Marketing Research Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Research - Coursework Example among others. Therefore, it is essential for the universities to investigate about the perception of students regarding their offerings. In-depth knowledge about the perception and experience of students will allow universities to bring in necessary changes in the education pattern and syllabus. In this report, the perception of students about the offerings of University of Wolverhampton will be identified. In order to identify the same, this study will undertake both primary as well as secondary research. The secondary research will be done with the help of books, journal articles, newspaper and other authentic electronic sources. On the contrary, the primary research will be carried out with the help of survey process. The research instrument to be used for collecting the data from the respondents will be questionnaire. The reason behind employing questionnaire for the purpose of collection raw data is that it will allow smoother collection of bulk data (Coombs and Hull, 1998; Hess e-Biber, 2011). Moreover, the cost to be incurred and time required for the survey will be comparatively less. Conversely, other research instruments such as observation, case study or focus group interview will not be able to serve the purpose fully as these instruments does not support collection of bulk data and are mostly inclined with qualitative research. Furthermore, these studies will require more cost as a result of that the most feasible technique is questionnaire survey (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson, 2010). Once the research instrument is selected, the next task is to choose the sample population and sample size. The sample population in this context will be the students of the university. The total sample size will be 100. The sample size has been determined with the help of Raosoft software and considering the convenience range of population which was 134. The confidence level used for selecting the candidates is around 95%. The report will finally draw a conclusion base d on the result of the questionnaire survey among the students. Marketing Research Report Introduction This report seeks to investigate the perception of students of University of Wolverhampton. The study will be about how the students of the university perceives about the different factors of the university. The factors such as their thoughts on the university fee, education quality, quality of faculty etc. In this report, the feedback of the students pertaining to the views, perception and experience of the students will be recorded so as to identify their overall outlook about the university. On the basis of the findings, the study will draw a conclusion and will make some recommendations. Sampling Sampling is a process by which a subset of the population is chosen (Deming, 1996; J. Gliem and R. Gliem, 2003). It helps researchers to gain an overall perception of the overall population. According to Thompson (2012), sampling consists of selecting some part of a population to obser ve so that one may estimate something about the whole population (p. 1). Since, the study aims to get insights into the perception of students about university; the sample population for this study will be the stude

The Rules on Formation of Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Rules on Formation of Contracts - Essay Example The first thing next morning, Kevin went round to Jack’s house and, as soon as Jack opened the door, told him that he would pay  £2000 for the motorcycle alone. Jack said that he already sold it to someone else. The formation of a legally binding contract requires a valid offer, a valid acceptance, an intention to create legal obligations and consideration. An offer is a valid offer when it is legal, clear, and communicated to the offeree. It must be clear and without any ambiguities. Acceptance also needs to be properly communicated. The person to whom an offer is made must accept the exact terms of the offer. Once an offer is accepted, it becomes a promise. The parties must have an intention to be legally bound by the terms of their agreement. When an agreement becomes enforceable by law, it becomes a contract. There a must be a consideration for both the parties involved. There must be something for something for both the parties. If these elements are present in the given scenario, the dealing between Kevin and Jack would be regarded as an agreement and, being enforceable by law, a contract. The formation of a contract initiates through an offer which is â€Å"an expression of willingness to contract on certain terms, made with the intention that it shall become binding as soon as it is accepted by the person to whom it is addressed†1. In the given case, Jack sent a text message to Kevin in which he offered him a motorcycle for the price of  £2000. He communicated his offer to the addressee, Kevin, through a proper mode of communication. Also, there was no ambiguity in his offer since the subject matter was stated clearly. Therefore, Jack made a valid offer to Kevin. Jack had told Kevin that his offer was open for acceptance till 10 am on the next day. Kevin sent a reply to Jack in which he accepted Jack’s offer and asked if the price included a leather suit. Kevin had accepted Jack’s  offer in the first part of his text message.

A Historical Look at U.S. GAAP Essay Example for Free

A Historical Look at U.S. GAAP Essay ABSTRACT This paper discusses the historical development of generally accepted accounting principles through its contributing sources from 1930 to the present. U.S. Businesses had been using double entry accounting since the 1800s yet no uniform accounting practices had been introduced until the American Institute of Accountants (AIA) recommended to the New York Stock Exchange in 1932, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ five broad principles of accounting which have won fairly general acceptance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , (Zeff, 2005, para. 4). In which, the terms â€Å"fairly present† and â€Å"in accordance with† were first used followed up with â€Å"generally accepted accounting principles†. Later, a sixth principle was approved. These recommendations were based on the three assumptions that all business transactions were apart from the business owner, all transaction currencies measured in the US dollar, the assumption of time and the matching principle. Thus establishing a foundation of which all future accounting principles are based. The AIA formed the Committee on Accounting Procedures (CAP) to publish Accounting Research Bulletins (ARB) on GAAP under the authority of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) created by the Securities Act of 1934. The CAP was later reorganized into the Accounting Principles Board (APB) that issued Opinions between 1959 and 1973. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has been the source for private sector generally accepted accounting principles since 1973. Input by the private sector has been crucial to the development of GAAP since 1930. Historically, GAAP is influenced by the business condition and public interest. The Great Depression left the public with little faith in the private sector. Although the knowledge and experience of businesses would be consulted for standards; businesses were not trusted to set and regulate accounting standards. A common practice in the 1920s was to adjust asset values upward to the highest market value arguably misleading investors prior to the 1929 crash (Zeff, 2005, para. 10). In response, CAP and the SEC strongly mandated historical cost accounting as the acceptable basis of reporting. Shortly after, the U.S. was brought into WWII directing the CAP’s focus to issues pertaining to war time accounting. In addition, the CAP addressed the issues of the exclusion of unrealized profit from income, the use of capital surplus to offset losses, and notes and accounts receivable from officers, employees, and affiliated companies. The most notable item during the CAP’s tenure summed up was its ARBs issued in response to congress’s decision permitting companies to use the LIFO inventory method. This was a rare instance that tax policy influenced GAAP and was initially directed to companies purchasing natural metals because the FIFO method was equated to higher income taxes due to the time lapse between the asset’s acquisition and sale (Zeff, 2005). The method was available to all industries in 1939. While CAP was praised for addressing questionable reporting practices prior to the crash; it was mostly labeled as weak by critics for failing to set a uniform accounting framework to mitigate comparability issues. At the advice of the AIA, now known as the AICPA, the Accounting Principles Board replaced the CAP. ARB 43 was quickly published to restate all Accounting Research Bulletins and eliminate any superseded ARBs. The research driven APB published 31 opinions. The first few answered reporting questions regarding the investment credit per the Revenue Act of 1962 allotting businesses a credit for a â€Å"†¦specified percentage of the cost of certain depreciable assets placed into service after 1961† (FASB, 1962, para.1). The board concluded that the credit may be recorded as an offset to net income over the asset’s life or as a reduction in acquisition cost during the period it occurred. This is important because it is a conceptual precursor to today’s section 179 and bonus depreciation credits of which most small and medium sized businesses depend on and consider when determining capital investments. All opinions regarding credits and other tax reporting issues were later superseded by the FASB’s statement number 109, Accounting for Income Tax. Many of the APB’s remaining opinions dealt with emerging issues brought about by the postindustrial economy. For instance, the board developed guidelines for intangible assets such as goodwill, the equity method of accounting for common stock, accounting for employee stock options, the reporting of extraordinary items in the income statement, and set the criteria to use pooling of interest or the purchase method in business combinations. The most controversial accomplishment of the APB was its 1970 publication Basic Concepts and Accounting Principles Underlying Financial Statements of Business Enterprises. The board’s issuance of this as a non-authoritative â€Å"standard† rather than opinion was met with negative criticism as it failed to commit to any conceptual framework solutions and reaffirmed the fundamental disagreement among members on this topic. The board was soon after dissolved and replaced by the FASB with new, independent members in 1973. Nearly all APB Opinions were superseded by FASB statements (FAS) at different points in time. The FASB remains the authoritative source for private sector accounting practices today. The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 restated the FASB’s position in setting accounting standards. The FASB does not have the authority to enforce standards. The responsibility has always been with managers to prepare and file financial statements in accordance to GAAP with the SEC. Auditors, overseen by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), issue opinions on the conformity and accuracy of the financial statements. The role of auditors has become increasingly crucial in the post Enron era. The FASB remains committed to addressing any deficiencies in the reporting process and meeting regularly with the PCAOB and SEC to prevent future financial disasters. Probably the most serious issues to date addressed by the FASB resulted from the subprime mortgage crisis and the subsequent financial crisis of 2008. According to Leslie Seidman (2011), chairman of the FASB, high profile controversy relating to the determination of the fair value of assets and liabilities in an illiquid market prompted the issuance of FAS 157, Fair Value Measurements. Effective November 2007, the standard expanded disclosure for fair value measurements and included changes in fair value practice â€Å"†¦ for certain entities† (FASB, 2006, para. 1). The FAS 133 released in January 2008 provided new and additional guidance on derivatives and designated a team within the FASB to assist with statement implementation. The FASB works to â€Å"harmonize† the previously mentioned standards and all others with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Discussion of international accounting principles has occurred for decades and an International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) has existed since 1973. It was not until the 1990s when globalization motivated the FASB to deliberate a strategic plan for international activities. In 2002, the FASB and IASB started collaborating to â€Å"converge† US GAAP and International Accounting Standards. A memorandum of understanding was released by the two boards in 2006 and amended in 2008. In 2011, the FASB sent a letter to the IFRS Foundation Trustees describing its views on many key issues. The FASB continues to balance long term IASB projects with its work on issues relating to US GAAP. REFERENCES Financial Accounting Standards Board. (1962). APB 2: Accounting for the â€Å"Investment Credit†. Retrieved from http://www.fasb.org/cs/BlobServer?blobkey=idblobwhere=1175820900137blobheader=application%2Fpdfblobcol=urldatablobtable=MungoBlobs Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2006). Summary of Statement No. 157. Fair Value Measurements. Retrieved from http://www.fasb.org/summary/stsum157.shtml Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2012). International Convergence of Accounting Standards –Overview. IASB-FASB Update Report. Retrieved from http://www.fasb.org/jsp/FASB/Page/SectionPagecid=1176156245663 Seidman, L.F. â€Å"The Role of the Accounting Profession in Preventing Another Financial Crisis.† U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment [Testimony]. FASB. April 6, 2011. Zeff, S. A. (2005). The Evolution of U.S. GAAP: The Political Forces behind Professional Standards. The CPA Joural, Retrieved fro m http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/105/infocus/p18.htm

The Department Of Social Work Social Work Essay

The Department Of Social Work Social Work Essay The needs of older people are rarely considered outside of their age-related ailments. Community services remain geared towards the younger generation more specifically children and young people, while older peoples needs tend to be looked at peripherally. A question that springs to mind is how risk is assessed in an older person with mental health issues. A starting point could be to look at a definition of risk. Risk can be defined as the possibility of beneficial and harmful outcomes and the likelihood of their occurrence in a stated timescale (Alberg et al in Titternon, 2005). Risk is also a common feature in assessment frameworks by agencies and policies in social care and health. Hence the need to attach significance to risk issues in several public inquiries. However, these seem to be primarily related to child death inquiries where risk assessment and risk management are seen as the ongoing needed requirements to improve best practice. Most available research studies of risk and older people seem to focus on falls and other everyday risks they might encounter when seeking to return home after a hospital admission. Langan Lindlaw (2004) comment that mental health service users have become increasingly defined in terms of risk and dangerousness, despite consistent research evidence that their contribution to violence in society is minimal. They further stipulate that continued focus upon risk means that there is a danger that people so defined will be excluded from decision-making about their lives. This could be related to theory and research evidence that suggests that although older people with mental health needs are at increased risk of admission to long-term care, staff tend not to be well informed about their mental health needs (Nicholls, 2006). This could be related with mental health issues coexisting with other medical conditions in later life, leading to this client group being commonly treated in mainstream settings rather than mental health related institutions. In regards to legislation and policy that incorporates risk assessment, we have the NHS and Community Care Act (1990) which spells out the duty to assess those in need of community care services. More specifically to risk related interventions, these should be the least restrictive and clients ought to be encouraged to use their own resources or develop new ones as per Mental Health Act (1983), Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Safeguarding Adults. Moreover in context of the National Service Framework for Older People (2001) person-centred care is key, where the aim is for older people to be treated as individuals and receive appropriate and timely packages of care which meets their needs as individuals, regardless of health and social services boundaries (DH, 2001). The No Secrets guidance (2000) encourages services users to have greater control of their lives by being given the opportunity to take and manage risks. There is also the Risk and Choice Framework (2007) which provides guid ance on risk assessment and tools. However, current policy and legislation seems to hold long-held ageist assumptions about capacity and capability. For instance, the NSF for Older People (2001) and Essence of Care (2003) require service providers to ensure that care for this client group is fully integrated and holistic in nature. Hence the intended use of the FACS (Fair Access to Care Services) criteria to ensure equality. Yet, these eligibility criteria can prevent an important focus on an older persons biography in terms of the strengths and abilities they gained over their transitional experiences. In this instance, policy relating to risk assessment needs to consider the impact of age and life course stage. Moreover, has concluded by McDonald (2010) legislation alone will not change the way in which professionals respond to older people and further analysis is needed in regards to the factors that influence decision making in the context of risk. Through our lifespan risk can be perceived as beneficial and part of everyday life as it enables learning and understanding. However, one cannot dismiss the negative consequences of risk and subsequently the need for it to, at times be monitored and restricted. Thus risk assessment becomes a significant element of many frameworks. Risk assessment has been defined as the process of estimating and evaluating risk, understood as the possibility of beneficial and harmful outcomes and the likelihood of their occurrence in a stated timescale (Titterton, 2005: 83). In that context, such process should look at a situation or decision, identify the risk and qualify/rate it in terms of likelihood, harmfulness or even low, medium or high risk. Thus, a risk assessment will only identify the probability of harm a risk may have to the related client and others. Subsequently, intervention strategies should aim at reducing harm. Irrespective of this a risk assessment cannot prevent risk (Hope and Sparks, 2000) and most models of risk assessment recognise that it is not possible to eliminate risk, despite the pressure on public authorities to adopt defensive risk management (Power, 2004). This defensive risk management is perhaps in response to some of the high profile cases dominated in the media over the recent years, which has directed the focus of community care policy to minimise risk. Also the government current emphasis on risk when it comes to mental health related incidents/cases conveys a highly misleading message to the public which in turns seems to contribute to the defensive nature found in the professionals that carry assessment and are meant to support this client group. As commented in the Health Select Committee (2000) the current blame culture risks driving away much needed staff from mental health services. The parallel concern becomes what are acceptable risks and how these might conflict with the agenda of person-centred assessments and user empowerment. As put in Carr (2011) defensive risk management or risk-aversive practice may result in service users not being adequately supported to make choices and take control, hence being put at risk. Risk assessment is not only about negative labelling with adverse consequences. It has the value of promoting safety and, where necessary, identify appropriate intervention and support for service users. The methods most used in assessing risk in social work are: actuarial and clinical methods. Adams, Dominelli and Payne (2009) state that the actuarial method involves statistical calculations of probability where an individuals behaviour is predicted on the basis of known behaviour of other in similar circumstances; clinical assessment employs diagnostic techniques relating to personality factors and situational factors relevant to the risk behaviour and the interaction between the two. This latter is the more familiar method in social work practice. Both methods have limitations in terms of generalising behaviour (actuarial method) and risk assessment being a subjective process (clinical methods), i.e. influenced by assessors background, values and beliefs. As such, it is central fo r professionals to be aware of the limitations of risk assessment tools. Thus far, risk and its assessment seem to vary which reinforces the need for partnership and collaborative working as a way forward in integrating health and social care to provide a person centred support to mental health service users. Alaszewski and Alaszewski (2002) found that users, families and professionals had differing views about risk and safety. Nicholls (2006) refers to the Green Paper on Independence, Well-Being and Choice, which found that service users believe that professionals are too concerned about risk, and that this gets in the way of enabling service users to do what they want to do. In relation to older people, the Single Assessment Process stipulates the need for a coordinated approach by which health and social care organisations work together to ensure person-centred, effective and coordinated care planning (Nicholls, 2006). This entails sharing information, trusting one anothers judgement, reducing duplication, and together ensuring that the range and complexity of an older persons needs are properly identified and addressed in accordance with their wishes and preferences. Such collaborative working between professionals and service users can address potential conflict, evaluate strengths, needs and risk where the effectiveness of intervention is likely to be improved and the outcomes for service users more positive (Adams, Dominelli and Payne, 2009). The implications for social work practice is that the needs for service users with mental health issues frequently cross organisational and professional boundaries. For example, professionals working with older people with mental health issues are more than likely to work alongside a range of practitioners from different health and social care disciplines and organisations. Thus, one needs to consider how organisational cultures may impact or influence on how risk is perceived as subsequently assess. As put by Neil et al (2009, p.18) risk decision making is often complicated by the fact that the person or group taking the decision in not always the person or group affected by the risk. Waterson (1999) further suggests that professionals and users tend to disagree on the levels of risk, not least because risk is subjective and can apply to environments as well as to people. Alaszewski and Manthorpe (1998) equally argue that risk is perceived differently by different professionals and allocating blame is one of the main concerns of public enquiries into failures of community care interventions. As current society develops into a culture of blame and risk-aversion, there is an emphasis on the need to minimise uncertainty about risks and attribute individual culpability. As put by Parton (1998) blaming society is now more concerned with risk avoidance and defensive practice than with professional expertise and welfare development. This defensive form of social work in risk assessment put at risk effective and open collaborative and partnership working. Todays dominance of individual accountability (or culpability) might make social work lose sight of their traditional values where service users are meant to be empowered to make informed decisions about the risks they are prepared to take and the support they feel they might need. As stated in Carr (2011) practitioners are less able to engage with individuals to identify safeguarding issues and enable positive risk tasking. As a result issues of discrimination, inequality and anti-oppressive practice start emerging with a clie nt group that is already vulnerable. Both stigma and discrimination against older people is further accentuated by a diagnosis of mental health. It is reported that older people with mental health needs are at greater risk of abuse than other groups of older people (Nicholls, 2006). In regards to risk assessment, literature stresses the need for mental health service users to be included in that process, to have choice and opportunities to take risks towards maintaining their independence and self-determination, as put by Lawson (1996: 55) risk taking is choosing whether or not to act to achieve beneficial results in an awareness of potential harms. As mentioned before risk taking is part of life, but too often for older people the presence of an element of risk results in the prescription of care solutions or admission to residential care which may not be the older peoples own wishes. For example, in placement experience when older clients were admitted to hospital the local authority primary goal was to ensure clients remained at home for as long as possible however the package of care was delivered in accordance with the local authoritys interpretation of these clients needs such as dictating bedtime routines and dismissing the need for social interaction. In this instance, the risk assessment tended to focus on the workers interpretation of perceived need. This could relate to the findings of Langan Lindlaw (2004) study where service user involvement in risk assessment was variable and depended upon individual professional initiative. The concern here is that being overpreoccupied with risk can be to the detriment of assess ing needs suggesting a primary concern with organisational procedures and resource-allocation over service users wellbeing. As put by Munro (2002) social work should be much more than minimising risk, it should be about maximising welfare. Carr (2011) further suggests that this also impacts of practitioners ability to engage with service user to enable positive risk-taking, leaving clients unsupported in taking control. Discrimination may also occur has a result of the level of risk attributed to a service user. Whereby over-estimation can lead to unwarranted labels and under-estimation lead to inappropriate service provision and/or risk to others (Langan Lindlaw, 2004). Inflexible labelling is both unhelpful and often stigmatising. As found in research, people with mental health problems are a far greater risk to themselves than they are to the general population and while there are instances where intervention is required this should not be done in a way that pigeonholes this client group as if the category of dangerousness (Tew, 2011) is solely related to mental heath issues. In an attempt to answer the initial question, of how risk is assessed in an older person with mental health issues, risk assessment of older people with mental health issues is more likely to take place in crisis situations. Hence interventions might be more reactive rather than proactive, where professionals focuses on weaknesses and inabilities rather than strengths and abilities. Professionals may play safe by minimising risk at the expense of user empowerment. To better understand how risk, strengths and difficulties are assessed in regards to risk assessment in older people with mental health needs (and other mental health service users) we need to put it in the context of current political and social perception. The latter being significant given that research into causes and effects of mental health in older people are limited, also there is limited research on how mental health service users manage risk. Therefore, it is essential that risk assessment moves from a one-size fit all approach or a sort of tick-box exercise to being an inclusive process where the individual involved brings expert knowledge that needs to be incorporated into the assessment of risk. As found in Langan and Lindlaw (2004) few service users were fully involved in risk assessment. Similarly, Stalker (2003) makes reference to the omission from research of services users who are perceived to be at risk or a risk. Littlechild Hawley (2010) suggest that little is k nown about how social workers actually assess risk and that judgements made by individual professionals can vary when using the same risk assessment tools. Petch (2001) adds that overemphasising the importance of accurate risk assessment may lead to misleading conclusions about the level of risk posed by someone and as such expose this group to unnecessary restrictions. From some of the literature review and research available risk can be viewed as a social construction, perception of risk differs between professionals (and service users) and society has its own normative views on risk and its overtly concerned with the consequences of risk behaviour in relation to mental health. Moreover, the role of the media in shaping and, one could argue, amplifying some of these concerns must also be acknowledged. Nonetheless, this does not make risk inexistent. The key seems to be for the needs and risk of mental health service users to be assessed from a holistic approach, avoiding judgements, placing the service user at the centre and valuing their perspective as a contributing expert while at the same time recognise that risk is contextual as well as its fluid, i.e. risk can change. Risk assessments need to be comprehensive and build on a bigger picture of the service user by drawing on their strengths and aspirations. Tew (2011) reiterated that the dominant discourse around risk tends to pathologise service users where social and environmental context is not considered. Also that this leads to a paternalistic practice where service users needs are provided for without considering their rights. The concept of risk is complex, making its assessment challenging. This is reflected in the different ideas and approaches to risk assessment as well as the inkling that we are moving to a risk dominated society. As a result, the attitudes and behaviours of such society are weighed in policy and practice in relation to service users with mental health issues whereby isolated incidents involving people with mental health issues become exaggerated to generate perceptions that such client group are inherently dangerous and need to be controlled and confided (Gould 2010). Undisputedly, it is a major challenge to get the right balance when making difficult risk decisions. On the other hand, risk assessments are needed to improve the validity and reliability of decision making particularly where there may be concerns about an individuals capacity to make informed judgements. However, risk can never be eliminated altogether, and occasionally decisions will be made in good faith, on the best evidence available. As proposed by Stalker (2003) more studies are needed to address the complex nature of risk as well as positive-risk taking in regards to service users with mental health needs. This in addition to the need for research to include services users perspectives as well as other variables such as race and gender. In regards to older people, if as a social group they tend to be institutionally marginalised then it might be equally easy to negate the views of people with mental health problems who equally challenge societys assumptions of capability in regards to managing risk. Risk assessment is central to social work practice; however it must not depersonalise the service user and merely identify them through a compilation of risk variables. Additionally the discourse around risk assessment needs to move from a concern about risk adversity to a probability of negative and positive risks. Equally antagonistic is the use of the term dangerousness to define vulnerable service users. Such language can impact on collaborative and partnership work between professionals and service users. Moreover, as put in Tew (2011) the ongoing rituals of risk assessment may impact further on service users sense of self and undermine their capability to manage risky situations. Also, as stated in Petch (2001) the re will always be people in the community who pose risk, whether or not they suffer from mental health, and singling out or blaming a particular group of professionals will not change this. Thus, a risk assessment is made on a balance of probabilities rather than exact conclusions. While striving for uniformity within risk assessment is a move towards equity, flexibility is also important given the subjective contexts of risk and mental health needs. Peoples lives involve many changing and interrelated variables which will always create some difficulty in balancing risk assessment. In the end, life cannot be without risk and risk-taking is part of the process that makes us who we are, complex beings.

Coming Full Circle :: College Writing Education Essays

Coming Full Circle Roger Sale, a former professor at the University of Washington says, "I can't know what I want until I see something I like." This is said in response to the common question asked by students, "What do you want our papers to be about?" Hearing this must get tiresome for teachers as well as students. Sale, in his essay on "The Relationships Struck Between Writer and Reader, Reader and Writer, Student and Teacher, Teacher and Student", suggests not telling the student exactly what is wanted, to be flexible and "suggest to all students that what is important is what they think, not what the teacher thinks." Over the years I've found that teachers and students go through stages in the education process in what they want to hear and what they like. Throughout this process students learn that not all teachers have the quality of being flexible, and often wonder "Does it matter what I think?" I think and certainly hope the stages come full circle. When we were young and learning to write it seemed that each sentence was an accomplishment, something to be proud of. In elementary school our teachers encouraged creativity. Writing was fun, not a chore. It seemed we could write about anything and our teacher would write "Very Good!", stick a red star on our page and encourage more. In fifth grade I wrote a poem on the color brown. I have no idea where the source for this poem came from and I wish I could remember what others wrote. Did we have to write about a color, specifically brown? Probably not. I do like this color but why not pink? My poem is absolutely morbid! To this day I am chastised about it. Leave it to Mom to put it in a scrapbook for my entire graduation party to read. Following is a sample of "Brown." Brown I need you I'll give you my dead animal for all you have Brown I need you How ridiculous! Who ever heard of a fifth grader writing so passionately, yet morbidly about a color? Know what? My teacher claimed he liked it! Maybe he feared my morbidity. At any rate I continued to write and enjoy doing so. There seemed to be little or no boundaries in elementary school. My teachers were always flexible and encouraging; they seemed to care what I thought. There comes a time in junior high when teachers don't encourage creativity and individuality. Coming Full Circle :: College Writing Education Essays Coming Full Circle Roger Sale, a former professor at the University of Washington says, "I can't know what I want until I see something I like." This is said in response to the common question asked by students, "What do you want our papers to be about?" Hearing this must get tiresome for teachers as well as students. Sale, in his essay on "The Relationships Struck Between Writer and Reader, Reader and Writer, Student and Teacher, Teacher and Student", suggests not telling the student exactly what is wanted, to be flexible and "suggest to all students that what is important is what they think, not what the teacher thinks." Over the years I've found that teachers and students go through stages in the education process in what they want to hear and what they like. Throughout this process students learn that not all teachers have the quality of being flexible, and often wonder "Does it matter what I think?" I think and certainly hope the stages come full circle. When we were young and learning to write it seemed that each sentence was an accomplishment, something to be proud of. In elementary school our teachers encouraged creativity. Writing was fun, not a chore. It seemed we could write about anything and our teacher would write "Very Good!", stick a red star on our page and encourage more. In fifth grade I wrote a poem on the color brown. I have no idea where the source for this poem came from and I wish I could remember what others wrote. Did we have to write about a color, specifically brown? Probably not. I do like this color but why not pink? My poem is absolutely morbid! To this day I am chastised about it. Leave it to Mom to put it in a scrapbook for my entire graduation party to read. Following is a sample of "Brown." Brown I need you I'll give you my dead animal for all you have Brown I need you How ridiculous! Who ever heard of a fifth grader writing so passionately, yet morbidly about a color? Know what? My teacher claimed he liked it! Maybe he feared my morbidity. At any rate I continued to write and enjoy doing so. There seemed to be little or no boundaries in elementary school. My teachers were always flexible and encouraging; they seemed to care what I thought. There comes a time in junior high when teachers don't encourage creativity and individuality.

Contemporary Society

There are many contemporary social concerns in the world today. Information on these concerns can be found just about anywhere including the Internet, T.V. and even articles. A critical thinker has a responsibility to find out information on the topic that is correct, true, has validity and limited to no biases. One contemporary issue that is going on is the issue with the addiction to crystal meth. A critical thinker needs to be able to understand the validity and truth behind a writers work, understand the importance of ethics and moral reasoning, and understand the advantages of informational technology.Any critical thinker can understand how crystal meth addiction is impacting the contemporary world today. Crystal meth is a very addictive drug and has many side effects to the brain and to the body. In order for a critical thinker to find reliable resources, he or she must research many areas of a writer’s paper.One way that a person can understand if a an article, website, etc. is a reliable source is to conduct research on the resources that writer four his or her information. All resources need to be creditable and those in turn have to credit where the information came from. This information needs to be written by someone who is an expert in the field at hand. In this case the topic is crystal meth addiction. An expert should have no issue with peer-reviewed.A reference should also be peer-reviewed. When a source is peer-reviewed it  has been reviewed and passed by a board that works in the author’s field of study. This can lead to  sources being published allowing others to view information that is correct. It can also create an issue in having some articles rejected if the peer-reviewers do not agree with the information that is being printed. An example of information that can be rejected is bias information.A critical thinker needs to be careful to understand when he or she is coming across bias. Bias is when the writer is defending one side over the other is facts. When a research paper is written, it needs to cover all sides of the issue at hand. A research paper on crystal meth addiction would be bias if it only described how poor, homeless people become addicted to crystal meth. A critical thinker should be able to understand how this is bias and not true. A critical thinker should be able to understand that people from all walks of life could and can become addicted to crystal meth. Along with a critical thinker understanding bias in a resource, he or she must also understand validity.In order for a critical thinker to hold full responsibility for a resource, he or she must look into the validity of a resource. Validity revolves around the logic and truth behind information. A resource must contain both truth and logic. The truth is what a research paper is all about. Information must be true and contain information that can be backed up by research and education. An topic of addiction to crystal meth is a very big social concern that people should be educated on. This information must come from studies, research, and information that have been provided by researchers who have studied the field and have done a number of tests. When looking into the facts about crystal meth addiction, a critical thinker must be able to understand what is the truth and what is not.Many articles about crystal meth addiction have stats and percentages. A critical thinker must be able to look at the stats and percentages and understand where the resource is getting the information. There may come times when the percentages are off based on where the information has come  from. A critical thinker should be able to understand that if an article states that there are a zero percentage of people addicted to crystal meth, this is not the truth and this information should not be looked into. This also contains the fact of how factual the information really is.Fact is a very big part of understanding literatu re review. When a critical thinker is looking at literature, he or she needs the information to be true and to have fact behind every word. If an article is published with fake information, this can lead to the critical thinker having misinformation and understanding the topic of addiction to crystal meth in the wrong way. Every piece of literature that a critical thinker reads must have great resources, peer-reviewed information, contain no bias, and have validity to back it up in order to get the correct and right information.When looking into a piece of literature, a critical thinker should looking into the resources, peer-viewed, bias, and validity of the information at hand. This will allow the critical thinker to get the best information for his or her information on a topic such as the addiction to crystal meth. Finding these four main points in a piece of literature will help keep information as reliable as possible on a contemporary issue.Researching the addiction to crysta l meth will result in a major number of findings. It is  the responsibility of a critical thinker to understand the findings of each piece of literature he or she looks into. The first thing to look into is the information about crystal meth addiction. The site that has been published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse is full of information about what crystal meth (methamphetamine) is, what it does to a person, the statistics and trends, how it is abused and must more. In order to make sure this site is going to be useful, a contemporary thinker must look into the sources, bias, and validity of the literature and when the last time it was updated.This website has a section that deals with the research resources. This is  a good place to start in order to make sure the information is going to meet the criteria. The research resource includes a list of genetics research resources, data harmonization projects, and justice system resources. This information will provide where the information on the site has come from and who can back it up in order to make sure it is valid information. Here a critical thinking can see whom the NIH (National Institute on Drug Abuse) teamed up with in order to get the findings and information they have published. These researchers can be looked into and followed up with in order to make sure that the NIH is using true and real information on the topic of crystal meth addiction.The information found on the research resources will also let the person know that this information has been peer-viewed by all of the researchers involved in the findings. The next part that a critical thinker needs to look into is if there is any bias information in the literature. Bias information is information that is leading more towards one side.Reading the information  that the National Institute on Drug Abuse has written it is easy to see that the information is not bias and deals with the facts of crystal meth addiction. There is informat ion on how the drug is used. The NIH states â€Å"methamphetamine [crystal meth] is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol and is taken orally, intranasally (snorting the powder), by needle injection, or by smoking (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010, para 2). There is nothing that is bias about the information found on this website. The literature is informational and very valid.The validity of the information is very present. After reading through all of the resources and researchers involved, a critical thinker can understand that the information at hand is valid. This website has information that is both logical and factual present throughout all of the information that it provides. The same steps can be applied to another article about crystal meth.Sherry Mumford wrote an article called Putting meth addiction in context. This article should be researched to make sure it follows the same guidelines as the first literat ure information. The article revolves around Chilliwack, B.C. and the crystal meth addiction that can be found there. Sherry Mumford wrote the article and was published by Torstar Syndication Services, a Division of Toronto Star Newspapers, LLC. This LLC peer-viewed the article and found that the information was valid and decided to publish it.A critical thinker could argue that the article has some bias parts in it. The article states that â€Å"[Meth] is not an epidemic. It’s a drug trend and it’s problematic. It came on fairly quickly but it will go away† (Mumford, 2004, para 6). This information is leading more towards saying  that crystal meth is not addiction and is more of just a trend that is going around. This does not give the allusion that crystal meth is addictive and some people have trouble getting off the drug. This could also be considered in the validity of the article.The validity of an article is very important. The article contains some num ber on how many people are seeking help in the area. The article states â€Å"a total of 1,200 young people sought help from Fraser Health addictions services in 2003-04, and for adult clients the total was 5,500 in that same period† (Mumford, 2004, para 14). This information is very valid and the overall validity of the article is good.Another way to make sure that a piece of literature checks out is to see when the last time it was updated. An article called Straight faces about meth addiction was published in 2005 by Torstar Syndication Services, A Division of Toronto Star Newspaper, LLC. This article was peer-viewed by the publication company. The article also has a side bar stating the it was late updated in 2010. This left five years for new information to be found and changed if any information was not the same or not correct. This can be a real help to a critical thinker when making sure the information is right. The information also needs to contain no bias.The artic le deals with information on how to try and stop the crystal meth addiction. This article is not bias in anyway. The article is trying to help parents understand that even if it seems tough, there can be help for a son or daughter to get out of the addiction. The article does not state that is not help, which would lead to bias information. Stating that there is no help for anyone who becomes addicted to crystal meth would lead to a bias view. Knowledge of  resources will help a critical thinker understand the truth and validity behind literature.Knowledge not only helps a critical thinker understand the truth and validity behind literature but it can also help with the impact of social elements on both local and global communities. The knowledge that a person gains through social and institution elements can really have an impact on both local communities and global communities.Academic knowledge can impact local communities from a social element on the topic of crystal meth addi ction. People are taught that addiction is real and can effect so many people. It is important for people to understand that addiction can be found locally and education can help with the issue. When it comes to addiction, the more educated a person is, the better the understanding that person will have on the topic and how go about the issue.The Internet is a big way for people to gain academic knowledge on information that is going on locally and globally. This information can help a person see the underling issues that come with crystal meth addiction. Academic knowledge can help people understand the truth in small communities and even across the world. Academic knowledge can be anything from what a person learns in school to what is taught to us by others such as a co-worker who was educated in crystal meth addiction.Academic knowledge can have a big impact on local communities. Understanding the truth behind crystal meth addiction can really help a community understand the iss ue. An article written by Goble and Battershill  talks about how the leaders of a town decided to educate the town on crystal meth. A man by the name of Ramsey held a movie screening at the local highschool. Ramsey stated that the forum â€Å"will include a screening of a disturbing eighteen minute film† (Goble and Battershill, 2005, para 17). This information will help to inform the local community and help keep them educated on the topic of addiction.Being educated is the best way to try and find a resolution to any issue in a community. The communities need to know that some side effects of a crystal meth user are â€Å"extreme paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations and severe cognitive impairment† (Lecomte, 2005, para 3). This can help others to understand what they need to look for in a person who is addicted to any type of drug, not just crystal meth. A person can then use their knowledge to understand that drugs mess with the brain and body.Academic know ledge can also help a critical thinker understand that an environment can have a lot to do with a person who is venerable to addiction. Through academic knowledge we learn that there are different environments, which can lead to different outcomes of how someone is raise, different types of cultures, and different subdivisions. An article by Matt Hartley talks about how some areas in the world can lead to a higher change of a person becoming addicted to drugs. Matt Hartley states â€Å"It’s hard enough to positively conduct treatment in you own community, [but] sending the kids far away, especially to a larger city where they’re going to run into a lot more troubled youth, is tricky† (Hartley, 2006, para. 9). This leads to the issue of the global community academic education can have an impact on.It is very important for a any person to know what is going on around the glob. A person can apply academic education to a global matter. The education a person has to apply to a local  community can also be applied to a global community. If using environment as an example, the same different types of environments in a community can also  be found around the world. Education does not only have to be academic. Education and information can be taught at a young age from anywhere.A survey back in 2009 came back with the results that â€Å"one out of every five students who filled out the survey from after an anti-drug group’s presentation said they know of someone using crystal meth† (Ryan, 2009, Infomart). Kids all across the globe need to be educated on this topic and understand the issues that come along with the addiction to not only crystal meth, but also any drug for that matter. Education is everywhere. Active citizenship in this matter and education could really help with the percentage of addicts in a community and around the globe.Active citizenship could impact the issue of the addiction to crystal meth in the next five t o ten years. The active citizenship has already started to help with getting the numbers of people addicted to crystal meth down. The National Institute of Drug Abuse has reported that the use of crystal meth in teens has started to drop of the recent years. The site suggests that this is because of all of the attention being brought to the subject. If this continues of the next five to ten years, there could be a very low rate at the end. The next five to ten years could show a very big difference in what we see today.Using education, the next five to ten years could show an great drop in the amount of users of crystal meth. There are many different types of educational tools out there besides academic. People can also become educated with the World Wide Web, multimedia (blogs,  videos, radio), television. Education has already started to bring down the number of kids doing crystal meth. According to Geoffrey Laredo there has already been a â€Å"significant decrease in methamph etamine abuse† (Laredo, 2004, para 1). Education has helped with this.Education keeps growing and so does technology. Technology in the next five to ten years is going to be a great impact with how education works today. Today people can find information on any topic on the Internet. Giving technology five to ten years is going to help education further and help so  many more people with the information of addiction to crystal meth.There are so many blogs and videos out there that help people understand why not to do drugs and what the side effects are. Videos, blogs, and prodcasts are a way for people to communicate with each other or even gain information on a topic like crystal meth addiction. When it comes to videos, blogs, and prodcasts; a critical thinker has to be careful about the information that is being provided. These types of multimedia can contain lots of bias and very little validity.There are many blogs out there about addiction. A blog is a personal webpage or website that allows that person to write opinions, stories, personal information, and also allows for others to comment on this information. There are many blogs about addiction that are full of information about recovery, the struggles, and what each person went through personally as a addict or as a family or friend of an addict.The blog called An Addict In Our Son’s Bedroom is a blog for parents dealing with an addict child. This blog allows for the main â€Å"Mom and Dad† to communicate with others and for others to reach out to them. The blog does not seem to have very many resources and can come across as bias in some cases. The information in this blog is valid based on the fact that it is coming from real life stories.A critical thinker can apply academic knowledge to this blog and understand the validity of the issues and the fact that some parts may come across as bias. A critical thinker can also understand how some of the information is not true nor meet s the qualifications of a peer-viewed article. The information on the blog is very relevant to the issue at hand: Addiction to crystal meth.This blog has many stories of what a family member of a user is going through. It also tells stories of how the people reach out to others and even talks to school students about the issues with addiction and what addiction can do to a person. There is so much personal information that statistics and numbers will not give someone. The validity and truth behind a blog is much different than the type of truth a validity one would get from an article backed up by many sources.Academic knowledge can help a person understand contemporary social concerns and how to apply the principles of active citizenship to those issues. A critical thinker needs to be able to know what information is good and what information is questionable. A critical thinker needs to be able to understand the validity, bias, and important of peer-viewed resource  and the impor tance of technology gathering data when dealing with any type of concern. This will help a critical thinker gain information that is correct, valid, and usable in the real world.

A strong women

The person I look up to hit rock bottom at one point and was able to become a better person that they didn't know even existed. Seeing them go through all the obstacles showed me how strong of a person they truly are and made me admire them. This person is my mom. My mom was a high school dropout due to having me at a young age (16). She was trying to raise a child and fight an addiction at the same time. Trying to deal with all these different obstacles can be hard on someone; especially when you feel stuck and like you have nowhere else to go, but my mom ound a better path to be on.My mother's name is Jessica, she is 5 feet 10 inches. In her youth she had dirty blonde hair that was so beautiful and long. She was really thick due to how much alcohol she was consuming and alcohol also makes you consume a lot of food. Jessica also had an accent because she's originally from Georgia. My mom started drinking at the age of 13. It was a constant struggle for my mother, she turned to drink ing because she was in a really depressed state of mind because she felt stuck and didn't really know where she belonged. My mom also grew up in kind of a dysfunctional household with an alcoholic father.Her parents got a divorce and that's when my mom really started drinking a lot. My mom would leave home a lot, even sometimes not come home for days at a time. She would leave me there for her younger brother to take care of. This is a rough patch my mom went through in her life before she became the person she is today. Jessica started going to AA which stands for Alcoholics Anonymous at the age of twenty two. I remember my mom taking me to a few meeting and me being scared ecause I really didn't know what was going on because I was such a young age.My mom relapsed after being clean for about half a year on pain medication. She fell and hurt her neck at work and even when her neck got better she continued taking the pain pills because she thought in her mind that she was really sti ll in pain, but that was Just because she was addicted. The second and final time she relapsed was shortly after she stopped taking the pain pills; she started drinking again like crazy. She eventually stopped drinking at the age of twenty four. At this time I had more of n understanding of what was going on and I was really scared for my mom's life.During this time my father took me away from my mom and immediately after she realized I was gone she tried her hardest to clean up. My mom always says â€Å"It was you that really made me clean up; I couldn't deal with myself if I lost my daughter from choosing alcohol over you. † My mom thankfully made it through this obstacle. My mom received her GED at the age twenty five and started to attend school at Diablo Valley College. She attended Diablo Valley for three years then transferred to University of Berkeley and majored in sociology.My mom is currently attending Grad school at Denver State and is going for Social Work. The s ituation I have seen my mom overcome has given me hope. It takes a really strong person to take themselves off the wrong course and put themselves on the right one. My mom is now creating a bright future for herself and she proved to me that no one can stop you but yourself. I will always continue going to meetings with my mom and being a big support system because I am truly proud of her. Going through obstacles like these can really break a person down.My mom is a person who changed her negative into a positive. She used everything that happened to her as motivation to become a better person because she didn't want to continue to be on the same bad course in her life. My mom being an alcoholic of course brought some negative events into my life at a young age, but I was able to get through it because I saw what she was able to overcome. My mom influenced me to basically be a strong individual and to never give up on yourself because if you work hard enough your dreams will come tr ue.