The 7 Steps to Becoming a Doctor A Complete Guide

The 7 Steps to Becoming a Doctor A Complete Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Medicine is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding fields a student can enter. Before deciding whether becoming a doctor is right for you, it’s important that you’re well-informed about every step you’ll have to take along the way. Here, I’ll walk you through exactly how to become a doctor, starting with high school. This career is definitely not for everyone- it requires huge investments of time, money, and effort- but if this career path is right for you, this post will help you start preparing now for a successful career. Career Outlook Medicine is a super competitive and rigorous field- doctors have a lot of responsibility, and have to spend a lot of time and money on their training. Healthcare is also a growing field, which means that the demand for good doctors will continue to increase over the coming years. This means that if you pass all of the necessary steps, you probably won’t have an issue finding a good job. Let’s take a look at the career outlook for physicians and surgeons (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics): 2015 Median Pay: $187,200 per year Job Outlook, 2014-2024 (percent change in employment): 14%, which is much faster than the average % change of 7%. This means that there will likely be an increase in demand for doctors. Pay and job outlook can vary depending on what type of doctor you want to be, so if you have a particular specialty in mind (e.g. dermatology, rheumatology), I encourage you to do your own research on projected career outlook. How to Become a Doctor: Career Path Overview Becoming a doctor is a pretty complex, multi-step process. Here are all the major steps I’ll cover in more detail in this post: Do well in high school Get into a great college Take the MCAT (and get a good score) Apply and get into medical school Become a licensed doctor by passing your boards Choose your specialty and complete your residency Take and pass your final boards to practice independently Still interested in how to become a doctor? Let’s get into the nitty gritty details of each major step. High School If you’re serious about becoming a doctor, you’ll do yourself a big favor by getting focused in high school. Like I mentioned, this is a pretty competitive field- the earlier you start distinguishing yourself as a great student, the easier the process will be. Here’s what you can do in high school to help prepare for later steps: Focus on Science and Math To fulfill all pre-med requirements in college (I’ll get to that in a bit), you’ll have to take quite a few science and math classes. Lay a solid foundation by taking a science and math course every year, and make it a priority to take advanced and/or AP courses. You’ll also want to keep your GPA (in these classes and all others) as high as possible. This is an important step because it also gives you a tiny glimpse into what college and medical school will be like. If you don’t enjoy science and math courses in high school, it’s unlikely you’ll enjoy them later on. Use this as an opportunity to think critically about whether you’d like to pursue this career. Do Plenty of Community Service Being a good doctor isn’t just about being a science and math whiz- it’s about being invested in caring for other people. Show how you care about helping others by volunteering consistently in high school. It’s best if you can do volunteer work that’s at least somewhat related to healthcare. You might see if there are any opportunities at a nearby hospital or clinic (I had friends in high school who helped escort people who were visiting family members in the hospital, for example). These volunteer opportunities can also help you decide fairly early whether a career in medicine is something you’re interested in pursuing. Of course, you don’t have to volunteer exclusively in healthcare environments- any community service opportunity where you’re helping other people is a good fit. Read more about the benefits of community service, and then check out our list of the nine best places to volunteer. Is working in healthcare a good fit for you? Volunteering in the field is a great way to find out. Get a Great Score on the ACT or SAT To get into a great medical school, it helps to go to a great college. To get into a great college, it helps to get a high score on the SAT or ACT. Plan on taking your first test by the end of your junior year- this gives you time to take your test of choice again if you want to try to raise your scores. Read these guides for more info on how to get a great score: What counts as a good, bad or average ACT or SAT score? How to get a perfect score on the ACT or SAT How long should you study for the ACT or SAT? Submit Stellar College Applications Your senior fall will be all about researching and applying to colleges. You don’t necessarily need to go to a school with a dedicated pre-med program, but it helps if your college or university has strong science and math programs- they’ll help prepare you for the MCAT and med school. If you want to go to a top-tier private school, you’ll have to submit applications with: High GPA High SAT/ACT scores Great letters of recommendation Polished and thoughtful personal essays Some great public schools may not require letters of rec or applications essays- nevertheless, it’s wise to start preparing these materials early in the college application process if you think you’ll apply to any colleges that require them. If you’re still working on college research, read more about: The best rankings lists and whether you should trust them Whether it matters where you go to college How to decide where to go to college College College is where you really start focusing your studies and preparing for a career in medicine. Here’s everything you should do as an undergraduate to prepare yourself for the next major step: medical school. Meet All Pre-Med Requirements Most medical schools require students to have taken a series of courses as undergraduates. This ensures that they have strong foundational knowledge in math and science, and will be well-prepared for the more advanced courses they’ll take as med students. Here are the core classes that most medical schools require: Two semesters of biology with laboratory Two semesters of inorganic chemistry with laboratory Two semesters of organic chemistry with laboratory Two semesters of math, at least one in calculus Two semesters of physics with laboratory Two semesters of English and/or writing This comes to 12 course requirements at minimum, which doesn’t give you a ton of wiggle room if you also have to meet requirements for a major without much pre-med overlap (say, romance languages or studio art). Because of this, many pre-med students choose majors like biology or chemistry- this makes it much easier to meet both pre-med requirements and the requirements for your major. If you decide later in college that you’d like to apply to medical school but you know you don’t have time to fit in all these requirements, don’t panic just yet. It’s fairly common for people to wrap up pre-med requirements by taking an extra semester or two at college (some schools call these students â€Å"super seniors†). You may also look into full-time post-bac programs if you have more than a few requirements left to fulfill. These options mean extra time and extra expenses, but they’re helpful (and sometimes necessary) steps before applying to med school. Keep Your Grades Up Your transcript will be a very important part of your med school applications, so your academic performance should really be your #1 priority as you work your way through college. Build Relationships With Professors and Mentors You’ll need a few strong letters of recommendation from respected faculty members when you submit your med school applications- use this to motivate you to network with as many people as possible. Develop relationships with professors and mentors by going to office hours, participating in class, and taking opportunities to work on research projects. Your nerdy professors will prove to be invaluable resources when you’re applying to med school, but only if you have relationships with them! Get Some Research Experience Having research experience under your belt is a big plus for med school applications, especially if you can squeeze in a publication or two. Working in a biology or chemistry lab would probably be most helpful for medical school. There are a couple ways you can get research experience as an undergraduate: Work as a research assistant (paid or unpaid) in an on-campus lab or an off-campus research institute. Look at campus job postings, or approach specific professors in your department about potential lab openings. If you don’t have time during the semester to take on extra work, consider summer opportunities. Complete an undergraduate thesis, which involves research work. This usually requires a professor to officially take you on as his/her student. Each school (and each department within a school) will have its own procedures and policies for undergraduate theses, so educate yourself early on (i.e. freshman year) if you’re interested in this track. Continue With Community Service Medical schools are going to look at your community service record as an important part of your application. You should make time for volunteer work in college just as you did in high school. The good news is that it should be easier to find relevant advocacy and community service clubs and organizations in college. Here are a few example activities you may be interested in (although this list is by no means exhaustive): Volunteering at a homeless shelter Joining a public health advocacy society or organization Volunteering at a nursing home, or engaging in other forms of elder care (e.g. Meals on Wheels) Joining a peer counseling organization It’s better to stick with a few clubs or activities over the long term (as opposed to jumping around between activities year after year). This demonstrates that you’re consistent and reliable- it also opens up opportunities for leadership roles, which is a big plus for your applications. Ace The MCAT The MCAT (or Medical College Admissions Test) is used as a predictor of your success in med school, and as such is weighted pretty heavily when compared to other parts of your application. Most students take the MCAT their junior year- this is arguably the most optimal time to take the test. You will have gone through many of your pre-med courses at this point, which makes studying for the MCAT a lot easier. Test Scoring and Logistics In total, it takes 7.5 hours to complete the MCAT. The sections on the test include: Physical Sciences Verbal Reasoning Biological Sciences Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior Each section is scored on a range from 118 to 132, with a median score of 125. You’ll receive an individual score for each section in addition to an overall score. Total (overall) scores range from 472 to 578, with the average score sitting at about 500. This scoring system is relatively new, so there isn’t any historical data available to predict what a good or â€Å"safe† MCAT score will be for med school admissions. Hypothetical percentile ranks state that the 85th percentile score will sit at 508-509. This coincides with a score of 30 on the old MCAT, which was thought to be a good score to aim for. The new MCAT encourages admissions officers to look favorably upon students who score around 500 or above. The MCAT is administered 15 times per year, so you have quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to scheduling the test. Be prepared for some hefty expenses - it costs $305-$355 to register for the test depending on how far in advance you sign up. There are Fee Assistance Programs available for students who may not be able to shoulder these expenses. After your scores are calculated, they’re automatically released to AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) - you won’t have to submit them separately to any schools unless they don’t use the AMCAS. Get more information on test dates and registration. If you’re adequately prepared the first time you take the test, you could save yourself the cost of an extra registration fee. Studying for the MCAT Plan on studying 200-300 hours if you want to do well on the test. Since it’s a 7.5 hour exam, you really don’t want to have to take it twice. There are a few different ways to prep for the MCAT exam: Independent study. This may work for students at a school with strong pre-med support who are also performing well in their classes. Strong foundational knowledge is the most important factor that affects performance on the MCAT, but students would still, of course, need to spend significant time preparing. An MCAT Prep Course. Pre-med students commonly take prep courses when they want a solid review schedule that will keep them on track. There’s a lot of material to cover, and a good course helps you make sure there aren’t any major gaps in your knowledge of content or strategy. They can be very expensive most are several thousand dollars. Kaplan and Princeton Review are a couple of the most popular options. Online Prep- Online resources can offer a great combination of structure and flexibility when you’re working to cover a lot of material. Khan Academy offers some free study material if you’re looking for a place to start, although it won’t suffice if you’re putting together a full online study plan. Dr. Flowers Test Prep is another, more comprehensive, resource for online studying. A private tutor. Students whose grades aren’t up to par or who have poorly on the MCAT before may want to consider this option. If you choose to seek out a tutor, choose someone with glowing recommendations and years of tutoring experience- they won’t come cheap, but they’re also less likely to waste your time and money. You can buy an official practice test through the AAMC for $25, in addition to other official study guides and prep materials. Applying to Medical School The medical school application process is extremely long. If you want to start med school the fall after you graduate from college, you’ll have to start your applications your junior year. Researching Medical Schools The average student applies to about 13 schools to optimize their chances of getting in- I wouldn’t recommend that you put together a list much smaller than that. The MSAR (or Medical School Admissions Requirements) website is one of the best tools for looking into important medical school information. For a $25 year-long subscription, you can easily access: Acceptance rates Average MCAT and GPA of applicants and accepted students Numbers of out-of-state students Application requirements Application deadlines Like with any school or program, there are med school rankings lists. Because US medical schools’ admissions criteria and curricula are so stringent and rigorous, however, keep in mind that admission to any school in the country should be considered an accomplishment. If you end up in a school in the country, and you follow through with a residency at a good hospital, you’ll have no trouble finding work. Types of Medical Schools There are two types of physicians in the US: allopathic physicians (MDs) and osteopathic physicians (DOs). Both types are fully licensed physicians, and are often very similar in the way they practice medicine- they just receive degrees from slightly different types of programs. We’re most used to hearing about doctors with MDs, so if you’re not familiar with DOs then I encourage you to do more research on these types of programs. DOs receive additional specialty training in certain areas, including using the hands to diagnose/treat illnesses and injuries. Read more about osteopathic medicine. Allopathic or osteopathic: which type of med school is right for you? The Application There are three steps to the application process: Step 1: Primary Application You send in your primary application by June the year before your first year of med school. Most med schools use the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), which is like a Common App for med schools. This application includes official transcripts, a personal statement, your resume/CV, and your MCAT scores. Start preparing these materials a few months before submission. Step 2: Secondary Application This usually happens in July-August on a typical application timeline (i.e. one where you submit the primary application in June). At this point, a school will either reject your primary application OR ask you to complete its secondary application. The secondary application will differ for each school you apply to. Sometimes, schools just ask you to submit an application fee to continue with the application process. Other times, schools send fairly extensive lists of essay prompts (e.g. â€Å"Why are you interested in attending this medical school?†). If the school is happy with your primary + secondary application, you will move on to the next step. Step 3: Interview If a school definitely does (or definitely does not) want to interview you, you’ll hear back from them pretty quickly. Some students are left in limbo for a while as schools deliberate about what to do with them. Interviews are the final decision-making phase. Your interview will either make or break your application. Preparing for interviews is tough because each school (and each interviewer) will have its own priorities and questions. Overall, you want to come off as (1) committed to the medical track (2) confident about your abilities (3) eager to learn (4) warm and empathetic (5) grateful for the opportunity to be there. Medical School After fulfilling all those pre-med requirements and submitting all those applications, you finally arrive here: med school. You’ll spend four years here, but that doesn’t mean the experience will be very similar to that of your undergraduate education- there are more decisions to be made, more opportunities for hands-on experiences, and more professional licensing requirements to worry about. Here’s an overview of what these four years will look like: First two years- Primarily classroom-based courses Third year- Training in each major medical specialty (also known as rotations) Fourth year- Primarily elective courses based on preferred specialty There are some other important steps along the way- like board exams- that I’ll address here as well. Years 1-2: Classroom Work You won’t have much say in what courses you’ll take during your first two years of med school. Your education during this time will be an extension of your pre-med requirements- you’ll take many advanced courses that will give you the important biological, anatomical, and chemical foundations you’ll need to work as a physician. These courses will obviously have an important impact on your GPA, which will affect how competitive you are when you’re matched for your residency/internship (we’ll get to that shortly). As such, it’s important to keep your grades up- your future self will thank you. At the end of your second year you’ll take the United States Medical Licensing Examination, or the USMLE-1. This test assesses your medical competency to see if you should continue with your education and medical licensure (another name for the USMLE exams is â€Å"Boards†). At most medical schools, you need to pass this exam in order to progress to your third year of school. Read more about the test and access exam practice materials. Year 3: Rotations In your third year, you’ll start working with patients in a medical setting (under a supervisor) within different medical specialties. This helps you gain hands-on experience as a physician, but perhaps more importantly, you’ll learn more about what sort of specialty you may be interested in. After the bulk of your rotations experiences in your third year, you’ll have to decide what sort of medicine you’d like to pursue. This decision will dictate what sort of elective courses you’ll take in your fourth and final year of med school, as well as how long you’ll spend in your residency (get more information on this in the Residency section). Med school rotations are a bit more productive than the one the hamster’s doing on this wheel. Year 4: Pursuing Your Specialty As you now know, your fourth year is dedicated primarily to taking elective courses to prepare for your preferred specialty and continuing gaining hands-on experience. You’ll also take the USMLE Level 2 (it’s similar to the first examination, only testing more advanced knowledge)- it includes a clinical knowledge and clinical skills portion. Residency Residencies (also known as internships) are supervised positions at teaching hospitals. You’ll be matched to an available residency position through the National Resident Matching Program, also known as the NRMP. You’ll be able to note your preferences, but you won’t have ultimate decision-making power over your matches. Once the NRMP sets you up, you sort of have to take what you’re given. You’ll spend at least three years in your residency program, but may spend more there depending on your specialty. During your first year, you’ll be known as an intern- you’ll be at the bottom of the totem pole, but not for long. During your residency you’ll also need to pass your final licensing exam (USMLE-3). The third and final licensing exam is taken during the first year of your residency. It tests your ability to utilize your medical knowledge and provide care in an unsupervised setting, which is what you’d have to do as a licensed physician. You will receive a salary as a resident, but it won’t be much. The average resident gets about $48,000/year, which will cover living expenses and your minimum medical school loan payments. Here are some example specialties and their respective residency requirements: Anesthesiology- 4 years Dermatology- 4 years Emergency Medicine- 3-4 years General Surgery- 5 years Internal Medicine- 3 years Neurology- 4 years Obstetrics and Gynecology- 4 years Pathology- 4 years Pediatrics- 3 years Psychiatry- 4 years Radiology- 4-5 years Beyond the Residency Once you’ve finished with your residency and passed all your boards, you can officially practice independently as a licensed physician! It probably won’t take you long to find work. You may want to practice in a hospital, a clinic, or private practice. You’ll have to keep up with Continuing Medical Education in order to practice as a physician, no matter specialty. This ensures that you stay educated and up-to-date on the latest research and best medical practices. Your education doesn’t end here- you’ll be working to keep up with new information and best practices for the rest of your career. Summary This is a ton of information to take on at once, especially if you’re at the beginning of this process (or even if you’re still unsure about becoming a doctor). There are a few good things you should take away from this, though: You don’t have to decide at the beginning of college that you want to become a doctor (although it does make it easier to fulfill pre-med requirements). The path to becoming a physician isn’t completely rigid, especially if you’re interested in other biological and physical science careers. You don’t have to think about all of these steps at the same time. Once you’re in med school, your peers will be thinking about (and worrying about) the same things- there’s no way you’ll forget any important steps. Becoming a doctor is definitely not for everyone- getting into medical school is really tough, and you still have a lot of training to complete after you graduate. But if you decide you want to enter the medical profession, you now have the info you need to start off on the right foot. What’s Next? If you want more information on what to do to prepare for med school while you’re in high school, you’re in the right place. Check out our guide on 59 great medical programs for high school students and our list of the 7 books every pre-med student should read. Starting to research different college or med school options? Start off with this complete list of BA/MD and BS/MD programs in the US. You may also be interested in our step-by-step guide on how to get into a BS/MD program. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Generating Unique Random Numbers Using Java

Generating Unique Random Numbers Using Java When you generate random numbers its often the case that each generated number number must be unique. A good example is picking lottery numbers. Each number picked randomly from a range (e.g., 1 to 40) must be unique, otherwise, the lottery draw would be invalid. Using a Collection The easiest way to pick unique random numbers is to put the range of numbers into a collection called an ArrayList. If youve not come across an ArrayList before, its a way of storing a set of elements that dont have a fixed number. The elements are objects that can be added to or removed from the list. For example, lets make the lottery number picker. It needs to pick unique numbers from a range of 1 to 40. First, put the numbers into an ArrayList using the add() method. It takes the object to be added as a parameter: import java.util.ArrayList;public class Lottery { public static void main(String[] args) { //define ArrayList to hold Integer objects ArrayList numbers new ArrayList(); for(int i 0; i 40; i) { numbers.add(i1); } System.out.println(numbers); }} Note that we are using the Integer wrapper class for the element type so that the ArrayList contains objects and not primitive data types. The output shows the range of numbers from 1 to 40 in order: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40] Using the Collections Class A utility class called Collections offers different actions that can be performed on a collection like an ArrayList (e.g., search the elements, find the maximum or minimum element, reverse the order of elements, and so on). One of the actions it can perform is to shuffle the elements. The shuffle will randomly move each element to a different position in the list. It does this by using a Random object. This means its a deterministic randomness, but it will do in most situations. To shuffle the ArrayList, add the Collections import to the top of the program and then use the Shuffle static method. It takes the ArrayList to be shuffled as a parameter: import java.util.Collections;import java.util.ArrayList;public class Lottery {public static void main(String[] args) {//define ArrayList to hold Integer objectsArrayList numbers new ArrayList();for(int i 0; i 40; i){numbers.add(i1);}Collections.shuffle(numbers);System.out.println(numbers);}} Now the output will show the elements in the ArrayList in a random order: [24, 30, 20, 15, 25, 1, 8, 7, 37, 16, 21, 2, 12, 22, 34, 33, 14, 38, 39, 18, 36, 28, 17, 4, 32, 13, 40, 35, 6, 5, 11, 31, 26, 27, 23, 29, 19, 10, 3, 9] Picking the Unique Numbers To pick the unique random numbers simply read the ArrayList elements one by one by using the get() method. It takes the position of the element in the ArrayList as a parameter. For example, if the lottery program needs to pick six numbers from the range of 1 to 40: import java.util.Collections;import java.util.ArrayList;public class Lottery {public static void main(String[] args) {//define ArrayList to hold Integer objectsArrayList numbers new ArrayList();for(int i 0; i 40; i){numbers.add(i1);}Collections.shuffle(numbers);System.out.print(This weeks lottery numbers are: );for(int j 0; j 6; j){System.out.print(numbers.get(j) );}}} The output being: This weeks lottery numbers are: 6 38 7 36 1 18

Management- Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Management- - Case Study Example In 1983 Benetton had sales of $351 million, from 2600 stores in Europe. The supply chain can be described as the network, covering the various stages in the provision of products or services to customers (Monks, 1996). It includes not only manufacturers and suppliers, but also transporters, warehouses, distributors, retailers, etc. The number of stages in the supply chain depends on the customers' needs, and the role each stage plays in fulfilling their needs. Supply Chain Management (SCM) integrates procurement, operations and logistics to provide value added products or services to customers. Effective management of the supply chain helps organizations meet customer requirements on time, with the desired quality specifications, in a cost-effective manner, through the coordination of different activities which transform raw materials into final products or services ((ICMR), Operations Management, 2003). Supply Chain Management can provide both tangible and intangible benefits to an organization. Tangible benefits include revenue growth, improved facility utilization, optimized inventory management, etc. Intangible benefits include improvement in quality, improvement in customer satisfaction, and enhanced customer and supplier techniques (Dilworth, 1992). Supply Chain Management has become on of the key areas that organizations are focusing on to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of the production process (Chopra, 1992). Four key drivers of supply chain performance are inventory, transportation, facilities and information. They help determine not only the responsiveness and effectiveness, but also the strategic fit of the supply chain. Inventory - Inventory includes raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods in the supply chain. Inventory exists in organizations due to a mismatch between demand and supply. Inventory is also maintained to increase the responsiveness of organizations to sudden increases in customer demand. Transportation - Organizations use transportation to move components and products between the different stages of the supply chain. Transportation decisions are made on the mode of transportation and route to use in the transfer of products from one point to another. Facilities - Facilities are the locations in the supply chain where the raw materials and finished goods are stored, and where work-in-progress materials are assembled or fabricated, and from which finished goods are distributed. Facility's capacity and location has significant affect on the performance of the supply chain. Information - Sometimes, the value of information as a supply chain driver is undermined due to its abstract quality. However, in reality, it is one of the key drivers affecting the performance of the supply chain. As the supply chain is made up of various entities, proper coordination is the key to improving the efficiency of the supply chain system. The flow of information also affects the performance of other drivers. With proper information, organizations can predict the quantity to produce, when it is needed and where it is needed. This makes the supply chain more effective and responsive to market demand. In order to service the needs of customers and fulfil their expectations and to meet the organizations'

Dementia and Caretaking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dementia and Caretaking - Essay Example These fears include the repetitive questions of going home; seeking caretakers and this phenomenon is called "Shadowing" (Lindeman, Corby, Downing & Sanborn 1991) Alzheimer disease is one of the disorders known as dementia. Patient develops multiple cognitive deficits including memory loss. The diagnostic criterion along with memory loss must include one of the cognitive disturbances: aphasia, apraxia, anoxia or a disturbance in executive functioning (DSM- IV 1994). Dementia may be progressive, static or remitting (DSM-IV 1994). Keeping in view of this study the AD should not be taken as 'process of inevitable and immutable decline'. (Judkins,Wayne ) Caretaking for the patient of AD is a long process which involves many people. In the early stages the family members are the initial help. But the later stages require persistent care of the patient and he/she is shifted to adult day care centers. In adult day care centers safe and supportive environment is must for the patient of AD. It involves creating new roles to replace the roles lost because of the disease. (e.g. provider for spouse, worker) In this environment patient can interact in the same cognitive state and can form meaningful attachments. (William & Roberts 1995). The group spirits should also be fostered in the day care centers to make the patient feel that he/she is the desired member of the social group. Researchers in their recent studies have examined the role that the attachment style may play in dementia. It is observed that personality characteristics persist in dementia. For example, a person suffering from depression and aggressive behavior before the diagnosis of dementia 'have these tendencies aggregated by the course of disease. (Agbayewa, 1986) Bowlby defined attachment behavior as "any form of behavior that results in a person attaining or retaining proximity to some other differentiated and preferred individuals, who is usually conceived as stronger and /or wiser." (John Bowlby, 1979, pp 129) Misen (1992) was the first researcher to conclude that the patient of dementia could also be classified as having secure or ambivalent style of attachment. The further studies proposed that various component of attachments i.e. trust, comfort with dependency became more important with higher level of dependency caused by dementia. The studies have also found that the effect of dysfunctional behavior as taken by caretakers was correlated with caretakers' psychological distress. (Levesque. Cassette & LaChance, 1998) But it is observed that attachment therapy can also help the caretakers to overcome their psychological stress. The following quoted study is taken from the interview of Ann Hurley (Citation: Trudeau S. Bright Eyes, A Sensory Stimulation Intervention for Patients with Advanced Dementia: An interview with Scott Trudeau, by AL Romer, Innovations in

Hewlett-Packard, Inc Essay Example for Free

Hewlett-Packard, Inc Essay Hewlett-Packard, Inc. has been one of the leading IT Company competing with DELL. Throughout the company history, Hewlett-Packard’s top management team has always sought to ensure that the company stays ahead of its competitors. Though this has been the case, strategic decisions made by the company’s past and present CEOs, especially, Carleton S. Fiorina and Mark V. Hurd may differ as much as they may be similar in some ways. During Carleton S. Fiorina’s tenure, the main focus was on the future and all strategic decisions and investments were made for future growth and stability. This kind of investment was at the expense of any decisions that would ensure growth at the time. Fiorina was the HP CEO from 1999 to 2005 and during her tenure the main causes of loss of revenue and market share were due to the fact that she not only focuses on the future rather than current growth but she made investments that seemed costly to the company at the time but which she believed could bring greater revenue growth in the future. Great opposition from managers and some board members, coupled with the scandal on leaked company information saw the company image delve into the negative causing financial damage to the company. According to Evans-Correia (2005), â€Å"Broderick said HP still faces numerous problems. It continues to lose market share to Dell Inc. and its corporate-computing unit, which includes storage, software and server computers, has remained weak and unable to fend off competition from IBM and EMC Corp. â€Å"The company has good technologies, but their to-market strategy has not been effective. †Ã¢â‚¬  Though the merger with Compaq brought increased revenue growth in the future, at the moment the merger was given a go ahead and completed, HP encountered its share of losses that were a little higher than it may have predicted initially and announced publicly. The then CEO, Fiorina, was questioned about these losses and the apparent in-disclosure of these information to the public and board of directors. In his article, Intense Grilling Flusters Fiorina, one of the writers, Burt (2002) reported that â€Å"Just as he had done yesterday, Hewlett attorney Stephen Neal repeatedly grilled the chief executive about internal financial reports that predicted larger revenue losses for 2003 than HP projected in publicly issued statements. † Increasing counterfeit products could also be seen as one of the setbacks that cost HP its revenue, image as well as market share. While the merger with Compaq brought H-P an added competitive edge in the computer hardware manufacture, the acquisition of EDS, an HP Company will now see H-P attain a competitive edge in the IT Services sector. This means that both ventures are almost equally important to H-P in maintaining leadership in the IT industry. The Compaq merger/acquisition was aimed at gaining HP footing in the computer hardware industry while the acquisition of EDS was strategically targeted at giving the company the competitive edge in IT services and customer care. While HP was mainly focused on the sale of printers, expansion to the computer hardware would prove strategic at the time the merger with Compaq was initiated. The moment EDS came on board, expansion and enhancement of the HP outsourcing service delivery was realized. During ex-CEO Fiorina’s tenure, the main strategic choices that were made were aimed at cost cutting and investment in the future with new ventures. While Fiorina focused on new ventures and expansion of the business part of the company, Hurd focused on expansion, growth and retention of employees and enhancement of customer service and support. Fiorina was more focused on sales, high profits and numbers at all costs while Hurd focused on the company tradition of focusing on the employees as well as growth and expansion. While Fiorina went to on to cut jobs so as to cut on costs, Hurd took on a new stand by focusing mainly on all that could be done to maintain the best workers and staff retention as well as customer satisfaction. As stated by Hurd and Lesjak in the HP Annual Report (2008), â€Å"The addition of EDS further expands HP’s comprehensive, strategically assembled portfolio that provides unparalleled capabilities for delivering end-to-end solutions. More importantly, EDS adds a world-class, globally scaled services capability to HP’s established leadership in hardware and management software. † Since inception, the company has proven to be a greater competitor and leading in innovation and customer satisfaction.

Personal Perspective :: essays research papers

Personal Perspective Paper The author Ken Lakuta (date unknown) once wrote, â€Å"Opportunities exists in the air for just a few minutes. If you don’t obey your gut feeling right away, you’ve lost your chance† (Brown, quoting Lakuta, date unknown, p.3). I do not want to miss my chance! I intend to seize the moment and finish the courses necessary to obtain my master’s of business administration for many reasons. With the tools the University has made available to me such as â€Å"rEsource†, learning team environment, and problem-based learning I will successfully complete this program and achieve my goal. The Value of rEsource Research for information became easier with the creation of the Internet, just ask anyone who has conducted a manual library search for information. The University has taken the research process one step further by creating â€Å"rEsource.† Now any student can seek and obtain information from an endless collection of materials necessary to help one succeed in his/her degree program. All resources are available on-line and accessible from any location with an Internet access. Time is maximized allowing students to accomplish their objectives in half the time. The â€Å"rEsource† tool is only one leg of the three-legged stool provided to students. The second support system assures all students the ability to work as part of â€Å"learning teams.† The Value of Learning Teams When working with a group of people one is exposed to a variety of knowledge, backgrounds and experience. The value of learning teams is extremely beneficial. No one person possesses the knowledge necessary to cover every circumstance; however, as a group you are a link in a chain of knowledge with a wealth of experiences and resources. Each team member brings unique strengths, perspectives and working styles (Innergize, date unknown). For teams to be successful, they need to establish a common purpose and to become familiar with each members strengths and weaknesses. Establishing some basic ground rules is also essential for success of the group: 1) know your team members, 2) clear roles of responsibility, 3) effective communication, 4) accepted leadership, 5) accept and support one another, 6) check for understanding and agreement, 7) resolve conflicts constructively and quickly ((Innergize, date unknown, p. 1) and (Page and Donelan, 2003, p.126)). Successful teams need a balance of task and relationship roles. My experiences with team learning and problem-based learning (case studies) have been beneficial and I have enjoyed the opportunity and exposure.

Poetry and Harlem Renaissance Essay

According to this poem, is there an answer to the question asked in the first line: â€Å"What happens to a dream deferred?† Explain how the poem does or does not answer the question. This poem was written in 1951, approximately twenty years after the end of the Harlem Renaissance. It is the only poem in this chapter on the Harlem Renaissance that was written years after its end. How is the content of the poem possibly related to Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance within a post-Renaissance perspective? Explain. â€Å"The Weary Blues† (pages 959-960) Listen  to the poem being read at this address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdmp5lnj2WQ . Listening to the audio is well worth the time. After listening to the spoken version, Listen  to this version, which includes musical accompaniment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyqwvC5s4n8&feature=related . Who is the narrator of the poem? Is the narrator different from the piano player in the poem? Is there a difference in the style of the poem as it shifts between the voice of the narrator and the voice of the singer? Explain. Are there any clues within the poem about the life of the singer? Why might the singer have the blues? How do you interpret the last line of the poem? Why does Hughes, the poet, choose to use the word dead? â€Å"The Harlem Dancer† (pages 963-964) This poem is an English (or Shakespearean) sonnet with three quatrains and an ending couplet. What â€Å"celebration† seems to be made in the three quatrains? How is this celebration deflated in the ending couplet? â€Å"From the preface to The Book of American Negro Poetry† (pages 964-966) According to Johnson, what are the contributions that can be made by Negro poets? Do you think that Johnson’s statement â€Å"the richest contribution that the Negro poet can make to the American literature of the future will be fusion into it of his own individual artistic gifts† has been realized from 1921, the year the preface was written, to today? Why or why not? Explain your answer thoroughly.

Eric Schlosser

Halleigh Benner Dr. Wiley English 701 Section 21? Contaminated Meat Every Step Of The Way Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation, Michael Moss’ article The Burger That Shattered Her Life and the documentary Food Inc. all come together to inform people on the facts about the food industry’s contamination issue. The food industry has many slaughterhouses and meat packing industries in the United States. People never think about where there meat has come from, how it is prepared, stored, or made. Unfortunately, the sanitation of our meat from where it starts to when we eat it is appalling.Many farms now raise livestock in mass groups in dirty environments, they gather into unsanitary slaughterhouses to be killed with unsanitary utensils, methods, and machinery, the meat gets combined with other meat in filthy meat packing industries, and is then packed away for us to eat. Farms should raise cows how they used to be raised, consumers should make healthier and wiser d ecisions on their choices of meat, people need to demand better food safety standards by re-introducing Kevin’s law.The industry doesn’t want you to know the truth about what you are eating, because if you knew then you might not want to eat it, but now the truth is revealed. Our farm animals such as chickens and cattle are not raised how they used to be raised. In the documentary Food Inc. many farmers would not let the camera crew inside the chicken houses, but one woman that was interviewed did. Carole Morison said, â€Å"I understand why farmers do not want to talk because the big companies that they are controlled by can cut pay. Companies control everything about what the farmers do but Carole also stated, â€Å"It is not right what is going on and I made up my mind that I am going to say what I want to say, it doesn’t matter anymore something has to be said. † The documentary showed that her chicken house was full of dust and feces everywhere. The mass amount of chickens cooped up close together couldn’t escape from the unsanitary environment. Many chicken farms are exactly like her’s. Carole said, â€Å"This isn’t farming anymore, it is mass production. The spread of disease is more likely within these mass production chickens because Carole informed us, â€Å"Antibiotics are put into the feed, but the bacteria builds up a resistance and the antibiotics don’t work anymore. † Cattle are not any different than the chickens. The documentary Food Inc. showed viewers that feedlots contain hundreds of cows that stand ankle deep in their own manure all day long. If one cow has a disease such as, E. coli then the others will have a higher risk of getting the disease as well.The unhealthy sanitation of our food even begins when the cows and chickens are alive in their environment that they are being raised. The environment of slaughterhouses where the livestock is killed is horrific and disgusting . To hide these sickening scenes, most slaughterhouses are simple buildings with no windows to see inside. In the book Fast Food Nation, the author Eric Schlosser put on knee high boots because his host from the slaughterhouse said, â€Å"Tuck your pants into the boots, we’ll be walking through some blood† (Pg. 169). Walking through deep puddles of blood is unhygienic.If one cow’s blood is infected and is then mixed with other blood that is gathered into puddles on the ground; workers have to walk through the puddles and it can contaminate machines, utensils, or other meat that is being worked on by the puddles being splattered. Bacteria grows and spreads in moist and humid conditions. Eric Schlosser states, â€Å"The kill floor is hot and humid. It stinks of manure. Cattle have a body temperature of about 101 degrees, and there are a lot of them in the room† (Pg. 170). Bacteria thrive in these places and can be harmful to us in the long run. The process of how our meat is made is unhealthy.The article The Burger That Shattered Her Life by Michael Moss stated, â€Å"Slaughterhouses have the potential for contamination every step of the way† (Pg. 3). It all begins with the removal of the hide from the cows. Food Inc. the documentary brought up a great issue that shows the viewers that when cows come to these slaughterhouses, their hides are caked with manure. To begin, hides must be removed carefully to keep the manure off of the meat but with the commotion and the speed of the slaughterhouse process, this causes high risks of the meat being contaminated with feces.Workers and inspectors from the article The Burger That Shattered Her Life say, â€Å"Much can go wrong, workers slicing away the hide can inadvertently spread feces to the meat, and large clamps that hold the hide during processing sometimes slip and smear the meat with feces† (Pg. 3). Next before transferred to the meat packing part is the gutting station, where the intestines are removed. Eric Schlosser from Fast Food Nation said, â€Å"I see: a man reach inside a cattle and pull out their kidneys with his bare hands† (Pg. 170).After a person reads this statement from Eric Schlosser, it will make people wonder if he washed his hands before he put them back into another cattle. More than likely the worker didn’t because of the speed that the process is going. These careless actions that can be prevented can spread E. coli or other diseases to meats that could cause an entire factory to contain it because of the mixing of meat in the meat packing process. Trimmings in the meat packing industry get mixed with other meat from different slaughterhouses within the United States.For example in the article The Burger That Shattered Her Life, â€Å"Ms. Smith’s patty contained trimmings from a slaughterhouse in Uruguay† (Pg. 4). Mixing meats from different slaughterhouses is not a good idea, because their regulation s could be completely different, especially a slaughterhouse from a different country. Grinding contaminated meat can leave diseases on the machine and spread to other mixed meats that are being mixed in the same grinder. Not mixing meats and sanitizing machines and utensils, every slaughterhouse’s meat can become Grade A.Cattle and other farm animals such as, chickens and pigs should be raised traditionally, in a grass pasture with enough room for them to run around and not having to stand in their own manure. A farmer in the film Food Inc. agreed, â€Å"Having cows in a pasture; they eat and fertilize the grass, the cycle is better for the environment and for them. † The healthier the animals begin their life the more likely; their meat for us to eat will be healthier and not contaminated. The only problem with this solution is that people in this world today are more worried about money and how much they can receive.The more cattle and chickens farmers can raise in the shortest amount of time is better for them and the company, that they are controlled by. Many mass production farmers do not worry about their consumer’s health because it is sometimes seen as the consumer’s own responsibility. Consumers have the ability to choose which meat they want to buy depending on where the meat has come from. They can choose meat that was produced locally or they can read labels to trace back to a preferred and trusted factory and or company. Consumers could also buy their own cow of their choosing and have it butchered for their selves personally.However, many people do not have the time to go into detail to find out where their meat has come from, especially many do not have the money to buy their own cow and have it butchered. Another solution is to reintroduce Kevin’s law for E. coli contamination. The people have the ability notify the congress to enforce food safety standards and re-introduce Kevin’s law. According to th e documentary Food Incorporated, â€Å"Kevin’s law would give back to the USDA the power to shut down plants that repeatedly produce contaminated meat. For Kevin’s law the government is trying to fix this problem with expert inspectors but it will take a while for these experts to be hired and the process to expand everywhere in the United States. Therefore, meat contamination and geting rid of unsanitary utensils, methods, and machinery will decrease at a slow rate.In addition, in the documentary of Food Inc. it was stated, â€Å"People that ridicule the food industry can be charged because the food industry has different protections than other industries do. For example, Oprah Winfrey was sued by a Texas cattleman for demeaning a food product and for the loss of profit. Mass amounts of people need to stand up to this unfair â€Å"protection† over the food industry. One person cannot do it; many have to create a movement. Enhancing food safety programs will b enefit our lives. In conclusion, our future’s health is ultimately at stake and people need to do something to change it. The sanitation of our meat starts from the environment that the livestock lives in and takes a domino effect until their meat ends up on our plates to eat.Surprisingly people have to worry about the food sanitation in the United States, and it is sad to realize that people have to be worried about the food provided in our country. However, this issue can be resolved. Solutions such as, livestock being raised in a healthy environment by the traditional way, consumers can make better choices for their selves, and they can also stand up for the rights of being able to eat meat without worrying. Change in the food industry will change our health for the better.

buy custom Common Errors and Misconceptions essay

buy custom Common Errors and Misconceptions essay Key Stage 1 in the maintained schools is the legal term for the two academic years of schooling in the United Kingdom and Wales. Previously it was known as year 1 and year 2, this is when the children are between the age of 5 and 7. The key stage mostly covers pupils in their infant schools but also in some cases it might cover part of primary or first school. Mathematics is the study of space, shape, quantity and change, these is one of the subjects that poses a lot of difficulty to this infant learners. Mathematics formulates patterns, resolve the falsity or truth of conjectures through mathematical proofs. Education act defines the term as the duration which begins with the normal school and starts at the age of six and end at the same time as the time as the school year where a larger number of students attain the age of seven. The purpose of this term is to define the group of students who must follow the National Academic Curriculums programmes. All students in this Key stage must follow a special programme which has ten statutory areas of study; these areas are always set out in the National Curriculum website. They include: Mathematics, English, Science, design and communication Technology, Music, History, Art and design, Geography, and physical education. Religious education is also statutory, non statutory frame work set out in the same web site is not necessarily followed. After this stage, pupils in UK aged 7 in their second year are assessed using a programme of assessment commonly known at the SATs. They cover only Science, Mathematics and English (Spooner, 2002). Mathematics and shapes Set of numbers and functions in many mathematical objects produce different internal structures as a consequence of relations and operations that are defined on the set. Mathematics is then applied to study the properties of those individual sets and later expressed in form of structures. This is the reason why laying a good foundation in mathematics is always important as it paves way to the later complex solution which are solved using the basis laid in the introduction of the subject to the individual. This calls for a detailed analysis on how to deal with the inefficiencies which may lead the pupils from not getting the targeted information. We are going to look at the mathematical errors and misconceptions in reference to shapes in mathematics for the pupils in Key stage 1 ear 2 (Doreen, 2010). Mathematical errors and misconceptions This report deeply examines the recent research done on the teaching approaches aiming to minimise the common mathematical misconceptions and errors made by Key stage 1 year 2 (primary- aged children). It targets whether applying teaching techniques which seek to root misconception as well as common errors is likely to be fruitful. Different teaching approaches are looked into based on dialogue, discussion and challenges existing among childrens mathematical constructions. Changes and choices in mathematics teaching techniques carry with them strategies which not only aim at the teaching practise but also a continues review of the teaching role within the foundation stages ( key stage 1 and 2) to have a firm setting (Spooner, 2002). Its Importance This analysis is ideal for primary trainees as it practically guides them in handling childrens misconceptions and common errors. It main aim is making them gain a deeper understanding on the challenges encountered when a good foundation is not laid at the early development of the concerned children. When this happens the individual child encounters difficulties throughout his or her cause (Doreen, 2010). Difference between mathematical misconceptions and errors The teachers response in handling errors in mathematics requires diagnostic terms: various responses will be suitable depending with the frequency of the error observed. An error may result as a result of many reasons; misrepresentation of text or symbol, carelessness, lack of relevant knowledge or experience related to that concept/ learning objective/mathematical topic, inability or lack of awareness in looking at the answer given or as a result of misconception. Different mathematicians consider view of mathematical error or knowledge to be principally generated from the surface of knowledge: a good example is the pupils response to a task procedural and the only way to correct errors is by through the teacher providing alternative corrections (Scribd, 2011). In addition, the nature of the task chosen by the relevant teacher should not be definite for children making errors. Considerations must be to the technicality or complexity of the task, that is; it should be sufficiently challenging but not too challenging. The nature of the task in reference to task translation should also be considered (Scribd, 2011). Causes of mathematical misconceptions and errors Carelessness In this case, the children lack the importance of being keen in what they are doing thus the mind becomes reluctant, leading to poor judgement. This can be rectified by changing the mode of teaching; also the teachers should create awareness to the pupils of the importance of mathematical elements such as shapes, as they also help in evaluating the level of thinking of individual pupils (Hodson, 2008). Lack of relevant knowledge Teachers should work harder in equipping the children with all the basic knowledge, by so doing the children will gradually are in a position to handle more complex shapes as knowledge piles up. This will lay a good foundation in the decision making of the child as far as mathematical concepts are concerned because he or she has the knowledge and what is required of him/her is to understand the task (Hodson, 2008). Problem in interpreting or reading These challenges result from the incapability of a child to understand. Problems related to interpretation can only be handled through teachers effort to expose the children to different shapes and by so doing confidence is created within them. Having in mind that these are young children, repetition is the only key to meet this challenge (Hasen, 2011). Misapplication of mathematical rule This arises from lack of enough knowledge or exposure. When impacting a certain skill in the mind of little children, the teacher should put all effort in making sure that the concept is understood. It can by met through practise, frequent evaluation and emphasis (Hodson, 2008). Error and misconceptions in reference to shape The first mathematical aspect that young pupils explore is shape. This is to enhance them interact with the three dimensional world and later begin to understand its content. It also hence them to learn and understand their position in space and how hey are related to other objects. After they have learnt of the basics of shape they can later learn of the two dimensional position of their world and this helps in spatial reasoning development (Alice Hansen, 2011). Early Years Foundation Stages Statutory Framework (DCSF, 2007) mainly aims at developing childrens ability to name and recreate patterns with shapes. Space and shape as well as measures, together forms Objective Target 3 of Englands National Curriculum. It aims at understanding properties of different shapes, applying and using shape and understanding properties of movement and position. Key stage 1 pupils aim at developing the language of space and shape while those in Key stage two aim at evaluating two and three dimensional shapes and their characteristics (Scribd, 2011). Although this is among the first topics that children meet in the early encounters with mathematics, teachers should take it serious as it a complex subject. This awareness should be made to teachers (complexity of the subject) in order to help the children in identifying the challenges related to shapes. From their tender age, they begin to draw, this slowly brings sense to their 3 dimensional world through a two dimensional representation. That kind of representation is a form of language which is more convectional than the written or spoken language (Alice Hansen, 2011). Conclusion By being able to identify, analyse and later discuss different errors and misconception with the children, these opportunities will be easily used as they portray themselves through an excellent assessment. It makes it easy to evaluate the performance of the children as they levelled; they all have equal knowledge on the subject matter. Teachers at this level should ensure that this level ground is met to avoid laying down a poor foundation. Shapes are critical in development of mathematics as they down the foundation of the next more complex level. This calls for more time and emphasis to make sure that adequate time the pupils grasp all that is required for them to avoid difficulties in understanding more complex tasks. Also the teaching modes should be looked at to ensure that the technique used best suits the subject, this aims at optimising the level of comprehending as well as interpreting. Buy custom Common Errors and Misconceptions essay

Civil Engineering Research Paper and How to Reach the Highest Level of Quality

Civil Engineering Research Paper and How to Reach the Highest Level of Quality Research is important because it will help you know where to find different types of information to solve engineering problems in your career. As an engineer, you will be required to research engineering guidelines, standards, and other sources to prevent engineering failures. Your ability to conduct comprehensive and accurate research is very important though. Most students find research classes boring or frightening or even both. The commitment levels to produce a good research paper are enormous, and that is what most students fear. A literature review as well as collecting and analyzing research data is the most difficult part of the process. However, the undergraduate research experience can influence your future career choice. It will allow you to develop professionally and personally in ways not possible through in normal lectures. The research experience will give you an opportunity to gain some deeper knowledge of research techniques and processes. You will be able to apply classroom learning in real-world contexts, explore academic literature, and develop an important relationship with your supervisor. In your career as a civil engineer, you will be mandated required to present their findings on projects. A good number of civil engineers are involved in the research. The satisfaction of a civil engineer is derived from seeing a complex project completed. Engineers are required to have problem-solving and writing skills. Their work entails that they possess the ability to identify and evaluate complex problems. They are often forced to come up with cost-effective, safe, and efficient solutions. Writing skills enable engineers to communicate with other people. They must explain their projects to the government, elected officials, and other engineers. Civil engineers, therefore, must be able to write reports that are clear, concise, and understandable to those with no technical or scientific background. To earn your degree, you will be required to conduct a research study. You will identify a research topic, perform the appropriate research, and write a project. What Is a Topic Subject and How to Handle This Stage? A topic is a general area of inquiry and it designates the general subject of the research. It is a specific issue you are to discuss. It is a subject that a person wants to learn about. Research topics are supposed to be interesting and meaningful to the student and the instructor; there must be enough resources available to carry out the work. Also, you must make sure that your research can be accomplished within the time limits available to you. Other things to consider include the availability of intellectual and financial resources available to you. In civil engineering paper, you will be required to narrow down the general topic down to a more specific topic for your project. Identifying a research topic is one of the most difficult tasks. 6 Must-Follow Tips from Our Writers to Come Up with a Hot Topic Identify the issue. You will be required to identify the issue to be addressed and convince your supervisor that the topic is worthy of investigation. Give a clear statement of objectives that your study will accomplish. You are then supposed to develop a research plan that will accomplish the objectives and present them in sufficient detail to your supervisor. Brainstorm for ideas. What topics in the civil engineering course are you most interested in? Is there an aspect of a class that you want to know more about? Once you identify the topic into a question: you should ask yourself what you want to learn exactly about road designing. For example, you can ask yourself how do we make roads using more durable materials. Write down the keywords or the concepts. Read widely on the topic. One of the commonest methods of identifying a research project is for the student to develop a research hypothesis after extensive reading, analysis, careful thinking, and discussion with their advisor. If you are lucky, an instructor may assign you with a topic but most often instructors require their students to select their own topic of interest. Read many articles on the topic or topics you are considering. Reading will help you have an overview of the topic and see how your idea connects to wider, narrower, and related issues. Stay within the limits. A topic may be hard to research if it is too broad or too narrow. You can limit your topic by geographical area or by time frame, but it should not be too narrow as it will give you a hard time getting the necessary resources. Be flexible. You may be required to adjust your topic during the research process. You may narrow, broaden or modify it depending on the material that is available for your research or based on what your lecturer advises you. Consult your supervisor. You should expect to work closely with the supervisor as they are essential to the success of the project. Also, it is important that you realize that identifying a research project is very challenging. It will require multiple iterations in which an idea is proposed. Some preliminary information is collected on the topic and a scope of work is developed. Your civil engineering research paper will take you a good amount of time. Here are some possible topics for a civil engineering research paper: Indoor Reduction of Wind Farm Noise for Rural Residences; Field Tests on Geosynthetic Reinforced Unpaved Roads; Improving Water Quality in New York City; Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Old Infrastructure. Pre-writing Tips: The Way to Effective Body Writing Know the purpose of your research. You have to think about the purpose of your research. The purpose of your paper may be to understand a problem and propose a solution to it. A critical researcher regularly considers the purpose of the research, what is supposed to be achieved and why. Schedule. Research consumes a lot of time, and time management is of great essence. You will, therefore, be required to have a timeline of things that you should accomplish by a specific date (e.g. find 20 sources by June 30, complete chapter 1 by July 15). You will need time to get an overview of what material is available in your university library, take notes, and start putting notes together. Search for bibliographies. To make your work easier, you should search for necessary bibliographies before you start writing. This includes looking for the sources that other authors have used, searching if they are available online, and saving them for later use. Know your resources. Spend time getting to know what resources your library offers. Ask the research librarian for some assistance if needed. Check some of the academic databases that your university has subscribed too and whether you can access them outside the school. Seek help. Before starting, you should seek help from your instructor. They will help you locate specific pieces of hard to find information or clarify grey areas. They may also recommend a few authors who are well-versed in your topic. The Actual Research and How to Conduct It Properly Your civil engineering research paper will have the following parts: Cover Page This part contains the paper’s title, your name, and the year. Abstract The abstract will be a broad overview of your paper, and it is never more than a page. It describes what your paper is all about, objectives its significance, the methodology, and the main findings. You should take the time to write a good abstract because it is the first part of the paper that will be read by your instructor. Introduction and Statement of the Problem Here, you are to explain the main research problem and why it is important, how original it is and if it will fill a gap in other studies. Literature Review This section includes a review of what other authors have written about your topic. You will be required to provide relevant information that has been done on the topic from the analysis and summary of published literature and reports. This section will draw heavily on the previous work by others and other sources of data that should be extensively referenced. Methodology Discuss the research methodology that you used for your study. What did you do, how you did you do it. You should provide enough information on the research schedule with specific tasks and milestones that can be used to track the progress of the research. Limitations of the Study In this section, you will indicate what you are not going to attempt. You can limit your paper by personnel, time, and geographic location among others. Expected Results and Methods of Analyses Here, you will describe the data expected to be generated by the research. Describe how the data will be processed, summarized or analyzed. Identify statistical methods that you will use to process the data. Also, describe how you will assimilate and interpret literature, interviews, or other non-qualitative information. Conclusions Here, you state what you have learned or proved. Describe interesting observations, new questions, and future work here. References For your work to be considered credible, you should use sources that are regarded as highly credible. You should not rely on those that give a personal opinion or anecdotal evidence. Sources that are considered reputable include: Specialist magazines or newspapers of high repute; Government reports, reports from recognized and reputable organizations; Published theses; Journals: If possible, try to restrict yourself to peer-reviewed journals which are journals that are reviewed by experts who work in the field of research before they are published. Some More Important Things to Consider Geographical Restriction: If your topic focuses on a particular county, you will need the information from that country’s resources. Year Range: Some universities require that you use information published that fit a particular year range. You could be restricted to sources that are not more than 10 years old or less. Editing: How to Polish Your Paper to Perfection The research is a formal academic document and should be written formally. Write your research in the third person. You should be clear and succinct. The report should be written in the past tense because the document describes the work that has been done before. You should ensure that your work meets the required level of academic writing. It should also be presented in a clear and logical manner. The necessary high standards in spelling, referencing, and grammar should be met. Stay within the word limit: you should strive to remain within the word limit. Most instructors penalize students for failing to reach the word limit or writing beyond what was required of them. Cut long sentences in two: keep your sentences short to avoid losing the reader’s focus. Readers often get stuck when reading long utterances. Remove repetition: use varied vocabulary. You should not use the same words repetitively in the research unless they are keywords. Proofread: proofread your work multiple times to identify and correct mistakes. Seek help: request someone else to review your paper and check for mistakes. Plagiarism: Make Sure There is Nothing to Be Ashamed Of To avoid plagiarism, you are required to properly cite and attribute the work of others in the literature review and background section of your work. You should cite words that you have used directly from other authors. You must also document the source when you use the ideas or information of others even if they appear in your own words. However, you are not required to cite sources for materials that are considered common knowledge. You should expect to put a lot of work into your research. First, you will be required to come up with a research proposal which constitutes the first part of the project. The research proposal will establish the organization for the final document. Equally, you must strive to produce high-quality research project. References Bui, Y. (2013). How to write a masters thesis. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE. Ram, P., Sethi, A., Madadin, M., Menezes, R. (2016). Research at an undergraduate level An insight into its importance. Nepal Journal Of Epidemiology, 6(1), 528. doi: 10.3126/nje.v1i1.14734

Briefly discuss, using specific examples, the issue of vaccine safety Outline

Briefly discuss, using specific examples, the issue of vaccine safety - Outline Example They argue that the effectiveness and safety of vaccines are not guaranteed. Issues surrounding the safety of vaccines are based on the fact that the use of vaccines has been associated with health problems that occur as side effects upon using vaccines. Specifically, autism has controversially been a condition that has been linked to the use of vaccines, with children within the relevant age bracket being the most vulnerable. In this regard, parents have raised concerns over the underlying risks in vaccine use. Governments, states, and more especially medical interventionists are embarking on monitoring health status of most vaccinated patients in a bid to ensure that vaccines remain safe, over and above being effective (Miller, 2009, p.173). While most vaccines have passed safety tests, cases of vaccines that are not safe cannot be ruled out. The occurrence of health problems that result from vaccines also remains an open phenomenon, thereby necessitating intensive analysis of vaccines’ side effects and subsequent health complications that they are likely to

Economic Indicators' Impact on Different Stock Categories Research Paper

Economic Indicators' Impact on Different Stock Categories - Research Paper Example While every indicator is an important measure of a facet of the economy, do all of them influence the stock markets equally? Hence the importance to know is which of these indicators influence the stock markets most, and probably more importantly which economic indicators most influence which types of stocks. For an investor, knowing which key economic affect the stock prices most can be of paramount importance, especially if they are in the stock market for the short-term. Different families of stocks provide different returns, which means that different investors, based on their appetite for risk, will opt for different investment strategies for which type of stocks to keep in their investment portfolio. This means that a â€Å"one-size fits all' theory on economic indicators affecting the stock prices may not be particularly relevant. Hence the need to identify whether (or not) the same set of economic indicators similarly influence the stock prices of small cap stocks as for lar ge cap stocks. Finally, a revelation from research that the small cap stocks are indeed influenced differently and/or by different economic indicators than those for large cap stocks, could have significant implications for governments - especially in formulating their economic policies with regard to small cap companies and even start-ups in the country. 2 Literature Review Stock markets depend a lot on the economic activity in the country. The health of the economic activity is presented through the economic indicators. Several studies have therefore been done on the linkage between stock markets and macroeconomic variables. While some studies have focussed on industrialised and developed economies others have focussed on the developing economies. Also, while some studies have attempted to see the impact of one macroeconomic variable on the stock prices, others have used two or more variables to see the link between macroeconomic variables and stock markets. Some of the economic i ndicators that influence stock prices as suggested in various studies include: Inflation, Unemployment, Interest Rates, Exchange Rates, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Industrial Production, M2 Money Supply, and so forth. The subject of how economic indicators influence stock prices or stock returns has been studied regularly over the years. Ibrahim (1999) found that macroeconomic forces have systematic influences on stock prices via their influences on expected future cash flows. Chakravarty (2005) also viewed that stock exchange prices are highly sensitive to fundamental macroeconomic indicators. Mehr (2005) observed that the effects of public policies on economic growth can be measured by the increase in stock exchange prices. Some of the other researches to have been conducted on studying the link between one or a combination of several economic indicators and stock markets are Feldstein (1983), Thorbecke and Coppock (1995), Chang, Yeung, & Yip (2000), Sellin (2001), Boyd, Hu & Ja ganathan (2002), Tessarotis (2002), Bernanke & Kenneth (2005), Desislava (2005), Vygodina (2006), Maskay (2007), Bartolini, Goldberg & Sacarny (2008), Mahmudul & Gazi (2009). These studies have dealt with the subject with different approaches - from considering one of the economic indicator’s effect on stock market to considering a bunch of up to 25 economic indicato