The Strength and Weaknesses of Health Care Systems in...

What makes a health care system good? There is no such thing as a perfect system, but already some countries are pretty close. In this essay I will be writing about two of the leadings countries in health care, Germany and the United States . Given the complicated nature of the systems, I will narrow it down to the strength and weaknesses of both countries. In 1883, the first health care plan for Germany was created. The government was so impressed that it used this as the model for the nations sickness funds, which finance, deliver, and pay for care. Everyone agreed that every German should have access to medical services regardless of employment, income, or ability to pay.The plus side of this†¦show more content†¦This lead to great complexity, since all of these plans follow different eligibility, benefit, and reimbursement policies. Even though the weaknesses out number the strengths of this system, there are a few good points. For those who are eligibal or who can afford good insurance, high-quality services are available. Also, since the United States is at the forefront of clinical research,Show MoreRelatedStrategic Planning And Development Of Satellite Clinic1288 Words   |  6 Pagesidentify: what is important, define the goal, assign accountability, and allow for a process to review the plan over time (Forbes, 2011). A good strategy that is implemented properly will provide at least the expected results, if not better. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis (SWOT) along with strategies for attracting healthcare professionals, feasibility for development of satellite clini c, value adding strategies, and strategic initiatives for Pocahontas Memorial HospitalRead MoreEssay On Germany Health Care System1369 Words   |  6 PagesUS health care system and Germany health care system. After watching the PBS special video, it interested me that Germany can provide coverage for all while maintaining its infrastructure and financial stability and has continued to do so for so many years. Germany, has one of the most comprehensive benefit packages and the highest levels of supply quality through resources and benefits provided, the relatively high level of efficiency with comparable costs, ranks Germany’s health care system asRead MoreStrength And Weaknesses Of Health Care Systems Essay1591 Words   |  7 Pagesthe strength and weaknesses of health care systems in developed and developing countries with the prospects of encouraging economic growth, prosperity and, sustainable development. The past decade, the United States trend highlight that their healthcare system is the most expensive yet ranks well below other counties within the OECD. With recent OECD studies comparing the US to other developed countries like Switzerland, the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and, four others with their unique health systemsRead MoreComparing India And The United States965 Words   |  4 Pagesexamples of being developed and developing are the United States and India. This cl assification of countries is often based on their economic status. Examples of economic categories that differentiate which countries are developed and developing are unemployment levels, living conditions, and economic growth. Despite countries being developed and developing, they all are always trying to improve their economic status. Comparing India and the United States, one can gain a better understanding of the differencesRead MoreSwot of Gm1431 Words   |  6 PagesCadillac, Chevrolet, FAW, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM s largest national market is China, followed by the United States, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. (About GM: General Motors Company, Company Profile , 2010) In this paper I will provide an analysis about General Motors (G.M.’s) strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (S.W.O.T) and a brief history. General Motors was founded on September 16, 1908 in Flint, Michigan as a holding companyRead MoreExternal Analysis Business Report2178 Words   |  9 Pagestechnological and legal environment of German. Besides reporting the environment condition in German, this report provide analysis about the external environment in relation to KeepCup. In addition, this business report will highlight the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats according to the external environment in German related to KeepCup. The recommendations on the suitableness of this expansion will be based on the SWOT analysis. The report found that expanding the product distributionRead MoreAustralian Health Care and Reform Essay example3443 Words   |  14 PagesA country’s health care system refers to all the institutions, programs, personnel, procedures, and the resources that are used to meet the health needs of its population. Health care systems vary from one country to another, depending on government policies and the health needs of the population. Besides, health care programs are flexible in the sense that they are tailored to meet health needs as they arise. Among the stakeholders in the formulation of a country’s health care system are governmentsRead MoreU.s. Public Health Care2452 Words   |  10 Pagesthe highest health care expenditures are substantially higher prices and more fragmented health care delivery that leads to extensive use of medical resources. Insured and high-income Americans, however, have more problems with health care services such as not getting regular m edical treatments than the insured in other OECD countries. It reflects the lack of comprehensive health insurance coverage and higher out-of-pocket costs for care of the insured. Fragmented coverage in health care plans alsoRead MorePros And Cons Of Medical Tourism1479 Words   |  6 Pagesvery expensive in the eyes of most French physicians (Huet). In France, patients are expected to a pay a fifth of that price for hip replace, which is why many individuals are seeking France for medical tourism; and as opposed to the medical billing system in the US, in France the surgeon and patient â€Å"settle on a price and by law must sign a contract before surgery†. Something like being able to negotiate the pricing of your surgery is in no doubt very appealing, and it makes sense why people take advantageRead MoreWal Mart And The United States1862 Words   |  8 Pagesretailer in the United States is known to many of us as Wal-Mart; boasting over 3,500 domestic stores in the Unite d States, with continued growth in their numbers†¦and about 1,300 locations in Canada, Mexico, the UK (only Western), Germany, Asia and South America (Mergent). Many of these stores include Supercenters, Sam’s Clubs, and smaller Neighborhood Market centers. Wal-Mart primary focus is on based on six strategic merchandise units: grocery, entertainment, hardlines, health and wellness, apparel

Overview of the Research Process for Business Students Free Essays

What is Research? People undertake research in order to find things out in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge (Jankowicz, 1995). â€Å"Systematic† suggests that research is based on logical relationships and not just beliefs (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2010). To â€Å"find things out† suggests there are a multiplicity of possible purposes for your research (Becker, 1998). We will write a custom essay sample on Overview of the Research Process for Business Students or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is therefore an activity which has to be finished at some point to be of use. The results of research really are all around us in everyday life. Politicians often justify their policy decisions on the basis of research; Newspapers report the findings of research companies. Documentary programmes tell us about research findings and advertisers may highlight the results of research to encourage consumers to buy a particular product or brand. The most difficult hurdle to overcome in doing research is not in learning the techniques or doing the actual work or even writing the report. The biggest obstacle, surprisingly, lies in figuring out what you want to know. Two problems are very common: choosing a topic which is too broad†¦ or â€Å"dressing up† a topic (Kane, 1987) Formulating and clarifying the research topic is the starting point of research (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2010; Smith and Dainty 1991). Most research originates from a general problem. Usually, the problem is broad enough that it could not be addressed in a single research study. Consequently, the problem is narrowed into a more specific research question. A well-constructed research question is one described by Maylor and Blackmon (2005, p. 54) which â€Å"identifies the scope of the research and guides the plan of the project†. The research question is the central issue being addressed in the study and from this research objectives can be set. The table below sets out criteria to help devise useful research objectives. Criterion| Purpose| Transparency| The meaning of the research objective is clear and unambiguous| Specificity| The purpose of the research objective is clear and easily understood, as are the actions required to fulfil it| Relevancy| The research objective’s link to the research question and wider research project is clear| Interconnectivity| Taken together as a set, the research objectives illustrate the steps in the research process from its start to its conclusion, without leaving any gaps. In this way the research objectives form a coherent whole| Answerability| The intended outcome of the research objective is achievable. Where this relates to data, the nature of the data required will be clear or at least implied| Measurability| The intended product of the research objective will be evident when it has been achieved| Saunders (2012) Research Methods for Business Students, Table 2. 3 p. 44 Literature Review A literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge on a particular topic. Its ultimate goal is to bring the reader up to date with current literature and forms the basis for another goal, such as justification for future research the area. Knowledge does not exist in a vacuum, and your work only has value in relation to other peoples† (Jankowicz, 2005). It seeks to describe, summarise, evaluate, and clarify/integrate the content of previous researches and assists in limiting the scope of inquiry while conveying the importance of studying a topic to readers. Literature sources available include Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. Primary data is ori ginal data that has been collected from the original source with a purpose in mind. Secondary sources are the subsequent publication of primary literature and tertiary sources (search tools) are designed to either help locate primary and secondary literature or to introduce a topic. Tertiary Indexes Databases Catalogues Encyclopaedias Dictionaries Bibliographies Citation Indexes Secondary Journals Books Newspapers Government Publications Primary Reports Theses Emails Company Reports Unpublished Manuscripts Some Government Publications Increasing time to publish Increasing level of detail Saunders (2012) Research Methods for Business Students Table 3. 3, p82 Primary versus Secondary Research Primary data has not been published and so is more reliable, authentic and objective. It has not been changed or altered by human beings therefore its validity is greater than secondary data however it is important to remember it can only be considered as reliable as the people who gathered it. Gathering data in this way is time consuming, and incurs a high cost. More resources tend to be required and it can result in inaccurate feedback. Secondary data is less valid but it is readily available and can be reused. It is cheaper and quicker to obtain in comparison to primary data. In some circumstances primary data does not exist and so one has to confine the research of secondary data. The Research Process Research is not neutral, but reflects a range of the researcher’s personal interests, values, abilities, assumptions aims and ambitions. â€Å"The research philosophy depends on the way you think about the development of knowledge† (Saunders et al. 2000, p. 84) Collis and Hussey (2003, p. 52) highlight two main research philosophies and detail that there can be overlap between the two and both positions may be identifiable in any research project. They are the positivistic and phenomenological. Positivistic approaches are founded on the belief that the study of human behaviour should be conducted in the same way as studies conducted in the natural sciences. Therefore seeking to identify measure and evaluate any phenomena and to provide a rational explanation for it. This approach attempts to establish casual links and relationships between the different elements (or variables) of the subject and relate them to a particular theory or practice. Phenomenological approaches however, approach research from the perspective of understanding behaviour from the participants’ own subjective frames of reference. Research methods are chosen, therefore, to try and describe, translate and explain and interpret events from the perspectives of the people who are the subject of the research. The following diagram describes the research process â€Å"onion† that supports the researcher to â€Å"depict the issues underlying the choice of data collection methods† (Saunders, 2012 Research Methods for Business Students, Fig 4. 1, p. 128) The layers of research represent the following aspects: * Research philosophy; * Research approach; * Research strategy/methodology; * Time horizons; and * Data collection methods Research Approach – Deductive or Inductive? It is the theory that decides what can be observed† Albert Einstein Bryan Bell (2007) state that the researcher will either use: 1) deductive in which a theory and hypothesis is developed and a strategy is designed to test the hypothesis, or 2) inductive approach will be used in which the data is collected and as the resu lt of data analysis theory and hypothesis are developed. However, Mason (2001, p. 181) supports the use of more than one research approach, â€Å"it is worth pointing out that most research strategies (approaches) in practice probably draw on a combination of these (inductive or deductive) approaches†. What is the difference between method and methodology? A method is a technique used for gathering evidence or the various ways in which proceeding in gathering information. Methodology is the underlying theory of how research does or should proceed, often influenced by discipline. Research Strategy The research strategy is of paramount important in setting the parameters and creating the credibility of any study. According to Collis and Hussey (2003, p. 55) research methodology refers to the overall approaches and perspectives to the research process as a whole and is concerned with the following main issues: Why you collected certain data; * What data you collected; * Where you collected it; * How you collected it; * How you analysed it The choice of research strategy is dependent on the research questions and objectives, the extent of existing knowledge, the amount of time and resources available and the philosophical foundations (Saunders et al. 2007). There are various research s trategies proposed by different authors including experiment, survey, case study, action research, grounded theory and ethnography. Experiment is a classical form of research which allows studying the effect of change, an independent variable can bring in another dependent variable (Hakim, 2000) * Survey is a methodology which is usually associated with the deductive approach and is mostly used in the situations where there is a need to collect the data from a large population in an economical manner (Saunder et al, 2007) * Case Study is defined as a â€Å"strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence† (Robson, 2000: 178) * Action Research is focused on finding a way to bring about a change in a controlled environment * Grounded theory is often thought of as the best example of inductive approach as the hypothesis is developed from the data generated by a series of observations (Glaser Strauss, 1967) * Ethnography is a research strategy which focuses on acquiring the social knowledge in order to understand the observed patterns of human activity (Hussey Hussey, 1997) Ethical Issues Ethical concerns may emerge at all stages of research. Saunders et al. (2007, p. 31) summarise the main issues to consider, although ethical issues surrounding these items are not always clear: * The rights of privacy of individuals * Voluntary nature of participation – and the rights of individuals to withdraw partially or completely from the process * Consent and possible deception of participants (Appendix ? ) * Maintenance of confidentiality of data provided by individuals or identifiable participants and their anonymity * Reactions of participants to the ways which researchers seek to collect data * Effects on participants of the way data is analysed and reported * Behaviour and objectivity of the researcher Reliability and Validity How to cite Overview of the Research Process for Business Students, Essays

Henry Ford †the Leadership Qualities of One of History’s free essay sample

The examples we found of Ford’s business practices suggested he had a very direct and dictatorial management style and after years of success he failed to adapt change to his business when it needed it most. As a result, rival companies seized on changing market trends, while Ford stayed true to his vision and strategy. Henry Ford’s vision and perseverance was the reason Ford Motor Company was successful but that success would be hard to emulate in the current poor economic conditions and ever-changing market trends we are faced with today.There are, however, very few people like Henry Ford. We may assume that he won’t be as effective a leader today as he was some 90 years ago but you just know he would be successful. Ford was a visionary, and to give you an example of this around 100 years ago he gave Thomas Edison $1. 5 million to build an electric battery that could run a car (Gunderson, 2009), which proved he had a good idea how the motor industry was going to progress. We will write a custom essay sample on Henry Ford – the Leadership Qualities of One of History’s or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page That kind of idea relevant to today’s market could see Ford progress in today’s world. Contents 1) Introduction ) The person under study 3) Leadership 4) Effective leadership 5) Conclusion 6) Appendices 7) References 1) Introduction This paper will identify the leadership capabilities of Henry Ford, looking at how those capabilities are compared to theories on leadership including the author’s definition. We will also look at what it takes to be an effective leader, if Henry Ford can be considered an effective leader and if his leadership qualities would produce the same level of success in today business environment? 2) The person under studyHenry Ford (Ford) was an extremely interesting individual, hugely successful with strong self-belief and a hard working mentality. In many articles and reports, Ford gets referred to as an innovator. Yet for all his acclaim he didn’t invent anything. He was hugely successful in manufacturing automobiles and revolutionised the assembly line creating 8-hour shifts, ensuring his factories were operational 24 hours a day. He was publically acclaimed for paying his workers above average pay and after two failed businesses launched the hugely successful Ford Motor Company.He made sure that he owned the factory’s that built raw materials that were required to build automobiles and bought 7,000 dealers nationwide to ensure he had a direct network to sell cars. A more in detail understanding of Ford’s life and career can be found in appendices A. 3) Leadership The author’s definition of a leader is someone that sets a direction for others to follow, developing a vision and strategically planning what needs to be done to deliver that vision.Someone that is able to influence others to believe and follow a specific path. Leaders are not just CEO’s and Managing Directors, otherwise how would new leaders be born? A leader requires self-belief, creativity, drive, a persuasive manner and followers. It’s not just about your intellect, the training you have received, it’s also about seeing the way forward, knowing what needs to be done, getting the right people involved, creating an action plan and communicating it effectively (see Drucker, 2001).Kotter (1990) helps with this definition by suggesting that a leader is a person with a vision, who aligns people to that vision through effective communication. They build a coalition with people who can aid the development of their vision. Kotter (1990) looked at the role of a leader and how it differed from that of a manager. The table below looks at differences in functions between leadership and management. Table 1. 1 | Leadership| Management|

Understanding in the Principles and Requirements of Assessment free essay sample

Assessment is carried out to ensure that learning has taken place. This is used to measures the learner’s knowledge and skills in their chosen area of learning. Assessment can be used to encourage learners to ask questions on anything they have not understood, learners at some point will have to know that they will have to prove their knowledge and understanding to the standards of the awarding body. Learning and development are connected in the following ways. Learners will need guidance to understand what it is they have to learn and what is expected of them, letting them know if the are at the expected level of learning and how they may improve on this in order to develop their skills. Assessment is extremely important for this to happen. There will be observation of the learner initially by the teacher then to prove there knowledge to an assessor, also by teaching one to one to assess whether the learner has met the current standards and if they are competent and capable to be assessed at their current knowledge and skills level. We will write a custom essay sample on Understanding in the Principles and Requirements of Assessment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If training has been delivered and no assessment has taken place then how can you be sure that learning has taken place? If you do not assess the learner then you cannot know their level of skill and knowledge. Formative assessment is useful throughout the course and it gives the learner constructive feedback positive or negative which the Learner can use to improve their future performance. It also allows the learner to build on their strengths and learn from mistakes by listening to the assessor’s feedback. Assessment plays an important role in the education process it keeps track of the work undertaken which will allow for future targets to be set for the learner. It also helps to motivate the learner through feedback and constructive criticism where required. The assessor can also give information on the learner’s progress through doing regular reviews. The specific and timely feedback by the assessor helps the learner to demonstrate their understanding and development of skills and knowledge also helping the learner to prove their competence and ultimately the confidence in what they have learned. The key concepts are given depending on the subject matter, be it vocational or academic. In most cases you would fallow the assessment cycle this cycle will normally continue throughout the course until the qualification has been ether achieved or deferred. It is important to document and to keep records of assessments for the awarding body, regulatory authority and your organisation to satisfy them that all parts have been achieved. Above all though the Assessment has to remain fair, consistent and valid to ensure all learners have an equal and fair chance of receiving a fair assessment. The assessor cannot be swayed by a Learner to give a learner an easier assessment because they may favour the learner as this can then call in the integrity of the assessor. We also need to ascertain the type off assessment needed be this internally set or externally set. Internal assessment: Check to see if the Learner has any previous experience in the subject to be assessed. This can help target the training to the Learner. Relevant assessment in the area could also help with the rapport with the Learner by finding out the learners learning style and difficulties if any. Assessment planning: Agree suitable types and methods of assessment (think SMART principals and the performance equation to help with this) with each Learner, setting appropriate target dates; involve other if this is appropriate. Then follow the appropriate guide lines. Assessment activity: This can be assessor led with observation or questioning or Learner led with assignments or evidence of work carried out. However there should always be a record of all that has been carried out. Assessment judgments and feedback: Make judgments on successful completion or otherwise then giving constructive feedback in order to help further the learner or help for successful completion at a later date. A record should be made in order to track each learners progress. Reviewing of progress: The assessments should be able to be reviewed at any time until the Learner has completed the qualification or part thereof. Regular reviews also give the learner the opportunity to ask about other relevant issues and give you the opportunity to improve on them for the future. The assessment process may have to be adapted to be suitable to the individual learner’s needs such as learning support for those with learning difficulties needs to eventually lead to the same outcome. Word count 399 †¢ Explain the responsibility of the assessor. The roles of the assessor may not be strictly that of a teacher but more of a mentor guiding a Learner to there eventual goal of gaining the qualification by giving appropriate feedback. Also the assessor is to assess the learner’s knowledge and skills in a range of tasks in order to gain their qualification The responsibilities should include but not be limited to Carrying out assessments to the awarding bodies Specifications and requirements. Checking authenticity of any witness testimonials ? Countersigning other assessors judgments ? Dealing with any appeals to your assessment decisions in a fair and open manner. ? Completing and maintaining safe and secure records. ? Following organisational and regulatory procedures. It is also points that if you are unsure of any point to immediately seek help from your management or colleagues. Or if you are working on your own to seek help from ether other assessors in your field or from your awarding body. This is so as to insure that you are interpreting the assessment requirements correctly. It is also a point to keep to the assessment process as it is systematic and this should aid in your learners having a good and positive experience. This in turn will keep them motivated and help them enjoy the process to gaining their qualification instead of becoming nervous at the thought of a test.

buy custom Evidence-Based Practice on Diabetes and Orthopedics

buy custom Evidence-Based Practice on Diabetes and Orthopedics Diabetes and Orthopedics Abstract Orthopedics refers to the medical field focusing on diseases/ailments and injuries affecting a human musculoskeletal system. As such, this system is composed of skeletal joints, bones, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and muscles critical for daily bodily functions. Initial procedural measures were primarily focused on children, who, unfortunately, were victims of limb or spine deformities. However, with time, the field encompassed the general care of patients of all age groups, from newborns to the old. Newborns could suffer from clubfeet requiring surgery (arthroscopic) as a result of injury, while the elderly could be suffering from arthritis. The above move was based on the fact that often, people break or fracture a bone during daily routines, especially as a result of physical activities. Patients with diabetes pose problems to orthopedic treatment due to complications arising from problems emanating from muscular and other joints problems experienced by diabetes patients.

Definition of Fugitive Slave Act

Definition of Fugitive Slave Act The Fugitive Slave Act, which became law as part of the Compromise of 1850, was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation in American history. It was not the first law to deal with fugitive slaves, but it was the most extreme, and its passage generated intense feelings on both sides of the issue of slavery. To supporters of slavery in the South, a tough law mandating the hunting, capture, and return of fugitive slaves was long overdue. Feeling in the South had been that northerners traditionally scoffed at the matter  of fugitive slaves and often encouraged their escape. In the North, the implementation of the law brought the injustice of slavery home, making the issue impossible to ignore. Enforcement of the law would mean anyone in the North could be complicit in the horrors of slavery. The Fugitive Slave Act helped inspire a a highly influential work of American literature, the novel Uncle Toms Cabin.  The book, which depicted how Americans of various regions dealt with the law, became extremely popular, as families would read it aloud in their homes. In the North, the novel brought difficult moral issues raised by the Fugitive Slave Act into the parlors of ordinary American families. Earlier Fugitive Slave Laws The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was ultimately based on the U.S. Constitution. In Article IV, Section 2, the Constitution contained the following language (which was eventually eliminated by the ratification of the 13th Amendment): No Person held to Service or  Labour  in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or  Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or  Labour  may be due. Though the drafters of the Constitution carefully avoided direct mention of slavery, that passage clearly meant that slaves who escaped into another state would not be free and would be returned. In some northern states where slavery was already on the way to being outlawed, there was a fear that free blacks would be seized and carried off into slavery. The governor of Pennsylvania asked President George Washington for clarification of the fugitive slave language in the Constitution, and Washington asked Congress to legislate upon the subject. The result was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. However, the new law was not what the growing anti-slavery movement in the North would have wanted. The slave states in the South were able to put together a unified front in Congress, and obtained a law that provided a legal structure by which fugitive slaves would be returned to their owners. Yet the 1793 law proved to be weak. It was not widely enforced, partly because slave owners would have to bear the costs of having escaped slaves captured and returned. The Compromise of 1850 The need for a stronger law dealing with fugitive slaves became a steady demand of the slave state politicians in the South, especially in the 1840s, as the abolitionist movement gained momentum in the North. When new legislation concerning slavery became necessary when the United States gained new territory following the Mexican War, the issue of fugitive slaves came up. The combination of bills which became known as the Compromise of 1850  was intended to calm tensions over slavery, and it did essentially delay the Civil War by a decade. But one of its provisions was the new Fugitive Slave Law, which created a whole new set of problems. The new law was fairly complex, consisting of ten sections that laid out the terms by which escaped slaves could be pursued in the free states. The law essentially established that fugitive slaves were still subject to the laws of the state from which they had fled. The law also created a legal structure to oversee the capture and return of fugitive slaves. Prior to the 1850 law, a slave could be sent back to slavery by the order of a federal judge. But as federal judges were not common, it made the law hard to enforce. The new law created commissioners who would get to decide whether a fugitive slave captured on free soil would be returned to slavery. The commissioners were seen as essentially corrupt, as they would be paid a fee of $5.00 if they declared a fugitive free or $10.00 if they decided the person had to be returned to the slave states. Outrage As the federal government was now putting financial resources into the capture of slaves, many in the North saw the new law as essentially immoral. And the apparent corruption built into the law also raised the reasonable fear that free blacks in the North would be seized, accused of being fugitive slaves, and sent to slave states where they had never lived. The 1850 law, instead of reducing tensions over slavery, actually inflamed them. The author Harriet Beecher Stowe was inspired by the law to write Uncle Toms Cabin. In her landmark novel, the action does not only take place in the slave states, but also in the North, where the horrors of slavery were beginning to intrude. Resistance to the law created many incidents, some of them fairly notable. In 1851, a Maryland slave owner, seeking to use the law to gain the return of slaves, was shot dead in an incident in Pennsylvania. In 1854 a fugitive slave seized in Boston, Anthony Burns, was returned to slavery but not before mass protests sought to block the actions of federal troops. Activists of the  Underground Railroad  had been helping slaves escape to freedom in the North before the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. And when the new law was enacted it made helping slaves a violation of federal law. Although the law was conceived as an effort to preserve the Union, citizens of southern states felt the law was not enforced vigorously, and that may have only intensified the desire of southern states to secede.

Melissa Mayers decision related to Yahoo and telecommuting Assignment

Melissa Mayers decision related to Yahoo and telecommuting - Assignment Example In addition, the assertion by several researches is that only sustainably managed human resources ensure sustainable growth and development. In this regard, the company’s top management, in consultation with heads of departments, decided to abolish home-based telecommunicating work by its employees, and instead, have them work from company’s the offices. The company notes that by so doing it would have the assurance of long-term sustainable development. Precisely, this decision has numerous advantages especially for the good of the company’s sustainability. Working within the company premises’ vicinity, there is a high likelihood of abating the employees’ abuse of privileges and harm to the company’s productivity. Office-based work would foster better communication and collaboration between and among the staffs thereby enhancing ease in decision-making. Furthermore, the initiative would enhance work reliability and efficiency within the company while also promoting a sense of togetherness. Face-to-face interaction would also serve to promote the company’s culture (Knowl 1). Knowl, David. â€Å"Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer lays down the law, telling telecommuting employees either to show up at the office or find a new job.† New York Daily News. Monday, February 25, 2013. Web May 21, 2014. Viewed from:

Eassy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Eassy - Essay Example Put differently, incidences of sexual and high-risk drinking behaviors have been in the time immemorial become preeminently prevalent particularly among sorority and fraternity members as opposed to other students in the campuses. In opposition to doing away with Greek life henceforth, only smaller colleges have resorted to doing away with sorority; a concept whose eligibility is in questionable doubt. This paper, therefore, explains the misunderstandings and misconceptions surrounding fraternities and sororities ban in colleges. Doing away with Greek life completely becomes a complex attribute towards the limitations of college student’s freedoms and rights. Therefore, can Greek life be done away with completely? Or are there potentially unintended or intended consequence engulfed in between the ban of Greek life in colleges? Various small liberal arts college campuses have actually made the move of mitigating Greek life in their institutions. Larger colleges, on the other hand, have contradictorily failed to reject Greek life; fraternities and sororities are powerful social life determinants of these organizations. Banning fraternities and sororities in colleges is, therefore, complex in nature because of cultural diversity in this institutions and their primary concern as institutions in relation to socialization processes. Banning fraternities in colleges and its impossibilities: There is cordially the risk that if colleges crap off fraternities, then this vice will form an own house outside campuses. Fraternities and sororities are still evident in campuses, and have gained strong roots in the modern campuses more than the olden exhibition of fraternities and sororities (Lee & William 121). Exhibiting sororities currently, as a way of social life, is rhetorical thus needs no answer from anybody. Actually, the rhetorical and assumption nature of fraternities and sororities is evident in the higher education systems such as the

Crucible Character Analyses of Abigail Williams Essay Example for Free

Crucible Character Analyses of Abigail Williams Essay The play Crucible is set in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692; the government is a theocracy. Hard work and church consume the majority of a Salem resident’s time. Within the community, there are regular disputes over land; but disagreement over land boundaries is not the only simmering situation that becomes out of control. Abigail, the orphaned niece to Reverend Parris, is cast out of the house of John and Elizabeth Proctor because of her part in the infidelity and adultery committed with John Proctor. Her uncle is suspicious of her hasty exit, and even more so when he discovers her dancing in the woods. In order to avoid punishment, Abigail claims to be victimised by evil, thus causing madness that spread like wildfire through Salem, claiming many innocent souls. Yet the one who escaped punishment, Abigail, is not innocent. However, her crime, invisible to the eyes of the judges, for whom faith had replaced psychology, is not to have trafficked with the Devil; it is, with truly diabolic determination, to have brought about the ruin of the woman she cannot forgive for being married to the one she loves. Throughout the play, the people of Salem are consumed by paranoia and fear. Abigail is able to prey on that fear, as well as every other humanly weakness, and with her cunning, she is able to bend others to do her will. With a combination of lies and threats, as well as her capability to take advantage of paranoia and hysteria, Abigail seems to be an untouchable antagonist. When first introduced to the antagonist, we develop sympathy for Abigail, enters a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with endless capacity for dissembling. We are told that she is strikingly beautiful which undoubtedly gives us a brief visual aid of her appearance, author Arthur miller may have chosen to tell us this to suggest she is seductive and he emphasises the fact that she is beautiful with a powerful adverb, strikingly. We then become aware that she is an orphan, this uses the readers emotions to develop some sympathy for abigail, one could also suggest that with out that adult, mature, and older figure to nurture and advise abigail, she has not only become very independent, but possibly unaware of morals which maybe be the reason for the heartless actions she makes to get her way. In addition we are told that she has an endless capacity of dissembling, she is able to hide her true emotions/feelings in all situations, this tells us that she is a deceitful, lier but very intelligent, resourceful and highly mischievous girl. Already without abigail actually speaking, her impression has twisted and turned but is a mainly negative view. In addition when interrogated about her where about and the events that took place the previous evening, we begin to see a ruthless character unfold, one can perceive Abigails talent in the area of villainy. She lies continuously in order to protect herself. She denies her role in the witchcraft as she is being questioned by Parris, But we never conjured spirits. Not soon after she also refuses to admit other events that took place. No one was naked! You mistake yourself, uncle!. It is obvious that Abigail is a compulsive liar. She sees no problem with concealing the truth and would use imperatives to manipulate people even her own family to ensure and change their thoughts and opinions. Abigail is known to some as a Jezebel figure, someone who is commonly associated with the devil and scheming. Abigail’s evil can be seen through her interactions with the other characters in the play; she threatens Betty and Mary Warren, â€Å"Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and i will a pointy reckoning that will shudder you† this shows a side to her that is devilish, threatening and in a way powerful, these threats are used to manipulate the other girls, to take part in her evil schemes only for her selfish gain.

Nirvana - Nevermind :: essays research papers fc

History of Rock and Roll There possibly isn't an album in history that is as genre defining as Nirvana's Nevermind. Released in 1991, it single handedly was responsible for the birth of what became to be known as grunge and has gone on to sell over 10 million copies in the United States alone (Stuessy, Joe). It reached number 1 in 1991 and was the first album to bring Seattle grunge to the mainstream audience (Stuessy, Joe). Nevermind is a mix of slow, dark songs and fast paced grunge rock songs. With its grinding guitars, pounding drums, and lead singer, Kurt Cobain's distinctive voice, Nevermind found a distinctive way to fuse alternative punk with 70's rock (Nirvana, Nevermind). The biggest influential song on Nirvana’s Nevermind album was the first song, â€Å"Smells Like Teen Spirit.† It reached number 6 on the Top 40 Charts. This song was groundbreaking for Nirvana and the alternative music scene as a whole. After the release of â€Å"Smells Like Teen Spirit,† white, middle-class youth of the United States finally had a style of music to call their own and express their â€Å"teenage anthems† (Stuessy, Joe). This was the first song to emerge from alternative rock and to be known in the mainstream of rock and roll, expressing their generation’s expectations, â€Å"...here we are now, entertain us†(Stuessy, Joe). â€Å"Smells like Teen Spirit† was Curt Cobain’s â€Å"attempt to write the ultimate pop song†(Nevermind, Nirvana). He used the soft-loud dynamics of his favorite band, the Pixies. The insidious hooks also showed his admiration for the Beatle’s John Lennon(Nevermind, Nirvana). Th e style used in this song is simple, plain, loud, and straight-forward. Musically, there is nothing very â€Å"innovative† or difficult. However, the reason it is important to rock history is because it brought America’s attention to the once before underground style of grunge. â€Å"A driving drum beat, powered by Novelsek’s rhythmic bass, and a memorable guitar riff and solo, mix perfectly with Kurt Cobain’s depressing yet humorous lyrics† (Kastner, Patrick). While it has certainly been overplayed in the past years, it is still an essential part of Rock history. â€Å"Come As You Are† and â€Å"Polly† showcase that Nirvana were not only a band interested in seeing people jump up and down and scream at shows. Many people, fans and celebrities alike consider â€Å"Polly† to be Kurt Cobain’s most well written song. â€Å"Polly†, number six, is a story of a girl who got molested and tortured and sexually abused. Nirvana - Nevermind :: essays research papers fc History of Rock and Roll There possibly isn't an album in history that is as genre defining as Nirvana's Nevermind. Released in 1991, it single handedly was responsible for the birth of what became to be known as grunge and has gone on to sell over 10 million copies in the United States alone (Stuessy, Joe). It reached number 1 in 1991 and was the first album to bring Seattle grunge to the mainstream audience (Stuessy, Joe). Nevermind is a mix of slow, dark songs and fast paced grunge rock songs. With its grinding guitars, pounding drums, and lead singer, Kurt Cobain's distinctive voice, Nevermind found a distinctive way to fuse alternative punk with 70's rock (Nirvana, Nevermind). The biggest influential song on Nirvana’s Nevermind album was the first song, â€Å"Smells Like Teen Spirit.† It reached number 6 on the Top 40 Charts. This song was groundbreaking for Nirvana and the alternative music scene as a whole. After the release of â€Å"Smells Like Teen Spirit,† white, middle-class youth of the United States finally had a style of music to call their own and express their â€Å"teenage anthems† (Stuessy, Joe). This was the first song to emerge from alternative rock and to be known in the mainstream of rock and roll, expressing their generation’s expectations, â€Å"...here we are now, entertain us†(Stuessy, Joe). â€Å"Smells like Teen Spirit† was Curt Cobain’s â€Å"attempt to write the ultimate pop song†(Nevermind, Nirvana). He used the soft-loud dynamics of his favorite band, the Pixies. The insidious hooks also showed his admiration for the Beatle’s John Lennon(Nevermind, Nirvana). Th e style used in this song is simple, plain, loud, and straight-forward. Musically, there is nothing very â€Å"innovative† or difficult. However, the reason it is important to rock history is because it brought America’s attention to the once before underground style of grunge. â€Å"A driving drum beat, powered by Novelsek’s rhythmic bass, and a memorable guitar riff and solo, mix perfectly with Kurt Cobain’s depressing yet humorous lyrics† (Kastner, Patrick). While it has certainly been overplayed in the past years, it is still an essential part of Rock history. â€Å"Come As You Are† and â€Å"Polly† showcase that Nirvana were not only a band interested in seeing people jump up and down and scream at shows. Many people, fans and celebrities alike consider â€Å"Polly† to be Kurt Cobain’s most well written song. â€Å"Polly†, number six, is a story of a girl who got molested and tortured and sexually abused.

Aristotle as a Critic

ARISTOTLE AS A CRITIC. Aristotle (384-322 B. C. E. ), the son of a physician, was the student of Plato from approximately 367 B. C. until his mentor's death in 348/347. After carrying on philosophical and scientific investigations elsewhere in the Greek world and serving as the tutor to Alexander the Great, he returned to Athens in 335 B. C. E. to found the Lyceum, a major philosophical center, which he used as his base for prolific investigations into many areas of philosophy.Aristotle is a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy, making contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre. As a prolific writer and polymath, Aristotle radically transformed most, if not all, areas of knowledge he touched. It is no wonder that Aquinas referred to him simply as â€Å"The Philosopher. † In his lifetime, Aristotle wrote as many as 200 treatises, of which only 31 survive.Unfortunately for us, thes e works are in the form of lecture notes and draft manuscripts never intended for general readership, so they do not demonstrate his reputed polished prose style which attracted many great followers, including the Roman Cicero. Aristotle was the first to classify areas of human knowledge into distinct disciplines such as mathematics, biology, and ethics. Some of these classifications are still used today. [There has been long speculation that the original Poetics comprised two books, our extant Poetics and a lost second book that supposedly dealt with comedy and catharsis.No firm evidence for the existence of this second book has been adduced. Our (knowledge of the text of the Poetics depends principally on a manuscript of the tenth or eleventh century and a second manuscript dating from the fourteenth century. ] (not to write in notes)*. Aristotle could be considered the first popular literary critic. Unlike Plato, who all but condemned written verse, Aristotle breaks it down and a nalyses it so as to separate the good from the bad. On a number of subjects Aristotle developed positions that significantly differed from those of his teacher.We very clearly note this profound difference of opinion with Plato and, indeed, observe the overt correction of his erstwhile master in Aristotle's literary and aesthetic theories. Aristotelian aesthetics directly contradicts Plato's negative view of art by establishing a potent intellectual role. The principal source of our knowledge of Aristotle's aesthetic and literary theory is the Poetics, but important supplementary information is found in other treatises, chiefly the Rhetoric, the Politics, and the Nicomachean Ethics.Aristotle's main contribution to criticism may well be the idea that poetry is after all an art with an object of its own, that it can be rationally understood and reduced to an intelligible set of rules (that is, it is an â€Å"art,† according to the definition in the Ethics). The main concern of the rules of the Poetics, however, is not with the composition of literary works; it is rather with their critical evaluation. Consequently, criticism can be a science, and not a mass of random principles and intuitions. Aristotle speaks of the educative value of visual, musical and verbal arts.Both the Rhetoric and the Poetics can be considered –to be expansions of this view. We might say that Aristotle sets literature free from Plato's radical moralism and didacticism, while he still expects it to be conformable to a moral understanding of the world. For him, literature is a rational and beneficial activity, and not an irrational and dangerous one, as it was for Plato. Aristotle? s approach to literature is mainly philosophical: he is more concerned with the nature and the structure of poetry than with its origin.The origins of poetry had been grounded on the instinct of imitation which is natural to man. The first poetical works were spontaneous improvisations. The origins of the different genres is justified by Aristotle thus: â€Å"Poetry soon branched into two channels, according to the temperaments of individual poets. The more serious-minded among them represented noble actions and the doings of noble persons, while the more trivial wrote about the meaner sort of people; thus, while the one type wrote hymns and anegyrics, these others began by writing invectives. (Poetics II). † The development goes through serious or comic epic poems such as those written by Homer to comedy and tragedy; â€Å"these new forms were both grander and more highly regarded than the earlier† (Poetics II). Aristotle does not, however, decide on whether tragedy (and by implication, literature) has already developed as far as it can; but he does assert that it has come to a standstill.Aristotle makes a brief outline of the history of tragedy: â€Å"At first the poets had used the tetrameter because they were writing satyr-poetry, which was more closely rel ated to the dance; but once dialogue had been introduced, by its very nature it hit upon the right measure, for the iambic is of all measures the one best suited to speech . . . . Another change was the increased number of episodes, or acts. (Poetics II). † Aristotle also deals briefly with the rise of comedy: â€Å"the early history of comedy. . . s obscure, because it was not taken seriously. Comedy had already acquired certain clear-cut forms before there is any mention of those who are named as its poets. Nor is it known who introduced masks, or prologues, or a plurality of actors, and other things of that kind. Of Athenian poets Crates was the first to discard the lampoon pattern and to adopt stories and plots of a more general nature. (Poetics II). † The work of Aristotle as a whole may be considered to be an attempt to develop a structural and metalinguistic approach to literature.Although it preserves a concern with valuation, its main thrust is towards the defi nition of theoretical possibilities and general laws. Some critics have spoken of Aristotle's sin of omission in relationship with lyric poetry and the inspirational element in literature. This is a fact. But it does not seem so important when we look at what Aristotle does say and the principles he establishes. We can barely recognize the aspect of criticism after Aristotle's work, if we compare it to its previous state. His is the most important single contribution to criticism in the whole history of the discipline.

Literacy and People Essay

â€Å"Literacy† is an often discussed topic. Be able to read and write is not as simple as it looks; literacy is one of important communication skills in today world. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, â€Å"Literacy† means â€Å"ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society. † In other words, a person has the ability to understand and exchange of opinions and views in a society, and thus participate in this society. So if literacy is so important to everyone, then how does the reality look like? We start at very early years to learn reading and writing, so we forget that reading and writing actually are a fairly complex skill, it takes years to learn and memorize. Even in the highest level of civilization country, such as US, the proportion of literate adults has never reached 100%. According to an article â€Å"The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society† by Jonathan Kozol, there are 60 million people that are â€Å"functionally illiterate† in 1980, and he demonstrate an accurate portrait of the life illiterates live on a day-to-day basis and feel miserable. Even literate people, there are only a small number of people with a high level of reading and writing skills. In human history, the literacy was a privilege. In â€Å"Learning to Read and Write† by Frederick Douglass and â€Å"Learning to Read† by Malcolm X. They both demonstrate how important the basic reading and writing skills are and people could use it as a simple tools to impact people and auto gnosis and social change. To be literacy also is very important to people who want to participate in their society and make them life easier. In â€Å"The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me† by Sherman Alexei and â€Å"Mother Tongue† by Amy Tan. Both of their stories shows us how reading and writing provide they better future, and how difficult could be without the knowledge of literacy. So I truly believe in knowledge could change our future, and help us to build the abilities of adopting the society. And more importantly, we absorb and reveal those knowledge need to through by the reading and writing. People has their own future, that is undoubtable; but how to clarify the future is a problem that confusing many of us. Language gives a great contribution to solve this problem. Since getting language can allow people learn things and gain knowledge, it helps people know more of what our society is about and what is good for them. With these experiences, people will have a better idea of what kind of future they want and create their own dream. Sometimes, this can change a person’s life just like what Malcolm X said in his article â€Å"Learning to read†: â€Å"I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive. † In other words, the knowledge form books could impact a person from inside out. Therefore, language can help people adopt the society by showing them their future. Another ability that language can show people is the ability to fight and defense. People usually use their fists, club, or even gun as a weapon to hurt others, but in modern society with police department to stop these physical violations, what can be better than use the words to beat people. By learning knowledge, language through receive language, people also learn that these things can use to fight and defend in real life. With leaving an indelible memory in one’s mind, apparently, it is more powerful than healable body damage. Many people include Richard Wright realize its power, Richard even has some words in his essay â€Å"The Library Card† said: â€Å"Yes, this man was fighting, fighting with words. He was using words as a weapon, using them as one would use a club. † So, this is another useful effect that language brings to people, protect and fight back. There is another thing people gain form language can help them feel better in the society, which is discovery the truth. This skill, or ability, can allow people ignore the interferences on the way to success, to achieve a goal, create own future. Throughout the history, many brilliant people fail just because they were direct to a wrong way. Why they never know that? Because they were uneducated or instill something wrong, they were expected to fail. Situation in the past has shown in Sherman Alexei’s â€Å"The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me† described the difficulties that Indian kids were facing: â€Å"As Indian children, we were expected to fail in the non-Indian world. † Obviously, language provides people the ability to dig out the real truth behind illusion. Nowadays society, many people are confusing about their futures. Literacy gives a great contribution to solve this problem. At first, literacy can help people adopt the society by showing them their future. Secondly, literacy can show people are the ability to fight and defense themselves. Finally, language provides people the ability to dig out the real truth behind illusion. Literacy is important in keeping you safe and allowing you to learn and grow to better yourself. 50 Essays Bedford/St. Martin’s, 75 Arlingto Street, Boston, MA 02116 Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Literacy.

Alexis Sanchez Essays

Alexis Sanchez Essays Alexis Sanchez Essay Alexis Sanchez Essay Alexis Alejandro Sanchez Sanchez (born on December 19, 1988 in Tocopilla, Chile) is a Chilean football player, who plays as a winger or forward. He is known as El Nino Maravilla (the Wonder Boy). Alexis was named by World Soccer Magazine as one of the 50 most exciting teenagers in the world game. He began his professional career with the Chilean club Cobreloa. He played one season there before being signed by the Serie A team, Udinese. Udinese had to pay nearly $3 million for his signature. Colo-Colo then paid Udinese nearly $150,000 for his services in the upcoming Clausura tournament and the following Apertura tournament in the Liga Chilena. He scored his first goal with Colo-Colo in the Copa Sudamericana 2006 against the Liga Deportiva Alajuelense on October 10, 2006 in David Arellano Stadium. On March 12th 2007 Sanchez hurt his toe and there were major fears that Sanchezs career may be over. On March 20th 2007, Sanchez made a miraculous recovery from his bad toe and scored a hat-trick in a Copa Libertadores group match versus Caracas. On August 15th 2007, he was signed to River Plate on loan. [1] Udinese has Alexis Sanchez valued at 20 million euros. [2] On June 18th 2008 newspaper reports were published linking Sanchez to a move to Manchester United FC. Sanchez the Wonder Boy is dubbed the next Cristiano Ronaldo. International At the young age of seventeen, Sanchez has played for the Chilean National team on several different occasions. He debuted when the international team took on Universidad Catolica. He played in a friendly game against New Zealand in Chile. Prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the Chilean National Team went on a tour in Europe playing three friendlies. They played Ireland, Cote dIvoire, and Sweden. Sanchez played significant minutes in all three games impressing scouts. Despite only scoring one goal in the 2007 South American Youth Championship, Sanchez proved to be a vital part of the Chilean national team that went on to qualify for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. During the tournament Sanchez had numerous chances and created opportunities for others. However the U-20 World Cup and the Copa America 2007 are both taking place in the same month with both teams needing his services. Titles Season Club Title Clausura 2006 Colo-Colo Primera Division Chile Champion Apertura 2007 Colo-Colo Primera Division Chile Champion Clausura 2008 River Plate Argentine Primera

Assessor Award

A1 Assessor Award BY fiffi20 7317 Vocational Assessors Award Underpinning Knowledge Requirements QI. The way how I identify and use different types of evidences when carrying out assessments are by reading through all the chosen units assessment reports to have a clear understanding of the criteria/elements which the candidate must meet. The different types of evidences which can be used are, Task Statements, Work Product/ Work Evidences, Observations, Supplementary Evidences, Questionnaires, Professional Discussions and also Witness Statements. Q2. When comparing different types of evidences, I make sure the work product overs either, the Skills and Techniques or the Performance Indicators depends on the NVQ course, this get done on both the mandatory unit as well as the unit the candidate is working on. This is done by me checking the evidence against the Assessment Report and referencing the elements which have been met. Q3. When it comes to me collecting evidence I normally get my candidates to print their evidences in black and white instead of colour to save the cost of their ink cartridge. If possible I would also ask them to print double sided to save paper. I always ask my candidates if they have created any sort of evidence prior to our eeting, that way I could see if the evidence is suitable for the task and if its meets any of the elements on the assessment report if so this saves a lot of time on the candidate behalf if not, I do set my candidates deadlines for them to meet, so that way then can complete to hand over evidences. Q4. If a candidate has completed evidences prior to the assessment process I would ask them to demonstrate how they started and completed the task. I would also have a Professional Discussion with them to cover certain Performance Indicators as well as getting a Witness Statement completed by a person high then he candidate, someone who can confirm that the candidate was able tackle this task. Depends on the unit, I would sometimes also give Questionnaires to them to cover their Knowledge and Understanding. Q5. To develop and agree assessment plans with the candidates I consider all Performance Indicators and Skills and Techniques for each chosen unit, I then advise them on the assessment methods which will be used to collect the evidence and also a date/time of completion is set and agreed by both the candidate and myself. Q6. To assess the performance of my candidate I observe them while they are ackling the work evidence and I also question them this could either be verbal or written. Through this method I can pin point their performance against specific parts of the standard. evelop their competency would be to give them extra training on specific areas which they lack knowledge in and also set them task where I could observe them on that particular training to see whether or not they understood to concept and learnt from the training. I would also question them to confirm they understanding. By doing this I can make sure the candidate will be able to meet the criteria/element. Q8. Diff erent candidate have different needs, some need more training and guidance than others. So when changing assessment procedures all aspect must be considered. For example I have a candidate who is a Personal Assistant for a Head Teacher in a school which I assess in. I show her the Action Plans and Assessment Reports and explain the criteria/element which she must meet, she is able to produce evidence instantly due to IT knowledge and Job role, this candidate need very little training in her Business and Administration course as long as I explain what is required from her and her work products/work evidences. However I then have a candidate who is a receptionist at a medical centre, this candidate has dyslexia and needs a huge amount of training and guidance, especially with her Task Statements. A lot more time must be spent with this candidate and the deadline of evidence must be slightly longer then others. Q9. When collecting evidences must ensure there are no confidentially information which relates to neither the company nor their clients/customers. The evidences must be created by the candidates so that way they are valid and fair. If the candidate does not create the evidence then it is hard to identify whether or not it is air. All evidences must be valid. I must check dates and check the assessment reports. I must speak to the Manager and advise them which type of evidence the candidate will be submitting. QIO. When completing work evidences, the evidence must follow the assessment standard of the CADCentre unit standard booklet. QI 1. To measure existing levels of competence I always question my candidates, this could either be verbal or written. I also get the candidate to perform the task so Im able to observe and Judge their competency level. Q12. To make a valid and reliable assessment of my candidates knowledge I ormally hold a professional discussion with them and also given them questionnaires to complete. Q13. To make a valid and reliable assessment of my candidates performance I get my candidate to produce work evidence to support there claim, to complete a Task Statement and I then type out the Observation which will backup the task which they completed and also to reference the criteria/elements which they successfully matched. collect the work evidence and the Task Statement from the candidate and then I would go through the assessment report and tick off the criteria/elements which they uccessfully met. This is done once IVe collect all evidences towards the relevant unit. This will show that the candidate was capable to meeting the required criteria/ elements. QI 5. To check that the evidence was created by the candidate I always ask them to demonstrate who they created the evidence and also I would take down the file path. The file path is added to the candidates work evidence as well as in my Observations. Q16. To make sure that supporting evidences supplied by other people are reliable I ask the Manager to write out a Witness Statement, I would also speak to the witness egarding the candidates unit, explaining the criteria/elements which they need to cover and will be assed on. The witness must have knowledge and experience in the area which I will assess to allow them to write up the statement otherwise it will not be valid. QI 7. I always tell the candidates that they can use evidences which they previously created towards the chosen unit. For instance an ITQ candidate might have already created a Powerpoint presentation a few weeks ago and as she/he Chose this particular unit, instead of getting them to re-create another resentation we would use the same as long as it met all the relevant criteria/ elements. This saves the candidate a lot of time and effort and fast tracks he collection of the evidence. Q18. The way how I give constructive feedback to my candidates is by after the completion ofa task I would sit down with them and go over the task again. My feedback sheet will state the unit number, the task which the candidate has completed, date of completion, a brief paragraph giving a positive feedback on the task, state any issues which the candidate might have had during the task and also I ention the next stage which they will be moving on to. Q19. The way how I involve my candidates in the planning of assessment , I sit with them and explain all the criteria/elements which they will need to meet, the date of completion must also be agreed by both parties. I would also Judge whether or not the candidate will need extra training times on certain criteria/element to allow them to meet them. Q20. To keep to the data protection act I must store all candidates details safe and secure. Candidate detail must not be shown nor shared with any other candidates or any one outside the CADCentre. Q21. I have a lot of patients and give a lot of my time to my candidates who I feel lack to take part in different in their assessment. Im constantly training them to regain their confidences and knowledge. I also advise them that they can email or call me regarding any questions which they might have. I also give them the option of training them through specific area. IVe noticed that more practice the candidate has the better their understanding is. Q22. I make sure that I treat all my candidates the same, all with the same respect regardless to age, gender, race or beliefs. I train all my candidates equally, however I o sometimes give extra time/training to those who are in need. Q23. To meet the needs to each of my candidate, I assess them on the second initial visit after the signup. I question them verbally to have a clear view of the competency and needs. From that I can Judge which candidate will need extra training. Q24. I always give a feedback to all my candidates after the completion ofa task or even a unit. Again in this I will verbal talk to them as well as write out a feedback sheet. Feedbacks are very important to candidates, they can see their progressions and also identify their weaknesses. Q25. I have always built a good friendly relationship with all my candidates, make them feel at ease to ask questions and get in contact with me at any time regarding any issues which they might have with the course/evidence. Q26. To monitor and review the progress of my candidates I always complete an eight week review which states and identifies how the candidate is progressing, whether its a slow progression or an up to date progress. Deadlines are always set with my candidates and some do meet them and some do go over the deadline. Q27. Candidates are always upgrading their positions within companies. I must ake sure that my knowledge and understand of the course, assessment reports and standards are ofa high level to allow me to assess the candidates. Knowledge in softwares are also very important, as a candidate might chose to complete their NVQ in a specific software such as Access. Access is a database software which not many people know how to use and not many companies use, so to be able to assess and train in Access my knowledge and understand must be high. Q28. To update my existing skills and experience I would take full advantage of any training/course opportunities which may arise. This will enhance my skills, nowledge and also experience. Q29. I would take in consideration any Internal Verifier feedbacks, I would also constantly look at the City and Guilds web site and also sign up for the Newsletters. Q30. To improve my personal development I would again take full advantage of any qualifications and criterias. Q31. To meet my candidates needs in a safe, fair, valid and reliable manner I would take in to account there needs and work in line with the relevant legislations. As I mentioned before I have a candidate who suffers from Dyslexia, with her I need to print the text in a larger font and explain each point to her fully for her to have fully nderstanding of what is required from her. Q32. To recognise and challenge unfair discrimination in assessments I would refer back to the procedure, CADCentre Handbook. Q33. I would liaise with the Internal Verifier and then External Verifier to get advice on meeting candidates special assessment requirements. Q34. To identify and plan for issues of confidentiality and data protection during the assessment process I would either collect the Work Product or if the data is confidential then I would only request the file path. The file path is needed in case he Internal Verifier or External Verifier wanted to go to the company and have a look and the evidence. Q35. The way how I would record, store and pass on assessment decisions to other people within an agreed system would be by recording it on assessment plans and completing a summary of achievement. Q36. I would say to identify and assess things that could influence my own competence, could be an ITQ unit such as (214). By observing another person I could learn new skills on a particular software. Q37. I would liaise with my manager and request training in either a particular course, scheme, FL, CPD and also PTTLS.

How Not Meeting The Assumptions Of The Hardy-Weinberg Principle Aid In Term Paper

How Not Meeting The Assumptions Of The Hardy-Weinberg Principle Aid In Evolution - Term Paper Example 298). The Hardy-Weinberg model is applicable to the context of populations of diploid, sexually reproducing individuals (Andrews 65). For a population to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, certain assumptions must be met. Andrews, Hartl and Clark and Hillis et al. comprehensively described and summarized the following assumptions, 1. Natural selection is not acting on the locus in question, indicating that there is no differential selection among genotypes. Individuals with different genotypes have equal probabilities of survival and equal rates of reproduction. 4. Population size is infinitely large, which means that genetic drift is not causing random changes in allele frequencies due to sampling error from one generation to the next. As all natural populations are finite and they are subject to drift. However the effects of drift are more pronounced in small than in large populations. where, p2, 2pq and q2 are the expected frequencies of genotypes AA, Aa and aa in zygotes of any generation, p and q are the allele frequencies of A and a in gametes of the previous generation of the population (Hartl and Clark 75). As there are only two alleles at a locus, p + q=1. â€Å"The Hardy-Weinberg genotype frequencies, p2 + 2pq + q2, represent the binomial expansion of (p + q) 2, and also sum to one†. (Andrews 65) â€Å"In case of loci with more than two alleles, it is possible to apply the Hardy-Weinberg theorem, in which case the expected genotype frequencies are given by the multinomial expansion for all k alleles segregating in the population: (p1 + p2 + p3 + . . . + pk)2†. (Andrews 65) Fig. 2- â€Å"Generation I of this population consists of migrants from several other populations, thus violating the Hardy-Weinberg assumption of no migration. Notably, the generation I has more homozygous individuals and fewer heterozygous individuals than would be expected under

Multicultural Concerns in Marriage and Family Therapy Essay

Multicultural Concerns in Marriage and Family Therapy - Essay Example According to the finding of the ancient Chinese history, the Hmong were a culturally unique set of Asian individuals that lived in the mountainous regions of Siberia, their original homeland. Sects of their civilization settled by the banks of the Yellow River in northern China who were later attacked by the Chinese for the fertile land present along the Yellow River. Thousands of Hmong people have resettled in the Western countries ever since the 1970s primarily in the United States. Others thou have returned to Laos under the UN-sponsored rehabilitation programs. There are about 8-12 million Hmong living in the southern parts of China. â€Å"The remaining Hmong, approximately 1-2 million, are found in Laos, Northern Vietnam and Thailand due to the migration during the mid-1800’s† (Quincy, K, 1988) The Hmong kinship system is the core foundation regarding the social and biological structure among all the other systems prevailing in the Hmong society. It is a relationsh ip based on blood and marital aspects and connects the blood relatives in the same clan, within other clans as well as between them. The Hmong that was born in the 18 major clans namely have established ties as the primary and most crucial relationship within their blood relatives but on the other hand, they do acknowledge their marital ties as secondary relationships among themselves and to those who belong to other clans.This kinship system adopted by the Hmong clan plays an important role of an institution providing various essential functions to provide of the needs of the Hmong members, their extended family as well as the society. It divides the Hmong into 18 major clans which acts as a social organization providing lifetime support, both spiritual and material, to their clan members throughout their life. Marriage In The Hmong Culture Via The Rule of Exogamy The 18 clans of Hmong support the practice of marriage through the rule of exogamy to both genders of the clan’s members allowing them to marry outside of their own clans. This rule of exogamy is a compulsory procedure which prohibits members belonging to the same clans to get married to each other reason being the Hmong rationale which states that all members (in theory) of the same clans were biologically related in the beginning and have descended from the same ancestors and thus are actually brothers and sisters. Therefore they are not allowed to get married to each other within the same clans as their own. The Formal Marriage Request (Begging) By the Groom’s Family The traditional Hmong marriage mainly occurred at an early age where the boys and girls were between the ages of 14 and 18 years (as cited in Lao Family Community of Minnesota, Inc. 1997). This formal marriage practice is started by the groom’s father along with his older married brothers who would go to the bride’s parents and make a formal marriage request. In case the groom has no father or elder marrie d brothers, he could seek the aid of other male relatives or clan leaders to help him in putting down the formal marriage r

Tradeswomen in Early America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tradeswomen in Early America - Essay Example Women of all races were expected to do their share of work, and it would have been considered odd or even unthinkable for them to refuse. Interestingly enough, many women actually became shoemakers during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but societal attitudes toward this work were unsurprising given the period. Men who made shoes for a living did precisely that - they were skilled artisans and expected to be compensated for their work. Women, however, often worked at home rather than in a shop and performed exactly the same work for little or no wages. For example, in her book Men, Women, and Work, Blewett (1990) recounts the story of Sarah Smith Emery, who lived in Essex County, Massachusetts in the late eighteenth century, and whose uncles Joe and Ben ran a shoe-making store. One time, the men received an order for "one hundred pairs of sealskin boots that had to be finished in five days" (p. 4). She recounts how, after Sarah had stitched for five days, her fianc found her "exhausted and covered with dirty sealskin oilHer account of the incident mentions no wages paid to her for the work" (p. 4). In a case such as this, a woman became a virtual slave to her family.

Tests of Significance: Uses and Limitations

Tests of Significance: Uses and Limitations Abstract Statistical tools are undoubtedly important in decision making. The use of these tools in everyday problems has led to a number of discoveries, conclusions and enhancement of knowledge. This ranges from direct calculations using general statistical formulas to formulas integrated in Statistical software to fasten the process of decision making. Statistical tools for testing hypothesis, significance tests are strong but only if used correctly and in good understanding of their concepts and limitations. Some researchers have indulged into wrong usage of this tests leading to wrong conclusions. This paper looks at the different significance tests (both parametric and non-parametric tests) their uses, when to be used and their limitations. It also evaluates the use of Statistical Significance tests in Information Retrieval and then proceeds to check the different significant tests used by researchers in the papers submitted to Special Interest Group on Information Retrieval (SIGR) in the period 2006, 2007 and 2008. For the combined period 2006-2008, including the years 2006 and 2008, of the papers submitted had statistical tests used and of these tests were used wrongly. Key Words: Significance Test, Information Retrieval, Parametric Tests, Non-parametric Tests, Hypothesis Testing Chapter One 1.0 Introduction Statistical methods play a very important role in all aspects of research, ranging from data collection, recording, analysis, to making conclusions and inferences. The credibility of the research results and conclusions will depend on each and every step mentioned above; any fault made in these steps can render a research carried out for several years, spending millions of shillings to be worthless. This does not mean carrying any test and mincing figures shows that statistics has been used in the given research; the researcher should be able support why he or she used that specific test or method. Misuse of significance test is not new in the world of science. According to Campbell (1974), there are different types of statistical misuse: Discarding unfavorable portion of data This occurs when the researcher selects only a portion of data which produces the results that he/she requires perfectly while discarding the other portion. After a well done research, the researcher might get values that are not consistent to what he/she was expecting. This researcher might decide to ignore this section of data during the analysis so as to get the â€Å"expected results†. This is a wrong take since the inconsistent data could give very new thoughts in that particular field that is if these irregularities are checked and explained why they occurred, more ideas abut that area can be explored.. Overgeneralization Sometimes the conclusions from a research can only work on that particular research problem but the researcher might blindly generalize the results obtained to other kinds of research similar or dissimilar. Overgeneralization is a common mistake in current research activities. A researcher after successfully completing a research on a particular field, he/she might be tempted to make generalizations reached in this research to other fields of study without regarding the different orientations of these different populations and assumptions in them. Non representative sample This arises when the researcher selects a sample which produces results geared towards his/her liking. Sample selected for a particular study should be one that truly represents the entire population. The procedure of selecting the sample units to be used in the study should be done in an unbiased manner. Consciously manipulating data Occurs when a researcher consciously changes the collected data in order to reach a particular conclusion. This is mainly noticed when the researcher knows exactly what the customers aim are, so the researcher changes part of the data so that the aim of that research is covered strongly. For example if a researcher is carrying out a regression analysis and does a scatter plot, if he/she sees that there are many out liers,the researcher might decide to change some values so that the scatter plot appears as a straight line or something very close to that. This act leads to results which are appealing to the customer and the eyes of other user but in real sense does not give a clear indicator of what is really happening in the population at large. 1.0.5 False correlation This is observed when the researcher claims that one factor causes the other while in real sense both two factors are caused by another hidden factor which was not identified during the study. Correlation researches are common in social sciences and sometimes they are not adequately approached, this leads to wanting results. In correlation studies say to check if variable X causes variable Y, in real sense there are four possible things. The first one is that X causes Y,secondly Y causes X, third is X and Y are both caused by another unidentified variable say Z and lastly the correlation between X and Y occurred purely by sheer luck. All these possibilities should be checked while doing these kinds of study to avoid rushing into wrong conclusions. False causality can be eliminated in studies by using two groups for the same experiment that is the â€Å"control group (the one receiving a placebo)† and the â€Å"treatment group (the one receiving the treatment)† . Even though this method is efficient, implementing it raises very many challenges. There are ethical issues like when one patient is given a placebo (effect less drug) without his/her conscious and the other group given the right drug. One question comes to mind; is it ethical to do this to the first group? Carrying out the experiment in parallel for two different groups can also prove to be very expensive. 1.0.6 Overloaded questions. The questions used in survey can really affect the outcome of the survey. The structure of questions in a questionnaires and the method of formulating and asking the questions can influence the manner in which the respondent answers the questions. Long wordy questions in a questionnaire can be too boring to a respondent and he/she might just fill the questionnaire in a hurry so that he/she finishes it but does not really care about the answers that he/she has provided. The framing of questions can also yield leading questions. Some questions will just lead the respondent on what to answer for example â€Å"The government is not offering security to its citizens, do you agree to this? (Yes or No)† Use of statistical significance has been with us for more than 300 years (Huberty, 1993).Despite being used for a long time, this field of decision making is cornered by criticism from all directions, which has led to many researchers writing materials digging into the problems of statistical significance testing. Harlow et. al (1997), discussed the controversy in significance testing in depth. Carver (1993) expressed dislike of significance tests and clearly advocated researchers to stop using them. In his book, How to Lie with Statistics, Huff (1954) outlined errors both intentional and unintentional and misinterpretations made in statistical analyses in depth. Some journals e.g. American Psychological Association (APA) recommended minimum use of statistical significance test by researchers submitting papers for publications (APA, 1996), though not revoking the use of the tests. With the relentless criticism, other researchers have not given up on using statistical significance testing but have clearly encourage users of the tests to have good knowledge in them before making conclusions using them. Mohr (1990) discussed the use of these tests and supported their use but warning researchers to know the limitations of each tests and correct application of the tests so as to make a correct inferences and conclusions. In his paper, Burr (1960) supported the use of statistical significance test but requested researchers to make allowances for existence of statistical errors in the data. Amidst these controversies, statistical significance testing has been applied to many areas of research and remarkable achievements have been recorded. One such area is the information retrieval (IR). Significant tests have been used to compare different algorithms in information retrieval. 1.1.0 Information retrieval Information retrieval is defined as the science of searching databases, World Wide Web and other documents looking for information on a particular subject. In order to get information, the user is required to enter keywords which are to be used for searching, a combination of objects containing the keywords are usually returned from which the user looking for information can single out and pick one which gives him or her the much required information. The user usually progressively refines the search by narrowing down and using specific words. Information retrieval has developed as a highly dynamic and empirical discipline, requiring careful and thorough evaluation to show the superior performance of different new techniques on representative document collections. There are many algorithms for Information Retrieval .It is usually important to measure the performance of different information retrieval systems so as to know which one gives the required information faster. In order to measure information retrieval effectiveness, three test items are required; (i) A collection of documents on which the different retrieval methods will be run on and compared. (ii) A test collection of information needs which are expressible in terms of queries (iii)A collection of â€Å"relevance judgment† that will distinguish on whether the results returned are relevant to the person doing the search or they are irrelevant. A question might arise on which collection of objects to be used in testing different systems. There are several standard test collections used universally, these include; (i) Text Retrieval Conference (TREC). – This a standard collection comprising 6 CDs containing 1.89 million documents (mainly, but not exclusively, newswire articles) and relevance judgments for 450 information needs, which are called topics and specified in detailed text passages. Individual test collections are defined over different subsets of this data. (ii)GOV2-This was developed by The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).It is a 25 paged collection of web pages. (iii) NII Test Collections for IR Systems (NTCIR)-This is also a large test collection focusing mainly on East Asian language and cross-language information retrieval, where queries are made in one language over a document collection containing documents in one or more other languages. (iii) Cross Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF). This Test collection is mainly focused on European languages and cross-language information retrieval. (iv) 20 Newsgroups. This text collection was collected by Ken Lang. It consists of 1000 articles from each of 20 Usenet newsgroups (the newsgroup name being regarded as the category). After the removal of duplicate articles, as it is usually used, it contains 18941 articles. (v) The Cranfield collection. This is the oldest test collection in allowing precise quantitative measures of information retrieval effectiveness, but is nowadays too small for anything but the most elementary pilot experiments. It was collected in the United Kingdom starting in the late 1950s and it contains 1398 abstracts of aerodynamics journal articles, a set of 225 queries, and exhaustive relevance judgments of all (query, document) pairs. There exist several methods of measuring the performance of retrieval systems namely; Precision, Recall, Fall-Out, E-measure and F-measure just to mention a few since researchers are coming up with other new methods. A brief description of each method will shade some light. 1.1.1 Recall Recall in information retrieval is defined as the number of relevant documents returned from a search divided by the total number of documents that can be retrieved from a database. Recall can also be looked at as evaluating how well the method that is being used to retrieve information gets the required information. Letbe the set of all retrieved objects andbe the set of all relevant objects then, Recall(1.1) As an example, if a database contains 500 documents, out of which 100 contain relevant information required by a researcher, the complement ,number of documents not required = 400. If the researcher uses a system to search for the documents in this database and it return 100 documents of which all of them are relevant to the researcher, then the recall is given by: Recall Supposed that out of 120 returned documents, 30 are irrelevant, then the recall would be given by Recall 1.1.2 Precision Precision is defined as the number of relevant documents retrieved from the system over the total number of documents retrieved in that search. It valuates how well the method being used to retrieve information filters the unwanted information. Letbe the set of all retrieved objects andbe the set of all relevant objects then, Precision(1.2) As an example, if a database contains 500 documents, out of which 100 contain relevant information required by a researcher, the complement ,number of documents not required = 400. If the researcher uses a system to search for the documents in this database and it returns 100 documents of which all of them are relevant to the researcher, then the precision is given by: Precision Supposed that out of 120 returned documents, 30 are irrelevant, then the precision would be given by Precision Both precision and recall are based on one term; Relevance Oxford dictionary defines relevance as â€Å"connected to the issue being discussed†. Yolanda Jones (2004) identified three types of relevance, namely; Subject relevance which is the connection between the subject submitted via a query and subject covered by returned texts. Situational relevance: connection between the situation being considered and texts returned by database system. Motivational relevance: connection between the motivations of a researcher and texts returned by database system. There are two measures of relevance; Novelty Ratio: This refers to the proportion of items returned from a search and acknowledged by the user as being relevant, of which they were previously unaware of. Coverage Ratio: This refers to the proportion of items returned from a search out of the total relevant documents that the user was aware of before he/she started the search. Precision and recall affect each other i.e. increase in recall value decreases precision value. If one increases a system’s ability to retrieve more documents, this implies increasing recall, this will have a drawback since the system will also be retrieving more irrelevant documents hence reducing the precision of that system. This means that a trade-off is required in these two measures so as to ensure better search results. Precision and recall measures make use of the following assumptions They make the assumption that either a system returns a document or doesn’t. They make the assumption that either the document is relevant or not relevant, nothing in between. New methods are being introduced by researchers which rank the degree of relevance of the documents. 1.1. 3 Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) Curve This is the plot of the true positive rate or sensitivity against the false positive rate or (1 − specificity).Sensitivity is just another term for recall. The false positive rate is given by. An ROC curve always goes from the bottom left to the top right of the graph. For a good system, the graph climbs steeply on the left side. For unranked result sets, specificity, given bywas not seen as a very useful idea. Because the set of true negatives is always so large, its value would be almost 1 for all information needs (and, correspondingly, the value of the false positive rate would be almost 0). 1.1.4 F-measure and E-measure This is defined as the weighted harmonic mean of the recall and precision. Numerically, it is defined as (1.3) Whereis the weight. Ifis assumed to be 1, then (1.4) The E-measure is given by(1.5) E –measure has a maximum value of 1.0, 1.0 being the best. 1.1.5 Fall-Out This is defined as the proportion of irrelevant documents that are returned in a search out of all the possible irrelevant documents. Fall out(1.6) It can also be defined as the probability of a system retrieving an irrelevant document. These are just a few methods of measuring performance of search systems. Then after looking after one system, there arise a problem of comparing two systems or algorithms, that is, is this system better than the other one? To answer this question, scientist in Information retrieval use statistical significance tests to do the comparisons in order to establish if the difference in systems performance are not by chance. These tests are used to confirm beyond doubt that one system is better than another. Statement of the problem Statistical inference tools like statistical significance tests are important in decision making. Their use has been on the rise in different areas of research. With their rise, novel users make use of these tools but in questionable manners. There are many researchers who do not understand the basic concepts in statistics leading to misuse of the tools. Any conclusions reached from a research might be termed bogus if the statistical tests used in it are shoddy. More light needs to be shade in this area of research to ensure correct use of these tests. Researchers in Information Retrieval also use these tests to compare systems and algorithms, are the conclusions from these tests truly correct? Are there any other ways of comparison which minimize the use of statistical tests? Objectives of the study The objectives of this study are: Investigate use and misuse of statistical significance tests in scientific papers submitted by researchers to SIGIR. Shade light on different statistical significance tests their use, assumptions and limitations. Identify the most important statistical concepts that can provide solutions to the problems of statistical significance in scientific papers submitted by researchers to SIGIR. Investigate the reality of the problems of statistical significance in scientific papers submitted by researchers to SIGIR. Investigate the use of statistical significant tests used by researchers in Information Retrieval Discover the availability of statistical concepts and methods that can provide solutions to the problems of statistical significance in scientific papers submitted by researchers to SIGIR Chapter Two This section of this paper has been divided into three major parts, the sample selection and sample size choosing which will discusses methods of selecting a sample and the size of the sample to be used in a given research, the second part deals with statistical analysis methods and procedures, mainly in significance testing and the third part discusses other statistical methods that can be used in place of statistical significance test. 2.0 Sample Selection and Sample Size 2.0.1 Sample selection Sampling plays a major role in research, according to Cochran (1977), sampling is the process of selecting a portion of the population and using the information derived from this portion to make inferences about the entire population. Sampling has several advantages, namely; (i)Reduced cost For example it is very expensive to carry out a census than just collecting information from a small portion of the population. This is because only a small number of measures will be made so only a few people will be hired to do the job compared to complete census which will require a large labor force. (ii)Greater speed during the process(less time) Since only a few people will be used or rather only a few items will be measured, the time for doing the measurement will be reduced and also summarization of the data will be quick as opposed to when measures are taken for the whole population. (iii)Greater accuracy Since only a few people will be considered in the process, the researchers will be very thorough as compared to the entire population which will see the researchers get tired in the middle of the process leading to lousy collection of data and shoddy analysis. The choice of the sampling units in a given research may affect the credibility of the whole research. The researcher must make sure that the sample being used is not biased, that is it represents the whole population. There are several methods of selecting samples to be used in a study. A researcher should always make sure that the sample drawn is large enough to be a representative of the population as a whole and at the same time manageable. In this section the two major types of sampling, random and non-random, will be examined. 2.0.1.1 Random sampling In random sampling, all the items or individuals in the population have equal chances of being selected into the sample. This procedure ensures that no bias is introduced during the selection of sample units since a n items selection will be only by chance and will not depend on the person assigned with the duty of coming up with the sample. There exist five major random sampling techniques, namely; simple random sampling, multi-stage sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling and systematic sampling. The following section discusses each of these. 2.0.1.1.1 Simple random sampling In simple random sampling, each item in the population has the same and equal chance of being included in the sample. Usually each sampling unit is assigned a unique number and then numbers are generated using a random number generator and a sampling unit is included in the sample if its corresponding number is generated from the random number generator. One advantage attributed to simple random sampling is its simplicity and ease in application when dealing with small populations. Every entity in the population has to be enlisted and given a unique number then their respective random numbers be read. This makes this method of sampling very tedious and cumbersome especially where large populations are involved. 2.0.1.1.2 Stratified sampling In stratified random sampling, the entire population is first divided into N disjoint subpopulations .Each sampling unit belongs to one and only one sub population. These sub populations are called strata, they might be of different sizes and they are homogenous within the strata and each stratum completely differs with the other strata. It is from these strata that samples are drawn for a particular study. Examples of strata that are commonly used include States, provinces, Age and Sex, religion, academic ability or marital status etc. Stratification is most useful when the stratifying variables are simple to work with, easy to observe and closely related to the topic of the survey (Sheskin, 1997). Stratification can be used to select more of one group than another. This may be done if it is felt that the responses obtained vary in one group than another. So, if the researcher knows that every entity in each group has much the same value, he/she will only need a small sample to get information for that group; whereas in another group, the values may differ widely and a bigger sample is needed. If you want to combine group level information to get an answer for the whole population, you have to take account of what proportion you selected from each group. This method is mainly used when information is required for only a particular subdivision of the population, administrative convenience is an issue and the sampling problems differ greatly in different portions of the population of study. 2.0.1.1.3 Systematic sampling Systematic sampling is quite different from the other methods of sampling, supposed the population contains N units and a sample of n units is required, a random number is generated using the random number generator, call it k, then a unit(represented as a number) is drown from the sample then the researcher picks every kth unit thereafter. Consider the example that k is 20 and the first unit that is drawn is 5, the subsequent units will be 25,45,65,85 and so on. The implication of this method is that the selection of the whole sample will be determined by only the first item since the rest will be obtained sequentially. This type is called an every kth systematic sample. This technique can also be used when questioning people in a sample survey. A researcher might select every 15th person who enters a particular store, after selecting a person at random as a starting point; or interview the shopkeepers of every 3rd shop in a street, after selecting a starting shop at random. It may be that a researcher wants to select a fixed size sample. In this case, it is first necessary to know the whole population size from which the sample is being selected. The appropriate sampling interval, I, is then calculated by dividing population size, N, by required sample size, n. This method is advantageous since it is easy and it is more precise than simple random sampling. Also it is simpler in systematic sampling to select one random number and then every kth member on the list, than to select as many random numbers as sample size. It also gives a good spread right across the population. A disadvantage is that the researcher may be forced to have a starting list if he/she wishes to know the sample size and calculate the sampling interval. 2.0.1.1.4 Cluster sampling The Austarlian Bureau of Statistics insinuates that cluster sampling divides the population into groups, or clusters. A number of clusters are selected randomly to represent the population, and then all units within selected clusters are included in the sample. No units from non-selected clusters are included in the sample. They are represented by those from selected clusters. This differs from stratified sampling, where some units are selected from each group. The clusters are heterogeneous within each cluster (that is the sampling units inside a cluster vary from each other completely) and each cluster looks alike with the other clusters. Cluster sampling has several advantages which include reduced costs, simplified field work and administration is more convenient. Instead of having a sample scattered over the entire coverage region, the sample is more concentrated in relatively few collection points (clusters). Cluster sampling provides results that are less accurate compared to stratified random sampling. 2.0.1.1.5 Multi-stage sampling Multi-stage sampling is like cluster sampling, but involves selecting a sample within each chosen cluster, rather than including all units in the cluster. The Australian Bureau of Statistics postulates that multi-stage sampling involves selecting a sample in at least two stages. In the first stage, large groups or clusters are selected. These clusters are designed to contain more population units than are required for the final sample. In the second stage, population units are chosen from selected clusters to derive a final sample. If more than two stages are used, the process of choosing population units within clusters continues until the final sample is achieved. If two stages are used then it will be called a two stage sampling, if three stages are used it will be called a three stage sampling and so on. 2.0.2 Determination of sample size to be used 2.1 Statistical Analysis In this section, different statistical tests are discussed in details in their general form, then move to discussed how each of them(the ones used in IR) are applied to information retrieval. Only some of these tests are used to compare systems or/and algorithms. In this paper we look at three sections of statistical analysis, namely: (i) Summarizing data using a single value. (ii) Summarizing variability. (iii) Summarizing data using an interval (no specific value) In the first case, we have the mean, mode, median etc and in the second case, we look at variability in the data and in the third case we look at the confidence intervals, parametric and nonparametric tests of hypothesis testing 2.1.1 Summarizing data using a single value In this case, the data being analyzed is represented by a single value, example for this scenario are discussed below: 2.1.1.1 Mean There are three different kinds of mean: (i)Arithmetic mean (ii)Geometric Mean (iii)Harmonic mean (i) Arithmetic mean This is computed by summing all the observations then dividing by the number of observations that you have collected. Letbe n observations of a random variable X. The arithmetic mean is defined as Arithmetic mean When to use the arithmetic mean The arithmetic mean is used when: When the collected data is a numeric observation. When the data has only one mode (uni-modal) When the data is not skewed i.e. not concentrated to extreme values. When the data does not have many outliers (very extreme values) The arithmetic mean is not used when: You have categorical data When the data is extremely skewed. (ii) Geometric mean This is defined as the product of the observations, everything raised to power of, usually n. Letbe n observations of a random variable X. The geometric mean is defined as Geometric mean The Geometric mean is used when: The observations are numeric. The item that we are interested in is the product of the observations. (iii) Harmonic mean This is defined as the number of observations divide be the sum of reciprocals of the observations. Letbe n observations of a random variable X. The harmonic mean is defined as Harmonic mean The Harmonic mean is used when: The average can be justified for the reciprocal of the observations. 2.1.1.2 Median This is defined as the middle value of the observations. The observations are first arranged in ascending or descending order then the middle value is taken as the median. The median is used when: When the observations are skewed. The observations have a single mode. The observations are numerical. The median is not used when: We are interested in the total value. 2.1.1.3 Mode This is defined as the largest value in the given dataset or the value that has the highest frequency of occurrence. The mode is used when: The dataset is categorical. The dataset is both numeric and multimodal. 2.1.2 Summarizing variability Variability in a data can be summarized using the following measures: 2.1.2.1 Sample variance Letbe n observations of a random variable X, then the Sample variance, is given by The standard deviation is used when: The data is normally distributed. 2.1.2.2 The C