Survey Report

The aim of this report is to present the findings of a survey carried out in order to determine the public opinion and performance of Lambshorne Town Council. The data included in this report was obtained from a random sample of 1,000 people. Services On the whole, the ratepayers of Lambshorne expressed dissatisfaction with the services provided by the Council. A significant percentage felt that neither refuse collection nor recycling facilities are adequate, as illustrated by the fact that over half of those questioned felt that these are poor. On the other hand, a large proportion of the public was of the opinion that maintenance of public buildings is satisfactory, which is shown by the fact that forty-nine per cent of those questioned expressed their approval. This is further emphasized by the fact that fifty-one per cent of those surveyed commented favorably on the restoration of the Corn Exchange building. Amenities It is generally felt that public facilities are of high standard, as shown by a large proportion of those surveyed expressed satisfaction with amenities. Furthermore, sixty-eight per cent of those questioned indicated the excellent condition of the new sport center. The fact that only eleven per cent of respondents gave a negative response concerning public parks indicates that ratepayers are mainly satisfied with its conditions. Opinion was mixed regarding other amenities, with an almost equal number of â€Å"Good† and â€Å"Poor† assessments. In particular, thirty two per cent of those surveyed mentioned that Maplegrove Housing Estate needs more street lights. Council Efficiency On the one hand, it is generally felt that staff efficiency is not adequate which is shown by the fact that majority of people expressed dissatisfaction with staff efficiency. On the other hand, the significant percentage of those who responded expressed satisfaction with cost efficiency of services. Opinion was mixed regarding the helpfulness of staff, with an almost equal distribution of â€Å"Good† and â€Å"Poor† assessments. The sixty-four per cent of people were of the opinion that Council has too many employees for work done. Recommendations On the bases of the findings on services, it would seem that services provided by the Council need to be improved. The main weaknesses of services are the lack of refuse collection and recycling facilities. As the assessments of amenities indicate, public parks and recreation facilities are satisfactory. My recommendation is, therefore, that more street lights should be set up. Based on the opinion regarding the efficiency, I would recommend that staff efficiency should be revised.

Comparing Where the Scattering Began and Wherever I Hang

After analysing â€Å"Where the scattering began† by merle Collins and â€Å"Wherever I hang† by Grace Nichols, I found that both poets displayed the subject of adjusting to another culture effectively but, in very different ways. Grace Nichols used a very light hearted and simple style which I think reflected her relaxed attitude to life. This poem opens the reader’s eyes to her relaxed culture through the simple language. All though the poem is clear in its context, for some of the readers it can be quite hard to understand if the accent is not known. The dialect gives the readers an insight to the dialect of the poet herself and the Caribbean culture is also displayed in the warm inviting tone; this suggests that the culture is friendly and welcoming. I noticed that the poet included repetition of nouns to add emphasis at the beginning of the poem. Grace Nichols quotes: â€Å"I leave me people, me land, me home. † Perhaps the poet is generally conveying that she has come from a completely different world, and reveals to the readers that she regrets leaving her country because she includes specific happy memories of her home. The humming-bird could possibly be a metaphor of the beauty she sees within her country; this colourful, small, modest bird could essentially represent the country through the eyes of Grace Nichols. She Quotes: â€Å"I forsake the sun and the humming-bird splendour† But she sees England as a land of hope and possibility. Gradually as the poem progresses she â€Å"becomes accustomed to the English life† and â€Å"changes her calypso ways†. Cleverly as she becomes adjusted to the different culture, the poet’s language changes also, this is to emphasise the fact that her habits have changed. This poem illustrates the confusion of adjusting to another culture, even after many years, when she begins to become more accustomed to an English life, she still feels divided between her home and England. The confusion is displayed before the readers in one line: â€Å"To tell you the truth, I don’t really know where I belaang†

Salah: Spiritual Nourishment of the Soul

Salat: Salah Is ordained on Muslims five times a day and Is essentially the spiritual nourishment of the soul of the believer as well as the divine connection between Allah and the believer. There are 5 prayers throughout the day: Fajr (predawn), Dhuhr (afternoon), Asr (post-afternoon), Maghrib (evening), Isha (night). Salat In Qur'an: 1 . Establishing Salah Develops Taqwa (Fear and Awareness of Allah) : â€Å"This Is the Book In which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who have taqwa; who believe In the unseen, and who establish Salah, and spend out of what we have provided for them† (2: 2-3) 2.Salah Is the Sign ofa Believer : â€Å"The believers, men and women, are protecting friends of one another; they enJoln good and forbid evil, and they establish Salah, and give Zakah, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them, and surely, Allah is All-Mighty, All- Wise. † (9: 71) 3. Establishing Salah Leads to Allah's Eternal Blessings : â€Å"So whatever you have been given is but (a passing) enjoyment for this worldly life, but that which Is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust In their Lord. And those who avoid the great sins and lewdness, and when they are angry. hey forgive.And those who answer the Call of their Lord, and perform the Salah, and who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation, and who spend of what We have bestowed on them. † (42:36-38) 4. Those Who Pray Shall Have Nothing to Fear on the Day of Judgment : â€Å"Truly, those who believe and do righteous deeds, and perform Salah, and give Zakah, they will have their reward with their Lord. on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. † (2:277) 5. Remain in Allah's remembrance after prayer : â€Å"When have finished performing the Salah, remember Allah standing, sitting, and eclining, but when you are free from danger, perform the Salah.Surely, Salah Is en]olned on the believers at fixed times. à ¢â‚¬  (4:103) 6. Command to Pray with Congregation : â€Å"And establish Salah and give Zakah, and bow down (in worship) along with those who bow down (in worship)† (2:43) 7. Special Command Regarding Punctuality of Prayer : â€Å"Guara strlctly tne salan, especlally obedience. † (2:238) 8. Allah's Help Comes Through Salah : e Saa . Ana stand DeTore Allan w â€Å"Seek help through patience and Salah; truly it is extremely difficult except for the humble true believers. † (2:45) â€Å"Oh you who believe! Seek help through patience and Salah. Truly, Allah is with those who are patient. (2:153) 9. Special Emphasis on Friday Prayer . â€Å"Oh you who believe! When the call is made for the Salah on Friday, come to the remembrance of Allah, and leave off business. That is better for you, if you only knew! And when the Salah has ended, you may disperse through the land, and seek the Bounty of Allah, and remember Allah much so that you may be successful. † (62: 09-10) 10. Prayer Protects Against Evils : â€Å"Recite that which has been revealed to you of the Book, and perform Salah. Verily, Salah prevents from lewdness and evils. And indeed, the remembrance of Allah (by you) is greatest.And Allah knows what you do. † (29:45) Necessary WaJib Acts of Salat : 1 . Starting the prayer with the Takbir, Allah-u Akbar; 2. Reciting the Fatiha completely; 3. Reciting a Surah (chapter) of the Qur'an after the Fatiha in the first two rakats of any obligatory prayer and in all the rakats of the Odd-Numbered Prayer (Salat al-Witr) and again in all the rakats of any optional (nafllah) prayer; 4. Reciting the Fatiha before the additional Surah (chapter); 5. When prostrating, placing the forehead and the nose on the ground together; 6. Performing the two prostrations (saJdas) successively; 7.Paying attention to â€Å"tadil arkan†(i. e. to perform all pillars of the prayer with ease, not shortening them; 8. In the three-rakat or four-rakat pra yers, sitting at the completion of the second rakat; 9. Reciting at-Tahiyyatu at the end of the second rakat and when one sits before one has made salaam (salutation); 10. When performing any of the obligatory three-rakat and four-rakat prayers, the Odd- Numbered Prayer (Salat al-Witr) and the first sunnah part of the Noon Prayer (Salat az Zuhr), standing up for the third rakat as soon as one has recited the at-Tahiyyatu t the and of the second rakat; 11.When performed in congregation, the prayer leader (imam) reciting aloud the Fatiha and the additional surahs of the Qur'an in the two obligatory rakats of the Morning Prayer (Salat al-FaJr), in the first two rakats of the obligatory rakats of the Sunset Prayer (Salat al-Maghrib) and the Late Evening Prayer (Salat al'lsha), in the Friday Assembly Prayer (Salat al-Jum'a), and in both the Festival Prayers (Ela Prayers); 12 Agaln, In tne larawln Prayer ana tne oaa-NumDerea Prayer following it in the month of Ramadan, the imam's reciting aloud the Fatiha and the additional surahs; 13.In the obligatory sections of the Noon Prayer (Salat az-Zuhr) and the Late Afternoon Prayer (Salat al-Asr), the imam's reciting silently the Fatiha and the additional surahs of the Noble Qur'an; 14. While following the Imam, not reciting anything but remaining silent; 15. Reciting the Qunut Supplications in the Odd-Numbered Prayer (Salat al-Witr) 16. Performing the additional Takbirs in the Eid Prayers; 17. Giving salaam at the end of the prayer; 18. Making saJdah sahw (prostration for forgetfulness) at the end of a prayer if a mistake has been made in it; 19. Making a prostration after finishing an ayat where a aJdah is called for.Necessary Farz Acts of Salat : 1 . At-Tahrimah (the first Allahu Akbar 2. Qiyam (standing) 3. Qira'ah (recitation of Quran) ever if it be an Ayah. 4. Ruku 5. SJdah 6. The final sitting for the duration of Tashshahud Importance And Significance of Salat : Those who are steadfast in seeking the face of their L ord, and establish salat and give from the provision We have given them, secretly and openly, and stave off evil with good, it is they who will have the ultimate Abode. (Surat ar-Ra'd,22) The salat is a religious observance that believers are commanded to perform throughout the ourse of their lives, the times of which have been stipulated.

Immigrant kids Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Immigrant kids - Essay Example This paper seeks to show that consideration for needs of immigrant children is a reason for the government to provide them with public attorneys to represent them so that these children can gain proper legal advice to ensure they get a fair chance of restarting their lives. Most unaccompanied child immigrants come for Central American countries such as Honduras and Guatemala which have over the past few years come to be riddled with violence and insecurity to such an extent that they have essentially become failed states. Children in these countries have ended up becoming the victims of situations over which they have no control and a large number of them have been forced from school and into conducting illegal activities on behalf of the various gangs that have become prominent in Central America. A result has been that many of these children have had their lives taken away and have been forced to grow up too quickly because that is the only way through which they could achieve their survival. One would argue that their choice to come to the United States has, therefore, not been one made out of a need only for the need to achieve economic prosperity, but also to ensure that they are able to rebuild their lives in a manner that allows them to live awa y from the violence and poverty in their home countries (Scott 1). These children have to be treated in a responsible way that ensures that not only are all their immediate needs catered for, especially when one considers that age, but also that they are able to gain legal representation to ensure that they are allowed to build a life in the United States without the fear of being deported back to their home countries. Immigrant children need legal representation in order to make the courts understand that they have not come to the United States willingly but are victims of circumstances. One would argue that unaccompanied child

Human resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human resource - Essay Example Introduction Like it or not, the majority of people in the workforce have all gone through the hiring process at some time in their lives. In fact, we go through the HR selection process at an organization every time we apply for a job and are fortunate to meet the selection criteria. However, this is only the beginning of the process as we find that there is still a long road ahead before we can be offered the job. The typical selection process can involve oral and written tests, psychological tests, a series of Interviews and even job simulation scenarios that test the ability of candidates in various ways before the final selection is made and the jobs are offered to the qualifying candidates. The HR Selection Process Unless you are fortunate enough to be the owner’s son or daughter or be related to the top management in a firm, you are likely to go through the same HR selection process as everyone else who applies for a job in that organization. The HR department is entrus ted with filling available positions in an organization with the staff needed to run them. The HR hiring plan is created as an outcome of a management review meeting in the beginning of the year, at which time performance is reviewed and growth plans are decided for the year, to accomplish which additional staff is required. Once the overall and departmental requirements have been budgeted, it is up to the Departmental Heads to liaise with the HR Department to decide the timing of hiring of staff. A hiring requisition is filled with the details desired for candidate profile, qualifications, job responsibilities, reporting line etc. After this HR can post the advertisement in the newspaper, magazines or online to get job applications. In case of high profile jobs requiring secrecy and confidentiality, recruitment agencies or headhunters can be employed. In the HR selection process they have to first weed out the candidates that meet the initial criteria in terms of profile, experienc e etc. Then they have to line up the selected candidates in terms of most promising and proceed to coordinate with the candidates and the departments concerned for initial tests, preliminary and in depth interviews, and whatever else they have developed in order to screen out the best candidates from the rest of the lot. In the case of hiring candidates as Management Trainees, often a one day Evaluation Session is conducted at an Assessment Center in which the candidates are made to take part in business games, job simulation scenarios and other decision making processes that tell about how the candidate is likely to react and whether he would make the right decisions under pressure. Sometimes candidates can be invited to spend a day with the department in which they can observe how things are done and how decisions are made. For the candidates that make it through, final interviews are conducted with top management after which a job offer can be made to selected candidates (Werther & Davis, 2005, p228). Importance of the Interview The interview is perhaps the most important part of the overall process of getting hired. That said, every part of the process is important. One has to get through the selection criteria and pass the written IQ tests that are normally conducted for job applicants. There may be a preliminary interview with HR or the Department Head, in which the profile and qualifications of the candidate are

Communication, Ethics, and Society Research Paper

Communication, Ethics, and Society - Research Paper Example disaster also caused massive property damage and caused mass scale human suffering, which was exacerbated with the inability of the government and other social service organizations to make haste in their relief efforts and broaden the scope of their activities. In the aftermath of the disaster, New Orleans remained the center of the media coverage, not only because of the level of devastation, which is still apparent from the scars left from high water level on the exterior of several abandoned buildings, but also because of the cultural and ethnic diversity of New Orleans. For most of its recent history, New Orleans has been seen as the Mecca for tourists and has remained famous for its flexibility in liquor laws, voodoo, and flair for jazz. Since the devastation left the locals without any means for communication, the media agencies became the source for not only reporting the information, but also for deciding the context and interpreting the information (Cutter, et al., p. 15). Thousands of poor African Americans who found themselves isolated on the patches of dry land, stranded on the rooftops, seeking shelter in the Superdome and Convention Centre without any food or shelter became the center of the media coverage. The media did not waste any time in showing the bloated corpses that were floating in the water-filled streets of New Orleans (Cutter, p. 85). Much of the media controversy emerged primarily because of the language used by media outlets when covering this event. During the first few days of the disaster, almost all of the media outlets referred to the individuals as â€Å"refugees†. However, many critics did not receive the use of this term well because it was uncommon for media outlets to use this term for citizens of the United States living within the United States. Subsequently, many news organizations made formal announcements that they would cease to use this term and would use â€Å"victims†, â€Å"survivors†, and â€Å"evacuees† when

Business Model of Odyssey Logistics & Technology Corporation Term Paper

Business Model of Odyssey Logistics & Technology Corporation - Term Paper Example The Odyssey team of chemical engineers and logisticians brings unparalleled expertise to the logistics supply chain in all modes of transport. The Odyssey Global Logistics Platform is a transportation management infrastructure that serves as the technology backbone to Odyssey's service offering. Odyssey International LLC is a licensed export freight forwarder and wholly owned subsidiary of Odyssey Logistics & Technology, managing exports to more than 80 countries. Odyssey Overland LLC is a wholly owned affiliate of Odyssey Logistics & Technology Corporation operating as a broker and domestic freight forwarder for bulk and package truck shipments in North America. The company is backed by investors Trident Capital, LogiSpring, Boston Millennia Partners, CMEA Ventures and RRE Ventures. Odyssey Logistics & Technology Corporation has a team of experts in Supply Chain and Logistics Management, commercial carrier management, logistics operations and execution, and supply chain technology. They use the Supply Chain Management (SCM) system to support these processes called the Odyssey Solution based on the Odyssey Global Logistics Platform that provides a single interface to the chemical and process industry logistics markets. Odyssey Solution is a Business Information System that stores information about the complete suite of logistics services in all modes of transport, globally. The company tailors its service offerings to meet its clients' needs, leveraging its technology platform and information systems to provide any service from a single point solution to a complete logistics solution. They own no transportation equipment or warehouses, allowing them to negotiate as an independent, neutral party in the marketplace, acting in the best interests of the customers. The Business Information System Odyssey Solution manages all aspects of the supply chain from inbound sourcing and delivery logistics through outbound shipment, handling, consolidation, deconsolidation, distribution, and delivery of end products. Odyssey can, through its integrated transportation management system, provide its clients with cargo planning, tendering, shipment visibility and configurable event management, freight audit and pay ment, and management reporting.

Read the case, and answer the question Case Study

Read the , and answer the question - Case Study Example The good point showcasing about being socially responsible in the given case is the idea that Vermont Teddy Bear was trying to consider their customers as partners, which is tantamount to the the actual formation of relationship with its customers. In doing so, they only are not going to earn long-standing trust, but above all, the ability on the part of the customers to distinguish the kind of service they provide. Vermont Teddy Bear therefore knew the key to a long-lasting penetration and operation in the market and that is to create a meaningful relationship with their customers, an act that one could potentially consider as socially responsible. Here is another important point how Vermont Teddy Bear has become socially responsible. It was able to support charitable causes (LHMVTB Case). Supporting charitable causes is an indication that the company is trying to involve and consider itself as integral part of the community. It does not stand alone by itself, but has considerable o bligations for the people and the community as a whole. In addition, Vermont Teddy Bear strongly adhered to understanding customers’ needs. Criticism concerning its insensitivity was not directly coming from the customers, but from a national agency trying to be closely critical about its products. Vermont Teddy Bear has remarkable point not to listen to this criticism because for them there was a positive approval and response from the customers concerning their product offerings (LHMVTB Case). It is clear that through this incident, Vermont Teddy Bear must be a customer-centric organization that would be willing to understand customers’ needs and create decisions based on these requirements. The case therefore has remarkably shown the level of Vermont Teddy Bear’s socially receptive response by highlighting their ability to directly listen to the customers’ needs and build their critical decision on these patterns. 2. Discuss the external environmental factors that impact VTB overall. Additionally, discuss the external environmental factors that impacted this particular situation/controversy. Explain specifically how the external environmental factor(s) impacts VTB overall and this particular situation. In general, Vermont Teddy Bear’s actual business growth were influenced by seasons of the year and technological advancement associated with sharing marketing information such as the presence of internet and other relevant media (LHMVTB Case). In fact, the remarkable controversy against Vermont Teddy Bear occurred in February which is the month of the year noted for the celebration of Valentines day. Moreover, the ability of the company to generate sales and income was due to the easy implementation of direct marketing via phone calls and its website. In other words, social activities and advancement of communication technology have evidently paved a way for Vermont Teddy Bear to spread its influence to its market industry. However, the socio-political response could have a significant impact on Vermont Teddy Bear as its criticism against the company’s product offerings could create a negative marketing advantage over the actual product involved in the controversy. The national agency was reacting badly against the very controversial one product of Vermont Teddy Bear which is an indication that there is a great deal of issue that needs settlement on the part of the company. In addition, this issue or controversy could also be a damaging factor

Civil War Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Civil War - Research Paper Example Belgian rule created more of an ethnic divide between the Tutsi and Hutu. Tutsis, who were visually fair in complexion and usually taller, were considered superior to the Hutus and had their roots in the region for centuries. The Belgian government being aware of that fact supported Tutsi political power. Each individual was issued a racial identification card which stated one as legally Hutu or Tutsi. By 1931, an ethnic identity was officially mandated and each Rwandan possessed an ethnic identity card at that time (Globalsecurity.org, 2011). Tutsis due to their superior racial status started exploiting their power over Hutu majority. There was discrimination all over the region. Any person owning 10 or more cattle was considered as a member of the Tutsi class. The Hutus were treated as the third class citizens and were not given any opportunity to excel in the society. Even the education system was entirely different for both groups. This created a sense of social injustice and hat red among the Hutus for Tutsi behavior and started rebelling against them. In 1960, the Belgian diplomats surprised everyone by reversing their favoritism and encouraged Hutu uprising in the name of democracy. In the same year, Belgium government decided to hold democratic elections in Rwanda-Burundi region. The Hutu majority elected Hutu representatives ending Tutsi monarchy. By 1962, Rwanda had become a Hutu dominated state and most of the Tutsis were exiled, if not killed, to the neighboring countries for their undesirable behavior with the Hutus (Phillip, 2000). By 1990, Hutus had gained full control and were administering the country. But there still was political unrest due to slumping economy and food shortages. The main reason however was something else. The Tutsis who were exiled more than 30 years ago were now grouping together in an attempt to overthrow Hutu led government in Rwanda and also to attain the right to live there. As a result, Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) was formed with the help of Ugandan army consisting mostly of Tutsi refugees or their descendants who were exiled earlier. The RPF, under the command of Major General Fred Rwigema began to pressurize Rwandan government and demanded Habyarimana, the Rwandan president, to make concessions and allow Tutsis to freely live there and be a part of the democratic system in the country. Habyarimana, after not being able to satisfy RPF’s demands and also RPF’s unwillingness to wait any longer and trust any longer the Rwandan government to fulfill its promises led RPF to wage civil war in the country (Globalsecurity.org, 2011). On 1st October, 1990, around 50 RPF rebels crossed the Ugandan border into Rwanda killing a guard at the Kagitumba border post. Hundreds more followed them with artillery and support provided to them by the Ugandan National Army. In few days after the first attack, the RPF army had advanced 60km to the south in the town of Gabiro creating violence and chaos in the region. This forced the government to launch a counterattack on RPF. The Rwandan Armed Forces (RAF) had a greater army and more advanced weaponry provided to them by the French as compared to rebels. However, RPF forces continued to invade Rwanda and more and more troops were deployed. As the civil war continued in the north, opposition to the government increased in Kigali. President Habyarimana was placed under immense pressure to take democratization measures and

Impact of Financial and Non-financial Rewards on Employee Motivation Literature review

Impact of Financial and Non-financial Rewards on Employee Motivation and Satisfaction of Saudi Nationals in Saudi Aramco - Literature review Example A predominant means for accomplishing human-resource-based competitive advantages is the use of incentives. Performance-related pay and benefits are some common incentives in the financial sector, as well as other industries. Lewis offers a process-cycle theory, where the stages of PRP must be properly managed in order to deliver optimal performance results. These stages are: 1) establishing objectives; 2) measuring performance; 3) providing performance feedback; and 4) translating performance into rewards. His study shows that incentives can greatly affect performance, when these stages are aptly managed in relation to employees’ performance levels and issues. Ferreira, Marques and Azevedo show from their study of Portuguese banks that incentive systems shape organisational competitiveness, although other factors are also important, such as management and leadership approaches. PRP per se is not the magic bullet of performance, especially when it has design and implementation flaws. (Boachie-Mensah and Dogbe, 2011). Financial incentives and performance Financial incentives alone are not enough to drive motivation and performance because employees consider other factors too (Siders, George and Dharwadkar, 2011). In the study of 139 Slovenian bank managers, Hartmann and Slapnicar (2012) explored the effect of distributive justice properties and procedural justice properties of managerial pay on manager’s intrinsic motivation. They discovered that procedural justice is a greater predictor of intrinsic motivation when low pay transparency exists, while distributive justice is a greater predictor of motivation when high pay transparency is present. Hartmann and Slapnicar (2012) concluded that pay transparency is important in analysing and designing just managerial pay

Websites review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Websites review - Assignment Example The website for the Centre for Child Studies has been developed with a very simple frame of mind. No mind boggling graphics have been used, just simple enough to pass on all the necessary information for the person viewing it. All the methods of contacting them are there in black & white; and blue of Skype even, so to speak. Although, the text is very simple and easy, the content in intense for example the virtual tour included for the ease of the reader. Coming to the crux of the matter, it develops research databases and reports for toddlers and their language development skills. It calls out for more parents helping in the research, making it a unique group for both the parents and the researchers. Not only this formulates a sub-culture among the whole American society but also helps future parents and doctors to look into patterns of child development. This eventually helps them ascertain facts about child development and the shift in it with the ever-so-changing time. This website can be found on www.zerotothree.org. As the name suggests this website also deals with formulating a culture of change for children up to the age of three from birth. The website presents a neat and persuasive view along with inducing clicks from people visiting the website. The graphic presentation has been kept simple and the view presents a professional, a must for the type of people they are trying to attract. Parents and researcher, both communities are serious onlookers for information as they want the best facts, so to equip themselves to raise their children right and publish about them, respectively. This website, at least on the looks of it, provides these very basic needs of both. The website combines the best of opinion asks for more and processes that data for any information monger passing the world of the web looking for answers. It calls for people sharing their experience of parenting, coupled along with the expert opinions,

The Psychology to Sams Rebellion Essay Example for Free

The Psychology to Sams Rebellion Essay The Psychology 2 In the movie Life as a House, Georges son, Sam goes through new changes in behavior. When the movie begun Sam was a rebellious young teen with negative feelings toward his father. Throughout the plot of the movie Sam goes through experiences with his father as they spend time together over the summer, which brings them closer together and allows them to have a better relationship. Sams acting out and unwanted actions were results of his parents divorce and not having a healthy relationship with his father. In Psychology, the basic concept of Nature vs. Nurture is said to Influence Development. Nature, according to Laura A. King (2010), includes â€Å"the individuals biological inheritance, especially his or her genes† (p.264). Nurture involves a persons environment and experiences. In her book King (2010) also states â€Å"early experiences are important contributors to development† (p.266). In the movie you could easily understand the nurture side of Sams behavior. Knowing and hearing about what kind of people Sam hangs out with we can kind of understand why he dresses a certain way and why he partakes in certain activities, such as drugs. The people he hangs out with leads us back again to the divorce. Sam chooses to hang out with others like him who fell pain inside. His behaviors are a cry for help. In the movie Sam says â€Å"I like how it feels not to feel†. He does drugs to forget his problems and not feel pain. The emotions that young kids and teens go through when parents get a divorce usually include depression, anger, sadness, and the feeling that maybe they could have done something to have made the situation better. While some children and teens choose to hide their feelings, Sam didnt. He acted out with disrespect and constant anger. â€Å"No one knows whether there are actually more depressed kids today or just greater awareness of the problem, but some researchers think that the stress of a high divorce The Psychology 3 rate, rising academic expectations and social pressure may be pushing more kids over the edgeâ€Å" (Wingert, Pat, Barbara Kantrowitz, 2002, p. 52). The emotions that Sam has and also his Development contribute to his Personality. Sam has what is called an Introverted personality, because he is not very social and mostly keeps to himself. We see an example of his introverted behavior toward the beginning of the movie when he locks himself in his room and pushes his mother out. He prefers to be alone, and is not very social. Sams primary defense mechanism is Displacement. He â€Å"shifts feelings toward an unacceptable object to another† (King, 2010, p.343). The anger he has about the divorce , he shifts onto everyone else, especially his father. His parents divorce had a significant impact on his personality, emotions and development. Motivation is â€Å"the force that moves people to behave, think and feel the way they do† (King, 2010, p.305). Motivation is usually triggered by an incentive, or a reward for certain behaviors. The most common incentive is money. When George flushes drugs that he found that Sam was supposedly holding for a friend in the toilet, Sam freaks out because he has to now pay his friend back. He is then motivated to work to make money to pay for the drugs. He asks his father to give him ten dollars an hour to help George build the house. At first, the money was his primary motivation, but as he started getting closer with his father it became less about the money and more about building their father-son relationship and also building himself back up again. After George had opened up about his father and his past, Sam says â€Å"I havent used anything [drugs] in two days, Im trying†. His father motivates him to become a better person and to change his life around. When Sam acts out, his parent dont usually know how to handle him, so Sam The Psychology 4 continues to rebel. If his parents were to use Operant conditioning to reinforce Sams behavior, he most likely wouldnt have rebelled as much. He would still have Negative feelings but his actions wouldnt have been so extreme. Nurturing come in again with learning and conditioning. If his father was around more to reinforce his behavior, he wouldnt have been the young teenaged boy who lashed out. Operant Conditioning is a way of learning and Sam needed to learn that his actions have consequences. Sam has a problem with substance abuse. In an intense seen with his father, he admits to have been using since he was twelve years old. Along with the stress of his parents divorce his drug abuse is a factor contributing to his extreme behavior. It is said that â€Å"a striking consequence of drug use by young people is its association with violence and delinquency† (Winters, 2010, p.118). Sam has become so accustomed to the use of drugs, since hes been taking them for so many years, that he even steals his fathers Vicodine. Anything to ease his pain. Not only does he suffer with drug abuse he also seems to have depression. Depression is a common illness for those who have divorced or absent parents. â€Å"Depressed teenagers are more reactive to the environment than depressed adults. In addition, they act irritable. In classical depression, you are depressed allor almost all-of the time. Depressed teens moods are much more changeable. If an adult male gets depressed and you take him to a party, he is still depressed. In fact, he may depress others at the party. A teenage boy who is depressed and gets taken to a party might brighten, might actually want to have sex. If pursued, he might enjoy himself. But if he goes home alone, he is likely to become very depressed again. These mood changes are very hard for parents to understand† (Winters, 2010, p.118). The changes and behaviors seen in Sam, in the movie Life as a house, are caused The Psychology 5 due to a divorce between parents. And many aspects of the young adults behavior can be analyzed with psychology. Sams emotions, personality, learning and development all pertain to one another. Sams father helped motivate him, enabling him to turn his life around. His emotions had changed, not completely, but he became less angry and less violent then when he was in the beginning of the movie. His Personality had also changed a bit, he was no longer as introverted as he was, he became a little more social. The Psychology 6 References King, L. (Ed.). (2010). Experience Psychology (1st ed.). New York, NY: McGraw- Hill. Wingert, Pat, Kantrowitz, B. (2002, October 07). Young and Depressed. Newsweek. 52. Winters, Ken C. (1998, October). Kids and Drugs. Corrections Today. 118.

Role of Mirror Neuron System (MNS) in Autism

Role of Mirror Neuron System (MNS) in Autism Mirror neuron system (MNS) plays an important role in the specific behavioral features of people with autism. In this paper the central aspects, such as neuropathology, etiology and prevalence, of autism and related disorders will be discussed. In addition the Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) theory and Theory of Mind (ToM), two theories linking the autistic brain with the specific behavior of the disease, will be discussed. The next two chapters are dedicated to the MNS and the consequences of its dysfunction in autism. Important are the two main functions facilitated by the MNS: imitation and action understanding. Several studies show that dysfunction of the MNS in autism, might be a reason why these abilities are underdeveloped in autistic individuals. Autism was first described in 1943 by the Austrian-American psychiatrist Leo Kanner. He noted 11 cases in which kids werent able to relate in usual ways to people and showed unusual responses to the environment including stereotyped motor mannerisms, resistance to change and reduced communicative skills. The condition of these kids was termed Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nowadays stricter definitions of the disorder have been proposed and clinical indications have been set up for diagnosis.1 Autism is defined by several clinical manifestations, including qualitative impairment in social interaction, qualitative impairment in verbal and non-verbal communication and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities.2 These characteristics of the neurological disorder begin before the age of three, although it is not always recognized at this age. Autism, along with Asperger syndrome and PDD-NOS, belongs to the family of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). This family includes a broad range of disorders associated with underdevelopment of social and communicative skills particularly. These deficiencies may be caused by mental retardation (Retts syndrome) but thats not always the case. Cases of Autism and PDD-NOS are not always linked with mental retardation and Asperger syndrome is even associated with normal level of intelligence. This shows that the members of the PDD family are very heterogeneous in their behavioral manifestations, degree of affectedness and etiology. This heterogeneity has lead to the term Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). ASD refers to the fact that several neural developmental disorders (Autsim, Asperger syndrome, PDD-NOS) are linked to each other in various ways, which makes it difficult to develop clear-cut diagnostic boundaries. This linkage is highlighted in family members of patients whom mostly do not meet the criteria for a clinical diagnosis but do show (in lesser extent) some of the manifestations present in the patient.1 Figure 1: Specific behavior observed in persons with autism due to social and communicative impairment and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities. 1: Difficulty in mingling with others. 2: Inappropriate laughing or giggling. 3: Little or no eye contact. 4: Apparent insensitivity to pain. 5: Prefers to be alone; aloof manner 6: Spins objects. 7: Inappropriate attachment to objects. 8: Noticeable physical overactivity or extreme underactivity. 9: Unresponsive to normal teaching methods. 10: Insistence on sameness; resists changes in routine. 11: No real fear of dangers. 12: Sustained odd play. 13: Echolia (repeating words or phrases in place of normal language). 14: May not want cuddling or act cuddly. 15: Not responsive to verbal cues; acts as deaf. 16: Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words. 17: Tantrums displays extreme distress for no apparent reason. 18: Uneven gross/fine motor skill (may not want t o kick ball but stack blocks). 3 There are, as mentioned above, four main characteristics of autistic disorders (including the age of onset). First there is qualitative impairment of social interaction. Young children learn their communicative and social cognitive skills by interaction with caregivers. Autistic kids often pay little attention to the smiling face or highly intonated voice of their caregiver and have more interest in the inanimate environment. This will cause a delay in the development of social interaction and also impedes the kid to get attached to a person. The social skills of patients could get better during time but even then the complexity of social interaction (e.g. showing emotions, empathy) will make it hard for the autistic person to have a normal, animated conversation. 1 Another manifestation of autism is qualitative impairment in verbal and nonverbal communication and play. Around 20-30% of patients with autism never speak. There is also no attempt to engage in communication or to compensate the inability to speak by nonverbal communication. These individuals for example do not make eye contact. When autistic persons do speak, their language has often typical features. They often speak with a monotonic voice and might say things not meant for communication (i.e. non-reciprocal communication). They can show echolalia as well, which makes them repeat what is said to them or what they hear in their environment (e.g. from the radio). Next to that the social uses of language, such as humor and irony, is difficult to understand for patients with autism. Another feature typically seen in individuals with autism is pronoun reversal.1 A third characteristic is a markedly restricted repertoire of activities and interests. This is expressed by several stereotyped movements, including toe walking, finger flicking and body rocking. Another way in which this characteristic emerges is the interest of the individual in repetitive activities such as collecting certain objects or repeating certain words or numbers. This urge for steadiness and sameness makes it hard for autistic persons to tolerate change and variation in their daily routine and to deal with stress. 1 At last the age of onset is always before three years.1 In 2006 the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder was estimated around 1 percent worldwide4, with two to four times more affected males than females5. An increase in the prevalence of autism and related conditions has been observed worldwide. The adoption of broader definitions of autism and greater awareness among clinicians and parents are most likely the main reasons for this growth. 1 The etiology of autism is not always known. In most cases individuals develop autism without an identifiable cause and are diagnosed with idiopathic or non-syndromic autism. About 70% of these patients dont show any physical abnormalities and are said to have essential autism. The other 30% of the patients can suffer from dysmorphic features such as microcephaly (i.e. an abnormally small circumference of the head) and structural brain malformation.5 Autism is associated with a range of other disorders and impairments. In 5-10% of cases, Individuals with Autism are also diagnosed with disorders such as Rett syndrome, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and tuberous sclerosis. Epilepsy is suffered by 33% of the patients and 44,6% of children diagnosed with autism were reported to have intellectual impairment, defined by an intelligence quotient (IQ) score less than 70.5 The phenotypic heterogeneity in autism patients is a major challenge in research. Individuals with autism seem to have a unique combination of symptoms and show very divergent behavior. This makes it hard for researchers to find a common cause or treatment for the syndrome. A lot of research is done to clear up the genetic background of autism. The different features of autism suggest that a set of different genes is involved with the disease.2 Alterations in gene sequence could have an impact on the function of several parts of the brain. With use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) major types of pathology have been detected which, most possibly, contribute to the behavioural features of Autism patients. The abnormal brain patterns found include an abnormal acceleration of brain growth in early childhood, minicolumn (local network that contains elements for redundancy and plasticity) pathology, curtailed neuronal development and brain structure-specific delays of neuronal growth. 2 How these brain pathologies lead to the changes in the behavior described in autistic individuals is still not known. A (new) theory is proposed by Baron-Cohen to explain the connection between the autistic brain and the correspondent behavior of an autistic individual. This theory is called the Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) Theory. It is based on the E-S model, which states that the social and cognitive skills of a person are based on an Empathizing Quotient (EQ) and a Systemizing Quotient (SQ). People with autism are said to have an extreme Systemizing brain and thus show little empathy. 6 The E-S theory is closely related to another theory namely the theory of mind (ToM). This theory is an innate mechanism by which a person can interpret and attribute mental states to oneself and others and to understand that another person could have other intentions, desires and beliefs. It makes it possible for people to see the world through another persons eyes. It has been hypothized that a theory of mind deficit, so-called mind-blindness, is one of the main causes of the impairments in social interaction. It has been proposed that children with autism fail to employ a theory of mind, which makes it difficult for them to see things from another persons perspective.7 The Mirror Neuron System Mirror neurons were first discovered in a specific region of the premotor cortex of monkeys, the F5 area. These special type of neurons appeared to discharge when monkeys did a particular action as well as when they just observed another individual doing the same action. It didnt matter if the other individual was a human or a monkey or if the subject was rewarded afterwards: responses were equally. 8 Figure 2: A piece of food is grasped by the experimenter (upper panel left), the tray is moved to the monkey and the monkey grasps the food (upper panel right). Activation of neurons in F5 area both during observation of the experimenters grasping movements, and while the same action is performed by the monkey (Lower panels). 9 After the discovery of these visuomotor neurons in monkeys, research was done to find evidence for existence of the same neurons in human. By the use of neuropsychological and brain-imaging experiments some results were found that could indicate the existence of a Mirror Neuron System (MNS) in human.8 First evidence for the MNS in humans was found using electroencephalography (EEG). With this technique was demonstrated that the mu rhythm, which is present during motor rest and disappears during motor activation and somatosensory stimulation9, disappeared during both execution and observation of hand actions10 This shows that not only by executing a task, but also by observing of someone else doing a task, motor neurons are stimulated. Although motor neurons of the observer are stimulated, no movement is made. The mechanism that prevents this unnecessary movement is still unknown. One of the possibilities might be the existence of regulatory mirror neurons or super mirror neurons.11 After this first evidence for the existence of a MNS in humans, more clues were found using other techniques such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and functional Magnetic Insoncance Imaging (fMRI). These studies showed that during action observation, cortical areas of the brain involved in motor control were activated.9 Activation was particularly observed in posterior inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), also known as pars opercularis, and adjacent ventral premotor cortex (PMC). In addition mirror neurons were found in the rostral part of the inferior parietal lobule. Activation was also found in the superior temporal sulcus (STS), which is believed to be the region responsible for visual input to the MNS (figure 3).11 Figure 3: Schematic overview of the neural circuitry for imitation. Visual input enters via the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS). Visual information is passed on to the rostral inferior parietal lobule(IPL) (orange arrow). The red arrow represents the information flow from the parieral lobule to the ventral MNS, i.e the ventral premotor cortex (PMC) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), concerned with the goal of action. Efference copies of moter imitative commands that are sent back to the STS are represented by black arrows. This allows matching between the senory predictions of imitative motor plans and the visual description of the observed action.11 Based on these findings, two hypotheses have been proposed that give the possible function of mirror neurons. The first hypothesis states that mirror-neuron activity mediates imitation 12 Humans are one of the few species that can learn by imitation. Studies show that 12-month-old infants can imitate facial and hand gestures and by this mechanism learn these movements themselves.13 Next to that the infants were also able to predict the action of goals by other people. This introduces the second hypothesis that says that mirror neurons are the basis of action understanding.9 For people to interact with each other, they must be able to understand the actions of another person. So action understanding plays a key role in the organization of social behavior of humans. An interesting experiment has been done by Umilta et al, showing that mirror neurons became activated even when visual stimuli were hidden.14 So different studies show that most likely both hypotheses are true, although there is still some discussion by which mechanism the mirror neurons execute these functions.9 Autism and the Mirror Neuron System Recently it has been proposed that dysfunction of the mirror neuron system could have an influence on the development of autism.15 Defects of these neurons early in development are believed to interfere with the development of normal social actions such as imitation, theory of mind and language. 11 Several studies are done to test this hypothesis. Testing the IQ of children with autism shows a negative relationship between the activity of the mirror neurons and the scores of the children on the social subscales. This means that a higher activity in de mirror neuron system is accompanied with a high score on the social domain. This gives one of the first indications of a link between the dysfunction of the MNS and the development autism.11 One of the functions that is thought to be impaired by the dysfunction of the MNS is imitation. Imitation is one of the most important mechanism by which young children learn their social and communicative skills. Different experiments demonstrated that children with autism have difficulties performing imitation.17 Studies using fMRI supported the hypothesis by showing a reduced MNS activity in children with autism during imitation and observation of facial emotional expression. These results all suggest that mirror neurons play indeed an important role in imitation and early dysfunction of MNS may be at the core of the social limitations observed in children with autism. 16 Rizzolatti and Arbib have proposed that the part of the monkey brain which contains mirror neurons dealing with hand actions, has evolved to subserve speech in humans. 17 This would suggest that hand gestures and mouth gestures are linked in humans. A defect in this specific part of the MNS could result in an inability to speak, like some of the persons with autism do. However, to date no research is done to prove this possibility. Another possible effect of mirror neuron dysfunction could be underdevelopment of ToM. It has been demonstrated that children with autism have difficulties perceiving the world from another persons eyes, suggesting that they have a reduced ToM. However, a study showing a correlation between the dysfunction of the MNS and ToM has still to be done.15 Conclusion Although the discovery of mirror neuron system is just recently done, already a lot of research is dedicated to this interesting part of the brain. The specific neurons first found in monkeys, are most probably also an important part of the human brain forming a basis for functions such as imitation and action understanding. In autistic persons, who show to have difficulties with these abilities, reduced activity of mirror neurons has been found. This would suggest that the MNS is a key factor that influences the degree of social and communicative impairments in these individuals. Still a lot of research has to be done to find strong evidence for the dysfunction of the MNS and its relationship with reduced speech, social interaction skills and theory of mind. Referenties 1 Kiln A (2006): Autism and Asperger syndrome: an overview. Rev. Brasil de Psychil. 28: S3-S11 2 Wegiel J, Kuchna I, Nowicki K et al. (2010): The neuropathology of autism: defects of neurogenesis and neuronal migration, and dysplastic changes. Acta Neuropathol. 119: 755-770 3 Chen, E (2004): Checklist autism. Available on: http://www.elainechen.com/illustration_template.php?page=autism (Geraadpleegd op 4 juli 2010) 4 Baird G, Simonoff E, Pickles A et al. (2006): Prevalence of disorders of the autism spectrum in a population cohort of children in South Thames: the Special Needs and Autism Project (SNAP). Lancet 368: 210-215 5 Pennington BF, Ozonoff S (1996): Executive Functions and Developmental Psychopathology. J. Child. Psychil. Psychiat. 37: 51-87 6 Baron-Cohen S (2009): Autism: The Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) Theory. Ann. of NY Aca. of sci. 1156: 68-80 7 Baron-Cohen S, Leslie AM, Frith U (1985): Does the autistic child have a theory of mind? Cognition 21: 37-46 8 Rizzolatti G, Craighero L (2004): The mirror-neuron system. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 27: 169-192 9 Rizzolatti G, Fogassi F, Gallese V (2001): Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the understanding and imitation of action. Nature Rev. Neurosciences 2: 661-670 10 Hari, R et al. (1998): Activation of human primary motor cortex during action observation: a neuromagnetic study. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 95: 15061-15065 11 Iacoboni M, Dapretto M (2006): The mirror neuron system and the consequences of its dysfunction. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 7: 942-951 12 Jeannerod M (1994): The representing brain. Neural correlates of motor intention and im- agery. Behav. Brain Sci 17: 187-245 13 Meltzoff AN, Prinz W (2002) The Imitative Mind. Development, Evolution and Brain Bases. Cambridge Univ. Press 14 Umilta MA, Kohler E, Gallese V, Fogassi L, Fadiga L, et al. (2001): I know what you are doing: a neurophysiological study. Neuron 32: 91-101 15 Williams JH, Whiten A, Suddendorf T, Perret DI (2001): Imitation, mirror neurons and autism. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 25: 287-295 16 Dapretto M, Davies MS, Pfeifer JH et al. (2005): Understanding emotions in others: mirror neuron dysfunction in children with autism spectrum disorders. Nature Neuroscience 9: 28-30 17 Rizzolatti G, Fadiga L, Matelli M, Bettinardi V, Paulesu E, Perani D, Fazio F (1996): Localisation of grasp representations in humans by PETà 1: observation vs execution. Exp. Brain Res. 111: 246- 252.

Effect of Nursing on Stress Levels of Cancer Patients

Effect of Nursing on Stress Levels of Cancer Patients Does good nursing management can influence the nursing care to reduce stress, anxiety and difficult behaviour in cancer patients as compare to ineffective management plan to achieve better therapeutic outcomes? Search terms that can be used for relevant literature will be nursing management plans for patients with cancer, stress, anxiety, good nurse patient relationship, and challenging behaviours. The research is to explore and summarize the literature based on the published information such as journals, articles, books. The purpose of this review is to identify best practice evidence that examining the cancer patients. The literature review will give direction to plan the study and understand the outcomes. (Burns Grove 2009). The difficult patient behaviour versus good nursing strategies based on the research question (Emold et al 2011). Inclusion criteria included the all publications based on the difficult patient behaviour and good nursing management plans to reduce stress and anxiety in patients. The strength of evidence was based on the hierarchy of evidence with randomised controlled trial and meta-analysis being considered the best evidence as the primary source if available. Other research and levels of evidence was included where evidence was not that much strong. The literature review was undertaken using electronic data bases and catalogues such as CINAHL, science direst, PubMed, for the period of 2007 and 2014. Using the original question the key phrases ‘difficult patient behaviour in oncology’ and good nursing management strategies, stress and anxiety pain, and some psychological factors those can lead to negative outcomes on patients health outcomes and nurses attitude. These search terms highlighted the number of articles on different types of cancer patients then advanced search engine w as used to narrow my search to find out the good sourced information. Going through the abstracts of each of the articles were considered the relevance and quality. Exclusion criteria includes the key words and points those will not be covered in research such as good communication strategies, challenging behaviour and comparison between effective and ineffective management plans. The good literature review and databases mostly covered the qualitative and quantitative criteria based on the clinical question and case scenario. Develop a summary table based on your 15 selected studies (500 words). Based on your summary table, provide a synthesis of the key findings and conclusions in relation to your PICO question (250 words). Support your summary from relevant literature (use in text referencing) Good nursing management plans is one of the most effective and appropriate option for the hospitalised cancer patients. Various research studies have been conducted and analysed the difference between effective and ineffective nursing care plans. Therefore, Evidence from a variety of resources indicate that staff communication, family support, working environment those factors positively influence the patient prognosis according to Rosenzweig et al 2011; Kvale 2007; Karvien et al 2013; Emold et al 2011. However, patients diagnosed with cancer causes significant distress such as mentally and physically strains to themselves and family members (Emold et al 2011). Therefore good communication skill, availability of continued support, involvement of families required to overcome these difficult emotions (Kvale 2007 Vilet et al 2013). Karvinen et al. (2013) Whitaker et al. (2009) identified the relationship between stress, anxiety, intrusive thoughts and compliance to medical care. Cer tain psychological factors such as feelings of hopelessness, physical and mental strains affect the nursing care and patient’s prognosis (Remmers et al 2010). Different intervention strategies have also been discussed in literature such as mindfulness, self-efficacy, emotional support has the beneficial effects to the general health of patients according to Tsang et al. (2012). There are certain factors those influenced the nursing care such as workload, emotional exhaustion, and decision making skills among staff may lead to negative response and affect the patient’s well-being (McCormack et al 2011). However, the literature lacks some efficacy based on the good intervention strategies for staff to overcome the difficult patient’s behaviour. Overall effective nursing management can be structured to enhance physical, psychological, and emotional wellbeing that assists in promoting positive behaviour and good health outcomes among cancer patients.

Nicole Jumper Essay -- Weight Loss Diet Nutrition Papers

Nicole Jumper The desire to change one’s body image is very prevalent in today’s society; and in most cases what people want to change is their weight. Companies who market diet programs and miracle diet drugs are very much aware of this commonality among consumers and take advantage of the susceptible nature of those who want to lose the weight and lose it fast. Among the multitude of pills, programs and promises that are offered as cures to the unhappiness of being fat, one new concept has emerged that stretches the boundaries of logic: the catabolic diet. WHAT IS THE CATABOLIC DIET? The catabolic diet is based on the concept that a person can eat â€Å"catabolic† foods that actually have a negative calorie effect. These are foods that supposedly take a person more calories to digest them than the food itself actually contains. Simply put, they are foods that burn fat instead of creating it. (http://www.rarebooks.net/beck/cataboli.htm) INFORMATION FOUND ON THE NET The creators of the catabolic diet have used the Internet as their primary marketing tool; therefore, there are many sites about the diet. Some are blatant advertisements and others pose as being informative and factual. The bottom line: all the sites found on the catabolic diet are looking to make a profit and want the browser to buy into a program. One site, http://www.blackbeard.com/newlook/, claims that the catabolic diet is so effective that, â€Å"[It] works three times faster than starvation.† Yet, after making this statement the site also says that the â€Å"Catabolic Diet is a medically created diet. . .† Needless to say there is no medical doctor’s endorsement found a... ... REFERENCES Astrup, Arne. â€Å"Dietary Approaches to Reducing Body Weight.† Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Ed. Jeff P. Holly. New York: AMA 1999. 109-120. Berstein RS; Thornton JC; Yang MU; Wang J; Redmond AM; Pierson RN Jr; Pi-Sunyer FX; Van Itallie TB. (1983a). Prediction of the Resting Metabolic Rate in obese patients. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1983 Apr, 37(4): 595-602. Brannon, Linda and Jess Feist. Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behavior and Health. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2000. Westerterp-Plantega MS; Rolland V; Wilson SA; Westerterp KR. (1999a). Satiety related to 24 h diet-induced thermogenesis during high protein/carbohydrate vs high fat diets measured in a respiration chamber. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1999 June; 53(6): 495-503.

The Death Penalty Essay -- Capital Punishment Essays

The Death Penalty The Death Penalty seems to haunt the US mindset. While more countries are dropping the procedure as cruel the US still holds on. Eighty percent of Americans are still for the Death Penalty, citing revenge as the main reason, which is why families are allowed to watch the execution . Organizations like Amnesty International condemn the US regularly, as well as most Democratic nations. What I want to address is why the dialogue is ineffective. The proponents of the Death Penalty make arguments aimed at people's deepest emotional fears. They develop an idea of revenge within people's minds by suggesting the death of family members and create sympathy for families' victims. On the other hand groups like Amnesty International argue the effectiveness of the Death Penalty as a deterrent. They show the inherent racism of a mostly white system convicting mostly minorities to the Death Penalty. And they attempt to demonstrate the cruelty of sentencing someone to death. It's causing sympathy for the murder victims that cause people who oppose the death penalty to blunder. Where proponents are able to garner sympathy by putting someone in the situation of a family member, opponents are unable to cause people to identify with a murderer. It is because we have no words to express their pain properly, that death penalty proponents fail to make stir sympathy, they have no way of expressing what it feels like to know the time of your death ahead of time, how it feels to be electrocuted, hung, shot, or poisoned. "Why not lock up criminals for life if the death penalty is not a deterrent?" pro-Death Penalty advocates ask. Because putting a person in jail for life doesn't put an end to their murdering. While... ...ames. http://law.about.com/newsissues/law/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.cpa.ca/cjbs/1996/ful%5Fogloff.html Morrison, John. http://www.mit-tech.edu/V113/N53/issue/ Arendt, Hannah. The Life of the Mind: Thinking (Vol. 1). Harcourt Brace: NY: 1978 (182). Jacoby, Jeff. http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/Jacoby.htm Feder, Don. http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/don01102001.htm Bradbury, Michael. http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/affirmation.htm Bradbury, Michael. http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/affirmation.htm http://excalib1.aspensys.com/scripts/cqcgi.exe/@abstracts.env?CQ_SESSION_KEY=TYGAPHZBVPFW&CQ_TPT_FULL_RECORD=YES&CQDOC_ID=185634&CQDOC_NUM=2&CQBLOCKSTART=1&CQPAGE_NUMBER=1&CQBLOCK_INCREMENT=50 Murdock, Deroy. http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/murdock.htm http://roswell.fortunecity.com/blavatsky/123/polit.html

Falcon-Star Software Essay

Falcon-Star Software is newly established Software Company which came into existence in 1994. It has offices in both Washington and Canada. The company is based on providing web based solutions to its customers worldwide. It aims to fulfill all our customers’ software based and customized application based needs. Our mission is to provide quality service to our customers who need our help for their businesses at reasonable rates and provide them the best solutions that will solve their problems for a extensive period of time. At the moment we have two offices to develop our software, our main competitors are also situated close to us and also across the globe, therefore we have to be much focused and plan our strategies accordingly else we can run out of business. Our company is divided into three main departments of information systems group, provisioning services Group, and manager of customer Service. Each department has its own set of directors under whom each of the heads of the departments and managers will be functioning. Since our organization is new we don’t have too many departments that is why each person will be doing multiple roles at the same time. You will be answerable to the CEO who will be there to over look your work and help you with your decisions. (Robbins & Judge, 2005) Since we are in the initial stages of our business therefore we all need to work as one team and plan things ahead so that we can reduce the mishaps that can occur in future. As the manger of our departments I expect you all to be very clear of the mission of this company and based on that you define and identify your goals. This would include strategic planning and staff planning. Your senior managers are going to establish the over all objectives for the company and its your job to turn them into tactical objectives and make your less seniors workers understand them. (Fleming, 2005) Leadership is an important part of becoming a successful manager. It is your ability to lead other people so that they look up to you, trust you and therefore give in their best. It is your responsibility to take care of your sub ordinates who will be helping you with your work. Motivation is an important part of leadership. You need to keep your employees intact with the goal of the company. Make them understand their importance to this company. Employees are one of the greatest assets of a company and we don’t want to lose this asset. (Employee Engagement – A Concept Clean Up) As a manager you are responsible to look into all the matters that are under your control. In order to make things works in a systematic way you will have do organize your team of workers, time and resources in the most efficient manner. It is not about giving instructions only. You need the right kind of people to work under you and delegate responsibility to them . There should be clear division of work. And each department is accountable for its outcome but they all should work for one common vision. Well planned and organized work is a sign of good management and that is what we want our managers to be like at Falcon-Star Software. It is your duty to measure the performance of your department and your employees by comparing it against the targets that you had set for your self and if there are any shortcoming you need to over come that by taking appropriate corrective actions. This will help you in not repeating the same mistake again and learn more from the past experience. As it is said by Hertzberg that giving feed back is very important if things are going the way you wanted them to be. (Echols, 2005) Apart from them you are responsible for coordination between your different activities. The goals of each department should be the same. Try to avoid situations which would end up wasting resources, money and effort. Our aim is to give our customers the best developed software to fulfill their requirement. Communicate with your staff and encourage them. Failure to keep satisfied employees can adversely affect the business. Different managers have different ways of approaching problems. You can choose your own ways of doing work as long as it’s giving us result. You should understand your role and what we want from you at work. You have to plan, organize, control, communicate, and lead the organization and its employees. Our focus is our customers. We together have to work as a team so that our goal is met and we are able to compete with our competitors successfully. For that we require efforts from every individual however, the role of a manager in a company is versatile. They give fuel to the organization. Its now on your ability and work and commitment and how you undertake pressure. (Echols, 2005) Works Cited †¢ Fleming, John H. (November 2005). Where Employee Engagement Happens. Harvard Business Review †¢ Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge (2005). Organizational Behavior, Twelfth edition: Pearsons Publishers †¢ Employee Engagement – A Concept Clean Up. bsiconsulting, Retrieved June 26, 2008, from http://bsiconsulting. com. au/pdfs/Engagement%20Clean%20Up%2003. pdf

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay

Learning is a natural ability that is wired into many animals DNA; the way that humans should learn has been debated by the various educators because of the endless ways to teach. Teachers and parents take this matter seriously like Ralph Waldo Emerson in â€Å"From Education† and Todd Gitlin in â€Å"The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut† who created essays on education; and Billy Collins in â€Å"The History Teacher† entail for then and who wrote a poem concerned with the status of education. These people show what the importance of education is entailing what learning should and should not involve; a teacher should respect and have patience for children; a teacher should also let a child have creativity and lessons of the past. Many teens do not respect their teacher which might be because the teacher does not respect them; as the golden rule goes, â€Å"treat others the way you would treat yourself†; Ralph Waldo Emerson in â€Å"From Education† would probably agree with this quote because he strongly believes that, â€Å"the secret of [e]ducation lies in respecting the pupil,† (page 102). Shows that Emerson understood what children are thinking then did something to help them by simply respecting them. Another big issue with education is patience; some people do not have enough patience to guide children to what they are supposed to learn. Emerson also believes that patience is an important part in education, â€Å"to regard the young [children, they require] no doubt, rare patience: a patience that nothing but faith in medial forces of the soul can give,† Emerson was trying to say that someone has to really care in order to teach information to children (page 105). Some people do not see the point in having art classes or history classes; the reason why is because art assists students to express themselves in a way that words cannot along with helping them find out what kind of person they truly are; and history is needed to teach children where they originated from; and to show them mistakes that other people in the past made so they will not make them again. Todd Gitlin in â€Å"The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut† agrees with this â€Å"[students] need some orientation to philosophy, history, language, literature, music, and arts that have lasted more than 15 minutes,† (page 156) because students need the outlet to express themselves; or if they do not they would not learn morals then they would become exactly what people were trying to stop; as shown in â€Å"The History Teacher† by Billy Collins who stated, â€Å"the children would leave his classroom for the playground to torment the weak and the smart,† all because â€Å"[the teacher tries] to protect his students’ innocence he told them the Ice Age was really just the Chilly Age, a period of a million years when everyone had to wear sweaters. And the Stone Age became the Gravel Age, named after the long driveways of time,† this demonstrates how not teaching children lessons of the past which are the brood violence’ that others committed in history; by not teaching this history it affects children’s behavior in real life (page 143). Morals are right and wrong many people’s morals will differ; this is why teaching them is tricky because the teacher’s morals might not be the same as the parent’s morals. This is why some of the history in textbooks is sometimes just the summary of what really happened but not enough for the main point to be set across unlike in â€Å"The History Teacher† where, â€Å"the Spanish Inquisition [is] nothing more than an outbreak of questions such as â€Å"How far is it from here to Madrid? †,† and â€Å"the War of the Roses took place in a garden, and the Enola Gay dropped one tiny atom on Japan,† explains when a teacher goes too far in trying to protect student’s mind from bad; when only good is taught and everything else is censored then the students become the opposite; because they do not know the consequences of doing bad, which is why history is taught. As teachers and parents they have to let their students make their own choices as shown in â€Å"From Education† Emerson says, â€Å"it is not for you to choose what he shall know, [or] what he shall do,† shows that sometimes a student needs to find out the consequences the hard way, and let them choose what they want to learn (page 143). Education is needed in modern day society to help students and children grow and help the nation; by giving students proper education the teacher are not really helping the students but they are helping themselves. Teaching creativity helps a student express themselves; respect should be given so the student can give it back; patience is needed to help them understand; morals need to be taught through history so the student will make fewer mistakes; these are essential to a good education and an even better future: as shown by the writings of Billy Collins, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Todd Gitlin.

Koss management Case Essay

1. Why might Koss management have placed so much trust in Sachdeva, along with minimal supervision and monitoring? Koss management might have placed so much trust in Sachdeva because she was is such a high position. She worked in the company as Vice President, when you are that high on the totem pole, you are given trust that you know what you are doing and that you want what is best for the company. Companies don’t hand out positions to people that have no clue as to what they are doing as well as someone that they believe will ruin the company. The same thing goes along with having minimal supervision and monitoring. She was a Vice President, someone that was supposed to be trusted, someone who was a leader, someone who was supposed to set an example. It just goes to show you that it is not always the person on the bottom of chain that needs to be watched. It is easier for higher up management and owners to sneak money away than the one who have minimal access to records and bank statements. 2. What was Grant Thornton’s obligation to uncover the fraud? Grant Thornton was Koss’s internal auditor. An internal auditor is defined as â€Å"An independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.† (p. 23-24) As the auditor for this business, Grant was supposed to make sure that every piece of financial information was in its right place as well as wrote and calculated right. Clearly Thornton did not do his job the right way. By looking at the numbers provided, any auditor could see that something is not right in the company. After seeing it, the auditor would address the issue and deal with it the proper way. I have a feeling he knew all along what was going on but was too afraid to open his mouth. 3. Why should Sachdeva’s lavish lifestyle have raised suspicions? Why might it have been ignored or explained away by her professional colleagues? Sachdeva’s lavish lifestyle should have raised red flags soon after it started to happen. It should  because most people that work in a company roughly know how much each person makes. After seeing her spend the money she was someone should have investigated a little more. I mean it is possible for a Vice President of a company to be rich, but for a life style to go to the extreme as spending $1.4 million on a shopping spree is questionable. One of the number one ways to detect fraud is by a change in lifestyles. Her new lifestyle could have been ignored because of her job title. No one wants to question their boss, let alone someone higher up in management. By doing that, all you are asking for is to get fired. In the book it says that people assumed she used family money or her husbands, but not one person questioned her about it. (p. 116) No one wanted to be the one that was questioning the boss. It is much easier to turn and look the other way than stand up in what you b elieve. 4. How could management, the audit committee, and the auditors have been more professionally skeptical in this situation? The audit committee and the auditors could have checked financial more often than what they did. When they noticed that the income was dropping quite a bit each year, they should have started looking at documents more closely as well as more often. The audit committee is supposed to speak with management on their findings. Well instead of talking to the President and Vice President, they should have only talked to the President. There was really no communication in this business when it came down to financials. It was basically whatever Sachdeva said was right. No one stepped up to double check her work and no one questioned it. Being a bigger company, more than one person should have defiantly doubled checked the financial statement. 5. What was the audit committee’s responsibility to notice that something looked amiss in the financial statements? The audit committee’s responsibility was to look over the accounting and financial reporting process as well as the financial statement audits; appoint, compensate and oversee the external auditor; and to ensure that the company has a whistleblower program. (p. 52) At first glance the committee could notice that something was not right with the company’s financial records. But nothing was done and nothing was said. 6. Sachdeva paid for her purchases using corporate credit cards. What internal controls could the company have used to prevent inappropriate use of the credit cards? One thing internal controls could have done was make Sachdeva turn in receipts along with a credit card statement at the end of each  month. By doing this, every dollar spent on company card can be accounted for. You can see not only where the money is going but what the money is spent on as well as the date and time it was spent. This is just one simple way to keep fraud down. Many companies require this every month with their employees. For every transaction where a receipt cannot be present is deducted from their pay check. Another thing the company could have done is set a limit on the card. By setting a limit, you can make sure amounts are not being spent that shouldn’t be. 7. Some reports have described Sachdeva as having a very dominating personality, and revelations were made about the fact that she would often be verbally abusive of her subordinates in front of top level managers at Koss. How should top-level managers have responded to this behavior? What actions could the subordinates have taken to respond to this behavior? Top-level management should have put a stop to it right at the start. By allowing it to happen, shows her that it was ok. If they would have stated something in writing and verbally, she may have either stopped or possibly could have be let go. Also by allowing this to happen, shows other employees that it is completely ok to act the way to other employees as well as people above her. Some actions that defiantly should have been taken would be to sit her down and just talk to her and let her know that it is not acceptable in the company, especially to her bosses. The next action would be like I said to have something in writing and have her sign it. Not only does this cover the company’s butt, but you have the proof that you said something to her. By doing this, she cannot come back and say that she wasn’t aware she was verbally abusing anyone and that nothing was brought up to her. References Rittenburg, Larry. Johnstone, Karla. Gramling, Audrey. (2012) Auditing: A Business Risk Approach 8e. Mason: South-Western, Cengage Learning.

The Design Factors in a Modern Living or Working Space

The Design Factors in a Modern Living or Working Space Executive sum-up The purpose of this study is to sketch the factors which should be taken into history in the design of a modern life or working infinite. The study discusses three factors related to design of an ideal office, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical factors. The study gives a figure of recommendations, the chief 1s being:Allow natural air flow by utilizing a cross airing system to make a fresh ambiance.Decorate the office with Blue and Green colour to make a pleasant and productive ambiance.Use fluorescent visible radiations to make natural, warm or daylight colorss of visible radiation to cut down oculus fatigue and concern jobs.Tables of ContentssPage No.1.0Introduction42.0Design factors42.0.1Environmental factors42.0.2Affectional factors42.0.3Practical factors52.1Planing an ideal office52.1.1Environmental factors in an office design52.1.2Affectional factors in an office design52.1.3Practical factors in an office design63.0Decision64.0Recommendation65.0Reference List8In troductionThe intent of this study is to sketch the factors which should be taken into history in the design of a modern life or working infinite, and to give recommendations sing the ideal design of an office. It is written for Mr James Scott as portion of the Academic English class demands. The information was acquired through cyberspace research and group treatment. First, the study outlines the general factors related to design of a modern life or working infinite. Following, these factors are applied to the ideal design of an office. Subsequent to this, a decision is given followed by clear recommendations. 2.0 Design factors There are three factors to take into history when planing a modern life or work infinite, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical considerations. 2.0.1 Environmental factors Environmental factors relate to utilize of natural resource and the decrease of cost through the usage of renewable energy beginnings. The ways to make this involve, First, by utilizing a cross airing design to maintain populating country cool, fresh and healthy. Second, by put ining Windowss and doors on the E and west side, maximal natural visible radiation can be utilized. Third, by put ining solar panel and photo-voltaic system, electricity can be generated for different intents and its C free energy ( Seminara, 2014 ) . Hence, the usage of natural resource in modern life or working infinite reduces pollution and energy ingestion. 2.0.2 Affectional factors Affectional factors are to make with interior design and ornament of life or working infinite that affect people’s temper and attitudes. Harmonizing to Sanders ( 2014 ) , agreement of accoutrements and furniture affect the human tempers. For case, by maintaining a little tabular array with cheerful and colorful flowers and cosmetic container next to imbibe coaster can elate temper and create pleasant and friendly environment. Furthermore, adorning infinite with bright colorss and LED rope light gives energy and relaxation ( Taylor, 2013 ) . To reason, interior design and ornament of life and working can make a more comfy infinite. 2.0.3 Practical factors Practical factors in design are concerned with the wellness of worlds. It includes facets such as organic stuffs and comfy chairs and desks. In order to cut down toxic gases in life or working infinite, organic stuffs should be used such as wood, wool, slate, cotton and gorgeous fabrics ( Gibson, 2013 ) . Furthermore, ergonomic chairs and desks should be used which gives relaxation and comfy feeling. Harmonizing to Aulenback ( 2013 ) , proper accommodation of chair, desk dimensions and tallness of proctor can cut down back hurts and wellness hazard of employees. In short, use ergonomic equipment and organic stuffs in modern design of life or working infinite is an of import. 2.1 Planing an ideal office Having outlined the above factors associating to general design, it is now necessary to use them to the design of an office. 2.1.1 Environmental factors in an office design Environmental factors in an office include energy decrease and natural airing. Sing energy decrease, energy ingestion can be reduced by utilizing sunshine in the office environment, this impacting positive productiveness and the moral of employees ( Rayfield, 1997 ) . Equally far as natural airing is concerned, a cross airing system would let natural air flow throughout the office and corridors making a fresh ambiance in the office ( Goodell, 2010 ) . In short, low energy use and natural airing would ensue in an eco-friendly office taking to increase productiveness. 2.1.2 Affectional factors in an office design Affectional factors in an office design would affect the usage of appropriate colorss and an interior furniture design that positively affects the temper, emphasis degrees and behavior of workers. Sing colorss, the office could include bluish and green, the Blue and Green colour excite the heads of employees ( Akkan Design, 2014 ) . Refering interior furniture design, work can be performed in an efficient and originative mode when unit of ammunition shaped furniture is used. This is confirmed by a 2013 survey demoing that when employees were seated at a curving form desk they were more likely to prosecute in meeting. ( Australian authorities Comcare, 2002 ) . In decision, appropriate colorss and interior furniture design of an office creates a pleasant and productive ambiance. 2.1.3 Practical factors in an office design Practical factors in an office design would include lighting and equipment, such as chairs and desks which affect the wellness of workers. Refering lighting, usage of fluorescent tubings in the office would supply different qualities of visible radiation, such as natural, warm or daylight coloring material. By utilizing these, eyes fatigue and concern jobs can be reduced ( Hawary, 2011 ) . Sing desk design, a desk should hold a smooth and level surface, rounded corners and good entree for the user’s legs. In add-on, chairs should hold different maps such as accommodation of tallness, turn overing wheels and back joust to cut down back hurting job ( National Occupational Commission, 2011 ) . Hence, proper lighting and comfy chairs and desks are required to cut down wellness jobs.DecisionThis study has outlined the factors associating to the design of a working or populating infinite, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical facets. It has besides discussed the applic ation of these factors in the ideal design of an office. 4.0 Recommendation Having discussed the factors involved in planing a life or working infinite, Specifically Environmental, Affective and Practical factors. The undermentioned recommendations are given for the design of an ideal office. Environmental factorsInstall windows on the West and east side to let sunshine into the office.Allow natural air flow by utilizing a cross airing system to make a fresh ambiance.Affectional factorsDecorate the office with Blue and Green colour to make a pleasant and productive ambiance.Make a pleasant and friendly environment by maintaining cosmetic container on desk.Practical factorsUse fluorescent visible radiations to make natural, warm or daylight colorss of visible radiation to cut down oculus fatigue and concern jobs.Fit comfy desks which have smooth and level surfaces and good entree for user’s legs.Provide chairs with different maps, such as back joust, turn overing wheels and accommodation of tallness to cut down back hurting job.Reference ListAkkan Design. ( 2014 ) . How Color Affects Mood in Office and Interior Design. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.akkan.com.au/index.php/Blogs/How-Colour-Affects-Mood-in-Office-and-Interior-Design Aulenback, S. ( 2013 ) . 6 Ways to contend weariness while utilizing your standing desk. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //deskhacks.com/reduce-standing-desk-fatigue/ Australian Government Comcare. ( 2002 ) . Officewise. ISBN 1 921160 17 9 Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.comcare.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/39570/Officewise_OHS1_Apr_10.pdf Gibson, R. ( 2013 ) . 10 Contemporary Elementss that Every Home demands. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //freshome.com/2013/09/30/10-contemporary-elements-that-every-home-interior-needs/ Goodell, l. ( 2010 ) . How to Make a Productive Office Environment. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/create-productive-office-environment.html Hawary, S. ( 2011 ) . Lighting rules in interior design of direction infinites. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.academia.edu/1746322/lighting_principles_in_interior_design_of_managment_spaces National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. ( 2011 ) . Ergonomic Principles and Checklists for the Selection of Office Furniture and Equipment. ISBN 0 644 24516 6 Rayfield, J. K. ( 1997 ) . The office Interior Design Guide. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.books.google.com.au Drum sanders, A. ( 2014 ) . How Does Room Decoration Affect Mood? Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ehow.com/how-does_4744309_room-decoration-affect-mood.html Seminara, D. ( 2014 ) . Eco Housing Design. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.dsarchitecture.com.au/eco-housing-principles.html Taylor, J. ( n.d ) . 8 Ways to Get Ambient Lighting. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.houzz.com/ideabooks/6794787/list/8-ways-to-get-ambient-lighting-just-right

Internship Handbook

Master of Public Health Program Internship Handbook 2010-2011 University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program University of Missouri 802  Lewis  Hall Columbia,  MO  65211 PHONE  (573)  884? 6844 FAX  (573)  884? 4132 http://publichealth. missouri. edu To Whom It May Concern: The Master of Public Health Program at the University of Missouri trains practitioners, teachers, researchers, and administrators to plan, implement, and evaluate programs aimed at enhancing health in human populations through organized effort on the local, state, and national level.Internships for MPH students fulfill a critical need for their public health experience and help build our community, state, and nation’s public health workforce. The following information is designed to guide and provide accountability for preceptors and interns in the University of Missouri Master of Public Health Internship program. Thank you for agreeing to work with the Master of Public Health Progra m to help provide experience for our graduate students. We appreciate your input into planning experiences and your feedback about students’ progress. Sincerely, Kristofer J.Hagglund, PhD, ABPP Director, Master of Public Health Program Tel: (573) 884-7050 Fax: (573) 884-4132 Email: [email  protected] missouri. edu University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program Internship Table of Contents Mission Statement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Policy for Pre-requisites†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Student Checklist†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Sample Schedule†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Preceptor Expectations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Project Selection†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Student Expectations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Faculty Advisor Expectations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Internship Agreement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Internship Statement of Purpose†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Internship Progress Report†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Preceptor Final Internship Evaluation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Student Final Internship Evaluation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Guidelines for Final Paper†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1 2 3 5 6 6 7 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 Appendices Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: Competencies to Be Used for Internship Learning Objectives Self-assessment of Experience/Competency†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Student Internship Interest Form†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Internship Description Form†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Field Practicum Agreement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Log of Hours†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 15 17 19 20 21 23 University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Inter nship Procedures Mission Statement The mission of the Master of Public Health Program at the University of Missouri is to advance the well-being and quality of life of the citizens of Missouri and beyond through excellence in teaching, discovery, and service in public health.To harness the unique strengths of the University of Missouri in rural health, veterinary medicine, and policy analysis and development in addressing the needs of underserved populations and preparing public health leaders on the local, state, and national levels. Statement of Values The underlying values of the University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program include a strong commitment to creating a learning environment where evidence-based decision-making and bestpractices are focused on enhancing the common good.The core values of the University of Missouri (Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, Excellence) intersect with key public health values informing the program in several important ways: 1) Respec t for the diversity of our students and for the communities they will serve, including an understanding of issues involving equity and the special needs of vulnerable populations, 2) The Responsibility of the academy to bring rigor and excellence to the training of both future and currently practicing public health professionals and to make research findings accessible for use in the development of public policy, 3) The value of promoting and supporting the innovative interdisciplinary Discovery that is a unique strength of the discipline of public health, and 4) The necessity of holding leaders of population-based efforts to improve health to the highest standards of Excellence, including professionalism, solid grounding in international and national codes of ethics, and respect for individual dignity, social justice, and fairness. -1- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures Policy for Pre-requisites for the MPH Internship Before t he beginning of an internship, the MPH student must have completed 21 hours of coursework in the Master of Public Health Program, which should include following courses: P_HLTH 7150 Principles of Public Health P_HLTH 150 Human Health and the Environment P_HLTH 8920 Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health and either F_C_MD 8420 Principles of Epidemiology or NURSE 8100 Epidemiology for Public Health Practice and either STAT 7020 Statistical Methods in the Health Sciences or STAT 7410 Biostatistics Subtotal Credit Hours Other Elective Credit Hours TOTAL 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 15 6 21 Pre-requisite Waiver Policy: Waivers for students who would like to start their internships prior to completion of all pre-requisites will be considered on an individual basis by the student’s Faculty Advisor, Field Placement Coordinator, and the MPH Program Director. -2- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures Student Checklist Preparing for interns hip: (3 months before internship) ? 1.Revise Resume: Include information on education, previous work experience, and career goals. Keep length to no more than two pages. Contact your Faculty Advisor or the Field Placement Coordinator for assistance, if needed. 2. Complete Self-Assessment Form: This will help you to identify competency areas you want to emphasize during your internship. Turn in the self-assessment to the Field Placement Coordinator. See Appendix 2. The Student Internship Interest form is also helpful and available in Appendix 3. 3. Consider Potential Internship Sites: With the assistance of your Faculty Advisor and/or the Field Placement Coordinator, develop a listing of potential internship sites.Considerations include: geographical location, interest areas, career goals, and learning objectives. Review the opportunities posted on the MPH Program website. http://publichealth. missouri. edu/students/Internship%20Opportunities. php 4. Meet with Your Faculty Advisor: R eview potential internship opportunities, self-assessment, and interest areas with your Faculty Advisor and the Field Placement Coordinator as needed. (Special note: Your Faculty Advisor is identified in your https://myzou. missouri. edu account. ) 5. Contact Sites/Preceptors: Make contact with potential Preceptors to explore internship duties. Set up interviews (phone or in-person) and review information about the agency/organization.Treat contacts like job interviews; follow up with thank-you notes and inform the Preceptor promptly if you will be accepting the internship. 6. Finalize Internship Site and Preceptor: Contact your Faculty Advisor and the Field Placement Coordinator to finalize internship plans. ? ? ? ? ? Starting your internship: (within 2 weeks of starting internship) ? 7. Complete Statement of Purpose: Identify the MPH Program Competencies you plan to meet through your internship work, develop specific, time-sensitive, and measurable objectives, and estimate a timel ine for completion. The Statement of Purpose must be signed by the intern, Preceptor, and Faculty Advisor and returned to the Field Placement Coordinator at the start of the internship. 8.Complete Internship Agreement: Ask your Faculty Advisor and Preceptor to review your internship goals and objectives and complete the Internship Agreement. This document must be signed by the intern, Preceptor, and Faculty Advisor and returned to the Field Placement Coordinator at the start of the internship. 9. Complete Internship Log: Begin documenting hours and maintaining a record of activities on the Internship Log in Appendix 6. 10. Complete Field Practicum Agreement: Complete a Field Practicum Agreement if requested by the Field Placement Coordinator. These are needed for new and off-campus internship sites. See Appendix 4. ? ? ? Midterm: 11. Complete Internship Progress Report: Meet with your Preceptor about halfway through the internship to discuss progress. The intern and Preceptor must c omplete the Internship Progress Report and return it to the Field Placement Coordinator. -3- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures ? 12. Update Statement of Purpose: Update progress towards meeting objectives and timeline on the Statement of Purpose and return to the Field Placement Coordinator. Final: ? 13. Finalize Statement of Purpose: Complete the final column of the Statement of Purpose and address objectives that were met (or not met).This document must be signed by your Faculty Advisor, Preceptor, and the Field Placement Coordinator and turned into the Field Placement Coordinator. Complete all assigned internship activities within the internship period unless previous arrangements have been made. If it is clear that an internship-related student activity cannot be completed during the internship, discuss this with the Faculty Advisor as soon as possible. 14. Complete Student Evaluation of Internship: You must complete your Student Final Internship Evaluation within one week of completing the internship. Return the evaluation to the Field Placement Coordinator. A final grade will not be issued until the evaluation is received. 15. Request PreceptorEvaluation of Internship: Provide your Preceptor with a copy of the Preceptor Final Internship Evaluation and requests that it be completed and returned no later than one week following completion of the internship and turned in to the Field Placement Coordinator. 16. Finalize Internship Log: Finalize your log and turn in to the Field Placement Coordinator. 17. Complete Summary Report/Project: Submit a brief paper or report that summarizes your internship activities and accomplishments to your Faculty Advisor. See Guidelines for Final Paper. ? ? ? ? -4- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship ProceduresSample Schedule All documentation should be turned in to the Field Placement Coordinator in her MPH Program office. I. Required documentation schedule for 360 hours of internship in one semester For this option, register for 6 credits in one semester for P_HLTH 8980 Public Health Internship. Previous Semester ? Self-assessment ? Internship interest form (optional) Start of Semester ? Internship Agreement ? Statement of Purpose ? Field Practicum Agreement Midterm ? Internship Progress Report ? Updated Statement of Purpose Final ? Finalized Statement of Purpose ? Student Evaluation ? Preceptor Evaluation ? Final Paper ? Internship Log (if needed) *II.Required documentation schedule for 360 hours of internship spanning 2 semesters For this option, enroll in P_HLTH 8980 Public Health Internship for two semesters and divide 6 credits between these two semesters (e. g. combination of 2-4, 3-3 or 1-5). Previous Semester ? Self-assessment ? Internship interest form (optional) Start of First Semester ? Internship Agreement ? Statement of Purpose ? Field Practicum Agreement End of First Semester ? Internship Progress Report, ? Updated Statement of Purpose End of Second Semester ? Finalized Statement of Purpose ? Student Evaluation ? Preceptor Evaluation ? Final Paper ? Internship Log (if needed) Work closely with/contact Academic Advisor *This option is particularly helpful for summer interns that will not complete their internships by the grading deadline in early August.This avoids having to enter an â€Å"incomplete† grade for the summer semester. Students completing their internships in the summer should register for 3 credits for the summer semester and 3 credits for the fall semester. -5- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures Preceptor Expectations As you work with your student, please consider the following guidelines for the student experience: †¢ †¢ Provide an internship description well in advance for internship position advertisement. You may use our format for the advertisement (See Appendix 4). At the beg inning of the internship, complete agency-student contract with student and Faculty Advisor.Determine semester meeting dates and times for routine meetings with your student. (Other meetings can be scheduled as needed throughout the semester). Specify orientation activities you want your student to complete early in their experience. Clarify call-in procedure if student will miss or be late to the assigned daily experience. Provide a list of resources that you use (e. g. pamphlets/brochures), information from other agencies, other staff resources, etc. for students to use during the semester to help with project work and/or understanding the work of public health agencies. Review student’s progress on their project and notify Field Placement Coordinator if there are any concerns.Notify Field Placement Coordinator regarding any problems or concerns regarding student’s behavior. Discuss and plan with the student the type of final report you expect on the project(s). We e xpect that students will customize this report to the needs of your project. This report is flexible and may include written summaries, data disk, survey tool, teaching materials, etc. – whatever best serves your needs and the project(s) needs. Complete an evaluation of the student at the end of the internship experience and email Field Placement Coordinator. Share with student as you feel appropriate. Document your work and time as a Preceptor according to your agency’s evaluation protocol. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Project Selection We ask that preceptors and their agencies choose projects that they would like students to work on. When making choices for students, please consider the complexity of the project, time demands for the Preceptor and the student, timeliness of project deliverables, and feasibility for student the student to complete t he work, e. g. working with outside collaborators, having adequate resources, and similar constraints. After selecting a project, list in detail the steps involved in project. The student is responsible for coordinating with the MPH Program Faculty Advisors about the project selection. -6-University of Missouri-Columbia Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures Student Expectations During this course, you will be gaining experience in a public health agency and working with a Preceptor on a specific project. The agency and the Preceptor are volunteering to assist you in meeting your educational goals. General student expectations for this experience are listed below: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Contact the Preceptor/agency regularly to discuss progress on your project. Accomplish activities as stated in the Internship Statement of Purpose contract. Participate in activities offered by the Preceptor in addition to the work on your project.Inform the Preceptor/agen cy and clinical instructor about problems/issues related to population and/or project work. Any unresolved issues may be brought to your Faculty Advisor and the MPH Program Administrative Staff. Be responsive to Preceptor/agency requests. Demonstrate professional behaviors, including appropriate dress, language, punctuality, call-in procedure, and discussion with clients and health professionals. †¢ †¢ Preceptors will evaluate your performance based on these expectations. The internship is a pass/fail program. The work on your project must meet the needs of the agency/Preceptor for you to pass the internship. Faculty Advisor ExpectationsThe Faculty Advisor is a very important academic figure during the internship process. He/she serves along with the Field Placement Coordinator as a bridge between the student and the Preceptor as needed. The role of the Faculty Advisor becomes more important when the student faces problems during the internship. He/she must work in conjunc tion with the Field Placement Coordinator to sort out any problematic issues. Further, considering development of the student and current competitive environment, the Faculty Advisor should be prepared to discuss the following with prospective interns: 1. Will this project be at graduate student level? 2. Is this project going to meet MPH Program Competencies (see Appendix 1)? 3.Will it lend itself to a capstone project? (This is not required but desirable for students who are seeking publications or PhD. ) -7- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures INTERNSHIP AGREEMENT UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM STUDENT STATEMENT: I, ________________________________________ agree to perform my internship at the agency and with the Preceptor named below. I understand that in order to satisfy the internship requirement, my proposed project(s) must have the approval of the Preceptor and the Faculty Advisor. I have attached learning objectives and activities with this contract.I agree to complete all pre-internship requirements (readings, physical exams, background checks, etc. ) as requested by the sponsoring agency. I understand that I must complete approximately 360 clock hours to satisfy program requirements. This might be completed as a single full-time block (about 9 weeks at 40 hours per week) or part-time during the course of several months and up to one year. The current internship will be approximately _______ hours/week for _______ weeks. Compensation for this internship period will be $_________ per _________. I understand I may or may not receive compensation. I understand that if I do receive compensation, it will be from the agency and not from the University of Missouri.I understand that I may or may not be covered by the agency’s worker compensation benefit, and I agree to obtain health insurance in the event I will not be covered by the agency for worker’s compensation. I understand that the Preceptor and Faculty Advisor will evaluate my progress jointly. I will present all report materials in the format requested by the Preceptor and/or the Faculty Advisor. I understand that if my performance is not satisfactory, I may be re-assigned by the Faculty Advisor. I will complete all required evaluations and documentation as specified in the MPH Internship Procedures and submit them to the MPH Program Associate Director. I understand that a final grade will not be issued until the Faculty Advisor receives all paperwork.With respect to the agency, I agree to maintain privacy regarding any information with special confidentiality requirements (patient information, financial information, etc. ). Student Signature: _____________________________________________ Date: ___________________ Preceptor Signature: ____________________________________________________________________ (Title) Agency/Organization:________________________________________________Date:___ ___________ Major Program Advisor Signature: _____________________________________Date:_______________ (If Needed) Dual Degree Advisor Signature: __________________________________________ Date: ___________ -8- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures INTERNSHIP STATEMENT OF PURPOSEUNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM (Attach more information if needed) Instructions: 1. Complete the first three columns of the table at the start of the internship. Competencies may be selected with the help of the Faculty Advisor and Field Placement Coordinator and can be found in Appendix 1. 2. Objectives should be measurable and specific to the internship project (e. g. develop a survey for assessing barriers to breast-feeding in low-income women). 3. Once completed, the Statement of Purpose must be signed by the Faculty Advisor, Preceptor, and intern and a copy turned in to the Field Placement Coordinator. 4. At Midterm and Final, the objectives should be re-evaluated and addressed in the appropriate column.The overall purpose of my internship is: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ COMPETENCIES OBJECTIVES ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE MIDTERM PROGRESS FINAL EVALUATION -9- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures Page 2 – MPH PROGRAM INTERNSHIP STATEMENT OF PURPOSE COMPETENCIES OBJECTIVES ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE MIDTERM PROGRESS FINAL EVALUATION Preceptor: _________________ Date: _______ Midterm: _________________ Date: _______ Final: ____________________ Date: _______ Advisor: _______________ Date: __________ (At the start of internship) Student: _______________Date: ______ Field Placement Coordinator________ ____ Date:_______ Midterm: ______________ Date: _______ Final: _________________ Date: _______Midterm: _____________________________Date:_________ Final: _________________________________Date:________ -10- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures INTERNSHIP PROGRESS REPORT Preceptor and Intern: Complete this form about halfway through the internship. Return this form to the MPH Program Administrative Associate, University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program, 802 Lewis Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. Student Name: ________________________________________________________________________ Internship Site: _______________________________________________________________________ Preceptor: ___________________________________________________________________________ (Title)Period Covered by Progress Report: _____________________________through ___________________ Total Hours Worked to Date: ___________________ _________________________________________ Activities observed and/or participated in during this period: ___________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ ________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ A. Student Intern Comments: 1. Brief description of Internship to date: 2. Self-assessment of progress/accomplishments: -11- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures PRECEPTOR FINAL INTERNSHIP EVALUATION Preceptor: Complete this evaluation within one week following the completion of the internship. Please return the evaluation to the MPH Program Administrative Associate, University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program, 802 Lewis Hall, Columbia, MO 65211.Student Name: ________________________________________________________________________ Internship Site: ________________________________________________________________ _______ Preceptor: ___________________________________________________________________________ Internship Dates: from _______________________________ through ___________________________ Please evaluate the intern’s performance and University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program faculty and staff participation during the internship period (please feel free to submit any additional attachments): 5 – Excellent 4 – Above Average 3 – Average 2 – Below Average 1- Needs Improvement NA – Not Applicable A. Internship Performance: Reliability (attendance, punctuality, etc. ) Initiative Organizational Skills Enthusiasm for Project(s) Time Management (completing projects, etc. ) Independence in Project(s) Team Skills Exercised Appropriate Judgment 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NAStudent competency goals (from Statement of Purpose) achieved 1_______________________________ 2___ ____________________________ 3_______________________________ 4_______________________________ 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 NA NA NA NA Additional comments: __________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ (Signature of Preceptor) (Date) -12- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures STUDENT FINAL INTERNSHIP EVALUATION Return this form to the MPH Program Administrative Associate, University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program, 802 Lewis Hall, Columbia, MO 65211 within one week of completing the internship.Student Name: ________________________________________________________________________ Internship Site: _______________________________________________________________________ Preceptor: ___________________________________________________________________________ Internship Dates: from ________________________ thro ugh _____________________________ Please answer the following questions including the comments section. SA: Strongly Agree SD: Strongly Disagree A: Agree D: Disagree NA: Not Applicable 1. My internship contributed to the development of my career interests. 2. My internship provided me with new information and skills. 3. My internship provided an opportunity to use theory and/or information obtained in the classroom. 4. My internship activities were relevant to my learning objectives. 5. My preceptor was accessible to me and provided adequate supervision. . My preceptor provided information regarding agency policies and standards of practice. 7. My preceptor was knowledgeable in his/her area of responsibility. SA SA SA A A A D D D SD SD SD NA NA NA SA SA SA SA A A A A D D D D SD SD SD SD NA NA NA NA Comment: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________ _____________________________________________________________ (Signature of Student) (Date) -13- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures Guidelines for Final PaperThe student must submit to the Field Placement Coordinator a brief paper or report that summarizes internship activities and accomplishments. The format of the summary may vary, but it should sufficiently describe the scope of the intern’s activities and any special projects undertaken. Include views on the experience, achievement of learning objectives, strengths, and weaknesses. * †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 2-3 pages, not more than 1000 words. Use font of Times New Roman with size of 12. Double-spaced lines. Due one week after completion of internship. *In particular, please elaborate on one of the following cross-cutting competencies, stating how your internship experience has helped in achieving it.Use the basic concepts and skills involved in culturally ap propriate community engagement and empowerment with diverse communities. Cite examples of situations where consideration of culture-specific needs resulted in a more effective modification or adaptation of a health intervention. Describe the attributes of leadership in public health. Apply social justice and human rights principles when addressing community needs. Embrace a definition of public health that captures the unique characteristics of the field (e. g. , population-focused, community-oriented, prevention-motivated and rooted in social justice) and how these contribute to professional practice.Distinguish between population and individual ethical considerations in relation to the benefits, costs, and burdens of public health programs. In collaboration with others, prioritize individual, organizational, and community concerns and resources for public health programs. Explain how the contexts of gender, race, poverty, history, migration, and culture are important in the design of interventions within public health systems. Analyze the effects of political, social and economic policies on public health systems at the local, state, national and international levels. -14- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures APPENDIX 1Competencies to Be Used for Internship Learning Objectives Biostatistics 1. Propose preferred methodological alternatives to commonly used statistical methods when assumptions are not met. 2. Develop written and oral presentations based on statistical analyses for both public health professionals and educated lay audiences. 3. Partner with communities to attach meaning to collected data. Epidemiology 1. Evaluate the integrity and comparability of data and identify gaps in data sources. 2. Select and define variables relevant to defined public health problems. 3. Obtain and interpret information regarding risks and benefits to the community. 4.Design and evaluate surveillance systems for mic robiological hazards to human health of animal origin including new, emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases, foodborne diseases, and those due to antimicrobial resistant bacteria. 5. Communicate epidemiologic information to lay and professional audiences. Health Policy and Management 1. Differentiate and analyze the social determinants of health status. 2. Evaluate the effects of political, social, and economic policies on public health systems at the local, state, national, and international levels. 3. Use information technology to access, evaluate, and interpret data and influence public health policy. 4. Solicit and interpret input from individuals and organizations about public health issues and/or programs. 5.Design and adapt approaches to problems that take into account cultural differences. 6. Build and manage partnerships and work as an effective member of a diverse and/or interdisciplinary team. Social and Behavioral Science in Public Health 1. Analyze the causes of soc ial and behavioral factors that affect health of individuals and populations. 2. Compare and contrast the effectiveness of social and behavioral models in addressing public health problems. 3. Evaluate the impact of social and behavioral science interventions and policies on public health programs and outcomes. 4. Establish targets and formulate interventions for social and behavioral science programs and/or policies. 5.Design public health programs and strategies responsive to the diverse cultural values and traditions of the communities being served. Environmental Health 1. Develop a testable model of environmental insult. 2. Outline a health impact assessment of a public policy proposal or infrastructure development proposal. 3. Effectively communicate about and manage environmental risks. 4. Interpret and construct logical arguments concerning the balance of individual and community risks, rights, and benefits. -15- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-201 1 MPH Internship Procedures 5. Identify, evaluate, and devise intervention strategies for the prevention and control of foodborne disease threats. 6.Provide health education and/or extension education services to a wide array of stakeholders including farmers, food processors, and the general public. 7. Conduct biomedical research and engage in production and control of biological products and medical devices. Communication 1. Collaborate with communication and informatics specialists in the process of design, implementation, and evaluation of public health information programs. 2. Use the media, advanced technologies, and community networks to communicate information. 3. Use informatics and communication methods to advocate clearly and effectively for community public health programs and policies. -16- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures APPENDIX 2SELF-ASSESSMENT OF EXPERIENCE/COMPETENCY Below you will find summarized versions of the competencies with which each MPH student, regardless of Emphasis Area, will be expected to graduate. The full, detailed list of competencies is available on the MPH Program website. The completion of this self-assessment will serve both as a guide for individuals in shaping their internship and capstone experiences and for the program as a whole, in evaluating and revising our curriculum. For each question, please record your answer on the attached answer sheet according to the following scale: 1. NO EXPERIENCE 2. AWARE 3. KNOWLEDGEABLE 4. PROFICIENT 5. N/A BIOSTATISTICS 1.Be able to identify data sources and apply descriptive and inferential methodologies for answering research questions, as well as describe preferred methodological alternatives to commonly used statistical methods when assumptions are not met. 2. Develop written and oral presentations based on statistical analyses for both public health professional and educated lay audiences while applying ethical principl es to the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of data and information. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES 3. Analyze the impact of environmental and occupational hazards on population health. 4. Describe prevention, control, risk management, and communication strategies in relation to the issues of environmental justice and equity at local, national, and global levels. 5.Explain the physiological, psychosocial, biological, molecular, and toxicological effects of environmental and occupational insults on population health. EPIDEMIOLOGY 6. Describe and quantify health problems in terms of magnitude, person, time, and place in the community and understand the application of community-based participatory research. 7. Calculate basic epidemiology measures and evaluate the integrity and comparability of data. 8. Understand basic survey design, its ethical and legal principles, and analysis with appropriate epidemiological and inferential methods. (Continued†¦. ) -17- Universit y of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures HEALTH POLICY AND MANAGEMENT 9. Describe the history, structure, and emerging advances in health care systems.Identify, differentiate, and describe the elements of the organization, financing, functioning, regulation, and delivery of health services and understand the consequences of changes to those systems, including unintended ones. 10. Understand the social determinants of health status and analyze the impact of political, social, legal, ethical, technological, cultural, and economic factors on public health policy and delivery systems at local, state, national, and international levels. 11. Articulate and analyze the principles of strategic planning, program development, budgeting, marketing, and evaluation through the use of quality and performance improvement tools and community and stakeholder participation. 12. Partner with communities to identify risks, enefits, and limitations of public heal th programs and recognize ethical, political, scientific, and economic issues arising from them. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES 13. Understand the theories, concepts, and models of social and behavioral change and apply evidence-based quantitative and qualitative approaches for program planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health interventions at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. 14. Differentiate between linguistic competence, cultural competency, and health literacy and understand the importance of cultural diversity in the development and implementation of community-based public health interventions. COMMUNICATION 15.Understand the role of public health communications in the dissemination of health information to diverse communities and demonstrate written, oral, and informatics skills that advocate clearly and effectively for public health programs and policies to both professional and lay audiences. 16. Collaborate with communication and informatics speciali sts in the process of design, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs. 17. Use the media, advanced technologies, and community networks to communicate information. Comments: _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ -18-University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures APPENDIX 3 Student Internship Interest Form Consider the following areas as a guide while preparing to select an internship. Write responses in the space provided if you wish to review this form with your Faculty Advisor or the Associate Director. SETTING/TYPE OF AGENCY: Types of agencies/organizations (e. g. hospital, health department, industry governmental agenc y, etc. ) that you believe would provide the kind of educational and professional experience you need: SKILLS: Any special skills you wish to use or develop during the internship: SUBJECT/CONTENT AREAS: Content areas (e. g. ealth promotion, infectious diseases, social issues, etc. ) in which you might like to work: LOCATION: List in order of preference the geographic location(s) you would prefer: SPECIAL POPULATIONS: Any special populations you would like to work with (e. g. , children, women, persons with disabilities, etc. ) PERSONAL NEEDS: Consider all personal needs that could constrain your placement at a particular site (e. g. accommodations needed as per ADA, religious considerations, etc. ) TIMING: Any preferences regarding timing, including work schedule requirements, time of year requirements, etc. FINANCIAL: Not all public health internships are paid. Do you need a paid internship? Yes/NoOUT-OF-TOWN: Have you considered out-of-town internship (e. g. CDC)? If you are inter ested in an out-of-town internship, are you able to take care of transportation and housing during that time: Yes/No OTHER COMMENTS: Please provide any other information that would assist the MPH faculty in finding an appropriate internship for you. -19- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures APPENDIX 4 INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTION FORM Agency: ______________________________________________________ Department name: _______________________________________________ Overview of the program: ________________________________________Overview of the internship: _______________________________________ †¢ When are these positions offered? o Time frame: Open fromo Hours required: Location: On-site Vs Off-site Pay/ Stipend: Accommodation: Yes/No to- †¢ †¢ †¢ Qualifications: ___________________________________________________ Application deadlines: ___________________________________________ Travel: _______________________________ ___________________________ Contact information: _____________________________________________ -20- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures APPENDIX 5 Field Practicum Placement Agreement Between The Curators of the University of Missouri AndThis agreement is made on the day of , , between the Curators of the University of Missouri, for the Master of Public Health (MPH) Program, University of Missouri, hereinafter referred to as â€Å"the University† and hereinafter referred to as â€Å"the Agency†. It is mutually agreed by the University and the Agency that the practicum experience for students, in the field of Public Health, will be provided at the agency. The number of students assigned at a given time shall be determined by the Agency. Representatives of the Agency and the University shall cooperate in developing methods of instruction, objectives and other details of the field experience. The faculty of the Univers ity will assume responsibility for the selection and assignment of students to the learning experience. The students shall follow the Agency’s rules, regulations and procedures.If problems arise, the Field Placement Coordinator for the University shall be notified and representatives from the University and Agency will mutually handle such problems. Students will receive a thorough orientation to the Agency setting. University faculty members and Agency staff supervisors will evaluate the students’ performances by mutual consultation. The Agency will retain full responsibility for the clients of the Agency and will maintain administrative and professional supervision of students insofar as their presence affects the operation of the Agency and/or the direct or indirect provision of services for clients of the agency.The Agency shall be responsible for arranging immediate care in case of accident or illness of students but is not responsible for the costs involved, foll ow-up care or hospitalization. It is understood that assigned students are not University employees and therefore are not covered by Social Security, Unemployment compensation or Worker’s Compensation through the University. The University and the Agency do not and will not discriminate against any applicant for the field experience because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, national origin, age, or status as a Vietnam era veteran. -21- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures This agreement shall begin on the date set forth above in the initial paragraph of the Agreement and shall terminate on the 31st day of August, , provided, however, that the Agreement shall continue thereafter automatically for successive one-year terms running from September 1 to August 31, subject, however, to the right of either party to terminate the agreement, without liability or cause, at the end of the initial term or at the end of any subse quent annual term by giving the other party prior written notice no later than August 1st immediately preceding the beginning of the next successive annual term on September 1st.IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be duly executed by their properly authorized representatives. THE CURATORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI Agency Name Signature Title Date Agency’s Mailing Address & Phone Number _________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ ( ) __________________________ -22- University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program 2010-2011 MPH Internship Procedures APPENDIX 6 LOG OF HOURS (for University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program Internship) Intern: ________________________ Duration: ______________________ Preceptor: