Employment Law and Employee Relations Assignment

Introduction Employment relations between employers and employees are managed by several different sources. There are a variety of statutory provisions which govern the acceptability of certain behaviours by either party. Key legislative provisions that will be referred to throughout this case study include the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) and the Equality Act (2010) EqA, amongst others. Each of the three situations here will be looked at individuals although it is noted that each of the three people in question are employees and there is no need to consider the tests of whether or not the individuals are self-employed or employed for the purposes of statutory protection (although this was not as clear with Sally, see below for analysis). Each employee has also been issued with a contract which is presumed to be compliant with the minimum statutory requirements. Each scenario will be looked at in turn. Jim The discussions associated with Jim and his recent civil partnership indicate that there is a prima facie argument being presented by Jim that he is being discriminated against by virtue of his sexual orientation. Jim has argued that he has been given a less favourable shift pattern and that this is due to his sexual orientation and his statement that he is likely to be seeking to take time off to raise a child in the near future. He has also indicated that he has been subject to abuse from a colleague by virtue of his sexual orientation. Jim is now off work ill and has suggested that he may wish to resign. The danger from the Council point of view is that Jim resigns and states that he was constructively unfairly dismissed by virtue of his treatment due to sexual orientation. Although he has only been employed for a period of 18 months and this would typically mean that he had not have the appropriate qualifying period for unfair dismissal. However in accordance with section 19 of EqA there is no qualifying period and this therefore presents a danger to the Council. In order to potentially argue this, Jim would have to show that he had suffered from discrimination, harassment or victimisation in the work place as a direct result of his sexual orientation. In accordance with the EqA 2010 direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation are all outlawed. Jim is seemingly arguing that he is being directly discriminated against as he is being given worse shifts than his counterparts who are heterosexual. In order to prove this there would need to be a comparator so that he could show that he has been treated comparatively worse than his counterpart, the comparator having circumstances that are not materially different to Jim (Shamoon, 2003). Therefore in this case it would be necessary to look at the treatment of someone who is in all ways similar to Jim with the exception of sexual orientation. The facts as indicated here are not sufficiently clear to show whether or not on balance Jim has been treated any differently than other colleagues with the revised shift patterns. There is also an additional concern faced by Malcolm in that in the case of Martin (2006). In this case it was held that the investigation of the grievance process was in itself discriminatory as the manager had failed to give the complainant the necessary time and a ttention, instead dismissing his grievance as petty. Malcolm’s response to Jim’s verbal statement is therefore a concern and although a formal grievance has not been raised the matter needs to be treated with greater concern in order to investigate the complaint fully. In relation to the investigation of victimisation and harassment, the full process needs to be followed in order to comply with the requirement of the EqA to protect Jim. Section 26 of the EqA deals with the conduct that has the effect of being discriminatory by virtue of victimisation and harassment. Again the full facts have not been ascertained as yet and although Jim feels the emails are coming from a colleague this would need to be investigated fully. The crucial aspect of this scenario however is to deal with the grievance in an appropriate manner. Malcolm’s previous brushing aside of Jim could in itself create allegations of discrimination and this needs to be rectified as a matter of urgency. A failure to do so could result in Jim bringing a claim for constructive, unfair dismissal with the possibly of the tribunal awarding compensation for injury to feelings. This is aimed at being compensatory and not punitive but nonetheless presents a real danger to the Council (Corus, 2005). Frank This scenario deals with an employee that is known for several misdemeanours over the two years of his employment, most notably going out during the week and weekend and attending work in a manner that is seen to be unacceptable. His latest error as a result of this activity has resulted in a potential substantial loss to the Council. There is no indication that his action with the transcription error happened when he was doing anything outside of his authority within work. It is also noted that he is paid a minimum wage or ?5.13 at 19 years of age which does not indicate that he is an apprentice. That said being 19 and recognised to have substantial weaknesses in his performance which do not seem to have been picked up previously places the Council in a weaker position. Despite this, it is evident that his error has caused a substantial loss and as such it is reasonable for the Council to look towards a disciplinary. The principles of fairness when conducting a disciplinary are contained in the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Produces (2012) as well as the non-statutory guide that is also created by ACAS. More formally, S98 of ERA states that in order for an individual to be dismissed the employer is required to have acted reasonably and following a suitable disciplinary process would be a key component of this. In the event that the process is not followed and Frank then claims unfair dismissal the failure to follow the process could result in an uplift of any award by 25% (Section 207 of Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992). Firstly it is necessary for the employer to consider whether formal action is necessary. It is not clear whether previous misdemeanours or poor performance has been dealt with formally or informally and this should be looked at as a matter of priority. However for the purposes of this advice it is suggested that these have not been dealt with formally in any way. Where a discussion is to be recorded formally on the record of an employee, as is likely to be the case her section 11 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 will become relevant and the statutory right to be accompanied needs to be taken into account. It was confirmed in the case of Sarkar (2010) that where the disciplinary could result in dismissal it is not acceptable to use an informal process. The potential loss here is substantial and therefore it is possible that the Council could be looking at gross misconduct. Frank has the qualifying period of 2 years service and could therefore potentially claim unfair dismissal making it vital that the processes are followed correctly. The employer needs to act promptly as if it fails to indicate the severity of the situation to the employee there is a danger that it would be seen to have affirmed the contract and accepted the employees repudiatory breach (Cook, 2009). A full investigation is necessary which will then potentially lead to the disciplinary procedure. The position of the employer should however be reserved for the duration of the investigation. During the investigatory meeting and the disciplinary meeting (if there is one subsequent) the employee has the right to be accompanied. The level of investigation necessary is dependent on the severity of the accusation (A, 2003). Where an employee is at a serious risk of long term impact for example being dismissed and receiving a professional detriment a much more thorough investigation is required. Based on this and the underlying need to act reasonably Frank should be suspended in order for the investigation to take place. He should be informed of his rights and obligations during the period and also how long he is likely to be suspended for. As the conduct is sufficiently severe that it could result in dismissal this is a crucial step and the investigations should be very thorough. There are concerns that the Council has been aware of performance issues and has not yet dealt with the matter. Furthermore it would seem unreasonable that a junior individual was able to make such a costly error and this will have to be born in mind when determining the severity of the disciplinary process to be followed. Sally Sally’s contractual status is questioned initially as she is currently working various hours with a weekend on call every month. Sally has been located at the Council office for 3 years with a set desk and specific hours. This level of control is considered to be sufficient to comply with the definition of employee as per section 230 of the ERA 1996. This is a matter of fact and law and it is suggested that as she was required to personally preform the contract and the Council had a high level of control she would be deemed to be an employee (Carmichael, 2000). Based on this it would be the case that Sally is entitled to the statutory minimum holiday which is 20 days (excluding 8 bank holiday days). Sally has requested a change to her current working hours which is dealt with a flexible working request and secondly she is likely to be interviewed alongside others for the full time vacancies which have now arisen, should she wish to apply and would not want to be discriminated against by virtue of her caring role for her terminally ill mother. Since June 2014, employees with at least 6 months’ continuous service have been able to apply for flexible working for any reason. The employer is then under a duty to deal with the request in a reasonable manner and be fair in the way that they treat the application (Duncan, 2012). Crucially, in accordance with section 13 of the EqA it is possible for an employer to be directly discriminating against an individual who is treated less favourably due to the disability of an associated person (Coleman 2008). This situation is potentially difficult for the Council to manage and there is at least some argument that Sally is not in fact an employee. On balance however this is not a valid argument given the prescriptiveness of the hours of work and the physical base in the council as well as the personal nature of the services provided. The Council would therefore be required to provide paid holiday and to provide Sally with her contract of employment. Furthermore any requests for flexible working would need to be dealt with fairly and when looking to fill full time roles, Sharon would have to ensure that she did not discriminate against Sally as this could result in disability discrimination despite the fact that the disability is not suffered by her directly. Conclusions In summary, Jim should be offered a full and diligence grievance procedure to prevent him resigning and later claiming constructive unfair dismissal by virtue of sexual orientation discrimination. Frank should be dealt with formally through the use of the disciplinary procedure with a full investigation and if necessary a disciplinary that conforms with statutory requirements. Sally is, on balance, an employee and needs to be managed with due care to the disability discrimination rules and the need to be fair and reasonable when considering any flexible working requests. References ACAS (2012) Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures Available at: http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/k/b/Acas_Code_of_Practice_1_on_disciplinary_and_grievance_procedures-accessible-version-Jul-2012.pdf A v B [2003] IRLR 405 Carmichael v National Power plc [2000] IRLR 43, Coleman v Attridge Law and another [2008] ICR 1128 Cook v MSHK Limited and another [2009] EWCA Civ 624, Corus Hotels plc v Woodward and another UKEAT/0536/05, Duncan, N (2012) Employment Law in Practice, City Law School (London, England, Oxford University Press) p.216 Employment Relations Act 1999 Employment Rights Act 1996 Equality Act (2010) Martin v Parkam Foods Ltd ET/1800241/06 Sarkar v West London Mental Health NHS Trust [2010] IRLR 508 Shamoon v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary [2003] ICR 337 (HL) Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

Al Capone Revision

Al Capone: Revision 0730 HIST 2020-010 4-23-07 Many gangsters have made it in the history books the past 100 years: Billy the Kid, and John Gotti just to name a few. But none matched the notoriety that Al Capone had. Al Capone, short for Alphonsus Capone his birth name, was born on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. # Capone grew up with a troubled childhood. After dropping at of school in the sixth grade, Capone got in several gangs of ruffians around town, but nothing too serious. Capone got sick of it and then became a member of the Five Points gang, led by Frankie Yale. After his stint with Yale’s gang, he was sent to Johnny Torrio‘s gang, called the James Street Gang. From 1925 to 1931, Capone and his gangs ruled the streets of Chicago with their vicious gangster ways. # Growing up in the early 1900‘s, you could say Capone had a rough time with it. Torrio soon noticed the talent this young ruffian had and convinced him to with to Chicago to work with his uncle who was one of the cities main concerns with his prostitutes and gambling rings. Al Capone was soon to be Chicago’s, better yet America’s, most notorious gangster and greatest symbol of illegal activities which prevented the city’s growth because it was known as the lawless city. Capone’s soon to be mega-network came through Torrio’s business. They were the pioneers in the selling of illegal alcohol. Capone had power and wealth because he sold illegal alcohol, moonshine, throughout Chicago. After Torrio was shot and badly wounded by a rival gang, this left the rising star, Capone, to take over the thriving business that they had started. Now, Capone was on top the of world at the tender age of only 26. Although vicious, Capone did have somewhat of a good heart when he helped homeless people in Chicago with the first soup kitchen in 1929 after the stock market crash. # Although Capone did help starving people in Chicago, he was a nuisance that needed to be stopped. This, to an extent, as was why the FBI and many other law enforcement agencies were formed. Several law enforcement agencies were built around the area because of crime, and we benefit from it today because if it weren’t for a big time mobster like Capone, we might not have had the law enforcement agencies that we have today. Capone‘s image was seen not only through the eyes of Americans but through the eyes of the world and. People all over the globe thought he was just another thug gangster involved in organized crime. Capone had never done any major time for the crimes he did. Capone walked on water in Chicago, he was so powerful. That’s probably why he decided to open the soup kitchens to get people to like him more. Although this was a good act of respect from Capone, the respect sure enough came tumbling down after his St. Valentines Day Massacre. On Feb. 14, 1929, the St. Valentines Day Massacre made a major impact on the U. S. because it was the most vicious violence they had ever witnessed. # Capone had an alibi for the murder, which he always did. The St. Valentines Day Massacre started when Capon’s gang tricked the Moran gang into thinking it was a police raid when really it was Capone’s gang dressed like police. # As the men were staring at the wall scared of being arrested, the gang broke out with a lead shower of bullets into the backs of the seven members. Obviously, Capone had set this up to take down the rival gangs to strengthen his regime. Although Capone took out an essential part of the gang, Bugs, the leader escaped after seeing the police uniforms, thinking he was getting busted. After the Massacre, Capone and his wife Mary and their children moved to Florida because of the endangerment that Capone had put on them for not killing Bugs. After the Massacre, Capone soon came known as the gangster of the 20’s. After the events of the St. Valentines Day massacre, Capone’s gang received more publicity than any other gang had received before this time. After getting out publicly in Chicago, it was soon on a national spotlight. Capone was now a target of writers all across America. In 1929 While Capone was called before a grand jury in Chicago, little did he know about the powerful people that were teaming up to try to take down this criminal. Capone thought that is was about all of the murders he had committed and so forth. Capone left a mark from this massacre that will be remembered by the United States forever and will sketch his name in as one the most ruthless gangster’s of all time. Capone’s impact of the nation at this time was monumental and glamorized by certain people in his society. Capone’s actions and organizations were getting out of control and soon had to be reckoned with. His way affected people in the Chicago area because of his bad gangster activity as well with his soup kitchens which was one of the slim positive influences he had. In 1930, Capone’s empire slowly but surely flourished after many people working long and hard found a flaw with him, tax evasion. Al Capone was tried on October 17, 1931, when he was finally imprisoned for five of 22 counts of tax evasion from 1925-1929. # Everyone thought that you didn’t pay taxes if you earned the money illegally until Capone made an example for everybody. In May, 1932, Capone was sent to Atlanta to serve his 11-year sentence. As well as those charges, he also didn’t file tax returns for 1928 and 1929. Capone had to pay $50,000 in fines for the counts of tax evasion, a misdemeanor for not filing tax returns, as well as violating prohibition laws. He also had $7,692 in court cost. # Capone had no other choice but to throw in the flag. His life as a gangster was over. In May 1932, Capone started his 11-year sentence in Atlanta which was one of the roughest prisons in America at the time. While in prison, Capone managed to smuggle in a couple thousand dollars and paid the guards off while furnishing his cell with a mirrors, typewriter, rugs, and a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. # Capone was still in control because of the street credit that he obviously still had. Capone was soon taken to Alcatraz where he would be monitored frequently. Alcatraz wasn’t any walk in the park. It was highly monitored where Capone was nothing else but another inmate. Capone was helpless now. Although helpless, Capone did cash in on good behavior and was granted some time off his sentence for good behavior. Capone, again, gave up on the rebellious life and started acting the way the he was meant to from the start. Capone got along so well with everyone that he actually had time cut off for bad behavior. Although Capone was calm himself, he did get into several fights with other inmates but none proved to be instigated by him. While working down in the prison basement, Capone got stabbed by another inmate while standing in line to get a haircut. He was sent to the penitentiary hospital were he stayed for several days soon to be released with a minor wound. Capone was finally released from Alcatraz on January 6, 1939. He then headed to the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island in California where he stayed until November 16 of that year to serve his one-year misdemeanor charge. # Capone returned to his mansion in Palm Island, Florida, after his release. The big, bad mobster from the 20’s and 30’s was slowly deteriorating. His overall body strength, weight, and mindset were all dropping at a rapid pace. Capone had gotten syphilis when he was younger and never did anything about it which led to dementia. On January 21, 1947, Capone had a apoplectic stroke and was out for several days. Finally regaining consciousness, Capone the suffered from pneumonia three days later and went into a cardiac arrest which was probably all linked to his syphilis. Capone was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago between his parents but then was moved to Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. # Capone was the pioneer of crime in America. We have our Jesse James and such but this wa s a different criminal. He was smart. Smart enough to get away from murder trials but unlucky enough and rich enough to become a victim of his own success. â€Å"Scarface† will always be remembered as the greatest mobster in the history of America. Bibliography â€Å"Al Capone. † Chicago Historical Society. http://www. chicagohs. org/history/capone. html [assessed April 14, 2007]. â€Å"Al â€Å"Scarface† Capone. † Alcatraz History. http://www. alcatrazhistory. com/cap1. htm [assessed April 14, 2007]. â€Å"Al Capone. † Wikipedia. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Al_Capone [assessed April 14, 2007]. â€Å"Al Capone. Made in America. † Crime Library. http://www. crimelibrary. com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/capone/index_1. htm [assessed April 14, 2007]. â€Å"Famous Cases. † FBI History. http://www. fbi. gov/libref/historic/famcases/capone/capone. htm [assessed April 14, 2007].

Assessing Young Learners Speaking Ability in the Fifth Grade of Three Elementary Schools in Padang Essay Example for Free

Assessing Young Learners’ Speaking Ability in the Fifth Grade of Three Elementary Schools in Padang Essay Learning (1721) , Learners (44) , Elementary school (34) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints A. Background of the Problem Communicative view development in English learning makes the focus on English teaching changed. What once became structurally focused, it now moves toward meaningful language-focused. Students are not asked to memorize structure-based dialogues without knowing the meaning anymore. There are no more grammatically controlled sentences for students’ meaningless repetition. Dialogues, if used, center around communicative functions and are not normally memorized (Richards & Rodgers, 1986). That makes the teaching of speaking becomes the core part of English teaching. Just like the adults, young learners today are also taught speaking meaningfully and communicatively. However, young learners have distinctive characteristics compared with adult learners. One of them is children are still developing cognitively, linguistically, socially, emotionally, and physically (Teaching Knowledge Test Young Learners: Handbook for Teachers, 2010). In other words, in teaching speaking to them, teachers need to consider children’s development of skills in the native language first. Young learners also enjoy rhythmic and repetitive language more than adults do. They are more likely to play with language than adults are, and they can be more effectively engaged through stories and games (Peck, 2009). The different techniques and approaches in teaching speaking to young learners lead to different ways in the speaking assessment. This is the problem faced by Indonesian young learners’ teachers nowadays. Most teachers do not know how they should assess their young learners’ speaking ability; some finally choose to skip the speaking assessment and focus on pencil-paper-tests. Thus, this research is conducted to discover and reveal ways of assessing young learners’ speaking ability. B. Identification of the Problem Based on the background above, the speaking assessment techniques used for young learners should be different from the adult. It should be suited with their cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical development. As we looked upon Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices by Brown (2010) and integrated it with curriculum standard in Indonesia, KTSP 2006, young learners will be better to be assessed in imitative and intensive speaking categories, such as imitating teachers’ saying, directed response tasks, read-aloud tasks, and dialogue completion tasks. Alternative assessments such as interviews and conferences can also be applied for them. C. Limitation of the Problem In this research, the problem will be focused on the speaking assessment techniques in the fifth grade of three selected elementary schools in Padang. D. Formulation of the Problem * What kind of speaking assessment technique used by elementary school English teachers? * Why do they use such techniques? E. Purpose of the Research The purpose of this research is to discover and reveal the technique used by English teachers to assess elementary school students’ speaking ability. F. Significance of the Research Theoretically, this research is aimed to give a description of how speaking assessment for young learners done in Indonesia. Practically, some techniques used by English teachers provided here can be a source of alternative speaking assessment. CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. The Nature of Assessment There has been various explanation of what assessment is. Brindley (as stated in Linse, 2005) refers assessment as â€Å"collecting information and making judgments on a learner’s knowledge†. It means that in assessing students, we need to find out what students know about the subject being taught and how far that understanding has reached the learning indicator. In the same line with Brindley but with an addition, Brown (2010) states assessment as â€Å"an ongoing process of collecting information about a given object of interest according to procedures that are systematic and substantively grounded.† In his statement above, Brown implies that the process of collecting and judging students’ understanding is not done orderly in one single time; it is done continuously. Harris and McCann (1994) also give an essential note that in doing assessment teachers have to measure the performance of their students and the progress they make, as well as diagnose the problems they have and provide useful feedback. In other words, collecting and judging students’ intelligence is not enough; finding out what becomes students’ problem and giving advice to them to overcome the problems is also important to create a more successful learning process. Based on the theories above, it can be seen that assessment involves collecting information about students’ knowledge and judging their understanding in order to diagnose the learning problems they have so that students can get useful feedback to be more-successful learners. B. The Nature of Speaking As stated in the previous chapter, today’s English teaching focuses more on communicative purpose of language learning than in the past. It leads to the more important consideration of speaking skills than in previous time. Just like assessment, there is also various definition of speaking. One of them is from Lingua Links (1998) that defines speaking as productive skill in the oral mode that involves more than just pronouncing words. Referring to today’s communicative view, of course speaking cannot be thought as just pronouncing words; it needs to be meaningful, and communicative. Furthermore, Noonan (2003) states that, if pronunciation included, speaking involves three areas: mechanics (pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary), functions (transaction and interaction), and social cultural norms and rules (turn-taking, rate of speech, etc). All of them are connected to each other and prove that speaking is not only about what is uttered, but also the meaning and social purpose. C. The Nature of Young Learners Young learner is a child who is in their first six year of formal education, from age 6 to 12 (Teaching Knowledge Test Young Learners: Handbook for Teachers, 2010). Many experts argue that it is beneficial to teach the children English since young age. TKT Young Learners (2010) notes one of the advantages that those children will have positive self-esteem toward English and it will help them to learn English more once they are adult. That is why teaching English to young learners considered important today. However, young learners have characteristics that make them different from the adults (Teaching Knowledge Test Young Learners: Handbook for Teachers, 2010). First, they are still morally, cognitively, psychologically developed. Based on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children in age 6-12 years old are still in concrete operational thought stage, they already have the ability to do logical reasoning and understand reversibility with the help of concrete objects (Santrock, 1998). It means that explaining theory will not do for them, we need to make them move, do games, sing, etc. Second, young learners often have no obvious reason for learning English. Unlike adults who want to do it because of the career-related reasons or teenagers that do it to pass an exam, young learners do not have concrete reason why they must learn English. However, it does not mean they are not motivated to learn English; their goodwill, energy, and curiosity to learning overcome that. Third, they may not always have well-developed literacy skills to support their learning of English. Many children in the age of 6-12 years old are just getting to know their first language. It means that as a teacher we need to not have too-high expectation and do more. Fourth, young learners often learn slowly and forget quickly. It is related to the first characteristic that young learners are still developed morally, socially, and cognitively. Their still-ongoing developments in those basic things make them forget easily and learn slowly. This is why songs, agmes, and chants do best for them. D. Principles of Assessing Young Learners According to METU Open Course Ware (2006), principles of assessing children’s language learning are: 1. Assessment should be seen from a learning-centered perspective. It means that we cannot get a true assessment by testing kids what they can do alone. It has been stated by many experts that the goal of learning English is to be able to communicate meaningfully in English. Testing students, let alone young children, as a tool to get true assessment will not congruent with the real goal of English learning and it will just be wasting time. 2. Assessment should support learning and teaching. This is something that is not also becomes a problem with young learners, but also with the adult. Before performance-based assessment is introduced, teachers chose paper-and-pencil tests as their source of assessing (Puppin, 2006). It becomes a problematic then since students do not see the connection between the learning and the test they are doing, ; they see them as two different incongruent things. If the assessment done is congruent with the learning they did, children will feel that what they have learned is useful. 3. Children and parents should understand assessment issues. Their understanding will make the assessment process more meaningful since they can participate and supports greatly on behave of children’s English development. On the other hand, if they do not understand why the teacher does this and that, there will be no good communication between these three subjects to help children’s development. E. Techniques of Speaking Assessment Brown (2010) states some techniques of speaking assessment based on students’ language development level: Imitative Speaking This kind of assessment is intended to see whether students can imitate saying in English correctly. Eventhough it focuses on the accuracy of repeating words, it does not mean that it cannot be communicative and meaningful. Besides, in recent years many experts have discovered that an overemphasis on fluency can sometimes lead to the decline of accuracy in speech. Intensive Speaking There are four tasks in this kind of assessing: directed response task, oral questionnaire, and picture-cued task. In oral questionnaires, students are first given time to read the dialogue to get its main idea and to think about the appropriate lines to fill in. Then, as the tape, teacher produces one part orally; the students respond. In directed response task, students elicit a particular grammatical form of a transformation of a sentence. Such tasks are clearly mechanical and not communicative, but they do require minimal processing of meaning in order to produce the correct grammatical output. Picture-cued task requires a description from the students. Pictures may be very simple, designed to elicit a word or a phrase, or composed of a series that tells a story or incident. This task is meaningful since sometime a little sense of humor is injected. Responsive Speaking Assessment of responsive tasks involves brief interactions with an interlocutor, differing from intensive tasks in increased creativity given to the student and from interactive tasks by somewhat limited length of utterances. The kinds of this assessment are question and answer, giving instructions and directions, and paraphrasing. Questions and answers involve oral interaction with teacher. Assessing Young Learners’ Speaking Ability in the Fifth Grade of Three Elementary Schools in Padang. (2016, Sep 10). ng-learners-speaking-ability-in-the-fifth-grade-of-three-elementary-schools-in-padang-essay We will write a custom sample essay on Assessing Young Learners’ Speaking Ability in the Fifth Grade of Three Elementary Schools in Padang specifically for you We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Health disparities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health disparities - Essay Example This research paper â€Å"Health disparities† examines the health issues in the modern day context. One of the important findings that can be observed from the article that the prevalence of health disparity in the form of osteoporosis is quite high amid the women belonging to Switzerland and is anticipated to raise dramatically in future due to the significant factor of aging population. However, there are certain strategies or policy interventions that can be followed in order to deal with one of the imperative health disparity of osteoporosis. The strategies might include screening and assessing fracture risks relating to the health disparity of osteoporosis. Health disparities are often considered to be one of the critical issues in the modern day context. It is generally caused due to improper treatment of various individuals along with various discrepancies. It has been apparently observed relating to the article that the women in the US are largely suffering from the he alth disparities of BDM and osteoporosis at large. It can be stated that one of the major reasons for the occurrence of the previously mentioned health disparities is aging population that is mounting extensively in the US. Furthermore, smoking has also been identified as the other chief reason for creating such health disparities. Health disparities can be reduced with promotion of personal dignity along with responsibility of a person. They can also be improved through establishing effective communication. (Kutner, 2006). Moreover, the health disparities can be improved through maintaining the instructions prescribed by medical specialists. In this similar context, there are certain effective strategies that can enhance the health of the Swiss women who have been suffering with the critical health disparities like BDM and osteoporosis. One of the effective strategies for the population i.e. the Swiss women who are extremely suffering from BDM and osteoporosis is the intake of calc ium or vitamin, either in the form of diet or exercise. Apart from intake of calcium or vitamin, the population suffering from the aforementioned critical health disparities can also enhance their health through performing weight-bearing exercises (The Joint Commission, 2008). It can also be stated that the application of mammography-screening can also be used as an effective strategy in improving the health disparity of BDM and osteoporosis amid the population of Swiss women. This particular screening would lessen the aforementioned health disparities by conducting screening tests in the initial stage enabling the patients to keep fit (Lee, Mountain & Koenig, 2001). Addressing Similar Health Issues for Women Population The women population in the US facing health issues such as BDM and osteoporosis are required to experience certain significant treatments to keep themselves free from such critical health hazards. It can be affirmed that the patients suffering from osteoporosis and BDM are required to have proper treatment concerning their bones. The treatment regarding such health issues can be addressed in accordance with primary intervention. In this regard, relating to BDM, it can be addressed through conducting general screenings for lessening the risk of fractures. In the context of tertiary prevention, different aspects like mobility aiding,

Tourism Industry in Arizona Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tourism Industry in Arizona - Essay Example But overall the tradition leisure and recreation tourism activities have remained core to the growth of the industry. Tourism has been one of the growing industries in Tucson, Arizona. It is one of the rapidly growing industries in the state having been ranked third in revenue. Tucson metropolitan attracts more that 3.5 million tourists every year which is one of the highest tourism numbers in the region. There are diversified tourism activities that attract tourism to Tucson from all parts of the world. The region has a good climate and the Sononarn Desert and the majestic mounts that ring the city continue to attract more and more tourist. This has contributed to the robustness of the industry. With an annual 300 days of sunny weather Condition and the natural ability to attract winter tourism from cold climates, Tucson makes one of the bets tourism destinations in Arizona. (Tucson, 2008a) Tourist attraction in Tucson include Saguaro National Park, Arizon-Sonoar Desert Mesuem, Reid Park Zoo, Pima County Fairgrounds, Kino Sport Complex, Old Tucson Studios, Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley, Arizona Historical Society, Tucson Botanical Gardens, Biosphere 2 Center, and others. There are other attraction sites in Tucson but these are the major leading attractions . Source: Tucson, (2008b). Tourism industry Data. Retrieved from http://www.visittucson.org/media/research/tourismdata/ on 23rd May 2008 Tourism companies operating in Tucson The growth of the industry in Tucson has corresponded with increased number of operation and hospitality companies. There are more that 289 local tourist companies in Tucson which absorbs a workforce of more that 44,200 employees. These companies have been contributing to more that $2 billion in revenue which has been a major boost for the economy of Tucson and the larger Arizona state. There are many companies which operate in Tucson offering tourism services. The major companies in the industry include Canyon Ranch Health Resort which employs 855 employees, Metro Restaurant Inc. with a workforce of more that 750, JW Marriot Starr Pass Resort & Spa employs about 696, Loew Ventana Canyon Resort which employs about 589 people, Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort employing 555 employees, and The Westin La Panaloma Resort & Spa with a workforce of more that 436 employee. These are the major operators in the industry. However there are other small operators providing the same services but the above are the major players who have been offering stiff competition to one another. Most of them have an international operation. These companies produce various tourism packages. Most of them offer travel services where they take their visitors from one tourism attraction to another. In this case they have the transport section which is concerned with arranging travel series from one area to another. They also offer accommodation services. This is one of the most important functions of the operators in the industry. They offer room accommodations and camp sites where accommodation is offered in cottages and tents. An accommodation service also comes with other in room services including meals, laundry services, and other. Although accommodation ser

Letter of Recommendation for a Professor at my school Essay

Letter of Recommendation for a Professor at my school - Essay Example Dr. Everett Shock is also such an engaging teacher that he/she is able to present challenging problems that made us look forward to solve the same and how it is applied in the real world setting. Dr. Everett Shock love for knowledge is contagious. His/her enthusiasm about the subject matter rubbed on us that made everybody look forward for the next class. His/her method of teaching does not only elucidate, but also encourage the students to excel thus attracting the best and brightest people to be better. Dr. Everett Shock is an authority on the subject evident with his many publications in scientific journals. But despite of his academic stature, he/she is very generous to accommodate students in his/her research that allows us to grow in ways that classroom experiences cannot afford. This was evident with my interaction with Dr. Shock’s Geo-Pig lab group in these past two years which was my first undergraduate lab research experience. The experience took me to an adventure in Yellowstone National Park for two summers with Dr. Shock and his research group and work side by side in the field learning about natural systems. The experience was priceless because it did only help me build a resume, but also enable me to have lasting friendship with very interesting people in the labs. This experience was not just exclusive to me, but also with many budding students who wanted to have first-hand experience in the labs which Dr. Shocks also enthusiastically accommodate to satisfy our eagerness to learn more. Such is the kind of teacher that Dr. Everett Shock is. Dr. Shock does not only encourage us to learn about theoretical concepts but also the experimental aspects of the science and its application to the real world. For example, I have always used thermodynamic parameters printed in the back of chemistry textbooks for calculating the free energy changes or the combustion energies of chemical reactions without giving much

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Research Paper Example It was an all high for female in both public and private nonprofit institutions. The reverse was witnessed in the private for profit institutions, with males being more than females at forty-eight percent and thirty-six percent respectively. Every start of an academic year comes with an ever-increasing price of college education. An interview conducted on persons of ages eighteen to sixty-five, found out that sixty-five percent of the respondents believed that college prices were growing at a faster rate than other items and services. Eighty three percent went on to explain that students borrow too much to go to school. The school year 2013-2014, recorded an average tuition and fees for undergraduate at public four-year colleges at $8,893 a two point nine rise from the previous year. The private non-profit four-year colleges recorded an average tuition fee of $30,094, which was a three-point eight percent from the previous year. For over the last decade, an increase in tuition and fees has been on a rise. At the four-year public colleges the raise has hit a fifty-one percent rise. The private non-profit four-year colleges, the raise was at twenty-five percent. This raise has resulted to an increased number of students in need of financial assistance. The last decade has witnessed the number of Pell grants rise from four points eight to eight point eight million. The retention of University student is of importance more so to the college administrators in trying to improve the graduate rates and decreasing of tuition and fees since the economy is known to have a noticeable effect on the retention

Music History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Music History - Essay Example According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Alleluia was introduced into Western churches around the fourth century and sung in response to the reading of the psalms (Bewerunge, Henry. "Plain Chant."). However, it is generally believed that the official recording occurred in the eighth century when St. Gregory made the effort to compile his beloved church music. It is at this time that the neum, the name of the strange characters, came into existence. (Bewerunge, Henry. "Neum"). The Alleluia was a melismatic composition which means that there were complex notes and melodies carried out on one syllable. The manuscript shows the squiggles streaming after the "a" in "Alleluia" which would suggest that the sound of the "a" is prolonged in the melody. The marks indicate how the sounds are sung or modulated, that is, whether there are glides or trills for example. Accent signs such as the acutus (/) written from left to right over a syllable would indicate a rise in the melody and the grav is, drawn downwards () would be the opposite, to lower the note. The gravis was abbreviated over time to only a dot, or punctum, and as a result was used in combination with (Last Name) 2 other marks to determine the melody. For example, in the group scandicus it shows an ascending group of three or more notes, drawn from left to right, and in the group climacus (), a descending group of notes (Bewerunge, Henry. "Neum"). The Alleluia chant was first used at Easter Sunday, then extended for the entire Easter period, then, courtesy of St. Gregory, again extended for use during the entire year with the exception of the period before Lent (Bewerunge, Henry. "Plain Chant."). As a praise to God, it seems appropriate that it should be used more than one or two times a year. The Agnus Dei is another example of plainchant or Gregorian chant as it is commonly called. However, the neums have evolved into another form in order to further convey the musical meaning. The Catholic Encyclopedia translates the Latin words ""Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis" to "Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us" (Henry, Hugh. "Agnus Dei (in Liturgy)"). In Henry Hugh's same article, he states that the Agnus Dei is generally used toward the end of the service before the giving of the Holy Communion. He also mentions that it is also found at the end of litanies, with a slightly different wording and in Requiem Masses. Early Agnus Dei plainsongs were mostly syllabic, where each syllable was given its own note and were mostly sung during days of "penitential character" such as during Lent or Advent, except Good Friday and Holy Saturday (Henry, Hugh. "Agnus Dei (in Liturgy)"). This example of the Agnus Dei is more embellished, and i t falls into the neumatic category, where two or more notes, are applied to one syllable. Sometimes up to a dozen notes are used in the neumatic form and it differs from the melismatic compositions where one will find a syllable carried for dozens of different notes. At the beginning of each four-line staff, there is a notation on the upper line and this tells what mode or key the piece will be in. In this case, it is the mode of C. The other popular mode was the key of F and later, the key of G was introduced. Bewerunge notes in his article in th

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND - Essay Example John Donne will mention in his poem â€Å"Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.† The poet actually referred to his own disease here (Jokinen, 2006).ii He says he is concerned no matter who struggles or who dies because every man is a part of the bigger picture (Donne, 1624). The agony affecting one might not take long to affect another. For example, consider you hit your leg hard on the floor. It is just a matter of few seconds, before the pains sweeps through your whole body. Though the damage is restricted to a small finger, the pain is felt in the core of the heart. The poet’s phrase â€Å"No man is an island† is an eternal phrase fit for any modern age. Man can use all the modern technology to live life comfortably. But, he needs others to share his joy or at least boast about his pleasure. Secondly, the aim of all this advanced technology is to establish quick communication between people. The more people communicate, the more they get to know about different cultures, they become broad minded and feel a sense of oneness. Facebook, Twitter, Mobile chats everything aims in establishing the same. The modern communication has actually broken the ethical and continental barriers so easily. Our youngsters have friends all over the world and have much acceptance towards various things considered taboo in our forefather’s age. â€Å"No man is an Island† can be interpreted in a much different manner too. There are several people in the modern age who boast about living without any commitments. They dwell in the comfy of their own privacy with all the sophisticated technology at their aid. But, they easily forget they still use the skill and help of all those who struggled to put this technology in place for them. It is every person’s duty to give back to the world in form of physical work, intellectual discoveries or loving care. A mother can tend to the children lovingly while the saint can pray

Growing Popularity of Women in Rugby in America Essay

Growing Popularity of Women in Rugby in America - Essay Example Women rarely participated in contact sports. The chance availed itself and they streamed in large numbers to play the sport. The history of women rugby in America is colorful since it started in 1972, and underwent various changes and challenges but only popularized in 1993. Rugby enables women to play by the rules of men and display their physical strength just like men do. This is a property that endears women to the game. It is common knowledge that rugby requires extreme physical strength due to the violence involved. Physical strength is associated with men. Females even at work places are offered light jobs that require little physical strength. Femininity is associated with physical weakness and minimal violence. As women play rugby, they display physical strength as they defend their territories by locking arms and elbows. Similar to male rugby players they take pride in their bruises and injuries incurred from the violence of the game. This seems out of order because many women would prefer to remain unburies and scar less. Women normally played basket ball, soft ball and volley ball over the years. The sports require energy but not as much energy as rugby. The women therefore gained a sport which they use to stretch their physical abilities to the maximum (Brown, M., Growden, G., & Guthrie, P. (2011). There are few limitations on the physical abilities in rugby, the stronger the better. The physical ability however is not limited by the physical appearance of an individual. The sport is ideal for any body type. After refining physical and technical prowess, there is a part for every person to fill in the team. This should also be accompanied with aggressiveness and violence, the nature of women is that they are good listeners and they pay attention to details. This aspect of femininity complements them a great deal. Trainers claim that women pay more attention during training compared to men (Rawson, S & Nahman, N, 2005). They are

Internal Curing Concrete Essay Example for Free

Internal Curing Concrete Essay Early-age cracking, autogenous shrinkage and self-desiccation are almost inevitable problems for concrete, especially for mass high performance concrete, for the permeability of which is too low for external curing water to get in and fully hydrate the cement paste inside. The better hydration of the cement paste, the less and smaller cracks the concrete have, and the better durability and reliability the concrete structures do. In order to solve this problem, scientists have consider an unconventional methods to cure the concrete from the inside out so a better hydration can be achieved. As early as 1957, Paul Klieger[1] have mentioned how helpful the saturated lightweight aggregates would be to supply internal curing water and improve the long-term strength in his report. Nowadays, this method as internal curing has been fully developed and widely used to get low-cracking high-performance concrete with better hydration by replacing part of natural fine aggregates with saturated lightweight aggregates. The goal is clear and simple, but the ways to achieve the same purpose is various and have different advantages and disadvantages. In this report, several techniques and materials with different properties that could be used in internal curing, such as expanded shale clay or slate(ESCS)[2] and Superabsorbent polymers(SAP)[3], would be introduced and comment. Internal curing has a good performance especially in fields like mass concrete, or high performance concrete with low permeability. The properties why internal curing is a practical consideration for these instance s would be discussed in this report. 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Concrete has many good properties as modern building material. It has high compression strength, fire proof, and cheap to produce. Since the using of concrete has a long history, the techniques of concrete structure construction may be fully developed. However, there still are some problems that almost inevitable for concrete, such as self-desiccation, autogenous shrinkage and chemical shrinkage. All of these issues may lead to cracking of concrete, and the chloride may penetrate through the cracks easily and cause corrosion of the reinforcement. As we all know, most of the failures of concrete structures are due to the corrosion of the reinforcement. Hence, concrete with less cracks or later to have cracks may contribute to a longer service life of a concrete structure. What’s more, most of these unwanted cracks develop at the early-age of concrete placing. That’s why proper curing, which limits the early shrinkage and lowers the chance of early-age cracking, is so important to ensure the concrete develop the required properties and durability to reach their designed service life. Conventional curing uses methods to provide additional water to keep high relative humidity on the concrete surface, such as ponding and misting, or uses curing compounds, plastic membrane and evaporation retarder to slow evaporation. No matter water adding or moisture loss avoiding work mostly on the upper part of concrete, since the permeability of concrete is limited, the deeper inside concrete, the harder for water to penetrate. On the other hand, self-desiccation (the reduction of the internal relative humidity in the concrete due to hydration reaction) will lead to autogenous shrinkage (concrete volume change occurring without moisture transfer to the environment) even without external moisture loss. Concrete shrinkage over time , will induce cracking that can reduce the service life expectation of concrete structure severely. In short, even proper conventional external concrete curing cannot provide perfect environment for concrete to develop its durability efficiently. Since 1980’s, the production of high-performance concrete(HPC) became more common, and to achieve their much higher strength and durability properties, lower water cement ratio and lower permeability is required. The self-desiccation and autogenous shrinkage problem became even more severe a situation for HPC than for normal portland cement, because external curing water would be more difficult to penetrate deeply into the low permeable concrete to supply the loss water due to hydration and evaporation. When shrinkage happens, cracking is almost inevitable. Concerning a long time situation, internal relative humidity has a strong relationship with free autogenous shrinkage. 1.2 Internal curing Is there any solution that can settle down this problem? Or is there a way that can cure concrete more efficiently so can limit the cracks? The answer is yes. Since curing concrete from outside in has its limit, deeper part inside the concrete cannot be cured properly, how about cure concrete from inside out? As early as 1957, Paul Klieger [1] have mentioned how helpful the saturated lightweight aggregates would be to supply internal curing water and improve the long-term strength in his report. In 1991, Philleo [2] suggested incorporating saturated lightweight fine aggregate into the concrete mixture to provide an internal source of water to replace that consumed by chemical shrinkage during hydration of the paste. Nowadays, this method that use water-containing materials , replacing with normal aggregates to cure concrete, has been well developed and been named as internal curing. Such water-containing material could be saturated lightweight fine aggregates, sup erabsorbent polymers, or saturated wood fibers. Internal curing has been defined by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) as â€Å"supplying water throughout a fleshly placed cementitious mixture using reservoirs, via pre-wetted lightweight aggregates, that readily release water as needed for hydration or to replace moisture lost through evaporation or self-desiccation† 2 Benefits of internal curing Internal curing distributes the extra curing water throughout the 3-D concrete microstructure so that it is more readily available to maintain saturation of the cement paste during hydration, avoiding self-desiccation in the paste and reducing autogenous shrinkage. Along with this process, the main benefits bring about by internal curing may be concluded as below: 2.1 Reducing cracks due to shrinkage Concrete is susceptible to plastic shrinkage cracking at early age, especially when the evaporation rate is high. Right after placing, the concrete paste is still in a fluid state. The aggregates and cement particles tend to settle down due to gravity, while internal water is likely to bleed out onto the surface. Such layer of water will keep the evaporation of the concrete surface in a relatively constant rate. But this situation won’t last for a long time after the cement particles contact each other and start to develop strength. The rate of settlement will highly reduce along with much less water bleeding. During this period, highly tensile stress occur inside the concrete due to surface tension of drying out internal water. Because at this time, concrete is under a plastic state but having develop enough strength to resist this tensile stress, cracks will occur. For internal curing concrete, the pre-wetted aggregates will provide water to replenish the evaporation from the surface of concrete. It makes the pores within the hydrating cement pastes fluid filled and thus helps to reduce the tensile stress. Shrinkage will be much less sever and cracks will less likely to happen. Besides limiting the happening of cracking, internal curing also contributes to delaying the age of cracking. As the volume of pre-wetted aggregates increases, the age of cracking is delayed, until an asymptote appears to be reached when sufficient pre-wetted aggregates has been added according to the research done by Schlitter et al (2010).[3] 2.2 Long-term strength gaining Cement particles inside concrete finish most of hydration in the first 28 days, but the cement particles have not been completely hydrated after 28 days. Some unhydrated cement remain in the concrete and takes time to continue hydration. That’s the reason why as time goes by, the strength of concrete will increase even after a long period of time. For lower water cement ratio concrete, the required time to be fully hydration is longer. As to very low water cement ratio concrete, it may even be impossible for it to be fully hydrated. The hydration will stop when there is no longer capillary water available. In conventional curing, the capillary water inside the concrete will soon run out after early hydration, and the external water is not easy to penetrate into the concrete to hydrate the unhydrated cement particles. By using internal curing method, after most of the capillary water been used, the internal relative humidity drops, and the pre-wet ted aggregates will provide water for cement to keep hydrating steadily for a longer time. As for the using of light-weight aggregates to provide internal curing, the reduction strength due to the light-weight aggregates can be compensate by this long-term strength gaining. 2.3 Reduction of permeability The principal contribution of internal curing results in the reduction of permeability due to a significant extension in the time of curing. It was shown that extending the time of curing increased the volume of cementitious products formed which caused the capillaries to become segmented and discontinuous.Reducing permeability leads to less penetration of aggressive agents that accelerate corrosion of embedded reinforcement. This decrease in permeability results from internal curing could obviously enhance the durability of concrete structures. 2.4 Working well with SCM Environment problem have been paid more and more attention by people today. In order to lower carbon footprint for using concrete, replacing cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs i.e., silica fume, fly ash, metokaolin, calcined shales, clays and slates) is suggested as a way to use substantially less clinker. SCMs (except for silica fume) take longer time to hydrate, therefore requiring water to be present for a longer time. While more than one research has shown both internal curing and SCMs improve long term durability performance. Luckily, recent work has shown that internal curing works particularly well with SCMs. Internal curing enables the SCMs in these mixtures to react for a longer time, since the higher water content needed to support the reaction of the SCMs can be maintained. 2.5 Improving behavior of the contact zone Contact Zone refers to two distinctly different phenomena: (1) the mechanical adhesion of the cementitious matrix to the surface of the aggregate; (2) the variation of physical and chemical characteristics of the transition layer of the cementitious matrix close to the aggregate particle (ASTM STP 169 D [2006] Chapter # 46 Holm Ries). In the contact zone, the C-S-H is not evenly distributed in the outer product, and porosity is greater at aggregate surface within 15-50 µm. What’s more, the obvious elastic difference between aggregate and the surrounding cementitious matrix make the transfer of stress from bulk cement paste to stiffer aggregate causes ‘softening’(microcracking) in interfacial transition zone. High incidence of interfacial cracking or aggregate debonding will have a serious effect on durability if these cracks fill with water and subsequently freeze. All of these factors make the contact zone a weaker location in the concrete. By using internal curing, more internal water can be provide around the aggregates and lead to a better hydration at the interfacial transition zone, which decrease the porosity and increase the strength. The lower permeability also contributes to the difficulty for the chloride to penetrate. What’s more, the lower modulus of the light weight aggregate and the improved transition zone around the light weight aggregate particles due to their generally vesicular surface, helped reduce stress concentrations between the paste and the aggregate and those reductions subsequently reduced the amount of early-age cracking in the concrete. 3 Material and methods for internal curing As long as the principle is the same, different ways can be applied to achieve internal curing. Besides of light weight aggregates, the properties of other techniques and materials will be presented in this chapter. And their advantages and disadvantages will be commented. 3.1 Bentonite clay Bentonite is an absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate. It has a high specific surface, most of which more than 100 m2/g, and this property enables them to adsorb several molecular layers of water between their platelet structures [10]. The absorbed water is held by secondary chemical bonds and the bentonite may swell up to 14 times as its original volume as a result of the water absorption. If the relative humidity in the surroundings is lowered, this water is reversibly released. Potentially, bentonite or other layered clay minerals may be used as a water reservoir for internal water curing. However, there still one important problem remain to be solved for the application of bentonite. In high ionic media, such as in cementitious materials, these clays agglomerate and form a compact structure instead of spreading out evenly [11]. And whether inducing same charge into bentonite as water reducer do to make the bentonite particles repel from each other could solve this problem remain to be investigated. Figure 3.2 Superabsorbent polymers A superabsorbent polymer, SAP, is a polymeric material which is able to absorb a significant amount of liquid from the surroundings and to retain the liquid within its structure without dissolving [12], SAPs are principally used for absorbing water and aqueous solutions. With the present polymer types the theoretical maximum water absorption is approx. 5000 times their own weight. However, the absorbency of commercially produced SAPs is around 50 g/g in dilute salt solutions such as urine, and in high ionic solutions such as cement paste pore fluid the absorbency may be below 20 g/g [13]. The absorption of water in the SAP is based on secondary chemical bonds, and the water is so loosely held that all of it essentially can be considered bulk water. Most SAPs are cross-linked polyelectrolytes. Because of their ionic nature and interconnected structure, they absorb large quantities of water and other aqueous solutions without dissolving. SAPs have found a wi despread use as a high-tech material e.g. for contact lenses, breast implants, fire fighting, drug delivery, in baby diapers and as soil conditioners. Today’s world production exceeds 500,000 tons per year of which about 85% is used for baby diapers [14]. Figure 5.1: Superabsorbent polymers are swellable substances which can absorb many times their own weight of liquids by forming a gel. The absorbed liquid is not released even under moderate pressure [12]. The picture shows a dry, collapsed and a swollen suspension polymerized SAP particle. A description of the use of SAP for internal water curing can be found in the literature [2,13,15]. Compared with lightweight aggregate SAP has some peculiarities. SAP can be used as a dry concrete admixture since it takes up water during the mixing process. Furthermore, the use of SAP permits free design of the pore shape and the pore size distribution of the hardening concrete, however, the pores introduced by the SAP in the concrete may preferably be selected in the range 50-300  µm. 3.3 Crushed Returned Concrete Aggregates Recycled aggregate consists of stone particles with mortar from the original concrete attached to them. The volume fraction of this mortar may amount to 20 to 60%, and results in a significantly higher water absorption of recycled concrete aggregates compared to conventional aggregates [8]. The relatively high water absorption of recycled aggregate, however, may be difficult to utilize for internal water curing. The cement paste fraction of recycled aggregate will, typically, have a fine and tight pore structure which cannot supply water to the coarse pore structure of a hydrating cement paste at early ages. For this reason, recycled aggregate may be less useful than normal aggregate for internal water curing. However, some experiments have shown promising results for recycled aggregate. By blending the crushed returned concrete aggregates with an appropriate lightweight aggregate sand, a substantial reduction in autogenous shrinkage will be a chieved, with minimal reduction in long term compressive strength. The mortars based on light weight aggregate sand substitutions alone provided the highest compressive strengths and the greatest reductions in autogenous shrinkage. But, blending the crushed returned concrete aggregates with the light weight aggregate sand may provide the optimum mixture in terms of material costs and sustainable development.[ICwCCA] 3.4 Artificial LWA Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate Lightweight Aggregate The Earth has been producing LWA from volcanoes since the beginning of time. This natural material, however, is inconsistent and very little is suitable for making concrete. ESCS is specially made for concrete and has been manufactured from surface†mined raw shale, clay or slate for nearly 100 years. (ESCS raw materials typically do not have any other conventional purpose in the construction industry because they are too soft.) The raw materials for ESCS production are placed into a rotary kiln at approx. 1200 °C until it turns into a strong consistent material which is called expanded shale, clay or lightweight aggregate or just ESCS for short. ESCS is a uniform, high quality, ceramic aggregate that’s about 1/2 the weight of natural aggregates. Pores are created in ESCS during the manufacturing process as gases escape due to the application of heat. The newly created pores are ideally suited to accommodate the absorption of water, much like a sponge. ESCS’s greatest contribution is its ability to desorb water. Unlike a sponge, it does not have to be squeezed for the water to be released. This characteristic naturally permits water to egress or be desorbed from the pores of pre-wetted ESCS when the cement demands more water during the hydration process. The physical ability of the pores to manage water movement is the key to internal curing. However, the manufacturing heating process of ESCS is relatively expensive. Moreover, compared with other lightweight aggregate, ESCS has a relatively fine and less continuous pore system, a large part of the pores are closed. Some of the pore water is held down to at least RH=70%. Consequently only a part of the water held in ESCS will be useful for internal curing [6]. 3.5 Natural LWA – Perlite and Pumice Perlite is a naturally occurring silicious, glassy rock which contains 2-6% combined water. When quickly heated to above 900 °C, the crude rock expands 4-20 times its original volume as the combined water vaporizes and creates countless tiny bubbles. This results in a bulk density in the range 30-400 kg/m3, and a water absorption of 200-600%. Perlite has found multiple uses such as for filtration, as an abrasive and within horticulture to provide aeration and moisture retention. However, perlite is primarily used within the construction area for example as concrete aggregate and as a cavity-filling insulation. Disintegration of perlite particles has been observed during mixing due to their high porosity and consequently low strength [18]. This may have adverse effects on the concrete. Fully saturated, the water content of perlite may be 4.5 kg/kg [18]. Pumice is a porous volcanic rock which resembles a sponge, see Figure 5.2. The porous s tructure is formed by dissolved gases which are precipitated during the cooling as the lava hurtles through the air. All types of magma may form pumice. The connectivity of the pore structure may range from completely closed to completely open. A representative value for the absorption of pumice is 0.27 kg/kg [18].

The Electoral College

The Electoral College The United States has a system which is use to elect an American president that lasted for over two hundred years, although this system did not stay up to date especially the Electoral College. The Electoral College is one of the most significant political systems ever created in the United States, this system determines who will become the president, and runs on a winner-take-all system. For the reasons of it creating complications in the election process, it decreasing the chance of a third party existing, and lowering public opinion, it should be abolished since its clearly an unfair system. The Electoral College was framed during the Constitutional Convention by the Founding Fathers, as they attempted to create a system that would resolve the United States problem during that time. Several ideas were encountered such as; Congress being the one responsible for choosing the President, State legislatures being responsible for it, the idea to choose a President through popular vote, and finally, they came up with College of Electors. There were two designs of the Electoral College the first one was not that successful because it was not supposed to work with political parties and national campaigns. So then as the political parties had parties had emerged the design had to adapt, this was the catalyst of the two party system era. The Electoral College runs in a system of Winner takes- all where the candidate with the majority vote receives all the votes for that particular state. The Electoral College does have some exception such as Nebraska and Maine, these two states are under the proportional representation which is the basic principles underlying proportional representation elections are that all voters deserve representation and that all political groups in society deserve to be represented in our legislatures in proportion to their strength in the electorate (www.mtholyoke.edu). And to illustrate the difference of the two. Lets say that a certain party wins 15% of the national vote but have no seats in individual elections. Under the winner take all system earns any seat in the legislature, while in the proportional representation that party 15% of the seats. Voting privileges in the District of Columbia differ from the ones in the 50 states of the United States, it being the capital of the U.S. it is not viewed as a state but a special federal district, this revoked its privilege to have a voting representation until the 23rd amendment which states Th e District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress. Although D.C. is represented by a delegate in the United States House of Representation. There are some advantages and disadvantages of having the feature of the winner-takes-all system. Some of the advantages are to earn votes by persuading the majority of a state to have the same political perspective as the candidate. For example, California is considered to be a democratic state due to the majority of the people who live there being Democrat. Als, the Electoral College promotes centrism and discourages extremism to appeal a wide enough cut of the electorates, and this system also promote political stability which often results to economic growth. Several flaws are the controversies between the Electoral College and the Popular system (implying to the Gore v. Bush court case); it is difficult to have or even create a third party, because Third Parties usually end up being scavenged and absorb by the two major parties such as the Democrats and Republicans. The complication that the Electoral College contains is its exceptions to having a single proper voting system suc h as winner-take-all. During the time that the Electoral College was created there really wasnt a base government to compare with, making it difficult to face and find its own solutions. And the fact that this system encourages a two party system which discourages cooperation due to coalition and disagreements. During the election of the year two thousands the United States had two candidates that were running for the presidency, Albert Gore, Jr. and George W. Bush. This election is salient among the others because it revealed several complications about the Electoral College system. In this presidential candidate Al Gore had 266 Electoral votes and 50,992,335 popular votes, while George W. Bush had 271 Electoral votes and 50,455,156 popular votes. This election was a close call but George W. Bush ended up winning because of the court case Gore v. Bush. Due to Florida not having a statewide standard that each county board could use to determine whether a given ballot was a legal vote, George W. Bush argued that the recounts had violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Why does the Electoral College still exist? Despite its mockery to the views of freedom and the power to vote, the Electoral College has remain because of several reasons which are; it having a surprising amount of followers which is unlikely to assume but over a third of the country actually support this system, in belief of it having a cohesiveness of the country, enhances minority issues, contributes to the stability of encouraging a two party system. it has also been the reason why our elections are still active. The Electoral College was really unique considering the fact that it did not have a similar political base when it was founded. The question of The Electoral College whether to stay or not is very debatable, but most context leans on it not being so stabled for future generations. The popular vote system is an ideal system for democracy because it will then actually apply peoples power, also this will promote the idea of one popular vote does matter, this was originally rejected and was over ruled by the Electoral College mainly because of the 3/5 clause, this wouldve affected the South devastatingly and couldve made them a minority. The Electoral College greatly affects American society, this system has been a tradition to American society, and people look forward to this event every four years, if compared with the Olympics it would be similar most Americans look forward for this because its the time for them to have a political reconciliation, and realize what they need and what will benefit them. The United States government has evolved around the elements of pluralism and individualism. The election occurs every fourth years each American that has the eligibility to vote may cast their vote for an elector, who pledge to vote for a certain party. The Electoral College functions with 538 electors and a majority of 270 votes required on electing a President, it consist of two systems the winner-take-all and proportional representation. Each representatives used for the two systems are determined using the popular vote system. This system isnt perfect due to its complications listed above; this system mainly res ulted in dividing the United States government, and because of that it promotes the idea of votes for Third parties often go to waste. This system is not that productive due to disagreements, because not everyone will follow your perspective. In conclusion the question of whether the Electoral College system must remain or not comes up. And a clear answer would be no, it shouldnt be allowed to continue. The Electoral College is a system that at some point may have been effective and necessary but not anymore. This must be abolished considering the fact that it takes away the actual power of the people and the thought of the importance of their power to vote. Work Cited Gehard, Peters The American Presidency Project 2000-2012 George C. Edwards III/Martin P. Government in America textbook/tenth Edition/ by Wattenberg/ Robert L. Lineberry 2012, National Cable Satelite Corporation 1995-2010, Craig Walenta The Proceedings of the Electoral Commission of 1877

Timeline of the History of Psychology

Timeline of the History of Psychology The History of Psychology Marisa Alexander The development of psychology took place in eras. The contributors of a period provide the next necessary step for improvement of new philosophies sometime discarding all or part of the previous to provide a new perspective. This essay will explore the major contributors from the ancient Greeks to more modern times and demonstrate the improvement over time to where psychology is seen as a science. Between 470-322BCE rose three major philosophers that played a pivotal role shaping western philosophical thinking. Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were the foundation of what psychology as a science is today. They were switching from using mysticism or mythology to understand their world to experience and scientific inquiry. Socrates used the power of reasoning and was the first to use a scientific approach to psychology that focused on various causes of behaviour (Hergenhahn, 2009). His student Plato followed in his footsteps. Plato believed that ideas were innate and the brain is the mechanism of mental processes. His innate ideas were denied by Aristotle who suggested that the heart was the mechanism of mental processes. He proposed that emotions emphasized thoughts and behaviour and cause selective perception in the environment.Their philosophy flourished in that period and even after Athens defeat. The Greek city-state was defeated by Sparta (431-404 B.C) which caused the collapse of Athens. The Romans invaded the Greek territory and there was a need for a philosophy that can address the instabilities and ills of this era. To address this issue the Romans focused on helping individuals live a good life. Philosophies such as stoicism, skepticism, Epicureanism and Neo-Platonism emerged. These philosophies were involved in the transition from philosophy to Christianity. There were various conflicting versions of Christianity so to eliminate this issue Constanine placed the responsibility on bishops to arrive at a single set of documents to govern Christian communities. Through this in C. 380 Christianity became the approved religion in Rome by Theodosius I. there were some aspects in philosophy that were useful to Christianity and was incorporated along with Judaism into the religion by Augustine. Augustine’s work fell into the medieval period; this period marked the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance period (approx. CE 400 – CE1300). It was a period of rebirth and a transition from being God centred to being more human centred (Hergenhahn, 2009). Having an open mind was one of the requirements of this time. Ushering in this period was the devastating epidemic the Black Death which killed approximately one-third of Europe. This changed Europe social and economic situation drastically for the worse. Frustration caused Europe to seek comfort in Christianity. It was a time when the Roman Catholic Church was the authoritative figure in all aspects of Europe’s life. The renaissance period was a difficult time for the church as it was threatened by the loss of its powers on the state. This made way for the emergence of leaders to govern the state without the church. Other factors threatened the authority such as the invention of the pr inting press by Johannes Gettenburg (1445). The invention meant that literature would be easily accessible and not just owned by the elite. It also meant that they would not have to rely on the interpretations of the priest but they can read and interpret for themselves. The period steered way for new philosophies that would: belief in individual potential, see religion as more personal and less institutionalized, show an intense interest in the classics, and have a negative attitude toward Aristotle’s philosophy (Hergenhahn, 2009). Bacon, Descartes and Galileo work emerged around C.1610 which created a scientific revolution in psychology. Bacon was an empiricist whose vision for sciences was to be able to solve human problems. He focused on inductive reasoning which dealt with facts that can be observed. Descartes on the other hand, was a rationalist who saw the mind and body as two separate entities. The body is observable and measurable. In contrast, the mind is not directly observable. He also stated that ideas were innate and they are experienced with such precision and uniqueness that they need to be accepted as true. Galileo explored the laws that governed the physical world. He tried to apply the laws of the universe in understanding h uman thought and behavior through deductive reasoning which deals with predicting an event from general principle. So based on the laws he concluded that psychology was impossible to predict because of the subjective nature of human thought (Hergenhahn, 2009). Locke was an empiricist who opposed Descartes philosophy of innate idea (King, Viney Woody, 2009). In 1690 Locke published An Essay Concerning Human Understanding which defended empiricism and concerned itself with determining the boundaries of human understanding in respect to a wide variety of topics (Uzgalis, 2001). Locke thought that if all humans had innate ideas as Descartes stated, then all humans should possess these ideas and since they do not, then Descartes’ philosophy of it is not true. He believed that our minds were like a blank paper or slates at birth and through sensory experiences it would be furnished with the necessary ideas. In 1808 Gall had a different perspective for understanding human behavior. He believed that faculties (personality and intelligence traits) were stored in specific parts of the brain (King et al, 2009). The shape and size of a person’s skill he believed was a good indication for presents or absence of personality and intelligence traits. While Gall focused on physical features Weber was concerned with sensations. Weber was the first to quantify perceived differences between a physical stimulus and sensation, his work entailed experiments what looked at just noticeable differences between stimuli. Just noticeable difference is the standard detectable difference between the standard and the comparison weight. He published his research on The Sense of Touch in 1834. Another approach surfaced called evolutionary psychology and was pioneered by Charles Darwin. In his publication of the Origin of Species (1859) it explains that we develop behaviors and cognitive abilities to adapt to our environment for our survival (Houck 1999). Twenty years later there was a new discovery by Wilhelm Wundt, he was the first to establish a lab for studying psychology in 1879 and used introspection to collect information. He conducted experiments examining the physical on the psyche and agreed with Darwin’s concept on the importance of adaptation (Kim, 2006). In his research he recognized the need for scholarly journals but his new research did not fit with the established physiology or philosophy journals (King et al, 2009). So in 1881 he published the first issue of Psychological Studies. Wundt and Titchener dominated the introspective self-observation approach when Ebbinghaus began his research on human memory. Ebbinghaus was systematic and cautious in his approach to the study of memory; this changed the standard by confirming that higher cognitive processes could also be studied scientifically. His method moved the study of memory out of philosophy and into the domain of empirical science. His study showed that memorizing meaningless is more difficult that memorizing meaningful ones, an increase in the amount of material increases the amount of time it takes to learn it, relearning is easier that initial learning and forgetting takes longer after relearning (Plunker 2013). He then discovered that forgetting happens rapidly right after learning occurs and slows down over time.He published his findings in 1885 Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. Hall was a functionalist and influential in launching psychology as a science and in its development as a profession. Just as Ebbinghaus, Stanley used scientific methods in conducting his experiments; his is famous for work on child development, especially adolescence (King et al, 2009). Hall spearheaded the scientific approaches in the field of psychology. In 1887 he launched theAmerican Journal of Psychology (APA), and in 1892 he organised the American Psychological Association and held the position as its first president (Perry, 2006). Calkins was the fourteenth (14th) president of APA in 1905; she did her dissertation and was refused her doctorate from Harvard University even though she met the requirements. Thorndike was a behaviourist which is a branch of psychology dealing with objective experimental approach and learning behaviours. His theory focused on connections created in the mind between environmental stimuli and the organism’s response, where as previous theorists focused on connections between ideas. In 1898 An Experimental Study of the Associative Processes in Animals was his thesis he wrote on his experiments conducted on animals (Wozniak, n.d). Apart from Thorndike, there are other behaviourist who influenced psychology with their works, there are Watson, Skinner and Pavlov. Watson published a piece in 1913 on Psychology as the Behaviourist Views where he discussed his position on behaviourism and the theoretical goal to predict and control behaviour. He stated that itshould onlybe about things we can directly observe, that is, the relationship between the environment and the behaviour of the organism (Watson, 1913). Skinner dealt with modifying behaviour through re inforcement and punishment. He did experiments with animals and published his work as The Behaviour of Organisms in 1938. Then there was Pavlov who published his work on Lectures on Conditioned Reflexes in 1928 which dealt with finding from his experiment he discovered though observing a pattern. He noticed that the dog was conditioned to have a reflex action; this pattern was not the real intention of his experiment. This he called classical conditioning. A different perspective of psychology emerged in the beginning of the twentieth century that focused on the unconscious part of the mind. This was developed by Freud, who stated that there are events or things that the mind cannot deal with that is stored in the unconscious. Also there are structures that make up our personality such as the id, ego and superego and the each have a responsibility. He also proposed developmental stages which has a connection to sexuality or erogenous zones. Apart from this he stated that unconscious thought or issues manifested in dreams. Freud published Interpretations of Dreams in 1900 to describe his work on the subject. Freud had followers of his approach such as Alfred Alder, Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, and his daughter Anna Freud. They all went on to depart from his theory and develop their own using his foundation. Another perspective to understanding human behaviour is Gestalt. This movement in psychology was launched by Wertheimer in 1905 and opposite to behavioural perspective that viewed the parts or saw thing on a molecular level; this approach was more on a molar (holistic) level. It represents a more cognitive aspect in psychology since the focus is on perception and the forming of self-organizing tendencies which provide insight through an overall view. There were other theorist that followed this movement such as Wolfgang KÃ ¶hler and Kurt Koffka who worked with Wertheimer. Humanistic is similar to gestalt but they extend their focus from a more perceptual consciousness to cover the organism’s entire state of being. Behaviour should be understood from a subjective perspective (individual experience) and it is not dependent on the past. Instead the individual is allowed to make their own choices or choose their own part. Rogers published the theory as it relates to counselling i n 1942 in Counselling and Psychotherapy. The Latest great contribution to psychology was the publishing of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5). This was published in 2013 and contained a classification system for diagnosing mental disorders. In the previous years there was one revision and many four (4) editions of the same book. The first edition of this book was published in 1952 and ever since then as became the bible of mental disorders and useful providing valuable information on the matter. In conclusion it was necessary for the development of psychology to be a science for it to go through the rigorous changes in time. There were many instances for the theorists living in that time to adopt the changes and integrate them into their theories. As previously mentioned there were a lot of building of this approach for ancient Greek from philosophy with many other hard sciences such as physics, physiology add to it throughout the years to be developed to what it is today. References Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to the history of psychology (6th ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub. Co.. Houck, R. (n.d.). Charles Darwin. Psychology History. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/darwin.htm Kim, A. (2006, June 16). Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt. Stanford University. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wilhelm-wundt/#TheFraExpPsy King, D. B., Viney, W., Woody, W. D. (2009). A history of psychology: ideas and context (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Parry, M. (2006). G. Stanley Hall: Psychologist And Early Gerontologist. American Journal of Public Health, 96(7), 1161-1161. Plucker, J. (2013, November 7). Human Intelligence: Hermann Ebbinghaus. Human Intelligence: Hermann Ebbinghaus. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://www.intelltheory.com/ebbinghaus.shtml Uzgalis, W. (2001, September 2). John Locke. Stanford University. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/ Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology As The Behaviourist Views It.. Psychological Review, 20(2), 158-177. Wozniak, R. (n.d.). Classics in the History of Psychology. Introduction to Thorndike (1911) by R. H. Wozniak. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Thorndike/Animal/wozniak.htm

Analysis of Article The Weight of What If Essay example -- Anna Quindl

In her article â€Å"The Weight of What If,† Anna Quindlen writes about the tragedy of fallen soldiers. She says that we often forget how each soldier is a life unlived, and we often forget â€Å"what if† they had lived. Speaking in a balanced tone, she deals with the Iraq conflict, as well as World War II and Vietnam. She forces us to ask questions about war and the effect it can have on us. Quindlen clearly wants us to think more compassionately about the veterans. Because we are so far removed from Iraq, we may think that â€Å"the spectacle of hometown kids’ leaving home to be killed or maimed is bearible only when it’s given an antiseptic name.† We sometimes only see war as a lot of strategy and far-away fighting, when it is something personal that affects us all. At one point, she quotes Ernest Hemingway, who asks, â€Å"Why don’t we stop fighting?† This is obviously a very personal issue for Quindlen. She is passionate about what she is writing about. She brings up powerful examples of the lives never lived. When she talks about her past, it resonates with us because we can imagine her fear. Th...

Utilitarianism Essay -- Ethical Issues, Physician Assisted Suicide

The United States flag stands to the world as a signal of freedom and most importantly choice. The constitution gives our citizens that right to choose how to live life, how to use our liberty, and how to pursue our own happiness. But what happens when a citizen decides to opt for no life? Is that not a choice? This is the argument for one of the most controversial questions of the past decade, should assisted suicide be deemed legal in the United States? The root of the controversy is the involvement of medical community in such a choice. I will look to find a not an answer but guidance to determine if assisted suicide is an ethical choice. While the issue has no answer that would make both sides of the issue content, Utillitarism and relative ethics can help clear the ethical issue at hand. The utillatirist perspective will help explain how the outcome of physician assisted suicide helps a population with a certain end benefits and changes the quality of life of a person who is on a tight schedule to meet a certain death. Relativism will explain how the circumstances that the human being that benefit from assisted suicide call for a dignified ending. Utilitarianism will have us look at the outcome of an action as the guiding principle to deem something ethical or unethical (Moser, 2010). The outcome of actions is in a sense the harm or benefit that will remain after it is all said and done. Realistically we cannot expect to find an answer to the question of ethics pertaining to physician assisted suicide. Perhaps the most important aspect to understand about physician assisted suicide is that this choice is guided not to the common person that has just gone through a rough patch and cannot see the end. This choice is directed... ...he legalization of physician assisted suicide. Not to ignore the wishes of the medical community, we must focus on the wishes of the patient. Again physician assisted suicide is not a way out of a bad situation is a way to approach the inevitable. It is to be held relative to the individual’s personal wishes and medical history and prognosis. No one situation is the same and every single patient needs to be treated accordingly to their own situation. There is not simple answer to this, but we must move forward to help the majority in a dignified way relative to their own special situation. Imagine a fragile person whose color has turned an ash white, hair gone, constantly sick to their stomach, unable to do the most simple of task like hugging their loved ones. How can a heart condemn a human being for wanting to be remembered as more than that in their last days? Utilitarianism Essay -- Ethical Issues, Physician Assisted Suicide The United States flag stands to the world as a signal of freedom and most importantly choice. The constitution gives our citizens that right to choose how to live life, how to use our liberty, and how to pursue our own happiness. But what happens when a citizen decides to opt for no life? Is that not a choice? This is the argument for one of the most controversial questions of the past decade, should assisted suicide be deemed legal in the United States? The root of the controversy is the involvement of medical community in such a choice. I will look to find a not an answer but guidance to determine if assisted suicide is an ethical choice. While the issue has no answer that would make both sides of the issue content, Utillitarism and relative ethics can help clear the ethical issue at hand. The utillatirist perspective will help explain how the outcome of physician assisted suicide helps a population with a certain end benefits and changes the quality of life of a person who is on a tight schedule to meet a certain death. Relativism will explain how the circumstances that the human being that benefit from assisted suicide call for a dignified ending. Utilitarianism will have us look at the outcome of an action as the guiding principle to deem something ethical or unethical (Moser, 2010). The outcome of actions is in a sense the harm or benefit that will remain after it is all said and done. Realistically we cannot expect to find an answer to the question of ethics pertaining to physician assisted suicide. Perhaps the most important aspect to understand about physician assisted suicide is that this choice is guided not to the common person that has just gone through a rough patch and cannot see the end. This choice is directed... ...he legalization of physician assisted suicide. Not to ignore the wishes of the medical community, we must focus on the wishes of the patient. Again physician assisted suicide is not a way out of a bad situation is a way to approach the inevitable. It is to be held relative to the individual’s personal wishes and medical history and prognosis. No one situation is the same and every single patient needs to be treated accordingly to their own situation. There is not simple answer to this, but we must move forward to help the majority in a dignified way relative to their own special situation. Imagine a fragile person whose color has turned an ash white, hair gone, constantly sick to their stomach, unable to do the most simple of task like hugging their loved ones. How can a heart condemn a human being for wanting to be remembered as more than that in their last days?