Research Paper Essay

Abstract This research paper will evaluate the biological aspects of addictive substance or behavior and how it affects the brain and organs. Biological aspects include dopamine levels that are replaced in the brain due to the reward system being overtaken and the absorption rate of the drug once it is ingested will be discussed. The biological aspects are extensive and permanent if the individual does not get the help they need. Furthermore the clinical issues of addictive substance or behavior will be discussed along with medical treatments and ethical issues. This includes treatments such as counseling and treatment programs that are effective. Lastly the Christian worldview implications and how it affects Christian counselors will be addressed. How the church may view individuals who have an addiction and how a counselor approaches a client with an addiction. Addiction is something that is an epidemic in the world of the devil and it should be evaluated and taken seriously. People use drugs for a variety of reasons, some may be to self-medicate, to overcome anxiety, to deal with a past that they want to forget, or even just to fit in with a crowd. However, most of the users, initially, do not think or care of the after side effects which could include addiction. There are many factors that come into play on if a person will be more susceptible to addictions such as â€Å"heredity, environment, psychoactive drugs and compulsive behaviors† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). Substance/Behavior Drugs affect many areas of a person’s body, the central nervous system (CNS) is effected â€Å"causing mental, emotional and physical changes† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). Pharmacokinetics describes this process by which a drug is â€Å"absorbed, distributed, metabolized, eliminated, and excreted by the body† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). The factors that contribute to this process include: â€Å"route of  administration, speed of transit to the brain, rates of metabolism, process of elimination, affinity for nerve cells and neurotransmitters† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). All of these factors contribute to how the drug biogically affects the person administering the drug. A person who injects heroine on an empty stomach will not have the same effect as a person who digests a pill of heroine after a meal. There are more aspects that involve if the person will become addicted to the drug. Metabolism and excretion also play a part in the effects on the brain. Metabolism is â €Å"the body’s mechanism for processing, using, and inactivating a foreign substance that has entered the body† (Inaba & Cohen, p. 2.7, 2011). Metabolism applies to everything that is ingested into our bodies, including food. Excretion is â€Å"the process of eliminating the foreign substance and its metabolites from the body† (Inaba & Cohen, p. 2.7, 2011). When a drug is ingested the metabolic process begins along with the excretion process by the kidney. This explains why alcoholics have kidney problems and sometimes failure after years of alcohol abuse. An example of how a drug travels from Inaba and Cohen is: â€Å"when someone swallows a 10 milligram tablet of Vicodin or drinks a beer the drug passes through the esophagus and the stomach into the small intestine, where it is absorbed into the capillaries enmeshed into the intestine walls. The capillaries transport the drug into the veins which carry it to the liver where it is partially metabolized. It is then pumped back to the heart and subsequently to the rest of the body.† That is just one example of how a drug is passed through the body and absorbed into the users system. There are many other ways that the drug can enter into the body. The first time alcohol or drugs are ingested â€Å"dopamine levels spike higher than they do with food†¦and that experience is remembered,† the experience is stored in the amygdala which controls emotion and hippocampus which controls emotion. After using the substance over and over the brain no longer produces its own dopamine. (Carlson & Carlson, 2013). There are more side effects that occur if the substance is not taken again, including depression and sometimes physical symptoms. (Carlson & Carlson, p.35, 2013). If the person stopped filling the void they have created with the substance their brain will eventually start reproducing its own dopamine again. There are addictions that can develop from behavior disorders, non-substance abuse disorders. These could be gambling, shopping, and many other compulsive/impulse control disorders. There are studies that suggest that â€Å"26-37% of those with alcohol dependence also had a lifetime history of a mood disorder (with depression being the most common), whereas 32-37% met lifetime criteria for an anxiety disorder† (McLachlan & Starkey, 2012). When a person who is addicted to a compulsive disorder is going through withdrawals â€Å"the urge or craving while abstaining from the behaviors may have a similarity with cravings during drug withdrawal in substance addictions† (El-Guebaly, Mudry, Zohar, Tavares,& Potenza, 2012). To a person who is withdrawing from a gambling addiction they will feel the same way as a person who is trying to stop drinking. There are groups such as Gamblers Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous that help these individuals through the process of overcoming their addictions. When a person who is suffering from an addiction decides to make a change they can go through a process before they decide to take action. The stages are pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation/ready for action, action, maintenance, and possibly relapse. (James, p. 74, 2012). Pre-contemplation is when the person is not considering change and denying they have a problem. Contemplation is when the addict is sitting on the fence about if they have a problem or not. Preparation/ready for action is described as when they are making a mental plan for how and when they are going to act. Action is practicing the new behavior for three to six months. The maintenance stage is continuing to maintain the new behavior for more than six months after the action plan. Relapse occurs if the old behaviors happen again, (James, 2012). An important part of overcoming the behaviors that go along with addiction is the creation of memories. Memories are created from the time we are born, we learn things about ourselves such as what makes us laugh or what makes us cry. A person may have a bad experience with a drug or alcohol and that memory stays with them. It could even deter them from trying it again or the person could be pressured into giving it one more try before they decide. Memories are actually â€Å"solid bits of protein imprinted on the brain as microscopic memory bumps called dendritic spines† (Inaba & Cohen, p. 2.12, 2011). When people use psyc hoactive drugs the memories are imprinted on the brain. These memories include, â€Å"where they got the drug, the reason they used it, and what feelings resulted† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). These memories are problematic because they are especially  powerful for the user’s brain. The memories will affect how often a person uses in the future. If a person has a euphoric and amazing experience when they use a drug they will remember it vividly and have a hard time forgetting the experience. If something happens to them that causes depression or makes them have a bad day they will go back to this euphoric state and want to recreate that situation again. Furthermore, if the person has a preconceived susceptibility to addiction to a substance they are more likely to continue to go back to this substance to solve their problems rather than dealing with them in a healthy way. Many factors such as environment when the person was raised will also play a factor, if the person was not taught the proper coping skills in dealing with issues their only memory of how to escape a problem will be the occurrence of the drug use. The same instance occurs with a person who suffers from a behavioral disorder such as gambling. When a person gambles they feel valued and appreciated. A person with a gambling addiction is treated like a king when they walk into a casino or a place that caters to gamblers. They bring them drinks to their table, they have beautiful girls around them, and they a re treated as if they are someone important. To a person who has never been treated like that in their life, it can develop into an addiction, an addiction to winning the money and an addiction to being treated like a king. Their memories and reward systems are replaced with this experience and it is hard to overcome. The reward/control pathway of the brain â€Å"encourages a human to perform or repeat an action that promotes survival† (Inaba & Cohen, p. 2.14, 2011). A psychoactive drug urges a person to take the drug again because it closely resembles the natural reward system of the brain. For substance abusers this pathway is seriously altered, â€Å"the go circuit becomes overactive and the stop circuit becomes dysfunctional and does not shut off the craving† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). The craving to do the drug again becomes seemingly unbearable for the individual because their reward system is in overload. The individual may wish that they could stop the addiction or not even want to but they cannot stop because of the affect the drug/habit has had on their brain. The reversal of the reward system also makes normally enjoyable circumstances not enjoyable to the individual suffering from an addiction. A person who may have enjoyed painting or walking around the park will be able to think about nothing other than  taking another hit of cocaine because their brains reward system is not happy until that is experienced. It takes a very strong individual to be able to overcome this and recognize it in their own brains. That is why there are programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous to help individuals process these changes in a step by step basis, because it is so hard to just quit something that has such a hold on the person. Clinical Issues There are aspects of treatment that dominate in the field of treatment of a behavioral or chemical dependency. These aspects begin with the fact that medications are used more to treat addictions, there are many reasons that a drug may be used in the treatment process including; â€Å"drugs lessen the withdrawal symptoms, drugs lessen cravings, substitute medications that are less damaging than the primary substance of abuse, nutritional supplements, and antidepressants† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). Some addicts do require drug use but some do not, it depends on how addicted to the substance or behavior the person was as well as how long they were using. Another issue in treatment is that new imaging techniques are being used to â€Å"visualize the structural and physiological effects of addiction on the human brain† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). These techniques include CAT (computerized axial tomography) scans to show the damage to the brain tissues, MRI (magnetic resonance imagin g), fMRI (functional MRI), PET (positron emission tomography), SPECT (single-photon emission computerized tomography, and DTI (Diffusion tensor imaging) (Inaba & Cohen, p. 9.5, 2011) These techniques allow doctors to study the brain as the addict goes through such things as the reward cycle when using a drug. These tests will help to better understand the processes of the brain and possibly be able to further combat the problem of addiction. The more a process in understood, the more educated a doctor can be with their patient the better treatment process they can prescribe for the patient. Internet-based therapies involve â€Å"structured, treatment programs delivered via the internet that incorporate some degree of therapist interaction† (Blaszczynski, A., Gainsbury, S., 2011). The internet based therapy mostly occurs via e-mails, telephone or face to face between the client and the counselor; it can benefit a wide range of people including those with alcohol and drug addictions. It is also beneficial for those with behavioral addictions such as gambling. Internet based therapy  has been largely successful with less than â€Å"25% of people with addiction-related problems ever entering formal treatment† (Blaszcynski, 2011). The internet based therapy could be widely popular as well because it is anonymous and they do not have to attend a meeting or go out of their way to a counselor’s office. The appointments are on the person’s own time when they are available. Treatment for individuals such as the elderly depends on patient placement after they are evaluated for abuse or addiction as well as physical or psychiatric problems. Treatment is then evaluated on the risks that could affect the elderly person. There are six dimensions â€Å"established by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM): acute intoxication and/or withdrawal potential; biomedical conditions and complications; behavioral conditions and complications; treatment acceptance/resistance; relapse potential; and recovery environment† (Clay, 2010). An elderly individual struggling from addiction can also be placed in an outpatient treatment such as â€Å"brief intervention, motivational interviewing and pharmaceuticals† (Clay, 2010). It is recommended that the least intensive approach be considered first and then the condition be further assessed. Individuals who are addicted to heroin have a treatment that is called Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) this involves prescribing opioids to those who are opioid dependent. A person who is addicted to heroin will go through â€Å"daily withdrawal symptoms, and are at increased risk of persisting in use of heroin and other drugs.† (Bell,2012). The i dea is to prescribe low dosage methadone (30-60 mg a day) or buprenorphine (4-8mg/day) to help control the withdrawal symptoms. Another reason for this approach is, â€Å"at higher methadone doses, people become more tolerant to opioids, and blocking the effects of heroin and suppressing continued heroin use† (Bell, 2012). Another approach to treatment is coerced treatment. Coerced treatment is when it is â€Å"mandated by the criminal justice system, through drug courts mandatory sentencing, probation/parole stipulations, and state or federal legislation requiring compulsory treatment† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). The Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison program measured the effectiveness of the treatment programs that were mandatory and found reductions in the re-arrest rate, reconviction rate and return to prison rate. The downfall to the coerced programs is that there may not be space available for people who want to voluntarily get help before they are  arrested or in trouble with the legal system. The reduction in the economy over the years has caused a lot of government funded programs to be closed due to funding issues, leaving less places for addicts to go for help. (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). Christian Worldview Implications Addictions can come in many shape and forms to a Christian counselor. There are sexual addictions, gambling addictions, alcohol addictions, substance addictions etc. From a biblical standpoint a Christian counselor would want to introduce biblical morals and values so the person can rely on a higher power other than themselves to overcome the addiction. Addictions come straight from the devil when they are attacking a person and causing them to sin. A counselor should consider themselves to be warriors of God in the war against addictions. There are many in the Christian environments that consider addiction to be an act of will. A church congregation may not take an addiction as seriously as they would take someone who was diagnosed with cancer. It is important that the counselor help the client see that their addiction is important to overcome, confessing their addiction and the problem with it can be the first step when a person is struggling with an addiction. The person may feel that it is easier to hide the addiction rather than admit there is a problem, but to confess the sin is the most important first step. References Bell, J. (2012). Buprenorphine in The Treatment of Heroin Addiction. Dusunen Adam: Journal Of Psychiatry & Neurological Sciences, 25(2), 93-100. doi:10.5350/DAJPN20122502001 Blaszczynski, A., Gainsbury, S. (2011). A systematic review of Internet-based therapy for the treatment of addictions, Clinical Psychology Review. Vol. 31(3). Carlson, D., & Carlson, H. (2013). Addiction : The brain disease. Madison, CT, USA: Bick Publishing House. Clay, S. W. (2010). Treatment of addiction in the elderly. Aging Health, 6(2), 177-189. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2217/ahe.10.14 El-Guebaly, N., Mudry, T., Zohar, J., Tavares, H. and Potenza, M. N. (2012), Compulsive features in behavioural addictions: the case of pathological gambling. Addiction, 107: 1726–1734. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03546.x Inaba, D. S. & Cohen, W. E. (2011). Uppers, downers, all arounders: Physical and mental effects of psychoactive drugs. (7th ed.). Medford, OR: CNS Productions James, R. L. (2012). Sexuality and addiction. Westport, CT, USA: ABC-CLIO. McLachlan, A. D., & Starkey, N. J. (2012). The classification of substance and behavioural addictions: a preliminary investigation. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 41(1)

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gatsby Essay

â€Å"It is invariably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you have expended your own powers of adjustment.†( F.Scott Fitzgerald 104) – Nick talks about how he looks at life with a new perspective and tries to abandoned â€Å"the West Egg† concept of â€Å"a world complete in itself, with its own standards its own great figures†. When he look at daisy, he explains that he could feel daisy’s pain and suffering by just looking into her eyes. So the significance of this quote is that nick is looking beyond the gilts and glamour of society so that he may see the true identity of people- as with Daisy. Later on, Nick will use this skill to find the true answer of whom Gatsby is . â€Å"The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.†(F.Scott Fitzgerald 98) -Nick describes Gatsby’s early life using a comparison between Gatsby and Jesus to reveal Gatsby’s identity. In the Great Gatsby, Gatsby transforms himself into the ideal that he envisioned for himself a Platonic conception of himself as a youngster and remains committed to that ideal, despite the obstacles that society presents to the fulfillment of his dream. He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: â€Å"I never loved you.† After she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken. (F.Scott Fitzgerald 109) -Gatsby is frustrated at daisy for being a cowardly woman who doesn’t stand up for her. He believes its time for her to take action but Gatsby also realizes that it’s impractical. Gatsby would like to put everything back how it was in the past, but Daisy has moved on from the past into the present. â€Å"His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning-fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.†(F.Scott Fitzgerald111) -Gatsby opens up to Nick and tell a memorable event between Gatsby and Daisy. This is one of the times were he actually gives information about his past that is true and Nick is surprised and hears Gatsby through. Gatsby longs for the past and revisions the event where he and daisy first kissed. Gatsby fantasies about the past, believing that Daisy is the same girl he kissed many years ago. â€Å"But his heart was in a constant, turbulent riot. The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night. A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain while the clock ticked on the wash-stand and the moon soaked with wet light his tangled clothes upon the floor. Each night he added to the pattern of his fancies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with an oblivious embrace. For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy’s wing.†(Scott Fitzgerald 99) – Gatsby is a man who seems to â€Å"have it all† but in reality is troubled by one-sided love. The one thing he doesn’t have is what he needs most to fulfill him is Daisy. At night, these thoughts both torment and comfort him. The beauty of this passage is Fitzgerald’s use of both negative and positive imagery to illustrate the conflict in Gatsby’s thoughts. The imagery of the rock and fairy’s wing just elaborates Gatsby’s view of his world is crumbling apart; something like a rock is a strong foundation has flew away so easily like a fairy. Very much like the difference between Gatsby’s real world and what he wishes for himself. Chapter 7 â€Å"Her voice is full of money,† he said suddenly.†¨That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money — that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it †¦ high in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl. (Scott Fitzgerald 120) – Gatsby is shocked and confused why Daisy is all about money. He doesn’t even wonder why she married Tom. So Fitzgerald adds in dialogues as a hint to fill in the missing gaps and to show Gatsby who Daisy was and is. Tom allows Daisy to ride with Gatsby because he knows she wont choose Gatsby over him. Gatsby can’t let go of the Daisy, not because of the relationship now but what they had; back in the past were he was a poor kid in the army who got this beautiful rich girl to fall in love with him. â€Å"There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and as we drove away Tom was feeling the hot whips of panic. His wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his control.†(Scott Fitzgerald 125) – This quote reveals that Tom is getting frustrated and shocked because of the accident. He feels as though he is losing control over both women, Daisy and Myrtle. You could see the signs of tension between Gatsby and Tom when they get into a verbal argument of some sort. Tom needs control and when he doubts his control, over a situation or another person, he cant handle it. â€Å"With every word she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up, and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, despairingly, toward that lost voice across the room.†(Scott Fitzgerald 134) -As she spoke, he became more and more aware that Daisy would never be his. The dream that he once had of them being together slipped away. He was becoming forced to realize the truth even though he somehow wished it was different. â€Å"So we drove on toward death in the cooling twilight†¦.† Nick: ‘â€Å"Was Daisy driving?†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Gatsby: ‘â€Å"Yes, but of course I’ll say I was.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Scott Fitzgerald 137-143). – Fitzgerald placed the first quote as a foreshadowing of Myrtle’s death. I don’t understand why Gatsby and the other characters mourn for Myrtle, they act if it was just a normal day by day event. It’s interesting how Gatsby spoke as if Daisy’s reaction was the only thing that mattered. â€Å"He put his hands in his coat pockets and turned back eagerly to his scrutiny of the house, as though my presence marred the sacredness of the vigil. So I walked away and left him standing there in the moonlight — watching over nothing.†(Scott Fitzgerald 145) -Before the trip into the city and the accident, Gatsby was convinced that Daisy was in love with him and would without a doubt leave Tom for him. When he watches Daisy and Tom in the kitchen, the reality of the situation is starting to hit him. Ever since he and Daisy fell apart when she married Tom, he has entirely devoted his life to getting wealth to impress Daisy and win her back. He has devoted his whole life and heart to this woman, and so as he watches her slipping away from him again, he knows nothing more than to return to his vigil over the woman that has controlled his life.

Spread of English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Spread of English - Essay Example For this reason, the explosion of English as lingua franca of globalization is considered a triumph for America. It amounts to a global conquest for American culture and way of life, considering that language serves not only as medium of communication but also as repository of national identity, culture and even body politic. In that sense, the American English that is sweeping the planet in lockstep with globalization also poses a threat to the competitiveness and cultures of UK, not to mention France, Germany, Spain and other European Union member-countries. It will destroy or at least marginalize much of local cultures (The Economist, 2001). That this inexorable spread of English in its present form is a triumph benefiting no one else but the US is demonstrated by the increasing interest around the world in things American. Everyone has heard of the worldwide phenomenon called "McDonaldization," in which consumers swear by the same tastes for food and service. McDonald's is of course synonymous with America and as McDonald's stores saturate the planet and find enthusiastic acceptance everywhere, it promotes American values and culture and fortifies its position as a world power. This global homogenization of consumer culture is only one indication of the growing predominance of America put on track by the spread of its brand of English. In 2004, a study called Research International Observer (RIO) was mounted to determine the extent by which US-made consumer goods have homogenized consumer tastes and needs around the world. The survey was held at a time when anti-American sentiment was especially strong because of perceived US intervention in the internal affairs of other sovereign nations. It was found that consumer goods that mirror American cultural values are in fact held in high esteem around the world although some may fault American politics and policy (Tait, 2004). A group of respondents in Panama, for example, agreed that however ugly America and its politics are, "all we care about are their brands." The Turkey respondents echoed the same view, saying "our political view has nothing to do with our behavior as consumers." At the rate this language- driven Americanization process is going on, Cohen (2006) and Graddol (2006) indicate that it is only a matter of time before American politics, warts and all, gains the same level of blind acceptance as all made-in-the-USA products. Globalization There is no doubt that such spread of English has political underpinnings, the same way globalization was politically oriented when the rich and powerful nations first embarked on it over 100 years ago. At the start, globalization was called by another name, which was colonization (Thurow & Lessard, 2002). In the poorer countries, the colonizers sought gold mines, oil fields and raw materials that would enhance their wealth. Among the more active colonizing powers in the early days were England, America, France, and Spain. They occupied the poorer countries and effectively enlisted these colonies in the community of nations. In the process, the colonizing powers introduced their colonies to their respective languages to facilitate communication

Exploring Strategies For Reducing Hospital Errors Research Paper

Exploring Strategies For Reducing Hospital Errors - Research Paper Example Later, using the quantitative techniques the benefits realized were determined as a result of the implementation. The research methodology used for this research paper was the survey design. A random sample of the hospitals was selected from all over the state and accordingly the perceived importance and the implementation of the error reducing strategies was checked using a questionnaire as the data gathering instrument. The target population was identified and the questionnaires were distributed via the electronic media. A follow up was made about whether the questionnaire was received to the right person by making phone calls. The problem statement of a research study is basically a set of puzzles that the researcher intends to solve. The statement may not be a single statement presenting the problem; rather it could constitute few paragraphs or multiple points covering the problem area. However, they should â€Å"present a concise description of the nature of the problem to be investigated† (Blaikie, 2000, p.16). With respect to this, the problem statement of this research paper is very well presented. It is actually covered in four very concise points which identify the problem areas that are dealt in the research paper. They deal with the variables identified (dependent, independent and moderating) with which all the study relates to. However rigorous the study might be, the vitality of selecting the appropriate sample and targeting the key respondents can not in any case be ignored; for a failure with this part of the study would result in the whole study being fruitless as the validity of the results could well be challenged. The research paper under consideration deals with the perceived importance and the implementation of the error reducing strategies in the hospitals and the barriers that come in the way. With respect to that, the key respondents that were identified for the

Individual Case for Taxation Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Individual for Taxation - Case Study Example In joint tax return, there are deductions for itemized and standard deductions from adjusted gross income. Standard deductions are income amounts that non-itemizers subtract from their contributed income basing on the filing status. The examples of such deductions are medical expenses, charitable contributions, home mortgage interest and property taxes. Itemized deductions are deductions from the taxpayer’s gross income for money spent on goods and services throughout the year. The deductions convert taxable income into non-taxable income that one spends on various taxes privileged items. The examples of such itemized deductions are interest paid on investments, casualty and theft losses, hobby expenses and cash contributions to charity and churches. A thorough examination of the items in the joint tax return reveals that the following items will be claimed: firstly, the real estate tax for example registration fees for motor will be claimed to convert the taxable amount to non taxable income. Moreover, interest margin paid on investments of the couple either jointly or separately is claimed (Genders 2013). Additionally, medical expenses for the betterment of couples’ life shall be accounted for in joint tax return to relieve them. Nevertheless, expenses and charitable contributions that are contributed by the couple will be claimed for deduction in the process of taxation. From the above calculation, 2013 has a better taxable income to the revenue authority because of the less personal exemptions deductions that are deducted from the adjusted gross income. For instance in the scenario in, we have taxable income of $102800 as compared to year 2014 where we have a taxable income of $ 102750. The effect is brought in by a decrease in the personal exemptions by $50. Other issues to be identified are: the age of the couple whether they are above 65 years or less. This helps in determination of the standard

The effects of fluency, vocabulary, and language development on Research Paper

The effects of fluency, vocabulary, and language development on comprehension - Research Paper Example In addition, different factors such as phonemic awareness, alphabetic understanding, fluency, genre consideration, vocabulary and language development affects comprehension. Effects of fluency on comprehension Fluency refers to the speed, accuracy and expressions that an individual applies while reading a text. It also involves the application of varied skills while reading a text. It is vital to conduct an accurate assessment that will analyze readers’ speed, accuracy and expression. Fluency is fundamental in literature because it influences comprehension. Lack of fluency affects an individual’s performance because an individual usually applies cognitive skills while trying to identify words. It also influences students’ comprehension because when the material and volume of work in school increases, the students who are not fluent face many barriers when trying to keep up with schoolwork (Nagy, 2008). Students who are not fluent also have trouble comprehending t exts. Furthermore, they usually shun oral and silent reading because they do not want to fail. This affects their comprehension. Fluency is vital in comprehension because it connects with decoding and reading of comprehension. Therefore, fluency acts as a connector between decoding and comprehension; furthermore, it highlights the capability of an individual to decode varied words from a given text. If an individual moves quickly and accurately through the words in a given text, then the individual’s decoding skills are perfect. This implies that the person can comprehend the text easily. Finally, it is important for students to practice fluency in their reading because it enables them to increase their reading speed and comprehension skills; thus, improving their performances (Nagy, 2008). Effects of vocabulary on comprehension Vocabulary refers to the study of different concepts including the meaning of words as each word has a different meaning. It also determines the appl ication of the words, the root words, analogies, prefixes and suffixes. There is a very strong relationship between vocabulary and comprehension (Wagner, Andrea & Kendra, 2007). This is because; vocabulary acts as a predictor of reading capabilities of an individual. An individual who is knowledgeable about vocabulary has an advantage when it comes to comprehension (Wagner, Andrea & Kendra, 2007). Vocabulary knowledge is also essential to students because it helps them in decoding, which facilitates comprehension. In addition, vocabulary knowledge is fundamental to learners because it allows them to comprehend their first and second language. This is because students with less information concerning vocabulary are unable to comprehend the given texts. Inadequate knowledge on the vocabulary affects the performance of students in their test passage and questions because they encounter problems while trying to comprehend the texts. Therefore, it is important for students to vocabulary because it helps them in determining the meaning of varied words; thus, increasing their comprehension level. Vocabulary is important to children because its absence leads to comprehension problems especially when they find new words in a given text. Therefore, knowledge on vocabulary is beneficial as it helps a

Internet communities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Prejudice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Prejudice - Assignment Example of political prejudice was against the election of a particular political candidate in the Senate because he believed that that candidate was not suitable for office. He utilized any opportunity he got to campaign against a candidate. Those who listened to his stereotypical arguments against him would discriminate and support his opponent after being convinced of that particular candidates inability to lead. During that particular election, the candidates opponent made it into the senate. It was so relieving for the instigator. The candidate whom he had so much supported for office got into office and the developments of the area he represented in the senate stagnated. It was so disappointing for the people who elected him into office. Before even his term could end, people were already tired of his leadership and they tried to oust him from office but it was not possible. During the following election, the senator was unable to win even in the primary elections. The candidate who had lost in the past elections won in both the primaries and also in the general elections. When he took office as the senator of the area, he was able to change and improve the area to a noticeable point. The instigator was so ashamed of his attitude towards such a great leader and took more interest in his leadership. If only the instigator had not built the belief towards the good senator, probably, was elected into office in the previous term, then, the area would not have suffered bad

What are the motivations of people who become volunteers at major Essay

What are the motivations of people who become volunteers at major sport events - Essay Example The purpose of the research was explained and the authorities were assured that names and information would not be shared. Once the University authorities granted permission, their help was sought in identifying students that had worked as sports and non-sport volunteers. The Universities came forward will all support. Once the participants for the focus group was identified, informed consent of the participants was then taken. The responses and communication over Skype was fairly stable although at times the researcher did have to ask the respondents to repeat their answers. Connectivity being good, all the participants could express their views clearly, except for two participants who had some issues with the English language. To combat this, efforts were made to make them repeat their views so that minimum distortion in understanding takes place. Care was taken to ensure that all the participants to the focus group were between the age of 20 and 25 years, since this was focused on students’ motivation in sports volunteering. Out of a total of 12 participants in three different groups, 4 were female students and 8 male students. Students were all of Chinese nationality and hence this was a homogenous group, which enhances the responses and participation in focus group studies. This helped the researcher to make the group relax with light comments about sports and general discussions about volunteering before steering the group towards specific questions. This was an effort by the researcher to guide the group. The first group that was interviewed comprised of those who volunteer for sports. More than 50% respondents agreed that they volunteer for sports based on their interest in sports such as football. In fact some of them even play while others are sports enthusiasts. However, one of the participants in the focus group admitted that he ‘did this to help others’. Strong correlation has been found between volunteering and career prospects.

Week 5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 5 - Assignment Example The Learning Team had found that the initial ethics program that had been implemented by the company for over a year had lacked major factors that are needed for the proper upbringing of the ethics practiced within the company. The previous ethics program did not take into consideration the checking up on the rest of the staff that were working under the supervisors and managers. Studies have shown that training classes that are aimed at all of the employees in a company are the best teachers with regard to ethical behavior and meeting the expectations of the company’s top officers (Hadden, 2009). Proper enforcement of the company policies are also in need of improvement as a number of employees take for granted the lack of discipline that is given to them by the managers and supervisors. Seeing the changes that need to be made in order to improve the company, the Learning Team suggests the following in order to address the needed changes in the Ethics program within the company: gaining proper feedbacks from company employees and ethical training for employees. In order to address to the training for the employees at hand, studies have shown that a role playing type of company training would help employees interact more with one another and build rapport with one another. Proper ethics training would prove to create a good amount of accountability and would result to an environment that workers would make the right decisions in terms of ethics and thus include the maintenance of a highly productive work environment for them to stay in (Hadden, 2009). In order to get results on the implementation of the new set of company policies on the employees, rewarding systems are one way of catching the attention of the employee but instead of the reward, per se, attracting the employee, the work that comes from the reward would be something they would strive for more.

What if it Were You Essay Example for Free

What if it Were You Essay Probably the most debated topic today is abortion. It is uncommon for the topic to be brought up when new friends are first meeting because almost everyone has a stand on the issue, and there are only two possible stands (which happen to be largely the opposite). According to the Websters dictionary, the definition of abortion is: expulsion of a fetus from the womb before it is viable. You might say that this definition is a little unclear because we must ask, what does Webster mean by viable? In the same edition, the definition of viable is: able to take root and grow. Now I dont know about you, but I think that if you nourish and feed a fetus from the first day of conception properly, it will be able to take root and grow. If you dont believe me, every single human life today (including yours and mine) are walking proof of this. So then, if the definition of abortion is a fetus expelled before it can take root and grow, the definition contradicts itself, and abortion is therefore the expulsion of a human. Now where Im from, expulsion of a human is a crime in which in most cases is punishable by death if not life imprisonment. I cant even begin to understand how the issue of abortion is even a question, or  much less exists! What a sick and twisted world we live in. Its a good thing for all those hardcore pro-choicers out there that their mothers happened to be pro-life. Ironic, huh? I am going to give a few arguments against abortion, and I will then look at the opposing views and make a rebuttal. The first and foremost argument is that abortion is just wrong it is the killing of the innocent(Pearce 7). Considering that the majority of America and this world believe in (a similar) God, God definitely is pro-life (or at least his mother was). Anyone that wants to follow God simply cannot be for abortion under any circumstances. God is the creator of life and intended for a child to be born the natural way not sucked up by a vacuum and discarded into a trashcan. Now if youre not one of those people that believe in God, you might still be against murder. Im telling you that abortion is no different than murder. The major question that comes into  mind for many Christians is: When does a fetus/baby have a soul? or rather, When is the fetus a human? A medical group of biochemists and geneticists were asked the same question, and found 19 to 1 that: The majority of our group could find no point in time between the union of sperm and egg, or at least the blastocyst stage, and the birth of the infant at which  point we could say that this was not a human life. A good comparison to remember is that a fetus is to a baby as a ten year old child is to an adult: each is just an older version of the former (and all are human). There are many women that have now gone insane because of abortions. They realize what they have done and feel as if they have killed the very child they should have loved(Green 1). The number one comeback to any pro-life arguments is that abortion is the womans right to choose. My rebuttal is simply, What if the aborted fetus was a female (or hence a woman), Where the heck was her so-called right to choose? The same excuse can be made for a mother of ten children all under the age of 11, that wants to kill herself. She might say, Its my body, my life, why the heck cant I commit suicide? I have the right to choose death. I would say that no, she really doesnt have that right because she will be affecting at the lives of at least ten other people. Im gonna guess that those ten kids cant probably survive too well without her. So does she have the right to choose death of her own body, much less that of somebody elses (the unwanted fetus)? Heck NO! My question is why doesnt a woman have the right to choose  right after the baby has been born? Or does she. Partial-birth abortion is a practice supported by many pro-choicers in which the baby is killed after it has partially been born. If a woman held a gun to her child after it was halfway out and shot it, would it be murder? What about  ¾ of the way out? What if the baby is only connected by the toe, or to the umbilical cord? Its considered murder if the mother shoots her baby once it is completely out of the womb. a In regards to my statement that women who have had abortions often go insane, many people believe that it is the fault of us pro-lifers that we are too harsh, and therefore make them feel remorseful. The fact is, the truth hurts. If someone killed someone, and then was told how bad it was, they would feel sorry too. Everyone today wants to never be told what is right and wrong, so that they cant be held culpable for their actions. That is just like Platos allegory of the cave, in which everyone is tied up and watches shadows on the wall, not realizing that there is another world out there. One man (Socrates) unties himself and escapes. When he comes back to tell everyone about this whole new world, they beat him up and choose to deny it. And as in Platos day, there are many of us who  wish not to see the truth and take the easy way out. We must all do what Socrates did: escape from the world and find and preach the truth. Another argument made for abortion is: What if a teenage girl is raped? My answer is Give it up for adoption! One might answer me back and say, There are already too many orphaned kids who arent that well taken care of. My answer is to ask those poor orphaned kids if they would rather be alive than dead by putting a gun up to their head, or better yet, threaten them with a vacuum to suck their brains out. I can almost guarantee you that they will choose life, and be happy that their mothers also did. One final argument for abortion is people want to know what if the child will be disabled? First of all, go see the movie that is based on a true story, RADIO. Disabled people can teach so many people how to love. They have taught me what unconditional love is. But aside from all this, just like with the orphaned kids, just put a gun up to them, and they will probably give you some indication to stop. After reading a first draft of  this essay, one of my peers asked me, Should a person who has no sign of consciousness (retarded) and does nothing good to this world be entitled to live? My answer is Why would they  not be entitled to live? Even if we knew that someone was going to do harm to this world, it would be murder to kill him. If someone had killed Hitler before he had done so much evil, it wouldve still been murder. There once was a pregnant woman who had syphilis and was an alcoholic, and the father was also an alcoholic. Should she have aborted her baby, who had such a high risk of turning out deformed? If she had aborted that baby, she wouldve killed Beethoven. (True story!) Finally, I would like to conclude with the steps in an abortion process. There are types of induced abortions: Dilatation and curettage; Suction; Hysterotomy; and saline poisoning. Dilatation and curettage, or D and C is a process by which the doctor sticks an instrument (curette) up into the uterus, and cuts the baby to pieces, and then scrapes all the pieces out (Wilkes 18). Blood is not uncommon. Suction is a method by which the baby is sucked through a vacuum and then spit into a tube into many pieces. Hysterotomy is similar to a Caesarian section in which the doctor cuts open the mothers stomach, and then throws the baby away. (See pictures attached.) The saline poisoning method is done by injecting a needle of poison into the amniotic sack of the baby, and watching it go into  convulsions for about an hour, and then dies. The mother goes through labor, and delivers a dead baby. By the way, science now tells us that a baby has a fully developed nervous system at three months, and can thus feel everything. In the movie The Silent Scream, the doctors poke the baby, and you can see it jump and writhe in pain. People today just dont have hearts anymore. So I hope I have convinced you that abortion is wrong and evil, and must be banned. Some say that there is another civil war to be fought over  abortion. This might seem a bit rash, but the truth is, abortion is that serious.

Hybrid and electric cars Essay Example for Free

Hybrid and electric cars Essay Several types of vehicles which use alternative sources of energy have already been developed. These are mainly aimed at controlling the levels of air pollution and to provide a cheaper means of technology, especially with the increasing oil prices. With today’s current economic situation, many money saving cars have hit the road, such as hybrids from Toyota and Honda. However, our society thinks that the hybrid or electric car is a recent advancement, when in fact there were actually more electrics than gas fueled cars on the road in the 1800s. The aim of this research paper is to find out why the society is oblivious to this fact. The history of the electric car The history of the electric vehicle started from the first successful attempt to store electrical energy made by Alessandro Volta in Italy in 1800. The next event of major significance was in 1921, when Michael Faraday demonstrated that wire rod carrying electric current supplied by a Volta pile would rotate around a fixed magnet of one end and was unconstrained by allowing it to hang in a bath of mercury. He also showed that the magnet would rotate around the wire if the fixed and moving elements were reversed. Furthermore, the direction of rotation was reversed if the polarity of the electric current was reversed. This was the principle of the electric motor. In 1832, an electric motor was operated by having a bar magnet mounted on a shaft rotating inside stationary coils of wire in which the electric current was successfully switched by contacts on the shaft. The first electric motor was first constructed in 1968, but it was not until 1973 that the first road vehicles were driven. Interest had also developed in competitions between internal combustion-engine vehicles to show which was superior in speed and reliability. Leitman etal, pg 62-67) While all these developments in electric vehicles were going on, the gasoline fueled internal combustion engine vehicles were also being rapidly developed, so that by 1900, the market for automobiles was almost equally divided between the three contenders of steam, electricity and gasoline. Enthusiasm of the electric vehicle was strong at this time; primarily because of its ease of starting without tiresome need to hand crank the engine. The12 years from 1900 to 1912 was the golden age for electric vehicles, although gasoline-powered vehicles were developing rapidly over this period. In 1903, there were more electric vehicles in London than these powered by the internal combustion engine, but this situation did not last for long. By 1909 when the model T was launched it was already clear that the race for personal transport had been won by internal combustion engine This did not stop the number of electric vehicles in use in the USA increasing to a peak of 30,0000 in 1912. However, by this date, there were 900,000 gasoline engine vehicles on the road in that country, and comparable numbers in Europe. Slowly, the electric car manufacturers went out of business, or started manufacturing gasoline powered vehicles. Leitman etal, pg 62-67) Pollution in the modern era From the 1970s, the interest in electric cars began to appear again; air pollution caused by gasoline engines was beginning to be of concern and a number of small firms were set up to try and met the new demand of electric vehicles. The Ford Motor Company of Britain was asked to look at the possibility of designing a small electric car for urban use which was small enough to occupy minimum road and parking space, had high maneuverability, minimum pollution, was simple to operate and had low initial and running costs. Plant etal, pg 234) The 1990 mandate At the beginning of the 1990s, the electric vehicle had already been improved. They became more marketable, and people preferred them more than the other vehicles. One of the reasons that people preferred to use these vehicles was the fact that they did not use fuel. It was also cheaper and easy to recharge them. These cars were more effective in the 1990s, when the concerns for the environment were on the rise. This forced most car manufacturing industries, being led by General Motors to start manufacturing the electrical vehicles. Since the rate of emissions from gas fueled cars was increasing, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 was enacted. This Act required a reduction in the vehicle emissions (so called Tier 1 controls) by the 1994 model year. It also authorized even stricter Tier II controls on a contingency basis, which was to be imposed by 2004 by the EPA administrator, if further studies showed that they needed, technically feasible, and cost effective. The 1990 Act also put up standards to check the evaporative emissions (emissions that occur after engines are shut off. ) (Collantes etal) California, being the leading state in air pollution, was required by the 1990 law to impose stricter vehicle emissions standards. The state therefore made it a requirement that the manufacturers achieve in stages, fleet-weighted average emissions that would have been lower than the ones mandated by the federal Tier I regulations, beginning with the 1994 model year. All The car manufacturers were authorized to manufacture several zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs, effectively electric-powered cars) by 1998. They were also required to have achieved a total market share of at least 10% by the year 2003. The Clean Air Amendments Act of 1990 also stated that other States should opt to voluntarily set the Environmental Conservation standards that had been set by California. Some of the North Eastern States, including New York and Massachusetts imposed similar rules in their states. The Ozone Transport Commission, through another provision of the 1990 Act, was also persuaded by some of its members to ask the EPA to pass the auto technology measures on the whole region. The imposition of the laws was required because some of the states had no intention of passing the Californian standards voluntarily. If EPA had passed these auto technology measures on all the states, then the electric cars would have taken over 40% of the entire U. S auto market. (Collantes, etal) However, this petition was debated on a lot. It was said that the technology then was not ready to meet such high targets. Another reason the proposal was rejected was due to the fact that the battery technology could only give a little range to the vehicles, besides this, the infrastructure to meet them was inadequate. The industry instead proposed an alternative to the Californian standards, which was to market a national low-emitting vehicle (NLEV) in 49 states. This alternative was tougher than what the law had required the automakers to do, and could meet only the first two levels of the Californian standards. It is clear that the industry was definitely opposed to the idea of an electric vehicle, because it passed the alternative laws, which required all states to ignore the zero emissions Act. For several years, the EPA was unable to make an agreement with between the thirteen jurisdictions and the industry. Also, California was successful in delaying the implementation if the zero electric vehicle mandate until model year 2003. Of all the states, only Massachusetts, Mine, Mew York and Vermont adopted the Californian requirements and refused to accept the NLEV as a substitute to the law, and the industry would not produce it either, unless they did. In the beginning of 1998, there was stiff competition among the â€Å"Big Three† U. S. and three major Japanese companies manufacturing cars. This therefore pushed them to pledge voluntarily to market the NLEV vehicles in the forty-five states which had not mandated Californian cars. This shows that the auto industry was among the reasons why the electric car was not so successful in the market. Collantes, etal) Were it not for the fact that the U. S. levels of air pollution are increasing every day, the industry would not have realized the need to manufacture the electric vehicles. Although the gasoline-electric cars were also a way to reduce the air pollution, the electric cars would have been more effective. This also shows the extent to which people and the auto industries disliked the electric car. Benefits of the electric cars Although the electric cars are a bit inferior compared to the petrol engine or diesel engine vehicles, they have several attributes. They are quiet, and therefore provide an appealing driving feel to the user. The major benefits are however on air pollution, the cars reduce the energy use and the green house emissions; they are zero emitting. The pollution benefits are also large, considering the amount of pollution generated at the power plant. The electric vehicle batteries have the capability to practically eliminate the carbon monoxide emissions and volatile the unburned hydrocarbons and hence diminish the nitrogen oxide emissions regardless of how electricity is generated. (Nakamura etal, pg 223-228) The pollution benefits would be greatest in places like California where most of the electricity comes from tightly controlled natural gas plants and zero-emitting hydroelectric and nuclear plants. They could also be of help to a country like France, which gets most of its electricity from nuclear power. Highly populated cities like Mexico City, Beijing, Bangkok, and Kathmandu, which also source their electricity from nucleus power, could also take advantage of the electric vehicles. Another advantage is that with an electric vehicle, all you have to do is to recharge the battery at home. You don’t have to worry of the increasing fuel prices or that you have to pass through the gas station on your way to work. In the 1990s, people used to worry that their batteries will run out of charge and cause them inconveniences. However, this has changed, as there are new and better batteries nowadays, with the ability to store charge for longer periods. The battery powered vehicles should be effective today, especially with global warming on the increase. With all these benefits, the electric vehicle needs to be marketed and manufactured in large scale. The government and the manufacturers need to promote the car, as much as they do to the fuel powered vehicles. A former employee of general motors in the 1990s said that one of the reasons why the electric vehicles did not sell well is because enough advertising was not done. The government has greatly contributed to the low popularity of the electric vehicles. Realizing that cars manufactured in foreign countries could attract more demand than those produced in the U. S. , it opted to support the manufacture of the fuel powered cars, which were more preferred by the public, to the electric powered vehicles. It was also ineffective because it failed to enact the 1990 Clean Air Enforcement Act. Fuel manufacturing companies, on the other hand, fearing that they would lose the market for fuel, sided with the government in the support for the manufacture of the fuel powered vehicles. The lack of vigorous campaigns to market the electric vehicles is one of the reasons why they are so unpopular today. The fact that the electric cars were once crushed to pieces shows the extent to which their popularity was. Americans have also been ignorant to the idea of promoting the electric car. They have preferred the hybrid cars to the electric cars, ignoring the fact that they have more benefits. (Paine) Conclusion For the past few years, General Motors has been trying to revive the popularity of the electric vehicles. One of the reasons that brought the realization that there was a need to bring back the electric car was the attack of the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon, and the plane that clashed in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. All these instances showed that complete reliance on imported oil is a big threat to the financial and the national security. Also, the onset of the global economic crisis, which resulted to an increase in the oil prices, made Americans realize the importance of the electric car. America faces the challenge of energy security, reduction of its reliance on imported oil and the ways in which global warming can be reduced. Electric cars could be the solution to these challenges. The ironic twist of events about national security, oil and the climate change has at last brought the understanding that to stabilize our economy; we need to use the electric cars.

Practice of Insight Meditation: Types, Uses and Benefits

Practice of Insight Meditation: Types, Uses and Benefits The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation The practice of meditation has many benefits for its practitioners. Apart from enabling the person to experience a sense of freedom from oneself and at the same time oneness with the self, meditation can also be used to govern essential aspects of life. This has led to the development of several forms of meditation, including mindfulness meditation and insight meditation. Among these two most commonly practiced forms of meditation, this module would focus on insight meditation and how the practice of insight meditation can lead to the liberation of the mind while being able to understand things you would have not been able to without its practice. The Meaning of Insight Meditation Insight meditation, also known as VipassanÄ  in Pali or VipaÅ›yanÄ Ã‚  in Sanskrit is a form of meditation practice with Buddhist origins. The word VipassanÄ  in the Pali language can be translated as being able to gain insight or to see clearly. These terms therefore are used to denote that insight meditation does indeed help an individual practicing it gain a deeper sense of knowledge of the reality of things and their true nature. The word VipassanÄ  in the Pali language can be translated as being able to gain insight or to see clearly. VipassanÄ  also has a synonym in the word paccakkha in the same Pali language (pratyaksa in Sanskrit). This term means seeing things before one’s eyes, expressing the perception of things based on experience. Owing from its roots in VipassanÄ , there is a direct experience (or seeing) that leads to the perception of things. This perception is what would allow meditators using VipassanÄ  to be able to derive meaning and knowledge from things, which can be said to be far better since they have experienced it. The practice of insight meditation is also done in cultures other than those originating from Pali and Sanskrit. In Tibet, VipassanÄ  has a counterpart in the word lhagthong. This term is formed through a combination of two shorter words lhag and thong. Lhag means something that is greater, superior or higher; while thong is used to denote the phrase to see, or to view. Therefore, the Tibetan meaning of Insight meditation can be seeing things in a superior way, or being able to look into the essential nature of things. This means that VipassanÄ  can also be expressed as being able to lucidly see things, or view them clearly. The Roots of VipassanÄ  VipassanÄ  has its roots in Buddhist and Yogic meditation practices, but it is not often mentioned in most suttas, although in the discourses and other old documents (most of which dates back to the time of the Buddha) written in the Pali language, terms such as samatha and VipassanÄ  existed. In these old writings, VipassanÄ  is used to denote clear-seeing, but then again the word itself is not directly quoted to be coming from the Buddha’s lips. What the Buddha is quoted to have used is the word jhana when he tells his disciples to meditate, although jhana is not similar to VipassanÄ  or any similar meditation techniques. Readers and scholars of the suttas claim that the suttas were not exactly the origin of the meaning of VipassanÄ  and its practice, although it is through the interpretation of the suttas that gave rise to the meaning of VipassanÄ . These interpretations were based on the debates in the ancient times about the teachings of the Buddha and how they are to be interpreted, classified and put into a hierarchy. This is expressed in the Visuddhimagga. How the Practice of VipassanÄ  Helps Gain Insight The manner in which VipassanÄ  is practiced is different from other Buddhist meditation practices in the modern times. It also has differences from other meditation forms that are not Buddhist in origins. This difference lies on one key aspect of VipassanÄ , and that is because of the inclusion of techniques that aims to develop insight in the individual practicing it. This development of insight includes the practice of one’s ability to contemplate on things, do an introspection in the meaning of these things, observe how his body experiences sensations, be able to meditate analytically and do observations on to this day-to-day life. In Theravada Buddhist practice VipassanÄ  meditaion is done together with the practice of mindfulness of breathing. Also, the impermanence of things and gaining insight into them is another key area of practice. This can be interpreted in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as they appear in the Satipatthana sutta. These are: The kaya or body (also sometimes interpreted as breath); The vedana or the feeling tone of the person (mostly in terms of sensations); The citta or the consciousness (sometimes interchanged with mind); and The dhamma or the mind objects (phenomena). Moreover, practices leading to development of insight are also used to be able to meditate using VipassanÄ  are cited in the suttas. These consists of being able to practice mindfulness breathing and the capacity to contemplate on impermanence of things. Mindfulness of breathing. To be able to successful practice VipassanÄ , it is essential for the meditator to practice mindfulness of breathing first. This can be done by having the meditator watch his or her breathing patterns and notice them simply for what they are. This means that if he or she notices that the breaths are either long or short, these would be interpreted as such. Contemplation of permanence (Sampajaà ±Ãƒ ±a). This is usually done after the meditator has successfully practice mindfulness of breathing. It is based on the belief that if you are aware of the changes your body goes through as you carry out breathing, then you can understand how the sensations you have in your body are bound to arise and pass away with time. This means that there is impermanence in the bodily sensations. When these things are contemplated on, an awareness on their impermanence and relevance is born, and with it the development of a sense of self that is independent from these things. Stages in the Practice of VipassanÄ  The practice of VipassanÄ  has the aim to allow the meditator to gain different levels of insight into things which happens as a part of an ongoing process. This insight is deemed to be able to help in reaching a stage in which the sensations and feelings experienced in the body (the vedana) slowly dissolves into the consciousness and are replaced by subtle sensory flow throughout the body. This subtle flow of sensations is called the bhaà ¡Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦gÄ nupassanÄ  à ±Ã„ Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¡a in the (Pali language, and bhaà ¡Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦gÄ nupaņºyanÄ jà ±Ã„ na in Sanskrit) or the knowledge of dissolution. The final step into this distinct process is the possession of the meditator od mental purification. The meditator practicing VipassanÄ  is also expected to experience decreased levels of attachments (or bodily cravings) and fears or aversion. After this happens, the stage of saà ¡Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦khÄ rupekkhÄ Ãƒ ±Ã„ Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¡a (in Pali, or saà ¡Ã‚ ¹Ã†â€™skÄ ropekà ¡Ã‚ ¹Ã‚ £Ã„ jà ±Ã„ na in Sanskrit) will be attained, where the meditator would have a strong foundation of knowing that all formations or things are equal. This state of equanimity (or upekkha) can be considered as a state of Brahma in the Theravada Buddhist practice. The Benefits of Insight Meditation VipassanÄ  or insight meditation can help its practitioner in developing the ability to gain insight into things or phenomena and their sense of impermanence. This ability to see this truth is what makes it possible for the meditator to be liberated from such things permanently. The longer the time that a meditator practices insight meditation, the better the improvement that he or she will gain in the perception of his or her existence. This is what most Theravada practitioner refer to as the evolution of knowledge during practice. Coming from a different perspective, the practice of insight meditation also has benefits backed by science and medicine. In a study that were conducted among Western people who were practicing insight meditation, MRI images revealed thicker brain regions in these individuals. These thickened regions of the brain are noted to be those that are related to visual (or pertaining to seeing), auditory (or hearing), somatosensory, and even processing sensations and stimuli interoceptively. These changes are also seen to differ depending on how long the meditator practice and also how long each day they spend practicing insight meditation. The thickening areas of the brain of those practicing insight meditation can be helpful in slowing the progression of cognitive decline especially in those experiencing it as part of the normal aging process. Requirements in the Practice of VipassanÄ  or Insight Meditation Starting any meditation practice is usually a challenge for meditators. It is essential that those who are teaching meditation be able to help bridge the gap between successful practice and the willing meditator. The key lies in having set clear guidelines and explanation of the steps needed to be taken to establish a good foundation for good meditation practice. Doing insight meditation or VipassanÄ  is therefore no exception. The following steps may be helpful in attaining good foundation in insight meditation. Find a special place. Insight meditation would require its practitioners to free their minds from all thoughts that would hinder it. A quiet place where the meditator can focus and do VipassanÄ  undisturbed would be best. This place may be a small corner in the house or inside the meditators room or even in his or her garden. As long as the place is free from all things that can have negative impact in the practice of good meditation, then it is okay. Feel comfortable. Most modern-day meditators come from environments that are high in stress and negative vibes. These things can work adversely if the person would want to practice meditation. Feeling comfortable not only with the environment and setting a special place of meditation is not enough. Being comfortable in themselves is also necessary. This can be achieved through cleaning the body first and the face before the start of meditation, or if there is still time before starting, a warm shower can do wonders in easing stresses and increasing the person’s comfort level. Ensure proper posture. Ideally, meditation does not require its practitioners to assume a certain position, but it would be quite difficult to focus and concentrate in just any position especially for beginning meditators. The suggested position for meditation in most literature would be the Lotus Position, although its modified Half-Lotus can also be used for those who have difficulty assuming the former. However, any position can be used as long as the back of the meditator is straight (or the spine is erect) and the manner of sitting or standing is not strained. This should be done while the person is completely alert of his surroundings, position and even breathing patterns. Just a word of caution, beginning meditators should be discouraged from assuming positions that can make them fall asleep as this would disrupt meditation. Free the mind. This can be started when the meditator seated comfortably and in peace and quiet. Relaxation is one of most important things to bear in mind when trying to free the mind of all the thoughts that has the tendency to intrude on the meditation process. Emptying the mind from all thoughts that have a negative implication on gaining insight is important to successful meditation. Observe breathing patterns. This is usually the first stage of insight meditation. Observing the way how a person breathes increases his or her level of awareness of changes that goes through the body with each breath. While doing this, awareness is gained in the nature of things, while freeing the mind from all things that clutter it. Regulate the breathing until it becomes as natural as it should. Smile. In most beginners practicing insight meditation, the presence of obtrusive thoughts and negative feelings would be unavoidable. Adding a positive feeling tone would help block these thoughts from disrupting the attainment of insight. Smiling is one way to this. When the meditator smiles, there is release of endorphins which can contribute to a general good feeling. When the meditator feels good, he or she becomes less stressed, more relaxed and meditation is better. Meditate. This is done when the meditator focuses on things and their nature in an effort to gain insight and have a clearer view of such things. More about this would be discussed in the succeeding modules. Extend the meditation process to loving kindness. This stage is optional for meditators. Experiencing loving kindness can be attained through eliminating all emotions related to envy, self-pity, anger and hatred towards others. This would allow the meditator to extend kindness, understanding and love for others and in the process extends this love not only to people but to the universe in general. The practice of loving kindness or metta bhavana requires first that the meditator learns to love himself and feel good about himself, while allowing the destruction of the selfish nature of oneself. Like other forms of meditation, this might be difficult to do at first, but continuous practice would help in mastering it. More Tips into the Practice of Insight Meditation Since the successful practice of insight meditation requires time and practice, it is important for anyone teaching or guiding meditators to stress the need for patience when the expected results of the meditators are not seen in the first few times meditation is tried. Also, since the ability to focus and free the mind is not easy on the first dew tries, ensuring that the environment is conducive enough is a must. The use of soft lights, mellow sounds (like the sounds of waves or raindrops, soft wind blowing, and nature) and music purposed for meditation can be used to create a warm, relaxing environment. Ambient noises such as the sound of machines being operated and phone ringing should be avoided. If possible, unplugging these devices is recommended. Keeping aromatherapy candles burning can also aid in relaxing and calming the mind of the meditator. Moreover, keeping candles burning can also aid in focusing since the flame from the candles can be used as objects of reference when freeing the mind and allowing the meditator to detach himself from his or her environment. The candle and its flame can also be used symbolically to denote the light of the doctrine from which insight meditation is based. In coaching the meditator on the practice of Insight Meditation, the teacher must also keep in mind that the tone of his or her voice and the manner in which the lectures are delivered matter greatly. For one to be able to be effective in teaching a practice such as meditation, he or she should have first hand knowledge and experience on its effects to oneself. Influencing the meditator positively should be one of the goals, as well as exuding the relative peace and calm that insight meditation can do to its practitioner. And lastly, it is also important that any one who wants to guide or teach meditation to be free from all forms of dogmatic and judgmental thoughts to avoid passing these on to the practitioner. Remember that meditation, especially VipassanÄ  teaches deeper sense of understanding, clarity on the nature of things, and most especially being at peace not only with oneself but with the universe as well. References: Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in plain English, Wisdom Publications What is Theravada Buddhism?. Access to Insight. Access to Insight. Bikkhu Bodhi, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha Ajahn Brahm, Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond: A Meditators Handbook. Wisdom Publications, 2006 Thanissaro Bhikkhu, One Tool Among Many: The Place of Vipassana in Buddhist Practice Glickman, Marshall (1998), Beyond the Breath: Extraordinary Mindfulness Through Whole-Body Vipassana Meditation, Tuttle Publishing, ISBN 1-58290-043-4 Behaviour Management in Schools | Theories Behaviour Management in Schools | Theories Professional Issues: Learning Behavior Abstract This essay explores ways in which children can learn to behave appropriately in school, and so in society. The main aim was to critically analyse strategies which schools and individuals (teachers, support staff and children) use to manage behavior and to consider how behavior management might (or might not) lead to children learning generally appropriate behavior. For this purpose, information was gathered through a case-study report and through analysis of materials presented in books, course materials and professional publications. The results of this study show aspects of value in the many different models of behavior management currently in use. They also reveal several key deficiencies. More importantly, the need for an integrated approach (involving school, home and the wider community) when applying behavioral policy is emphasised; these conclusions were supported by evidence from case-studies and from my own teaching experience. Reflecting wider concerns in society about the behavior of young people, the DFES has identified behavior management as one of its key policy areas. Each head-teacher is expected to have a system in place which: Promotes self-discipline and proper regard for authority among students Encourages good behavior and respect for others Ensures students standard of behavior is acceptable Regulates students conduct (DFES, 2007) Such a system, however, is necessarily only â€Å"part of the story†. Pupils’ behavior is influenced by a myriad of factors, including their interactions with staff, parents and wider society, their own personalities, their health problems and their learning environment (Fuller et al, 1994). Croll et.al (1985) stated that â€Å"the majority of teachers consider home background to be the most significant factor in problem behavior†. School policy cannot and does not aim to control all of these factors, rather it aims to provide a framework in which teachers, parents, support staff and students can work to eliminate â€Å"problem† behavior and promote positive relationships. There is great debate in the literature about the methods and final aims of achieving acceptable behavior standards in schools. Initially at least, behavior management is a simple requirement of effective teaching, in that behavior that disrupts the learning process conflicts with the basic aims of the teacher. How far, and how effectively, school discipline affects pupils’ behavior in wider society is unclear – and some researchers have argued that societal discipline is de facto the responsibility of all areas of society, and not just the education system. This paper critically examines a variety of different behavioral theories and policies, taken from the literature and from my own experience in teaching, and attempts to summarise the evidence supporting and undermining each case. Analysis in each case is based on two main criteria: Does the policy provide effective behavior control for classroom management? Does the policy influence extra-curricular behavior? This work is supported by reference to a case-study and to other relevant classroom experience, and concludes with a summary of the information gained. Section 1: Behavior in Schools: Theory and Practice This area of education is extensively referenced in the literature, but there are few summary documents that compare and contrast different approaches. This section provides critical analysis of some current policies and theories, and highlights the general importance of the results of each analysis. For clarity, work is divided in to that which focuses on behavior management, and that which focuses on developing responsibility. Policies that focus on Behavior Management -modifying behavior through regulation and discipline. The Work of B F Skinner (1974, 1976) The psychologist B F Skinner is credited with creating the first comprehensive theory of educational behavior management, based on the rewarding of positive behavior and the punishment of negative behavior. Skinner based his work on his broader theory that human behavior is determined by â€Å"positive reinforcement†, and adopted this idea to account for the more controlled environment of the classroom. Fundamentally, Skinner’s approach requires a set of clear and agreed classroom rules, and an associated rewards and punishments system. Breaking of a rule is recognised by application of a punishment, and particularly good work is reinforced by a reward. The nature of rewards and punishments varies with school, age group and teacher, but the former can include awarding stickers, merit slips and small prizes and the latter can include the imposition of extra work, detentions and so on. Psychologically, Skinner’s system is a form of ‘operant conditioning’, in which the teacher gives almost constant feedback to students in order to help them modify their behavior step-by-step. This theory (and derived theories and policies) account for a large proportion of currently operating behavior management systems in schools. Bigge (1976) and others have recorded observations that seem to support the use of Skinner’s system, and in my experience, the rewarding of positive behavior generally encourages subsequent good behavior in the classroom. I observed a classic example of this in a Midland’s secondary school, where a child (B) had difficulty in completing work in his mathematics lessons, and as a result, was frequently disruptive and ill-mannered. The classroom teacher reached an agreement with B that, if he concentrated on his work, asked for assistance when he needed it and did not misbehave, he would be awarded a merit slip for each successful lesson. Because of previous behavioral problems, B had never before been awarded merits, and adopted an enthusiastic approach to managing his behavior in order to achieve this. It will be noted that in this example, the teacher did not strictly follow Skinner’s formula in that B’s negative behavior was not punished. One problem linked with the negative reinforcement approach is that it can lead pupils to associate negativity with particular classroom situations – especially when misbehavior stems from deeper problems and is not simply malicious. The case study in section 2 provides a clear example of this occurring. The classroom teacher must use their judgement to decide on the appropriate course of action in individual cases. Particular caution in applying negative feedback is necessary when faced with attention-seeking behavior, where it may feed a child’s desire for attention and therefore be counter-productive. During a recent science lesson, a pupil (C) attempted to interrupt a class discussion that I was leading with irrelevant and attention-seeking remarks. As these remarks were not loud or rude, I decided to simply ignore this behavior, and concentrate on positively reinforcing the cooperative responses of other pupils. Within a very short time, C realised that her behavior was not going to be commented on, and joined in the discussion – allowing me to positively reinforce her contributions. The source material for this paper, â€Å"Behavior Management in Primary Classrooms†, comments on the use of ‘planned ignoring’ in primary schools: â€Å"This technique works for minimal off-task behavior that is designed to get teachers attention, such as rocking, tapping a p encil, annoying hand waving, handling objects, combing hair, etc†. I believe that positive reinforcement is generally more successful that negative deterrence, as the positive approach rewards a pupil’s own choice to behave, whereas the negative response is often seen as the teacher’s imposition of ‘rules’ on a pupil. This conclusion is reinforced by Wragg (1993), and by â€Å"behavior management†, where it is stated â€Å"It is important to underline that an over-emphasis on negative behavior destroys constructive atmosphere in the classroom†. That having been said, there are instances where negative reinforcement is necessary: punishment for bullying and direct rudeness and disruption can act as a deterrent to other members of the class, as well as establishing the teacher’s authority. Several authors (Tauber, 1988 and Gunter, 1997) defend the careful use of negative reinforcement, particularly in the case of students with specific learning disabilities. In terms of classroom management, then, Skinner’s work can be useful and practical if applied intelligently to some situations. But how far does it go towards positively modifying a pupil’s behavior in society? By encouraging positive behavior (i.e. in response to a prescribed code) and making pupils aware that disobedience will result in punishment, the policy can be said to introduce the idea of community responsibility. Aspects of positive reinforcement can be found in wider society, which strengthens Skinner’s original theory. However, the simplistic system necessitated by classroom needs does not directly compare with anything that children will encounter in wider life: positive actions are not always rewarded, and negative ones sometimes go unpunished. The main problem with adopting this policy is that it makes little or no allowance for pupil input, which makes it seem distant from their everyday lives. The reward and punishment system becomes an integral part of the school routine, but is â€Å"left at the school gate† in the same way that uniform rules are not seen as applying outside of the classroom. b) Developments of Skinner’s work. Many refinements to the original theory have been suggested in professional literature. Some of the most important are summarised below: -Butcher (2001) assessed Skinner’s contribution to education, and discussed its integration in to other, more recent work. She states that â€Å"some contemporary educators might object to using rewards and punishments to shape behavior†, but asserts that, with the support of teachers who are willing to assess the individual discipline situation, such an approach is still useful. -Jack (1996) investigated the implementation of a number of different classroom management strategies (including Skinner’s), and found that differences in teachers’ approaches had a defining effect on the success of a strategy. -Emmer (1980) investigated the importance of the first few weeks of the school year in establishing a positive classroom management stance, and highlighted â€Å"the central role of rule setting† in successful teaching: this aspect of Skinner’s theory had not previously been comprehensively reviewed. -BATPAC (Wheldall et.al, 1985), or the â€Å"Behavioral Approach to Teaching Primary Aged Children† is a model developed from Skinner’s work by researchers at Birmingham University. I have had experience of implementing this scheme, as my LEA (Nottinghamshire) adopted it as a supporting training measure between 2001 and 2004. The guidance leaflet for the course states that BATPAC (and the secondary equivalent, BATSAC) form â€Å"a rather behaviorist approach, emphasizing the now-familiar Praise and Reward approach of positive teaching, intended for use by trained tutors only†(NCC, 2004). BATPAC is intended to be a tool for experienced teachers to further their classroom management skills, and not a stand-alone solution. This is probably due to the fact that it does not provide solutions for dealing with anything but mildly bad behavior, although it does provide an updated version of Skinners Behaviorist Approach that makes use of internet an other ICT resources. -â€Å"Building a Better-Behaved School† (Galvin et.al, 1989) is another model that builds on behaviorist beginnings. The authors state that the impact of a good behavior policy â€Å"largely comes through being clear, teaching appropriate behavior and giving positive feedback when pupils are behaving appropriately. It is an extension of Skinner in that it focuses on actually teaching positive behavior, instead of just rewarding it. Galvin’s model is the first that attempts to deal with the pupil’s need to learn about appropriate behavior, and therefore starts to meet the second of the criteria mentioned in this paper’s introduction, â€Å"influencing extra-curricula behavior†. However, there is little feedback available as to the reception that this model has received, and further work is necessary before it can be recommended as a positive development. This small selection of published work is an indicator of the extent and success that Behavior Modification models have met with in recent years. However, there are a number of criticisms that can be made of Skinner’s original work, and therefore of the models derived from it. The chief criticism is that the behaviorist model assumes that pupils act as â€Å"units†; that is, that they will all respond to punishment or praise in the same way. This is obviously not the case, and is an important flaw; hence the earlier comments about teachers needing to adopt the system to meet individual needs. The problem with this is that individual teachers also vary in how they apply behavior policy, which can lead to inconsistencies within a school environment. There is little else as destructive to a co-ordinated policy as inconsistency, as neither pupils or staff have a firm base mark for determining what is acceptable or unacceptable behavior. During my first year of teaching, I ran a mathematics support class as part of a primary school’s numeracy strategy. After two weeks, I was asked to meet with a class teacher, and on discussing our approaches to behavior management, it transpired that the class teacher insisted on silence during written work, whilst I encouraged on-task talk as a form of peer-led learning. It was obviously unfair to the class in question that the definition of â€Å"acceptable behavior† changed between classrooms, but such variation is a simple reality in everyday schooling. Thus, whilst the work of Skinner and other behaviorists is a useful part of an integrated classroom management strategy, it cannot be considered comprehensive. Because of its limitations, other researchers have developed alternative approaches to behavior policy, with a focus on the broader personal development of the student rather than on responding to behavior ‘as it happens’. The next section discusses some of these alternative approaches. Policies that focus on Developing Responsibility -developing a system of behavior through experience and personal growth. Assertive Management One of the oldest alternative approaches that developed from the Behavior Management model is the Assertive Management theory advocated by the Canters (1976). Whilst accepting the idea of positive and negative reinforcement as tools for teaching, this theory advocates â€Å"teaching pupils to accept the consequences of their actions in a form of rewards and punishments†. In other words, teachers reinforce their use of behavior management by explaining why a particular behavior is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. A school psychology handbook sums up the Canter’s approach as â€Å" based on the findings that effective teachers are assertive teachers who can express their classroom expectations clearly and firmly and take appropriate action should pupils not meet expectations†. (Dosani, 2007). The major development that assertive management incorporates is the provision of a stated link between a pupil’s behavior and its consequences – a vital step towards encouraging young people to develop a responsible approach to behavior in wider society. As with previous theories, however, individual teachers will vary in their application of this behavior management tool, which could lead to inconsistencies within a school. A further development, examined in the next paragraph, attempts to remedy this by proposing an assertive management policy that is school-wide. Positive Assertive Management This approach is similar in practice to assertive management, but with the important difference that it involves pupils in the decision-making process: the school behavior policy is discussed, agreed and modified in response to pupil’s ideas. The benefits of this approach are twofold: firstly, pupils gain a clear understanding of the aims of the school behavior policy by linking rules to reasons. Secondly, and more broadly, Positive Assertive Management imitates wider society’s use of ‘rules’: the people they affect have an input in to their formation and implementation. Tassell (2001) states that, under this system, Pupils have to learn that when they have freedom to choose what they want to do, they have to accept responsibility for that choice and the ensuing consequences. Positive Assertive Management can perhaps best be summed up by stating that, whereas earlier theories taught children how to behave, this theory teaches them why to behave, and thus is more likely to be applicable in their wider lives. In terms of staff and timetable requirements, this behavior policy is more demanding than alternatives, and it requires a co-ordinated approach on behalf of the school management team. There is also the question of the extent to which pupils should be allowed to influence school policy and discipline: this will obviously vary with the age and maturity of the pupils involved. This first section has not been an attempt to cover all the many possible models of classroom behavior management in use today. Rather, it has provided an overview of two of the main theoretical approaches, and has investigated developments therein. The next section looks at the implementation of behavior management policies on a practical level, and again assesses their potential to influence pupils’ wider behavior. Section 2: Empirical Experience and Evidence As stated in the introduction, every LEA and each school is expected to maintain a behavior policy, designed to integrate all staff in to a common approach to classroom management. The key aspects of such a policy are: Decision-making: The head-teacher is ultimately responsible for the policy, and thus will maintain overall control. Heads of subject and the senior management / governing team will also have a prominent role to play. There must also be scope for feedback from staff, pupils and parents. Rules and Sanctions: These must be defined in advance so that both teachers and pupils know where they stand. Role delegation: This includes defining the role of teachers and assistants in a learning situation, and also describing the responsibilities of wider staff. As Rogers (2000) noted: Effective behavior management is essential to the smooth running of a school and in the creation of an environment where everyones rights and responsibilities are addressed. A balance between fundamental rights and responsibilities is at the heart of behavior management. a) Example of a Classroom management policy In my current school (a large secondary in the Midlands), the head-teacher encourages development and discussion of behavior policy by nominating a different member of the senior management team to lead â€Å"classroom management† every year, whilst still maintaining overall control to ensure continuity. New members of staff are given a training session that defines their roles within the policy. Individual classroom teachers are allowed to decide the extent to which teaching assistants and trainees will assist them in this area, and provide a written statement to the head explaining their decision. On a basic level, behavior in each lesson is monitored by a system of ‘Rewards’ ( R’s) and ‘Consequences’ (C’s). Each student has a diary with a small space for every lesson of the school year. If the lesson has progressed well, they are permitted to write a small ‘R’ in the relevant space. In the case of misbehavior, there is a defined system of consequences, graded for severity, which will be similarly recorded: C: Recorded in the diary discussed with form teacher later C1: 5-minute break detention. C2: 30-minute lunchtime detention C3: After school detention: parents informed C4: Withdrawal from lessons, parents informed and invited to school. Posters detailing the â€Å"R’s and C’s† system are prominently displayed in all classrooms. The school also adopts a â€Å"positive reinforcement† system to recognise good behavior, with a school-wide merits system, linked to a reward scheme (e.g. 10 merits in a term = a free school trip). Although merely a brief introduction, this summary gives an idea of how aspects of many different theories, as well as the ideas of many relevant staff, can be collated in to a school behavior policy. Example of classroom behavior management This paper was written with reference to a case-study, involving a Child (A) with behavioral problems. A shows attention-seeking behavior in the classroom environment, which observation suggests may stem from difficulties with the understanding of written and spoken instructions, and feelings of insecurity owing to these difficulties. The study details the response of the teaching assistant supporting A, who uses a combination of techniques (notably positive reinforcement and planned ignoring) to manage difficult situations. Of particular interest are the assistant’s comments regarding the general school behavior policy. The negative reinforcement applied by the class teacher in response to A’s behavior is seen as destructive rather than constructive, a conclusion supported by Wragg (1993) The failure of communication within the school and between the school and parents is also recognised; child A’s behavior problems are reoccurring because of a lack of parental support: in such a situation, school policy does not modify behavior, merely punishes it. The case study is a useful illustration of the point that a management system can achieve no long-term changes in pupil behavior without the support of other staff and parents. The writer concludes that â€Å"The majority [of parents in this school] show little responsibility towards developing good behavior and positive attitudes in their children, making the effective management of behavior extremely difficult†. Summary It is unlikely that there will ever be a â€Å"universal† school behavior management policy, owing to the vast differences that individuals (both staff and students) bring to the system. However, some degree of common theoretical underpinning is necessary in a nationalised education system, and the work of behaviorists and other classroom management researchers provides a number of potentially useful tools for school policy-makers. The work of Skinner, and of subsequent researchers, has provided useful background information pertinent to classroom management, but practical experience and training are a necessary part of successfully implementing any policy or model. Conclusions Given the brevity of this study, any conclusions reached can not be said to be conclusive, rather they are indicative of broad trends. From the research carried out during this paper’s completion, it can be concluded that: Behavior management is an integrated process, and must involve input from all relevant groups if it is to be successful. The extent to which schools can influence the wider behavior of their pupils depends on the degree of internal management consistency, the level of pupil involvement and the cooperation of parents. Theoretical behavior models require intelligent adaptation by practitioners to ensure that behavior management policies produce the best possible results for all concerned. Fundamentally, successful behavior management relies on the recognition that pupils are individuals, and must be treated as such. It is the responsibility of the classroom teacher and their support staff to intelligently apply their schools’ behavior policy to the benefit of all in their learning environment. â€Å"More important than the curriculum is the question of the methods of teaching and the spirit in which the teaching is given† – Bertrand Russell. Bibliography Bigge, M (1976): â€Å"Learning theories for teachers†.  Harper Row. Chapters 1 and 2. Blandford, S (1998 ): â€Å"Managing Discipline in Schools†Ã‚  Routledge Falmer, Chapter 8. Butcher, K (2001): â€Å"Exploring the foundations of middle-school classroom management†. Childhood Education, 78 (2), 84 – 90. Canter and Canter (1976): â€Å"Assertive Discipline†.  Canter Associates (Publisher), 2001. Cohen, J [et.al] (1993): â€Å"Handbook of School-Based Interventions: Resolving Student Problems and Promoting Healthy Educational Environments†.  Jossey Bass Wiley, Page 3. Croll, P [et.al] (1985): â€Å"One in Five: The Assessment and Incidence of Special Educational Needs†. DFES (2007): â€Å"Behavior and Discipline in Schools†. Retrieved on 10/07/07 from: www.parentscentre.gov.uk/behaviouranddiscipline/behaviouranddisciplineinschool Dosani, S (2007): â€Å"Managing a Challenging Class†.  Buckinghamshire Schools Educational Psychology Service, Vol 5, Page 1. Emmer, E (1980):â€Å"Effective Classroom Management at the Beginning of the School Year†. 80 (5), 219 – 231. Fuller, B [et.al] (1994): â€Å"Raising School Effects whilst ignoring culture?†.  Review of Educational Research, 64 (1), 119 – 157. Galvin, P [et.al] (1990): â€Å"Building a Better-Behaved School†. Logman. Gunter, P (1997): â€Å"Negative Reinforcement in Classrooms†.  Teacher Education and Special Education, 20 (3), 249 – 264. Jack, S (1996): â€Å"An analysis of the relationship of teachers reported use of classroom management strategies on types of classroom interactions†.  Journal of Behavioral Education, 6 (1), 67 – 87. NCC Course Handout (2004): â€Å"Nottinghamshire Behavior Support Plan, 2001 – 2004†.  Appendix A-2. Rathvon, N (2003):â€Å"Effective School Interventions: Strategies for Enhancing Academic Achievement and Social Competence†.  Brunner-Routledge. Rockwell, S (2006):â€Å"You can’t make me! From Chaos to Cooperation in the Elementary Classroom†. Sage Publications, Chapter 1. Skinner, B (1974): â€Å"About Behaviorism†.  Random House. Tassell, 2001 â€Å"Classroom Management†. Retrieved on 10/07/07 from:  http://www.brains.org/classroom_management.htm Tauber, R (1988): â€Å"Overcoming Misunderstanding about the Concept of Negative Reinforcement.†. Teaching of Psychology, 15 (3), 152 – 3. Wheldall, K [et.al] (1985): â€Å"The Behavioral approach to teaching package (BATPACK)†. Positive Products. Wolfgang, C (2001):â€Å"Solving discipline and classroom management problems†.  John Wiley Sons. Wragg, E (1993): â€Å"Primary Teaching Skills†. Pages 18 – 37 and 58 – 88.  Routledge.