Why Home Schooled Students Should Have Access to Extracurricular Activities Essay Example For Students

Why Home Schooled Students Should Have Access to Extracurricular Activities Essay Over the years I was plagued with questions about my homeschooling: â€Å"You mean you don’t go to school?† Or my favorite: â€Å"So you wake up whenever you want?†, both of which are good questions for this obscure child that doesn’t â€Å"go to school†. I was weird. Although I assumed this was simply the childish reaction, there was always part of me that dreaded the question, even from adults. Why had my parents chosen this for me? Religious reasons? Inferior public schooling? Really it boiled down to the belief that they could better tailor my education and develop a more creative and energetic mind in their children. Homeschooling was the difficult but sacrificial choice my parents made for my siblings and I, and we thank them for it. We will write a custom essay on Why Home Schooled Students Should Have Access to Extracurricular Activities specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Although homeschooling seems to be gaining ground as a more acceptable and less obscure form of education than in previous years, the general public has yet to fully embrace it. One big battle is the debate over extracurricular activities offered by public schools and their policies regarding the inclusion of local homeschool children. Should they be allowed to take part in the school’s offerings, even if they don’t attend the school for classes? Extracurriculars can be an important part of a child’s development. Team sports, for example, offer lessons in fairness, teamwork, disappointment and even victory. Although perhaps some of these lessons aren’t considered necessities in the educational world, we can all agree these are beneficial lessons every child should have a chance to learn. Homeschooling is often considered a sub-par form of education when in reality it offers a full and rich educational experience that deserves similar rights to the publicl y educated, including access to public school extracurr. .from The State of Alabamas Tim Tebow Bill: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers. Www.timtebowbill.com. 2006. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. HSLDA: Homeschooling Advocates since 1983. HSLDA: Homeschooling Advocates since 1983. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.Homeschooling Grows Up. HSLDA | Socialization: Homeschoolers Are in the Real World. N.p., n. d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. Lawernce, Julia. Homeschooling Ranks Growing Nationwide. Education News Number of Homeschoolers Growing Nationwide Comments. Education News, 1 May 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. Wright, Rebecca. Homeschoolers Should Participate in Public School Athletics.Homeschooling. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from Homeschool Students Belong in School Sports. Jackson Sun 26 July 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

The Quest for Individual Freedom in Liberalism

The Quest for Individual Freedom in Liberalism Liberalism is one of the principal doctrines in Western political philosophy. Its core values are typically expressed in terms of individual freedom and equality. How these two ought to be understood is a matter of dispute so that they are often differently declined in different places or among different groups. Even so, it is typical to associate liberalism with democracy, capitalism, freedom of religion, and human rights. Liberalism is has been mostly defended in England and the United States. Among the authors that most contributed to the development of liberalism, John Locke (1632-1704) and John Stuart Mill (1808-1873). Early Liberalism Political and civic behavior describable as liberal can be found across the history of humanity, but liberalism as a full-fledged doctrine can be traced back to approximately three hundred and fifty years ago, in northern Europe, England, and Holland in particular. It should be remarked, however, that the history of liberalism is entrenched with the one of an earlier cultural movement, namely humanism, which flourished in central Europe, especially in Florence, in the 1300 and 1400s, reaching its apex during Renaissance, in fifteen hundreds. It is indeed in those countries that most delved into the exercise of free trade and exchange of people and ideas that liberalism thrived. The Revolution of 1688 marks, from this perspective, an important date for liberal doctrine, underlined by the success of entrepreneurs such as Lord Shaftesbury and authors such as John Locke, who returned to England after 1688 and resolved to finally publish his masterpiece, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), wherein he provided also a defense of individual liberties that are key to the liberalist doctrine. Modern Liberalism Despite its recent origins, liberalism has an articulated history testifying of its key role in modern Western society. The two great revolutions, in America (1776) and France (1789) refined some of the key ideas behind liberalism: democracy, equal rights, human rights, the separation between State and religion and freedom of religion, the focus on the individual well-being. The 19th century was a period of intense refinement of the values of liberalism, which had to face the novel economic and social conditions posed by incipient industrial revolution. Not only authors such as John Stuart Mill gave a fundamental contribution to liberalism, bringing to the philosophical attention topics such as freedom of speech, the liberties of women and of slaves; but also the birth of the socialist and communist doctrines, among others under the influence of Karl Marx and the French utopists, forced liberalists to refine their views and bond into more cohesive political groups. In the 20th century, liberalism was restated to adjust to the changing economic situation by authors such as Ludwig von Mises and John Maynard Keynes. The politics and lifestyle diffused by the Unites States throughout the world, then, gave a key impulse to the success of liberal lifestyle, at least in practice if not in principle. In more recent decades, liberalism has been used also to address the pressing issues of the crisis of capitalism and the globalized society. As the 21st century enters into its central phase, liberalism is still a driving doctrine that inspires political leaders and individual citizens. It is the duty of all those who live in a civil society to confront with such a doctrine. Sources: Bourdieu, Pierre.  The Essence of Neoliberalism.  http://mondediplo.com/1998/12/08bourdieu. Britannica Online Encyclopedia.  Liberalism.  https://www.britannica.com/topic/liberalism. The Liberty Fund.  Online Library. http://oll.libertyfund.org/. Hayek, Friedrich A.  Liberalism.   angelfire.com/rebellion/oldwhig4ever/ .Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Liberalism.  https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism/.

Critique Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critique Writing - Essay Example Students tend to discuss with the lecturer about their grades. This is disheartening because a tutor can comment on student’s grades before final exams have been done. The author argues that students in Brazilian Portuguese language tend to think about their grades or result than their counterparts in America. In America, students do not discuss their grades or results instead they accept their scores and do not challenge their tutor on any grade or result. What is significant to note about American students is that they have bad classroom manners in the sense that they arrive late, turning in homework after the deadline and even answer cell phones. For them, grade is not a big issue to worry. In other universities such as MIT, students are encouraged to work hard (Byrd, 2004). What is disheartening is that students all over the world are concerned about getting good grades even if it means cheating in exam or being

Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Climate Change - Essay Example Higher temperatures would have a marked result on energy command. No doubt, Space heating needs would reduce considerably, though an increased demand for air conditioning may entail superior electricity use. Warmer winters would award a few benefits for construction output. A reduction in the frequency, harshness and duration of winter freeze could also be helpful to the transport sector. If we analyze then we come to know that climate change has potential risks for the UK. It is predictable that by 2050 the average temperature will have increased by at least 1.5C.these higher temperatures, would reduce the water holding ability of soils, which in turn would have a major consequence on the types of crops, trees or other plants that our soils can support. Numerous native species plus communities would be adversely affected and may finally be lost to the UK. It is also likely that there would be an increased attack and spread of alien weeds, pests, illness and illness, some of which may be potentially damaging. No doubt, a prediction method is specified for a first- plus second-order nonstationary spatio-temporal procedure. The predictor uses local data only and consists of a two-stage generalized weakening approximation of the local float at the prediction location added to a kriging prediction of the remaining procedure at that location. If we analyze then we come to know that this predictor is applied to comments on seasonal, rainfall-deposited sulfate over the conterminous United States among summer 1986 and summer 1992. Analyses propose that predictions and predictable prediction standard mistake have insignificant to small biases, there is spatially heterogeneous chronological drift, and temporal covariance is insignificant. According to the expert analysis the prediction method presented here is an addition of moving-window regression remaining kriging (MWRRK) (Haas 1990a, 1990b, 1992) plus consists of two-stage regression performed on observations local to the prediction location in space and time followed by a kriging prediction of the remaining. Moreover, this prediction technique is referred to moving-cylinder spatio-temporal kriging (MCSTK). Global warming in UK and Europe No doubt, temperatures have been rising by as much as 0.1[degrees]C per decade in regions where minute island states are situated (Nurse et al. 2001). Increases in outside air temperatures have been superior to global rates of warming in areas such as the Pacific Ocean as well as the Caribbean Sea. Based on data from 34 stations in the Pacific from regarding 160[degrees] east and typically south of the equator, outside air temperatures increased by 0.3-0.8[degrees]C throughout the 20th century (Nurse et al. 2001). Globally, average sea height rose among 0.1 and 0.2 m through the 20th century. Based on tide gauge data, the speed of global mean sea-level rise was in the variety of 1.0-2.0 mm/year compared by means of an average rate of concerning 0.1-0.2 mm/year over the last 3,000 years (Nicholls as well as Leatherman 1996). It is hard to establish the degree of sea-level modify for

Software Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Software - Research Paper Example They understand the metrics of the business they operate in. With this knowledge they are able to improve the performance of the business. They are continually looking for business solutions from a technology perspective (Bloem, Doorn, & Mittal, 2005). In this regard, the CIO is expected to provide these solutions so that the business is seen to improve. They engage data mining techniques to get the information required to improve the data. They are seen to be business catalysts. They are helping the businesses to make money out of these decisions. The decisions they make are valued by management. They bring about major revolutions. They are included in very crucial management meetings of the company. Management makes use of these CIOs to improve the line of business seen to bring the expected targets. These CIOs are common in industries where competition is so high. They help to bring innovation in the company so that they remain ahead of competition. Disadvantages One disadvantage with this setup of that there is a lack of coordination between the various IT services. There is no integration of technology in business. This is because there is a lot of autonomy in undertaking the business. This hinders the successful integration of technology and business. ... The changes that are experienced today are seen in the role that Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are having. CIOs are from time to time asked to evaluate the role that IT plays in an organization. As technology becomes a very important and integral part of any business, the role of the CIO becomes very crucial by the day; these officers become business leaders of any type. Their main role is to transform the IT function from the traditional role which was expected to make things work faster in an organization with an international strategic function. The CIO is being asked to look for more strategic solutions that will make the business ahead of the competition. Another advantage is that organizations are getting all the reason to align their IT functions with the objectives of the business. Most managers ask the CIO to give a justification of the technology investments that the company makes and then deliver on the benefits that they have promised will be achieved. There is global ization that is being realized in organizations today, thus bringing changes to the role in which the CIO plays in the company further. When combined with technology, globalization is making the business to scale great heights. With this trend, organizations are no longer limited by distance. The companies which are leaders in their field of operation are swiftly moving so fast to take the full advantage of the benefits that come with technology. These changes are making the role of the CIO and the information technicians change. It will bring changes and transformation in the way processes are undertaken. Information technology has the power of changing the normal operation of any business. They also

Reducing Anxiety among Radiology Patients

Reducing Anxiety among Radiology Patients INTRODUCTION Background of the Study As the technologic complexity of radiologic procedures has grown, the emotional reactions of patients to imaging procedures have become more prominent, and interaction between patients and the staff of diagnostic radiology units has become more important 1. Like the smaller number of patients surveyed by Monics et al 2 after undergoing a variety of radiologic procedures at a teaching hospital, patients in this sample were more concerned with explanations of procedures and results, and with factors affecting their physical comfort, than with the competency of the staff or their own convenience. Patients awaiting therapeutic procedures commonly report anxiety 1, fears about the unknown, pain, possibility of further interventions, complications, destruction of body image, disruption of life plans, loss of control, disability, and loss of life 2. Most of the time, one might assume that diagnostic tests, which typically carry fewer risks than invasive therapeutic procedures, would create less distress. Diagnostic tests, however, inherently harbor uncertainty, which can be a potent stressor and has been linked to poor coping with health-related issues, as well as poor adaptation and recovery 4. Hence, the conduct of this study in this aspect will assess the level of distress in patients awaiting radiological procedure particularly in breast , transvaginal and scrotal ultrasound. The study will also provide effective protocol in the conduct of giving information to patients. Review of Related Literature Waiting room distress can impact patients and radiology resources by taxing â€Å"departmental resources in terms of appointment cancellations, patients’ lack of cooperation, extended room times, increased medication use, prolonged recovery and inability to complete imaging procedures well or at all, with adverse impact on both image quality and reimbursement,† wrote Nicole Flory, PhD, of the department of radiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical-Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues 5. Attention to patient’s acute distress before and during procedures is important because distress may cause hemodynamic instability, procedural complications, and other adverse events 6. As mentioned by KrantzDS et al 7, stress and anxiety may cause adverse events through elevated levels of blood pressure, heart rate, coronary constriction, and stress hormones. Jangland et al 8 found that, among those patients who complained about care and increased anxiety, the most common complaints were insufà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cient information, inadequate respect, and insufà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cient empathy. In the study of Nicole Flory, et al 5 they concluded that uncertainty of diagnosis can weigh heavily on the patient, and perceptions of what medical personnel may consider â€Å"minor† do not necessarily reflect the patient’s experience. Training medical personnel in how to communicate with these patients and to assuage their distress promises not only to relieve the patients’ distress but also to positively affect departmental resources. In our literature search, we identified no previous studies of topics related to anxiety reduction prior to radiologic procedure. Also, no particular studies were taken in comparative assessment of psychological distress in conjunction with imaging procedures using the standard verbal explanation against the audio visual presentation. This study therefore will take advantage of the availability of preprocedural surveys from prospective randomize control trials that will be performed in department of radiology with patients at various radiologic procedures using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Research questions What is the prevalence of anxiety and depression among patients referred for breast, transvaginal and scrotal ultrasound using the adaptive verbal pre-procedural briefing versus with complimentary audio visual presentation? What is the level of anxiety and depression among patients referred for breast, transvaginal and scrotal ultrasound using the adaptive verbal pre-procedural briefing versus with additional audio visual presentation? Is there any differences between anxiety and depression rate in patients undergoing breast, transvaginal and scrotal ultrasound using the adaptive verbal pre-procedural briefing versus with audio visual presentation?   Significance of the study In the current set-up of our department in radiology, at most three residents are assigned to ultrasound section, catering 60 patients per day with resident to patient ratio of 1:30 in an 8 hour-shift. This would only give the resident 8 minutes per patient to do his/her doctor-patient interaction. All patients under fasting, are the most priority causing all other patient to have a waiting time of about an hour or two for her/him to be served, and this where the patients for breast, scrotal and transvaginal falls. These procedures also give more anxiety and distress if not explained well by their respective doctors because of its very intimate approach. With this existing reality, having an audio-visual presentation as an additional tool of information might help alleviate patient’s anxiety and distress. This assessment is a first step in evaluating the adaptive verbal pre-procedural protocol in the radiology department with that of another additional audio-visual presentation, and the results of such an evaluation then can help guide specific interventions toward better outcomes. Objectives General objective This study aims to compare the effectiveness of the additional audio-visual briefing presentation versus the adapted pre-procedural verbal briefing only among patients referred for breast, transvaginal and scrotal ultrasound in Department of Radiological and Imaging Sciences at Southern Philippines Medical Center, Davao City in reducing the level of anxiety/depression using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) model. Specifically, this study aims to determine the following: a. Demographic and clinical profile of patients who will underwent breast, scrotal, transvaginal ultrasound. b. To compare the effectiveness of adapted verbal pre-procedural briefing against with additional audio-visual presentation in decreasing the anxiety/depression level among patients referred for imaging study. c. To suggest recommendation to policy makers and professionals for adoption of creative ways to control or minimize this phenomena. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Setting: The study will be conducted at the Department of Radiological and Imaging Sciences waiting section at Southern Philippines Medical Center, Davao City. The study will be done over a period of three months (April to June 2014) Study Participants All patients referred to the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences facility at Southern Philippines Medical Center for breast, transvaginal and scrotal ultrasound, that is qualified to join in the study. Below are the inclusion and the exclusion criteria for patients who are candidates for the study. Inclusion criteria Adult patients (18 – 65 years old) who will give their consent for the study. Understands English language Patients who do not meet any criteria for a mental health disorder using the Global Mental Health Assessment Tool (GMHAT) of the World Health Organization Patient should have mild or moderate levels of anxiety at the start of the trial Ambulatory Conscious Exclusion criteria All patients who will undergo breast, transvaginal and scrotal procedure that will not give their consent for the study and will not meet the inclusion criteria. Baseline Data Collection Consents for the research study will be obtained by the researcher between the ages of approximately 18 and 65 years of age. All consecutive patients who had completed their consent from April to July 2014 will be evaluated for study eligibility by the researcher. All patients who will participate will undergo Global Mental Health Assessment Tool (GMHAT) of the World Health Organization to exclude patients having overt mental disorder and will be advised to seek professional help. A randomized selection of patients will be done wherein they are asked to blindly select which group they will fall by drawing lots. First group will undergo the usual verbal pre-procedural briefing while the second group will receive the additional audio-visual presentation. The researcher will ask consecutive eligible patients to participate in a study in which the level of anxiety and depression will be assessed prior to ultrasound procedure. Both groups will be handed identical stacks of psychological questionnaire: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(Appendix 1) under the supervision of the investigator. Patients will be at liberty with regard to the sequence in which they would fill out the questionnaires. Another identical stack of HADS questionnaires will be given to the participants after the end of the intervention still under the supervision of the investigator. Outcome Measures Socio-demographic questionnaires The demographic information includes age, gender, education and occupation. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS): The HADS is a screening tool for anxiety and depression in non-psychiatric clinical populations. The scale consists of 14 items (7 each for anxiety and depression). Each item is rated on a four point scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (very often). Responses are based on the relative frequency of symptoms over the preceding week. Possible scores range from 0 to 21 for each subscale. An analysis of scores on the two subscales supported the differentiation of each mood state into four ranges: ‘mild cases’ (scores 8-10), ‘moderate cases’ (scores 11-15), and ‘severe cases’ (scores 16 or higher). HADS was validated by group of researchers (Ingvar Bjelland, Alv A. Dahl, Tone Tangen Haug, Dag Neckelmann) from Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care, Section for Preventive Medicine and Department of Psychiatry of Norway using Cronbalch’s alpha. In their study, the sensitivity and specificity for HADS of approximately 0.80 were very similar to the sensitivity and specificity achieved by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Hence the review confirmed the assumption that HADS is a questionnaire that performs well in screening for the separate dimensions of anxiety and depression and caseness of anxiety disorders and depression in patients from nonpsychiatric hospital clinics9. Audio Visual Presentation: The video will run for 10 minutes and must answer the following questions of: a. WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE? b. WHY IS THE PROCEDURE NECESSARY? c. HOW IS THE PROCEDURE DONE? d. WHAT ARE THE RISKS AND COMPLICATIONS OF THE PROCEDURE? The video will be in full English language. The video will be validated by a Mass Communication professor by issuing a certificate. The video will be presented to at least 10 randomized selected persons outside the DORIS personnel before the actual test will be done. At the end of the video they must able to answer the above questions. During the actual test, video will be presented in groups through television in a separate room. Data Handling and Analyses The data will be collected directly from the patients by using HADS Scale questionnaires in DORIS at SPMC. Detailed information about the study will be given to each participant using English language and consent to participate will be obtained. Over viewing of the questionnaire will be the first step, prior to data entry; this will be followed by designing an entry model using the computer Statistical Package for Social Science SPSS. The coded questionnaires will be entered into the computer by the researcher. Data cleaning will be done through checking out a random number of the questionnaires and through exploring descriptive statistics frequencies for all variables. All suspected or missed values will be checked by revising the available sheets. The researcher will use Statistical Package for Social Science SPSS to analyze the research questions by using Chi square, ANOVA, and t test to answer the objectives. Also, the researcher used descriptive statistics to explore frequencies of all variables. Statistically significant values are considered at P values is equal or less than 0.05. Sample Size Considerations The sample size that will be used in the study is the total summation of the patients who will undergo breast, transvaginal and scrotal ultrasound who will give their consent and within the inclusion criteria from April to July of 2014.

africa: Wildlife, landforms and climate :: essays research papers fc

Witch doctors, psychics, mediums, spiritualists are but just a few of the many names associated with Shamans. Many of us have heard these names echoed since childhood, but do we really know who these people are? In the United States these people are viewed as outcast; there hasn’t been a need for them in a very long time. Science, and modern technology have exiled the Shaman into the fringe of society. They remain a mystery to most, but beckon the open-minded. The Shaman is a spiritual wayfarer, that hasn’t thrived in the United States since the arrival of the white man, and his conquest of nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many definitions for shamanism, but few reveal the true nature of the Shaman. In simple terms, the Shaman is a person called upon to serve as a herald for the realm of the dead, but a Shaman is much more. A Shaman is someone who has explored, and gained a great understanding of their inner being. They can tap into the force that flows throughout the world, and manipulate it. A Shaman can alter his conscience so that he may travel to other worlds filled with objects, and various kinds of spirits. In the spirit realm, a Shaman can gain knowledge in order to help in healing, and other matters at hand. He is a spiritual advisor, and a healer of both physical and mental ailments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A destined Shaman is typically clued in to their destiny by various forms of suffering. The most common clue is an extended illness for which there is no apparent cure. During this time of suffering, the chosen person has dreams, visions, and journeys to the spirit realms, and are usually accompanied by a guild spirit. This spiritual guild commonly informs the ill person of their fate to become a Shaman. There is usually hesitation on the part of the chosen one, but the suffering breaks down the will of that person. In the end, the destined assumes the role as Shaman, and his suffering diminishes. With the guidance of an elder Shaman, or sometimes just their spirit guild, the new shaman is initiated into their new existence. It is a existence between this earthy realm, and that of the dead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An initiate of Shamanism goes through an significant transformation. As a result of the suffering, and rigorous training, the initiate experiences the death of his ego. In western psychology, the ego is the part of the psyche which experiences the external world, or reality, through the senses, organizes the thought processes rationally, and governs actions (Webster’s