Assessing Organizational Culture Essay Example for Free

Assessing Organizational Culture Essay Almost every organization, whether public or private, on paper or in practice, has a culture that fairly dictates its everyday functioning. The term culture has many definitions but in this discussion it is defined as shared beliefs, values, symbols, and behaviors. Culture binds a workforce together and is its control mechanism, or purpose, to facilitate its functioning. These items are powerful driving forces in the success of an organization and their value to the community they serve whether it is a public or private entity will affect the success of any organization. While cultures are found in some organizations more prominently than in others, there are those organizations where the culture of that specific organization’s ideal stands out above others. Police departments, military units and religious organizations all have a strong, centralized culture that forms its base and permeates its entire existence. Many times people outside of those professions do not understand the mentality or job commitment a person from one of these career fields shares with his/her co-workers. An example would be the duty and honor commitment of a United State Marine, especially when considered by a person who was anti-military; the Marines belief or core value system is not understood. The medical profession and more specifically hospitals, demonstrate a common goal that simply stated, is the care and healing of the sick or injured. For the most part, the medical staff employed at a hospital is there for that specific purpose. The medical field brings together a vast array of individuals from different backgrounds and cultures. But once they become a doctor, hospital nurse, surgical technician, etc. they take on a new life and thereby absorb a new culture into their lives. Subcultures, as defined by organizational theorists John van Maanen and Stephen Barley, are â€Å"a subset of an organization’s members who interact regularly with one another, identify themselves as a distinct group†¦and routinely take action on the basis of collective understandings unique to the group† (Cheney, 2011, 78-79) The organizational culture in a hospital is based on the premise that the hospital is there to provide a place for the care and healing of the sick or injured. Organizational theorist Mary Jo Hatch puts forth that there are five (5) â€Å"Degrees of Cultural Integration and Differentiation† (Cheney, 77) identified as follows: Unitary, Diverse (Integrated), Diverse (Differentiated), Diverse (Fragmented) and Disorganized (Multi-cephalous) (Hatch, 1997, 210). A hospital in its purest form would be well represented as a Unitary culture because the staff as a whole all have the same values or beliefs. But individual staff or even medical units may fall into any of the other cultures identified as well. A particular unit, i. e. cardiac telemetry floor, may be a Diverse (Fragmented) unit due to a group of nurses who do not view their critical task requirements in the same way and as a result the level of patient infections or deaths rises, causing unrest among the staff, supervisors, patient families and resulting in legal ramifications thereby fragmenting the staff’s solidarity. Social psychologist Edgar Schein formulated a theoretical model that shows an organization’s culture is built on three levels: artifacts, values and norms, and assumptions and beliefs. Artifacts are usually the most common and visible sign of a specific culture. Schein puts forth that things such as nursing uniforms, terminology, surgical protocols and more, actually and accurately represent the basic aspects of organization’s culture. The values and norms aspect of his theory, while not always visible, can be seen through behavior of the individual or group; it reveals what is important to the group and how they treat each other within their organization. Each aspect of the profession may have an operating procedure or environment nique to that area of specialization, but still have the same values and norms for their actions. In a surgical room, sterilization of the environment is much more important than it would be in a patient’s room on a medical/surgical floor, but they still have the same belief in keeping an open wound as clean as possible. While values in the medical profession do not vary as a whole, values do define accepted behavior and action. Genuine assumptions and beliefs are nurtured by a persons or organizations values and norms. Values vary only slightly in the various medical professions and facilities. Depending on the medical specialty area, operational norms and methods may differ according to training priorities, equipment and environment unique to that specialty. For instance, the hospital in-patient wound care team may have the same desire to treat a patient’s wounds as a home health nursing team, but the methods of treatment or medications used may be different. Differences begin to surface when a patient is sent home on a negative pressure wound therapy system, i. e. a wound V. A. C.  ®, that aids in the healing of wounds via suction (http://www. kci1. com/KCI1/vactherapy). Many home health nurses does not know how to properly change the intricate dressing or fully understand this equipment or the damaging results that can occur if not changed properly. Faulty assumptions are therefore made based on the beliefs of the home health nurse of what should be done for the patient. When that happens, problems arise in this particular scenario that could result in the patient being brought back to the hospital for a further period of hospitalization due to a breakdown of their wounds or even the creation of new wounds as a result of improper V. A. C.  ® placement. The overriding culture of the medical field is based on the Physician’s Creed of â€Å"First, do no harm† (author uncertain but it is based on the Hippocratic Oath which states to abstain from doing harm). This belief echoes throughout the medical field all over the world. And while there are individual exceptions or exceptions in areas such as animal research for the betterment of mankind or the ethical issue of abortion, the creed has gone unchanged since the time of the ancient Greeks and before. Schein’s three (3) levels of artifacts, values and norms, and assumptions and beliefs, are evident in every clinical setting. With further exploration, Hatch’s five (5) Degrees of Cultural Integration and Differentiation will also be found, albeit not everyone will be seen on every hospital floor or unit. Medical facilities are a kaleidoscope or a microcosm of many subcultures under the roof of the main culture of being a place for the care and healing of the sick or injured. Without that organizational culture giving guidance to all of the subcultures involved in this humanitarian career field, the death rate for minor injuries and diseases would compound exponentially.

Taro Leaves Drying Kinetics and Monolayer Moisture Content

Taro Leaves Drying Kinetics and Monolayer Moisture Content INTRODUCTION |1 A study on the drying kinetics and monolayer moisture content of taro leaves This research was aimed to develop dehydrated products based on Taro leaves and finding out the effect of drying parameters such as loading density and temperature on that control the drying kinetics. To determine the end point of drying studies on the sorption isotherm was conducted. From the moisture sorption isotherm data, the monolayer moisture content was estimated by Braunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation using data up to a water activity (aw) of 0.52 and monolayer moisture content was found to be 8.92 g water per 100 g solid for taro leaves. By using another most important model, GAB (Guggenheim-Anderson-DeBoer) model, using data up to aw=0.9, the monolayer moisture content of taro leaves was found to be 19.78g water per 100 gm solid. INTRODUCTION It is estimated that by 2020, the population of Bangladesh will be as high as 200 million, which means that there is a need to produce more food from the limited land resources. In this context, there is a need to explore alternate food crops, which could supply food in food insecurity situations. â€Å"Taro† can be the alternative to the other vegetables for developing and under developed country. Apart from acting as cheap energy and dietary source, this crop provides other micronutrients, vitamins and dietary fiber as well. In Bangladesh, taro is used as vegetable throughout the country. Corms and cormels are used as starchy vegetables whereas leaves and leaf stalks are used as ‘shak’. During famine, a large number of people reportedly survive simply on food materials made by boiling the corms, cormels, stolons, leaf stalks and leaves of different varieties of Taro. The subfamily Colocasioideae of family Araceae consists of three edible tubercrops, namely taro (Colocasia esculenta Schott), `tannia (Xanthosoma spp.) and giant Taro (Alocasia spp.). Among these crops, taro and tannin are cultivated to a larger extent, while giant taro is not as common as commercial crop like the other two. In general, these are crops of third world countries, particularly grown in Africa and Asia. About 88 % of the total world acreage is in Africa which produces about 80% of total production (Onwueme, 1978). Among the three crops, taro is more common in South-East Asia. It is one of the ancient crops with an interesting history blending with the evolution of agricultural systems (Gopalan et al., 1974). A large number of horticultural varieties of taro are widely cultivated in Bangladesh and still larger varieties grow wild. During the rainy season when other vegetables are in scarcity in Bangladesh this taro goes a long way to meet the demand for vegetables. The leaves, petioles, stolons, corms and cormels, and indeed all the parts of some taro are taken as food in large quantities by the rural population in our country. Hence the use of Taro as vegetables, both leaves and roots, in the diets of the people of our country assumes special and added importance. The taro has also medicinal value. Processed Bishknchu is used in Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of rheumatism. Juice from petioles and whole leaves are used as antiseptic to check bleeding from minor injury in the rural areas of Bangladesh (Chowdhury, 1975). The possibility of wider use of the Taro leaves as vegetables crops in our country may be ascribed to their unusual environmental adaptability and ease of cultivation. The lowland types grow in standing water which is rarely possible for other crops. The taro can be produced with minimum capital investment. Growing of this crop does not require any special technological skill. Their keeping quality in most cases is excellent. The best way of preserving the leasfy vegetables is drying or dehydration. This process costs less, then other preserving methods and require simple instrument. The type and conditions of the blanching treatment prior to drying affect the retention of ascorbic acid, carotene, and ash in the dried vegetables. The sun-dried vegetables had inferior color, texture and acceptability compared to the vegetables dried in the cabinet dryer. In the mechanical dryer, desired temperature and airflow could be maintained. Compared to sun/solar drying, higher airflow and temperature can be used in mechanical drying. This leads to high production rates and improved quality products due to shorter drying time and reduction of the risk of insect infestation and microbial spoilage as well as minimum nutrient loss. Since mechanical drying is not dependent on sunlight so it can be done as and when necessary. Based on the above information, the present experiment was broadly aimed to study on development of shelf stable taro (Colocassia esculenta) leaves product. The specific objectives of this study are as follows: To determine the composition of fresh and processed Taro leaves To develop the isotherm To study the drying characteristics of taro leaves during mechanical and vacuum drying To study the storage stability of processed taro leaves Materials and methods 3.2.3 Sorption isotherm studies The moisture sorption properties of dried Taro leaves were determined at room temperature under conditions of various relative humidity (11-93% RH) in the vacuum desiccators. The various RH conditions were achieved in vacuum desiccators using saturated salt solutions. The following salt solutions (Table. 3.1) of known water activity were used for the study (Islam, 1980). Table 3.1: Water activity of saturated salt solution Petri dishes were used for preparing saturated salt solution. The various salts were put in the Petri dish and water is added to give a saturated condition. The method involved putting a small accurately weighed about 1g sample in a previously weighed Petri dish into desiccators contained saturated salt solutions. The sample and the solution was separated a perforated plate to avoid mixing. The desiccators were evacuated to less than 50 Torr. At various intervals, the vacuum was broken with air, the sample weighed and replaced in the desiccators, which was then re-evacuated. The sample was weighed daily in the initial period and less often, as the sample started to reach equilibrium. Weighing was continued until the sample weights were constant two days in row. In the mid-1970s, water activity came to the forefront as a major factor in understanding the control of the deterioration of reduced moisture, drugs and biological systems (Labuza, 1975). It was found that the general modes of deterioration, namely physical and physicochemical modifications, microbiological growth, and both aqueous and lipid phase chemical reactions were all influenced by the thermodynamic availability of water (water activity) as well as the total moisture content of the system. Control of initial moisture content and moisture migration is critical to the quality and safety of foods. Ideally, food manufacturers develop products with defined moisture contents to produce a safe product with optimum shelf- life. Quality and safety factors that the manufacturer must consider are microbial stability, physical properties, sensory properties, and the rate of chemical changes leading to loss of shelf-life. Water activity or the equilibrium relative humidity of a system is defined as: Where Vapor pressure of water in equilibrium with the dry system Saturation vapor pressure of pure water at the same temperature. Sorption properties of floods (equilibrium moisture content and monolayer moisture) are essential for the design and optimization of many processes such as drying, packaging and storage (Muhtaseb et al., 2002).The moisture sorption isotherms show the equilibrium amount of water sorbed onto a solid as a function of steady state vapor pressure at a constant temperature (Bell and Labuza, 2000). There are many empirical equations that describe this behavior, but the water sorption properties at various RHs should be experimentally determined for each material. The general shape of the isotherm, specific surface area of the sample, reversibility of moisture uptake, presence and shape of a hysteresis loop provide information on the manner of interaction of the solid with water (Swaminathan and Kildsig, 2001). Sorption properties are important in predicting the physical state of materials at various conditions, because most structural transformations and phase transitions are significantly affected by water (Roos, 1995). Langmuir (1917) developed an equation based on the theory that the molecules of gas are adsorbed on the active sites of the solid to form a layer one molecule thick (monolayer). The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) sorption model (Brunauer et al.1938) is often used in modeling water sorption particularly to obtain the monolayer value (Eq. 2.10) which gives the amount of water that is sufficient to form a layer of water molecules of the thickness of one molecule on the adsorbing surface (Bell and Labuza 2000, Roos, 1995). The BET monolayer value has been said to be optimal water content for stability of low-moisture materials (Labuza, 1975 and Roos, 1995). The BET equation was developed based on the fact that sorption occurs in two distinct thermodynamic states; a tightly bound portion and multilayer having the properties of bulk free water (Zografi and Kontny, 1986). The BET equation is: Where, = the measured moisture at water activity = the monolayer moisture content (the optimal moisture content for maximum storage stability of a dry food); c = the isotherm temperature dependence coefficient (energy constant) Vanchy (2002) determined the moisture sorption isotherm of Whole milk powder (WMP). The WMPs were stored at 20 and 35 °C under 11%, 22% and 33% relative humidity . The monolayer moisture content was 4.8%, (solids not fat basis) at 0. 11 using the BET equation and 5.1 % at 0.23 according to the GAB equation. Nikolay et al. (2005) determined the moisture equilibrium data (adsorption and desorption) of semi-defatted (fat 10.6 % wet basis) pumpkin seed flour using the static gravimetric method of saturated salt solutions at three temperatures 10 °C, 25 °C, and 40 °C, found that the equilibrium moisture content decreased with the increase in storage temperature at any given water activity. They fitted the experimental data to five mathematical models (modified Oswin, modified Halsey, modified Chung-Host, modified Henderson and GAB). The GAB model was found to be the most suitable for describing the sorption data. The monolayer moisture content was estimated using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation. The BET model (Brunauer et al. 1938) gives the best fit to the data at aw of up to 0.5 (Bell and Labuza 2000, Roos 1995). Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB) sorption model (Anderson 1946, Boer 1953, Guggenheim 1966) introduces a third state of sorbed species intermediate to the tightly bound and free states. The GAB equation has a similar form to BET, but has an extra constant, K (equation 2.11). BET is actually a special case of GAB. The GAB equation is: Isotherm equations are useful for predicting the water sorption properties of a material, but no equation gives results accurate throughout the entire range of water activities. According to Timmermann (2003), the GAB monolayer value is always higher than the BET monolayer value. Prediction of water sorption is needed to establish water activity and water content relationship for materials (Roos, 1995) Where m = the measured moisture at water activity; = the monolayer moisture content (the optimal moisture content for maximum storage stability of a dry food), =the GAB multi-layer constant; c=the isotherm temperature dependence coefficient (energy constant). The GAB model can be used to a maximum water activity of 0.9. The following procedure is suggested by Biozt (1983) to fit data on water activities and equilibrium moisture content. Equation (2.11) can be transformed as follows: Where Equation (2.12) indicates that GAB equation is a three-parameter model. The water activity and equilibrium moisture content date are regressed using equation (2.12) and values of three coefficients, and are obtained. From these coefficients, the values of k,, and c can be calculated. To overcome this weakness of the GAB equation, modifications of the equation have been proposed (Schuchmann et al. 1990; Timmermann and Chirife 1991). Timmermann and Chirife (1991) used one additional parameter in the GAB model and studied the so-called third stage of sorption using experimental data of starch with satisfactory results. Isotherm equations are useful for predicting the water sorption properties of a material, but no equation gives results accurate throughout the entire range of water activities. According to Timmermann (2003), the GAB monolayer value is always higher than the BET monolayer value. Prediction of water sorption is needed to establish water activity and water content relationship for materials (Roos, 1995). Results and discussion: The sorption isotherm is an extremely valuable tool for food scientist because it can be used to predict potential changes in food stability, for selection of packaging, for selection of ingredient and for predicting drying time. A sorption isotherm for dehydrated taro leaves obtained by Vacuum oven drying (VOD) was established to determine how the taro product will behave in a confined environment. To obtain the moisture sorption isotherm, moisture content (dry basis) versus water activity were plotted on linear graph paper (Figure 4.1). The results shown in Figure 4.1 (tabulated data given in Appendix-II, Table 2.1), indicate that samples absorb little water particularly at lower aw ( Figure 4.1 Graphical presentation of sorption isotherm of Taro The water sorption isotherm of taro follows the shape of the sigmoid type isotherm. The resultant curve is caused by the combination of colligative effects (physical properties of solution), capillary effects, and surface-water interactions (Bell and Labuza, 2000). A distinct knee usually indicates a formation of a well-defined monolayer. The monolayer moisture content was estimated using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation. The BET equation is an extension of the Langmuir relationship that accounts for multilayer coverage. BET equation was used (eq. 2.10) to calculate monolayer moisture content (mo) and energy constant (C). mo represents the optimal moisture for maximum storage stability in the dry state. Results obtained from BET equation are shown in Table 4.2. Table 4.2 Data for BET and GAB methods From the slope and intercept of BET equation (Appendix II, Figure 2.1), monolayer moisture content and energy constant of taro leaves calculated for VOD samples. The monolayer moisture content of taro leaves was found to be 8.92g water per 100 g solid (Table 4.2). The calculated monolayer moisture content are greater than those found by Islam (1980) who reported 5.5 for potato slice and 6 for potato powder and by Kamruzzaman (2005) who reported 7.52 for aroids. Another important model of sorption isotherm behavior stated by GAB (Guggenheim-Anderson-DeBoer) in equation 2.11 and 2.12 to determine the monolayer moisture content of food products. This is very important for safe level of storage of food. Dry foods are usually considered to be most stable to chemical reactions if their moisture content is at or near the BET monolayer (Labuza et al., 1970). Usually air dried products are dried to moisture content corresponding to aw 0.6 (Nickerson and Sinskey, 1977). From this study it is seen that VOD taro leaves give 25% (Figure 4.1) moisture content at 0.6 aw. From this standpoint, freeze dried products are considered best for sorption studies (Islam, 1980). It may be mentioned here that the current study was concerned with adsorption isotherm so as to avoid risk due to hysteresis effect. At same moisture content adsorption path gives higher water activity than desorption path. Thus product dried to safe aw level according to adsorption isotherm will be even safer when it follows desorption path. After fitting data (Appendix II) the following figure was developed and from the developed equation the monolayer moisture content of taro leaves were found for GAB model. Fig. 4.2 Graphical presentation of GAB model of sorption isotherm From the developed Figure (4.2) and equation (4.1) the coefficients found, and were -0.121, 0.114 and -0.003 respectively (Table 4.2). Taking k= 0.9 and found the monolayer moisture content 19.78gm water per 100 gm solid. It is shown that the standard GAB equation is adequate to describe experimental data for water activity values up to 0.90 but fails to adequately describe the experimental data when data in the range of aw 0.9-1.0 are included in the calculation.

Invisible Man Essay: Ethics and Invisible Man :: Invisible Man Essays

Ethics and Invisible Man    The issue of ethics is central to the theme of The Invisible Man.   This essay will examine the ethical issues presented in Ellison's novel in the context of Kenneth Strike's "Principle of Equal Respect".    In one incident Invisible Man is in his third year at a Negro college and is regarded by the President, Dr. Bledsoe, as bright and trustworthy, a young man who has potential. Dr. Bledsoe assigns him to drive a prominent trustee, Mr. Norton, on a tour of the vicinity. Invisible Man inadvertently drives Norton to the old slave quarters, past the home of Jim Trueblood, a local pariah who has committed incest with his young daughter; both his wife and daughter are pregnant by him. At Norton's insistence, the student stops. Norton feels compelled to hear Trueblood's spellbinding version of his crime. Embellished several times over, it is so effective that Norton has a mild stroke. Before leaving, however, Norton gives Trueblood $100, a gesture which angers Invisible Man, who sees it as a reward for a heinous crime. He is careful, though, to mask his emotion.    When he returns to campus, Invisible Man is severely reprimanded by Dr. Bledsoe for betraying his trust and for exposing the trustee to such "trash" as Jim Trueblood. Invisible Man is made to feel as though he should have acted in a deceptive manner; he should have had sense enough to deal with white folks. Then he is led to believe that he is being given a semester off, but the young man is, in fact, expelled from college. Bledsoe gives Invisible Man sealed letters to powerful men in New York City, saying that they will help him get a job. However, when Invisible Man visits the offices of these men, he is unable to get even one interview. Finally one man reveals that the letters call the bearer an enemy of the college who should not be helped but should be given the illusion of hope.    The reader may wonder whether Bledsoe behaves ethically or uses his power abusively. One may argue that, as president of the college, Dr. Bledsoe is responsible for the lives and education of hundreds of students. In this regard, he must be careful not to offend powerful supporters necessary for the institution's survival. But does this permit his sacrifice of Invisible Man?

The Dangers of Censorship in High School Essay -- Argumentative Persua

The Dangers of Censorship in High School Every day well meaning parents, concerned members of society, and Christian activist groups across the country fight to censor the literature that is being taught in high school classrooms. The word censorship carries all types of implications and angles; it involve s a denial of an author's right to guaranteed freedoms of expression. However, as it relates to education, this issue goes a great deal deeper than the standard First Amendment argument. In attempting to ban certain types of literature from the classroom, censors are taking away the rights of teachers to prepare students for a reality that their parents do not seem to think will ever affect them. They likewise deny students the chance to learn how to rationally make their own decisions and instead try to keep that control for themselves. Censorship is preventing intelligent, thoughtful teachers from pushing students to reach past what is just on the page. Whatever their motives may be, those who seek to repress the use of certain materials are doing more harm than good. Those who actively fight to censor, ban, or restrict the kinds of literature that can be taught in America's classrooms are convinced that anyone who truly believes pornography and obscenity are problems must be in favor of censorship. Kristol (1972) points out that students are being corrupted by books and that anyone who doubts this need only look at the lives of the teachers who oppose him to find adequate proof of the damage they do. He finds that it is the responsibility of the educated in society to regulate censorship, but that these are the very people who are convinced that what is being taught by sensitive educators is indeed appropriate and ev... ...our schools--Censorship of classroom books in the last ten years. English Journal, 86 (2), 21-23. Gardner, R. (1997). A new fashioned book burning. English Journal, 86 (2), 63-64. Greenbaum, V. (1997). Censorship and the myth of appropriateness: Reflections on teaching reading in high school. English Journal, 86 (2), 16-19. Kochman, S. M. (1997). What happens when a high school censors. English Journal 86 (2), 58-60. Kristol, I. (1972). Pornography, obscenity, and the case for censorship. Current issues and enduring questions. (1993). Boston: St. Martin's Press. Lacks, C. (1997). The teacher's nightmare: Getting fired for good teaching. English Journal, 86 (2), 29-32. Rossuck, J. (1997). Banned Books: A study of censorship. English Journal, 86 (2), 67-69. Suhor, C. (1997). Censorship--When things get hazy. English Journal, 86 (2), 26-27.

Essay --

APPLE’S PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES The keynote at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2013 offers yet another opportunity to learn fresh and effective techniques that you can and should apply to your presentations. Stick to one theme per slide. It means that it is better not to put the two topics or statistics in one slide. Apple brings this recommendation to the top and becomes as laconic as can be. Apple had to deliver the following idea: â€Å"The developer program is incredibly vibrant. We have over six million registered developers. Demand for this show has never been greater. We sold out in just over a minute [71 seconds].† Let’s think how many slides you would create. Most people would put the two statistics, 6 million and 71 seconds, on one slide. Apple CEO, Tim Cook, had two slides. The first one simply read: 6 million. The second slide read: 71 seconds. The second slide also had the words â€Å"Sold Out† in red. We know that facts and statistic have benefits and drawbacks. If used effectively they offer quick, credible support for your message. Make data visual. In the presentation of Apple Tim Cook announced that Apple customers have downloaded 50 billion apps from the App Store. Instead of simply putting the number on the screen, as most presenters would do, Apple designers created a visual display of the data with zeroes that are actually images of apps. Creative visual cues can impress the audience and become more memorable. Always avoid bullet points. There are images and text (sometimes on the same slide) on Apple slides, but no bullet points. The theory says, â€Å"Include no more than four to six lines of text on one slide- this can be one quote, three bullets that are two lines each, or one example.† The designer... ... part of your company story. Apple’s team presentation is a better role model for creating, designing and delivering presentations. It appears as mix of informative and persuasive presentations. It is perfect example of how speakers’ body language and words match one other. Supporting materials in this presentation add interest, visual impact, and credibility. Techniques that Apple used in this presentation are extremely impressive and effective. Work Cited: DiResta, Diane. Knockout Presentations. Worcester ( Mass.): Chandler House, 1998. Print. Goodall, H. Lloyd., Sandra Goodall, and Jill Schiefelbein. Business and Professional Communication in the Global Workplace. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Pub., 2010. Print. Gallo, Carmine. "10 Presentation Techniques You Can (And Should) Copy From Apple's WWDC Keynote." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 11 June 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2013.

Education for Students with Exceptional Needs Essay

Education is a detrimental factor to one’s success. Through formal education an individual’s knowledge is maximized and nurtured. It is because formal education hones the human mind to think critically and helps human mind in improving its decision making ability. Education also allows individuals to learn about history that enable them to better understand the present and face the challenges of the future. Education helps individuals receive information from the external world. The things people learn through formal education are the very foundation that permits them to move up in the world and seek better jobs. While it is true that hands-on-experience is an important aspect to get to the top, formal education and training are also essential to be qualified for top positions. Raw talents are important but they also need honing and the best way to hone them is through experience and assistance through schooling. Education is a must for everyone. Individuals with exceptional needs should also be given equal opportunity to learn and gain knowledge. Teaching students with exceptional needs is indeed a challenge (Adams, 2006). Teachers who wish to impart their services to these individuals should be equipped, trained, and should posses great patience and care. I believe that the experiences and learning that I am gaining from the university would significantly help me to become a better teacher for these individuals. My major helps me understand that the field of special education is an evolving and changing discipline. It is based on philosophies and it involves studying evidence-based principles and theories, which could be complicated without the guidance of experienced professors. In addition, teachers must learn how to communicate effectively with students and parents so that students will have a more enriched learning experience. I have always been taught that sharing knowledge to others is one of the best ways to help people. Teachers are heroes, they say. I do not want to become a hero but I simply want to help others. Individuals with exceptional needs have to be helped so that they could also learn to stand on their own. Giving them education is one way to support these people. It will help the students reach their full potential and give them more confidence. This will also empower parents and give them less worry regarding their children. Sincerity is an important trait of a person working for individuals with exceptional needs. I sincerely want to help them that is why I chose this field as my career. I believe that pursuing a career on the field of special education would give me the opportunity to help others. As a rehabilitation service major, I know that I will be able to impart my knowledge to these individuals and help them in my own little way. Many teachers are not very enthusiastic in pursuing a career in special education since this is a very challenging task. On the contrary, I am one of those who enjoy facing challenges. Since there are only few who choose the path on special education, I decided that I will be one of the few who could make a difference to these individuals with exceptional needs. I also believe that all people could actually learn. However, since each person is unique, appropriate instructional support is needed especially for individuals with exceptional needs. Thus, training is needed to become a suitable teacher for these individuals. That is why I highly appreciate all the things that I learn in the university because I know that the knowledge will help me in my future career.

A Teacher Essay Essay

Being a public school teacher is certainly one of the most challenging careers, but it is absolutely the most important profession there is. After all, without teachers, there wouldn’t be any other professions! As a teacher, you create the foundation for your students upon which they will build the rest of their lives. You are not only influencing the future of your own students, but you are affecting the collective future of all of humanity for generations to come. You may not be able to see the long-term affect that you have on your students, but you are writing on the pages of who they believe they are, what they believe they are capable of, and who they will choose to be and become. This will determine what they choose to contribute to the world, which will have an impact on shaping the world of tomorrow for all of us. We each touch and affect countless others throughout the course of a lifetime. Everything we say, feel and do has a ripple effect that influences the present and the future of the collective consciousness on Earth. As a teacher, you have the ability to have a profound impact on your students’ lives in the present and far into the future. Think back on the teachers you had in your youth, and think of the ones that had the greatest impact on your life, both positively and negatively. How did they help shape your ideas about yourself and about the world? Did they contribute to your self-esteem, or to your self-doubts? Being a teacher takes great patience, strength, courage, stamina, compassion, intelligence, humor, kindness, caring, heart, generosity, etc. It often involves a great deal of self-sacrifice as well, because unfortunately, our present society greatly undervalues this most noble of professions. Those who choose a career of being a teacher do so knowing that they will face great challenges with little financial reward. You must therefore find the rewards of this career in other ways, by knowing that you are giving your students the tools with which they can succeed at life. Our present educational system in North America, and in other parts of the world, is antiquated and stale, leaving most students and teachers feeling  uninspired. Memorizing facts for tests is not learning. Knowledge is a living, growing thing, and in order to truly learn, the mind must be engaged with passion and interest. The ideal teaching environment is one in which the students are able to think, ask questions, and explore the relevance that the information has in real life, and the impact it may have on their own lives. Young people must know why it is important for them to know what is being taught to them, otherwise it will simply feel like a waste of time, and they will be bored and disinterested. In North America, we have developed a terrible apathy toward education, and many students feel that school is not â€Å"cool†. In Africa, children are begging to have an opportunity to go to school, because they know that education is the key to the future. Oprah Winfrey recognizes how important education is: she honors teachers everywhere as unsung heroes, and has been funding the building of schools in Africa because she believes that education and knowledge empower people to create a more successful life. In our present North American school system, being in a classroom can be very tiring and draining for both the teachers and the students. As a teacher, you keep giving energy continually to your students, but if nothing is coming back to you, it can feel demoralizing and even depressing, which can lead to burnout. It is important for you as a teacher to find ways to keep you and your students motivated and inspired. Most people do not realize the full impact that teachers have on students. Teachers have the ability to support a person’s self-esteem, or to destroy it. Many young people may be experiencing devastating pain at home, either physically, emotionally, mentally or even spiritually, so school may be the only place where they can receive support and encouragement. This is particularly true of â€Å"bad† kids, who are often suffering greatly at home, and as a result, they begin to live down to other people’s expectations of them. If they are labeled as â€Å"bad†, then they will feel â€Å"bad† and will do â€Å"bad† things because that is who they have come to believe they are. As a teacher, you can foster and encourage your students (and yourself) to  have a strong desire to succeed in school, and in life. The ideal classroom environment is one that inspires co-operation, rather than competition. In life, as each one wins, we all win, because the joy of one raises the vibration of the collective consciousness for us all. We have a situation in schools today, particularly in public schools, where everyone wants to be the same, and no one wants to stand out. Therefore, we must try to encourage them all to be outstanding! One of the ways you can do this is to encourage your students to be stars. This can be challenging with older students because they will act like everything is stupid and they don’t care, but they really do care. You can create a board with the name of everyone in your class, including yours, and have gold stars that you can stick on the board next to each person’s name as they accomplish any positive achievement, including teamwork and positive effort. Although you may have to pay for this out of your own pocket, it is very inexpensive and will repay great rewards for all concerned. Perhaps the students can even give stars to each other, to you, and to themselves for any positive accomplishment. You can give stars out for grades, but also for class participation, for effort, for improvement, for attitude, for citizenship, for extra credit, etc. You could even further motivate the students by having a â€Å"play day† or â€Å"pizza day† when the class collectively gets a certain number of stars. You don’t have to pay for this yourself, you can have a collection jar where the students can contribute their own money to such a reward celebration. Ideally, you want to make teaching fun and rewarding for you, and have learning be fun and rewarding for your students, so be as creative as possible. Rewards don’t have to require money, but feeling like a star can create infinite rewards for life. You can encourage your students to make a star chart for themselves at home, or better yet (with their parents’ permission), to put gold stars on their mirror whenever they have a sense of accomplishment or overcoming challenges – that way they can start to see themselves as a star on a daily basis. I would recommend this for you as  well, and for everyone. A positive, inspiring and encouraging environment has infinite positive ripple effects. You can make your classroom into an oasis where I and my students can all feel good about yourselves. This will create positive energy that keeps growing, which will energize you instead of draining you. If you inspire your students, you will feel inspired, and vice versa. Likewise, if you motivate them, you will feel motivated, and vice versa. Encourage your students to work together and to be self-motivated, so that all the energy is not just coming from you. Foster group work and group discussion, where each person has a sense of making an important contribution to the whole. The more fun and interesting you can make it for you and your students, the more you will all put into it, so you will all get more out of it and want to be there. As a teacher, you are the cornerstone of our society, and you make the greatest contribution there is to changing and affecting our world. I applaud you, and everyone in your profession. May you be inspired to inspire, motivated to motivate, and encouraged to encourage.