifies studies where language has no real prevalence in getting across emotional feelings, in the majority of cases the person understands the emotion even if they dont understand what is being said. Paralanguage therefore is an important tool in identifying the emotional state of a patient. Non-verbal actions (kinesis) can communicate messages, such as body language, touch, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact. By using the universal facial expressions of emotion, our face can show many emotions without verbally saying how we feel (Foley 2010) refer to Appendix table 2. For example, we raise our eye brows when surprised, or open our eyes wider when shocked. First impressions are vital for effective interaction; by remembering to smile with your eyes as well as your mouth can communicate an approachable person who is open. This can help to reassure a patient who is showing signs of anxiety (Mason 2010). BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION An understanding of barriers in communication is also very important. The Welsh Assemblys fundamentals of care (2003) showed that many of the problems associated with health and social care was due to failures in communication. These barriers may be the messenger portraying a judgmental or power attitude. Dickson (1999) suggested that social class can be a barrier to communication, feeling inferior to the nurse may distort the message being received, making communication difficult to maintain. Environmental barriers such as a busy ward and a stressed nurse could influence effective communication. This can greatly reduce the level of empathy and communication given as suggested by Endacott (2009). People with learning disabilities come up against barriers in communicating their needs, due to their inability to communicate verbally, or unable to understand complex new information. This leads to a breakdown in communication and their health care needs being met (Turnbull 2010). Timby (2005) stresses that when effectively communicating with patients the law as well as the NMC (2008) guidelines for consent and confidentiality must be adhered to. This also takes into account handing over to other professionals. He suggests that a patients rights to autonomy should be upheld and respected without any influence or intimidation, regardless of age, religion, gender or race. The use of communication in practice is essential and reflecting on past experience helps for a better understanding of communication, good and bad. REFLECTION Reflecting on my experience while on placement in a G.P with a practice nurse in south Wales Valleys, has helped me understand and gain practical knowledge in communicating effectively in nursing practice. The duration was for one week and includes appointments in several clinics to do with C.O.P.D (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). I will be reflecting upon one appointment using the Gibbss reflective cycle (1988). Description Due to confidentiality (NMC, 2008) the patient will be referred to as Mrs A.E. The Nurse called Mrs A.E to come to the appointment room. I could see she was anxious through her body language (palm trembling and sweaty, fidgety, calm and rapid speech). The nurse asked her to sit down. The nurse gained consent for me to sit in on her review (NMC, 2008). The review started with a basic questionnaire the nurse had pre generated on the computer. It was a fairly closed questionnaire around her breathing including how it was, when it was laboured. Questions were also asked around her medication and how she was taking her pumps. Reflecting on these questions, I feel the questions did not leave much opportunity for Mrs A.E to say anything else apart from the answer to that question. The nurse controlled the communication flow. The Nurse did not have much eye contact with the patient and was facing the computer rather than her patient. I wondered if the nurse had notice the anxious non-verbal communication signs. The patient seemed almost on the verge of tears, I wasnt sure if this was anxiety, distress from being unwell, or she was unhappy about something else. I felt quite sorry for her as all her body language communicated to me that she was not happy. She had her arms crossed across her body (an indication of comforting herself) and she did not smile. She also looked very tense and uncomfortable. The Nurse went on with the general assessment and did the lung test and I took the blood pressure and pulse, gaining consent first as required by the NMC. Once all the questions had been answered on the computer the Nurse turned to face Mrs A.E and I noticed she had eye contact with her and had her body slightly tilted toward the patient (non verbal communication). The Nurse gave her information on why her asthma may be a bit worse at the moment and gave her clear and appropriate information on how she can make manage her COPD at this time of year. The Nurse gave her lots of guidance on the use of her three different pumps, and got her to repeat back to her the instructions, to make sure she understood. I could feel the patient getting more at ease as the communication progressed and also on the confirmation that she understood the instruction. The Nurse knew this patient well and then set the rest of the time talking to the patient about any other concerns she had and how she was fe eling in herself, using a more open question technique. The nurse used her active listening skills and allowed the patient to talk about her problems and gave her empathy at her situation as well and some solutions to think about. She gave the patient information of a support group that helped build up confidence in people with chronic conditions and helped them deal with the emotional side of their condition. Feelings After the patient had gone, my mentor explained that the patient was a regular to the clinic, she had many known anxiety issues which werent helped by her chronic asthma. Through-out the beginning of the review I felt very awkward. I thought, because I was sitting in on the review, may have been the reason the lady had not said why she seemed so anxious and upset. I also felt the nurse was not reacting to the sign of anxiety from Mrs A.E and this made me feel uncomfortable. I felt like I wanted to ask her if she was ok, but felt that I couldnt interrupt the review. However by the end of the review I felt a lot better about how it had gone. I did feel that by building up a relationship with the patients allowed the nurse to understand the communication needs of the patient and also allowed her to use the time she had effectively. She used empathy in her approach to the lady and actively listened to her. I understand that the start of the review was about getting the facts of the condition using a lot of closed questions, whereas the later part of the review was a more open questions and non verbal communication approach, allowing the patient to speak a bout any concerns and feelings about those questions asked earlier. Evaluation Effectively using closed questions allow for a lot of information to be gathered in a short space of time, and can be specific to the patients review needs. These pre-generated questionnaires are good at acquiring the information needed by the G.P. and also for good record keeping which are essential in the continuity of care delivered to the patient (NMC 2008). It can also protect the nurse from any litigation issues. The use of open and closed questions also allowed for the review to explore the thoughts and feelings of the patient, thus allowing for empathy from the nurse and is considered a vital part of the counselling relationship (Chowdhry, 2010 pg. 22). However the use of the computer screen facing away from the patient, did not allow for good non-verbal communication skills to be used. The lack of eye contact from the nurse may have exacerbated the anxiety felt by the patient. Hayward (1975, p. 50) summarised in research that anxiety highlighted an uncertainty about illness or future problems. This link to anxiety was also linked to increased pain. Nazarko (2009) points out, it is imperative that a person has the full attention of the nurse when they are communicating. He states that being aware of ones own non-verbal behaviours, such as posture and eye contact can have an effect on how communication is received by the patient. As evident in the reflection, the patient at the beginning of the review was anxious, upset and worried. By the end of the review her body language had significantly changed. The patient looked and felt a lot better in herself and had a better understanding of how her condition was affecting her and understood how to manage it. However if this information was badly communicated, the patients anxiety could have been prolonged (Hayward, 1975). This also links back to the need to understand medical conditions so that communication is channelled to the patients needs at the time. The fundamentals of care set out by the Welsh Assembly Government (2003), states that communication is of upmost importance in the effectiveness of care given by nurses. By looking at all the fundamentals of communication and the effect on patient care we can understand and recognise that the communication in this reflection was good communication in practice. Analysis The closed questions were used at the beginning of the review, had their advantages. They allowed the nurse to focus the on the specific clinical facts needed. The start of the review used mainly closed questions to get all the clinical facts needed to be recorded, such as Personal information, Spirometry results, blood pressure, drug management of COPD (Robinson, 2010). The structured approach allows the nurse to evaluate using measurable outcomes and thus interventions adjusted accordingly (Dougherty, 2008). The closed question approach allows the consultation to be shortened if time is an issue. However the disadvantage of this as identified by Berry (2007) is that important information may be missed. The use of closed questions on a computer screen hindered the use of non-verbal communication. Not allowing for eye contact, which is an important aspect of effective communication. The use of open questions in the review allowed the patient to express how they were feeling about their condition or any other worries. The nurse used active listening skills, communicated in her non-verbal behaviour. It gave the opportunity to the patient to ask for advice on any worries they might have. The use of open questions can provoke a long and sometimes not totally relevant response (Baillie, 2005), using up valuable time. Eye contact is another important part of communication in the reflective scenario. The eye contact at the start of the review was limited. The nurse made slight eye contact when asking the closed questions, but made none when given the answer. This may have contributed to the patients anxious state. However, the eye contact given during the open questions section. At this stage, there were several eye contacts between the nurse and patient and information was given and understood. The value of eye contact in communication is invaluable and has great effect at reducing symptoms of anxiety (Dougherty 2008). Reflection conclusion The use of communication in this COPD review was very structured. The use of closed questions helped to structure the consultation and acquire lots of information from the patient. The open questions allowed for the patient to express any feeling or concerns. The nurse used verbal and non-verbal communication methods, to obtain information about the patient; assess any needs and communicate back to the patient, within the time period. However in my opinion, if the computer screen was moved closer to the patient during the closed question section, better interaction could have been established from the beginning. It would also allow the nurse to look at the patient when asking the questions leading to a more therapeutic relationship, whilst still obtaining and recording a large amount of information. Therefore, the use of effective communication skills as seen in this review along with a person centred approach can significantly increase better treatment and care given to the patient (Spouse, 2008) and thus signifies good communication in practice. Action Plan The goal of the plan is to increasing patient participation in the use of the computer as an interactive tool. By allowing the patient to see what is on the screen and being written, allows the patient to feel more involved in the assessment and takes away any feeling of inferiority from social class difference. In attempt to achieving these goals, the following steps would be taken: Set up a team to investigate the issue which could involve nursing staffs or other hospital staffs. Drawing up a feedback questionnaire, to investigate how patients feel about the closed questions on the computer, including a section on how they would feel if they were allowed to look at the screen. Collation, analysis and review of the results of the feedback Identify barriers to the implementation of the plan (e.g. willingness of nurses to this change). Inform the NMC on the issues and the findings from the feedback questionnaire. Implementation of the plan. Set up a monitoring and evaluation team to see if the plan is being implemented appropriately. CONCLUSION This assignment has looked at communication and its importance in nursing practice. Communication is thus an important process involving the interaction between one or more persons using verbal and non-verbal methods. Understanding the barriers to communication contributes significantly to how effective a nurse communicates in practice. The use of questioning in nursing has been a valuable tool in assessing a patient and obtaining information. However the way this is done can have an effect on the development of empathy, trust, genuineness and respect, between the nurse and the patient. It is imperative for nurses to however reflect on their communication in practice to further improve the therapeutic relationship between them and the patient as has been identified as essential in the delivery of care (WAG 2003). REFERENCES Alder, RB. Rodman, G. 2003. Understanding human communication: (8th edition). USA: Oxford university press Andrews, C. Smith, J. 2001. Medical Nursing: (11th edition) London: Harcourt Publishers limited Berry, D. 2007. Basic forms of communication. In: Payne, S. Horn, S. ed. Health communication theory and practice. England: Open university press. Chowdhry, S. 2010. Exploring the concept of empathy in nursing: can lead to abuse of patient trust. Nursing times 160(42), pp. 22-25 Dickson, D. 1999. Barriers to communication. In: Long, A. ed. Interaction for practice in community nursing. England: Macmillian press LTD, pp. 84-132 Dougherty, L. Lister, S. ed. 2008. The royal marsden hospital manual of clinical nursing procedures. Student edition. 7th ed. Italy: Wiley-Blackwell Egan, G. 1990. The skilled helper: A systematic approach to effective helping. 4th ed. California: Brooks /Cole Ekman, p. Friesen, WV. 1975. Unmasking the face. Englewood cliffs, NJ: prentice-hall INC Endacott, R. Jevon, P. Cooper, S. 2009. Clinical Nursing Skills Core and Advanced. Oxford : Oxford University Press. Foley, GN. 2010. Non-verbal communication in psychotherapy. Psychiatry (Edgemont) 7(6) pp. 38-44 Gibbs, G. 1988. Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Oxford further education unit. Grover, SM. 2005. Shaping effective communication skills and therapeutic relationship at work. Aaohn journal 53(4) pp.177-182 Hawkins, K. Power, C. 1999. Gender differences in questions asked during small decision-making group discussions, small group research.(30) pg.235-256 Hayward, J. 1975. Information A prescription against pain. London: Royal college of nursing. p. 50 Marie- Claire Mason 2010. Effective interaction: Nursing Standard 24(31) p 25. Nazarko, L. 2009. Advanced communication skills. British journal of healthcare assistants. 3 (09) pp 449-452 Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)2008. The Code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. London. NMC Peate, I. 2006. Becoming a nurse in the 21st century. England: Wiley and Son Robinson, T. 2010. Empowering people to self-manage COPD with management plans and hand held records. Nursing times. 106(38) pp. 12-14 Sale, J. Neal, NM. 2005. The nurses approach: self-awareness and communication. In Ballie, L. ed. Developing practical nursing skills. 2nd ed. London: Oxford university press. Pg. 33-57 Sheldon, L. 2005. Communication for nurses: Talking with patients. London: Jones and Bartlett publishers. Spouse, J. Cook, M. Cox, C. 2008. Common foundation studies in nursing (4th edition). London: Churchill livingstone. Stevenson C, Grieves M, Stein Parbury J. 2004. Patient and Person: Empowering Interpersonal relationships in Nursing London. Elsevier Limited. Timby, BK. 2005. Fundemental Nursing Skills and Concepts Philadelphia. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Turnbull J, Chapman ,S. 2010. Supporting Choice in Health Care for People with Learning Disabilities. Nursing Standard 24 (22) pp 50 55 Welsh Assembly Government 2003. Fundamentals of Care Guidance for Health and Social Care Staff Cardiff: WAG

The Minimum Wage Must Be Increased Essay -- Argumentative Essay, Mini

â€Å"Of course, nothing helps families make ends meet like higher wages. †¦ And to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.† –President Obama, State of the Union address, Jan. 20, 2014 In the 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to raise the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, and soon after signed an Executive Order to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for the individuals working on new federal service contracts. An increase in the minimum wage has been a topic of discussion for many years now, and it looks like this year will finally see the first increase of minimum wage in 10 years. Not everyone agrees that there should be an increase, but many states have already raised their minimum wage rates because of the federal government’s inaction. Iowa raised the state’s wage, and it will rise again in 2016. Clearly there are benefits to a higher minimum wage; the current minimum wage in the United States should be raised because it helps the economy by increasing employment, and it is now at the lowest value it has been in more than 50 years, causing hardship for earners of minimum wage. Many critics claim that that raising minimum wage increases unemployment, especially for unskilled workers, and harms small businesses, including grocery stores and restaurants. The argument declares that companies such as these rely mostly on unskilled workers for labor, and if the minimum wage increases, then their profits and, therefore, hiring would decline, creating a... ...depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country...† -- President Franklin Roosevelt Works Cited Batra, Ravi.  Greenspan's Fraud: How Two Decades of His Policies Have Undermined the Global Economy.  New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan,  2005.   Bernstein, Jared. â€Å"Would Raising the Minimum Wage Harm the Economy?† The CQ Researcher 16 Dec. 2005:1069. Chasanov, Amy. â€Å"No Longer Getting By.† 11 May 2004. Economic Policy Institute. 6 May 2007. . Ehrenreich, Barbara.  Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America.  New York, NY: Metropolitan Books,  2001.   Katel, Peter. â€Å"Minimum Wage.† The CQ Researcher 16 Dec. 2005: 1055-1072. The Value of the Minimum Wage. Economic Policy Institute.6 May 2007. .

British IRA Interrogation

The increase of success of the west cork Brigade, part of the Irish republican Army was the leading factor to a spate of arresting and interrogating the suspects if the IRA volunteers in an effort to identify and ascertain the headquarters of those who were engaging in the guerilla war against the forces of the British. Through interrogation the British managed to break the IRA volunteers through torturing and this lead to discovering that the forces headquarters was in Ballymurphy.After discovering this, British army planned for an operation aimed at capturing the IRA column. This lead to mobilizing of more than 1200 British troops to attack the area from different directions. The operation was done early in the morning to attack the IRA unaware; this was thought to lead British to victory for there were about ten British commanders for one IRA member. As the British tried to encircle the IRA, they were caught by surprise as the IRA was aware of the British plans and they attacked a t the crossbarry roads which lead to having many British casualties.The IRA took British arms and set their vehicles on fire before they were attacked by other British troops but did not succeed even after stiff fire fight and they all retired. Impact of British actions to IRA in bringing peace to Northern Ireland The IRA had structural plans that were governing them through their endeavors. It was evident that the republican were to remain anonymous to every one except the members. No one could talk about the army and this made it hard to uncover the whole truth about the army’s missions and their plans.As their rules had restricted them not to talk about the army in public, not discuss anything concerning the army with anyone, not to go in a company of a known member and not to frequent to the houses of a known member, and the top most issue was not to drink alcohol excessively as this would lead to loose mouth and would reveal the republicans secrets. The army volunteers w ere made to believe that the army was legal and justified. They were taught that that was the only way to proclaim democracy in the whole Ireland.Commitment to the movement was legal and was the only way out to struggle for political justification and is a direct representative of the Dail Eirean parliament and by that was a legal and lawful government of the Irish republic and has right to pass law and to claim jurisdiction over the land, airspace, means of production all its people regardless of creed or loyalty. (Coogan, 1997) This impacted a negative attitude to the IRA members and the people of Ireland in an effort to bring peace.These beliefs made the British have difficulties in trying to restore peace in the country as they were regarded as intruders and were there for their own benefit. This is because the army had claimed to the sovereign government of Ireland and had all the rights to act in any capacity as a government. As the recruits were taught that British army, RUC, UDR and Gardai are occupying forces, were illegal and were completely unacceptable for that was morally wrong, ethnically inexcusable and politically unacceptable.Through the strengthening of these believes, the IRA members were completely resistance to the British armies in their efforts of any form in Ireland. (Hopkinson, 2003) IRA PREPARATION OF RECRUITS The IRA prepares their recruits in a distinctive manner. The recruits are taught on their importance to one another. This helps bonding together the recruits from different back grounds to strengthen the movement bond. As they are recruited they are motivated even they face harsh conditions should persevere for the sake of their nation.The IRA is form of ethnic terrorist seeking to influence the Irish people to reject the British governance. As usual to the ethnic terrorist, according to Byman (1997) they seek to create fear among the rival groups or armies by performing terrorist attacks and moderate movements. The recruitment of the army means entering in your total allegiance in life. This helps the movement to retain the recruited volunteers for they have to obey the commands and the rules set forth for the organization.The IRA recruits are forced to believe whatever allegation is put forward for them and strictly follow the rules. The recruits are trained to persevere any form of hardship they face during their work as armies until they combat the target group. Nationalism is another force that was driving the recruits. They were from all corners of the country and were much concerned over fighting for their nation. This aspect had more power as far as recruits were concerned over the belief system.On the other hand, nationalism can also display the general characteristic of a belief system by providing the recruits with adequate information and equipping their mind with an issue that they are to fight for their nation. (Hopkinson, 2003) Conclusion IRA movement was determined in salvaging the Ireland from the hands of British rule. The British solders effort to combat the IRA guerilla were rendered fruitless for the IRA was always ready for the attack even though they were less in number compared to British solders.The IRA recruits were equipped in their minds that the movement was legal and morally right to fight the intruders whore were settled in the country for their own good. The IRA movement sought to influence to moderators and other ethnic groups to reject the British governance. They were to follow strict rules to ensure the safety and welfare of the movements. Reference: Byman, D. (1997) The logic of Ethnic Terrorism, Washington DC, Rand Coogan, T. (1997) The IRA, New York, Palgrave Macmillan Hopkinson, M. (2003) Irish War of Independence, Journal, Vol

Free Essays on The Effects Of Terrorist Attacks And Natural Disasters On Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Abstract This study will assess the two types of traumatic events which are terrorist attacks and natural disasters and the role they play on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Gender was also taken into account when assigning individuals into groups. There were 100 participants 50 male and 50 female all of which completed an Impact of Events Scale after viewing twenty photos of one of the specified traumatic events. Women experienced higher PTSD then men. Also the photos of terrorist attacks received higher PTSD symptoms then natural disasters. The results confirmed that PTSD are correlated to the type of event and the gender of the subject. The Effects of Terrorist Attacks and Natural Disasters on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has various symptoms that are brought on by many different occurrences such as witnessing a traumatic event. There are two significant subjects that are involved in brining about this disorder. Disasters and the presence of terrorism are extremely relevant issues when examining PTSD. Natural disasters can happen in any given place, at any given time. When these natural disasters occur, there are many factors which cause them to be influential in the change of people’s lives. These disasters have such a profound effect on individuals’ lives because they are mostly unexpected, have unpredictable outcomes, and leave unchangeable results. Numerous areas of the United States experience various natural disasters through out the year. Approximately 2 million people in the United States alone will be affected by a natural disaster each year, according to (Benight, 1998). Although people living in these areas may expect particular specific natural disasters to occur at some point, there is always a level of uncertainty. The people of a small community in Colorado experienced a tremendous disas... Free Essays on The Effects Of Terrorist Attacks And Natural Disasters On Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Free Essays on The Effects Of Terrorist Attacks And Natural Disasters On Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Abstract This study will assess the two types of traumatic events which are terrorist attacks and natural disasters and the role they play on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Gender was also taken into account when assigning individuals into groups. There were 100 participants 50 male and 50 female all of which completed an Impact of Events Scale after viewing twenty photos of one of the specified traumatic events. Women experienced higher PTSD then men. Also the photos of terrorist attacks received higher PTSD symptoms then natural disasters. The results confirmed that PTSD are correlated to the type of event and the gender of the subject. The Effects of Terrorist Attacks and Natural Disasters on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has various symptoms that are brought on by many different occurrences such as witnessing a traumatic event. There are two significant subjects that are involved in brining about this disorder. Disasters and the presence of terrorism are extremely relevant issues when examining PTSD. Natural disasters can happen in any given place, at any given time. When these natural disasters occur, there are many factors which cause them to be influential in the change of people’s lives. These disasters have such a profound effect on individuals’ lives because they are mostly unexpected, have unpredictable outcomes, and leave unchangeable results. Numerous areas of the United States experience various natural disasters through out the year. Approximately 2 million people in the United States alone will be affected by a natural disaster each year, according to (Benight, 1998). Although people living in these areas may expect particular specific natural disasters to occur at some point, there is always a level of uncertainty. The people of a small community in Colorado experienced a tremendous disas...

How Many Times Can You Take the ACT

How Many Times Can You Take the ACT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you keep improving every time you take the ACT, should you take it as many times as you canto get the highest score?Even though you can take the ACT up to 12 times, that doesn't necessarily mean that you should. Let's look at when you should retake the test, and when it's time to pack up and call it a day. How Many Times Can You Take the ACT? You are allowed to take the ACT up to 12 times. Of course you're limited by time and test dates, so actually taking the ACT 12 times would involve multiple retests every year. The ACT is administered seven times a yearin September, October, December, February, April, June, and July. Most of you reading this are probably wondering, "Why on earth would I take the ACT 12 times?!" I agree that this would be a bit excessive, but there are definitely good reasons to take the ACT at least more than once. Why You Should Take the ACT More Than Once The fact of the matter is, students almost always improve when they retake the ACT.But why? For one, sitting for the real test is valuable experience. Doing this helps you gauge your level and identify your areas of weakness so you'll know exactly what you need to study in order to do well. The real test also gives you experience with handling test-day pressures, fromwhat you need to bringto managingyour time on each ACT section. If you get stressed out about the test, you can use your experience to figure out ways to calm your nerves and stay focused. If you end up scoringmuch lower than expected on the ACT, you might have had a fluke test day. Maybe you were tired or ill that day, or got unlucky with the reading passages or essay question. If this happens, you should register to take the test again on the next available test date. Since the ACT lets you choose which score reports you send to colleges, you generally don't have to worry about your colleges seeing fluke test scores or how many times you sat for the test. You can just send the scores from your best sitting. Some colleges superscore the ACT if you send score reports from multiple sittings, meaning they'll take your highest scores by section and recombine them to make a new, highest composite score. Schools that do this include Tufts, MIT, Boston College, and Amherst College. If your schools have a superscoring policy, you might want to build up your score by focusing on one or two sections at a time. You could really focus in on Math and Science on one test date, and then do most of your prep in English and Reading for the next date. That said,you shouldn't completely dismiss the other sections,as large score fluctuations could raise red flags. Another reason to be wary of neglecting a section is that some schools, even those that superscore, request to see all your scores. Only a small number of schools want you to send all your scores from every time you took the ACT and trust that you'll abide by this expectation. These schools include the following: Yale Boston University Pomona Stanford Columbia Brown Cornell Washington University Hamilton College Research your school's standardized testing policy to find out exactly what they want to see. If they want you to send all your ACT scores, you might think twice about taking the ACT more than six or so times, as this might send the message that you're not taking the test seriously or are really struggling to improve your scores. Besides how it might look to schools with "send all scores" policies, what are some other reasons to be cautiouswhen you answer the question, "How many times can I take the ACT?" How to Avoid Taking the ACT Too Many Times For most students, I would say that taking the ACT more than six times might be taking it too many times. If you find yourself registering to test again and again, pause to reflect on your approach. Are you dissatisfied with your scores? Are you not taking itseriously? Instead of taking the ACT again and again, here are some tips for what you can do instead. #1: Focus On Effective Test-Prep Methods If you continue to be unhappy with your ACT scores after repeated attempts, reevaluate your approach to test prep. While taking the ACT is a valuable experience, it is not going to take you far if you don't couple with it with purposeful, efficient studying. Start bycustomizing your studying so that you're identifying your weaknesses and filling in any gaps in knowledge. Rather than studying everything at once, zero in on the concepts and practices that are most significant to you and most relevant for improving your scores. Are you weak in geometry? Doyou have trouble writingtimed essays? Do you often run out of time in Reading because the passages take too long to get through? The key here is to identify your areas of growth and the concepts or strategies you must learn in order to get better. #2: Follow an ACT Study Plan As you use effective test-prep methods, you'll also want to have a long-term ACT study plan to help you stay on track. Building a study plan has many benefits and allows you to do the following: Familiarize yourself with all aspects of the ACT,from itsquestion types to its structure Spread out your practice tests so that you're not taking them too often or not enough Spend time prepping for each section, with a slightly bigger focus on your weaknesses Pace yourself in your prep so that you're not wearing yourself out too quickly Essentially, by using a well-thought-out plan, you can rest assured that you are studying everything you need to know for the ACT, and are studying it as effectively as possible.In turn, this will likely reduce the number of times you take the test. #3: Treat Every ACT Sitting Seriously Besides taking control of your test prep, make sure you're taking every opportunity to test seriously. In other words, don't treat any ACT sitting as a "throwaway" test! Every test is an opportunity to achieve strongscores for your college applications,and if you are applying to a "send all scores" college, admissions officers might not look highly on the fact that it took you six or more tries to hit your target scores. If you're really afraid of a school seeing one of your poorer score reports, you might want to considercanceling those scores. On a similar note, multiple sittings and large score fluctuations could raise red flags for ACT scorers, and your scores could even be withheld if ACT, Inc.,suspects possible cheating. To avoid this worst case scenario, approach every test with the intention of doing your best in all sections. #4: Devote Energy to Other Admission Factors, Too Along with taking the test seriously,make sure you're devoting energy to your other pursuits, all of whichmake up your college application in important ways. While test scores are an important part of your applications, so are your grades, your activities (such as clubs, sports, and community service projects),and your relationships with your teachers and counselor who might eventually write you letters of recommendation. All in all, don't drop everything in pursuit of the bestACT score. You don't want to stress yourself out too much by throwing things out of balance. #5: Take a Deep Breath Takingthe ACT is a nerve-wracking experience for most, if not all, students. Taking the ACT several times can be a great opportunity to learn how to calm your anxiety, clear your head, and focus on the test. However, you probably don't want to put yourself through the experience too many times! Thus, by prepping effectively and taking every test seriously, you'll conserve mental and emotional energy, not to mention bothtime and money! #6: Be Strategic About Your Score Reports Unlike the SAT, the ACT doesn't send a summary report of all your scores to your colleges. Instead, you have to send individual score reports from each test sitting (that you choose to send). It costs $13 per test date per report. If you took the ACT upwards of 10 times, thiscould add up to well over $100 to send all your test scores to a single school! Given all these considerations, you want to approach the ACT with a plan,both in terms of your test prep and your testing schedule. Read on for my recommendations for how to schedule your time and design a study and testing plan for the ACT. Quick Guide to Your ACT Testing Timeline This timeline works well for a lot of students. It gives you multiple test dates to retake the ACT but avoids excessive test-taking and lets you spread out your studying over the course of a year. This guide answers the question of how many times can you take the ACT while still leaving time and energy for all your other interests and responsibilities. Prep for the ACT the summer before junior year. You can draw on a variety of resources, including online courses, ACT Questions of the Day, official practice tests, prep websites, and ACT prep books. Register and take the ACT in the fall of junior year (September or October). September might be preferable, as your summer studying will be fresh in your mind and you won't be too busy with schoolwork yet. Depending on your scores, you can register to take the test again in the spring. Prep in the winter of junior year, and take the ACT again in the spring. The spring of junior year is the most popular time for students to take the ACT. If you aren't satisfied with these scores either, you can prep throughout the summer before senior year and take the ACT a third time in September or October, depending on your college application deadlines. If you still feel you've fallen short of your target scores or were unlucky and had a fluke test, you might be able to takeone more crack at itin December. Before registering and taking this test, though, check with the admissions officers at your colleges to make sure they will accept these test scores. Assuming you put in the effort to prep before the previous test administrations, hopefully you'll be able to focus on completing and submitting the other parts of your college applications in December of your senior year and won't find yourself retaking the ACT during this busy time. With this plan in place, you should be able to achieve your target scores within four tests. If you're ambitious and feel you have the skills to achieve your target scores earlier, you could move this schedule up a year and take the ACT as a sophomore. This way you'll be all set with your test scores and can focus on everything else going on in your life and with your college applications. Taking the ACT is valuable trainingexperience that can help you build up your scores, so try to leave yourself enough test dates to retake it if you wish. Just make sure you find balance between taking the ACT, crafting your college application, and making the most of your high school experience! What's Next? Has your test date snuck up on you, and you need to get in some last-minute studying? Check out our guide forraising your ACT score by 7 points with just 10 days of prep. Are you taking the ACT as a freshman? What about as a sophomore? Learnabout good ACT scores for 9th and 10th graders, and how these scores can predict your final scores. What's a good score on the ACT? A bad score? This article will help you figure out exactly what scores you should be aiming for in each section, and what you need to do to achieve them. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Graphic. Inc. Financial Case Analysis Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Graphic. Inc. Financial Case Analysis - Article Example If it is more likely than not that more than 50% of the deferred tax assets will not be realized, this should form the basis for release of the valuation allowance. Graphic, Inc. needs to complete its annual report for filing with the SEC using Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005. In order to do this, there is need to identify the positive and negative evidence to be considered to evaluate the need to record a valuation allowance against the Company's deferred tax assets. Based on the analysis of positive and negative evidence, it would be possible to determine which evidence should have more weight assigned than others; how much valuation allowance, whether full, none or partial, should be recorded at December 31, 2005; and if a full or partial valuation allowance is used, what criteria should be met before the entire valuation allowance is released (Deloitt 2003). Graphic, Inc. has five years of cumulative losses at December 31, 2005. Based on the company's substantial net operating loss carry forward, no income tax provision has been reflected in the 2005 interim income statements. At December 31, 2005, the deferred tax asset was $51,073 after application to reduce 2005 taxable income but before valuation allowance. A company can recognize the tax benefit produced by a carry back of tax losses or credits. According to GAAP, a loss carry back can be applied to the three years preceding the loss (Investopedia 2008). The carry back results in a refund based on events that have already occurred (Kwan-Hyun 1992). On the other hand, carry forwards represent potential tax savings based on past events but certain limitations must be overcome in the future before the company can realize potential benefits. The realization of future benefit is inherently speculative because they cannot be predicted with certainty. The asset is then limited by requiring a valuation allowance if realization is sufficiently in doubt, under the ''more likely than not'' standard (Kwan-Hyun 1992). Positive and negative evidences therefore, need to be considered in judging the likelihood of realizing a tax benefit. For Graphic, Inc. negative evidences include its history of expired tax carry forward, its history of continuous losses for the past decade, as well as the fact that the company operates in a cyclical industry. Positive evidences include the growing success of its new product G-1000 which has generated net income for the last two years and very favorable negotiations with The Sports Magazine for a recurring $20 million annual contract. In the preliminary tax provision for 2005, Graphic, Inc. applied $12,400 to tax loss carry forwards expiring in 2005. $25,000 of capital loss carry forwards and $2,600 of NOL carry forwards expired in 2005. Therefore, the decrease in operating loss carry forwards of $40,000, from $173,700 at December 31, 2004 to $133,700 at December 31, 2005 is comprised of $12,400 of NOLs applied to reduce 2005 taxable income, expiration of $2,600 of NOL carry forwards, and expiration of $25,000 of capital loss carry forwards (Deloitt 2003). The company's evaluation is to determine deferred tax assets for net

How can a manager motivate a workforce and what are the major benefits Essay - 2

How can a manager motivate a workforce and what are the major benefits of this to a company - Essay Example The paper tells that benefits of the motivated workforce are immense because they need least supervision, efforts and guidance to get best out of them. Motivated workforce helps produce quality goods and efficient services. They learn quickly with fewer efforts on their training. They make fewer mistakes and tend to resolve conflicts quickly. Motivated workforce makes favorable impact on customers and exhibit minimal resistance to change. Away back in 1943, Abraham Maslow's theory explained about 'hierarchy of needs' of the people and that stood to the test of time during the time. A few years later, in 1960, Douglas McGregor proposed his Theory Y – opposing the Theory X, in which he acknowledged and recognized self-motivated people when given a proper environment and freedom to accomplish the given task. In fact, much of the motivational theories of later period find their roots in the Theory Y of Douglas McGregor. Financial incentives do play a role in motivating workforce t o a certain extent but not always, especially during economic downslide, managers’ hands are mostly tied to providing financial incentives and they need to develop other means that can create the motivating workforce in good and bad times. Steve Jobs, though he himself was a tough taskmaster, could inspire thousands of employees to accomplish the task with zeal and vigor. Perhaps, Steve Jobs provided most inspirational leadership to the workforce at Apple through his own commitment and dedication and ability to provide solutions to the problems. Walter Isaacson states that Jobs used to motivate employees to accomplish that at first hand appeared impossible. He states, "Jobs once pushed an engineer to accelerate a Macintosh's boot-up time, even after the employee explained why it would be impossible. In response, Jobs asked, "If it would save a person's life, could you find a way to shave 10 seconds off?" and calculated the overall time spent waiting for Macs to start up aroun d the world every year. Within a few weeks, the engineer reduced the boot-up time by 28 seconds". Thus, manager or leader’s inspirational role can do wonders in motivating employees. Nonfinancial Factors – a Key to Motivation The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) based at the UK conducted a survey to find how organizations, employees, and managers in the UK feel about the various motivating factors in current times. The survey discovers that intrinsic factors such as recognition, praise are weighed highly as motivating elements over extrinsic factors such as financial rewards, performance bonuses. Key motivating factors that emerge from the survey are better treatment by employer, praise and creating a sense of being valued by the employer. Employee value recognition, support, feedback as the important motivating factors and managers who employ these tools to reward their employees are successful in motivating their workforce for more productive outcomes.